Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Mavericksmom - I use to wake up and worry at night, stress about the little things. Especially before I retired. It’s improved. I think exercising everyday helps, makes me sleep better.
Saw my eye doctor today for a visual field test today. I mentioned my vision has been blurry lately, so he did a quick vision check. Just got new glasses 3 months ago. Turns out my cataract has worsened. He’s referred me to a surgeon. He said to expect a 6 month wait for surgery.
We expect rain from Nicole starting this evening through Friday. Hope everyone is safe
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The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak
sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of
the soul, a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of reality.
James Allen0 -
It is overcast today and may rain. Just have to wait and see. Won't get any warmer than 50 and due to drop (if it even gets that far) in the afternoon. No special plans today. Needc to re-confirm some appts. and maybe pay a bill that just came.
caredplayer, nice to at least know what your issues are but likely would be nice if you didn't have to wait 6 mos. to get it fixed.
Hope you all have a good day.
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Thank you to all who served our country.
A rainy day here today. Going bra shopping. There are two places to get mastectomy bras in our city. One is the cancer support store. They only carry one brand of mastectomy bras. I prefer the other store, which has more selection.
Enjoy your day.
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Overcast here too, expecting rain from Nicole later today, along with night thunderstorms.
Petite, thinking of you and praying you didn't lose electricity. So sad that 5 lives were lost due to the hurricane! Also, that so many have homes that were lost or heavily damaged from the hurricane. That is the risk of buying ocean front properties! I am wondering why those properties that were lost due to the erosion on ground around their homes, weren't on better pilings. Maybe too old for new codes? When hurricane Sandy hit NJ shore communities, they were forced to build up their pilings. Also, same happened in TX many years ago. Homes that flooded had to be rebuilt on higher pilings. That wasn't cheap then and I am sure the cost is so much higher now!
I called CVS early this morning and spoke with one of their pharmacists about my recalled drug. Turns out they never carried the recalled lot #'s so I never had any of that medication, thank goodness! It made me feel a little bit better. I am still in doubt whether any drug manufacturer is totally on top of quality control. Our world is so polluted who knows what causes our cancers and illnesses? We can only control so much, the rest I don't worry about.
I have bills to go over today. I am trying to decide when to retire. I need to take all things into consideration. Not easy call to make so I don't want to rush into it.
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It is overcast here as well and drizzling. We are getting the remnants of Nicole and temps are in the low 60's. Last night the sky was so pretty with wispy clouds floating past the full moon. I walk Regan right before bed and I sky watch as she sniffs out her spot. It was picture perfect end to a day.
I have been rewatching the first 4 seasons of Yellowstone in preparation for season 5 airing on Sunday night with a 2 hour opener. My DB turned me on to this show but I wasn't able at that time to see the first 2 seasons so once I was, I backtracked and watched those. It was intriguing so I have watched it once in entirety and now for a second time. I also watched the spinoff 1883. The prequel 1923 will also be released by the end of the year and I look forward to that as well. I really prefer to binge watch a series but probably won't this time. We have only visited one corner of Montana where the series is set and it so makes me want to visit this beautiful state.
Regan got clearance from the vet to resume all normal activity so we can start obedience classes next week. Hopefully what she missed we can play catchup on. She was never interested in her incision, which was far larger than I anticipated, so the cone was only used at bedtime. Can now toss it. She will still be crated at night though but hopefully in time we can stop this as well.
Hope Nicole hasn't caused any issues for those who live in FL. Hope everyone has a good day.
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It wasn't too bad on this side of the state. We had wind and rain. No damage for us or any of our friends and family. The folks on the east side got the worst of it. Those homes in Daytona and neighboring areas are older. The sand washed out to sea and they no longer had a foundation. Most were already damaged from Ian. Some were condemned. Some storms change the landscape, but the last 2 changed geography.
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Everyone stay safe
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My Florida neighbors roof tarp was blown to shreds. Wind and rain came to Fort Myers from Nichole. They’ll retarp and carry on. Roof was damaged badly from Ian.
We drove from Medina, Ohio over to Plainsfield, Indiana outside Indianapolis. It rained for the first 2.5 hours of the drive, not pleasant. But worse is now they’re calling for snow here! Snow, the thing I head to Florida to avoid. We watched the news closely to see it will start at 4 AM and go thru 1 PM. We’re on the road by 10 so I expect to see it on the road. It’s much colder here than home in Albany. We’ll go slower and just be safe.
This trip I asked if we could stop at the Pioneer Woman Mercantile so the trip went more south west than south hence colder and the snow. But weather has been so weird, Texas (our main destination) was in the 80’s last week and when we get there highs in the mid to low 50’s. It is what it is. I like visiting some out of the blue places I’d normally never see. I don’t watch her show, and I don’t enjoy cooking, so I don’t know the draw to stop there.
I’m off to shower, and then go to the laundry area ofthe hotel. Three days of clothing to wash. Not much but easier to do it when we have the time. Enjoy your weekend!
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Thursday evening it was 74 at sunset. 30 now--and we won't even see 40 for a week (and we expect measurable snow on Thursday--good thing i stocked up on ice melt). Picked all the cherry tomatoes still on the vine--most were green & hard, so they should ripen on the sill sometime between Thanksgiving & early Dec. We have 3 ripe ones plus 3 ripe small regular ones. Already bought basil the other day (rooting it in water, covered by a vented plastic bag as a mini-greenhouse by my sunny kitchen window); bummed out that soon I will have to once again buy tomatoes and other herbs. Hoping the parsley & mint make it through the night--and the winter-hardy thyme & rosemary survive the inevitable snow. It had been so warm that the strawberry plant had come back--and even flowered. Too bad it won't produce fruit. Magnolia lost its leaves but has budded again. Weird. But Chicago late autumn is always bizarre.
Plumbers coming Monday to finally start the flood control project in the basement. Moving the wine bottles currently on the racks upstairs over the weekend, lest the jackhammers jar them loose and they crash all over the concrete floor.
Yesterday I got my roots touched up & split ends trimmed. En route home I noticed my gas gauge read "70 mi. to E;" so I figured I'd stop at the Shell station. $4.69 wasn't awful (on the Near N. Side it was $5.29)--but I usually avoid filling up w/in city limits. Half the pumps were out of order. Found a working one, and pumped 3 gallons' worth, enough to get me to Costco on Sunday. I was careful not to "set" the lever to the auto-fill notch, but when it reached 3 gallons and I took my hand off the "trigger" and pulled the nozzle out of the gas tank, it kept gushing! Finally got it to shut off at 4-1/2 gallons--all over the ground & my tires. Car stank, and so did my clothes. Room freshener (I'm outta Febreze) did help, and vinegar took care of the rest. Gotta go to the car wash tomorrow (kills me to pay for a commercial wash, because the Subaru dealership does it free--but they don't do undercarriages). And I need new sneakers--the stink dissipated a bit out on the deck, but they still smell despite putting them through the washer. (I know not to use the dryer, as any residual vapor would ignite). Put them out on the deck again. At this point, I don't care if they get stolen--they're cheap fake white Keds and never quite fit right anyway.
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Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic,
imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never
be greater than our level of self-acceptance.
Brené Brown0 -
Sandy, wow, what an afternoon yesterday for you. You seem to be restoring some control but having to go through so many steps to do it -- all for wanting to put some gas in the car. I've only had that happen once. But the automatic didn't shut off after the tank filled and so about ten gallons went on the ground. Some new gals were tending the station and I had to pay for the gas on the ground. I might not have said anything, but those gals had such a cavalier attitude about it that it made me mad. I called the local fire dept. to come wash the gas from in front of the pumps and then went home and sent an email to the company. Normally I don't do things like that. The company paid for another tank of gas for me with a very nice apology from the person addressing my complaint and also 4 free pizza's for me.
Surprise, surprise. We were due some rain yesterday afternoon and last night. Got up to snow that only seems to have stopped as of 8:30 a.m. I'm amazed. This is more snow than we got all last season, I think. There looks to be 2 &1/2 to possibly 3 inches. The tree branches amid the many green leaves have snow in them. That is going to be it for the leaves for sure. I don't think it will do much more and worm enough tomorrow (41) to melt, but sure not what I was thinking when I went to bed last night.
Going over later to check on my friend Jo's puppies and feed them. They planned a foray into the big shopping area today. I think a nice restaurant there. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the pups. Can't believe I'll have to wear my boots and carry my dry shoes so I can keep the floors clean. Just wow !!! Likely a side trip to the bank as well. By then the roads should be fine. The pavements will still be warm enough underneath to not be at issue.
Hope you all have a good day and some sun too.
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Wow, SNOW!!! I love snow, but not in November! So glad we didn't get that cold here! It is currently a mild 67 degrees! Dreary, maybe more rain tonight. My DS and family in Midwest are currently at 21 degrees with flurries.
Sandy, you poor thing!!!! Your gas story made me want to cry! Our gas station that was super close to our home closed for good. Not sure if anyone else will keep it as a gas station. I went to another gas station one day last week and it wasn't too far. I paid $4.10/ gal which is kind of the average around here.
I really feel bad for anyone who has a family to feed as grocery prices to me are worse than the gas. Getting hit with both, it is no wonder so many families are hurting!
I was feeling pretty depressed yesterday. Not sure why it hits me the way it does. It was due to the fact that my breasts were the only part of my body that I ever liked and now they are both gone. I need to focus on the big picture, that the cancer is gone too! Somehow the big picture and the things I should feel thankful for just don't overturn my feelings of sadness or depression sometimes. Thankfully, the negative feelings didn't continue into today!
I am very worried about getting huge hospital bills with my next surgery. I have stage 2 lymphedema in my left arm. I believe I have it to a lesser extent in a large part of my body. My new plastic surgeon specializes is lymphedema and wants to do mapping of my left arm when he does the implant exchange surgery and revisions on my other breast. I know he is good, but the issue is not him but Medicare, which is notorious for refusing to pay for anything related to lymphedema. He tried to reassure me that I wouldn't get a bill for it, that his office knows how to code things to get Medicare to pay for it, but reality is that I signed a paper stating that if my insurance company refused to pay for something or something isn't covered, I am responsible for payment of the bill! It was cleverly written on the same paper that gives the surgeon consent to treat me. Had it been a separate issue, I wouldn't have signed. I will have to have a serious talk with him before that surgery!
I am still trying to decide when to retire. I know I am ready to do that, but still need to decide if I will retire in March or June of 2023.
Betrayal, I may have to look into Yellowstone too. Happy to hear Reagan has recovered from her surgery! I am looking forward to getting a furry family member, but that won't happen anytime soon. I belonged to a dog club in Princeto, NJ years ago, and taught dog obedience for a while. I loved it, loved the dogs and their owners, although I was much better at remembering the dog's names and often addressed the owners as "Sadie's mom," etc. I owned shelties and honestly, shelties don't need obedience school, they are super smart and they truly want to please you! The downside is the shedding and they are very vocal, but I love them!
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I decided to not go to the gym today or Sunday. Just work at home. Doing a black and green silk skirt on an elastic-threaded casing. Got that sewed, then I am sewing in the lining. I keep forgetting that the elastic needs to be threaded into the waistband after I sew it to the skirt. Had a nice-size piece but too small for the other possibilities and had a brainstorm.
I need to get a three-way lightbulb for the lamp by my laptop and machines. I have cataracts, not bad but I am beginning to see a difference.
Getting nervous about the crafts sale. Someone else into this has decided to quit because she has kids and sewing saris into other items is inconvenient. She has another less space-consuming crafting expertise. So she is selling her stockpile of saris for a very good price. We have a tentative deal, but it just depends on how I do with this sale.
I have an agreement with another member of the exercise class to pick me up when the weather is too bad for me to get there on my bike.
Sandy, we usually have the same weather, mine about 12 hours earlier. Seventy degrees a few days ago, and Tuesday we are going to have snow on the ground. Next few days temps are expected to peak in the mid- thirties, then give us a taste of true winter, with low temp in the single digits.
I refuel at night. Bring the battery in and put it on the charger. Freezing temps are rough on it, so I decided to establish night-time recharging as a habit. Never have to worry, especially since longer trips are not desirable in cold weather.
Cindy, I hope you will have good weather for the rest of your trip.
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Mavricksmom - I hear you about the emotions!!!! Sometimes hits me even after 11 years w/o breasts. Regarding the LE - while Medicare doesn't pay for sleeves & gloves & compression garments, they have paid in full for several rounds of therapy & PT, not to mention numerous exams & MLD training. I'll be interested to hear how your surgery works. My PS said he could fix the one sagging implant on the side that didn't have a recurrence - but could not guarantee it wouldn't cause more LE problems on that side.
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Were still in the 60s, but expect that we’ll have our first freeze in the next day or two and temperatures will start to to drop into the 40s, which is more the norm for November. I’m still thinking about summer though and trying to get my family to decide on a beach rental for next summer. It’s complicated by needed to find a rental that allows for two dogs, close to the beach. Plus we want a place that accommodates adults (queen or king beds vs bunk beds).
Chisandy - your gas is $1.00 more than we pay. Wow! Recently Royal Farms has come into our area causing gas prices to drop even more in some locations.
Hope everyone is safe from the snow and doing well.
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Woke to snow on the ground. Guessing at least one inch and it was good packing snow - I put a laundry bag over my arm and used it to pull all the snow off. It came down at a good click. We drove slower, I was basing my speed on the tractor trailers. It finally stopped and when we stopped at a rest stop we still had the front end of the car encased in ice. It was 29. We drove right by the St. Louis arch and got some good pictures.
Gas at home was $3.52; Rochester about the same; Ohio $3.29; Missouri $3.06. I’ve had some gas pour out before but never much. NY took off that auto fill tab or disabled it so we have to hold the dang thing in all kinds of weather.
Oklahoma tomorrow. Hope it’s a tad warmer there than the 29 here
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Cindy, you almost could have waved at me. I'm just nine miles off the Interstate and about 74 miles east of the arch in Illinois -- not quite the middle of the state. Our gas here is at the moment $3.96 and I hope will continue downwards a way. We go (on the rare occasions that we need or want too) shopping in Fairview Hts. which is quite near the river into St. Louis. It takes about an hr. and a bit more to get to the river from where we live.
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The sun is shining and the furnace is keeping the house warm and cozy.
Safe travels, Cindy. Missouri always has gas prices that are lower than bordering states.
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Sandy, the gas pumping incident sounds like a mess.
Cindy, the is quite a trip. Stay safe.
For all of you with snow, It is 62 degrees here and rain.
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Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true. -Robert Brault
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Wow, seems forever since we were at 62 degrees or so. It is magnificently sunny outside and there is some snow melt, but our sun won't last long enough today to do it. It sounds like some more snow could be on the way too. Yikes. Unlike several of our yrs. past in a row, we do seem to be coming a bit closer to the prediction that was always being made of a harsh winter. I wouldn't call this too harsh, but it is not at all pleasant. I've never been a fan of cold weather but did well a few yrs. ago before medical events seemed to have changed my tolerance levels. Well, maybe this is the year I'll think about a new coat. The one I have I bought our first yr. here 24 yrs. ago and the zipper is non-functional. Didn't matter during those yrs. I tended to hold my bodily heat but making a difference now.
Have a needed trip to Walmart's on today's list. Sometimes I so dislike going, but for people who need to budget a lot of purposes there isn't much else here. I think its the way Sam Walton planned it. I so miss our K-mart. Sigh. Thing of the past for sure.
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I used to think it was great to disregard happiness, to press on to a high goal, careless, disdainful of it. But now I see that there is nothing so great as to be capable of happiness, to pluck it out of each moment, and, whatever happens, to find that one can ride as gay and buoyant on the angry, menacing, tumultuous waves of life as on those that glide and glitter under a clear sky; that it is not defeat and wretchedness which come out of the storms of adversity, but strength and calmness. - Anne Gilchrist
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Beautiful sun, but pretty chilly this a.m. Will warm to the 40's but drop again overnight with possible snow. I think the report said 90 % chance. So sounds pretty likely.
I have to take Dh back to Marion V.A. once again. Even though he went so recently, he was possibly developing a sore of some kind underneath one of his eyes. Consequently, the meds given for his eye allergies have not helped much. Glad for the sun and little chance of snow until nighttime.
All else seems fine. Wishing you all a good day.
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I hope your trip to Marion V.A. went well, and that your husband got something to relieve his discomfort!
I had another expander fill. I left an hour early due to the parking issue but was able to find a spot right away. Then I sat for an hour in the waiting room. a half hour of that was from me being so early. Not bad, but I don't know if it is because I am so tired or what, but I felt like I was on the "patient conveyor belt." My next fil isn't until the 30th. The people before me got scheduled again for this Wednesday. I mentioned that I was sore under my arm, so I don't know if that had something to do with it, but I won't mention anything again. I just want this to be over so I can get on with my life.
I had another terrible night sleep last night. For the past 3-4 nights, I have been waking up in the wee hours of the morning, with excruciating pain in my one knee. I have a feeling it is due to being on Letrozole again, messing with my estrogen. I have osteoarthritis in that knee. Between that and my "ice pick" headaches, and getting tired way too easily, I wish I could just get a whole new body! LOL
Colder here but no snow, and not as cold as some of you are experiencing. It went up to upper 40's in the afternoon, and supposed to up to 51 on Wed.
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Marion trip went well. Dh got special eye drops as well as an antibiotic to take. Downside was she was hoping I'd bring him back on Wed. and we set up the appt. but he came home to find the cancer on top of his head will be taken care of on Wednesday and he is not willing to put it off. I'm busy on Thursday. so can't go then either. I would like to hope she could make it a phone appt, but maybe something like an eye infection is not the right ailment.
Maverick, I wish things were going a little better for you. I hope the tiredness clears soon. Things get to you easier when you feel exhausted too often.
It is due to snow here overnight but could rain a little first. Snow maybe an inch they say. Hope we don't have too much ice if we do get rain first. Our first un-expected snow saw a numbers of accidents. Hopefully some preparation for the roads came about due to the weather forecast. Sure, hope so.
Sending you hugs and healing vibes Maverick.
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We've had only flurries thus far (after having the A/C in the car kick in on Thurs.!), but the party's over. The sloppy "heart-attack" snow will start falling before dawn; while earlier predictions called for mostly rain by the lake, now we're supposed to get 3-4". Ugh.
Sat. night we saw a local rep company (Music Theater Works, formerly Light Opera Works) revival of Camelot. We'd seen the movie and have the original B'way cast album, but Bob had his heart set on seeing it live on stage. Uh, not this production--based on the insanely truncated book by David Lee, pared down to under 2 hrs. including 15 min. of intermission. The cast was very small: Guinevere, Arthur, Lancelot, Mordred and only 3 knights & a couple of squires. No Morgan LeFay, Merlin, nor Nimue. (The backstage band was bigger than the cast). Costumes were weird--mostly street clothes, with Guinevere in fatigue boots under her hippie "granny" dress, Arthur in "casual Friday" duds, and Lancelot in jeans & Doc Martens. The knights wore orange jumpsuits as "armor," with breastplates that looked suspiciously like part of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume from Party City. Worse, the casting (except for the royal couple, whose voices were magnificent) was weird--two of the three knights were played by women (actually, one cis female & another nonbinary) and the actors playing Lancelot & Mordred were also nonbinary (Mordred's portrayer described themself in the program as "gender-fluid," and in the first act played a lady-in-waiting...no wig, short fade haircut, scruff & all). And Lancelot, written for a bass-baritone, was played by a soft-voiced tenor; while Arthur, originally written for Richard Burton to patter-speak on B'way and the weak-voiced Richard Harris to perfunctorily croon on film, was sung in this production by a deceptively-young-frat-boyish-looking guy armed with a powerhouse of a high baritone.
Now, I have no problem with diverse casting, but they should at least look & sound onstage like the characters they're playing. Diversity for diversity's sake is just wrong if you're mounting a revival of a beloved pre-1970s B'way classic. (This is why I found the revived Oklahoma--especially the road company with Ado Annie played by & as a 6'3" 300-lb. trans nonbinary rapper, to be an utter disaster, and have no desire to see or hear the all-female-revival of 1776). But it was jarring to hear two knights as mezzo-sopranos, and everyone sounding jarringly Midwestern--except Arthur, whose non-accent was a bit more generic-theater-formal. Theater is supposed to involve the audience's willing suspension of disbelief, but this production practically required a crane, cliff, and bungee-jumping cables for such suspension.
The book was so short that there was no time for Guinevere (cis female actress) & Lancelot's (nonbinary androgynous-presenting actor) romance to develop--beyond a terse exchange of "I love yous." (Quite frankly, I and some online mostly-blogger critics--the three major dailies didn't even bother to review it--wondered what she saw in him and noted the lack of any spark or chemistry). Mordred--played by the best actor of the night, albeit because they had some juicy scenery to chew--introduced himself at the start of Act II to Arthur by explaining his mom had seduced Arthur awhile back and then gave birth. Arthur kept referring to Merlin's advice. I have to agree with one of the few mostly-Gen-Z online critics (few of whom could spell or proofread, BTW) who headlined their review "Camelittle." It finally occurred to me why so much of the cast was gender-fluid: with an obviously tiny budget, they could play multiple roles of both genders (but would it have killed them to wear some wigs when playing women?). We do intend to see the Lincoln Center revival this spring, with book by Aaron Sorkin, at least a dozen knights, a full orchestra, and at least the 3 leads played by appropriately-gender-presenting B'way mainstays (with Hamilton's Phillippa Soo as Guinevere).
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Oh, and the flood control project began bright & early this morning. Mercifully, they went old-school on the concrete floor: no jackhammer, just masonry saws and sledgehammers (so no need to move the wines far away off the rack). They're nearly halfway done--might be done by Tues. night or Wed. at the latest. And $2K under budget. The cats are confused, but soon adjusted to sharing a litter box in the 1st floor bathroom. (Easier for me to keep scooped, with less bending & no trips to & from the basement).
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Tippy is angry with me, and I don't know why. Yesterday he peed on the bed and pooped in front of the closet. I'll be doing a big batch of laundry today, and keep the bedroom door closed during the day. Bedroom needs to be cooler anyway. I need to play with him more.
I am done sewing, will be working on pricing. I have a few sewing projects to do for myself and finishing up a bed for Tippy. Actually, he needs two beds.
Got my hair cut yesterday. I will stay with a jaw-length bob with minimal bangs. My hair can now be classed as white. Someone a week or so asked me if I was blonde. No, I had brown hair. Pre-chemo it had some curl, but now it is straighter than ever.
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It looks like a winter day outside, gray and gloomy. I cancelled on Tuesday golf and I'm sure the other players did, too. I may venture out to some stores. I have lots of room in my closet after removing quite a few items of clothing and adding them to the collection of boxes and bags for the Vietnam Veterans collection.
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