Still catching up - March 6th -11th

Wednesday  Sophie kitty is staying in our home - Maggie walks up to investigate - Sophie kitty hisses.  Maggie is too old to go after her, so she just wonders.  "what the %&&%*^ is this kitty doing in my house?"

Karen and I go out to breakfast at Happy Hog Cafe - one woman, the owner is the only waitress and she is working so hard to keep up with all the tables.  I told her she needed some help, and she told me she brought a couple of extra girls in to help her.  They stay behind the breakfast bar the entire time we were there doing nothing - I was ready to get up and help her - the guys working there didn't help her at all much either - oh ok - they brought us some coffee.

Boy this is really a stretch now because I don't remember what has gone on the rest of this day - now 8 days ago!

We go to the 5:15 Mass at St. Joe's, Karen and Jack and I.  These are the masses during Lent that the Bishop has asked the parishes to hold in order to pray that the rights of all the churches in the USA are not trampled on my the Obama government.  We pray.

I believe we went to dinner at the Peninsula Grill this night - Jack comes with us too - SURPRISE!
Karen and I share a meal and Jack has a pizza.  Back home to a fire that Jack builds for me as we watch the dog try to make friends with the kitty.  No Way.

Tomorrow is the big day at the surgeon's office to find out the test results from the surgery.
I take two Xanex to go to bed, listening to my Ipad music of Adele's 21 album (awesome), Bruno Mars "Just the Way You Are" and "Slipping through my Fingers" from Mamma Mia.   I sleep OK.

Thursday
 Big day for me - the visit to see Dr. Tom a week after the surgery where the bad part of my booby was taken out.  Have I told you how happy I am with the results of my surgery?  About a three inch scar on the right side - but really hidden out of site.  Remember I forced Meganne McC to see it!

Dr. Tom comes in and he is sick!  He tells my sister and I that he can hardly talk and doesn't feel well.
He then tells me that the pathology report came back differently.  My heart sinks!  He then proceeds to tell us that there was no cancer in one of the sentinel nodes and that they are calling it a benign lesion. It is a nevus - I remember from histology class that a nevus is related to melanin and moles.  I show him that I have some moles on my breast - but nothing weird  trying to make him smile.  His face doesn't flinch.  So I ask him - am I supposed to be wearing a happy face with these test results?  He says yes and then leaves the room.  He is a man of few words - did I already say that.  At least I know he likes me so I take no offense.


My sister and I go out to our favorite restaurant - Chez Peres to celebrate.  In fact we have Mimosas with our breakfasts on a Thursday  - how decadent!  But then we think that we are really celebrating based on the news from the pathology report - although I still have to have chemo and radiation.

On the way out of the restaurant I see Leslie and Barb - both wives of radio oncologists. 
Dr Dave is married to Leslie (she was my past internist) and he will do my radiation.  I was originally scheduled for Barb's husband Dr. Mike, but he was on vacation at the time of my appointment so I am seeing Dr. Dave instead - I know Dave better so it worked out good for me!  Both are great doctors - we are blessed in this community.  Of course I was talking to the girls really fast because I forgot I had taken a Xanex before my doctors appointment - that PLUS a Mimosa PLUS Linda is like "WOW".   Most embarrassing though is that I introduce Barb to my sister as Judy.   Judy is actually the wife of Dr. Mike's brother Dr. Dan - who was the vet to our Sadie and Maggie OES dogs, so natural mistake.   Anyhow - years ago on a field trip with Tom and Jack's kindergarten class, I rode in the beautiful countryside of Leelanau Co with Barb - and we discussed Jesus from her religion's perspective and Faith - at that time back in the spring of 1996 I was just going through RCIA to become Catholic,so it was a moving discussion.  DJ and Megan were in the Grand Traverse Area Catholic School system at that time, but the kindergarten class was full, so Tommy and Jack were in the public school system at Eastern Elementary - quite an accomplished school as well - Barb and I lost touch after that year as the boys moved to Holy Angels the next year that we lived in Traverse City - I am still embarrassed that I forgot her name!

The rest of the day we run errands and go home to catch up with my TAXES.  Never got started!


Dinner out to Stella's with Karen, Jack, Meganne McC, Uncle Tim and KB the masseuse.  Food was great and we all had a lot of fun!  I now remember Maureen's name the waitress whom I met at Amanda's house - the owner of Stella's - man I hate this bad memory thing.  We are treated to deserts by Al - Carrie's husband (Carrie used to work for us at Brick Packaging) - drank some great wine and shared the food with all!

Jack drives us home!

Friday

The day after seeing Dr. Tom - I am still wondering if it is a happy face I am supposed to wear - I think so?   Karen and I go for lunch at Poppycock's - I buy extra tomato swiss soup for Dan and DJ as they are on their way home and Dan is not feeling well.  We will stay home tonight  which actually feels good.  Jack has left and taken Sophie kitty with him as he has to pick up Jessica at the airport later.  He did some chores for me and was a big help while he was home -

DJ and Dan return home - we have soup and go to bed early.


Saturday
My sister leaves today - we shower, get cleaned up and she packs -we load up the car.  She doesn't have to leave until 3:45pm.  We go to the Green House cafe for breakfast - only we eat lunch!  We run into several shops downtown to complete some errands. Karen had spotted a t-shirt bra in the french bra boutique we have downtown - I buy one - violet and it is lacy - it makes me feel better - although no under wire - not quite as perky as I used to be!  DJ meets us downtown at the bra shop - he has memories of being in the same shop when it was an Italian women's clothing line at men's downtown night during the  Christmas season.  Not telling that story on this blog  - it belongs to him.  Well I told DJ that I would take him to lunch - even though we had already eaten - you always make time for your kids no matter how old they are at the time.  He wants to go to Bubba's as he has discovered their Buffalo Wing Tater Tots are awesome!  He adds bacon and green onions to them and tells them they should patent it - whoa, DJ gave them the idea - maybe he will be a patent attorney.

DJ says his goodbye's to Auntie Karen.   Karen and I make one more errand to Staples before I drop her off at the airport.  I wish she could have stayed a week longer - I really would have put her to work helping get rid of all my extra stuff that I have saved all these years.  Stuff that I know my kids could care less about.

You can't take it with you - - - how true is that and how come you have to go through a lot of stuff to realise you can't take it with you  - - and HE does not want it anyway.


I am trying to remember what we did for dinner that night - I know I didn't cook.  Dan wants to cook a lamb shoulder for Sunday night dinner that he has pulled out of the freezer - the only food that my sister and I have let survive the four days of no refrigeration from the storm of March 2012!  I find a Jamie Oliver recipe off the food channel.  He will make this tomorrow - we usually do Sunday meals as often as we can - that is what Nana told Dan to do to make sure he kept them up!  (Four hours before she died - she gave each of us our marching orders! - If I could be half way like her!)


Sunday
Eleven o'clock church at St. Joe's - I don't see my friend Mary there so I am worried.  I actually have to read that morning - wow - I am blessed to be able to do that!

I text Mary to see if she is ok - she is on her way to Cadillac to celebrate a family birthday.  I breath a sigh of relief.  I am now her sister with this disease - BC!

Dan makes his recipe - I work up in our office - still the TAXES are not done!

The lamb recipe is wonderful - Uncle Tim comes over for dinner - we drink some fine wines - Life is Good!