Ravens and Thanksgiving

Got the Raven started last week, before chemo week. SO hope to make some good progress next week.

Great news on the cancer front. Monday before treatment we visited with the oncologist to find out that the cancer markers in the blood tests have dropped over 100 points in the last month. That means the chemo is working!!! SO we are going topper through the last 7 treatments, then see if surgery is necessary. Whooo Hooo! So went in Tues. AM for a CT scan, not expecting to hear anything until next week. The DR.’s office called in the afternoon to let us know that the numbers and sizes of tumors were significantly smaller…So this Thanksgiving we have SO much to be Thankful for. My wonderful family came together and cooked up a fabulous Thanksgiving feast on Sunday, since this is chemo week for me. We pretty much ate ’til we were comatose. Since this is chemo week, I am sleeping a lot, catch ya when I wake up!

In the meantime I wish each and everyone of you a Happy Thanksgiving, with much to be Thankful for, and lots of friends, family, ferries and featherheads to share it with! I am very Thankful for all of you!

Advertisement

Hands On

Almost done, as usual, I put it up where I can see it then make a few adjustments. Still stuck in Black and White –  I am enjoying it so much, think I will work on a raven. We took a trip to Yellowstone Park a few years ago and got some good close photos of a raven. I have done him several times, but he was so good at posing, and just has that raven look of disdain which is so typical, LOL. I still have some more hand projects in the lineup, so stay tuned……

Kitty report just in straight from the art desk! While working on the pottery hands, Dante just jumped up on my desk and made himself at home. He dragged his tail over the left side of the drawing and as you can see laid down right on the top of the drawing. I guess he knows charcoal is delicate and wants to make sure it is smudged and has plenty of cat hair on it.  Cats 1 – Arlene – 0

Time for the weekly cancer report, since it is Rest Week, I am doing well, only two more treatments before we stop to evaluate, it will go pretty fast.

Have heard a lot of complaining from my friends (and even family) this week that they are freezing. I admit, I did get out some sweaters and have started wearing the light long sleeve tops, but REALLY……..high 70’s in the day and high 40’s to low 50’s at night. Yes it is cooler than the 100’s, but look at the rest of the country, THEY have something to complain about! Guess everyone just loves to complain about weather.

On the other hand…..

Having had a really good week last week, I made a lot of progress on the new charcoal on black paper. This is one of those pieces which has bugged me to get going with it, but I had so many other projects that needed to be done, that it kept slipping back in line. Think I took the ref photos a couple of years ago, intending to add this one to the “Hands” series which is on display at the Beatitudes until Dec 3. There is just something about black and white which makes me want to keep my hand in and do one or two a year in between the birdies! There are more hands coming, but I think it is bird time after this one, LOL.

SO hubby and I are noticing that it takes a little bit longer after each chemo treatment to recover from the fatigue. Had a little more nausea than usual, but am feeling well now, just very fatigued. Usually by the weekend, I have recovered and am ready to go. Well, four down and eight to go, so we are one third of the way, and may get a break during Dec if they decide to interrupt after chemo 6 to do surgery. The nice thing about chemo week, is that the kitties stay close and we have a lot of kitty therapy.

Herons and Hair

Ok, so I got a little excited about the Hyacinth Macaw Party and forgot to post the progress on the Black Crowned Night Heron! It is almost done, just a few little picky details and a visit to Candy to make sure it is ready to sign!

So this is resting week, and after each chemo treatment, I am seeing improvement. The pain levels are going down, the swelling is going down and after most of the week of resting, the energy levels are going up! So when I complain about the chemo week, I just have to stop and look at my progress and put one foot in front of the other foot and keep going. As my cousin, Dina says……”put on your big girl panties”, LOL. Thanks for that saying , Dina!

So looking into the bathroom sink, I am wondering if all of my hair is running down the drain. Apparently, I am not supposed to go bald, but the hair will thin with this chemo regimen. Well, the silver lining to this cloud is, Hubby and a couple of friends have offered to shave their heads is I go bald, and I FINALLY GET BACK AT THE CATS! LOL, they now have to put up with my hair all over the place. Nanner, nanner, nanner! Ok, so they are ignoring me, imagine that. It must be the first time cats have ignored a human……….you don’t say……..that is normal for a cat…..Oh…….. ….thought it was just me they ignore. Oh well, back to the drawing board, maybe I can think of something else to annoy them…..stay tuned!

Hyacinth Macaw Party!!!!!

During my rest week, we were invited to a Hyacinth Macaw Party. Usually I don’t get out a lot, but this party Mici put on, was not to be missed! Most of my bird friends were attending, so I rested all week to be able to go for a while. Mici’s place is beyond amazing, we got the tour of the rescue horses, birds, goats and who could call the visit complete without the “Watch Pig”. Joey the celebrity bird, with his friend, Paco, crashed the party…..they are not hyacinths, but they do have some blue on them, so guess that counts. Everyone had a wonderful time, got plenty of visiting time with the hyacinths, lots of scritching, kissing and cooing going on…..then we were treated to one of Mici’s “snacks only” spreads. all I can say is if I need to gain weight, I know where to go. Noelle was still in a cannoli coma the last I heard. Lori lost her son to all the activity for a while, last I heard he was full and tired out. Well even though I rested all week, only made it about an hour before fatigue set in, but it is an experience I will never forget. Mici and Fred are amazing, compassionate people, it is an honor to know them.

My phone decided to do a fitware update on my camera while we there, so I did not get any photos, luckily hubby took the ones here.

THREE DOWN AND NINE TO GO! Made it through another chemo week, slept until Friday afternoon and am awake and back to my new “normal”! Had a visit with the PA on Friday, and we are scheduling a petscan right after treatment six, to see how things are going and how well the chemo treatments are working. SO the fight goes on! My family is sure the chemo is helping. They see an improvement in my pain levels and energy levels, so I am sure we are winning the war. Keep those prayers, positive thoughts and well wishes going! Thanks so much!