Category Archives: Uncategorized

RIP Bonnie Doone

Posted in Death, pets, Uncategorized by

Yesterday did not go as planned.  I was getting stuff ready to go to the gym and Home Depot and I noticed some red spots on the concrete patio. I thought it was BBQ sauce as I had just taken in the utensils from the night before, and thought it was a drip.

I called my daughter out and said: “Is this blood”? She said yes and we went to find Bonnie. Now Bonnie is a 14-year-old McNab border collie that she rescued 3 years ago almost exactly. She has been a good dog although she has been an expensive dog with anti-seizure medicine monthly a urinary medicine too. Both have been my daughter’s expenses.

So back to the moment. She looked at her and saw she had blood near her back end and a hole that looked like it was a cyst.  It didn’t look good. So we decided to head to town and think about what to do. We discussed going down to Loomis Basin Vet which has emergency services but decided they would go for testing etc( they are into the money), then the other option was to wait to today, or the third option, call the mobile vet we’ve called before.

We knew Bonnie wasn’t going to improve and it looked like she was in pain and standing funny.  The vet said it was cancer tumors pressing on her chest cavity.

She went peacefully with Sachi petting her head. It’s always a sad day when your friend goes to the rainbow bridge. Over our lifetime, we’ve had many pets and deaths.  It doesn’t get easier but there is more understanding.

Now we are concerned for Rocky, her littermate who is the black and white border collie. He’s been looking for her and seems lost. He’s also deaf so he always took his cues from Bonnie.  So that will be tough. I have a feeling he will go too in the next 6 months. He is after all the same age.

So the day ended up not simple at all and sad.UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_386.jpg

Simple Sunday

Posted in Flylady, Uncategorized by

I overdid it yesterday doing things around the house and yard. It was good to be productive but this morning I feel some pulled muscles so I’ll back off today. I will get in the pool and move around a little and that should help.  This nothing really new. I often end up with aches and pains if I overdo it as my body isn’t used to extra activity.  So today can be a rest day.

This week is the bathroom zone and yesterday I cleaned some of the bins I use to keep things in. Today I’ll wipe the shelves.

It was really hot yesterday too and we actually ate dinner inside since it was @ 96 outside. My daughter made some BBQ chicken, corn and coleslaw. It was yummy.

The week ahead doesn’t look too busy. We see Dr. Abedi on Tuesday and B has his next Chimera test. So that’s exciting. ( I hope!! Then  Thursday my daughter will take him back down to Sacramento to get a boot for his foot.  The MRI, thank goodness, didn’t show any neurological stuff so it is a side effect of the Tacrolimus and he just has to buck up with it till that dose is reduced.

I’m going to the gym this morning to do some weights. Then I want to go over to Home Depot to get a few things.

 

Friday things

Posted in cancer, decluttering, home stuff, husband, MDS, Uncategorized by

We’re off to Sacramento for Clinic and Labs. B still has diarrhea going on but the Predisone and Imodium should help. We think this is a small Graft vs Host going on since he is now off one of the anti-rejection drugs, Mycophenolate.  At least it isn’t getting worse. So, all in all, that’s good.

I had thought to stop at Costco on the way home and I still may do that. It kinda depends on how long we’re at clinic. I really need to get my receipt in there as I was charged twice for 2 things. That’s always awkward as I feel like ‘will they believe me’?? But, like I said, it depends on how I feel and what time we leave Sacto. B just has to sit in the car, so that is something to consider too.

I filled out my LLS reimbursement form using SS for the first time. I probably did it wrong and they’ll kick it back. I found, after I submitted, their list of what was needed and I didn’t copy the cards just the payments, so that’s probably what they’ll need. They can be quite fussy about it but then again, they are giving me money, so I guess it needs to be done to the letter.  I’ll just wait and see 😦

I started emptying the tent trailer and put some things in the barn. I’d like to completely empty it and wipe it down and then evaluate its condition. B likes to take his naps out there so I don’t think we’ll close it completely down.

Well, I guess it’s time to get going!

The gift of LIFE…

Posted in Bone marrow transplant, MDS, Uncategorized by

I have been wanting to write a post about the gift of life that ALLO donors give to their recipients. Many do not even know the person they are giving their stem cells to. It is a truly selfless act of both courage and bravery.

In our case, Barclay’s donor was his younger brother. RPN. Now there is some history here, so I will give a few details. Not a lot of details but some, as it’s complicated.

We have had little or no contact with either of his brothers for almost 20 years. This was mutual. The gist is there was an inheritance involved that was very substantial and the two brothers were included and Barclay was not. They stood by the monetary decision and did not offer to make it more equitable.  A lot of angry words were said and that’s that.

RPN, gave his brother the gift of life, a chance to have some good years ahead and that is priceless. So I can forgive the past simply because of this single act of sacrifice.  What RPN did was courageous and he did not hesitate.  This act was, I think, transformative for me and Barclay on many levels even the cellular one!!!!

The past is the past and I can forgive and move on.

Life is a strange journey and healing the past is always a good thing.

We want to live for Now and what has happened is just part of our history that makes us who we are.

On a bigger platform, to all the people that have been ALLO donors, you are truly heroes and thank you!

Simple Sunday

Posted in California, camping, Flylady, meal planning, Uncategorized by

A nice walk this morning with some cloud cover. Today is supposed to be a bit cooler and with some clouds.

Yesterday, I grilled some chicken on the bbq and made extra for a chicken salad tonight. I had made an Asian salad last night and added crispy tofu and chicken on the side.  I think there’s some of that left too.

I started the kitchen zone and will do a bit more after I go to the gym. Tomorrow, I’m not going out at all so I can finish it then.

I did some meal planning for the week and plan to use the IP for a few recipes. We’ll see how I feel using it again.  I know I don’t like the beans cooked in the IP for some reason but the crockpot is great for beans.  Anyway, we’ll see.

I’m finally back on schedule that this is sheet day and Monday is towel day. When we got back from Sacto, the sheets had been washed and were on the bed so it thru the week off. The following week I did them on Saturday and this week is finally the right day at least on my schedule.

We’ve been talking about getting the small RV this fall to be ready to go. I’m sorta thinking maybe we should sell the tent trailer now as it is summer and probably a better time to sell. I’d be sad to see it go but I know we won’t be out this season at all. And we know we want a toilet and shower. So, I guess the time has come.  I’m also thinking of paying for 1/2 the RV and then financing the rest but not sure on that either.  I’d like to get $4,000 for the tent trailer but that may be optimistic although they do go for a fair price, even older ones.  I’ll check what’s on Facebook Marketplace to compare.

Other than that, a nice simple day enjoying the beauty of life.

Weekend stuff

Posted in Bone marrow transplant, California, cancer, Flylady, Uncategorized by

We had another big earthquake in California last night. We didn’t feel it here but some people in Sacramento did.  7.1 is a big quake. Scientists are saying there could be another within the week or at the least aftershocks.  We have an emergency kit in place and directions. Usually, up here it’s fires but who knows?

Mother Earth is not happy!!

Out weather continues to be quite lovely with yesterday being a little warm at 94 degrees.

I’ve been going out to the pool and floating and it’s been nice. My daughter has done a great job keeping the pool crystal clear as B can’t do it yet. Maybe by the end of summer, he’ll be able to take over.

Today, I’m going to the gym and then straight home. Not sure what I’ll do later. I started doing some knitting again and it’s a good meditative thing to do.

Next week we have 3 appts for B including the MRI for his leg.

The doctor is reducing one of his anti-rejection drugs so that’s like 6 fewer pills a day and a few others. He will be of the one anti-rejection drug completely next week. That’s a good thing!!

I need to meal plan for the week and I’d like to use a bunch of things from the freezer and do a clean out. I made homemade pizza last night and it was perfecto!! I did use my instant pot yesterday for hardboiled eggs. It is an easy way to make them for sure.

I’m in the kitchen zone next week, so I’ll start that Sunday as it is my biggest zone.

Using Flylady’s zone cleaning

Posted in Flylady, home improvement, Uncategorized by

Over at the blogger ‘living rich in retirement’, she was writing about trying Flylady for a month and seeing how it goes. I’d highly recommend that.

When I first started Flylady, I followed all the daily suggestions and decluttering ideas. I always like a structured set of instructions and they were perfect for me at the time. At that time I was on a chemo drug(oral) called Revlimid. It’s excellent for keep Myeloma at bay. I was on it for 5 years before it stopped working and my light chains started increasing. But when I was on it and dexamethasone, I really needed a game plan to keep the housekeeping up and the house clean and tidy.

Flylady really worked well for me. I even did the whole control journal, which I still have).

I use the zones as she lays them out:

  1. Entryway, front porch, dining room
  2. kitchen
  3. bathroom/sunroom/office
  4. bedroom
  5. living room

The YouTube vlogger’minimom’ uses Flylady zones but she has renamed her zones to fit her house. She is quite the minimalist even with 2 young children. I’d recommend watching her YouTube channel.

Now I just use the weekly zones as I have pretty much done all the bulk decluttering.  There’s always something to declutter and over the years my need for certain things has gone down and so I’ve decluttered thru layers. I think it’s relative to where you are in life. A young mom will have different needs than an older person like me. Also, if you live in the country or a city what you need will be different. Also, where you live geographically will dictate your needs as well. We live in a fairly temperate climate so we don’t need winter clothes per se. But an hour up I-80 and you’re in Truckee and will absolutely need snow clothes and lots of winter gear.

Anyway, Flylady gave me control over my house cleaning and I’m grateful still to this day for the zone cleaning and her method.