Merry Christmas To All !!!

    I have been ready for Christmas this year since Halloween was over. After a little bit of thought, I came up with the fact that if this hadn't been caught when it was, this probably would have been my last Christmas. I usually put up a Bah Humbug type of front with my actual feelings held below the surface so as to have everyone believing that I don't like Christmas. I really do love Christmas, it's just that I absolutely hate the way that in August Wal-Mart has replaced the garden section with trees and decorations, etc. and Home Depot and Lowes put up their Christmas aisles around Halloween.    

   Uh, HELLO, I need grass seed and insecticide. Oh, the insecticide has moved to the paint department and I'm afraid there wont be grass seed until February. I love Christmas but I don't want it shoved down my throat months ahead of time. Black Friday isn't black Friday anymore, it's black Thursday afternoon. What's next Black Halloween ? They're already half way there with the black. Baaahhh !! Humbuug !!!

    Where were we ? Oh yeah, Christmas. I have had my radio tuned to an all Christmas music station since it came on before Thanksgiving. I'm just happier this year. Without getting too preachy, I just turned this whole thing over to God. I am no model christian by any means, but my faith has pulled me through some pretty bad situations and I don't see any reason to give up now.

    That being said if I had the means I would hack into something and delete pretty much everything that the music group Wham! has ever done. I realize that an all Christmas program on a radio station is going to have to repeat songs every so often. But I can't count the number of times in a day that Wham! is whining about last Christmas. ( I do have to confess here that when Taylor Swift sings the same song I like it. )

    Something I've always liked about this time of year is that people are usually friendlier and in a better mood. I'm sure that all of the parties that abound this time of year just may have something to do with it. Whatever it is it always seems to make getting used to old man winter a little bit easier. By the time the new year has come and gone everyone has had a chance to get used to the cold. Granted everyone has lost their Christmasy demeanor and depending on your area you might have snow up to your second floor window ledge, but you know that spring is right around the corner, right?

But Christmas is about cheer and good will towards men and this year I have my cheer and it's not with a glass of cheer either. ( I'm not supposed to drink anymore, remember ? ) Never fear, I'm sure I can find something to catch up to the party with.

    Christmas is also about extending a hand to those who are less fortunate. And you don't actually have to give money to make a difference. You can give your time to food banks, go ring a bell, help out at your church, etc. With the financial situation we're facing this year, I've taken to making small gifts for those people in my small circle, and mowing several yards for those who can't get to it themselves. Even if it's just babysitting the two brats from next door while their parents do some Christmas shopping. ( Hmmm, where did that come from ? ) So, if you haven't helped someone yet, go out and get to it. The rewards you will receive will far outweigh the small amount of effort that you will have put into it.

    12-18

    Today I had an EMG. This is where they apply voltage to different nerves and gauge the reaction. You are hooked up to a machine not unlike an oscilloscope that displays different nerve reactions. The juice that they run through you is a low voltage, but with plenty of amperage. Almost every time he hit that thing I jumped. The idea is to find your reflex points and apply it there. Evidently the idea is not to see if I can feel it, but to see how high they can make me jump. Mostly it feels as if someone has hooked up your funny bone to electricity. It's not the most unpleasant procedure I've had done, but it's in the top five. ( The dentist is still number one. )

    I'm eating a couple of meals a day now and still doing a couple of cans of formula. My strength is returning slowly as is my stamina. My biggest problem seems to be being able to stay in a good temperature range so that I'm not too hot or cold. The weather in Texas hasn't been to bad yet and I'm still able to get out to my shop to work on small projects. Everything from the doctors still looks good, so I am hopeful.

   A continued thanks for all of those that are praying and rooting for me. I know all of the prayers are working because I'm still here to pester everyone. Thanks again. I couldn't have done it without everyone's help.

      So, until next year,

             Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

There's news in there somwhere

   Just an opening note to my readers. As I'm sure you have noticed the blogs have gotten farther apart. When I started this I was pretty much a captive to my treatments and as such had much more time to sit, think, and write. Now that I'm at home, the amount of time that I actually dedicate to writing is a very small part of the day. Add to that, that most of the news of my illness has been told and that my appointments are farther apart, and it leaves little to write about so please bear with me while I try to find a style and something to write about. I've said it before, they tell you to write what you know. The problem there is I have a few stories that I could write, but when you clean them up for publication they tend to lose a lot. I have a short story I have almost finished and when I can figure out how to get it out to people I'll let you know that it's ready.

   Oh, and one other thing, I've never been trained as a typist so all of this is done in the old hunt and peck style.

   The house at the north forty has come along slowly, but it is coming together. The place is almost 100% livable, lacking only some caulking, a little insulation, and a little more drywall. We placed the wood burning heater and all it needs now is the piping for the exhaust. The pipe is expensive so we wanted to be sure of all the measurements before we bought a bunch of stuff we couldn't use. We've checked into phone service and they believe that we could have phone and internet within a week of requesting it. Since cell phones don't work within a mile or two of the place, a land line is a must. About the only thing really holding us to the Granbury house is that it hasn't sold. If we had a serious bite on the house I believe we could be out in a week, although I would have to call in a lot of favors.

11-21

   The weather has been decent and I've felt good enough lately the last several days. I have been able to get Christmas lights hung, the window AC out of our room, and a few more odd chores that I had been putting off for warmer weather. With my right arm not wanting to work right some of that was a little tough.

   For the past several years I have been a bit of a weather nut, paying attention to the cold fronts and the weather patterns, and I have to tell you, I'm not missing the snow and traffic at all.  And that reminds me that whoever wrote the song Home For The Holidays has never actually driven from the Atlantic to Pacific because I've never seen the traffic being terrific ( horrific maybe ). ( Just a note, after researching the song, it was published in 1954. That might explain it. )

However, I have already made my first resolution for the new year, to get back on the road. My appointments have gotten farther apart so that I might be able to plan when to get back for them.

Lately I have been taking four cans of formula and an evening meal. I'm trying to get back into the habit of eating, although it's a bit different without teeth. If I can gain back some of the weight that I've lost, I should be getting back some of the strength also.

12-8

   Well, I guess now it can be told. I had a PET scan done last Friday and the results are in. My neck seems to be free of cancer, BUT there are several spots on my lungs. The Dr. said this could be from several things, including an infection or aspirated food. He also said that you can aspirate a small amount of food and never choke or be aware that it has happened. He has scheduled a CT scan to see what it turns up. If they don't like what they see, then it's on to do an aspiration of one of the suspect nodes. That's one I'm definitely not looking forward too. The needle is about a foot long and they take pictures of the needle while they are inserting it to make sure it's in the right place. Push it in a little, take a pic and repeat until they are happy.

   Right now the largest one is about the size of a pencil eraser and to get an accurate reading on the suspect node it needs to be about the size of a marble. So I'm sure there will be a waiting game for all of that.

   We also saw ENT where they ran a scope up my nose and into my throat. After running through my sinus cavity for a minute, that Dr. said I looked good from what he could see. My appointments for ENT are now set for 8 weeks instead of 4 to 6.

    Next Monday they are going to do a nerve test on my shoulder where they send electric shocks through my muscles to see how they react. ( Dr. Frankenstein, calling Dr. Frankenstein ) They are trying to figure out if my nerve got damaged somehow in all of this. Gee, I just can't wait until they see how high they can get me to jump off of the table.

   Ok, I've made you wait long enough so I'll post this now. I'll try to get another one out before Christmas.