Sunday rest.

Today was rest day for me. After church we went to the Subway (yes, we have one in Hobart!) and got a couple of foot long subs since it was their special today. That made lunch easy! Don went back to the church building for the men’s business meeting and I went to bed for my nap. Naps are so good! The pictures today are:

1) Me before church. Too bad we had the refrigerator behind me the white on the hat and the white flower don’t show up so well. We learn about photography as we go. I’ve got that pose of Grace’s going pretty well. Of course she does it better, but I’m learning.
2) The next one is me after the nap. You can tell I’m still dreamy eyed and barely awake.
3) The last one is Raynie in my lap last week. I’m pretending they’re here and just not awake, yet. We sure miss them!

The neuropathy isn’t responding to the medication, yet. It’s spreading up my fingers. It’ll be interesting to see how it works this week and what adjustments the doctor will make to my treatment. I’ll post as soon as I hear from the doctor in Houston. I’ll call and leave a message tomorrow to add to the email I sent last week. It’s not something I can’t handle; it’s just not any fun.

I should report to you the good news. I think the hair on my legs is gone. That’s way cool. It’s nice to have a break from shaving those legs for a while. The hair on my arm is still long and has staying power, though. Go figure! I have gobs of peach fuzz on my face, as always, too. I wondered if that counted for hair; guess not. Oh! The rest of the good news is that those whiskers or misplaced eyebrows that kept bothering me on my chin haven’t returned. I hope the chemo got them! How cool is that!

Today has been a good restful day. I think I need this from time to time. I don’t think I did anything constructive, but I know the rest was good. God is great to provide a comfortable home, a wonderful bed and friends and family who will give me space but still love me plenty. I am so blessed! Thank you for being a part of my life. God bless!

Precious memories make me want to keep the home place.

Don has been watching football today, so I've been a free agent! We joined David and Dorothy for breakfast at the Kozy Diner, and then stopped at another yard sale on the way home. (Got a brand new electric broom to help us do quick clean ups and great for dusting.) By the time we got home I was fading fast, so I took a nap for nearly an hour and a half. I woke up in time to fix a quick lunch and I’ve been doing research on the computer since. (Checking out peripheral neuropathy and reconstruction options.) I did stop to fix a quick supper. Don is so easy to feed; he’s a saint.

I’ve got to do some time on the Power Plate and the Jiggler. That should help with the neuropathy, I think. I did get out and get the weeds that were left sprayed. It feels good to get that job done. It’s hard to spray for weeds because it’s always so windy and if it’s not windy then it’s so hot. I also got my rings, necklace and bracelet cleaned. My body turns everything black, so I have to clean it pretty often. I thought I’d better do it while my fingers will work.

I enjoyed ‘piddling’ around today. Last weekend having the kids here made me realize that we really need to keep this house. It’s so much fun to have them here. We usually don’t have anyone here, and I think we’re crazy to keep a house this big. Then we have them here and I think, “Of course we need this house!” Today I was thinking more about that. If we move to a smaller place I’d have to give up a lot of my ‘stuff,’ too. I don’t like that idea. I’m working to scale down, but I really like my collection of ‘stuff.’ I need to streamline it and get rid of what I will never use, but I so often go dig out something I’ve had for years. It’s me. It’s just who I am. Stuff; that’s me: a collection of stuff. I just need to get rid of the cancer sort of stuff. Ha! Poor Don. I think he’d like to sell this house and be somewhere smaller and he almost had me talked into it. Now I’m backsliding and leaning toward wanting to keep it. There are so many good memories here. I guess if we move we’ll still have the memories, but I love to relive them by living here. The most important thing is to be content; so I’ll be content wherever he takes me.

Pictures on the blog today:

1) Sadie and Mason last weekend.
2) Pop and Mason; Pop is a saint.
3) Our good friends Dorothy and David Rule at a card game, here last March. They count for many of the precious memories in this house. David is my favorite cowboy whether he’s wearing his hat or not. Years ago, when Dorothy married him our mutual good friend told me, “There’s not a better man in Hobart, than David Rule.” We’ve found that to be so true, except we’d stretch it to the whole world as we know it; not just Hobart. He’s the best and Dorothy deserves the best! (Notice the picture and the fish on the wall behind them; my great friend, Mike Buchanan, another real He-man in our lives, did those.)

I thank God for our precious family and friends and the ability to remember and treasure the memories.

Friday, a play day.

Today was cooler than usual, so I was able to go out and work in the weeds for a couple of hours. I really enjoyed being outside and not worrying about sweating. Maybe it’s because my body runs so cold these days. Don went out and poured sweat. He mowed and pulled lots of weeds, too. Anyway it was good for me. I got a good bath and then a good nap, so I was ready to play cards tonight.

We had a great time and I got ‘my favorite cowboy’ to bring his hat to have our picture made together. This is David, who I speak of so often. His wife is Dorothy and we love them both so much. I’ve pictured Dorothy several times and David gets into the pictures sometimes. I just love that hat on him. He’s such a cool guy. He knows something about everything, but he doesn’t flaunt it. I just pay attention and appreciate how wise and knowledgeable he is. There is not a kinder person in the world, and I don’t know anyone who looks better in a cowboy hat. He would never wear it in the house, except for a picture, either.

So, the pictures on the blog tonight are:

1) Me with my favorite cowboy, David Rule.
2) Rayne in her biggest brother, Nate’s, lap. Nate will be 16 in March; he’s a great big brother. Rayne looks a lot like he did as a baby. Actually, they all look alike!
3) A picture of Rayne when we were trying so hard to get a picture of her smiling. She was enjoying it, and smiling a lot, but I’m not as quick on the click as she is on the smiles. Precious memories for which we give thanks!

I’ve had several emails and calls asking if I’ve heard from the doctor in Houston, yet. I haven’t. In fact I had a return receipt requested on the email and I haven’t gotten that receipt, so she hasn’t even gotten my email, yet. I’m surprised. They are usually very prompt. I imagine I’ll hear from them on Monday. I’ll keep you informed as to what I hear from her and how this neuropathy thing goes. My fingers and toes are really hurting tonight. I found myself cringing whenever someone at the table strummed their fingers on the table as they waited for their turn. We had the tablecloth and pad, so there was no noise, but I thought “Ouch, that must hurt!” My toes feel like I cut all my toenails and got to the quick on each one. I can’t believe how this is happening so quickly. I always put soda in my bath and I dropped the box of soda today, so I had to clean that up; that’s a neuropathy thing. I’d never make a mess like that, knowing I’d have to clean it up! I’m sure glad it wasn’t a pot of beans or something! I’ll be glad for them to make some adjustment this week.

Have a great weekend! Count the blessings; there are so many! Our God is great!

Neuropathy caused by the Chemo. Ick.

Taxol is the chemotherapy that I am on. I had my 8th of 12 treatments today. I’m doing really well, but I have a side effect that is not good. I’m not throwing up and that is good. I do have neuropathy in my toes and heels and fingers that started after last week’s treatment. I was surprised that the doctor was so concerned about it today. I came home and looked it up on the Internet and found the following information. You may want to check on it:

http://www.acscsn.org/Forum/Discussion/thread/view?msgid=52880&msgrid=46

I can handle the pain I’m having now, but if it gets worse, that’ll be something new to handle. I hate the part that it my never heal! That’s a bad deal, but I trust God to handle this, too. As I understand it this neuropathy means that the nerve endings are being destroyed and it may heal or it may not. That’s not good and they and I don’t want it to get any worse. The doctor gave me a medication to take today in hopes that it will stop it by next week. The doctor will examine me next week and if the neuropathy is not better then we will back off on the Taxol and use a smaller dose. That’s the plan at this point. God is in control. If it never gets better than it is I can stand this; I really pray that it doesn’t move into my wrists and ankles and back. God knows and will take care of me; He knows what I can handle.

Other than this neuropathy, today went very well. I feel fine and thank God that nothing worse is happening. I will write an email to the doctor at MD Anderson to be sure she is involved with the plan and the treatments. My numbers were good today, so we’re playing cards here tomorrow night. I don’t have to be fast to play canasta, so I can do it!

The pictures today:

1) Trish and I visiting as Raynie sat in my lap. She was content, but you can tell she felt comfortable recognizing her mommy nearby.
2) A shot of Raynie in the tub. She loves the water, but you can tell she was thinking, ‘This feels so good, but how will I explain this when she puts these naked pictures on the blog for the whole world to see?’ She covered up her top and I cropped out the rest, so I think she’ll forgive me.
3) Poppy snuggling a sweet little Raynie. All the kids always feel so secure in his arms, whether he stands or sits. It’s amazing how he attracts and holds them. He’s a great Poppy.

We know that God is in control and we pray for His help. First I give thanks, believing that He will do what is best. The specific prayer is to thank Him for directing us to good care. Then I thank Him for catching this neuropathy before it causes permanent damage. Then I thank Him for my Jiggling George and the Power Plate to help me to keep strong and stimulate repair to my nerve endings. I thank Him for giving me strength to handle this treatment and recover completely from it. This neuropathy was only a word in the list of things that could happen until it became real today as all the details about it became meaningful as I ‘tried them on for size, and found that they fit!’ I have done so well with this treatment, so I know that I will overcome this bump in the road. God is so good. He has given us so many blessings for which and for whom we give thanks. He will continue His abundant care. God bless you for caring. Please don’t be worried; please join me and be happy that things are still good and please continue to pray and give thanks and all the glory and praise to our awesome Father.

Freezing day.

Today has been a regular hot day for Oklahoma in September, but I'm freezing. It just happens. It's the chemo. Some days are just cold. Don shakes his head as I walk in wearing sweats and a winter knit cap. I started off the day in a denim dress and a railroad conductor hat, but I added a knit cap as the day passed. Finally I wrapped up my PICC in plastic and got into a tub of hot water to warm my bones. That’s when I appeared in sweats. I used to go back and forth between whether I liked cold or hot the best. I always picked cold because you can wrap up to get warm, but when it’s really hot, there’s only so much you can do. Then I started having hot flashes and that confirmed that I like cold best. I think I like 30 best because it’s easier to live with hot or cold. At 59 the hot flashes and freezing spells are simply an endurance test. Nothing seems to help a lot. I get to be creative with piling on hats and then jerking them off. I’m glad Don finds it entertaining; some men disappear, but I thank God he doesn’t!

The pictures on the blog today are:

1) Sadie and Mason watching TV. Notice the wound on Sadie’s leg; she’s not a tomboy, but she can keep up with her brothers. Until Grace came along she was right in there with 3 brothers and she had to stand her ground. A big old scrape is nothing to her!
2) This one is Grace entertaining Poppy. She’s such a case!
3) This one is Raynie entertaining Grammy. I’d get all ready for bed and come back in to tell them goodnight and the next thing I knew I was hooked. I can’t resist them!

I never made it to the basement to get acquainted with my new sewing machine today, but I’m headed down there, now. I memorized all the goodies in the 4-drawer chest this morning. Wow: lots of notions; a lifetime collection and I’m the winner! I love it. The other little chest and the machine are downstairs, so I’m headed down to ‘the cave,’ as Don calls it. God is so good! I’m sure He’s in control of all that’s happening with me and if He thinks I need a chill, then I’m good with it. I had said I wasn’t going to do any more garage sales because I have all the ‘stuff’ 10 people need, but I know He showed us that garage sale last Friday and nudged us to stop and find that sewing machine. It’s my birthday present for my 250th birthday Don says. How funny is he? I count Don and his sense of humor and generosity when count my blessings. Besides all that he counts and keeps the numbers correctly; I count and count and count and never get to the end. He counts like it’s a math test and I count like it’s fun.

All of life is fun; even being bald. Although, if I’m freezing because I’m bald, then I think I’ll welcome back my hair. God is so good: He gives us lessons we need to learn; maybe He’s saved me from spending the rest of my life bald and in hats by giving me these freezing days!

Here's how it is.

The pictures on the blog today are from the wonderful Labor Day weekend with Trish and her family.

1) Gabe playing the guitar; I’m sure he could play some loud stuff that would make me wish he were in the basement, but he never did. He played beautiful, soft music. I smiled every time he played.
2) Another good smile we got from Raynie! She’s such a sweetie!
3) A shot of Raynie and Sadie and I. You can tell I was having a great weekend!

Many people are very concerned about me and I really appreciate that. I feel so fortunate that I’m not as sick as a dog. That may come with the last 3 months of chemo as it is a tougher mix and the doctor has warned me that it will be tougher. I’m braced for it.

You’ve seen from the pictures that my hair is gone. I still have some stubble on my head, but it was not enough to comb. It’s enough to shave! I love it being bald, but my head is really cold. I wear two or three hats most of the time; I sleep in 4 little cotton caps. (Any less and I wake up freezing, so 4 seems to be the magic number.)

You know that I get tired, so I have to nap daily if possible. It seems to be a thing I can balance fairly well and folks are very understanding that I have to escape to nap sometimes.

For the last 5 days I’ve noticed that my toes and fingers are feeling lots of tingling and pain. It’s a chemo side effect. My knees and heels hurt, too. Mostly I don’t notice it. When I go to bed, I just have to sleep on my side so that the covers and bed don’t hurt my toes and heels; plus that’s easier on my knees. When I handle dishes I have to be careful not to drop things. I had trouble buttoning a shirt today. At first I thought I’d been on my feet too much the first day I noticed it. But, it didn’t go away. My toes feel like I’ve been wearing shoes that are too little, but I don’t even wear closed toed shoes! My fingers feel like I’ve been quilting for 48 straight hours. Not! It feels like my fingers and toes are swollen and might burst, but they aren’t. When I was playing cards with Nate, I noticed that I couldn’t pick up the cards rapidly for a game that required speed. I’ve noticed that I have trouble turning pages. This is a minor thing and will go away as soon as the chemo is over. I just have to be careful that I don’t stub my toes or drop something and hurt myself and just be patient turning pages and buttoning.

That’s the report for those of you who think I’m putting up a front. This is how it really is: not so bad! It’s real, but it’s a thing I can do. Thankfully Don is a wonderful help! He did all the vacuuming today and I got the dusting done. Whew! The house is clean, so y’all come if you’ll let me get my naps! We’re counting blessings and loving every minute! Thank you, God!

Happy Labor Day!

We took so many pictures; it’s really hard to choose the ones to put onto the blog. Trish and Rob and the kids left this afternoon and they are safely home. We have the house all put back together, so it’s back to quiet and pretty much as regular as it gets around here. Tomorrow we’ll dust and vacuum. Then, I hope someone will come to see us so that we didn’t do it in vain!

We had such a good time with the kids here! I needed an accountant to count the blessings! I forget the numbers, but I know it was way lots! The kids are so fun. They really eat instead of just messing around with the food. I love that! Rob made omelets for breakfast this morning. What a cool son-in-law! Gabe and Mason caught two bullfrogs, but they let them go after holding them hostage for a couple of days Oh, I have to tell you that Gabe brought his guitar and played the most beautiful music all weekend. It’s not rock or hard anything; just beautiful music like you’d hear at a nice restaurant or something. I LOVED it. This is the same kid who catches snakes and frogs. He’s such an interesting personality!

I had a rocker here that needed a good home. Tricia’s rocker has a broken arm, so my rocker wanted to go home with her. The same son-in-law, who made breakfast, secured the rocker to the top of their van. What a guy! He must be Gabe’s dad, huh? (They look like two peas out of a pod, too!) The last picture on today’s blog is their family pulling out of the driveway with the rocker on top of the car. It was too cute a picture to not post!

The first picture is Trish and I enjoying some time with Raynie. Trish has nursed all her other babies. Raynie has a cleft palette, so she can’t nurse and has to have special bottles. It’s a lot of work for Trish because she has to pump to keep her milk coming and to keep plenty for Raynie, but it’s such a joy for the rest of us to get to feed her! We never got to feed any of the other kids, so we’re all having a ball with her. She is gaining weight really well and they expect to meet with the surgery team when she is 6 months old. They’ll do surgery to close her cleft palette so that she won’t have speech problems when she is older. She weighs a little over 9 pounds, now.

The second picture is one of Raynie smiling. She is a really happy baby and smiles a lot, but the camera isn’t fast enough to catch her at it much. I was pretty proud to get this one. Aunt Pamela, she’s wearing one of the outfits you sent to her. Thanks!

We hope your weekend was as blessed as ours! We had a wonderful time. I got good rest. Trish said she was glad to come and see that I’m really doing well. People ask Don all the time if I’m really doing well or if I’m just putting up a front. Of course I put the best pictures on the blog, but I’m really doing well. I’m not putting up any front. When I have problems I will admit them. I aim to not complain because I know that I am richly blessed and I don’t expect this to be easy; it’s my intention to give thanks because I know that God is blessing me whether it’s easy or not. The doctor from Houston called me Friday and we were talking about the next phase of chemo after the next 5 weeks. She said it will be much tougher in that I will experience more nausea, vomiting, and fatigue. (I’ve only experienced fatigue so far.) I’m braced for that. I will admit it when it happens, but believe me; you see it how it is. Thank you for caring! God is great and so are you!

Today flew like the whole weekend has. It was fun, though. After church Trish and Rob took all the kids except Raynie to the lake, so we got to keep Raynie. She was perfect, so we loved it!

We’ve eaten good, played hard and had lots of fun all weekend. Nate and Sadie and I finished our canasta game tonight. Sadie beat us!

The pictures on the blog are:

1) Grace building a tower.
2) Raynie; we were really hoping to get a smile on camera, but the camera isn’t as fast as she is! This was as close as I could get.
3) I got Rob smiling, though! I don’t get many pictures of him, so it’s right that he should be on here!

I got a nap with Raynie this afternoon, so I’m doing well. I’m going to bed in just a few minutes. Everyone else is watching TV and I’m ready for bed. God is great and has me counting so many blessings! I hope you are, too!

Such family fun!

Oh, man, we got so many pictures today; it’s hard to pick 3 to put onto the blog. You’ll see that I’m having a great holiday weekend! The first one is me holding Raynie with Mason beside me. This isn’t the best picture of Raynie; I can’t get her eyes right, but it was a fun time for us, even if her eyes are glowing. That hat is the one that Ruthie brought for me.

The second one is Nate feeding Raynie. I love catching him; he’s not as eager to be in front of the camera as the younger kids. I can’t believe he’s so big and still growing!

The third one is later in the day with me holding Raynie as Mason helps. This baby is never unattended. She makes a sound and we all pounce to get her.

I wish I could tell you all we’ve done today. It’s been so much fun. Don took Sadie, Mason and Grace to Exploration Station this morning. Rob and the big boys were hunting from 4:30 until noon. This afternoon Nate and Sadie and I played Canasta, but we haven’t finished the game yet. We’ll finish tomorrow afternoon. Gabe and Mason went to the other park and caught two bullfrogs. I’ll have to get their picture tomorrow if they survive the night. Sadie took Mason and Grace to the other park this afternoon, too. It’s been a full day! I got a wee nap in sometime this morning, but I’m ready for bed!

Grace is so impressed that I have no hair! Joan came over to see them and when she walked in, Grace said, “Grammy doesn’t have any hair!” Joan, said, “I know,” and Grace said, “Do you want to SEE it?” It’s so cute. She always follows with, “Hair grows back.” She cut hers last winter, so she knows. I also think it’s a comfort to her to know that I won’t always look like this. HA! Nate is so sweet, he says, “You still look good, Grammy.” That’s pretty cool coming from a 15 year old.

I’m up to about 6 million on blessings! God is great and I thank Him! Lots more pictures coming in the days to come!

I just wrote the blog and then LOST it! That’s because I’m too tired, so I’m going to do it, again, and go to bed. Don is already in bed and everyone else is, too. Trish and Rob and the kids got here a little after 9. It’s been an awesome visit already. Raynie has grown so much! She looks so much like Sadie did. Gabe accuses Trish and Rob of cloning Sadie because Grace is so much like her, too! They are such a fun family!

The first picture is of me holding Don up this morning. We went to a garage sale and I found a sewing machine from heaven with two tables full of notions. I had to have it, and who can tell a cowgirl Grammy no? He thinks those guns are loaded; I have him so snowed. You can tell he keeps me giggling; he bought the sewing machine and tables!

We are so excited to have the house full of awesome people again. The part of the house where they are gets such rare use and this house loves people. Full is the way it should be.

The other two pictures are of Trish and Raynie. Raynie was on her way to sleep, but I had to get a couple of pictures of her for the blog. I’ll get lots more pictures of everyone this weekend, so get ready to get good shots of the Oglesby clan. They are a fun family!

We’re so counting our blessings since 8 of them are here for 3 nights. That adds up to lots of blessings! You all have a wonderful weekend: be safe, be happy, and be grateful!

Chomo 7 behind me.

Today was fun, but we are both so tired! We met Celia at the IHOP for breakfast in Lawton. Celia is the only daughter of Janet, Don’s older sister who died 15 years ago with lung cancer. Celia lives just outside of Lawton, so we live fairly close and know that we can always call on each other, but we both have 5 children and gobs of grandchildren, so we chase our kids a lot. Celia and her brother Brent are just a few years younger than me, so we’ve always felt close. Don’s sister, Janet, was 10 when Don was born, so he was her live baby doll. They were very close and she was almost like a mother-in-law from heaven to me. Of course Don’s mother was the mother-in-law from heaven. It’s been a wonderful family to be blessed to join. There is nobody I miss more than Janet; she was incredibly wise and loving. Being with Celia is such a warm reminder of Janet and we can get on the same page talking about all our kids! Her kids and our kids spent many hours of fun in the basement of this house when we all came here for Thanksgiving when it belonged to Don’s mom and dad. Celia’s brother, Brent worked with us for years in Oklahoma City, so we got very close. We are really intertwined with this segment of the family. We have many treasured memories: lots of fantastic fun and lots of strength and love from these precious people. It was great to see Celia this morning.

The first picture on the blog is Celia and I at the IHOP. I meant to wear my Boise.org hat today. I DID wear it, but I covered it up with my little black hat, so I don’t get credit for pushing Boise. Boise is a wonderful town that I really love. I think it’s one of our country’s best-kept secrets. If it weren’t so far away from all our family, I’d do my best to talk Don into moving there. Everyone should visit there. The place is awesome and the people are the best! So, the next picture is of me before I added the black hat. I woke up cold several times last night. When I woke up grinding my teeth I added two hats to the one I was wearing and then covered up my head with the covers and slept the rest of the night. So, this morning, I was so afraid of freezing, so I piled on the hats. I’ll do a better job for Boise another day. The second picture is me with only the sleep cap and the Boise.org hat.

The last hat is the one we found today. I couldn’t resist it; a cowgirl hat. Oh, yeah! That’s me. Ha! NOT, but it’ll be fun to have it and wear it. I’ll have to have my picture made with David. He is the most handsome cowboy I know; I love his hat. I’ll get that picture soon. (Jim Bucey and Mike Buchanan, that gun I’m pointing is NOT real! I’ll explain that to the rest of you later.)

Oh, 3 of the four numbers they watch closely were in the low range today, but just a little low. They weren’t scary or near causing them to defer me. I can relax and enjoy the kids this weekend. God is so good! I’m so busy counting the blessings!

Introductions on the blog . . .

Okay, I’ve been in the basement hemming a pair of shorts and making knee bands to go with them. Plus I cut the neck out of a t-shirt and the tail off, so I could make a hat and a sleeve (to protect the PICC). That means I spent too much time down there and I’m late with the blog. The balance thing, again; I did get a little nap this afternoon, though, so maybe I’m okay. We’re getting up early to go to Lawton in the morning, so I’ve got to get to bed.

Tonight Gretta wrote that she thought Terri and Dot DID know each other. I’m sure it’s confusing who people are and what they mean by some things they say, so I’ll introduce people better, beginning tonight.

Terri is my baby sister in our dreams. She was at Itazuke after I left, so we never were even there together. We met several years ago on the Internet as we were planning to go to our Itazuke reunion in Orlando. Since then our relationship has grown and grown. We feel like sisters and she calls me Sissy and I call her Sis (I have a half sister, who we call Sissy, so Terri can’t be my Sissy.) Terri lives in Texas, but we see each other whenever we can, which is never enough. She is a couple of years younger than me, so she gets to be the baby. She has nicknamed Don Honeyman because she loves him and sees all sweet things about him.

Dot is a precious lady who lives near my sister, Ruthie. She is married to Frazier, who has the biggest smile in the entire world. Dot and Frazier go to church where we went to church when we lived in Springville, where my sister lives, so their encouraging smiles go back 15 or so years. They are wonderful support.

Gretta is our baby daughter, but her middle name is Jill and we often call her Jilly. The kids all call her Aunt Jilly. So, if you see those names, know that they are all the same person. Gretta is the mom to Garrett (magazine boy or cake) and Elena (icing).

The pictures on the blog tonight are my ‘Sis,’ Terri; then Gretta with Garrett a couple of years ago; then our waitress and friend, here in town, Janet, who reminds us of Terri. It must be their personalities that remind us of Terri, because I look at these pictures and don’t see that they look alike. Maybe in their eyes and their coloring; Terri is blonder than that picture shows. Anyway, Janet is one of the sweetest, most positive people in town and that personality reminds us of sweet Sis.

So, now you know some of the people who love me enough to post on the blog. I’ll introduce you to more in the future. These are some of the blessings I count every day! God is so great to us!

Flexible; the name of the game. Balance the rule!

Flexible. That’s a key to making life work. Yesterday we were planning to go to Oklahoma City today and then decided not to when Trish and Rob decided to come here for this weekend. That’s great because it saved us making the trip today. I was so happy to sleep late this morning! We got up at 5:30 a.m. and looked at the eclipse and then went right back to bed. I slept until 8:20 and didn’t even know when Don got up to go walking or when he came home. I was so enjoying that sleep! Then I never took a nap today, but I never got that tired, so I think it’s okay if I go to bed early. Balance; hard to keep it!

We put the basement back in order today because the kids will want to play pool down there. We had all kinds of stuff piled on the pool table from when we had water down there and we didn’t want it to get wet. It only took a few minutes to do, but it was a project. I’d been sewing down there, but the rest was out of order. Also, the sewing machine I have been using wasn’t working right, so I went through two other machines hunting one that would work. I think those three must have bad belts. Maybe Trish can help me figure out their problem. I finally found one that works, but it doesn’t zigzag; I need to zigzag, so I’ve got to fix one of those machines. That’s another project.

The one machine that works helped me finish a hat that I’ve worked on for the last week. I’m done with it, now. It was just a wrestling match to get it to fit. It’s pictured on the blog today. There is nothing great about it, but it keeps my head warm around the house. The other hat today was the hat I wore out to eat breakfast.

I pulled together my calendar of all the treatments I’ve had today. The insurance papers are coming in the mail and I need to be able to match it all to be sure we aren’t charged for a treatment we don’t get. I thank God that we have insurance and that the treatment is available. I thank Him, too, for friends and family to help us get through all this. Judy and Aki and Doris and Jerry make it so much better to be in Houston instead of just being in a huge city full of strangers! I thank God that we can do many of the treatments in Lawton, too. It’s a blessing to be able to be at home for a lot of this. I continue to thank God that I’m doing so well with these treatments. I have no complaints and I am so grateful! I'm looking forward to this weekend when the house will fill with Oglesby kids! I'll be so counting the blessings!

Monday is rest day.

Today I attempted to get a better handle on resting. I never managed to get a nap yesterday and it whipped me. So, I got up early this morning and did a little cleaning and then after breakfast went back to bed. Then I got up before lunch and cleaned some fruit and veggies before lunch. After lunch I did some hand sewing (still working on hats) and did some research on the computer. We had supper early. I’m going to do some jiggling and go to bed early. Tomorrow we’re going to OKC. I want to take a rocker to Trish and I want to see the kids while my numbers are good (I hope!). We go to Lawton on Thursday, so tomorrow is the best day to go to OKC so we can rest on Wednesday. Resting is something I have a hard time doing. My style is more to go until I crash. I think that’s not a good plan while I’m in recover mode, so I’ve got to make a concentrated effort at it.

The pictures on the blog today are:

1) Elena; those eyes capture me!
2) The hat of the day taken beside Gabe’s OK state fair winning painting of irises; he won that ribbon at the fair several years ago and gave it to me for Christmas. Ruthie was so impressed with it when they were here; she insisted that I should feature it on the blog. I’m so proud of it, so I’m happy to feature it here. Don informed me that the hat today was the wrong color. It's okay; it kept me warm and it really did match some turquoise flowers that are on the pockets of the outfit; he confronted me about color??? People ask how is he doing; he's doing just fine. He's turning into a photographer and a color pro!
3) Diana Clark and Floyd Johnston watching between games Saturday night, as we took pictures of the cake and party animals.
4) David Rule watching as we take pictures on Saturday night. You can tell by the smiles that we were all having a ball. We always do!


We’re getting up early in the morning to watch the eclipse of the moon, but we’ll go back to bed before we get up and go to OKC, I think. Anyway, we’ll be counting blessings as we start the day. What a cool thing . . . unless I sleep through it and that’s a cool thing, too! It’s all worthy of thanks. We are so blessed!

Full Sunday.

Today has been very exhausting. Sunday’s are full. After church I went to the nursing home to help with a devotional, then stopped by on the way home to visit with a friend. All that was good. (I want to do this while my numbers are good, and I hope it’s okay to be around people.) Then the little league finals were on TV, so I had to see them. That meant there was no nap today. No nap a bad description; I need the rest. So, I’m getting the blog done, so I can get my bath, get my bandage changed and be ready for bed early.

That’s a good plan. So, if I owe you email, I’ll catch up tomorrow.

The pictures on the blog today are:

1) Me in the same hat you’ve seen before with shorts.
2) Elena in some recent pictures. Gretta and Elena have been playing dress up and photo shoot. Elena thinks her mother is crazy; I’m so happy to have the pictures since we’re missing so much of this little angel, so I think her mother is wonderful!

God bless us all; we are so richly blessed!

Celebration and cards!

Tonight we played cards at our house and celebrated birthdays of 4 of us who have birthdays this month. We were also celebrating Jo Ann and Frank’s 45th wedding anniversary. Tillie brought a cake for the anniversary and we stuck 4 candles in it representing the 4 birthdays. Dorothy and David brought homemade ice cream, so it was quite a celebration! We played two tables of 6.

The pictures on the blog:

1) Me with the hat of the day. It’s a little black one I decorated with the necklace Grace
made for me when she stayed a few days with us a few weeks ago.

2) The Bobsey/Josey twins. Bob cut his hair so we’d be bald together; we may never look this much alike again! Then again, we may look alike for several months; until this chemo is done.

3) The celebrating group; me, Dorothy, Jo Ann, Frank, Tillie, and Bob.

4) Jack (Doesn’t he look like Jonathan Winters? He’s as funny as Jonathan Winters, too! He’s married to Tillie and we call them Silly and Tillie.), who was the best man at Frank and Jo Ann’s wedding, then Jo Ann and Frank. How many people can celebrate their 45th anniversary and their best man is still handy to celebrate with them?

We have the greatest fun with this bunch of people! We take every opportunity to celebrate, and if we don’t have any excuse to celebrate, we celebrate anyway. There is never a dull moment. We can’t always get all these folks together, but it’s sure fun when we do.

We count all these folks among our many blessings. We count you among them, too. God bless!

Elena Update!

Today I’m not so full of news. Today has been just full of errands and cleaning house. We hadn’t cleaned house since before we went to Houston, so even though it was fairly neat it needed the dust gathered from the floors and furniture. I did the hard floors and Don did the carpets. I’ll do the furniture tomorrow. I should have done it first, but I got busy working on the web site and some issues that needed tweaking, so the dusting will get done tomorrow.

We’ve got 10 people coming to play canasta tomorrow night. We figured we’d better have fun with folks while my numbers are good. When they are down I have to be careful being around folks, so I’ll let my hair down tomorrow. That’s a pun; no hair! Probably I’ll let my hat down and show them all my bald head!

The picture of me today is in one of my favorite hats. Nobody would notice me in this one. HA! I need to wear bigger earrings; these were little flags, but I need bigger ones with no makeup and no hair. I need to balance with the hat. I’m working on it.

The other pictures are the Elena update. She’s a big girl who can sit up in her chair now. She loves that chair! She’s 6 months old now and weighs almost 13 pounds; she’s still tiny, but she’s the boss. Who could deny those eyes?

God does such an awesome job on everything, especially these babies! God bless and have a great weekend!