World Cancer Day

Today is World Cancer Day.  You can find more information about this at http://www.worldcancerday.org/.  The key areas of focus are healthy lifestyles to prevent cancer, early detection, open access to quality treatment, and quality of life for those with cancer.

I am so happy that I live relatively close to Duke Cancer Institute, a nationally ranked comprehensive cancer center.  They are actively involved in research to improve cancer detection and treatment and I am happy to participate in clinical trials to help with this research.  The care I receive from Duke is exemplary and I can't imagine getting better treatment at other centers.

I may have cancer, but it does not have me.  I am going to continue to live my life to the fullest extent possible.  I leave Friday morning to go on a cruise with friends and family and I am busy planning other fun activities in my life.  Cancer has changed my life, but I have not allowed it to take over my life.

Long Time, No Post

It's been a while since I last posted.  I have been struggling with Sinusitis.  I have been totally miserable.  It seems that the colder it gets, the worse I feel.  I hope this clears up when I drive to Florida on Friday to go on my cruise.  I'd hate to feel sick and miserable on the cruise.

The weekend was made even worse because of the chemo on Friday.  I don't think I did anything all day Saturday.  I know Mike must get tired of me whining about feeling miserable.  But I am feeling a bit better today. The nausea has gone away and I am just dealing with the Sinusitis now.

Here is the stitching I have accomplished since my last post - not much considering the amount of time that has passed.

Circe the Sorceress:

Edwardian Garden Party

The Nativity

Slow Weekend

With the rain and the cold, I didn't really accomplish much this weekend.  I work up Friday morning with nausea, making for a rotten day.  Saturday consisted of heavy rain, so I didn't go out.  Today, I was just feeling blah, so I just stayed in and stitched.

I did start some planning for a vacation to the number 1 item on my bucket list - Australia and New Zealand.  I have picked out a cruise that will make multiple stops in New Zealand, followed by several stops in Australia.  This will be a 16 day cruise in November.  Since I don't know whether I will feel like traveling in the future, I decided to tackle number 1 this year.

I did get some stitching done over the weekend.  Here are my progress pictures.

The Nativity by Glendon Place:

Edwardian Garden Party SAL:

Circe, the Sorceress from Passione Ricamo"

 

My Laptop is Here!

My new laptop arrived yesterday.  I spent most of the day yesterday installing software and getting everything configured.  I used it this morning to print some shipping labels on the big printer in the office.  Much easier than running up and down the steps between my desktop computer and the big printer.

I managed to get in touch with some friends that I hadn't talked to in years.  It was good to catch up on things.

I also did some more stitching on the Edwardian Garden Party SAL  Here is my latest progress picture:

Summer Planning

The Needle Arts Mystery Retreat will be held in Phoenix, AZ this year.  Mike and I are thinking about driving out there, seeing a few sites, and attending the retreat.  I have gone to two previous ones in Nashville, TN and Columbus, OH.  We really enjoyed those two retreats, so I think we may go this year.

Since we will be driving out to Arizona, I think we will spend some time at the Grand Canyon.  I'm not sure what other sites we will see.  I plan to stop at Silver Needle in Tulsa, OK on the way out.  Mike may want to stop at a few bicycle shops along the way.

On The Nativity, I stitched the bottom of the angel's gown and started on the bush behind Mary.  Here is my new progress picture:

I can no longer get all my stitching on the scanner bed.  I will soon have to move the fabric in my frame so I can stitch on other parts of the fabric.  To give you an idea of size, my completed stitching is currently 13 inches wide and 6 inches high.

Good Day for Stitching

It turned out to be a very good day for stitching.  I really didn't feel like going out or doing anything because of the chemo yesterday, so I stayed in my den and stitched a good portion of the day.  Today's piece was the Edwardian Garden Party SAL.  Here is my progress to date:

I did quite a bit on the tree and stitched Miss Lydia's face and hands.  I like to name the characters in the picture and give them a story.  My first guest at the garden party.is Miss Lydia Helmsley.  She is the only daughter of Baron Neville and Lady Agatha Helmsley.  She came to the party hoping a certain young man would be there and pay court to her.

I learned that my laptop has finally shipped.  It is coming direct from China.  You'd think that HP would at least warehouse them in the US.  It's too much to hope to find anything manufactured in the US anymore.

While I've been working on my computer today, my friend Shadow has been sitting on the back of my chair.  It is difficult to get a good picture of a black cat.  Especially when she doesn't want her picture taken.  She has grown up to be a beauty.  She'll be two years old in April.

Chemo is No Fun

I had my biweekly treatment with Avastin today.  It took them multiple tries to get an IV started.  Again!  My veins have gotten so tiny with the cold weather that they blow out easily.  I will have some pretty bruises tomorrow.  Oh well, they finally got the IV started and I got my treatment.  It took longer to get the IV started than it did to deliver the Avastin.

I fell asleep in the car on the way home and then took a nice long nap.  I don't know what is so tiring about sitting around all day, but I always come home from Duke completely exhausted.  It will take me the weekend to recover.

My new laptop still hasn't shipped.  I wonder when they will ship it to me.  I want instant gratification, but I also want what I want.  My only choice to get the laptop I really wanted was to order it online.  So now I sit waiting for them to ship it.  :( 


I did get a little stitching done on Circe between last night and this evening.  Here is the progress picture.

Tomorrow, I will work on my SAL piece.