Oh, yeah. I’m eating like a horse; have been the entire time. My side effects have always been minimal. Apparently - and I know everyone will be jealous - I have great bone marrow. And cashed in my luck.
Chemo does affect my taste - oddly raw cucumbers and zero sugar root beer are the only foods that have always tasted normal - so I have to watch what I eat. Salty tastes (and I’m not big on salt already) are greatly exaggerated. Female Dr. Oncologist (I’m also a patient of her husband, Male dr. Oncologist) asked once if my eating habits had changed. I said yes, my craving for fresh fruit and plain raw veggies has skyrocketed. She paused and said “yeah, I’m not going to encourage you to eat less healthily”.
Back in the day I used to be proud of my boobs and butt. Nowadays I’d much rather be proud of my healthy bones.
I’ve never had to travel your road, but I do understand that food can be very strange. I’m glad you are able and willing to eat what you need to be eating, that’s got to be so much better than some folks experience.
Here’s what I do instead. I take my coffee mug from where it sits on the counter with the one-cup Melitta coffee maker sitting on top. I put filter paper in, add coffee, add boiling water up to the top which makes a perfect amount of coffee with room for cream, then while it drips I attend to other kitchen tasks. All good, except that sometimes I forget that I left the cup upside down to drain. I will end up with coffee all over the cutting board, all over the counter, and depending on how quickly I notice (which on a bleary-eyed morning is not likely to be quick) possibly coffee dripping onto the floor, too.
It always makes for a delightful start to a new day. Lately I’ve taken to adding a crucial extra step to my coffee-making, to wit: I ask myself, “is the mug you’re about to drip coffee into right side up or upside-down”? Because it does make a difference!
Ours is a Ninja, which can either make a pot of coffee with grounds and a filter, or a single mug with a K-cup. Which is great, except it doesn’t have that handy spill tray, just a little flip-down pedestal for the mug. So, yeah. I made a mess.
If people are interested, I’ll photographically document the Murphy bed construction. It’s currently in five very large boxes. I’m going to take this one in small bites, I think.
You know me well. I did forget to mention the cat condo, though.
Mooom, my heart goes out to you and FCD; losing a pet is so traumatic - but they are worth it.
My very first apartment had a Murphy - it was a tiny studio apartment in Coronado, CA. I was all of 21, so the mattress was tolerably comfortable, tho today I’d probably consider it to be torture. I rarely put it away since I lived alone and rarely had visitors - I worked the mid shift which put me off schedule with the real world.
We’ve discussed having a Murphy in our littlest bedroom, but it’s since become FCD’s office and with a futon in the basement, we don’t need another bed. No one visits us anyway! But some that I’ve seen advertised are really snazzy!
The thing that gets me about that airport - it’s pretty much right downtown! Plus it’s within spitting distance of NAS North Island, where I learned to fly. Between commercial traffic, military traffic, and general aviation, it’s an interesting little area! At least it was in the mid-70s.
Today, we will attempt to scrub the hull - it all depends upon whether the guy finished the fiberglass work yesterday. We’ll go in 2 vehicles - I’ll take the truck and FCD will take his car. That way, he can go directly to his mom’s and get her to her eye doc appt without driving all the way home and all the way back (the marina is closer to his mom’s than to our house.) And on my way home, I can stop at Aldi for a few things that we need.
Stoopit weather isn’t looking good for Roxy’s b-day party on Sat - t-storms are predicted. Our basement is the alternate site, which is fine, except I need to move the treadmill and bike to my studio - I don’t want kids climbing on them. Need to discuss this with Daughter. Poor Roxy - she wanted her party at the rainbow playground (the equipment there is multi-colored.) I guess we shall see.
Still putting off the call to the vet - honestly, Taz doesn’t seem to be in pain, just tired and confused - is that a good enough reason? He’s eating wet food pretty much exclusively - he doesn’t even want the treats that he used to love. And he still likes skritches… Maybe I should talk to a vet. We don’t have one in particular - we like them all at the practice, so we see whoever is available. Crap, I don’t know…
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’ YAWN ‘Tia 64 Amurrkin out and cloudy with a predicted high of 75 with rain/tstorms/apocalypse startin’ later this mornin’. Fine by me as we have no plans for the day other than the usual sloth and general overall uselessness.
MOOOOOM so sad about Taz. He has had a great life in a loving environment. I know you’ll do what’s best.
Cat_Glove yay for gettin’ the van back. I have no love for tree rats.
Doggio good luck with the interview!
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then onward into the day! Rah
I agree. Once again, you’ve mixed up @Kitten_Mitten and me. Tsk. I never thought we looked too much alike,
but it is kinda cool to have a board twin.
In more seriousness, swampy, thanks for the congrats. I’m just hoping it stays that way.
FCM, I think talking to the vet about Taz is the best option. Hugs, no matter what the vet says. And I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather cooperates for Roxy’s party.
kitap, I’m hoping all goes well with the scanning, drawing and appointmenting.
All is pretty good in Fishland. I kinda wish I didn’t have to be awake, but I did get 7.5 hours so I shouldn’t complain. I gave CtE the last of the cash in my wallet to get some food before their concert tonight. It always makes more sense for them to stay after school on concert nights. The timing of getting home and when they need to have butts in seats for pre-concert would pretty much mean picking them up from the bus and driving them directly back. So they get Sonic for dinner tonight.
Hubby is driving them all the way in to school this morning. Somehow they’ve managed to break several slats on their bed so a good night’s sleep wasn’t in their cards. I should see what a box spring and frame will cost. I could have replacement slats made, but breaking the slats seems to be a regular thing for them. It’s all gonna come down to cost.
Once Hubby gets home, it’ll be time for me to hustle BtY off to school then go visit with Dad. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to have some time between getting home from visiting him and having to pick up BtY from school for some cleaning. But I’m not too hopeful. I just have to remind myself that I’m not Superwoman.
I should be off to start my day. I do think caffeine is in the cards today. Have a great Thursday, all!
It’s currently 41 degrees and dark outside. The expected high is around 50, with cloudy to mostly cloudy skies and the possibility of rain showers late afternoon.
FCM, sending hugs to you and skritches to Taz. I hope the weather cooperates for Roxy’s party and she gets to have it at the rainbow playground.
doggio, good luck with the interview!
Boy, yesterday was stressful. I had to deliver bad news on various issues, and it was not fun. I was glad when the day ended. I managed to turn a couple of those situations around, but the SD had to step in for one of them, and it somehow made me feel like a failure at my job. Logically, I know it sometimes takes the “big stick” to get something, but it still made me feel bad. I really hope today goes more smoothly.
Many squirrels pick up the little mess from the bird feeders and root around in the flower beds and the big bed behind the bird feeding station. I quit feeding them peanuts in December, and I know they’re hoping to find more. There are thousands of shells buried out there, and they keep digging them up. I rake up as many as possible, but it’ll be a while before they all disappear. Not much drops from the tube feeders because I have trays mounted to them to cut down on the mess, and I used a no-mess blend of birdseed.
I forgot to put my cup under the Keurig once, and the tray caught most of it. When I still used the drip coffee maker, I forgot to put the carafe under there ONCE; what a mess! Fortunately, the pour-over method I use drips straight into the carafe, so there is no problem.
I am especially tired this morning. I had a super restless night, and the coffee is not perking me up this morning.
I’m going to tidy up the kitchen now and hope that wakes me up a little.
I bet it feels good to get that behind you. I’ll also bet the taste situation resolves in a month-ish. Best of luck on your adventure.
And yes, having great bone marrow is strongly predictive of a good long life post-treatment.
Cancer
I’ve got far more experience dealing with cancer than a layman should. My late first wife spent a total of 12 years as an active patient in treatment over the 25 years from her initial diagnosis to her death. Multiple cancer centers, multiple treatment modalities, etc., etc., etc. If anyone ever wants to talk about this topic, either as the pt. or as the caregiver / spouse / etc., just PM me.
Especially in the immediate post-diagnosis stage, having somebody who’s been through it can be very useful to talk to. The half-known unknowns that your imagination and Dr. Google can conjure up are by far the worst part. You don’t have to do that alone no matter how isolated / alone you are IRL.
PSA over, it’s time to return to our usual morning mundanities.
In keeping with today’s MMP theme, today I made not-coffee in yet another novel way. “Why did that happen?” you ask. Because I let my attention wander to mentally writing a Dope post while doing my brewing prep.
“How did that happen?” you ask. Of course, my process is a wee bit involved. I’m the only coffee drinker, so I use a smallish 6-cup ordinary drip coffeemaker. It makes almost enough, but not way too much, and it doesn’t overfill my counter space. I also like my coffee cup pre-heated so the coffee stays stupid hot a long time. I also use cream in my first cup, and the cream too is heated.
So it goes like this: Fill the pot with filtered water from the fridge’s in-door dispenser then pour it into the maker’s reservoir, put the grounds in the basket, and get it going like everybody else does. So far, so normal.
Now’s where it veers into the silly/surreal.
While it’s brewing fill the cup with filtered water from the fridge dispenser (= very cold water, chilling the cup) & microwave that for 90 seconds = 3 pushes of the [quick 30 seconds] button. Now the water and cup is quite hot. Once the microwave is done, the pot will be about half full of coffee and the reservoir will also be about half full = half empty of water. Open the reservoir and pour in the water, leaving an empty hot cup. Close the reservoir so brewage continues. And yes, that just set an overflowing time bomb, so don’t get distracted. Now put 1/4"+ of cream from the fridge into the cup, cooling it instantly. Put the cup in the microwave again for 30 seconds = 1 push of the [quick 30 seconds] button. When it’s done the pot is about 3/4ths full. Pour the hot coffee into the hot cup on top of the hot cream. No stirring required. Viola!
Now there’s room in the pot for all the incoming water and you’ve got a ~full pot of coffee to refill from later. So easy. Err, not really, but it is tasty and plenty. And hot! Did I mention hot?
Of course, Her Ladyship is sleeping in the adjacent room while I’m doing all this. So there must be minimal clanking of parts, minimal clattering of fridge doors, minimal beeping of the microwave, etc. Much care is taken to set things down gently, stop the microwave just before the timer runs out, etc. I enjoy being stealthy in the morning; I’d make a good cat burglar. With my weird often pre-dawn work schedule, I’ve also been practicing my stealth for 35 years now.
So how’d I screw that up today?
Got the normal brewage going, then wandered away mentally for a few seconds and instead of putting the extra water in my cup, I put in the cream. And microwaved it for 30 seconds. So far so good. While the microwave is running I started wiping up the water that inevitably spills while filling the pot, cup, and my water glass from the fridge dispenser. Normally while that’s water cooking for 90 seconds I have plenty of time for wiping. This time, while it was cream cooking for 30, I was surprised / dismayed to hear the microwave’s gleeful “I’m done!” melody. Which is noisy. So I jump over there, interrupt the music, and thinking I’d just spaced the setting and only heated water for 30 seconds, I pushed [quick 30 seconds] twice to get the missing extra minute to finish making my hot water / hot cup.
About 30 seconds later a loud POP interrupts my Dope-ish reverie as the entirety of the cream has abruptly spread itself evenly throughout the interior of the microwave. At which moment I realized I’d simply forgotten to do the hot water cycle before starting the cream cycle. D’oh!
Cue much whining as I wash the whole damn thing. Of course it’s hard to handle that large glass turntable that barely fits in the sink without a lot of banging and clattering. Unskillful, and unstealthy, and as yet uncoffee-ed. The Trifecta of Fail.
&%*%& mumble, grunt, bitch, grumble moan.
Not-coffee strikes again!
Fast forward until the microwave is clean, the scalded cream-encrusted cup is rinsed and in the dishwasher, a different cup is heated properly, extra water properly added, the replacement dose of cream is properly heated, the hot cup is filled with hot coffee over hot cream, aaand I’m out on the balcony at long last, trying to recover my customary gruntlement. …
Our day has dawned beautiful & sunny with a few puffy clouds and a warm breeze. NWS says that will probably deteriorate into rain showers and maybe a bit of thunder later. But for now it’s tropical paradise on the balcony.
Speaking to irk again in the context of my earlier dissertations, today is day 3 of my 3-day on-call period of Tue-Thu. Fri & Sat shall be my weekend then back on-call on Sun-Tue.
I irked on Tue, skated on Wed, and looking at my placement on the ready-to-go roster for today I’m all-but certain to skate today as well. So 3 days of daily rate pay for 1 day of irk. That’s how I’d hope to play the game every irk-week.
They assure me that later today my car will be ready. Getting that back will be satisfying. Assuming it really happens; their departure time estimates are about like my employer’s: highly optimistic in the face of much contrary experience.
And the car’s dead again (insert very bad word). Back to AAA (glad now I have Plus membership). At least this time I can take it somewhere and get it worked on instead of all the shops being closed. Wonderful start to the day.
Pilot, you do a unique job that very few do, so your work stories are interesting (at least to me). And the Great Coffee w/Cream Epic made me grin (until I went to try and start the car).
Taters, stress at work is never fun, especially when you are ‘on point’ for bad news. Hope today is better.
kitap, glad chemo is done and hope the news is good.
I don’t drink coffee, so I cannot add to the great stories so far.
FCM, hope the T-boomers give Roxy’s party a pass.
OK, need to get off the board and start calling…sooner this gets fixed the better.
If the battery is unexpectedly dead one day and the battery is more than a couple years old, save yourself the aggravation of multiple fix attempts and simply replace it. 90+% chance that solves all your problems at one easy stroke. And if not, you’ve now got the best possible situation for more sophisticated troubleshooting and repair.
You are apparently on the money. The guy who came out this morning did a much more through and professional job than last night’s guy, and actually discussed things with me instead of using as few words as possible. It’s the battery, the starter and alternator are good, so he’s off to fetch one and hopefully this long national nightmare will soon be over… But batteries ain’t cheap, so hopefully this will do the job for the next 5-6 years (since I plan to trade the car in about 3 years, that’ll be somebody else’s problem).
Broke fast with a Pepsi Zero, a ham-n-cheese sammich from the freezer, and some cheese balls…now that’s nutrition!!
It’s been a Very Bad Week mental-health-wise. I wound up calling out from work Monday and Tuesday 'cuz I was pretty sure if I got in the car I’d run it into a tree. Nevertheless I endure. The last couple days have seen a warm-up that’s melted most of the snow up here. The roads are nice and clear and dry. The wide flat fields look like lakes with all the melted snow rushing through, and when the wind stops they are as great glass mirrors or slices of inverted sky. It’s really something to see when you’re used to the California deserts.
Yesterday I got a long-awaited package in the mail, a cool Lego movie theater. I won an award a while back and had to throw most of the money at debts but I did get myself a small treat or two, and this one took forever to arrive. I also got an LED lighting kit so I can make the marquee light up and stuff. I started building it last night while watching the Superman Animated Series, felt like I was 10 years old again.
Got a high school group coming through to tour the campus today, gotta put on my wise and beneficent librarian face, make us look good.
We probably donated several hundred pounds of clothing to a transition housing facility. These are people who are trying to stay clean and find work and a permanent home. Hard to impress an employer when you’re wearing scruffy clothes.
But batteries ain’t cheap, so hopefully this will do the job for the next 5-6 years (since I plan to trade the car in about 3 years, that’ll be somebody else’s problem).
