Hard to believe it's been since Oct 3rd since I've updated here but lots has sure happened. We had a delightful gathering on the 4th with Maggie in town - sure was great to see her and all the other kids in the same place at the same time. That certainly doesn't happen very often any more. Kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews and friends - good food and some wine - what more could you ask for. Rion was officially introduced to Grandma Turner - 93 years of family on the same couch, what a delight. It's so much fun to have little ones in the mix again. Emy and Carter had a great time with M swinging Carter in his swing - he loved it! Next year we'll have 3 little ones probably running around creating chaos and amusing us all. Mag looks like the west agrees with her and, after a visit with her Mom, Andrea, Grandma and Grandpa up north will be heading back to Invermere before her next adventure takes her to Vancouver. She's definitely the wanderer in the family.
Dave and I headed out on the 6th to our place in South Carolina for 8 days. Two quick flights - Buffalo/Charlotte/Charlotte/Myrtle Beach and we were winging down Hwy 17 on the way to Pawelys Island. It sure was nice to open the front door to 'home' and feel the cares of the world drop off your shoulders. A couple of days of playing Mr. Fixit to do some minor repairs and installations and prepare for Laura, Sara and Emy to arrive Tues night - which they did, tired but excited just after midnight. 'M' apparently is a 'traveller extraordinaire' and managed 2 airports and connecting flights just fine. Aunt Laura, the miracle worker once again, picked up a fantastic little 'leash' consisting of a puppy backpack with strap that let her walk on her own but not be able to dash off - quick as lightening is that little girl! 'Puppy' was a godsend for the whole trip be it shopping, at the beach or just going for walks. She also had great fun pushing pupply in her stroller around the apartment and on the porch - always very careful to make sure the rain hood on the stroller was 'just so' - we laughed at that a lot. Oh, and did we eat! Eat in, eat out, we never seemed to stop and I'm sure the pictures will be a testament to the fact. It sure was great to have such a wonderful time with my 2 'nurses', extraordinary husband who puts up with all my eccentricities and foibles and that wonderful little girl. Can't wait to have the rest of the kids all together at the beach again soon. A couple of rainy days but lots of sun, beach time and pool time was just what the Dr. ordered for me especially before coming back on the 14th in time for my next treatment on the 16th. Before that though I did get to spend a few hours with Rawny and Jaclyn and take them to dance class while Dan, Laurie, Rion and Grandma Pat spend the day at a trade show in Brantford promoting Twisted Lemon. I was so glad to be able to help them out in some small way. It was also great to see Pat at the end of the day. I haven't seen her for many weeks and look forward to getting together with her soon to catch up on grandma stuff and hear about her wonderful trip to the Galapagos. This unpredicable mess of how I'll be feeling on any given day sure makes it hard to plan or commit to anything. Anyway, the girls and I had a great time.
I have to say a special thank you to Kathleen and Chris for keeping Grandma company while we were away - I just can't leave and not know someone's here every day to make sure she's OK - Kathleen has become the unofficial 'Grandma sitter' when we go away but I don't like to take advantage of her time and kindness - even though I know she does like having the use of one of our vehicles for that time!!! And a very special thank you to Dan and Laurie for including her in the Lilliman Thanksgiving dinner - she had a fabulous time and it was a very special time for her to be included in that family gathering!
T#4 was on Thursday and I, very luckily had no allergic reactions that can come with this cocktail mix of Taxotere and Herceptin. Did seem to pick up some kind of an intestinal bug that kept me up all night in the bathroom but I'm sure that was completely coincidental. Sara came with me to the hospital, stayed overnight to make sure I was OK and then managed a well-deserved visit with Katy and Ben before heading back to Fergus on Friday. Sat and Sunday have been, well, blah. Just feel kind of flu-ey, no energy whatsover and completely ticked off that I'm probably missing one of the nicest fall weekends we'll have. Dave and I did manage to get some of the plants cleaned up off the deck, brought in the ones we hope will overwinter downstairs and I actually did some more trimming this afternoon. The 'grocery shopping fairly' didn't arrive so I headed to the store to pick up some stuff and then spent about an hour pulling more plants in the front - it sure was nice to be out in the sun for a bit rather than huddled under a quilt on the couch - I think I'm the world's worst patient - impatient that is! Now it's time for some popcorn to get this yucky taste out of my mouth, a bit of the Martinsville race and probably more nap time. I'm glad Dave managed to get to the final race at Cayuga this afternoon and wrap up his race season on such a beautiful day. He spends so much time looking after me, it's nice for him to be able to get out with 'the guys' and do something he really loves.
I missed Thanksgiving here and just wanted to take the time to say how grateful and thankful I am for everything - this type of situation sure makes to sit up and take notice of how lucky you really are despite some bad things that happen. I'm so grateful for all my family that have rallied around, made sacrifices to get me to things, call me every day and just make sure I'm OK. I'm every grateful for my loving husband who, in his own quiet way, takes charge and makes sure I get everything I need - despite my occasional scaring him by fainting on the floor! To my 2 nurses, Laura and Sara, thanks for keeping me on my toes and making sure I follow all instructions and don't let anything slip by that the cancer team should know about. I've finally agreed that this is not the time to 'tough it out' and play possum like there's nothing wrong. To all my friends, colleagues and extended family - including Peter - thanks for the e-mails, phone calls, online jokes and general good wishes. It gets pretty lonely and isolated when you're sick like this at home and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you. I'm 60% there and counting down until the end of the treatments, getting better and moving on with the next phase of whatever God has in store for me - lots I hope! Job Skills has their 20th anniversary dinner in November, there's another delicious Twisted Lemon Wine class in November too, Christmas is coming, wedding plans are needing to be finalized and spring will be here before we all know it! I love each and every one of you and hold you dearly in my hearts every day.
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