A Pair of Foxes

...is something we don't have (yet) in our photo file.

So, instead, we have yet another pair of squirrels caught by Kevin's artful eye.

We certainly enjoyed being able to spend time with Carol and Fred this past week. I'm hoping they'll start commenting on this blog, as Carol writes very well (and got to work with her first Macintosh laptop while here)...

But, in the meantime, I think they enjoyed the food, their massages, the pool table, birdwatching, the 'oldies but goodies' (thanks, again, Carl) and just hanging out. Oh, yeah, and the sheets. Thanks again to our sister, Katie, for having such high standards for a Bed and Breakfast! *grins*

Mom didn't remember Fred right away, but as they chatted, the memories returned. It was good for Mom to have a chance to connect with some different people with different histories, memories, etc.

Wednesday evening we had dinner at da Green House, but just before dessert was served, the tornado sirens went off. We pushed Mom back to her house just before the torrential rains came down (which Kevin ran through with cream puffs and lemon pie).

There went our poker game, as well...

We visited Uncle Shorty's grave, but since it rained every day that Fred and Carol were here, we were unable to take Auntie 'Rie with us. And, because of said rain, a couple of planned side trips were postponed until their next visit, which we started looking forward to as soon as they left. *waves in a north-easterly direction*

Today I felt I had returned from vacation -- in true form, with an additional five pounds. *sighs* But, it was good eating, and I keep hearing that I can't afford to lose weight during chemotherapy... *shrugs*

So a quick mile was in order and then I meandered in the yards to see what will need to be done in the next week and found some things to think about for our fall clean-up. (The more gardens we make, the farther we need to trek with autumn's leaf-fall.)

And here I am catching up:

Other than muscle ache surrounding my right lung (residual from surgery/healing for which an analgesic was prescribed), I've been feeling pretty strong. This extra five pounds and the 'vacation' I took from my walking will give me plenty to work on...

I'm hoping the right lung muscle pain will diminish sooner than the 2-months-to-2-years that I was told I could expect residual symptoms from the surgery in May... *crosses fingers* So far, massage has been helpful and we'll keep working on it.

Nurse Nancy, thanks so much for your call on Monday. The weather this week looks perfect for walking in da Woods, so I probably won't see you for another week or so. My next infusion is a week from today and I have another CT scheduled that day, as well, so I'll see if we can poke our heads in for a minute while we're at the hospital. Thanks, again, for letting us know that you're still reading here.

Cranium Man, if you've got photographs that you'd like to put up for sale, let's talk... And yes, we still have the microphone stand, but it's starting to look like an interesting possibility for a birdhouse stand...

Mom is doing as well as can be expected. We believe she's begun having mini-strokes and will be watching their frequency. She starts slurring her words and her upper lip stops moving, but she's otherwise cogent and coherent and doesn't seem to notice it's happening...

Most of her brothers and sisters are no longer traveling, so she looks forward to hearing that friends and other family are traveling in this direction. The most recent is NancyTurtle! (Yes, we got your itinerary.) *looks forward to late August*

Kevin has been busy with new web design clients in addition to today's technological traumas (which inevitably happen to the staff on Fridays)... We're excited about a potential new client and will keep you posted as things evolve. Otherwise he's trying to get on top of water leaks and the resulting damage at da Red House in addition to that persistent leak in da Crick... And, of course, there's a fair amount of tree fall from this past week's storms.

Kevin's family leaves today for the annual (started in 1990) CFV (C Family Vacation) so we may not see much of them here for the next week. Sturgeon Bay is this year's destination again, and it looks like there will be 30 + attending. From what we've seen of the food lists, event schedules, and banter among them in the family email, it looks like another great gathering. We'll certainly be there in spirit!

And, as per DonnaMarie's request, a photo of da pair of us; we'll work on others:




How was your week?