Sunday Funday

I had a visitor today. Linda P stopped by for a short visit and we caught up

You know how bored I am when an exciting day is cleaning out another closet. How many sweaters and tshirts and turtlenecks does one person need? Apparently all of them, since I couldn't bring myself to donate much. But hey... I have the room, I do wear them, and it will keep me from buying more. (When I can get out shopping...) I found two turtlenecks with the tags still on them. I paid 80 cents each for them. I used to find good deals off season.

Organizing took up most of the day, then we went for a walk with dogs. We saw Linda C and Carol on our walk. Yay! More people! If the wind wasn't there, it would have been perfect weather.

Tomorrow is my last day off. I go to "work" on Tuesday. I feel fine, so let's hope the numbers are up.

Just Another Saturday

We puttered around the house today. Nothing spectacular.

It was supposed to be quite warm, but I couldn't shed big pink. We had a nice play date with the neighbor puppy, Penny, and her Aunt Patches.

I wanted to take the dogs for a walk, but my chief pooper scooper was not available.  I saw him for dinner and a movie. I made green curry. It's always better the second day.

Maybe tomorrow I will have to make brownies or something sweet.  I don't go to clinic, so maybe I will have a cup of coffee in the morning. Just one. I read it depletes magnesium. I will have a chance to rebuild before Tuesday.

That's it for today. Happy weekend.

Good Evening

Exciting news today. My skin is finally healing from the radiation. What looked like dirt on my neck and chest was actually damaged skin. Today I had finally grown enough healthy skin under the dead, that I could scrub it off with a washcloth. Ahhh..... Relief. And progress!

It's a great day to be outside with a fur coat. The dogs enjoyed some good time out there, but I wasn't going to stay out there too long.  Here is my punishment.

I don't know how, AnnieBug got a red head. What was she doing?

I finally got brave and tried the nail polish Linda sent with the New Year's basket. It's cool and very sparkly. Thank you, Linda!

I went shopping today.

Thank you for the GC, Melissa!

This evening we went over to the Hamiltons for dinner. The it's great to get out! We had Greek pizza on the grill and a great night.  Thank you Hamiltons!

Better Numbers

Today's numbers are better. My creatinine was back to normal (for me on prograf) at 1.3. White blood cells are holding and due to the blood infusion on Tuesday, red blood was up. Magnesium is up to 1.5 so I will keep eating the beans and pumpkin seeds.

We decided to try once a week on Tuesday, and if the creatinine spikes to 1.7 again, we will have to add another appointment.

Tuesday they did a test to see if my body is breaking down red blood cells. The results today say no. Phew. The doctor said since my donor was a different blood type, it could take 60 days to 6 months to fully take. Come on! I was A+ and Ed is A- so I wouldn't think it was that much of a change. I guess it really is, though. But now I am A- too so it's working.

They pulled blood for a chimerism test. Results in a week. Last one was 100/76 percent engrafted. All we need is a little higher. We really want 100/100, of course.

Be careful what you wish for. Annie is becoming more of a dog. Yay! With it comes playing with toys. However, I forgot to tell her shoes are not toys. She got my boot. I think it adds character, but now it doesn't zip.

Hair update:

A Clean Cabinet

This was a day off. I got lots of office work done then tackled the mess of a cabinet.

Before:

My helper who is not in the way at all.

After:

Trust me. It's a lot better. I have a bag for Goodwill and a large bag of treats for the shelter. I should give them the baconators, but I can't. The dogs love them so. I take one bacon strip and split it for 3 dogs. It's not too much, right?

We got some sad news today. One of our former foster dogs had passed away. He had 8 1/2 wonderful years with his adoptive family, which is never enough. He was lucky to find them. He is survived by his "sister," another Sheltie Rescue of GA dog.

Bummed, But Then...

Long clinic today. The lab results revealed my numbers are lower still. Except for creatinine. It's up and that's bad.

I spoke to the doctor and told him I was really bummed about my numbers. He blames the medicines I am on, and is not concerned, since the white blood cells have been hanging out at 4 or 5. Today was 3.9. That's not a 4.  He will look at the prograf level checked today, and adjust my pills if needed.

My magnesium is 1.4. So not over magnesiumed. Without trying at all I was 1.3. But I will continue to try.

With my creatinine level at 1.7, they decided to give me fluids and bring me back Thursday. Bummer. 9 am appointment. I will ride in with Buffy anyway and just wait around 2 hours. It's either that or sit in traffic 2 hours.

Also, my hemocrit was 26.3, meaning I needed a unit of blood. I certainly didn't feel like I needed it. No shortness of breath, no fatigue. So, it took 4 hours to type and cross. Of course, the computers went down too. We contemplated waiting until Thursday, but the computers came up about 2 pm.

I got home at 3:30. No traffic. Phew.

(Thanks, Patsy, for the picture!)

Poor Kent. He worked last night, came to retrieve me, then donated plateletes while waiting.

Poor dogs. All alone. Thanks to Dave, they got out at noon.

I gave them some treats since they had breakfast just before 6 am. In giving treats, I found out Dex is lazy on his commands. Time for remedial. Yay. I have a job!

We had a nice after dinner show. They all played together.

Tonight we will find a movie and just chill. Oooooo..... Popcorn. Haven't had that in months. After Kent's violin lesson.

Until then, I will start into my new book. Thank you, David! It's just what I needed after the day I had!

Lastly, remember my sister's certified mail from Atlanta Blood Services? Just a letter. Bummer.

Over Magnesiumed??

Probably not too much, but I am trying. The foods I have been eating have been high in potassium and I did overshoot on that front because I wasn't paying attention  Here is the highlight of my day:

Dave brought me a giant bag of pumpkin seeds/pepitas.  (Yay! No salt!). Thank you, Dave!! It must be 5 pounds. This is the best source of magnesium, and low in potassium. 

The other foods high in magnesium are navy beans and artichokes. So, I made roasted some artichokes and made a giant pot of ham and bean soup. I will do better with the artichokes next time. They are a bit scorched.

No photo of the soup. Hmmmm... Maybe tomorrow. But really, it just looked like soup.

Today was a dreary day. Very foggy and a little soggy.

So I took the opportunity to organize a closet. Anyone need any empty pill bottles? I have an insane amount.  Hi. I'm Jeanel and I'm a horder.  We have a lot of closets that need help. I should do one a day. But not tomorrow. I have clinic. (Lame excuse!)

My sister has a "hold for signature" package waiting for her at the post office. It is from Atlanta Blood Services. I hope it's because she won a contest. Could be cool!  I will let you know.

Now... One more outing for the soggy paw club.