By and By

Taking a short break from blogging.
Too many irons in the fire right now.
I'll keep reading those of you whose blogs I follow.
Thank you for all your kind comments...I haven't disappeared forever...just a break!
Bless you!

Of How I Admire Some Real-Life Heroines

My friend, Daria, lives in Canada. I don't even know where in Canada... locations up in the north country are about as indistinguishable to me as are "Ohio and Iowa" to my California friends. However, if I ever decide to drive there I could easily check a map and then I'd have it! Once I see it on a map it's in my brain...except chemo brain sometimes does a short-circuit routine on me. Sigh!

But I digress.

I met Daria in the early days of my ovarian cancer. I met her by way of the internet. When I was diagnosed in January 2009 I began roving the net, looking for information about the disease, about my statistical chances of remission (slim), cure (none), long life (pretty iffy). And I began looking for others who are also dealing with cancer. Even when our cancers are different we share experiences. We become friends.

So I've been following Daria's blog for quite a while now. She's one of my Heroines. I sure would enjoy sitting over a cuppa coffee with her in person. But instead, I visit her daily at her blog Living With Cancer.

Today Daria posted that she was asked by womansday.com to write a short article to promote breast cancer awareness. You can read about Daria Maluta and four other women who have blogged about their walk with breast cancer along with links to their particular blogs at the Woman's Day website here.

Did you know 1 in every 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer?
Did you know 1 in every 71 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer?
Not to mention all the other cancers out there.
Cancer is no respecter of age.
And ain't any of it fun.

These women are gritty and courageous and the ones who reach out and help others are my Heroines for certain!

Now...go read what Daria had to say.

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A Motley Assortment Of Decks, Squirrels, and Hair

The new cedar deck is done. And stained (sealed). Once John finished the construction we thought it would be an easy thing to select deck stain. But after several hours of googling, I recognized that there is not a consensus of opinion by AnyOne. All sealers have one disadvantage or another. We ended up using Cabot Semi-Solid Deck and Siding Stain in the color "New Cedar" This is an oil based sealer and we believe it will perform better than the "wash brushes in water" products. All is done except for the lattice. (Disclaimer: we do not sell and are not related to businesses that do sell this product...ours is observation only...and we hope to observe this sealer doing its job well over time.)

Hubby and I sat out on the deck this afternoon. The autumn sun was bright and warm. While sitting there I played with my camera.

We spotted a squirrel hovering near. Last winter Hubby fed the birds AND the squirrels from across the street. And guess what! We now have SIX squirrel nests in the two ash trees on OUR side of the street. The tree rodents abound. (But how in the world do they call that pile of leaves a home? Do they actually live amongst those leaves in the midst of winter storms?)

Today was a visit to my Oncologist. The usual twenty questions...any rashes? nausea? dizziness? pain? neuropathy in hands or feet? energy level? I scored well on all of those tests in terms of well-being. And appetite! Oh, Yah, I have a great appetite! Can't he tell from my weight chart???

However, there is one area that I am not pleased. My new "do" is slow-growing. And its a bit thin. And there is no curl. Yet. I am not pleased with my "Anderson Cooper" hair. Actually, Cooper's hair is a LOT thicker than mine. Plus he gets to travel to a lot of exotic places in search of news. My 'do travels about as far as the grocery store and now and then to the City.

(Please remember that Cooper's photo has been photo-shopped...I assure you that's the only reason he looks much younger than I.)

At least I no longer look like Henry. (You can read about that here!)

But, hey! I feel good. Autumn has been lovely. And we are enjoying every day.

Today's Verse reminds us to not get too far ahead of ourselves in terms of worrying about tomorrow. It is sufficient to take care of what needs to be taken care of. Then we rest in God's good will and recognize that He will watch over us tomorrow just as He does today.

Matt. 6:34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

That Whiner! He's Become a Deck Inspector!

Remember last year when I mentioned our neighbor cat, Whiner? The three-legged cat? (You can read about his last year's visit here.) Well, it appears Whiner has become a deck inspector. Even though our front deck is not yet completed, he's checking out the construction.

Even though he has only 3 legs and hence, weighs less than the average kitty, he figures these steps are sturdy enough to bear up under the weight of multiple cats. You'll notice that he's also checking the street to make certain no cars are going to run over him while he's away from home.

Ooops. Gotta stop and leave a few cat hairs on clean pant legs. Whiner does not neglect his catly duties. He's faithful that way.

Checkin' for safety...Purrrr, just the right width to keep any kitty from falling through the rails.
Another look towards the street. Those dratted cars! (Here you can see that Whiner is missing his left hind leg...thanks to a nap under the hood of one of those dratted cars when he was a wee kitty. Whiner hates cars!)

Passed Inspection. Yep! Even though this deck is not finished, Whiner has given it full approval. He'll be back often, you can bet on it. And he's welcome, anytime.
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By the way! I hope you'll take a look at my other blog, "Those Three Guys". They have kitties visiting them, too.

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A Fine Mess At Our Front Door!

This afternoon there was a huge pile of rubble on our front lawn. And I don't envy the guy who put it there. It was dirty, heavy work.

I don't even want to think how many pounds (tons?) of rubble had to be demolished, loaded up to a trailer, hauled across town, and dumped. Huge investment of time and muscle!

The small concrete stoop and brick-faced steps at our front door had been in poor condition last fall. The winter added a final bit of deterioration to the brick facing the edges of the steps.

I suppose we could have repaired them but that would have been more than we wanted to do ourselves...and the resultant repair probably wouldn't last anyway. (Or so we told ourselves.) We decided to replace them with a small deck...one just large enough to hold a couple chairs and perhaps a small table...a place where we can sit of an evening...a place that will function as a front porch.

Our friend John has a reputation for being skilled at his carpentry craft and for the past nine years his work took him to distant states. Sadly, the economic downturn caused his employer to crash and burn, so to speak. When we heard that John is now in business for himself we asked if he'd be willing to tackle our proposed project.

So early this morning John came over to begin the demolition process. The dirtiest part of the work is done and I'm thinking John went home tired.

Tomorrow he will set posts into the ground, digging down below the frost line to insure they sit steady and stable. And he'll begin building. Oh, that's the fun part...the building! That's where the creative aspect of the work produces satisfaction!

I know John will enjoy every bit of that part of the work...and I'll enjoy watching the progress. I promise not to hover but I do enjoy watching a project come together...seeing how this fits there...and how that is done here...I just enjoy seeing how things work.

We're looking forward to sitting on our front deck.

I can hardly wait!

They Wanted Her Dead. But She Lives.

Nearly twenty years ago Hubby and I sat at table in a large conference room in the City. We listened attentively as Gianna Jessen related to us her journey...a journey that began with herself being the product of a saline abortion. In spite of the attempt to abort her, Gianna was born live.

It is possible that some of my readers may have aborted a child themselves. I risk stepping on toes, but I do not want you to see this post as a condemnation. God knows, we have all sinned in one way or another, and most of us have sins of our own that we do not reveal, sins that we hate.

So on this Sunday, this day when many are standing on streets, speaking out for Life...take just a few moments to listen to Gianna as she speaks of abortion from her perspective as "one of the aborted".

Thank you. God bless you.
(Thanks to Karin for the pointing me to this video.)

Teach! It's a Tough Name to Live Up To!

Last evening I watched the first episode of the new series, "Teach: Tony Danza". You see, Danza taught tenth grade English at Northeast in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the 2009-2010 school year. Actor turned teacher. His classroom time had a dual purpose...teaching!...and acting! A "responsible reality" show, as he called it.

That show premiered October 1. And I'm looking forward to watching each week's episode.

Along with watching Danza to see if he managed to have the fortitude, wisdom, smarts, and resilience for his new role, it was also interesting to make first acquaintance with the students in his class.

But you know what? I seemed to focus in on Danza's hair. More than once. You see...Danza has more hair than I do. It's been eleven weeks since my last carbo/taxol treatment and my hair is still only 1/4 inch long (more like 3/16ths, but you get the visual).

However...I've been down this road once before...almost exactly a year ago...and I know what to expect. I'm figuring my hair will soon begin a slow spiral, a spiral that will turn curlicue as time goes by.

And then, Tony Danza, you will have hair envy. I know you will. Remember what the Bible says? "Thou shalt not covet."

And kind man that you are, I'm certain you will be just fine.

Definitely lookin' forward to seeing you in the classroom. I hope you do your job well.
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