June 7, 2015. Harper, Texas. A Bonfire.

Almost nothing pleases us more than sitting around an open fire. Over the years, we have enjoyed hundreds. This afternoon was another in the long line of pleasant events. At the ranch, we burn our trash, as we did at the farm, so on a regular basis, Ken would make a fire in the fire pit and we would eventually put the trash in the fire. Our setting at the ranch is ideal because we sit under live oak trees and are fully shaded most of the time. And we get to watch the sunsets. Today was interesting in that it took us a long time to get organized. We gathered up the trash at the Hill House, put it into the back of the Gator, then headed down the hill to the fire pit. We had already left stuff in the butcher shop so we moved that trash over to the fire area. Then Ken needed to move wood, which is not an easy task for him. Eventually we were ready to light the fire but by then Joyce and Robbie had come over to join us by the fire so Robbie played boy scout and lit the fire. For well over two hours we watched the fire and chatted. The day was warm but with a breeze so we were comfortable. I was actually perfect because most of the time I freeze. All our efforts were worth it as we enjoyed sitting by the fire enjoying the outdoors. I just needed Alice Anne there to tell me what birds I was hearing.

June 6, 2015. Harper, Texas. The Triple Crown.

I know nothing about horse racing. I have only been to two horse races in my life. But every year I get interested in The Triple Crown. Today was lots of fun, watching the Triple Crown be won for the first time in 37 years. The same wonderful horse won all three races when the Belmont was won by this same misspelled horse, American Pharoah. Ken and I took in all the information from the commentators so by the end of the race we were experts, but only for an hour. The horses are beautiful to watch but we do not gamble and have no interest in horse racing but we loved watching The Belmont Stakes race today. And what a race it was, the winner starting out front and staying there until the end, just like in the Preakness. Perhaps it is the marketing departments that catch my attention but I don't think so. Records are interesting to me. During my life time, breaking the four minute mile took a long time but once it had been broken, runners beat it time after time within just a few weeks. Same runners but the barrier had been broken in their mind. With The Triple Crown winners, in the 70's it seemed simple, when three horses won. As time passed and no horses were winning, those of us who don't know much about horse racing got interested. Finally, today was the day. Now I wonder if over the next ten years, more horses will win The Triple Crown? Time will tell. And Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup playoff game tonight so now Chicago is tied with one win each. That too was an exciting, highly skilled game. Great fun in sports today for me.

June 5, 2015. Harper, Texas. Cameras.

There is no better camera than the camera in my mind. Scenes we saw years ago are as clear and vivid as today. My friends are visiting Jackson, Wyoming, a charming town nestled in the mountains, right next to Idaho and a couple of hours south of Yellowstone. We had only visited in the winter to ski but we were there several times. The Teton Mountains are magnificent. Perhaps one of the reasons the mountains are so vivid in my mind is that we bought a photograph of the mountains the first time we were there, which has hung at the farm ever since. Now it is on the walls of our new home in Mississippi. Ken and I have been fortunate with our travel. We did not leave traveling until we retired. We always travelled. And we were fortunate that we had summers off work. At that time, medical students only went to school in the winter and I was teaching, so we took jobs in some part of the country and traveled there and back. I still see, in my mind's eye, the highways in Arizona, with irrigation on one side with lush crops, and no irrigation of the opposite side with no water, so there was the desert. And the sign said "Arizona grows when water flows". That was 1961. I have no idea how the brain does it but at the blink of an eye, the scenes we observed many years ago just pop back and bring great pleasure. Right now, I am enjoying the pictures in my mind from our visits to Jackson, all triggered by my friends visit. They are loving it although I understand Jackson has grown and gotten trendy and fashionable. The setting is still gorgeous. They will enjoy and I will enjoy along with them.

June 4, 2015. Harper, Texas. Neuropothy.

It runs in the family, according to Dr. Stotz. My father had diabetis as an adult. He did not develop neuropothy. He died too young, at 61. Most diabetics have some amount of neuropothy of the feet and legs. My brother has it in both feet and legs even though Dave is not a diabetic. And according to Dr. Stotz, I was developing it . The chemotherapy gives, as a side effect, troubles with legs and arms. So I got a double whammy. I was already at the early stages of having neuropothy when along came the chemotherapy. Now I have an advanced case. The solution is to keep using my walker and stop complaining. As the good doctor correctly commented to me, "You can not stop taking the medicine that has kept you alive, so do the best you can". My solution to most things is to drink more water and get more exercise. Evidently it will not work in this instance.

June 3, 2015. Harper, Texas. Blood Counts.

Tuesday I had two appointments with two different doctors offices. The first was to draw blood to determine my blood counts. Every week it must be monitored. What I want to know is what causes my blood to go up and down? Is it the rest or the good food that causes the numbers to be better? And is it the medication only that brings it down? Whatever the reason, my numbers were better this week than last so everyone was happy, including me. I have decided that it is the dark chocolate causing the good results. The next appointment was with the same young Eye Doctor that has helped Ken. I like him but he was not happy with my eyes. The glaucoma has impacted my left eye. So after figuratively wringing his hands, he gave me different directions with my drops. And I am now taking my drops six times each day. AND I MUST NEVER MISS. I promised. He said I actually was a candidate for surgery but with my immune system shot to hell there was no hope for a surgery any time soon. So I keep on with my routine of drops six times a day, plus the wetting drops in between. This is a full time job. My sister in law Wilma sent me a bunch of funny sayings. The one I like the best is "The key to happiness is to have a sense of humor and a bad memory". Seems like good advice to me.

June 2, 2015. Harper, Texas. Surprises.

I have often wondered why I do not like surprises? Other folks seem to enjoy organizing them. My good friend and sister in law took a surprise visit to her best friend Sheila in Saskatchewan, of course with arrangements made with the family. Wilma said that she wondered if she had made a mistake because when Sheila saw her, she almost fainted. I would have told her a surprise visit was a bad thing. Sheila loved the whole surprise aspect of the visit, after she recovered. It was me that was horrified. One of the pleasures of an event is the anticipation. Before a party, I review the folks who will be attending and I will wonder what they will be wearing. I also think about the food and beverages. A surprise party removes all anticipation. And I like to prepare myself for the event. I like to be ready. I do the same with trips. The anticipation keeps me interested for ages, trying to figure out what we will be doing. Perhaps I am just a control freak but I do not like to be surprised. I like to know what is likely to happen and be ready. On the other hand, I enjoy it when people surprise me by stopping by to say hello. But I like best of all for friends to tell me ahead they are coming so I can put on the kettle for tea. That is my idea of a good surprise.

June 1, 2015. Harper, Texas. My Hair.

Once upon a time I had hair. My hair was always easy to look after so I was happy with my hair. After the first IV treatment for my breast cancer, my hair fell out in big clumps. I just laughed because I knew the medicine was working on my body. My decision was to wear a hat rather than get a wig. Fortunately, Ian brought me two scrub hats and I have been wearing them ever since. I look odd but don't care. I had been told by others that when my hair does come back in, my new hair will be different. I had observed it in other folks over the years. For some reason, when my hair fell out, I was left with wispy strands of hair over my whole head. Again most people would have just shaved these wispy hair off but not me. I wanted to see what will happen to that bit of hair. Also, my eye brows did not fall out, which the Oncologist said is unusual. I had assumed that when I stopped the very caustic IV treatments my hair would begin to grow, but I read the side effects for the IBRANCE and it too has hair loss, so nothing happened. I did not use Ibrance for 13 days and during that time, a fuzz grew on my head. Ken first noticed it. Now that I am back on the medicine, I thought the fuzz would disappear but the fuzz is still there. Now about one quarter inch, the fuzz is also dark in color. I might have black hair. When you are a lady of a certain age, stray hairs pop out on your chin. I just shave them off. But I was interested to know that when my hair fell out, the stray hairs on my chin stopped growing and disappeared. Now they are back. Like everything else in life, when you solve one problem you get another to take it's place. The wispy hair has gone away too. The truth of the matter is that I am not really in charge of my hair. I will watch with interest to whatever happens to my head. But I bet I will look odd with dark hair!!