After my maintenance treatment of Rituxan, I was pleased to see there were less ill effects. There was no infection in the injection site as I feared may happen. I had a couple of days of headaches and about a week of being really tired. However, it did not stop me from enjoying the late summer weather.
My right eye has continued to water non-stop. I had my appointment with my ophthalmologist this past Wednesday. He carefully examined my eyes and there was great news. There were no growths. There were no scratches or issues with my eyes. Everything was stable and healthy. In his opinion, the stem cell transplant has affected my eyes' ability to lubricate and secrete enough tears. I have "dry eyes". So I am now having to permanently use eye drops to help lubricate my eyes. Over time, my eyes will stop watering but I will need to continue to use the drops. I can live with this.
In the past couple of weeks, I have enjoyed being busy. My church had a fundraising garage sale. It was different this year in that they rented tables to people who wanted to sell their "stuff". The people who rented tables got to keep the money from their items that they sold. BUT....they were also responsible for removing any unsold items. This meant the church/committee was not responsible for disposal of garbage, electronic waste, etc. The church also sold lunch and refreshments as part of the fundraiser. So I decided to rent a table and declutter some of my house. Last year at this time, I had gone through my music collection and put together piles of flute music, piano music and vocal music that I was willing to part with. At my table, I had baskets of music for sale. I was pleased with what I sold. Yes, some of my articles came back home with me but they just went back into the closets and cupboards where they came from. I was at the sale from 9 a.m. through to about 2:00 p.m. It wiped it me out and I was too tired to do much the next day.
I have been busy in my gardens harvesting tomatoes, beans, garlic, parsley, sage and onions. I need to do a major clean up as some of the gardens have not been touched this summer. Lots of weeding to be done. I am slowly catching up. Throughout the summer, I have been able to putter around and do the weeding but it is always dependent on my energy levels. I'm noticing that my endurance is getting better. I really enjoy working outdoors. I listen to the birds. I've had chickadees perch almost beside my shoulder in the trees. They chirp at me as I pull weeds. This past week, I cleaned up an area of the flowerbed that hasn't been touched in a few years. I was able to dig out some persistent weeds and tubers of plants. I transplanted some new plants into the area.
While I was away in August, I had one cherry tomato plant that exploded in growth. I have been picking my tomatoes regularly as they ripen. I have made lots of tomato sauce and frozen many of the tomatoes. The weather cooled down this past week and so I decided to harvest the rest of the tomatoes off this one plant (I still have 5 other cherry tomato plants to tackle). I ended up with at least 16 quarts of green tomatoes. On Saturday, I made and canned a batch (8 quarts of green tomatoes) of Green Tomato Chow Chow. It is a recipe that I use out of our church cookbook that we published in 2004. The recipes in the book were all original or "heirloom" recipes (handed down through the families). A lady in my congregation indicated the Green Tomato Chow Chow was her great-grandmother's recipe. Her great-grandmother had lived in New Brunswick. On Saturday, the house smelled wonderful with the scents of onion, tomato, cider vinegar. This is like a chunky relish and it has a spicy bite to it. I love it on sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers and on top of meats. I will be starting another batch tonight to use up the rest of the green tomatoes I harvested on Friday.
It is raining here today and is supposed to rain tomorrow as well. This will give me the opportunity to clean the house and catch up on indoor "chores". Thanksgiving is approaching this coming weekend and I want to get some baking done for that as well. In the last couple of weeks, I've been enjoying life with friends. There have been some small campfires here and at our friends' home. I find it mesmerizing and relaxing to watch the flames dance around the logs. I love seeing the blue hues as gases are released from the wood. It is the time of year though, where I feel my hips getting cold while we are around the fire. Out come the old blankets and afghans to wrap around me so I can enjoy these last days of summer.
Yesterday, Hubby took me out on The Goldwing for a brief ride. The weather was forecasted to be overcast with sunny breaks but no rain until late in the evening. The temperature yesterday afternoon was supposed to reach 15 degrees Celsius. We bundled up with in layers and with the inner linings in our motorcycle jackets. Off we went. We travelled north of the city so that we could see the changing leaves. We will have to go out again in a week or so because the leaves were just starting to change colour. We travelled through one of our favourite areas near Desert Lake. The road is full of hills and is twisting with some sharp turns. As you come over the top of a hill, you see a lake at the bottom and the road will turn 90 degrees to go around the tip of the lake. It is a beautiful ride. As we climbed a hill on this road, we saw 4 deer off to the right grazing on some uncut grass near a cottage. A little further along, we had to slow down as rafter (flock) of wild turkeys crossed the road. As we continued our ride, a mist developed. Enough moisture was falling that my helmet and the
windscreen on the bike were covered in water. Hubby turned towards home.
Once we arrived back in the city, we went to our local butcher and picked up a
piece of ribeye steak to barbecue for dinner. I didn't realize it until this
morning, but yesterday was my 11 month celebration of my stem cell transplant.
Hubby recognized the significance of the date yesterday. Hence, the steak and
fun ride to celebrate life.
I also finally had my hair cut in the style I had before my diagnosis a year
ago. It has taken this long for the hair to grow in even enough to style. I had
it trimmed in June but that was just to even the hair out. My hair dresser
indicated on Thursday that the hair is still coming in but she was able to cut
it and make it look good. She praised me on my patience while it grew in. I was
not liking how it was bushy as it got longer. After she cut my hair on
Thursday, the floor of the salon was filled with tight, red curls. I've gone
back to short hair on the sides and back with the hair being longer on top.
This way, I will still have my natural waves (maybe tight curls) on the top. I
don't like hair hanging in my face and it had got long enough on the sides that
the curls were curling into my face and eyes. I'm happy. I never really complained
bitterly about my hair looking bushy and a bit like a clown because....it's
hair! It was better than not having any hair and being a cue ball.
So I sign off on this dreary day. It's time to get to "work", be
ac
After my maintenance treatment of Rituxan, I was pleased to see there were
less ill effects. There was no infection in the injection site as I feared may
happen. I had a couple of days of headaches and about a week of being really
tired. However, it did not stop me from enjoying the late summer weather.
My right eye has continued to water non-stop. I had my appointment
with my ophthalmologist this past Wednesday. He carefully examined my eyes and
there was great news. There were no growths. There were no scratches or issues
with my eyes. Everything was stable and healthy. In his opinion, the stem cell
transplant has affected my eyes' ability to lubricate and secrete enough tears.
I have "dry eyes". So I am now having to permanently use eye drops to
help lubricate my eyes. Over time, my eyes will stop watering but I will need
to continue to use the drops. I can live with this.
In the past couple of weeks, I have enjoyed being busy. My church had a
fundraising garage sale. It was different this year in that they rented tables
to people who wanted to sell their "stuff". The people who rented
tables got to keep the money from their items that they sold. BUT....they were
also responsible for removing any unsold items. This meant the church/committee
was not responsible for disposal of garbage, electronic waste, etc. The church
also sold lunch and refreshments as part of the fundraiser. So I decided to
rent a table and declutter some of my house. Last year at this time, I had gone
through my music collection and put together piles of flute music, piano music
and vocal music that I was willing to part with. At my table, I had baskets of
music for sale. I was pleased with what I sold. Yes, some of my articles came
back home with me but they just went back into the closets and cupboards where
they came from. I was at the sale from 9 a.m. through to about 2:00 p.m. It
wiped it me out and I was too tired to do much the next day.
I have been busy in my gardens harvesting tomatoes, beans, garlic, parsley,
sage and onions. I need to do a major clean up as some of the gardens have not
been touched this summer. Lots of weeding to be done. I am slowly catching up.
Throughout the summer, I have been able to putter around and do the weeding but
it is always dependent on my energy levels. I'm noticing that my endurance is
getting better. I really enjoy working outdoors. I listen to the birds. I've
had chickadees perch almost beside my shoulder in the trees. They chirp at me
as I pull weeds. This past week, I cleaned up an area of the flowerbed that
hasn't been touched in a few years. I was able to dig out some persistent weeds
and tubers of plants. I transplanted some new plants into the area.
While I was away in August, I had one cherry tomato plant that exploded in
growth. I have been picking my tomatoes regularly as they ripen. I have made
lots of tomato sauce and frozen many of the tomatoes. The weather cooled down
this past week and so I decided to harvest the rest of the tomatoes off this
one plant (I still have 5 other cherry tomato plants to tackle). I ended up
with at least 16 quarts of green tomatoes. On Saturday, I made and canned a
batch (8 quarts of green tomatoes) of Green Tomato Chow Chow. It is a recipe
that I use out of our church cookbook that we published in 2004. The recipes in
the book were all original or "heirloom" recipes (handed down through
the families). A lady in my congregation indicated the Green Tomato Chow Chow
was her great-grandmother's recipe. Her great-grandmother had lived in New
Brunswick. On Saturday, the house smelled wonderful with the scents of onion,
tomato, cider vinegar. This is like a chunky relish and it has a spicy bite to
it. I love it on sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers and on top of meats. I will
be starting another batch tonight to use up the rest of the green tomatoes I
harvested on Friday.
It is raining here today and is supposed to rain tomorrow as well. This will
give me the opportunity to clean the house and catch up on indoor
"chores". Thanksgiving is approaching this coming weekend and I want
to get some baking done for that as well. In the last couple of weeks, I've
been enjoying life with friends. There have been some small campfires here and
at our friends' home. I find it mesmerizing and relaxing to watch the flames
dance around the logs. I love seeing the blue hues as gases are released from
the wood. It is the time of year though, where I feel my hips getting cold
while we are around the fire. Out come the old blankets and afghans to wrap
around me so I can enjoy these last days of summer.
Yesterday, Hubby took me out on The Goldwing for a brief ride. The weather
was forecasted to be overcast with sunny breaks but no rain until late in the
evening. The temperature yesterday afternoon was supposed to reach 15 degrees
Celsius. We bundled up with in layers and with the inner linings in our
motorcycle jackets. Off we went. We travelled north of the city so that we
could see the changing leaves. We will have to go out again in a week or so
because the leaves were just starting to change colour. We travelled through
one of our favourite areas near Desert Lake. The road is full of hills and is
twisting with some sharp turns. As you come over the top of a hill, you see a
lake at the bottom and the road will turn 90 degrees to go around the tip of
the lake. It is a beautiful ride. As we climbed a hill on this road, we saw 4
deer off to the right grazing on some uncut grass near a cottage. A little
further along, we had to slow down as rafter (flock) of wild turkeys crossed
the road. As we continued our ride, a mist developed. Enough moisture was
falling that my helmet and the windscreen on the bike were covered in water.
Hubby turned towards home. Once we arrived back in the city, we went to our
local butcher and picked up a piece of rib eye steak to barbecue for dinner. I
didn't realize it until this morning, but yesterday was my 11 month celebration
of my stem cell transplant. Hubby recognized the significance of the date
yesterday. Hence, the steak and fun ride to celebrate life.
I also finally had my hair cut in the style I had before my diagnosis a year
ago. It has taken this long for the hair to grow in even enough to style. I had
it trimmed in June but that was just to even the hair out. My hair dresser
indicated on Thursday that the hair is still coming in but she was able to cut
it and make it look good. She praised me on my patience while it grew in. I was
not liking how it was bushy as it got longer. After she cut my hair on
Thursday, the floor of the salon was filled with tight, red curls. I've gone
back to short hair on the sides and back with the hair being longer on top.
This way, I will still have my natural waves (maybe tight curls) on the top. I
don't like hair hanging in my face and it had got long enough on the sides that
the curls were curling into my face and eyes. I'm happy. I never really
complained bitterly about my hair looking bushy and a bit like a clown
because....it's hair! It was better than not having any hair and being a cue
ball.
So I sign off on this dreary day. It's time to
get to "work", be active and enjoy the simple things in life.
No comments:
Post a Comment