Dan's Ramblings

Dan here, coming to you from the fireplace Sunday evening. It’s just about dark, beautiful sunset, 

6/27/21

balls are glowing.

Life is good. How was your weekend?

Mostly Good News

Carol here ~

We had another early Wednesday morning in Topsham this week, didn’t get my blog post out so figured I’d just wait until today.

The good news is my red blood count and my white blood count are still good. The better news is the result of my monthly check on my myeloma markers ~ they have decreased over 50% in one month of treatment. Doc says I’m well on my way to remission! Yippee! He said he started my treatment fairly aggressively and that I am responding well to it. Let’s git-r-done!

The not so good news is I hurt my ribs/side. No idea how, I have been so careful. The PT thinks it is the muscles along side my lower ribs. Of course, I am babying it which is throwing the rest of my back off. Fingers crossed I didn’t do anything to my spine. I have one more week before my follow up with the spine surgeon.

So, two steps forward, one back.

Dan's Ramblings & LOTS of Photos

Dan here, coming to you from the fireplace on Sunday night. 

Beautiful day and a beautiful evening. Long day, Carol twitched something in her back which set her back a little. Hopefully just for the day. Tomorrow is another day.

Daughter Erin arrived on Friday and stayed over and we walked and kayaked twice around the pond. She has more energy than her old man, thats for sure.

No More Socks!

Carol here ~

Woohoo! No more compression socks! Which means I am halfway through my month of no BLT’s ~ bending, lifting, twisting. I’m sure Dan will be more than happy when I'm able to start doing my chores again. He hasn’t complained (well, maybe a couple small whines) even though I know he doesn’t like doing them. I’m actually looking forward to functioning like normal again.

Yesterday was my three appointment day. 8:30 in Topsham, 12:15 in Lewiston and 2:15 in Auburn. Twas a long day. It was also the beginning of month #2 of my chemo treatments which meant I also had the monthly bone density infusion. The first time I had it I had side effects ~ pounding headache, lymph nodes in my neck aching, nausea and vomiting. Ugh, not a happy camper. This month they tweaked it ~ added more saline to the infusion and slowed down the drip. So far, so good!

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here. Can’t believe that it is Tuesday night already. I read a line in a book the other day that really struck me ~ “the days are long but the years are short.” That hit me as so true. I remember days long ago I thought would never end. They started early and ended quite late. They dragged on and on. But then, I realize I am thinking of them as though they were yesterday when, in fact, the memories are from thirty years ago. The days are long but the years are short.

All is well here on the pond.

The door quilt top is complete. Alas, there was not enough of the blue left to use for the border. So a trip to the storage stash was in order. I found a red that would work and is all sewn on. 

The Weekend

Carol here ~

What a gorgeous weekend ~ sunny and just enough of a breeze to keep the bugs away! I spent the afternoons sitting out front under the awning with my book enjoying the pond activities. The water must be warming up as there were quite a few swimmers.

Saturday am 6/12/21

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here. Another busy week, coming to you on Thursday evening out by the fire. Walking still under par. ( am I allowed to use golf terminology even if I would never on my worst day ever play the game?) This week I was under the 38.9 miles needed to “make week” only by 1 1/2 miles. That is why I put miles in the bank last winter. Walking many more each day than I “needed” for each week, gave me miles I can use now when it is too hot or too much life in the way to walk. Haven’t done the math yet so don’t know what yearly total is. A little under 1100 miles, I think. I’ll figure it out and let you know.

Beautiful evening. 

More and more lights around the pond as people coming to camp

This and That

Carol here ~

I missed my blog post yesterday so you are getting it today. I was slow moving yesterday morn plus we had to leave fairly early to get to my Chemo/Oncologist appointment. Bloodwork results still good.

My surgery last week eliminated my intense spine pain (just a bit stiff and sore) but my supporting muscles did not get the pain free memo. I had a rough weekend. I ached all over. When I went for my PT appointment on Monday the therapist said I had some very “angry” muscles. Yep, they’ve been screaming at me ~ but a little less screaming every day. She gave me a handful of exercises I can do sitting down that will help with core strength and lower back strength. She also massaged part way down my back on either side of my spine. Ahhhhhh, that felt wonderful. She didn’t do my lower back as I still had some bruising going on and she didn’t want to rile things up. I have another appointment this morning so hoping she repeats that spine massage.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here. Sunday evening, different fire, same view, different sky. 

Carol had a hard day, bed early. At least it is in her bed. 

Too hot to walk today, I have decided that it was much easier walking when it was cold out. Put on the clothes and just go. When it is hot there is only so much that is coming off in the name of propriety. I guess that is why I put lots of walking miles in the bank during the colder months. Saw this on my walk the other day. It was kinda scary to see. 

Shows the fragility of the seasons and how short they really are.

Surgery Update

Carol here ~

Yesterday was the day for my back surgery. They actually did a kyphoplasty instead of vertebroplasty. I think the difference is with a kyphoplasty a thin tube with a ballon tip is guided into the vertebra, then the balloon is inflated to create a cavity in which the liquid bone cement is injected. The balloon is then removed and the cement is injected.

It worked! Went to sleep in with back pain, woke up with pretty much none! It feels really weird to be walking about without my wheelie! (Dan nicknamed me Wheels) The wheelie was my mom’s. She had two of them. We donated one to the Assisted Living Home she was at when she passed and we kept the other one. Thank goodness! I couldn’t have gotten around these last few weeks without it.

I’m a bit sore/stiff this morning in my lower back/hip area. Got the ice pack on it so hoping it loosens up as I move around more ~ suppose to get up and move about every hour.

And I slept in the bed last night ~ first time in weeks! Don’t know if Dan took advantage of it and got some sewing done or not, he was still out by the fire when I went to bed.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here. Coming to you Tuesday night from beside the pond and where you find me most evenings, in front of the fire. 

I have been busy getting plant pots planted at every location where I can find to grow something. 

Pieces of wood to be used to support tomato plants

Still need a few more plants but not many. The trouble with lots of planters is they will need a lot of water. Not as bad as one year in Rangeley where it took about an hour and a half every day to water all the planters. I guess the idea was to downsize.