The BEST Christmas Present Ever!

The thyroid cancer results were posted on my health portal this morning. A nurse from the endocrinologist's office called me this afternoon. The I-131 body scan result: "No foci of abnormal radiotracer activity are seen." Layman's language: No thyroid cancer detected/found.

Because of the positive test results, follow-up for now, will be with blood work and ultra sounds. I can handle that!

I have received some very nice Christmas gifts over the years, but I think seeing the results this morning put this one, if not at the TOP of the list, at least very near the top.

Happy New Year!

Thyroid Cancer Check-up/Treatment

If you read the blog you know I started the low-iodine diet on December 7th in preparation for a follow-up thyroid cancer check just before Christmas. For some reason, prepping the meals was much easier this time around. Maybe that was because I was more prepared in the stocked food department or maybe it wasn't that big of a 'shock' this time around. My favorite food find this time was sorbet, peach sorbet. Sorbet, unlike ice-cream, is non-dairy and no salt. This particular pint carton was delicious. Not knowing how long quarantine might be this time around, I did not have much prepared, unlike last year when Hubby was healing from the broken leg and hip surgery. I guess my priority was the doll clothes for Miss W.

Since I did not have to go off the HRT (hormone [thyroid] replacement therapy), the time period leading up to the treatment was different than last year; no extreme aches, no extreme dry skin, no extreme mood swings, and nights of good rest and sleep. Instead, I received two shots prior to taking the radio-active iodine during treatment week. On Monday I took Miss W to school and drove the half mile to the hospital campus to get the initial blood work and the first shot in the tush. All went well. On Tuesday I took Miss W to school and drove the half mile for the second shot in the other tush cheek. All went well. On Wednesday I drove to the hospital at 7:00 AM for another round of blood work and sat for 90 minutes while that was processed and my radio-active dosage was determined. During the wait I had the opportunity to ask some questions.

The purpose of the shots (of HRT) was to make my body hyperthyroid. It was tricked into producing high amounts of TSH. OK. That explained the last two sleepless...and I do mean sleepless nights. That also explained the mood swings I began to experience Tuesday and that Wednesday morning. It also explained the extreme joint aches. I was climbing stairs one step at a time. (Weather did have a bit to do with that, but it was mostly the HRT.)

I also learned all of us have thyroid tissue throughout our bodies, not just in the thyroid or throat area. If there were any cancerous thyroid cells floating and growing in other parts of my body, the treatment (low-iodine diet, hyperthyroidism, and radioactive iodine pill) would detect those little buggers during the body scan the following day. Thyroid cells LOVE iodine. I guess by 'starving' my body of iodine for two weeks and then shocking it with the two injections, any thyroid cells, cancerous and un-cancerous, would spring into action.

I also learned the radioactive iodine dosage would be so low, I would not have to go into quarantine. That was an unexpected gift. Bring on round 2 of Christmas!

This time I was able to get a photo of the container in which the radioactive pill lived until I swallowed it.

The aluminum container is a little smaller than the styrofoam coffee cup. This time the technician opened the container and poured the pill into my hand. I swallowed it and left the nuclear department. No paperwork to sign. No last minute instructions other than show-up at 2:00 the following afternoon (December 24th) for the body scan.

I do not have any results from the body scan. I do however, have results from the blood work. On Monday after two weeks of the low-iodine diet, my TSH reading was 0.005, below the normal range, but in the acceptable range for the treatment (normal 0.027-4.200). On Wednesday before the radioactive iodine pill, my TSH reading was 140.0! Of course I wasn't sleeping. Of course, I was grumpy! No wonder my joints ached. Give me a break! The really good news of that high reading was the affects of hyperthyroidism was already wearing off on Thursday.

That was really good news because I/we hosted Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch for my two brothers and their wives and my Mother. (Christmas round 2) Because of the threat of a winter storm and other family commitments, they all headed home by early afternoon on Friday. I did the essentials the rest of Friday and stayed in my pjs all of Saturday, watching Hallmark Christmas movies and playing solitaire on the computer. Today, Sunday, I am back to being dressed and doing the essentials, including some house cleaning. Tomorrow, we begin the checklist to prepare for our winter departure.  Oh, and we both have head colds shared by our grandkids...but that is another post, Christmas Round 1.

Elsa's Wardrobe

This is the second part of the doll clothes project for Miss W's Christmas present. She enjoys disrobing the life-size doll she got for her birthday; the same doll who had hip replacement earlier this fall. Check this post: Elsa Has Hip Replacement Surgery.

As I was looking and thinking about what to do about clothes for Elsa, and learning there are no patterns for said doll in our town, in Walmart, I purchased some things thinking they might work after learning Elsa's one change of clothing was a size 4 T dress.

The last time we saw Elsa, I traced her outline so I'd have her length from neck to waist and waist to ankles. I had to call our FDIL to get a waist size...13 inches. Didn't women who wore laced corsets have a waist of 14 inches????? OMG!

These are some of the things I had to work with for Elsa. The blue jean jumper is still a work in progress. The skirt on the right didn't make the cut.

an Elsa dress for Elsa

a sparkly dress

the size 4T leggings needed a waist adjustment

needed 4T for the length

adjusted!

found an old scarf that makes a cute poncho

one of our flower girls gave me the dress she 

wore for our wedding 45 years ago

I think it will make a great dress for Elsa

Some Barbie Clothes Update...

the pair of pink ruffled socks made...

a skirt, sleeveless top & dress

and a ruffled dress with a ruffled train

the long shimmering knee-high socks...

a long dress, a top & slacks

This weekend is our family Christmas. I will post a follow-up to the doll clothes. I hope she is half as excited as I am.

Barbie Doll Clothes

I am doing something I said I would NEVER do again. I am making Barbie doll clothes. Why? Well, I have a granddaughter who when asked what she wanted for Christmas told me she "would like a doll that she could change its clothes." While talking to her mother about her request, it was decided rather than buy another doll, maybe just some clothes for the ones she has. Well, that sounds good in theory, but have you looked at the outfits for the Barbie-like dolls? They are made so cheaply, they'll fall apart after just a couple of dressings. Besides, I didn't see anything that really caught my eye.

I made many Barbie doll clothes for OFD about 33 years ago. I sewed two piece dresses with gathered skirts, and sleeves. OMG. Never again. So as I was thinking about what to do for Miss W and her request, I came across a YouTube video about making doll clothes from socks. I even found a printed pattern. Hmmmm. I could do that. So I started looking for fun socks for some fun outfits.

It is especially nice that socks come in pairs; one can become the 'first draft'. Here are some of the creations so far. But don't tell Miss W as it is a SURPRISE!

some of the supply

I had to buy a Barbie for measurements

this pair of Christmas knee highs...

Barbie has a 'fur' cape

a sweater & fur skirt

a dress

the purple socks became a skirt and dress

there is a pair of pink ruffled socks ones, too

I think this will become pajamas & maybe a robe

I also bought some remnants for possible clothes. My mother brought some fabric scraps when she came for Thanksgiving. So I have lots to play with for this project. I might try some of the patterns I found online and sew some slacks or a skirt...maybe. We'll see.

Looking Like Christmas

It is looking a bit like Christmas, finally. Hubby did the inside work and I did the outside. We have moved much of our decor to AZ. We have done some shopping, but nothing has caught our eye, so we went with what we've got.

This is a VERY small part of the Christmas village

that was collected for many years. It is not a set. Just 

buildings that reminded us of building in our town,

or things we liked. Most of it was gifts from the kids.

It has been at least 10 years since 

any of this has been on display.

I am enjoying it.

Thanks, Hubby!

My old ice skates have seen more use

hanging on the old sled, than they ever 

did on my feet. Weak ankles. Couldn't skate.

The only Christmas trees are the ones outside.

We need a new small pre-lit tree.

My Christmas Diet

I started my diet yesterday/Monday. You are thinking: a diet before Christmas, how appropriate. I was on this diet last year at this time. I survived, so I will survive again. And just like last year, this is a doctor's ordered diet.

The diet that began Monday, the low iodine diet, is to prepare my body for the radio-active pill I will be swallowing on December 23rd. That will be followed by a couple of days of quarantine. On December 24th I will have a "Thyrogen simulated, I-123 Whole Body Scan to identify any residual thyroid cancer cells that remain in" my body. 

I will drink distilled water and carefully read all food labels and eliminate: egg yolks, iodized & sea salt, store-bought bread, ham, bacon, sausage & fish, marinated chicken, soy products, dairy products, molasses, and the BIGGY...chocolate. 

I will bake muffins and cakes, and maybe some cookies using oil and egg whites which are on the approved list. We will eat fresh organic chicken and organic ground beef (thanks to my brother, the farmer). Fresh and frozen veggies are highly recommended. Thankfully, we like roasted veggies. I will experiment with spices to help with some of the blandness, although we have reduced our salt intake a lot since Hubby's heart disease diagnosis. Some things just need salt...like potatoes. 

I also have the 100 pages of recipes to refer to during this 3 weeks; recipes approved by the Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association. We'll eat out less often. I will prepare my own food for times when what is on the menu may not be in my best interest. I will survive...and maybe loose a few pounds in the process.

egg yolk free pasta

very dry rice cakes, unsalted

and even drier rice crackers...but I have a plan for them this year

lunch today because I was busy

natural peanut butter on rice cakes

dinner tonight

meat loaf with roasted potatoes and glazed carrots

It takes longer to prepare these meals because I am always referring to recipes to make adjustments, hoping to make the food tasty because Hubby is eating it also. (The meatloaf recipe I normally use calls for milk. That is a no-no right now.) Hubby thought the potatoes were very good, but then he got to use sour cream. Me? I didn't think they were that great. Oh, and I can't eat potato peelings, either. Oh, well...

A Month of Little Things

Hard to believe, but tomorrow is December 1st. Where does the time go?

Some of you may have been wondering what on earth has happened to me, no blog posts? The woman who posts everything! There just hasn't been much happening. We haven't traveled other than to see the grandkids. We haven't geocached. Just nothing too exciting.

The first of the month I started a local Writing Your Life Story group. I have 10 men and women who faithfully write and share little pieces of their lives each week. I am also meeting with four women who have taken the WYLS class in the past. I write an episode each week for this group, whittling away on my list of "To Do" topics. I am thoroughly enjoying my Monday afternoons with both groups of people.

I will work backwards on some of the bits and pieces of what we have been doing.


11/30: Today was the first major snow of the season. 4-10 inches are projected for this two day, slow moving system.

using the snow blower

the neighbor's tree

sure am glad he can do this job this year

remember a year ago?

it looks very pretty...like winter

11/29: We spent Saturday and Sunday with son and family

we brought some of daddy's toys for the kids

they were very excited to play with them

11/28: On Saturday, son and our favorite DIL made a delicious Thanksgiving meal for the 6 of us. 

DIL set a beautiful table

a prelude to a delicious dinner

11/27: On Friday a friend and I attended the first Christmas concert for this season...AWESOME!

pianist Erik Apland, former pianist for the White House

just piano and voice, with humor and improv

Shawn Cable, a local tv weatherman

his O Holy Night gave me goosebumps

What a voice!

11/26: Thanksgiving. I cooked a traditional meal for my Mother and oldest brother. Quiet, but very nice. No food photos as I took the advice posted on FB. We all ate the same stuff. My only special addition was eating off the china plates I thought about/planned to get rid of, but as of yet...haven't.

Earlier this month: A day with son and family

reading stories before nap time

Miss W wearing one of the Halloween dress-up 

costumes G'ma grabbed on sale

Late in October: From the days when we stayed with the G'Kids while Son & DIL were on vacation.

McBe helped decorate the desserts for one of our meals

sister was in school

HE got to help

Now you are all caught up with what we have been doing. As I said at the beginning, nothing very exciting. I am thinking next month might be a bit more newsworthy. It will be safe to check the blog once a week for some updates.

Halloween Hoopla

We are in the Minneapolis area this weekend for some geocaching, to see OFD, and to get a college football fix. I am reporting on the first reason. I am not attending the football game; too cold, too wet, I don't have to.

Once we decided we would be hanging around SD for a couple more months, we added another geocaching event to our calendar; the Halloween Hoopla XI. This year the event reached MEGA status, meaning 500+ geocachers preregistered for the event. Since this is their 11th year for the event, it is well organized and a great caching opportunity.

The forecast for the weekend earlier in the week was for sunshine and 50-60º. I, unfortunately, took that as the forecast. It wasn't. We woke up to rain hitting the hotel window. No rain coats. No rain boots. No umbrellas. A quick stop at a Walgreens gave us 'elcheapo' rain ponchos. (They had to pull the display from the back room. Winter mittens and stocking caps are more the 'norm' for Oct. 31st.)

The rain was less intense about 10:00, so we headed to the park and joined those brave enough to come out in the duck weather.

the Halloween Hoopla banner

some fellow geocachers

the log book 

AND

 the design of the T-shirts & geocoins

Cooler Crew hosts the event

costumes were encouraged

few adults came in costumes

these little folks did

checking out the trackables table

a trackable is a tagged object that moves from 

geocache to geocache, and event to event

I have a trackable traveling in Canada, one in 

Australia, another in Germany, and a couple in the US

usually trackables are small items, allowing them to

fit into small containers, like peanut butter jars

this one is 36" high and 18" wide

it only travels to events

the skies were overcast

a light mist continued to fall

we found one cache, without falling and 

breaking any limbs, and decided to call it a day

my t-shirt &

our geocoins

We'll try again next year...maybe...