Sunday Already?!

Yikes, how can it be Sunday night already? Guess time does fly when having fun. Lots of good things packed into this weekend, including various outings with friends, one of which featured s'mores! Still, while I hate to draw the curtain on this weekend, I have two great reasons to get the work week underway:
1) By Friday, I'll be half-way through my radiation treatments -- hoorah!
2) On Friday, I'll be heading to Ashley, OH to enjoy another Becoming an Outdoors Woman workshop

Definitely two high points for the month of October:)

Pic o' the Day

No need for Paul Harvey - I think you know "the rest of the story!"

She's on a Tear!

My sweet golden girl is acting out, showing her displeasure at my long days away from home, from her. This afternoon, Sedona left piles of of shredded newspaper on the kitchen floor for my neighbor Clark to clean up. This evening, while I was at dinner with friends, Her Naughtiness tore up a magazine in the upstairs hallway. Of course, she knew she'd done wrong -- gave me that hang-dog look as soon as I stepped through the door. Might be time to schedule her for some therapy: increased walks at the park, random rides, and a day at the doggie spa.

Long week. Very happy the weekend is here. Rest is needed for what promises to be a crazy week ahead.

Pic o' the Day

How much is that doggie in the window?
Maybe a bargain price if she continues her wicked ways!;)

Happy Birthday RJ

I wrote the following for Jonesy -- my lover of baseball, my Cleveland Indians fanatic -- more than 20 years ago for his birthday.

Happy Birthday, my dear, you now are the ethereal one.

Diamond Dust

The sweet season of summer sandlot dreams is

entering the ninth inning and

wanna-be Sultans of Swat are

performing their swan songs.

The slowing staccato of crickets warns these

dream boys that their playgrounds will soon be

sacrificed to Autumn's frost and

Winter's white.

Even the balladeers -- 

translators of this ethereal, ephemeral game --

will be in hiatus;

their boys of summer stealing home

(for a short-stop) trading

leather mitts for woolen.

What a Day, What a Day!

"Remember, OSU hospitals are teaching hospitals." I forget who imparted those warning words to me after hearing I'd selected said institution for treatment, but I recalled them today with a chuckle. For the umpteenth time, I was asked if it was o.k. for an observer to be in the room while I, of course, was in a state of half undress. Since day one of this CBitch journey, my philosophy's been if it's going to help that observer be a better nurse, doctor, technician, whatever, then what the heck. Bodies, we all got 'em!

This also was one of those days that put life in perspective. One of those days that reminded me that what once would have seemed like a major catastrophe was not. One of those days where a reassuring text and intuitive phone call were the equivalent of a life jacket tossed to a drowning woman.

For me, it's these "little" things inserted amid life's upheavals that have had the truest effect on me being able to peel away pretense and be outfitted in peace. Without those "little" graces, life would be, well, not life.

Speaking of graces, one of the most precious was waiting patiently at home for me tonight, joyfully wagging her tail and carrying a prized toy in her mouth. With her patented squinty-eyed look, my girl leaned in against my chest and just loved on me. Wow.

Pics o' the Day

Two views of the dome -- slow, but steady growth!

Laying the Foundation

Woke up a little early today and, after the morning pet-fest with Sedona, spent a little extra time with my devotional. In the course of reading suggested scripture, I came across two passages from Psalms that really encapsulate where I am now spiritually and emotionally:

• Psalm 13:6 "I trust in your faithfulness. Grant my heart joy in your help, that I may sing of the Lord, 'How good our God has been to me!"
• Psalm 16:8-9 "I keep the Lord always before me; with the Lord at my right, I shall never be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, my soul rejoices; my body also dwells secure."

Today, I enter the second week of radiation. Today, with the love and faithfulness of God, I am well armed to handle the challenges along life's path and it feels so good!

Pic o' the Morn': I might have shared this shot before, 

but the rainbow effect felt appropriate in this context. 

Taken on a flight back from an event in Cincy earlier this year.

Sunday Delights

It was a Sunday of worship and fellowship -- fellowship that included a hike in the woods with Sedona and two enthusiastic, energetic, and fun young gentlemen. We tromped along finding sticks that made for great swords, examining acorn and hickory nuts, and discussing the merits of whistling and the different ways to whistle.

Now, as the evening draws to an end, I sit here contemplating the week ahead and finding it odd that I have to remind myself that I must go to radiation every day. Weird. Two more fingernails have succumbed to the chemo kiss. Fortunately, no other nails have "colored-up" like the three on my right hand, so I'm hoping that's the end of any further nail deterioration. And, positive news on the hair front: growth is now visible without a magnifying glass!

Sleep is knocking on my door -- something I hate to give into on the one hand, but on the other I'm glad it's once again establishing itself as a more regular visitor to my bed!

More than Satisfying

I'm not going to claim a win yet, but I think sleep is beginning to come back to my corner. Fell asleep quickly last night, woke up briefly and just as quickly went back to sawing logs until 9:30 a.m., which is when Sedona decide she needed to be petted!

My eyes are really droopy now and upon posting this puppy, I'm off to bed.

It was a very good day Saturday. One that included chores and some grocery shopping as well as a cozy fire in the evening to take the chill off the house (thank you, John). But best of all was the mid-day phone call that unexpectedly resulted in being asked to be a godparent. Such a request is a first for me; I promise my friends that this is an honor and responsibility I will take very seriously. Ironically, I was going through some old pix a couple of weeks ago and came across the one below. My future godchild is a little older now :), but still just as sweet (even when she's being ornery!)

Appropriate Pic o' the Day

Riley and me

One Week Down and Five to Go

The first week of radiation went pretty smoothly. I'm tired, but tired is o.k. when it isn't accompanied by feeling like dookie. I'm definitely improving because I have the urge to do some cooking and baking. Of course, the weather -- the seasonal switch from summer to fall -- has something to do with this compulsion. That change also makes me want to buy pumpkins and potted mums, light spice-scented candles and kick up leaves.

I've brewed some Sleepy Time tea, left today at the house for me by my sweet friend MB.

Night, night.

These Pics o' the Day might be the canine equivalent of TMI, but...

Don't let that innocent face
fool you - it's amazing what
she consumes and expels,
thank goodness!

Anyone want to claim these socks?
They aren't mine though they briefly belonged
to Sedona until she urped them up in the yard!:)

It Ain't Pretty, but It's Growin'!

Nothing notable from this angle...

And so begins documentation of my hair-regrowth journey. I know I should do something scientific like schedule taking the pix every X number of days while standing in the same place, and photographing the same area of my scalp -- but that isn't going to happen. Instead, I'll post a "hair pic" when the mood strikes. If I haven't said it already, I'm grateful that my eyebrows and "eye-winkies" didn't totally disappear. But, even if they had, I'd still be grateful. God has taken the CBitch's attack on me and turned it into blessings on multiple occasions -- can't wear blinders to that fact.

"We know that all things work for good for those who love God ..." Romans 8:28

...got a little closer and: Shazam!

My radiation treatment was once again uneventful (no complaint!). I did enjoy time prior to my appointment in the waiting area with a lovely woman who serves every Wednesday as a volunteer. She's 81 and was diagnosed last year with breast cancer for which she received 34 radiation treatments at the Spielman Center. Kay said she wanted to give back. Some day that's going to be me.

Here's a shout-out to my park pal, TS: thinking of ya, my friend. Hoping and praying all goes well tomorrow, and the next day, and the next ... See you soon! :)

Postless

Not much up to posting tonight because I can't keep my eyes open.

Thus I leave you with a photo of another who craves her beauty sleep ...

Pic o' the Day