25% of the Way

This past Wednesday, I received the third of my scheduled chemotherapy infusions. So that puts me 25% of the way to the end, barring any unforeseen need for changes. So far, except for a considerable degree of tiredness and lethargy during the roughly fourth and fifth days after each cycle, side effects have been quite manageable and/or minimal. The prognosis continues to be that once this chemo regimen is completed, the chances of a reoccurrence of the cancer are very low. While I am going through this regimen, I have been again advised to limit contact, so we are being very cautious about any visits or times we need to be away. I continue to feel very fortunate while at the same time have great empathy for other individuals I know are facing much more difficult cancer recoveries.

I have continued to be active during most of the latter week or more of each cycle. Enjoying time in my woodworking shop has been good for me. I completed building a small library table for my son-in-law Peter, which he expects to pick up sometime later this month.

I have a couple of other projects in the works now. I am making some small keepsake boxes, and I'm building a bench for use at the foot of our bed. This latter item is being made from some cherry lumber that I salvaged from three logs my friend Richard had me help him remove from a tree that was damaged during the derecho storm of a couple years ago. A local mill got about 60 board feet of usable lumber from those logs. Having this bench come from that tree will make it extra special for us.

In addition to woodworking, I keep reading books. Recently completed books include: The Latinest by Mark Prins, The Bone People by Keri Hulme, The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, and several others. Currently, I'm reading a fascinating book that I highly recommend: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen. This book dovetails in very important ways with many of the (in my humble opinion, wrong-headed) current events aimed at book censorship and constraints on the teaching profession (e.g. the attempts to forbid use of such resources as th 1619 Project). Those who have read Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States will surely enjoy Loewen's book as well.

Of course we have been watching lots of Hawkeye men's and women's basketball. The spectacular run that our men's team had late in the season came to a crashing and depressing end yesterday with their unexpected loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament. We look forward to the women's first round game this afternoon to lift our spirits back up a bit, not that basketball is so important. Still, it is good entertainment. At least the baseball lockdown has ended, so I eagerly look forward to some MLB games.

Spring is coming! Have seen at least one robin in our yard. Best wishes to all my readers!