This has been such a good week. I simply must count out my blessings again. Most importantly... I have had energy! and been steady on my feet! I have also been able to sleep more soundly when I do. I think my body is still very busy but definitely much happier when it has more sufficient quantities of necessities to work with (ala IRON, my best bud).

I've been enjoying cold, frosty, and even frozen drinks!! Doesn't sound like much to you maybe, but I love ice and icy drinks. For them to be forbidden, or rather for my lips and mouth and throat to forbid them due to pain, well, I feel deprived (vs depraved, that's a whole other thing ;) But since I've had this extra week following the last chemo, the cold effects are almost non-existent and I've put loads of ice in everything possible. I've made frozen smoothies out of everything I could, like even a glass of Tang or a bottle of Lipton's green tea with citrus. Oh and yes, I've sneaked in a couple of frozen margaritas!! yum

I got to roleplay! Although I wasn't brilliant in any way, it was fun to play three of my chars in the Camelot tournament. Sparring is not really my thing but it's a good RP route when you're just not up to snuff to be truly creative and interactive in total freeform. Wenndolyne (archery), Jerasathallion (archery), and my merc gal Kara_Trall (swords), all enjoyed the dusting off. :)

I finished digitizing ALL my video and audio tapes! It's fantastic to have moved away from those dying media. I now have a rather large rack (that is 'rack' as in shelves, not 'rack' as in... what Joyous has a lot of and I don't :) of CDs and DVDs.

Memorex has some excellent print stock for making jewel case labels. Their freeware for layout and printing is also pretty handy. I pulled cover art from the web for all the albums and movies. I managed to get all the CD labels printed up before I ran out of the forms and color ink. Planning to restock with a stop at Office Max today after chemo, so I can complete the DVDs.

Dang, but this has been a fun project. I mean, it's a little geeky and a lot productive, not to mention recovering a lot of space in our entertainment center and making it all look more neat and uniform. (Must be some Virgo in me that really appreciates 'neat and orderly.') There was the finagling to get it started up and the production line to execute, then at the end, a really nice array of results. Just my sorta thing. Love it when a plan comes together. :)

In the last couple of days, I have to say I've had some setbacks. The fevers have returned. There is nothing in the cultures to hint at what's causing that. I have also been plagued with bone and muscular pain, particularly in my right hip. Getting up and down is an ordeal as I unhinge the thing. While steady on my feet, headwise, I am walking like a crippled old woman, half-bent and stepping slowly and carefully. Not only does each step hurt, but I feel like if I land wrong on my right leg and hip, then I might actually end up on the floor. Also no clues on what could be causing that.

I am once again glad to be going to the cancer treatment center (CTC) today. Supposed to get the postponed chemo, ie, getting back on schedule, and maybe we can sift clues some more to find root causes and even solutions for the fevers and hip trouble. If not, the folks there are at least very kind and supportive and that alone helps.

One more bit of gratitude and in fact praise. We needed a grocery run. I had hoped to be able to do it on Monday or Tuesday. I couldn't. As noted, my hip makes it difficult to walk at all, even to the bathroom and back. So, a grocery trip was out of the question. Even with a little scooter cart thingie, I'd have to get up and down a lot, and I just couldn't. THUS, my beloved spouse told me to make a list and he would go.

You must realize that:
1) Spouse hates grocery shopping even more than I do, unless maybe it's for one item he really wants/needs in which case he does the male thing - Go, Pick, Pay, Get the heck out.
2) Spouse doesn't know what I buy or why. He only knows that usually when he needs something, it's here. (Much in the way dirty dishes magically make it from the sink back into the cabinet all clean again.)
3) Spouse loves me and he'd do anything for me, but I have to ask and I have to be very specific. For example, he will bag up the garbage but only if I ask. The fact that the fuller-than-full bag in the kitchen bin is about to become an avalanche and needs tying up, taken to the dumpster, and a new bag put in it's place... is beneath his radar. Just pointing it out is insufficient. I have to say something like, "Would you mind bagging up the kitchen trash and taking it out? And please put a new bag in?" Kinda like Bill Cosby's routine about the children showering, "Take off your clothes. Get into the shower. Turn ON the water...."

Now, under those circumstances, I wrote up a grocery list. It was more like prose actually. Where I usually jot down 'TP' for my trip, I had to write 'toilet paper - Northern, 24pk double rolls.' If I wrote just 'toilet paper' then he'd come home with the first brand in the aisle, possibly generic 1-ply, and it would be a small pack of 4 regular rolls, which would maybe last a couple of days. (There is a woman in the house and she has potty issues, so we need volume, you see ;)

Anyway, armed with my short but descriptive list, Spouse finished up his long work day then went to the grocery. And... he did great! Nearly everything was exactly as I requested and things that were different were acceptably so. Some things as specified just weren't available but he picked good substitutes.

Frankly, I was amazed. I already appreciated the fact that he was going at all, but that he did a great job was stupifying ;) I know he doesn't want to make a habit of it. Neither do I. It's easier for me to do it myself when I am able. But, when I am unable, and that may be the case more times in the future, I know I can depend on my wonderful Spouse to help me out. He's just... marvelous... and yes I have told him so.

And now, gotta start getting ready for the CTC. At my old-lady-hip pace, it could take a while.

PS - Yes, Mr Worrier (you know who you are ;) and concerned others... I am driving myself to the CTC and back, but if at anytime I feel it is unwise, I will stop wherever I am, even on the side of the road, and use my cellphone to call Spouse for assistance. I promise. I have also promised the CTC folks that if I pull into the parking lot and feel unable to walk myself into the building, I will use my cellphone to call for a wheelchair. Hopefully none of this will ever be necessary, but I have (albeit reluctantly) made these promises, and I shall keep them.

PPS - You keep after me because I can be a stubborn wench and sometimes need reminding that I cannot do everything I want to right now. S'ok, in this case, nagging feels like love, and I'll take all of that I can get ;) *smooch*