busy weeks

Hello all!  Lots of stuff happening (and not happening - more about that below) lately and coming up.  Yesterday I went to a really awesome baking supply store in Saline called Baker's Nook (on Michigan Ave, just past downtown if coming from Ypsi).  If you have any interest in baking you have to check it out.  We just got some supplies to make our Valentine's Day cookies (and a few things for St. Pat's day, too) and I picked up a few things to make some homemade lollipops.   Would you like lemonade, root beer or red licorice?

We also went to see a musical at the Arthur Miller Theater (sorry, Theatre.  They spell it wrong.).  It was God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater based on the Vonnegut novel.  It was really well done; very talented cast, minimal set design and some fun songs.  I had no idea this even existed until I saw the ad for it online but I'm very glad we went!

Tonight is dinner with Nolan and tomorrow is cookie baking!  Decorating won't happen until Wednesday (Baking takes too long to do it all in one day) but I am really, really looking forward to it.  Tuesday is chemo...

We're also expecting a big winter storm this Tuesday/Wednesday so we'll have to wait and see what the rest of the week holds after that.  We'd talked about going to Slows in Detroit (best damn BBQ around!) but it's hard to get there if the weather sucks.  We did that drive in bad weather once (Joel McHale, do you appreciate we took our lives in our hands to see you?  Thankfully you were very funny and made it worth it.) and there were cars in the ditch every half mile or so.  Just frequent enough to remind us to take it slow! 

So, about things not happening:  I tried to get a paracentesis done this past week because I have been feeling quite uncomfortable and could use some relief.  I knew there wasn't much fluid to remove but last time, about a month ago, they were able to get a half liter and that was enough to make me feel better for several weeks.  That procedure was challenging for the doctor because the amount of space they had to get through to where the fluid was located was minimal.  This time, they had basically no room to maneuver unless they went through a tumor.  That is not something anyone felt comfortable about so they called my oncologist to see what she thought and the answer was a very firm no.  So, I'm moving a bit slower and taking a few more painkillers until we can figure out what to do.  I will see my doctor on Tuesday before the chemo and I'm hopeful there might be something she can think of that will help.

Hope you are all well.  Stay warm, friends!