Post Chemo Spa & Shape Up

Hey Thomcat, so nice to see your cheerful face again!!  And nice to know you're feeling so positive, especially after such major surgery.  I do not know what a Da Vinci hysterectomy is...I'll have to google it.

You know, Yoga sounds like a great idea.  There's a place where our bike trail skims right next to a yoga place and everytime we sail by, I think, that would be a great idea, I could even bike to it!!  Maybe Erik and I should try it.  I feel that we have really neglected our strength training this year, and perhaps this would help.  Both of us seem to have endless little nuisance skeletal problems.  I think the key to staying young is to keep your muscles fit..keep those bones healthy..

Glad you were spared by Gustav, Hannah, Ike, and Fay.  Mary...you probably have some pretty wild stories...be sure not to keep us in suspense...  DH is going to be in New Orleans on business early October, hope they don't see the likes of some late season monster!!

Would be nice to hear from the rest of you lovelies...Raye, when will we see some new hairdos?  Carol, miss ya!!!  

I am so enjoying being home again to a beautiful Michigan fall.  Erik is all set to pick up and move to Maine at the first opportunity, but I may have a hard time leaving Michigan.  Anyway...with the economy so volatile we'd be crazy to try to buy or sell or house soon.  Right now the foliage is at its peak and everyone if giving us peaches and pears; the raspberries are coming in strong.  Last night we had a wonderful fresh raspberry peach crush...Yum...it tasted so fresh and good I had a hard time leaving it alone before dinner, I knew if I got started there would be none left by dinnertime!!!

Miz   

PS...Hey gals, both Monhegan Girl and Monhegan Afternoon got into the show....won't know about awards until the Reception Oct 2!!!

Just stopping by to say hi and because I have been MIA.  MizLin, I think we are all adrift without you!

Well, that recipe above looks so luscious!  So, you are a goumet cook, too?  I know I can find peaches locally but am not sure about the raspberries.  I imagine frozen would work, wouldn't they?  Oooooooooh, am drooling just thinking about this.

Maybe some of you have seen my lament over on the Moving Beyond boards:  Is your computer making you fat?  Yes, I have been spending too much time online so am consciously trying to stay away.  It has NOTHING to do with you lovely ladies.  I will be online, for sure, but when the bell goes off........I gotta go!  Fat arse, you know.  Am trying to keep in motion. LOL

Miz, it's good to get a friendly scolding now and then.  Lets us know we are loved!  You will be happy to hear that I severely cut back my time online yesterday and will soon go offline after posting a few places here.  Will probably check back in mid afternoon and *that is it*!

Have also decided to wear my old walking shoes during the day so that I can just step outside at will and take a short walk.  I have several routes that I can take and one is back and forth down the road 1/4 mile each way.  A round trip is 1/2 mile.  Not much, but if I do that a couple of few times a day, it will add up.  I am counting on the slow and steady versus the violent bursts of energy to get me moving. 

I know how upsetting it is to have cats go missing.  Try not to worry and remember:  They do go to kitty konventions from time to time.  Sometimes they are gone for a couple of days.  Tarsome cats!  They know you will fuss over them ceaselessly when they do come home.  Canned food and all that..................

Youse guys are so quiet.  Shell-shocked over the state of the economy?  I am.

Have just been working, working, working.  Well, actually, I have been reading a bit as I host the annual Christmas party for my book group and I get to pick the book.  We've already read some of the Christmas classics and now the pickins are pretty slim.  I did read Grisham's Skipping Christmas but decided that it was just too annoying for me.  Now, I'm into a Rosamunde Pilcher, of all things.  Winter Solstice.  Although I thought at first that it was too lowbrow for us, I think I'm changing my mind.  Maybe lowbrow and comforting is just what we need at this time.

Any suggestions?  (We've already done Christmas Carol, Redbird Christmas, New Yorker Christmas treasurey, and I can't remember what else.)

WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!!!!

My excuse is zat zee artiste vas veddy veddy busy getting ready for the art show, which BTW turned out to be a lot of fun.  No, I didn't win a prize this year but I don't feel too bad about it cause you can't win 'em all and who wins can be so subjective, depending on the artistic tastes of the judge.   This year only abstract paintings got awards...EXCEPT  for Best of Show which was an absolutely beautiful lifesize sculpture.  It's not very often that a piece of artwork reaches me at such a visceral level.  I walked around and around this piece and felt very moved and did not quite understand why.  Here it is from one of my favorite angles...though there are many others.

What's even more exciting was that I met the artist and found out that she is woman (YEAHHH!!!!) and we have a lot in common and plan to get together--...she's also a musician and she and my husband have some common interests and may collaborate....soooo exciting.....!!!  The more interesting people I meet out here the more I wonder if I am really ever going to be able to move to Maine. 

Abbadoodles...I ordered a copy of your book, WINTER SOLSTICE and it is now sitting on my bedside table.  The back cover says it is about a woman who falls in love at age 62---vunderbar!!!-- can't wait to read it...Maybe we should start on on-line book club.

Mary ..Have you recovered from the storm?  You haven't checked in...tell us about it!!

Cathy...hope the recovery from surgery is over and you're back to enjoying life in Florida now that the storms are over and you have the best weather in the country.

Casey ..watcha up to gal?!!  Haven't heard from you in a coon's age..probably busy with the harvest from your garden.  Do miss your newsy posts....

Raye.. love to see some more pix.  How long is your hair now??...Mine has officially reached *medium* length though I like to wear it in a french braid because the length is so unshapely, but I don't dare cut it..It's SO GREAT to get hair back.  I feel like a real person again!!!

Speaking of hair, Puppy's  is now two inches and she's decided to keep it a darker color...no more blond.  Oh, Puppy, get someone to send us a snapshot of you...email me so we can see what you look like.  We are so proud of you and your recovery!!! It's nothing short of miraculous.   Atta go girl!!!

Carol..great hearing from you this summer....I am assuming you made a full and complete recovery from the surgery last spring, what are your plans for fall..

Rose...we never heard from you again.  You're welcome back anytime...and BTW that goes for the rest of you too.

Hope everyone is enjoying fall as much as I am...

Miz

Hey Gals...I just started Winter Solstice last night. It has been years and years and years since I have read a novel, I usually prefer nonfiction, but this one is so much fun.  Having tea with a married man...oh boy!!!!  I've read the first thirty pages.

Had a wonderful weekend this weekend. Went out & painted twice around sunset, and it was MAHVELOUS!!  The color is reaching peak right now, and the weather is utterly delightful.  Today I pick up my bike at the shop, newly enhanced with baskets for painting equipment.  Will publish some pix soon.

Casey....I am so totally and utterly thrilled to see you post!!!!!  I've been worried about you!!!

Miss the rest of you too...

Miz 

Hey Gals...well I don't want to give away too much of the plot here, because I am ahead of you Mary on Winter Solstice, but I am beginning to wonder about this book.

Elderly attractive lady of modest means moves to village from London and meets glamorous filthy rich couple that takes her in.  Rich wife is inconsiderate alcoholic, man is attractive musician, a bit bullied by wife.  Elderly attractive lady has just adopted a sweet little mutt of a puppy, a "real dog", who is bullied by the rich wife's frenetic and inconsiderate overbred pekes.  There is an attraction and meeting of minds between our attractive lady heroine and the quiet abused husband.  They have tea together...how sweet and inviting!!

Then she goes on a trip to visit relatives and comes back, the the inconsiderate wife has just been killed in a car accident along with her daughter and obnoxious dogs. Now the newly widowed husband invites her to go off on a trip with him...

THIS IS ALL A LITTLE TOO EASY!!  Where's the moral dilemma here?  Tell me there's more coming, there's got to be.  This is just the beginning of the book.

Mary...thrilled to see you and hear from you.  Hope you follow this book...I think we have similar tastes...we both liked High Art a lot.   There are a lot of good movies coming out this fall...

I saw The Dark Knight a few weeks ago because it was the best of what was showing around here (the pickings were slim).  All the time I was watching the movie, I was thinking, this is not my kind of movie, and I wished to be in any one of the other theatres watching something else.  My husband and I didn't even talk about the movie on the way home.  But after we got home and after we had thought about it, we did, and we realized it was a not just a good movie, it was a great movie.  The performance by Heath Ledger was superb.  So sad to see so much talent lost at such a young age.

Miz

Good morning Spa Girls...

Finally got my Apple back after two trips to the repair shop...how foolish I was to buy a computer on eBay!!

My life has been in a whirl, a delightful whirl.  Had a marvelous time in Quebec City, despite the fact that when we arrived our B&B hostess had "lost" our reservation and rented our room to someone else!!  It was a very busy weekend, there was a convention with dignitaries from all French speaking countries and not a room to be had anywhere, but I went down the street and knocked on a few doors and found a lovely suite that hadn't been rented because the price was too high.  The manager knocked the price down for us, so we ended up spending the weekend in the lap of luxury...a beautiful sunllit room with high ceilings furnished with antiques, fine art, a working fireplace, lots of windows, a marvelous jacuzzi..

The more I travel the more I discover you have to expect the unexpected...and enjoy!!  That way it always works out!!!

Our country may be on a verge of depression but Old Quebec is thriving and full of life.  Wonderful stores, wonderful Quebec-made clothes and crafts with very high standards of design and workmanship, lots of small cozy restaurants and thriving galleries.  You walk and walk, meet people, eat dinner twice a day (with wine) and you don't have to worry about the calories because you burn it all off!!  My hair grew two inches I think...all that sun and wind and Vitamin D...suddenly it was shoulder length!  So I had it cut yesterday.

Almost two years to the day since I was dx'd and twenty months after my first chemo, I finally have a full head of hair, cut just the way it looked before chemo, just the way I want it to look.  Life is normal again.

Twenty months after my first chemo, I finally caught up on all the disorganization and housework. The garage was out the last outpost of disorder, and we finally cleaned it the weekend we got back.  Without planning.  It just happened.  Each day is now so much easier to face, knowing I have an orderly house.

But yesterday was a very sad day for me; it was the day of Joni's funeral.  She was diagnosed a month earlier than I was, and she and I were in the same January Chemo group 2007.  She was the one most like me, interested in art, photography, and travel.  I lost touch with everybody else, but she continued to send me sweet messages, poems, photos, a video of Van Gogh when I was feeling blue.  She was a kindred spirit and always seemed to understand what I was feeling at a given moment.  She told me she would never forget how I was always there for her.  But when I got back from Quebec, I went to the old thread to check on her and I found out she had died the day I flew home from Quebec.  I knew she had mets, but I did not realize how ill she was these past two months.  I did not even have a chance to say goodbye or pray for her before she died.

"Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable." George Bernard Shaw. 

Hi Linora:

I noticed nothing has been happening on this thread lately.  Thanks for reviving it!

I did not get much working out done in the fall of '08 due to my hysterectomy but I'm in full swing now.  I've started back to yoga (still loving it!) and walking.  The weather here in SW FL is so BEAUTIFUL and I've been power walking in the am.  This week (once my son went back to school) I started drinking green smoothies for breakfast and lunch and am trying to eat sensibly avoiding lots of sweets.  The holidays left me a little blue so I started taking Effexor again (weaned myself off back in Nov....why????).  I took Arimidex for about 3 weeks and the side effects were too much for me to handle so now I'm on Aromasin.  The side effects are a bit kinder but now my hair is starting to suffer.  It is so limp and lifeless.  Hope it doesn't start falling out which is a known side effect.  BUT, all in all - life is good despite all the gloom we are hearing on the news.

WAKE UP everybody, we'd love to hear from you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Cathy

Cathy...so nice to see you post!!!  Even if it's just you and me can we start a little weight control program, and keep a record.  I really need to do this!!

Casey, Casey, Casey....I've missed YOU!!!   Tell us all about what is going on in your life.  I am so glad you're back!!

Life has been pretty good for me despite worries about the economy.  I've stocked up on food, and I'm planning a garden this spring (the heck with the condo assoc!!!); there's no actually rule against it, we just have to make it look like part of a landscape plan.  I'm going to plant all kinds of summer and winter squashes, lettuce, pole beans, spinach, kale, and just things we like to eat.

Raye and Abbadoodles are regular posters in the Fashion Thread; I found it a few weeks ago, and it was nicely timed, because I've signed up for a local Project Runway and am one of 46 contestants.  I've already designed a gown and have a model and am soooo  excited.

Puppy and I were in touch.  When I talk to her she sounds good, but she's seems to be drifting away a bit; last time we talked she told me that she doesn't talk to anybody else at all, and I have not talked to her since before Christmas.  I am worried..but that's nothing new, I'm always worried about Puppy!  A craniotomy is a very, very serious operation and recovery can be very slow and tedious.

Cathy...so sorry to hear about the problems with Arimidex and Aromasin.  I did a good bit of research on the anti-hormonals and the best AI seemed to be Femara, so that was the one I chose.  I have very few SEs...just some occasional achiness in my legs, but I take Glucosamine-Chondroitin and Vitamin D and Calcium, which makes a big difference.  May hair is thicker than before chemo!

Linora

Cristi...welcome back to the world of the active and healthy!!

Are you working?  How much time do you have?  I say, take it a little slow and don't expect a lot of yourself.  Chemo fatigue can last a long time.  I think the best way to get started is with regular aerobic exercise, something you do every day or every other day, like walking and running.  If you are a vigorous aerobic exerciser, do a vigorous workout every other day and a light workout on the intervening days.  You'll be amazed how fast you come back.  I think getting outside for workouts is very important...there's nothing like fresh air!  You'll feel better before you look like your old self.

Pay attention to your diet, try to eat healthy, avoid processed foods, eat lot of fresh fruits and vegies, avoid fast foods.  

Strength training is also great...see if you can join a club or get going on program of your own at home.  I have found that there are three basic exercises, that, on their own, can do enormous things for your overall muscle and skeleature:  1.  pushups  either from your knees or from your ankles, 2. squats, from a standing position to squatting from your knees, and 3. sittups.  I do the kind where you lie on your back and pull alternate knee and elbow together.  Do each of these as many times as you can until you reach muscle fatigue.

Don't scrimp on sleep, you're going to need a lot of it.  If you have to get up early try to get to bed early.  Bring something to read to make yourself sleepy.  

The hair takes a while to come back, it was a over a year before I was actually "wearing" my hair.  I preferred turbans to scarfs...but I've heard that the more you expose your head and hair to wind and sun the more it will grow.  I also used Rogaine for men, and now that I've stopped, my hair growth has slowed a bit.

Your eyebrows may come in light at first.  I used a dried up old mascara brush and applied it to my brows the wrong way...having your eyebrows back will do more than you think to make yourself look like you again.

Linora

Casey - I am on Facebook too.  look for me - Carol Rech.  I need friends!  Have a great time diving, sounds great.  Never been to Turks & caicos but hear its simply gorgeous. Linora, good to see you and Cristl - take your time.  We are always anxious for our hair to grow and get back to normal.  Have patience.  It takes a while but you'll get there. My nails took a beating too and I just had to wait for them to grow out.  they were so soft, too soft to get manicures.  Feeling like all your cognitive ability is back takes a while too.  Rest, eat well, exercise, all of that helps.  Stay well, Carol

Good Morning Ladies...

Casey...I am just tickled pink to see you back and posting!!!  I've been wondering about you these long cold months.  Your trips to the Turks and Portugal sound very exciting!!!  And Carol...I am so happy to see you back too...

Well ladies we have a lot in common, we have some weight to lose, we've got to get in shape because we're all done with BC and we need to get back to our lives and it needs to be the best part of our lives ever.   LET'S START A SPREADSHEET RIGHT NOW!! I've gained 4 pounds since the last time I posted!!! PM me your  current weights, I've still got the other data and when I have some time this week I'll revive our stats.  I have gained weight this winter:  I am up to 137!!!  That's almost ten pounds more than I was a year ago.  It is the snow and being cooped up and not being able to get exercise.  I just get too bored walking on machines, I have to get outside...so I am going to make a point of skiing every other day and taking long walks on the days when I'm not skiing.

My goal is to lose 20 pounds by May, yes 20, and I know I can do it.  And I have a great incentive to do so, I am going to have a dermatologist work a little magic on my face and I'd like this to be a total makeover.

Another thing we have in common are gardens which are going to be more important in the future, if the pundits are right about everything dismal that is going to happen to the economy.   I've gotten involved in a number of political and philosphical blogs on the web...very interesting stuff.  I highly recommend James Kunstler of Clusterfuck Nation.  He's a former writer for Rolling Stone and very astute and very funny...if you ever are interested in some amusing and insightful social commentary, check him out.  (Just click on the blue text.)

Getting back to the subject of gardens, I'm planning on a variety of lettuces and squashes...I'm going to start a little small, tucking things in here and there.  We've already got lots of herbs.  Two crops I am particularly interested in are Watercress & Arugula...I just love 'em.  It's hard to decide which I like more, but I think I like watercress best.  Never grown it.   I've tried Arugula with no success with Arugula yet...tips anyone?   We're also going to plant fruit trees.  I have a nice warm sheltered courtyard with a southern exposure that is now overgrown with some demonic ground cover that has killed everything.  First we'll have to pull out the ground cover piece by piece with the jeep, then we can plant Pear trees, Peach trees, and perhaps put in a fountain, a bird feeder, and some watercress!!  So exciting. We'll be able to watch progress daily from the dining room room window.  

The Runway Show was last weekend & I am still recovering.  It was lots of fun..standing room only.  I didn't win first prize, but my gowns will be featured in some storefronts and upcoming shows next month... here are some pix

Linora