Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Dinner Party

Tonight we're hosting three friends in our new apartment. They delivered my chaise longue today, which I've been tempted to sit in for hours but I have fish to fry. Well, shrimp.

Lemon tart is on the dessert menu, I do have a tart pan, but the baking equipment I need is still in Rhode Island. I had to improvise. It was frustrating working without a net, but what the tart lacks in beauty it will make up for in taste, I'm sure. With drinks, I'm serving tortilla chips with various dipping sauces: salsa, guacamole, sour cream, refried beans, chopped tomatoes and onions.

The main course will be shrimp scampi over pasta, simple but always delicious. We will drink scads of wine.

I'm making myself hungry.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

I'm Fine

I haven't posted in a while and don't want my faithful fans to worry.

Like the energizer bunny, I keep going. Call me the prednisone bunny. Speaking of the pred, now that I'm down to 40 mg, I'm sleeping a little better. Still need ambien to go to sleep, but listen to this. My doctor called my health insurance company and cleared me for 30 pills per month instead of 10 every 30 days. When I got the rx in the mail, I felt I'd scored big time. So, I should be good to go or not go, depending on what I need to do. Which is a lot. I won't bore you with the details. Just don't worry if I post less.

Friday, August 20, 2010

What I Learned Today

1. Waking at 4:15 am has its plusses.
2. Yoga is the answer.
3. Massage is a right.
4. College shopping with a 17-year old for 3 hours burns calories.
5. Boys takes just as long to buy jeans as girls.
6. Popcorn cracks your teeth.
7. Cancelling your dental insurance is a bad idea.
8. When your buttons get pushed, turn yourself off.
9. Giving away furniture is a gift to yourself.
10. You can never go to bed too early.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Thin Skinned

Those of you who know me personally know I'm as thick-skinned as an avocado, maybe a coconut. Now that the prednisone has fully corrupted my body, my skin is thinning out in places and bursting into red blotches. Last week, the blotches even bled.

So I'm walking down the street yesterday in Manhattan and I notice that blood is dripping from an area on my wrist that's had ugly red spots. I think I brushed it against something. A tissue immediately staunched the flow, but this was pretty ugly.

I was up half the night and then drove 3 hours this morning back to Rhode Island. I haven't stopped since, all due to steroids.

At least I remain leukemia free.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Great Counts and Drugs Changes

Taking a lead from Ann (and my friend from Western Mass.), I drove myself to to my transplant center today. The problem with driving yourself, is what do you do if something goes wrong? What if your blood counts are in the toilet and you freak out? What if you get 3 shots and your arms go numb? Well, we have to be fearless. We've been trained for this.

My counts were all good. My gvh of the skin looks better to my doctor so I'm down to 40 mg. of prednisone daily. My blood pressure, however, has been borderline high the last few months (stress?, meds?) so my doctor prescribed an alpha blocker. I'll be going to the Fire Dept. to have my BP checked every few days to see how I'm doing. I just hope the fire fighters aren't too hot, because that could affect my BP. But it could be fun, too.

Tonight I'm going out with my son Mark on a date. We're going to check out a new Italian eatery downtown. I just had a snack because he's running and I'm starving. I can be an embarrassment in the food department. Luckily, when Mark eats, there's no contest.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

No Gifts, Please

I was listening to NPR yesterday where they were talking about the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. That's when I realized that it will be a year ago tomorrow that I had my second transplant. How could this have almost slipped my mind?

Well, I have been busy. I've been traveling and planning the rest of the month which will be filled with goodbyes, hellos and new experiences. I've been feeling bullet-proof, always nice. These are excuses, though, because if I allow myself to go back one year, the memories haunt me.

The transplant was supposed to be the 7th but there was a flight delay (isn't there always?). Marty was with me, and we'd been watching the Yankees pummel the Red Sox. At least we had a little distraction. Finally the cells arrived and after being pre-medicated, they dripped into my port and traveled through my blood. I didn't feel a thing, and I promptly went to sleep.

I have no specific plans to celebrate. Marty is home and a friend is visiting so we'll make a nice dinner and toast my donor. Thanks, mister, whoever and wherever you are.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

My Trip In a Nutshell

I didn't stay out of trouble, but I had a great trip. The trouble involved a car breakdown, but I was able to speak Spanish with the mechanic and cell phones do save lives. Peter called the rental company and found someone to call me on my phone at the gas station, and he spoke English!!!

Barcelona was fantastico although I came to the conclusion that I don't like Spanish food that much. Tapas are not my favs, nor is paella, but then I had pretty bad paella. One of the highlights of Barcelona was putting my toe into the Mediterranean Sea and then sitting at a cafe on the beach drinking a sangria while a Bob Marley wannabee sang and played guitar. It was so fake it was real. The streets of the old city wreak of charm, and offer some wonderful shopping possibilities, including World Cup 2010 commemorative t-shirts. I only wanted to buy authentic Barcelona things, which I pretty much did: a leather belt for Marty, a orange leather handbag, espadrilles, ceramics.

The weather was great, my hosts most gracious. I'm working on almost no sleep and I have to say I feel pretty good. Very relaxed in fact.

I promise to post photos in the next day or two. I have to find the chip and right now, that seems impossible.