Tuesday, December 29, 2015

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!


Sunday, December 27, 2015

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.



Thursday, December 17, 2015

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.

Monday, December 14, 2015

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.

Saturday, December 12, 2015

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.









Tuesday, December 8, 2015

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...





Monday, November 30, 2015

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.







Saturday, October 31, 2015

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...