A Beautiful Place.

Is this beautiful or what?  It looked like this last week when we were in Kentucky with Gretta.  This is the approach to the house where Joe lives.  (Actually this is taken leaving his house and approaching the gated entrance.)   Joe is Gretta's ex-husband, and she is staying at his house to recuperate.  Every time we leave we come away shaking our heads in wonder that they are such good friends and in wonder that they aren't married.  I think they want to save a great friendship by not messing it up with a marriage?  Anyway, Joe is a wonderful guy and a good friend.  He'll always be my son-in-law, just like he'll always be Elena's daddy.  These maples turn a beautiful gold and orange in the fall.  I think Gretta is blessed to have such a wonderful place to recover.  She had a tough day Friday when a UTI hit her; she got meds for it and is back to normal, now.  Praise God!  Gretta is supposed to move June 1, but she got an extension to June 15.  The farm where she was living was sold and she had her house all packed up to move when this surgery moved into the front of the picture of her life.  I'm so grateful that Joe said for her to come and stay there until and after her surgery.  Lee and I even stayed there when we were there.

Gretta's follow up with her oncologist is June, 2.  I imagine they will begin her chemo shortly after that. We're going to Tennessee for a family reunion in the middle of June and we'll go to Gretta's either before or after that reunion; whenever we can be the most help.

This is day 11 of my 14 days of this round of chemo.  The last round I had mouth and nose sores as well as dermatitis that drove me distracted and I have NONE of that this time.  The last time I had the hand and foot syndrome and I have it, again, this time.  Today it started being difficult; the last time it started being difficult at day 7, so I'm counting my blessings.  It just feels like I walked over a bed of hot coals on my feet and hands.  Lee is being very gracious and we're eating most meals out or really easily around here, so I don't have to do much with my hands.  I'm taking Ibuprofen to be able to stand the pain in my feet and it's working.  The last round I had to throw in the towel after day 13, but I think I can make it the full 14 days this time.  I really want to complete it.  If I can complete it once, then it will encourage me to believe I can continue it time after time.  I like that it seems to get easier for my body to handle each time.  Soon, I can be an old hand at this stuff.  I just pray that it's working against the cancer.  All the signs that I have of the cancer are much improved (knots in my neck are very small, and I have no pain in my head from the metastasis to the bone [skull]).  It's almost bedtime, so I've got 3 more days to complete this cycle.  God will see me through it; I just know it.