Day 279 - The Jameses Arrive!

Wheeeeee! I haven't been this excited to see somebody in, well, I can't remember when!!!! The Jameses arrived around 1300 & they were as handsome as ever! I was giddy to have them here! Finally!!! I hadn't seen them for 53 weeks! It's about time!


Big James & I worked on a few ships together & spent my best & 2nd last contract sailing around Europe. He is one-in-a-million & I am so happy that he has found his one-in-a-million to spend the rest of his days with! Little James is an incredible Dancer & actually calls Grand Prairie home! He is one of those people that you feel like you've known them forever from the first time you meet them. 


Additionally, Big James' Dad, who is also named James (!), was the Pastor at our wedding in South Africa! I met Jim when he turned 60 & visited his son on the ship for our Egypt cruise. I know where Big James gets his wonderful personality & kind heartedness from! 


The Jameses are on the next leg of their honeymoon, as they just got married in Vancouver! I'm very happy that they will be in Canada more often - hopefully we'll have more get togethers! 


We visited for a bit in the house & then I took them down to Elbow Falls & Forget-Me-Not Pond. The weather was stunning, so it was great for taking a few snaps & showing off the beauty of Eastern Kananaskis. We sat on one of the benches at Forget-Me-Not & caught up on all the happenings in their life for the past year or so. 


One of my favourite things about working on ships is meeting up with people you are never quite sure exactly when you will see them again. It makes the times extra special. They have no idea what their stay means to me! Truly 2 of my most cherished friends. 


After our visit to the tourist attractions, we headed for town. I was treating them to ice cream. Of course, our drive to down was rather wet & cold! It hailed half way & POURED rain the other half of the drive! They were quite excited to see the ice cream choices & I'm pleased to say we all enjoyed a scoop of chocolate peanut butter, among other flavours. Big James is enjoying the truly Canadian flavour of Tiger. :o) Btw, if you're in Bragg Creek, the little ice cream shop on Whyte Ave gives the biggest & best scoops in town! 


We headed home to find Mom whipping up a storm for dinner. We were barbecuing some big ol' steaks, corn on the cob, greek salad, pear & blue cheese salad, mint potatoes, and of course, baked brie with pecans for an appetizer. Oooh & blueberry crisp for dessert! It was a feast! 


The Jameses & I walked down to the barn before dinner to bring the truck back, but as we were driving back, Jim (also a James & owner of the ranch) asked us to give him a hand with some panels to stop the cattle from the park crawling through the fence. We drove out to the field & loaded up the panels. Oh my word. The mosquitos are out in FULL FORCE! I haven't seen them this bad for a VERY LONG TIME! We were all swinging & swatting & itching like crazy! I think I had about 12 new bites in a matter of a few minutes! They are thirsty little critters! UGH! We were moving as quickly as we could! Jim commented on finding a dead calf the other day. I asked him what happened to the calf. Jim replied, 'He stopped living.' He's a funny guy for 86 years of age! I also admired his bailer twine suspenders! :o) Still practical after all these years!


We enjoyed a hearty meal & more wonderful visits. I was surprised to hear about Little James' Champion Mutton Buster & Steer Riding past! I guess I thought I was a rarity in working on ships with a 'western' background! I knew something was up when he was so prompt to get the gates & knew which way to swing it! 


They plan to work a while longer on ships, as Big James has recently been made Manager of the Photo Department. I'm so proud of him! It's difficult for the two of them to snag the same ship together, so say a little prayer they both end up on the same ship. I know what it's like to be away from the one you love & it's NOT FUN. 


Today was also my first Neupogen shot. I was feeling a little rusty, as it's been a month or more since all the fertility shots. But, I managed to get it all in my leg & didn't keel over. I took a Tylenol straight away to keep any bone pain at bay. I didn't feel anything until about 0500 the next morning. I felt like I'd been riding a Clydesdale all day. My hips & lower back ached like crazy! UGH. I hope it passes soon!


Anyhow, what a great day. I can't sing the Jameses praises enough... I love them to bits & can't wait until our next visit... Travel safe & enjoy what's left of you holidays... Sending you love & hugs...


OH! I forgot to mention... Big James' little brother is a professional Wrestler - Leo Kruger. He's just started in the US, but next season he'll be on the reality tv show, NXT. If you're into that scene, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for him!


Maria & Valentina
xxxxxxx

There were a bunch of artists painting at the falls today.

Always time for a touristy pic!

A James Sandwich

Forget-Me-Not Pond with Nihahi Ridge in the background. Apparently it's the ridge that Christopher Reeves flies over in Superman.

Forget-Me-Not's famous reflections

I'm so happy you guys made it here!

Uh-oh! Storm clouds are coming!

Oceana gets a lift!

Shufly & the Jameses.

The old truck in evening light.

Day 225 - Blessings Abound!

It feels so bizarre to be home again. I miss Jaco. A lot. We had such a great time, even though it was brief & he was busy, we made the most of every minute. I think if I could offer advice to anyone out there... Enjoy every moment of your life. At 31, I never dreamt I would be struggling to regain my health & enjoy the rest of my life. Carpe diem!

Today I had to go to the Fertility Clinic (RFP) to pick up my drugs, as they are closed on the weekend. I wasn't sure what day I would have to start the drugs, so I wanted to be ready. I wasn't sure how much the drugs were going to cost, either. When I initially started the procedure with them, I was told the IVF procedure would be $6700, plus approximately $2500-3000 for the drugs. Ouch! I inquired about some financial assistance, but they said I didn't have time to apply. (And who said time=money?) They told me they would apply for compassionate care & see if some of the drugs could be covered. A few weeks back, I received a call saying the Luveris had been covered, but they didn't know about the Gonal F pens yet. I knew I would be paying $30 for the antibiotics & supplies. Today I would find out what the bill was. 

It was $30. OH MY GOODNESS! What a blessing!!! How incredibly lucky do I feel! Wow! That helped Jaco & I in so many ways! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The pharmacist, who is from Polska, showed me the proper way to do the injections. Not injection, plural, as in injections! Yes, I will now have to do 2 shots per day instead of 1. Oh lucky, lucky me. BUT... at least these are miniature shots... The total is about 2ml. The needles are barely visible compared to my other shots! This will be a breeze! They are only subcutaneous, so I don't have to worry about making it down to the muscle. Oh sweet relief! 

They gave me a cute little bag to keep everything in & best of all, my very own sharps container! Now I have a proper disposal! :o)

I also saw my Doctor when I was walking out, so I asked her a few questions. When I had arrived home, I had a letter from the Oncologist regarding my CT scan. They wanted to scan my head, neck, chest, abdomen & pelvis. That is a load of radiation. Especially on my ovaries, which I'd like to keep in top form for the egg retrieval. I don't want babies that look like Hiroshima victims. I asked Dr. Foong & she suggested it would be best to wait to have the scan. She also told me she would be away when I had my procedure done, but she would call me when she was back & I could come in & talk about the embryos they made. She is such a wonderful doctor. 

My next stop was the pet shop. Valentina has been barking to a ridiculous level as of late. I have tried shushing her up, pokes in the ribs, bops on the bum & nothing is working. I bought an anti-bark collar that sprays a puff of citronella every time she barks. Here's hoping!

Here's a link to the study I found on CT scans. It's an interesting read! I actually called the diagnostics division at the hospital to find out exactly how much radiation I would be receiving. I was a little insulted when the chap on the other end asked me if I was a Radiologist & that I wouldn't understand anything unless I was. It's called Wikipedia & Google. Hu-llo! Anyhow, he did have the decency to tell me that if it was his wife in my situation, he would postpone the scan. I felt good about that!

I tried to phone the Oncologist & his nurses/receptionists, but they were either rude or unhelpful. Oh this is so much fun!!! :o) I have the scan on Tuesday & as it's now the weekend, it's not looking promising. I also tried to book an appointment with the Oncologist for 10 June to have some more questions answered, but it sounds like he's booked full. I have this sinking feeling that things will be postponed. There is NO WAY he's going to be ready for me on Friday a.m. when I refuse a drug on Thursday afternoon. Nor am I going to be ready when I want time to research the drugs & dosages before I start. 

Doxorubicin damages the heart & there is a lifetime dose. Damage starts much sooner than the lifetime dosage, so I want to make sure I'm within the NO DAMAGE zone.

Additionally, I've had enough time to contemplate this scan business. I get that they have a set protocol to follow. I get that they want a baseline scan so they can know how much progress I've made. However, I also get that CT scans cause cancer & if I have one now, adding in the scan from February, another one in 3-4 months to check on my progress & than again when I'm done in 6 months... That's approximately 2000 chest x-rays in 11 months. Not cool. When you also consider the fact that if the scan in 3-4 months doesn't show improvement when compared to the February scan, we can all agree that the treatment isn't working. I was told the lumps would be gone after the 2nd round. Call me crazy, but it doesn't make sense. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to jeopardize my future health just to satisfy someone's protocol - my future doesn't fit into that box they're wanting to tick. I'll step off my soapbox now...

Enjoy your weekend & where is that sunshine I'm dreaming of?? 

xxxx

Maria & Valentina

Thank you for the sharps disposal!

No Hiroshima babies please.

Getting used to the weight around her neck - it weighs nearly as much as she does!

Day 102 - Grammys?!

So I'm pretty much sitting here watching the time tick by. I'm pretty bored to be 100% honest. I get a fair bit accomplished, but there isn't much satisfaction at the end of the day. I'm still thirsty for something more. May the Good Lord see to it that I return from Mexico with a new lease on life! I'm ready to bust outta the rut I've been digging for the past two years!


Today was exceptionally uneventful. I spent a fair bit of time researching, again. My Grandma called to tell Mom & I we should read this really great book. She couldn't remember who the author was, but it was called Knockout. :o) I didn't catch the call & she left a message. I called her back later in the evening & it was so cute.


She was watching the Grammys & funnily enough, so was I. We don't have a satellite or cable TV, but I managed to find a live stream online, so Mom & I watched bits & bobs of the awards. I phoned Grandma part way through & I figured she would be watching the Grammys. She enjoys her TV shows. When I asked if she was watching the Grammys, she said yes. We chit-chatted for a bit & shortly thereafter she interrupted me & said, 'Now look what you've done. You've gone & made me miss my favourite guy. Bon Jovi is on & I'm missing him.'


I could hardly believe my ears & I certainly couldn't contain my amusement! How cute was that! She carried on to tell me how much she likes his music, what a nice guy he is & how handsome he is. Keep in mind this is the same Grandma who NEVER misses a PBR episode (Professional Bull Riding). She is also 83 years young & baked ALL the buns for our wedding in Waterton last fall. I still get people telling me how much they loved the buns! Anyhow, Grandma B never ceases to amaze me & tonight certainly wasn't an exception!


Tonight was also shot night. We're down to the last 10!!! I think I can, I think I can, I think... :o) I told Mom I was off to do my shot & she pipes up how I need to train Valentina to carry a piece of paper to Mom if I get into trouble. No sooner do I get my needle goodies out, do I hear a little click, click down the hall. Mom follows suit & opens the door. Enter Valentina with a piece of paper folded up in her mouth that she so proudly gives to me. I open it up & it reads, 'Do you need my help?' What a gal. Both of them! 


We also worked on our 'stenditi' trick. She knows I want her to roll over on the blanket & she knows I want her to put the blanket in her mouth, but the timing isn't quite right just yet! We'll get there! In the meantime, it's cute to watch her try! Mom had a massage today & the lady who did the massage was completely smitten with Valentina. That's my girl! She's a charmer!


Anyhow, short post & here's a few piccies of my baby when she was just a wee one! Awh! 


Have a great night! xxxx
Maria & Valentina

Mama - What's up with the string??

INCOMING!!!

What? Is there something in my teeth?

Short legs. Need a break!

I swear, it wasn't me!

Fast as fast can be! You'll never catch me!