I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Owls - love them.  Had a barn owl who visited often, but haven't seen her in a while.

Enjoyful - I wish I lived near you so I could go to Whole Foods, and buy a jar of Organic Cocoa Butter to leave at your door   It is my go to for everything now.  used to use Coconut Oil, but now it's more Cocoa Butter.  Melt in microwave b4 using as a moisturizing agent - inside & outside, tho I use little "chips" of the solid for "inside."

You'll smell like a bar of delicious chocolate.  It is SO healing, more than Jojoba Oil for me too.

Hope everyone has gotten Flu Vaccine this year - it's a BEAST and going wild in the Lower 48.  Also, a VERY GOOD idea to have a Pneumonia Vaccination, if you haven't already.  Special person ( a very healthy youngish person) died quickly from pneumonia - in an excellent Boston hospital.  It was viral, and they just couldn't control it. 

While we're talking Good Health - it was my oncologist who asked me to have a Shingles Vaccination 6 months after I finished chemotherapy.  A VERY good disease to avoid, esp. if over 60 and had chicken pox as a kid.

Paula:  A/C as I'm sure your docs have told you is "cumulative" in its SE's.  I did the dose dense, and by the last one I was, well, very ready to have them over.  It's an exhaustion impossible to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it.  Sleep doesn't help, just rest, good nutrition, and more rest.  I went straight to the A Team ( Arimidex) after chemotherapy, so don't know when chemotherapy SE's ended & A Team kicked in - but honestly it was about 3 years b4 I felt better.  ALL WORTH IT, as I'm still here loving Owls, about to go snow shoeing, and then to a friend's studio to paint.

Hope all is well with everyone.  Still thinking of Apple.  Please let us know if anyone hears anything. Ta.

Dh and I got our shingles vacination at the same time as our flu shot this year.  I have heard of so many people getting shingles in the past few years.  They say the closer to age 50 that you get it, the more effective it is.

We have snowy owls at our farm.  They go after the little red squirrels that hang out in our large cedar tree by the house.

I didn't realize you could get it more than once.  That sucks!

rr - I think the weakened immune system is a factor in shingles - esp. if you have had chicken pox as a child.  The virus is dormant in the body, and the triggers for activation have just gotta include stress.  When I got mine, it was sorta new, and only being given to people over 60 in my area.  Seems to be one of those "known issues" for women with bc.  Think all insurance covers it now.

RR, thanks for the reassurance! I saw "lymphoma" and started getting anxious! Glad you have a good run of NED!



Shingles vax ... Hmmm, I thought I had to be closer to 60 to get it. I will ask my PCP next month. I am always happy to get vax -- most of it is for stuff I REALLY don't want! I need a new pneumonia one, too, I think. And I never had the mumps. When I was 22, my PCP did a titer and discovered I had NO immunity to mumps -- I was a disaster waiting to happen. I got a vaccination then, but wonder if I should get a booster (another one, anyway) now. My PCP doesn't think it would hurt, but he doesn't give them anymore -- I have to go to a minute clinic. I am a medical freak in many ways, anyway - I had rubella twice as a child. It is funny because most doctors I tell that to insist that you cannot have rubella twice -- but it is right there in a number of medical articles. It is rare, but not unheard of.



Tree is down, Christmas decorations put away. Forrest did NOT like to see the tree go. He lectured me the whole time -- and when one flat ornament fell on the floor, he put two paws on it and looked challengingly up at me: "MINE!" It went in the box, too!



L

(((((((((((Enjoyful))))))))))) - hope you heal quickly.

Belinda - I was only joking, I won't let on what happens, but it was fantastic!!!

Well, I made soup yesterday. Steve asked if I could use the Xmas ham bone for soup, so I googled and found a recipe. Only took 2 1/2 hours to make - sigh. It had onion, corn, celery, potatoes, carrot, red kidney beans, tinned tomatoes and the remains of the ham I removed after I'd boiled it for 1 1/2 hours. I got a nice loaf of sour dough bread to have with it. Well, he lapped it up and loved it. Kept raving ages after dinner - he had nothing else, just a couple of bowls of the soup and bread. I had a Lean Cuisine for dinner as I don't like celery. We now have enough soup for him to eat for lunch for days

Athena - I don't know on the chemo.  The doctor wants to hit me fast & hard to try to eradicate everything and use letrozole as a maintenance drug but he's not certain which path to take.  We'll talk next on the 18th and see where we are.  On the bright side, all of my post-surgical tumor markers were in the normal range and the CTC was 0.  I hope that means the suckers were isolated to my neck, and that the rads took them out.  Disgusting little perverted gaping-mouthed mindless pac-man-mouthed worms.

Thanks to all for the healing recommendations!  The burn/blister/peeling is so disgusting right now that I can't bear to put anything on it other than Miaderm.  The RO gave me aquaphor but it really just goops things up and doesn't soothe at all.  Miaderm soothes and isn't greasy.  

In other news, my horsey boy and his sis went to boarding school today!  I'll try to post a photo but I'm bad at this sort of thing.

ETA:  I can't post a photo.  GAH!  I'll try to get one of my FB friends to do it for me since I'm so inept.

Momine - which are those?  I got something called second skin but they require TAPING DOWN.  I don't think so!

E - sorry you have to suffer from the treatments for those "disgusting little perverted gaping-mouthed mindless pac-man-mouthed worms."  Where did you come from - lol???  I'm glad this event is over for you. xxo

Paula - this is all temporary.  For A/C, I kinda went with the anorexia and walked walked walked. One MO told me to walk everyday for an hour so I could stay strong for the whole shabang (5 months worth)  and I really never got that fatigued. I think it was a good Rx.  Even if you go for 15 minutes, it will help the fatigue, I think.

I heard on the news last night that this years flu vaccine is 97% effective.  That's pretty good since they're usually guessing which virus will be the one that flourishes, well ahead of  time.

He sure is! 

E

He is truly a marvelous animal.

It has been such a lazy day. I think I am still recovering from three days in the car to see my MIL in Indiana and my sweet grandbaby Daisy in Indiana and New Years Eve. We actually stayed up this year!

Daisy is 15 months and so friendly. Of course I think she is perfect.

I did work on a jumper (pinafore) for a friend's granddaughter. My friend saw a picture of one I made one of my granddaughters and asked me to make one for her. The next project for one of my grands will be a dess with smocking. 

I am trapped. There is a kitten on my lap so I can't move, right?

Wow, he's gorgeous!

Rose, yup, you're trapped. 

My daughter's baby is due today. I packed some things to keep me occupied. I really want to call and ask her if she is still pregnant but I will wait until she calls me to come to the hospital.

E - lovely boy - why is he going to boarding school?

Well, I got off my bum and went for a ride - wow twice in one week. I left just after 6:30 and it was already hot by the time I got home. Apparently Miss Poppy woke her Daddy up meowing while I was gone

Sitting in front of the fan cooling off.