The update on my cancer treatments is pretty much the same as last reported. This past Wednesday was my 8th scheduled infusion out of a total of 12 planned. Again this time, my platelet count was low, so my oncologist again skipped the first of the two drugs and sent me home with the drug delivered by pump over a 46 hour period. Her plan is that when my platelet count recovers, she will add the first drug again for no more than one or two rounds. Indeed, she indicated that if that could not be done, it isn't a serious problem. Side effects of the drugs continue to be not much of a problem, and I'm leading a relatively normal day to day life. I'm certainly looking forward to putting this entire chemotherapy program behind me by the end of August or so.
You may remember the helium balloon I was given at the time of my surgery in January. This little guy has been a daily bit of happiness ever since. After five months, he is starting to struggle a bit, however. If he eventually refuses to float into my day each morning, I'll look for another way to keep his flattened self around. Thanks, Rex and Chris!!
For my recent 78th birthday, the two of my children and their families who were in town, planned an evening picnic at one of the local parks. Here are Rob and Betsy with me on that occasion. Note the new NY Yankees baseball jersey that Kathie gave me! On the back is the number 7 and the name Mantle, one of two early 1960s Yankees (the other being Roger Maris) who hooked me on that team when they were making a run to beat Babe Ruth's one season home run record.
And here are their five children--five of my eight grandkids--Henry, Frederick, Penny, Eleanor, and Clara. Henry is now 17 and on staff at Camp Wapsie. On weekends he comes to our home, does his laundry, and catches up on a bit of sleep before returning on Sunday for the next round of campers.
When he was here this past weekend, Kathie made a delicious apple pie and labeled it with Henry's initials. He and Kathie continue to frown at my choice of topping for apple pie (melted cheddar cheese--"Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze!). They prefer vanilla ice cream, I guess, which is fine for some pies, but if you really want a treat, try apple pie with cheddar.
The day after the picnic, there was an art exhibit by a local academy that Penny attends. We enjoyed seeing her work, including this self portrait (over her right shoulder) and a number of other pieces.
On Sunday last, we traveled to the Buchanan House Winery. Check out more about this place, including more information about the gorgeous home that was relocated to the winery site during the last couple of years (a distance of 7 miles from its original location). Here is a link to the winery web site:
click here. A musician was entertaining while we sampled the wines and had some snacks. It was a very pretty Iowa day for an outing like this and was something we may do again sometime, especially on a day when tours of the house are permitted. The wines, by the way, were all interesting, and a couple of them were quite good for Iowa wine. Our friend Richard declared them "very drinkable."
As for my continuing enjoyment in woodworking, I just completed making two Adirondack chairs and foot stools. These will be added to our back deck, which is currently being rehabbed with new stain and screens. More on that in my next posting, I think. We are working on selecting a good paint color for these chairs to go along with the new deck stain color.
That's all I have for now! TTFN as the British (and others) say!
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