Happy New Year !!!

    Well, it's already February and I'm just getting around to putting this together. So much for a jump start on the new year. I had been waiting for some better news, but waiting on the VA is like waiting for Christmas when you're 6 years old. On with the show.

    It's 2015 and Christmas is over. I can't say I was happy to see it leave. We saw many of the relatives, but there were many more we just couldn't see due to distance or sickness. Teresa wound up with a nasty cold, leaving me to be the caretaker for a change. Winter has come to this part of the world which means colder temps, overcast days, and rain. I suppose I should be grateful that we aren't living in Wyoming or some such. I would like to reiterate the fact that I'm not missing the snow or traffic at all.

    I am eating mostly solid food now and I have to admit a couple of things. First, the food is tasting better and I'm learning what I can get down. Second, my digestive system is finally coming around and getting used to solid food again. Just about anything that doesn't really have to be chewed a lot is fair game. The tricky part is that although I'm eating again, I really have to remind myself to eat. My stomach still doesn't send the “ I'm hungry “ message like I'm used to. It is waking up though and if I go long enough without something to eat it will send up the signal.

    1-22

    Well, it's a week later and I'm only using the cans as a supplement when I really don't have time to eat. We spent the last week in the north forty. The weather was promised to be moderate and it didn't disappoint. One day was actually in the mid 70's and we were able to work outside. One of the projects is a greenhouse that we bought from a neighbor and I disassembled last summer. This thing is about 8' X 10' and the problem with it is that when we took it apart we had the intention of bringing it up here and reassembling it within a month or so. Of course life got in the way and now here I am trying to put together a puzzle with only holes drilled here and there for clues as to what piece goes where. It's a really nice one with a steel frame, built in heater, three windows, and a full sized door so I want to get it back the way it was. Not to mention the truckload of plants that Teresa has that will need a warm hangout when we move.

    2-1

    Last week I had another appointment, this time back with chemo. They wanted to talk to me about starting another round of chemo on what they perceive is more cancer in my lungs. After a PET and a CAT scan they have identified several of what they call nodules of suspicious nature. One of the doctors said that one of the nodules was possibly large enough to aspirate some fluid to identify whether or not it's cancer. However, I had been told by another doctor that even if it is, there is no harm in letting them go another month or two as the treatment would be the same.

The procedure to aspirate a nodule involves more scans and thankfully being out for the procedure since they will be putting a needle through the chest wall and trying to find the center of the nodule to aspirate it. I say trying because it's like trying to hit something half the size of a grape that's in the middle of a cantaloupe. You have a pretty good idea of where it is, but you're never positive if you're in it or not. If you get in it, you can properly identify whether or not it's cancerous. If you miss, you will always get a false negative which just sets you up for another test later.

    2-3

    Some very dear friends of ours came to visit this past weekend and decided I had been without teeth long enough. We had gone out to eat with one of their friends who had been in the service and had had dentures through them. He said to be prepared for another six months before I got them. After them seeing me and how much weight I had lost they told Teresa to make an appointment for me and they would pay for them. So today I went in for the initial exam and this afternoon I had teeth. They look really good, but it will take time to get used to having this big hunk of acrylic in my mouth all of the time and learning how to talk with them in. I had almost gotten used to the way I sounded without teeth (almost ) and now I have to start over. Dentists will tell you that one of the best ways to get used to new dental appliances is to sing along with the radio. Or I suppose you could just answer out loud to the voices in your head. ( Is that just me ? )

    At any rate, I'm going to post this now so you can see pics of me with teeth. Here's hoping you all have a great and prosperous new year.