I am such a Slacker!!

It has been 6 weeks since my last post! And while that may be taken as a sign that nothing exciting has been happening it isn't very friendly. I had a friend recently let me know she was following but hadn't seen anything new. Health wise there isn't really anything new since the post the first of July. I continue to get treatments every 3 weeks along with my daily medication. I am working out more, usually swimming or biking and recently I have added some gentle yoga back into my regimen. I need the yoga to work on improving my flexibility which is sadly lacking. I got to go kayaking last weekend with a friend who wanted to learn. It was nice to be paddling. I am hoping to get to do more the end of the month when we visit Pine Island again. And later this month the Fall season of Volleyball gets underway on Tuesday nights. Work has been busy summer normal. It is wonderful that we have been getting the regular rains. The landscapes at Animal Kingdom show the difference that rain makes.Everything is lush and dark green and happy. The only problem with the every day storms is that our dog Maggie is very afraid of thunder and lightning. She can usually be found huddled under the computer desk. Michael and I are working on arrangements for a vacation to the Yellowstone area this Fall. Neither of us has been there as adults yet so this is a Bucket List kind of trip. Of course Michael is all about the fishing so he is studying about the fly fishing in the region and decided that I could help by learning to tie flies! And I actually am enjoying it. Tying flies is a cross between macrame and entomology, since I like both it works for me. Not that the products of my efforts will be much to attract fish but you never know! For those who have been following the Garden progress we are about to wind down for the summer. This morning I harvested black-eyed peas, okra, jalapeno peppers and eggplant. We have had a bumper crop of okra and so have had some great gumbo the last couple of months and I resorted to making okra pickles. Actually the pickles aren't bad. Pretty soon though we need to turn everything under and rest it a bit to discourage bugs. And then we can plant for the fall and winter. Looking forward to collards. Boy doesn't that sound southern! Don't turn your nose up at collard greens until you have had Michael's version. Yummy! Hope this finds all of you well and happy. Blessings and Love to you, Wendy

Great vacation and update from the doctor

Good morning everyone, Michael and I returned from the M3 Ranch this past Saturday. W had been there for the prior week, having a fun time with the Bundschus and the Doerrs, friends from Florida who came up to join us. It was a very relaxing time, we really didn't do much other than hang out, a little hiking, bird watching, puzzling and eating. Dad and Arra Mae were awesome hosts and Dad's cousin Joe was a masterful bar tender. The Ranch is truly a beautiful spot and we enjoyed the peace and camaraderie. There were lots of cute babies too, Moofasa the tame steer, Miss Mae a 3 month old heifer who loves to be petted and a family of donkeys with an adorable month old colt. All in all it was a special time. Today I met with my oncologist and the only bad news was that she is moving to Omaha, NE! I so appreciate her care for the last 9 months. I am sure that the doctor she is referring me too will be great as well. Anyway we talked more in detail about the results of the scans. There has been no increase in the mets as I said before. That indicates that the treatment is working exactly as it is intended. We will stay the course we are on. I feel great and Dr. Constantino even said I could go back to jogging carefully. I don't love running or jogging but it would probably help with weight control. So ultimately that is the info and I am grateful. Thanks be to God! Hope you are having an enjoyable summer. Revel in your friends and family. My love to you all. Wendy

Great News!

Hi there everyone! Today was a scan day. I had a CAT scan and an Bone scan and my doctor just called and said that everything is just like it was on the scan April 1. None of the mets have changed in the slightest. Lets all give a big thanks to the Lord who is in control of all this! God has been so merciful and I am thankful for all the prayers on my behalf. Now let's praise Him! With this news the treatment regimen that I am on will continue through the rest of the year as it is working so well. After that I don't know yet but God is in control. All is well. Love you all, Wendy

Farming on Saturday morning and another shout out for Alison

Morning all, Michael and I spent our morning working the garden. I weeded and replanted a couple of pots while Michael reworked two rows that we will plant in a second crop of cranberry beans. Later this week we will start harvesting black eyed peas. Right now we can hardly stay ahead of the tomatoes and the carrots, squash and onions went to good use last night in pork fried rice. All morning while we worked the red shouldered hawk chicks were hollering at is from two nearby trees. They are flying short distances but still hanging around the nest getting fed. And from the other corner of the garden we were watched by the bluebirds who nested in a old sycamore snag. If you look down the hollow of the snag you can see two baby bluebirds with mouths wide open. So here is the extra piece about Alison. My last blog was dedicated to her. Then in her blog this past week Alison included a couple of photos with her wearing the "suck it up cupcake" t-shirt we gave her and told the story about why there even exist "suck it up cupcake" t-shirts. I love her blog! Alison and her husband Randall are sailing the high season there sail boat Tregoning. Honestly Alison's blog is so much cooler than mine I am putting a link here for I you to check it out www.tripsailor.com/sailing-blogs/6087-blog-exploring-coastal-wa-and-bc-2013 I hope you enjoy it. From a treatment standpoint all is well. I have chemo again on Monday and the a three week break. Mid June are more scans. Oh and having just been to see my dermatologist here is a reminder for all of you to be vigilant regarding skin cancer! Love, Wendy

This is for Alison!

When Alison visited us a couple of months ago she got to see the newly planted garden. I promised to post photos as it grows along. So here is what it looks like this evening.There is a overall garden shot and then a peek at the tomatoes which are producing heavily but just starting to ripen. And there is a photo of one of the red shouldered hawk chicks in the oak tree next to the garden. I think the hawk family is responsible for very little squirrel damage in the garden so far. Hope where ever you are your Spring is going well and a big shout out to Alison and Randall in the Pacific Northwest on their sailboat Tregoning. Wendy

Doctors and Elephants

Hi there everyone, This morning Michael and I went into MD Anderson for an appointment with Dr. Constantino regarding the information from the last scans. Those were a CAT scan with contrast and a bone scan. The nurse for Dr. Constantino had read for me the radiologist's report so I was kind of expecting mixed news with some bad. Well that is why I am not a medical professional! Actually it looks like most everything that was seen in the original scans is either the same or has improved from treatment. The only challenge is we are comparing apples to oranges as one of the major initial scans was a PET and we don't have a repeat of that one. So we are going to stay the course we are on and in a couple of months redo the CAT scan and the bone scan to be able to compare apples to apples. Simultaneously and while much less scientific I do get to report that yesterday I swam for the first time in weeks and was very glad to be able to swim with no pain. I had done pulls previously (arms only) but yesterday I was able to do the full stroke and had no problem and even better I was able to switch to breast stroke and use a frog kick with no pain at all. That is a huge improvement because just 6 weeks ago I couldn't do it at all. I was so happy I was practically in tears when I left the training center. Yea! Okay now to the other part of my post title: After we left the hospital Michael and I drove down to the National Elephant Center (check it out at www.nationalelephantcenter.org)in Fellsmere, Florida. I went to take a look at how much space they have to grow browse for the elephants. We got the tour from John Lehnhardt and Jeff Bolling and I was very impressed. The team there has done a great job getting ready to establish the Center. The first barn is completed and they have functionally 4 paddocks on top of the 6 stalls in the barn. I am attaching some photos. Check the tractor in the shot of the barn to give you a scale for how big this structure is. Very cool that we could go help out with the browse production side.

An early morning

Hi everyone, I hope you had a lovely Easter yesterday. He is risen! This morning I was up and on the road early for an early appointment at the hospital. Starting the next round of big scans. I have a CAT scan first followed by. Nuclear bone scan. This is the first opportunity for the doctors to see the treatment impacts on the cancer mets. My instinct is that the results will show improvement. Those of you who see me regularly know that I am no longer limping and that movement is easier. This weekend my sister Cindy came from Boston to celebrate our birthdays together just like when we were children. It has been great hanging out with her and our family. Yesterday Dad barbecued his famous ribs and we ate like royalty. Dad really has the touch with ribs! Just wanted to let you know what is going on. Stay tuned for results from the scans soon. Blessings Wendy