Cassie

In yesterday's post I was so excited to write about our new little girl that I forgot to mention her name. It's Cassiopeia, and we call her "Cassie" for short. In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was a vain queen who boasted about her unrivaled beauty. We feel that our little Cassie is so gorgeous that if she could speak she would be bragging about it too. But she doesn't brag and she's so loving and sweet. To see her (and get puppy kisses from her) is to love her.

She and Theo are getting along great. The first couple of days Theo wanted to make sure that she knew he was the boss. He was ignoring her (while keeping an eye on her) and wouldn't let her near the toys. And one time she tried to take a treat ball from him and he gave a very strong correction that ended by him doing an "Alpha Rollover" on her, where he rolled her over and held her down with his foot. She got the message, and after that he was satisfied that she knew that he was the boss. If she breaks any more of his rules he will let her know. Now they are playing and offers her toys. They do enjoy each other's company. Sometimes you can see that he is tired of her trying to play all the time so we let him go have some alone time for a while. And Cassie is so easy going that she will play by herself or settle down for a nap.

The first couple of nights we tried to bring her up to our bedroom to sleep in a crate, but she was so restless and fussy. I was thinking she was probably too hot so I took her downstairs to sleep in her pen in the kitchen where it was cooler. She settled right down and slept the rest of the night. She's been sleeping there ever since and goes right into her pen with no fuss. She is so happy to see one of us the next morning and is ready for full-on play and kissing action. But, she has to go pee first!

She's so sweet and smart. I can't wait to see how she is as an adult. Theo is sweet too and has a wonderful temperament, but he is not affectionate. Even as a puppy he didn't want to be held and cuddled. Cassie seems to enjoy this a lot. If I hold her in my arms she quits squirming and rests there, enjoying being close to me. Then she will look up at me and kiss my chin. And I smile really big!

Our New Little Girl

Well, it's been a month since my last chemo treatment. And what a busy month it's been! We've had people here doing work on the house, various things like making the A/C work better, installing cabinetry in the office, installing attic fans, and various other small projects. Finally there aren't people here disturbing my serenity. Oh, except what serenity? We got a puppy a little over a week ago! She's super cute and sweet. Here's a picture of her:

I told you she was cute!!!

So, that's what I've been up to lately. I've been playing with a puppy! I will admit that after we got her we had an "oh, shiesta" moment where we wondered if we were nuts. I mean, after a year and a half of chemo, just when I could relax and have time to myself, we get a puppy. What were we thinking? Anyway, she's here to stay and will be a lovely adult Akita when she's older.

I haven't done much in the garden lately. I need to go out there and clear the spent plants and prepare the ground for a small fall garden. Maybe next week?

So, I had a PET scan last week and went for the results today. It is clear. So, between the MRI and the PET scan it looks like I can relax for a couple of months. I will have another MRI at the end of October.

Time to go get some more puppy kisses...

Our Pondless Waterfall

A couple of weeks ago we decided to hire a professional pondless waterfall company to come and rebuild our original waterfall. We were just never delighted with the waterfall built by our landscaper. I exhausted myself by planting all of the plants around it but think it turned out nice.

Here's a photo of how it looked before:

These photos show how it looks today:

MRI Result

Last week I had an MRI of the abdomen and got the result today. So far, so good! Here are the findings: "Artifacts along the anterior left hepatic lobe may represent surgical clips. The liver is otherwise homogeneous. The gallbladder is not identified suggesting contraction or resection. [Note: My gallbladder was removed last January during my liver resection.] The pancreas, spleen, adrenal glands and kidneys are normal. No osseous metastasis or lymphadenopathy detected."

Conclusion: Status partial left hepatic lobe resection. No metastasis.

What this means is: There is no detectable cancer in my body at this time!!

Next week I have a PET scan. That will be better at detecting lymphatic involvement and will look for suspicious increased localized metabolic activity which could indicate tumor growth. I'll get that result next Friday, September 11th. Check here for updates.

My Crazy Week

My goodness, now I have a bit of time to sit still and breathe. So… here’s what I’ve been doing.

Last week was my final chemotherapy treatment. I was fatigued as usual until the weekend. Last week we also had people here rebuilding our pondless waterfall in the back yard. We just were never happy with the first one and should have hired the right people in the first place. The new water feature has lots of planting areas on it so last Friday I went to Summer Winds Nursery and purchased a lot of plants to go around it.

So, the plants were planted on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. In conjunction with that (unrelated, however) Theo got sick on Sunday. From Sunday through Wednesday midnight, we took him to the vet 5 times in 4 days. Here’s a summary of all that:

• Last Sunday he was having bloody diarrhea, so we took him to his regular vet at Adobe. She determined he had “colitis” and sent him home with an antibiotic.
• On Monday he started vomiting and not eating, so we returned with him to Adobe in the evening, around dinnertime. While he was there he started to seem to feel better so we brought him home without any additional treatment.
• On Tuesday he seemed very uncomfortable all day, very restless. When we went to bed he would come sit by our bed, he wouldn’t lie down and go to sleep. He was very restless. Also, his lower abdomen felt firmer than usual so we got out of bed and took him to the emergency vet on Dell Ave to check for early bloat. The vet there took an x-ray and that showed some strange gravelly substance in his stomach plus lots of gas in his intestines. He gave him an injection of a Pepcid AC-like stuff and an injection of a pain medicine. Bad move. When he got home he was even more unsettled, was running from his bed to my side of the bed, over to Dave’s side, back to his bed, to his other bed, looking at us funny, looking for phantom ants on the floor, and started scratching himself like crazy. I called the vet and they said he may be “loopy” because of the narcotic pain medicine. He eventually settled down but kept scratching all night.
• On Wednesday morning we got up and found fur all over the place, upstairs and downstairs, plus he still seemed very uncomfortable. So, Dave took him back up to Adobe. They re-took x-rays. The gas was better but still there. The stuff in his stomach was still there. The vet told Dave that when dogs get uncomfortable pressure in their stomach and intestines they scratch their bellies. He gave him 2 liters of fluids and sent him home. All day Wednesday, though, he was very unsettled, was whimpering and whining, kept scratching himself non-stop. From time to time he would settle down (was probably too exhausted) but when we went to bed he was much worse. So, back up to Adobe at midnight on Wednesday. This vet actually looked at his skin and found it red and blotchy. (We kept assuming his discomfort was his stomach, but it was his skin.) It looks like he was having a severe allergic reaction to one of the injections, probably the narcotic. His breeder said narcotics give HER hives and hallucinations, and it sounds like this was what Theo was going through. Anyway, we told the vet that Theo was just up there that morning and the vet didn’t evaluate the itchiness at all, and if he had we would have been saved the midnight trip, plus Theo wouldn’t have had to suffer all day. She didn’t charge for the office visit Wednesday night, which was the right thing to do. She gave him a steroid injection and sent him home with Tamaril-P (antihistamine + steroid) to treat the allergic reaction for the next few days. When we got home he was no longer scratching and we all actually got some sleep.

So, this all started with a GI issue that was compounded with an allergic reaction. I felt so bad for him. Luckily he’s feeling better now but is exhausted. So am I! He needs to rest a few days.

We don’t know what started the GI thing, or what’s in his stomach. The bloody diarrhea could also have been caused by stress, perhaps, since contractors have been here the last 3 weeks working on the office and various other things. On top of it all he went on a group dog walk last Wednesday and could have picked up a bug from another dog. We will never know but the important thing is: he’s getting better. We hope it stays that way but we will be keeping a close eye on him for a few days.

Two days ago (Wednesday) I went to get an MRI. I will get the report on Monday when I go to see my oncologist. I’ll let you know how that goes. Plus, I have a PET scan in a couple of weeks.

Today I am finally going to pay some attention to the house. Maybe I can get the laundry done, sort through the various piles of papers hanging around the house, trim Theo’s toenails, etc. Luckily this weekend will be quiet so maybe I can get caught up on things. And if I don’t? Well, for the first time in a long time, there’s always next week!

I'm Still Here!

I know I need to post again - I think about this daily but have been WAY busy. I'll do it next week. Promise! You know why? Because I can! I don't have chemo next week!!!

Hanging In There - 1 More To Go

I am on the upswing of my 11th chemo round and have only 1 more to go. The oncologist increased the amount of 5-FU these past 2 times which has caused me to throw up, but only on day 1 (Monday). The rest of the week I've just been sleeping a lot. My energy is slowly returning. Luckily my appetite has come back mostly, enough to eat a 1/2 cheeseburger yesterday!

So, last week I went back to my hometown (Wichita Falls, Texas) for my 20-year high school reunion! David and I flew out on Thursday and while we were in the DFW area we met up with my sister Krystal, her mom Fredia (Krystal's really my 1/2 sister but she feels like a full sister to me!) and Krystal's little girl, my niece, Abbye. We had a wonderful Tex-Mex meal and sat around and chatted for a while. I was really impressed with Abbye's patience with all the grown-up talk.

After the dinner with Krystal, David and I drove on up to Wichita Falls and checked into our hotel. It was late so we just went to bed.

The following morning we went over to my mom's to say hello and to grab some towels and a couple of chairs. From there we made a stop at Wal-Mart (woo-hoo!) and then made it to the first social event of the weekend: Risa's party. Risa made it all the way to Texas from Tokyo for the reunion, and her mom offered to host a pre-reunion party for a few friends. Her mom made wonderful food for us and we all lounged around the pool and had a great time.

From there David and I went to the hotel to rest up and change for the first "official" reunion activity: A "Howdy BBQ by the Wichita River". The entertainment was good, the food was great, and I really enjoyed hanging out with old friends. Unfortunately my energy ran out and we left fairly early.

Saturday morning we all met at the "Old High" for a group photo and a chance to walk around the halls. (I still need to order the group photo!!) Then David and I met my mom and my high school best friend Lidia at Stanley's. At Stanley's I was totally in love with my Beanie Burger. That's a Wichita Falls (Stanley's only) local culinary delight that's a combination of hamburger and Frito chili pie. Let me build it for you here: Put the bottom bun on a plate. Spread it with refried beans. Add the meat patty. The the craziness starts: Pile on chopped onions (which I leave off), jalapeno peppers (which I leave on!), Fritos, chili, and cheese whiz. I'm not making this up - I even called them a few minutes ago and asked them. This is yummy! yummy! yummy!!! It has to be eaten with a fork. And the perfect accompaniment: fried okra. I was truly in love.

OK, after my Beanie Burger love fest it was time to go relax for a while. Saturday evening brought another reunion activity: A light dinner and music event in a meeting hall. The music was actually a bit loud in my opinion since it made it hard talk to and hear anyone. So there wasn't much catching up to do there.

Sunday morning David and I met with a very dear friend and mentor, Charles, and his wife Jonell. It was a very nice breakfast catching up with a forever friend. After that we moseyed back to the hotel to pack, then to Schlotzsky's for sandwiches (another favorite of mine!) to take to the lake to visit with the aunts and uncles. From there it was back to DFW to fly back home Sunday evening.

It was an action-packed 4 days and I am so glad I went back to catch up with so many people!

Leaving Home at 17

This story, 21 years old now, is one that wants to be told. It’s the story of leaving home after midnight, 5 days after my 17th birthday. Why then? Because in Texas a teenager can leave home at the age of 17 without being considered a runaway. Even then I made decisions based on what makes the resulting outcome the least complicated.

Here’s the story:

First of all, why did I leave home? Let’s just keep it simple for now: My childhood was very unfortunate. I was tired of living in daily fear of my stepmother and had to improve the situation that I had been living in for 6 years. I was just barely 17 and a junior in high school. A couple of months before, my father and stepmother moved us into another house. The significance of this is that the new home was in “Rider High School” district while my mother (into whose home I was moving) lived in “Wichita Falls High School” (or more commonly known as “Old High”) district. The counselor at Old High, Mr. Miller, was aware of my home situation and for the time that I was there did what he could to help. This mostly was to listen. Anyway, when I transferred to Rider High School I got to know my counselor there as well and she also came to know of my situation. It was actually a combined conversation between her and Mr. Miller at Old High that hatched our plan, which was for me to sneak away the weekend after I turned 17 and return to Old High the next Monday morning. Explaining this has nothing to do with the high schools, really, but to illuminate how 2 counselors at 2 high schools worked together to help me out of a very bad situation. Reading back on this I think it may be interpreted that I left home to return to the previous high school. That was just coincidental – I would have left home no matter what. But escaping to my mother’s house meant returning to the high school that actually happened to be in walking distance from her home. The two counselors worked together to transfer my enrollment. Also, they gave me moral support and the courage to implement the plan.

As it was, I had to wait until I was 17 to do this, and I didn’t want to delay any more than I had to. I spent Saturday sneaking into my bedroom and bit by bit I packed my clothing, shoes, and personal items into trash bags. I put the trash bags back into the drawers and into the closet, hidden behind other things. I didn’t have much but I took everything I could, including my pillow. I went to bed that night knowing that I would need to stay awake until after midnight when everyone was sure to be asleep. My father and stepmother were in their bedroom with the door closed. My brother and the two older stepbrothers were in the bedroom next to mine. My youngest stepbrother shared my bedroom. I got up very quietly, turned on the central heater fan to help cover sounds, went into the living room and called a taxi. My mother wanted to make sure she couldn’t be accused of kidnapping so the plan was for me to use a cab and arrive on my own. After I called the cab, I very quickly and quietly pulled out my trash bags of clothing, opened the window above my bed (the front door made a noise when it opened), removed the screen, and tossed everything outside. I then climbed out the window, closed it, and waited by the curb for the taxi with all my trash bags. I didn’t have to wait long. When the driver arrived he helped me load the bags into the car and the only comment he made was, “Strange time to be moving.” I agreed that it was and that’s all that was said. We arrived at my mother’s place and she came down and paid for the cab ride. I have to imagine that it set his mind at ease to see that I was being delivered to an adult. I actually don’t remember but I may have told him I was moving in with my mother.

I wonder if the two counselors were wondering if I’d have the courage to actually do this. They set it up to have me transferred to the other school... but it was up to me to pack up and leave. A number of things could have gone wrong, including me losing my nerve or getting caught. All they could do was wait to see where I showed up for school on Monday. How did they know for sure I'd show up at which school on Monday? Anything could have happened to foil the plan. I guess some things were handled by them and administrators and it was just up to me to do my part.

Of course, there are many more stories and maybe I’ll share some of them. They will decide when it’s time for them to be told as this one did.

Mouth Pain

I am prone to canker sores from time to time and I just deal with them and let them heal when they will - usually in about a week. Well, I developed what I thought was a canker sore behind the backmost molar on the right side, on the inside (tongue side) about 4 weeks ago. I thought it was starting to heal and then I had chemo on July 6th, which set it back. It got painful again but seemed to start to heal again before my last chemo session on July 20th. This week it got so painful that it was even hard to drink water because when you drink, the tongue actually puts pressure on the jaw at that very spot. So, though I had an appointment to see the dentist on Monday, I decided to make an "emergency call" and go see him today. I did feel silly taking his time on a Saturday to deal with what I thought was a canker sore (there's not much they can do about those) but I wanted to make sure there wasn't an infection developing.

I'm glad I went today to see him instead of waiting another couple of days.

At first he thought it was a canker sore too because it was white like a canker sore. Then he touched it with his little metal tool. Then he pressed and tapped on it. Then he announced that it was a little bone fragment sticking partly out, causing all that pain, like a splinter.

Why did I have a bone fragment sticking out of my gum line? It's a mystery. I suppose it could be a remnant from when my wisdom teeth were taken out when I was in high school. It would be unusual for a fragment to sit still for 20 years, though. He said usually they become a problem within a year or two. I am returning to the office on Monday so he can take X-rays to see what else is going on in there. According to him this is highly unusual and it would be good to see if there are any more fragments floating around.

Bummer I didn't think to get a photo of it before I left.

Garden Progression

I have uploaded some new pics of the garden progress, taken 7/23/09, along with notes in the captions. This link will take you directly to the album.

Enjoy the pics!

Mistake Made This Week

I was feeling so good last week after my ginger experiment that I forgot to take my anti-nausea drug, Emend, this time. I'm supposed to take the first pill 1 hour before chemo starts. I was halfway through the infusion before I remembered it. So, I asked Dave to bring it to me and I took it as soon as I could. Soon after, I went to the bathroom and while there did a "cough-burp" thing which brought up the pill. I saw it slither down the sink into the drain. Then, I was in full vomit mode, into the toilet.

Unfortunately, I was tossing up bile a few more times through the evening. It's not that I was nauseated. All of a sudden my stomach would start rolling and I'd better move fast. I couple of times I was carrying a trash can. Luckily.

Today I've felt week but no vomiting. I've tried to stay calm, still, and mostly sleep as much as I can. Another contributing factor is that my oncologist increased the 5-FU drug (the 46-hour take-home infusion) 10%. SO, the lack of the Emend coupled with more chemo was not a good combination.

Next time I'll remember the Emend. I only have 2 more of these to go.

Props To Canon

I've gotta give the Canon Camera corporation props. I had a Canon Power Shot S230, purchased probably 6 years ago. It started having problems with distortion on the LCD a year or so ago, which manifested on the final recorded image. The distortions got worse and worse until it got so annoying that I couldn't use the camera. Since Dave bought a new camera a year ago (which I'm not fond of) I was strongly discouraged from buying myself a new camera. I guess we already had a "family" camera. So, one way around this was to see about getting mine fixed. Granted, it was only 3.2 mega pixels, but it was good enough for me for so many years, so why not keep using it?

So, when I called Canon to see about repairing it, I was told that there was an "advisory" about a faulty chip that was a known issue with my camera model. This defective chip caused distortions such as the ones I was describing. I was advised to send it in and if it was determined to be the problem then they would fix it at no charge.

Well, it wasn't really as easy as that. They sent it back to me after replacing the "optical sensor" but the problem was still there.

Here are where the props come in: I called them again and after explaining that the problem had not been resolved they told me to send it back to them again. Since the camera is a few years old, however, they were not able to get the replacement chip anymore. So, their solution was to send me a replacement: A Power Shot SD790 IS. 10 mega pixels. Image stabilizers. Great camera!

Also, I now know that Canon has a loyalty upgrade program. If you call them and tell them what model you have, they will offer you a choice of several cameras to purchase at a discounted price.
After being treated so well, you bet I'll remain a loyal Canon customer!

A Few Garden Pics

Hi All!

I wanted to share a few pics of my garden.
These are my cherry tomatoes:
This is looking to be a very large tomato when it's done. The variety is "Copia":

Baby pumpkins are getting bigger!

Jalapeno peppers:

These heart-shaped tomatoes are "Cour di Bue":

What a beautiful rose! I don't know what kind this one is but I love it:

My giant sunflower. This one is probably 7-8 feet tall.

Its head seems too heavy for it. It has plenty of water.

As for me, I'm doing well this week. I finally got smart and decided to take ginger capsules before and during my chemo week this last time. And it really made a difference. No nausea at all, and I seemed to recover a couple of days sooner than usual.

PET Scan last week

A short note - last week I had a PET scan, and it was completely clear. In summary: "No abnormal metabolic activity… No demonstration metastasis." There is an MRI planned in 2 months. And every 2 months afterwards until who knows when?

By the way, the garden's doing fabulously. I'll take new pics soon. You should see the giant sunflower!

Garden - Photos Taken 6/30/09

I have uploaded some new pics of the garden progress, taken 6/30/09, along with notes in the captions. This link will take you directly to the album. My favorite pic is of the little baby pumpkin! Actually, here it is:

This week I'm doing pretty good. My stomach was upset until Tuesday. My sinuses were full of crud. That may be an allergy issue - maybe I'm more prone to developing allergic sensitivities while on chemo. Up to now, all my life I've escaped the allergy woes that I hear other people talking about.

There's really nothing new to report. I can keep repeating the other things I've said because this week was basically a repeat of two weeks ago. However, that would be boring. Mostly I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm alive and hanging in there. I know that prolonged silence can start a person to wonder.

Checking In

It's now Thursday, and I'm finally feeling fairly normal. Each session takes longer to recover from, it seems. I was functional by the weekend, but I was constantly tired. I did stuff, but I had to make myself keep moving. And mentally this is tough. When it's all done I want to take some time and just recover from the harshness of it all, and just chill for a while without the constant knowledge that in a few days I will be dragged down into a well. De-stress, if you will. I have been dealing with this since February of 2008 and I know I will some need decompression time. Luckily, I have pretty good support for that. And I don't think that's unreasonable. I think that most people need some recovery time after such a life-threatening and life-impacting thing such as what I have had to endure. Regarding work, I do intend to return to work. I just hope my co-workers don't take it personally if I don't rush back right away and take a little time to recover. The previous me always wanted to say and do the things that would please everyone else, sometimes to the detriment of what was best for me. But in this case I think that I should put myself first. It'll be better for everyone in the long run.

Garden Pics

I have uploaded some new pics of the garden progress, taken 6/15/09, along with notes in the captions. This link will take you directly to the album.

Summary For New Readers

I was thinking that as I direct new people to this blog I don't always tell them how this cancer stuff got started. So, here's a summary of how this all began:

It started out as colon cancer, discovered February 13, 2008. I had surgery to remove the tumor and underwent chemo from March - September. In December 2008 mets were found on my liver during a scan. I had surgery in January 2009 to remove them. I then started chemo again in February 2009. I hope to be finished at the end of August.

So, that's the "quick and dirty" to get everyone up to speed.

Round 7

OK, here I am in the middle of Round 7. I guess it's good to be more than halfway through this. It'll get easier to see the end though when I get closer to it.

Monday when I came home I just headed to bed as usual. Around 6:00 or so Dave offered me some Jell-O. My stomach felt unsettled but I said OK, I'd try it. Such a sweet husband. I was so tired that I didn't want to open my eyes and the chewing and the swallowing of the Jell-O was as much as I could manage. He spoon fed me the whole thing. What a wonderful guy. Later he brought me an Ensure. Between the Jell-O and the Ensure I was feeling better. Not good enough to get up, but good enough to go to sleep. I actually slept well that night. Actually I was able to go to sleep when I asked Dave to come up and lie down with me for a while. Just lying with my head on his chest, hearing him breathe and hearing his heart beat quietened things down inside my head and allowed me to sleep.

Tuesday morning I got up, drank a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. And then a small glass of chocolate milk. Read the paper, then headed to bed, where I was for most of the day. David brought me another Jell-O and Ensure meal. Later I got up and went downstairs, drank some water, ate 1/2 of a tamale (which I helped make on Saturday!) and watched TV. When I went to bed I was able to sleep well again.

Today I woke up, drank the OJ that was waiting for me beside my bed. Then went downstairs for some chocolate milk. Read the paper, showered and then we went to have my pump removed. I came home, went to bed to watch some TV and took a nap (I also ate a vegetable tamale with some salsa and sour cream). Here I am now updating things and drinking another glass of milk.

Last time I started feeling a bit blue-sy, a little depressed. It's because out of each 2-week cycle I have more bad days than I have good days. The oncologist offered me some anti-depressant pills but for now I will decline them. I don't want to commit to taking chemicals for 6 months when I will be finished with this in 3. And I don't want to even out my mood, so that not only do I not feel "down" I also would not feel "up". I don't want to miss out on feeling happy. So, I'll just see how it goes and resist the drugs.

Everything that I am feeling is normal, I am told.

Trying To Rally

For some reason I just haven't recovered completely yet after that last round of chemo. Usually I start feeling like my old self by the following Tuesday. I was expecting it to be Wednesday this week since my chemo was delayed a day due to Memorial Day. But here it is, Thursday, and I still feel kind of sluggish. My appetite's not great, especially for breakfast. Sleep's hard to come by so I get up tired already. So, I wake up tired, my stomach fells unsettled, so it's hard to eat breakfast. Therefore my energy's low for the rest of the day. Then I just hope I sleep well the next night and wake up refreshed, like someone hit a "reset" button. But it hasn't happened yet this morning. Maybe tomorrow...

I still cannot neglect the things I have to do. Because even though I feel pretty beat up this week it's nothing compared to next week. So I know I won't get anything done next week. And I've put some things off for several weeks already and just need to get things done. Like today: I'm cleaning up the overgrown lamb's ear in the front. The dead brown leaves have to be removed from the bottom of each plant. If I had done this a few weeks ago it wouldn't have been such a big job. But they got so overgrown it's taking me a few hours just to do this one job. And if I don't do it now then it's just going to look worse and be a bigger job later on. So, I have to muster up the energy and get it done now to avoid a bigger, longer job later.

Also, something I had put off for several weeks finally got done this week. I dedicated 2 days to cleaning the windows in our house. I hosed down the 1st floor windows on the outside and cleaned the class and the window sills. The 2nd floor windows took a little more time since I couldn't reach them with the jet spray and the squeegee. So I opened them up (the open inwards like a door, luckily) and wiped down the sills and the window frames and then cleaned the glass with Windex. It was a lot of work but the windows look so much better.

Now I am working outside, cleaning up the lamb's ears. I have a couple of things I hope to get to in the garden . Which is coming along nicely, by the way! Tomorrow I will gear up for a dinner party we are having on Saturday. Some of our friends are coming over and we are going to try our hands at making tamales. Luckily someone's also making enchiladas, so we are guaranteed to have something to eat. ;-)