"Leaving on a jet plane" 

I'll return in time for Election Day.  In the meantime, I will blog intermittently, whenever I have access.  Until then, don't worry about me.  I'm fine, enjoying time with family and friends!

We laid Sapphire to rest this afternoon.  

1996-2012

She was deeply loved and will be greatly missed.


The Happy Birthday Girl: Lisa at 6 - with her new kitty.

Alex and Sapphire, 16 years ago.

An adult Sapphire shares her chair with Sarah.

She enjoyed helping Lisa on the computer.

The Queen on her throne (one of many)

and enjoying the afghan I knitted.

Here you can see she really did have blue eyes.

This was another one of her favorite napping spots.

You are loved!

 This morning I upped my route to 1.5 miles because I was feeling guilty about not walking yesterday (by the time Lisa left in the late afternoon it wasn't happening - I watched House of Spirits instead) or Thursday.  Hopefully I'll get in some walking tomorrow before my various appointments start; Tuesday I'll be traveling all day so it won't happen then.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning (when Alex got home) and thought about heading outside to check out the meteor shower - just before dawn this morning was supposed to be the prime viewing time. 

But I just couldn't get motivated to get out of bed.  And think I eventually drifted back to sleep for a bit.

Lots to do today to get organized for my trip, so I'd better get busy and start crossing things off of my list.  

It's finally cooled off at night, which means the pool has also - so I guess we're done with pool parties for the season.  Although if we had a party crasher like this big guy, I might be tempted to get in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL0z6A9imIU

My follow-up with the radiation oncologist went well yesterday (I'm in good shape with the possible exception of the resulting dry skin, which needs continued applications of Aquaphor) and I don't have to see her again until February.  She also cleared me for my annual bilateral mammogram, so I've now got that scheduled for December.

Yesterday I walked my mile in a different part of the neighborhood, going north/south instead of east/west.  Glad I did not have to depend on these signs...

 However since there is less to see on that route I will probably revert to my original path.

Not sure when I'll get my walk in today - before I could get organized and head out Lisa arrived for the day.  In a bit we're going out to the Wildflower Bread Company for a healthy lunch.  I was just getting ready to eat a healthy breakfast (of Shredded Wheat) when Estera delivered some cinnamon rolls she had just baked.... and there went all my good intentions

Dad always said that

And certainly can't argue with Lloyd -

This is an especially meaningful day for me - it means that I survived the teenage years!  I'm pretty sure <G> that there won't have been any magical maturation overnight now that he's 20 - but it's coming.... right?!

Surprised that I feel like taking another walk down Memory Lane?

Here's Alex at 12 days old, 'celebrating' his first Halloween:

At his 3-months photo shoot he went all out, wearing a tuxedo...with penguin buttons!  (Thank you, Tami!) 

 Here's the little man on his first birthday, October 19, 1993, ready for cake

 and enjoying presents.

On his second birthday Alex was all set to blow out the candles on his cupcake.

and had a somewhat better idea about the whole present thing:

Here's Lisa reading one of his new books, Sam's Sandwich, to him:

By 2 Alex was full-swing into the Halloween thing (certainly the eating candy part - he's the dinosaur on the far right, with a mouthful of goodies; Lisa is the Green Queen on the far left.)

At 2 it was hard to imagine he'd one day be able to fit into Dad's shoes...

He always laughed when I told him one day he'd be bigger than I am.  

But of course it did happen!

On his third birthday Alex was all smiles.

He chose a train cake for his fourth birthday.

One funny birthday story: Shortly after his 4th birthday, someone must have told Alex something about his next birthday (maybe that he would be a big boy and go to school?) and he decided he didn't want that to happen.  In fact he was quite freaked out about it.  I was able to calm his down by telling him he didn't have to 'get a new number' if he didn't want to.  Lisa, 6 years old, was incensed... How could I lie to him?  Of course his next birthday would roll around (eventually) and he'd get a new number.  I was finally able to convince her that by the time that happened (almost a year later) Alex would be more than ready, excited in fact, to be getting a new number, and she calmed down.  Telling the truth was always a biggie with me - I really made it a point not to lie to my kids) so to be caught in a lie was difficult all around.  (Not sure she ever forgave me about the tooth fairy, either.) 

Last night Alex went out to Maricopa County Fair with friends - assume they rode all the hair-raising rides and ate lots of fun fried fair food.  Don't expect to see him up and about until sometime this afternoon when I can wish him a

Start your morning with a smile!

(this is a SMILE collage I made in class with the kids years ago - and it popped up on Google Images today when I was searchinging for 'smile')

This dad's creative interview with his 1-year-old son is hysterical - better empty that bladder!  The clip only runs about 3 minutes but it should keep you smiling much longer than that!

http://pinterest.com/pin/233694668135140021/

There don't seem to be any repercussions from yesterday's fall - my ankle is just fine this morning so I'm off to walk in the cool of the morning.  

(click on image to make it larger and easier to read) 

The Onion pretty much nailed it.

The waiting room at the oncologist's office this morning was pretty packed, so it was no surprise that they were running almost an hour behind.  (I think they had several emergencies; I do know that the couple waiting next to me had been at the hospital much of the night.)  Once I finally got in, it was a very brief visit with the doctor (everything's going well, my labs were great) and then headed in to chemo; given the crowd in the waiting room I was somewhat surprised that not all the chairs were taken.  I opted for the steroids again (with my trip to Maryland coming up next week I do NOT want to risk dealing with the possible itching reaction!)  This session the Benedryl walloped me, so I stuck around afterward until I was 'sober' again.  It was nice that there were still empty recliners so I had a comfy spot to relax and wait.

Once home I stretched out in front of the TV and ended up dozing for the rest of the afternoon, catching bits and pieces of several shows.  The one on the Kennedy assassination and the Secret Service was interesting (at least the parts I heard.)  After dinner Tom and I watched an excellent episode of "The Men Who Built America" on the History Channel, the segment about Rockefeller.   When that was over at 8:00 it dawned on me that tonight was the second presidential debate, which I had been planning to watch.  Too late... it had just ended.

  

Ever get tired at the grocery store and just want to stop and take a nap?  Obviously these 3 mice shopped til they dropped...

And while we're on the subject of food: for a good laugh, check out this recipe my sister shared with me...could make a great treat for a Halloween party!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Kentucky-Fried-WTF-on-a-stick/

But if you don't want to go to all that trouble for your ghosts and goblins, 

this looks like a much easier fall-back idea:

Since my Big Fall 2 1/2 weeks ago, I have been a bit concerned about falling again; thus I have been considerably more watchful about where I place my feet and haven't quite taken walking quite so much for granted.  However I do prefer to walk on the side of the road (the unforgiving asphalt is hard on my back) even thought the dirt/grass/whatever is full of uneven spots. 

This morning I was out early enough to see the dog walkers, and when I approached a very friendly 'puppy' (Prime is a huge 8-month-old German Shepherd) I took my eyes off of the ground and (yep, you got it right on your first guess) went down.  Mostly injured my pride, although my ankle may complain some tomorrow.  Plus it looks like I sustained a small tear in the knee of my favorite jeans.  <SIGH>

If I'm going to make falling a habit, 

I might want to put these patches on my knees!