The Sandwich Life

Six days and counting....

Today we have puttered around....I marinated some green olives and capers, I'm in the process of slow roasting some plum tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, thyme and a dash of sugar to help them carmelize (thanks Susan!!!!)....we cleaned our bedroom up....sat in the drizzle for awhile staring at our wide open sky....now we're listening to a crew of kids watch Star Wars in the media room....and I'm trying to imagine this:

turning into this:

Kieran said "relax damn it" so I will try to listen.....

Chainsaws and Kindness

We truly do have the best neighbors and friends in the world.  IN THE WORLD.  Yesterday morning Sasha and Dick offered to watch the boys so we could get some stuff done.  It was great and the boys had a wonderful time on top of it.  Then yesterday afternoon, our friend Rob, who I have deemed our 'young, energetic' neighbor hoodwinked another neighbor Greg into helping cut down our drooping tree branches with a chain saw.  Soon our neighbors Jeff and Dave were out with THEIR chainsaws and the group of them worked all afternoon.  Utterly amazing.  I'm not sure why we are so fortunate but I hope we are able to be as generous as they all are.....

 

Our yard looks tons bigger to me now and we will get more sun which will be great for gardening. Of course my plants got a bit mashed but there was no way around that and they'll be fine next year. It feels so good to have this done.  Dennis and his friend Mike had already taken care of a big branch I've wanted out of the way forever and now with this down it just feels like a worry off my plate.

So onward to obsessing about the party.  Yesterday we rearranged the living room to attempt to make space for the band.  We got a bit giggly as it's going to be rather tight to say the least. Kieran Kane kindly emailed me however and told me to relax.....

Wish me luck being productive today.....

I love you guys

Thank you to each and every one of you that left a comment.  Judi and I appreciate them SO much.  Thank you.....truly.

Judi described herself as shell shocked and I think that probably is pretty accurate because I feel that way myself.  Of course Judi is spending some of her time worrying about me---and others that love her----but I guess that is typical of her.  I'm OKAY Judi.  I promise.  Now we just have to muddle through and move ahead. 

Ernie and I were going to go out tonight---to see Bill Kirchen at the Rose Bowl but we canceled our babysitter---just didn't feel like it.  Turned out now we have to take the guys to their school open house/ice cream social.  I bailed on it however and Ernie kindly took them without me. Do I have the best guys in the world?  Yup.  My headache is better but the thought of being in a school with tons of kids just sounds painful at this moment.

No more to say right now....just thank you. 

Update

I talked to Judi.  Not what we had hoped for.  The scans showed activity around the pancreas although it has not metastasized elsewhere.  She goes back for another scan and a needle biopsy next Tuesday. Assuming the biopsy shows abnormal cells then she will go back into chemo.

A lot of tears today.

at the moment....

o.k...what's with the no commenting guys?  HUH? My headache is a little better...work is driving me CRAZY....I alternate between wanting to give my children away and wanting to just nibble on them I love them so much....we are never going to be ready for this party....waiting to hear what Judi's oncologist says today....can't even bear to read about the election....it's ALL too scary.....

Random Notes from the Sandwich Life

1.  Well the doctor isn't sure whether my blood pressure is high because of my headaches or I have headaches because my blood pressure is high.  Regardless, I'm have yet another pill to take (I'm becoming like my mother----I'm going to need one of those little daily pill organizers!) and better yet some pain medication. All Hail Ultram!  My headache is better--not gone but better and at least I can write and think.  A huge improvement.  Feeling better makes me realize how lousy I had been feeling.  Of course then he said if we couldn't figure it out down the road I might need an MRI.  I just laughed and said, "oh no, nothing can be really wrong with me----I'm the only one left.  I HAVE to be o.k.  He just nodded.

2.  Judi got through one scan yesterday----has her PET scan today.

3.  Last night I went upstairs to bed early---between hurting all day and pain medication I was SLEEPY and Owen shouted up after me, "I love you....and I'm NEVER going to forget how much I love you."  Then he came up and sang me a lullabye.  It went "go to sleep my little girl, go to sleep" and then I forget the rest because well....I went to sleep.

4.  Even though we can't afford it we got a babysitter and are going to see Bill Kirchen at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.

5.  Basement is still a little wet and my zinnias are all bent to the ground.  The boys, along with Parker and Dema, had a fabulous time playing in the flooded yard and street though....

6.  We've had so much rain of late that the other day Owen and a friend found these mushrooms in the field and brought them to me.  They were so gorgeous----these pictures barely capture it....and I might note that this may be as sexy as my blog has ever gotten....

oof

Judi should be done with her CT scan by now.  Tomorrow is her PET scan and then Wednesday she'll meet with her oncologist.  Wish I could speed up things for her.

After I finish lunch I will be off to the doctor to see if he can figure out why my blood pressure keeps going up and I've had a non-stop headache for most of a week.  I hope he can do something....right now I just want to crawl under my desk and lay down in the dimness.

A Little Carlene Treat for a Monday....

I don't know if I ever knew that Carlene Carter had a show on VH1 back in the day or if I just forgot but whichever way.....I found this series of videos the other night and it just CHEERED me right up.  Here's one with her band---including a young David Lee Holt pre-Mavericks I guess---or actually is it post-Mavericks?  Don't know I'd have to think too hard to figure that out and my head hurts....

and here's another one with my beloved Kevin Welch....

Floods and Crosswords

oh man......look at this:

Gee....do you think my basement is going to flood?  Yup.....already starting. 

Oh well.

On a different note Ernie and I watched the rest of a movie last night (yes, it can take us weeks to watch an entire movie...we are TOTAL failures at Netflix....gotta cancel that thing) and I LOVED it.  Being married to a man who takes the New York Times crossword puzzle quite seriously.....and of COURSE does it in ink....this movie was great.  WAY recommended.....

The glories of Tyleonol PM, shopping and party plans...

It's not that I have been sleeping terribly but I have been waking a lot and sleeping restlessly so last night I downed a Tylonol PM and thoroughly enjoyed every bit of my druggesd slumber! After arising leisurely
I forced myself to go shopping.  Yeuch. It wasn't all bad though. When I told the boys that I was going to go shopping, Owen looked up from his Lego and said cheerfully, "oh that's nice, you'll have a little break from us." Moments later he threw himself to the floor in abject misery because when I asked for goodbye kisses Leo beat him to me. Ay yi yi.... So I took off...climbed in the van, turned the a/c up and blasted Copperhead Road by Steve Earle. It felt so good to be on the highway listening to loud music. I went to the Tuscola outlet mall, lured by the Coldwater Creek outlet. Found a couple of things but DANG, as Leo would say, that place is friggin creepy. Tried another store, hated everything, then decided to hit some stores for the guys. Went into Oshkosh and got totally overwhelmed.....too many things, too many people.....left and went to the Gap where I bought a new pair of Indiana Jones pants for Owen that are a little heavier weight and a pair of jeans for Leo. I had planned to get more but I had hit my limit in terms of overstimulation.  Came back to town and did some more shopping...by the time I got to Target I was throwing odd things in my cart and figured it was time to go....

So Cathy asked me what I was planning for food for my party....  I think I'm going to keep it a little simpler than I usually do.  I plan to have a platter of manchego cheese, marcona almonds and green olives, a platter of arugula rolled up in prosciutto, and then a table full of different spreads, dips and breads.  I've asked Rob and Linda to bring hummus because they make the best, I might do a smoked salmon dip that I often make, then lay out little dishes of pesto, fresh tomatoes, goat cheese and maybe some sauteed shrimp---oh, and with an assortment of breads, maybe fresh as well as crisped ahead and various crudites  So it will be kind of a make your own spread but hopefully there will be something for everyone.  Oh, and  some people are bringing sweets as well.  Of course I always have to put out my spicy cheese wafers as well.  I might do my black pepper almonds but not if it's as humid as it is now....

I had tried another appetizer that had all sorts of rave reviews and I thought sounded good but I think it's just too sweet for my tastes....so I think this is the plan.  A couple of friends are donating a keg and a case of wine....I can't believe how lucky we are with friends....amazing....