Moderate Monday

I got up a little earlier than I had planned to this morning as my head was full of mucus and I was having trouble breathing. I took a couple Sudafed when I got up and it helped to clear it up a little. After breakfast, I read the paper and then went out front to pull some weeds in the area on the east side of the driveway.

There are so many bulbs there that it was hard to get to the base of the weeds, so I just kind of pulled from as far down as I could get. While I was doing that the mail came so I went inside and read the mail.

By this time it was getting close to the time for lunch so I made a couple burritos out of the hamburger, rice and tomato mix from the other night. After resting for a little bit I went outside and watered the grass seeds that I planted the other day and then went to pull some weeds at the back of the house.

The weeds and the Italian prune seedlings were really getting a hold on the back side of the rose garden. The seedlings are from last years prunes, but this should be the last year that I have this problem as the tree is now gone.

After weeding for a couple hours, I got really tired, so I put all my tools away, cleaned up and went upstairs to take a nap. I slept until a little after 1700; Kathleen was just getting ready to go to the library to return some books and pick up some she had on hold. I was still too groggy to get ready to go in time, so she took off.

While she was out, she also stopped by the grocery store where she meet up with Andrea, Brandon and Toni. Kathleen finally came home a little after 1900 and since it was so late she just opened up a couple cans of soup for dinner.

Well, the weather is about to change to more moisture, today was the last of the nice weather for a couple days, so I wanted to get as much done outside as I could. Unfortunately I just do not have the energy to do what needs to get done. I would have liked to mow the front yard, before the rain, but ran out of energy.

Maybe if the rain holds off until late morning or early afternoon, I will be able to do it then. I would like to use the reel mower rather than the Honda, because I will not disturb the grass seed as much.

Well, I can not think of anything else to write about, so I will just say good night.

Sunday's Serenities

Well, this morning I got up early so that I could get ready for church and Sunday School. When I went upstairs to get dressed Kathleen was starting to get ready herself, but she looked like she needed to get some more sleep, so I told her that. So I went by myself and Kathleen stayed home, but did not go back to bed to get some more rest.

As soon as the pastor finished his sermon, I had to get up and leave the sanctuary, as my bottom was so sore I could not sit any longer. Then I left Sunday School early for the same reason. When I got home Kathleen was still on her computer and in about the same condition as when I left.

I changed my clothes and went downstairs to read the paper. After finishing the paper, I made a couple burritos out of the hamburger, rice and tomato dish from last night and a couple whole wheat tortillas adding some hot salsa and some sour cream. They were pretty good and rather filling.

Then I emptied the dishwasher, and loaded up the dishes from breakfast and lunch, and did some of the hand washing that was sitting around the kitchen.

Then after resting for a little, I went outside to water the grass seed that I did the other day. I also pulled a few weeds and then went into the house to rest. I probably should have taken a nap, but since I had not really done anything, I decided that I did not need to take a nap.

Well, Kathleen came downstairs about 1700 and asked if it would be alright if we had the left over dinner from last night, I did not mind so that is what we had plus a tomato and an avocado.

Well, I did not do very much today, but I am tired and cannot think of anything else to write about, so I will just say good night.

Slow Starting Saturday

I had another decent night sleep last night, but still woke up with not a lot of energy. After eating breakfast, reading the paper and the mail I went outside and mowed the back yard. I was going to try to over seed the back yard, but there are so many cherry and apple pedals on the lawn and more to fall that I thought I would wait another week or so until they all fall.

Usually we have a little more rain than we have had this week and they fall quicker, but I would rather keep the trees in bloom and not have the rain every day. So when I finished mowing, I just put the lawn mower away and went into the house.

I took a few things downstairs to the basement and then replaced the shower hose in the downstairs bath. It had been spraying water for a couple months, not seriously, just enough to be annoying.

I could not stand that it was so nice outside, so I went out and dug up some of the area on the east side of the house, I am removing the lawn( and I use that term very loosely), and am planning on putting on some low growing ground cover plants.

It was now about 1400, so I made myself a couple whole wheat burritos, and then I went upstairs to take a nap. I slept until about 1645, I asked Kathleen what she had planned for dinner and she said that she was thawing out some hamburger, so I went downstairs.

Kathleen started dinner, but than remembered that she had not picked up one of her prescriptions the other day, so she took off to Fred Meyer's and picked them up. I turned off dinner when the timer went off and Kathleen returned about fifteen minutes later.

She had made a hamburger, rice and tomato dish, that we added sour cream to and had a tomato and avocado on the side. There was quite a lot left so I will probably put some on some tortillas and have a burrito for lunch one of these days.

Well, I am tired and I cannot think of anything else to write about, so I will just say good night.

Fun Friday

I got another pretty good night sleep last night, I only needed to get up once about 0530, so that was nice. After breakfast I read the paper and the mail, and then I went outside and mowed the front lawn.

Then I put the Scott's seed starter soil and the grass seed and put them into my cart along with a rake and a potato fork and took them to the front lawn where I roughed up the surface, then sprinkled grass seed in the bare spots, scooped some soil onto the seed and then raked and tamped the soil to help embed the seed.

Then I went over to the walnut tree and finished taking the ivy off it. I finally got it all off and it makes a lot of difference in how the tree looks. As I was finishing this up Aaron came over with the girls.

The girls went into the house and Aaron and I talked outside for a while. Since I still had the ivy leaves to get picked up I went over there and raked up the leaves and Aaron pushed them into the yard debris recycling can. When I took the can to the other side of the driveway, I noticed a couple spots that still needed some reseeding, so I did that while I still had all the stuff there.

Then we put the tools and the cart into the garage. Aaron noticed my new chipper/shredder, so I took him into the back yard to show him my new compost tumbler. Then we went into the house, as I needed to rest for a while.

About the time I sat down, Alexis jumped up on my lap and wanted me to read to her, I told her that I needed to rest for a while, so she went back to her coloring. She came back a couple times and Aaron and I were talking so we asked her to come back later. Finally she brought a couple, (five), for me to read, I had rested up enough by then that I went a head and read them to her, Becca came over and listened to the stories as well. When I finished the first stack of books she got down and brought over another stack for me to read.

After finishing them she went off for a while and did some other things, like played catch with me. The Becca played catch with me with some plastic flowers that she got from Kathleen. After awhile Becca brought over a book for me to read, so I read that to her. Shortly after I finished the book, Kathleen came out with her bubble machine, so she and the girls went outside and made bubbles.

Then Aaron and I went out to the garage so that I could show Aaron a brass hammer that I made many years ago, he needed one for his guitars. While we were outside Tami had called and said that it was safe to bring the girls home, she was making a wedding cake for a wedding tomorrow.

By the time everyone left I was really hungry, as I had not had time to have lunch, and I was also tired as I did not have time for a nap again today (third day in a row). Kathleen heated up a can of corn beef hash for me and she reheated the left over steak from Wednesday night. By the time I finished eating I could hardly keep my head up, I finally worked up enough energy to stand up and put the dishes into the dishwasher and here I am.

Well, as I said earlier this is the third day in a row that I have not had a nap and I am really tired, I think that I need to sit down in the living room and just vegetate for a while, so I will just say good night.

Tired Thursday

Well I only had to get up once last night, so that was very nice, although I did wake up and got up about 0630 and felt pretty good. So after breakfast and reading the paper and mail, I went outside and decided to move some more gravel into the front of the driveway.

I did about for cart loads of it plus raked it out and then decided that I needed to stop and rest, so I put the tools and the cart away and went inside. It was about 1330, so I decided to make myself some lunch. I found a few Tatar tots in the refrigerator and that was about it, so I got a couple slices of bread, some Limburger cheese, sliced and onion and made a sandwich.

I also found a cottage cheese container that had about four mouthfuls of cottage cheese left in it so I finished that and also a jar with about a half dozen pepperoncini in it so I finished that as well. We still have three jars of pepperoncini and another container of cottage cheese, but at least there is a little more room in the refrigerator.

As I was finishing up my lunch, Kathleen came down and said that she had a doctor's appointment for 1420 and asked if I was planning on doing anything, so I said that I had planned on going back outside and work in the yard for a while. So she said that she would like it if I went with her to the doctor's, so I did.

When we finished up there, I stopped by the credit union to deposit an insurance refund check, then we stopped by Fred Meyer to pick up a couple prescriptions for her. By the time we finished there it was about 1800, so I suggested that we stop by Papa Murphy's to pick up a DeLight pizza for dinner, she said okay as she did not have anything else planned.

We just and had some pizza left, it was not that long ago that just one pizza would not be enough, so that shows that we, or at least I am eating less. Well, I did not get nearly as much done today as I had anticipated, but at least I got something done and I do not feel too bad and I am not overly tired.

That is about it for today, so I will just say good night.

Wednesday???

Not much to write about today. After breakfast, I emptied the dishwasher and then read the paper and mail. I played around in the garage for a while, but did not accomplish much, so I went back inside. Kathleen made some salmon spread for lunch; I also finished off the deli salads and then put all the dirty dishes and utensils into the dishwasher.

Andrea and Brandon came over for a while after her doctor's appointment, it was nice to see and visit with them for a little while.

After they left, Kathleen and I took off for Tigard to get her ring cleaned and inspected. She gets that done about every six months. While we were over in that part of town, we stopped by Bridgeport village. We spent most of our time there in Crate and Barrel, Kathleen also went into a paper store and then we went into Coldwater Creek.

By the time we got done there it was time to meet our financial advisors for a dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant (M&S Grill). I had crab and shrimp stuffed salmon and Kathleen had a steak, but they had Jake's clam chowder and lots of good appetizers before the main meal came out. Then for dessert they had three little custard cups on a large plate, one had a hot black berry and blue berry tart with ice cream on top, another had Crème Brûlée and the third had a chocolate moose with whipped cream on top.

Needless to say, I was quite stuffed by the time we were done. After the meal we both had a cappuccino and that took whatever room I had left in my stomach. We finally got home about 2145, so we were gone a little over six hours, which by far has been my longest outing since I started the radiation therapy.

Well, it is late and I am tired so I am just going to say, good night!

A Tenious Tuesday

Looking back I probably should not have made the chili yesterday. Not only was I up a good portion of last night it continued on through today, and while it has slowed down a little, I still am not back to "normal".

Anyway, after getting up this morning I had breakfast and emptied the dishwasher before going into the living room to read the paper and the mail. I went out to bring the garbage can back from the front after the pickup and then again to gather up the recycling box after the recycling truck picked up our plastic, metal and plastic recycling.

I did wander outside a coupe other times, but the weather kept threatening to rain although most of the day it was just a drizzle, not even enough to get the driveway wet. It was just nasty enough that I did not feel like doing anything outside so I vacuumed the downstairs.

Beside the weather, I just did not feel very good, so I sat around most of the day. Around 1300 I made myself some lunch consisting of some roast beef slices Limburger cheese, some dill pickle slices and some horse radish and made a sandwich out of some harvest bread.

I took a nap again today about 1330 until about 1530, I did feel a little better, but the chili was still playing with me. Kathleen heated up some Tatar tots and we had the left over salmon and salads from the deli. There still is enough salmon and salads left over for another meal, maybe tomorrow's lunch.

Well, today has been a rather unproductive day, I think I will just say good night and officially call it a day.

A Marvelous Monday

I did get a pretty decent night sleep last night, and I was not nearly as tired as I had been the last couple of days. I took the towels downstairs with me when I went and picked up the towels from the downstairs bathroom and kitchen and then loaded them all into the washing machine. After breakfast, I put the towels into the dryer and then went into the living room to read the paper and mail.

By the time I got done with the paper the towels were dry so I took them out and folded them and put them away. Then I took the paper and junk mail and put them into the paper recycling bag and took it out to the front pouch so that I could take it out to the curb, (we do not really have a curb, but it sounds impressive) for pick up tomorrow. I use to put it out the night before, but I have had the papers gone through and even the whole bag taken so I do not do it until it is day light on the day of the pick-up.

Then I went outside and mowed the front, back, sides, neighbor’s front lawn and the driveway strip on the neighbors to the west of ours. I rested before doing the back yard, I still get really tired quickly and I am trying not to over due.

After finishing the back yard, I got the spreader out and the Scott's turf builder plus moss control and put it on the whole lawn. I had tried killing the moss earlier this spring, but it did not do a total job, so I thought that I would give it another try.


After putting the spreader and the remaining fertilizer back into the garage, I went into the house and got cleaned up. It was about 1330 so I thought that I would make myself something to eat, so I started to boil some water and put some dry chili mix into it. It had a cook time of almost a half hour, so I got out some dark rye, some roast beef slices, the Limburger cheese, and some horse radish and made a sandwich.

To top it off I also had a kosher dill pickle and by the time I finished the sandwich, the chili was ready. I had about half of it and then decided to go upstairs to take a nap. I slept until just about 1700, so that shows that I still need to nap everyday.

When I do not take time to nap, I usually feel it in the next day or two, so I am learning to stop and take a nap. It really breaks up my day, but right now it is just something that I have to do.

Tonight Kathleen made some wild sockeye salmon, orzo and peas, it was really good. I really like salmon, but I really, really like fresh wild salmon. We ate about of the salmon, so we will have it again some other day.

Well, that is all I can think about tonight, I am not as tired as I have been this time of the evening, but I know that I do not have a lot of energy. Some how I need to figure out a way to build up my energy level and have some kind of reserve energy for when I need it. I guess that is all for tonight, good night!

Surprisingly Sunny Sunday

I woke up this morning and felt pretty good, not really overly rested, but better than I had Saturday morning. So I got ready to go to Sunday School this morning, Kathleen went as well, and it was the first time that we had been there since the middle of January.

As we were leaving, Kathleen asked me if I felt like going grocery shopping, I was starting to feel tired, so I said not really. We had not brought our shopping list or coupons so that was another good reason for not going.

I sorted the clothes out and then did a load of light colored clothes. Kathleen heated up some clam chowder for lunch and afterwards I finished reading the paper. When I got done with the paper I took the light clothes out of the dryer, took them upstairs, folded and put them away. Before I took the light clothes upstairs I put the dark clothes into the dryer. After the dark clothes finished I took them upstairs, folded them and put them away.

Then I decided that I was tired enough that I needed a nap, so I took a nap and Kathleen took off to pick up her prescriptions and do a little grocery shopping. She got home about 1800 and I had been up for a while, but at least I did get a little rest. Before she got home I emptied the dishwasher that Kathleen had run last night.

Kathleen had stopped at the deli and picked up a few salads, so that is what we had for dinner. Well, I did not do a lot today, I hope that with a good night sleep tonight, I will feel a little more energetic tomorrow as it is suppose to be a relatively nice day.

Well, I cannot think of anything else to write home about so good night.

I knew that I was tired last night, but when I slept until 0830 this morning I really knew it. I was still tired, when one considers that I had slept for about nine hours, and wound up taking a three hour nap this afternoon.

Once I got up, I made myself an egg and soy sausage sandwich, the made myself some coffee and headed to the living room to read the paper and mail. There was a fair amount of mail, and not all of it was junk mail, so it took a while to get through it there was even a magazine for me to read.

It had started to rain again, so going outside to do anything was kind of out of the question, so I sat in my chair and rested for a while longer. The faucet in the downstairs bath tub had bee dripping most of the week, so I shut off the hot water to it and proceeded to change it. Then I cleaned up one of the draws in the vanity that seems to always collect junk.

Kathleen was in the kitchen making some oatmeal, raisin and dried cherry cookies and when I looked at the clock, I noticed that it was after 1300, so I went into the kitchen to see what I could find to have for lunch; I wound up making some broccoli cheddar soup.

It was a dry mix, that we must have had forever, but I am always willing to try things, so I mixed it up and heated it up, it did not taste all that great, but it was not bad either. I added a little Tabasco sauce to spice it up a little, and that helped a lot. I did not finish it so into the refrigerator it went.

Doing lunch must have worn me out because I got so tired that I headed upstairs to take a nap. I had not had one in a couple days, mostly because it was so nice outside that I just did not take the time to do it. In my condition now, I think that I really need the nap time. I hate to say that but I really notice the difference when I do not get one.

I think that is one of the reasons that I was so tired today. Anyway, I got up about 1900 and asked Kathleen if she thought of anything for dinner, she suggested soup, so she heated up a can of soup and then I finished the broccoli cheddar from lunch.

Well, I did not get much of anything constructive done today, but I feel better than I did earlier in the day. Since I cannot think of anything else to write about, I will just say good night.

Fabulous Friday

I am way too tired to be writing this, but I thought that I would give it a try anyway. Today was another really nice spring day, so after breakfast, reading the paper and the mail, I decided to go out side and do some work around the yard.

I mowed the back yard, it was not nearly as long as I expected it to be, but it still needed mowing. After that I decided that since I edged the front yard earlier in the week, I should at least start doing the back yard.

I spent a couple hours and did the back rose garden and then got about half way around the berry garden, and then I tackled the little rose garden. By the time I finished that I was getting tired, so I got one of the Adirondack chairs out and sat down for a few minutes to rest.

I could not sit there very long, as I kept thinking of all the things I needed to get done, so I drug the chipper out and started chipping branches, I am in the process of taking out the Mugo pine, so I cut up several of those branches and then did some branches that have been leaning up against the apple tree for several years.

I am sure that I had saved them for something, but I could not remember what it was not, so I thought that it could not have been that important, so into the chipper they went.

Kathleen had come out and told me that I was going to Aaron and Tami's for dinner tonight, so I finished the stack that I had and then put the chipper away. By the time I got into the house it was almost 1800, and I was suppose to be at their house by 1830, so I washed my hands, arms and face and called it good.

Aaron barbecued some hamburgers and a Boca burger for me and Tami made a lemon cake for dessert. Everything tasted so good, but I was so tired that I could hardly enjoy, it but I did. Becca and Alexis sat on my lap while we waited for dinner to get finished, and were trying to get me to play games with them, but I could hardly move, so we went outside and tossed the ball to Archie.

Well, I just got home and now I am more tired than I have been for a while, but it sure was nice to spend the whole day outside. I got so busy that I did not even get lunch today, but I can afford to miss a few meals every now and again.

That is all I can think of for today, so good night for today, tomorrow the rain is suppose to return again.

Turn-about Thursday

Wow, what a difference a day makes! As nasty as the last couple of day have been today was completely on the other side of the weather spectrum. After eating and reading the paper and mail I spent most of the rest of the day outside.

When I first went outside, I pulled some ivy from under the fir trees, than after the grass dried I mowed the front lawn. I was going to work out in the back yard pulling weeds, but I realized that the front lawn had not had any edging done to it other than the driveway, that I did the other day.

So I weeded and edged the garden and then the eastern border and than around the walnut tree. After I did that I decided to that I needed to cut and pull the ivy off the one walnut tree where it had really taken over.

It took probably an hour or so, but I cut and pulled down all the ivy from about five feet and up. My next project will be to finish pulling it off and work on the west side of the driveway to rid it of the ivy that has pretty taken over that area.

I did transplant a rhododendron that I started by placing dirt on one of the lower branches and it rooted itself. I also transplanted a couple bachelor button plants to the west side of the driveway.

By the time I got done it was 1545 so I had been out there about five hours, I did not feel overly tired, but I definitely knew that I was rapidly running out of energy. So I cleaned up and sat down in my chair where I dozed for a little bit.

Kathleen heated up the halibut fish and chips from the restaurant yesterday. She heated it up in our convection oven so the fries did not get soggy and the halibut stayed nice and crisp as well.

Well, I think that I have pretty much covered my day today. Over-all I do feel much better; I just do not have a lot of energy or residual endurance to get a lot done. With that said, I will just say good night.

A Wild Wednesday

This is day two of our wild weather, yesterday it was nice one minute and then raining the next. Anyway, I slept in until 0830 this morning and was still tired, but I knew that I would not be getting back to sleep.

This morning after finishing reading the paper, I went outside and pulled some ivy up and was going to move some more gravel, but it started to get rather dark out, so I went back into the house and just after I did, it started to rain. It did not last too long, just long enough that it got everything wet again.

About noon I decided to go outside and try to get the front lawn mowed, and just as I was about to go out the door it started to rain again, so much for mowing.

Kathleen and I had planned to go out for lunch today, so about 1315 we took off, it was the first time we had been anyplace to eat outside of a quick burger since I started the radiation treatments. We both had halibut fish and chips, it was really good, but we both left two chunks of fish, so that means, I will have it someday for lunch.

Just after we left the restaurant it started to rain really hard and it was even a little slushy. So I knew that even if we got home I would not be able to mow, as everything was just too soaked.

Afterwards we stopped at Costco to pick up some items for the coupon book that was just about expired. I was doing pretty well, but by the time we were done I was ready for a nap. Once home, I emptied the SUV and that is about all I could handle. If it had been earlier, I probably would have tried to take a nap, but I knew that if I did go to sleep, I would be up too late tonight.

I did however sit down in my chair and doze for a while and felt a little better when I got up. Kathleen asked me what I wanted heated up so I suggested the pasta from last night. It was kind of like a casserole, and tasted better the next day, there was not a lot there, so I also had a bowl of cottage cheese to top it off, now I am ready to take another nap.

I did not get anything done today, but I am really tired tonight, I think that I must have been running on fumes lately. Well, I think I will just sign of and say good night.

Tumultious Tuesday

I got up about 0730, not quite rested, but I knew that I would not be getting any more sleep and would just become more tired by staying in bed. I tried oatmeal again this morning, oatmeal was what I had for breakfast last Wednesday, and so I was not too sure how my system would respond to it. So far it has been okay.

After breakfast, I emptied the dishwasher and put them away, and then I put the dishes from last night into it as well as the dishes from my breakfast. Then I went in and read the paper and the mail. When I went into the mud room to recycle the paper and mail, I realized that I had not taken the towels out of the dryer yesterday, so I unloaded the dryer and folded and put away the towels.

Then I went outside and turned the composter a couple times. It is gear driven so it turns rather easily and does a good job of mixing the compost to promote good composting. Then I went inside and made myself some lunch, I heated up a can of chicken gumbo soup and added the left-over rice and chicken from the other night to give the soup some more body. Yummy, I really enjoy gumbo.

After resting for a while, while it rained, I decided to go out and move some gravel to some of the low spots in the front of the driveway. So I got out my garden-way cart and a shovel and rake and moved about four carts full of gravel and smoothed out most of it. I was getting tired and the sky was getting threatening looking, so I packed everything up and put them back into the garage and headed into the house.

After cleaning up, I decided to go upstairs and take a nap, I wound up sleeping for about an hour and a half, and I did feel much better afterwards. Once back downstairs, I decided to change the beta's water, I had already filled a couple pitchers of water and added the anti-chlorine drops to it so I brought the beta's vase into the kitchen and scooped him out.

Then I proceeded to scrub the inside of the vase to get the algae out, and then I washed off the bamboo plants that I keep in the vase to get any algae off it as well. Next I added the water and then the beta. Once it is over with I think he enjoys having clean water, he is not wild about the initial process though.

After taking the vase back to the living room, I feed the beta, and he swam around in appreciation. It was raining again so even if I had the energy I could not have gone outside, so I went into the living room and rested some more.

After it stopped raining again, I went back outside and turned on the composter again, I had not done it yesterday, so I thought that it probably would not hurt to do it twice today. Kathleen came downstairs shortly after I got back inside and started to make some spaghetti for dinner tonight.

She used noodles and added some grapes to the sauce and it really gave it a good taste. Well, I have put the dishes into the dishwasher and now I am getting ready to settle in for tonight. I am too tired to do much of anything else, so I think that I will just say good night.

Mild Monday

I did not sleep as well last night as the previous couple of nights, but at 0730 I needed to get up as I had my doctor's appointment this morning, so even though I was not as rested as I would have liked to have been I got up. This morning I just had time to eat breakfast and do a load of towels before getting ready for my doctor's appointment.

They were not going to do a PSA test when I first got there, but after talking to the nurse for a while I think I talked them into it. So I had to wait an extra half hour to get the test results back and talk to the doctor. This time the PSA came back at .28, which was a little a little lower than it was back in January when it was .29.

This PSA test used a different method than the one I had a couple weeks ago, the doctor tried to explain it, but even he was not sure what the real difference was. So while the new was not great at least it was not any worse than it was a couple weeks ago. The doctor also recommended that we just wait and see what the next PSA test shows.

So he scheduled me for another appointment and PSA test for July 17th. He also told me that if it did not get any better he would recommend that I see a medical/oncologist that he felt was one of the best around, he is up at OSHU and is suppose to be working on some new processes.

After the doctor's appointment we stopped at the credit union to deposit some checks and then we went to Home Depot to pick up some grass seed and Scott's Turf Builder plus moss control to work on getting the lawn in better shape after a couple decades of dogs running around the back yard.

By the time we were done there Kathleen suggested that we stop at Burger King and get something to eat. So Kathleen had a junior whopper with cheese and a small shake and some cheese things and I had a junior whopper and a small shake. All the items were off the value menu except for the cheese things, so the shakes and burgers were only a buck a piece.

When we got home I unloaded the SUV and put the lawn products in the garage and then crashed. Andrea called and wanted to come over to do her taxes, so she came over with Brandon and did her taxes.

After she left I asked Kathleen about dinner, she did not feel like doing much so I found a couple Mexican dinners in the freezer and that is what we had. Well, I am extremely tired, so I think that I well say good night!

Sunday's Surprises

Well, I had a pretty good nights sleep last night, I did not have an over abundance of energy, but at least I felt pretty good. I had decided not to try to go to church this morning given how I had felt for the last few days.

So after eating breakfast and reading the paper, I went outside and weeded a little along side the driveway. I think I only spent about a half hour doing that, but I was really tired, so I went inside and sat down for a while. Kathleen had made some banana, strawberry, blueberry and yogurt smoothies, so I had that and then took a nap.

After resting for a while I went back outside and transplanted a few rose bushes to the back rose garden and did a little more weeding by the back door. Again I could feel myself getting really tired, so I went back inside and rested again.

After another short nap, I got up and made myself a corn-beef sandwich on dark rye bread. I used some sweet and sour mustard and it gave it a really nice flavor. After resting for a short while, I went back outside and edged the driveway (both sides), and then finished weeding the area by the back door.

Again I could feel myself running out of steam, so I cleaned up and put all the tools away and went inside and got cleaned up. After resting some more, I asked Kathleen if she was planning on doing anything for dinner, so a while later she came down and made some Mexican rice and stir-fried some chicken, beans, onions, garlic and sesame seeds. It was really good, I could have eaten some more, but I am trying to eat less.

Well, I spent a lot of time resting today, it was a nice day, and after a rather cool morning it finally warmed up and was really pleasant to work outside. I feel a lot more tired than I think I should, but I guess that is to be expected when one does not feel well to begin with.

Tomorrow morning I go see my surgeon, or at least I hope I am well enough to go, last week I thought that I was feeling okay until that morning and then I really felt sick. Well, I guess this is if for tonight, so good night!

Saturday's Summaries

Well, I woke up this morning and felt a lot better, which is relatively speaking of course, so after eating breakfast I did the pots and pans that had been accumulating since Wednesday. After that I cleaned and polished the stove top and then wiped down the refrigerator door. Then I went into the living room to read the paper and mail.

While I was reading the paper Sue called and I talked to her and Mom for about an hour and a half.
After talking with them, I went outside and did some weeding by the back door. I spent about an hour doing that and then noticed that the grass was drying nicely, so I decided that I would mow the front yard.

Not only did I get the front yard mowed, but I also mowed the neighbors driveway strip (on the east side of our property), the neighbors (to the east of us), front yard and two paths of the side yard, to keep the weeds down, and feeling like I had more energy than I really did I even mowed our back yard.

By the time I finished that I was so tired that I could hardly stand up. Pastor Brian had called while I was still outside and Kathleen brought the phone out to me and I had to sit in my Adirondack chair.

After finishing talking with him, I went inside and sat down. I had dozed off, when Kathleen woke me up to let me know that Aaron was on the phone, so I talked to him for a while.

Well, this is pretty brief, but I am really tired and not thinking to sharply, so I will just say good night.

Tuesday's Tiredness

This is really getting old, I got about 8.5 - 9.0 hours sleep last night and I am still really tired. After getting up a bout 0700 I went downstairs and made myself some breakfast, and then I went into the living room and read the paper and mail.

After recycling the mail and the paper, I called my surgeon's office, and told them what my concern was. They said that the doctor would only be in this morning as he had surgery this afternoon, so I sat around and waited for the call back.

Then about 1100 I decided to go outside and mow the back yard as it had gotten pretty high. After doing that I cut some dead branches out of the cherry trees and the mountain ash. Speaking of the cherry trees, they are all out in pink flowers and the ground under them is getting pink from the flowers as they fall off.

The apple tree is in bloom also and the other day in the wind it looked like it was snowing as the flowers were falling. The apple tree will need to have the dead branches cut out of it one of these days, but I just did not even have the energy to even start on that project.

After filling up the recycling garbage can I decided to go inside and rest for a while. After catching my breath I decided to make myself a roast beef sandwich, so I got out the dark rye bread, and sliced some cheese and put it on the bread, than I sliced a tomato and an onion and put them on the bread. Next I put them into the toaster oven and toasted them, when they were done; I put a slice of roast beef on then and than sat down to eat.

Still being tired, I went back into the living room and sat down for a while. As I was sitting down I realized that the doctor's office had not called back yet, so I recalled then and they told me that the doctor's physician's assistant would call me a little later.

After dozing for a while I decided to go out and mow the front yard, before it got to the point where I would have to use the power mower. By the time I finished it I was really tired, so I went back inside to sit down for a while. One of the nurses finally called me and said that the doctor would like to see me tomorrow and asked if I could come in about 0900.

I told them that I do not do mornings very well, so they looked to see what other appointments were available. It turns out that I would have to wait a couple weeks, so I said that I would give the 0900 appointment a try. I want to see what options are available to me, and I figured the sooner I find out the sooner I can start what-ever process is next for me.

I have not felt very well all week, so I hope that I can make tomorrow's appointment. Even though I have gotten a fair amount of sleep lately, it has not been really good sleep, and most of the time I wake up almost as tired as when I went to bed the night before.

About 1630 Kathleen came down and started the corned beef for tonight’s dinner, she was pressure cooking it. We ate round 1645 and she made some potatoes and opened up a can of three bean salad for dinner. She also heated up the yellow waxed beans from last night. Kathleen had the three bean salad and I had the waxed beans. The way my stomach has been feeling lately, I did not think that the three beans would be advisable.

Well, I am really tired, you are probably all tired of me saying that, but I have been really tired for several months and it is getting old for me too. With that said, I think that I will just say good night.

Miserable Monday

It is hard to believe that just last Friday the temperature was almost eighty degrees and today it just made it up to about fifty-seven. Besides the temperature it was also windy out today, it felt almost like a winter day.

I got a good night sleep last night and did not get up until after 0800 this morning. After breakfast I went into the living room to read the paper and then the mail when it came. I went outside and weeded for a little while, but it was kind of drizzly outside so I did not stay out there too long.

I called the radiation/oncology office and spoke with the doctor that I had the appointment with a little over a week ago. He was also surprised about my PSA results, and said that I could either do another PSA test or wait until next month and do it again. Then he also said that I may want to talk to the surgeon that did the initial surgery last June.

So I called his office, but he was not in today, so I guess that I will just have to try again tomorrow. Everyone that I have talked to about my test results has been really puzzled at the rise, so I must be really unique.

Kathleen suggested that we needed to go to the grocery store as we really had not done a really good grocery shopping for almost a month. We shopped for about an hour and a half and after putting away the groceries I heated up the left-overs from Alyssa that I only ate half of yesterday. I also added the left-over ravioli from last night.

This afternoon I gathered up all the cardboard from the chipper/shredder and the composter and took it up front for pick up tomorrow. Then I gathered the trash from the house and took it outside and took the garbage can upfront.

I dozed for quite a bit this afternoon, and woke up just a little bit before Kathleen came downstairs and asked what I wanted for dinner, I did not care, so she heated up some roast beef hash and some yellow waxed beans for me and some corn for her.

Well, I did not do much today, but I am still pretty tired so I think I will just say good night.

Sunny than Showery Sunday

Happy Easter! I got a pretty decent night's sleep last night, I only woke up once and then slept until 0715. Compared to how I felt yesterday, it was almost like night and day. When I got up, I went downstairs to make myself breakfast, so I opened the refrigerator to see what I could find.

There was a container of egg whites from Kathleen's breakfast yesterday, and I found four open jars of pepperoncini, so I combined two of them; I also found two partially used onions, so I threw the one out that was kind of beige in color and took two slices out of the other one.

Then I got a couple potatoes out and scrubbed and grated them and then added all the other vegetables together and added the rest of the container of hot salsa with a dozen or so of the pepperoncini that I cut up and fried the whole mess up. While that was cooking, I took the egg whites and added some onion, garlic power and cayenne and then shredded some cheddar cheese to the top and made kind of an omelet.

It was good and filling. After eating I loaded up the dishwasher and did the pans that I had used for breakfast, and then I went into the living room to read the paper. I would have tried to make it to church or Sunday School this morning, but since it was Easter, I thought that I would wait a week or so longer. I was also pretty tired, although I did feel a lot better than yesterday; I needed a couple days to build up some reserve.

Anyway, after finishing the paper and recycling it, I went outside and got out the reel mower to mow the front lawn. I probably should have used the used the Honda rotary mower, but the reel mower leaves the lawn looking better, especially when the weather turns hot and dry.

Anyway, it was suppose to start raining later this afternoon, so I thought that I would try out my new chipper/shredder and composter, so gathered up some branches and filled a thirty-two gallon garbage can full of branches and shredded them into about ten gallons (two five gallon buckets) of chips. Then I put them into the composter and added the compost from my old composter.

Just about the time I was finishing up chipping it started to drizzle a little bit, so I gathered up the chipper, extension cord and put them back into the garage. Then I added some compost starter and turned it a few times to get everything good and stirred up.

Once inside I sat down for a while and rested, I could not believe how tired I was, I had not really done much of anything physical, except mow the front lawn. The chipping and shredding was not hard on me, it just involved picking the branches out of the garbage can and putting it into the chipper/shredder.

After I had rested for a while I decided to make myself some lunch, well actually Alyssa sent along a plate of things that they had last night. There was a couple tortellini and frank bunnies, zucchini bake that Alyssa made, some KFC chicken that Kathleen brought and some Trader Joe's orange chicken that Andrea had brought. I ate about half of what was there and if Kathleen does not want any, I will finish it for some other meal.

It started raining again about 1530, not really very hard, but enough so that one would not want to be outside. Kathleen came downstairs about 1600 and we each had a piece of double threat chocolate cake with chocolate icing and Bavarian cream filling that Tami made last night. That was really good!

After resting/dozing most of the afternoon, I decided to vacuum the downstairs carpeting, it has needed it for a while, but I have not had the energy to do it. I am hoping that since the weather is suppose to be wet for the next few days that I will be able to get some of my energy back.

Kathleen made some ravioli for dinner tonight she also opened up a jar of applesauce and we had the rest of the KFC cold slaw from the KFC Chicken bucket that she brought over to Alyssa's last night. Now I am stuffed and ready to go to sleep, but I need to stay up for a few more hours or else I will be up about 0300 in the morning.

Well, I think that just about covers my day, I hope everyone had a Happy Easter! Good night for now.

Saturday's Surprise Showers

Well, I am almost awake, yesterday, I could barely function. I had no energy and I think I took at least five naps. I awoke about 0500 and finally got up at 0600, but not really rested. I made myself a couple eggs, a soy sausage patty and a couple pieces of toast. Then I emptied the dishwasher that I started Friday night, then added the dishes from breakfast and then did the stove full of pots and pans from the last two days.

After cleaning the kitchen a little I went into the living room to read the paper and mail. Somewhere along the way I dozed off. After a while Kathleen got up and after she had some breakfast, I reminded her that we needed to pick up the chipper/shredder that I had on hold at the store. It was on sale and they were only going to hold it for me until the end of the day.

We picked it up and then headed home, getting some gasoline for Kathleen's Acura, $51.00 later we headed home. It is a good thing that we do not go too many places, we could not afford to do that every week.

I was really tired when we got home, so I took another nap, but the phone woke me up, so I got up and made myself some lunch. I combined the left-over noodles, sausage, some rice, some hash brown potatoes that Kathleen made herself for breakfast and a can of tomato soup. Not bad!

I cleaned up my mess and then went out to the garage to put together the chipper/shredder, it did not need much assembly, so it did not take too long to do, but I was tired from just moving it around, so when I had finished, I went back inside, cleaned up and took another nap.

Kathleen came downstairs and started putting the Easter baskets together for the grandchildren as we were going to Alyssa and Dan's for a get together with the children and grandchildren. Then she went back upstairs and I fell asleep again, only to be awoken when Kathleen was opening some plastic bags to put the baskets in.

I was still really tired, so I told her that I did not think that I could make it. I physically could have gone, but I was so tired that I did not want to push myself and I knew that Kathleen would stay longer than I would be able to, so I told her that I would stay home and dozed off shortly after she left.

I would have liked to go, but I could not handle the activity that it would have involved, plus I probably would have just sat around and tried to stay awake.

Somewhere around 1730 I awoke and reheated the left-over soup that I had made myself to lunch, I kind of just vegetated the rest of the night. Kathleen came home around 2130, and I was just about ready to head upstairs to go to bed, but she called and said that she was on her way, so I stayed up until she got home.

Well, that was my yesterday. I did sleep a little better last night, I did not wake up until about 0630, I am not what I would call wide awake, but at least I do not feel like I need to take a nap...at least not just yet.

A Fan for Friday

Well, I did not write yesterday, I awoke at 0300 and could not get back to sleep by 0500, so I just got up. Then tried to take a nap in my chair mid morning and the phone woke me up, so last night Natalie's school had a school program and I went hoping that I could stay awake. I did, but was really tired when it was over.

So we left and Alyssa gave us a container of leek soup. I was so tired when we got home I just kind of vegetated in my chair the rest of the night. So that in a nut shell is pretty much all I did yesterday.

This morning at 0515 my alarm clock went off, Kathleen had done some rearranging the other day and must have set it. She said that it went off yesterday morning, but I was already up and did not hear it. So this morning when it went off it totally woke me up and I finally got up at 0600.

So this morning after breakfast and reading the paper the mail came followed by the UPS truck. I had ordered a new composter and it arrived in three boxes weighing a little over 150 pounds. So I spent the next couple hours I putting it together. It is really a big unit, much bigger than my old one and better engineered. Now I just need to keep up the composting.

I had the leek soup that Alyssa made today for lunch, and it tasted so good. After eating, I sat down in my chair for a while and fell asleep only to be awoken by the phone again, so I went back outside and finished putting together the composter .

Then I came back inside and rested in my chair again, only to fall asleep again. As you can see I have been rather tired, mostly from lack of sleep, but also it has been rather warm today, almost eighty degrees today and something like seventy-five yesterday. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the seventies again, so I am hoping to get the front yard mowed tomorrow morning. I was planning to do that today, but it took so long for me to get the composter put together.

Tonight Kathleen heated up the noodles and sausage that she had made last night, plus she also heated up some frozen lima beans and we finished the cranberry sauce that we had earlier. Well, I am still pretty tired so I think that I will call it a good night.

Winded Wednesday

I slept really well last night, but around 0400 I was awakened by the Wrangler's alarm going off. It was in the garage and I could see the door was still closed, so I just used the remote and shut it off. I could not get back to sleep for about an hour. I guess that I was just completely awakened and it took the hour to wind back down and get to sleep, but once I did I slept until almost 0800.

I made myself a couple eggs for breakfast and heated up the rest of the hash from last night along with a couple pieces of toast and coffee and was really satisfied. I emptied the dishwasher after I finished eating and then loaded up my breakfast dishes into it. Then I made some orange juice since I had forgotten to make some juice yesterday when I finished the pomegranate juice yesterday for breakfast.

After finishing up in the kitchen I went into the living room to read the paper and then the mail when it got here. The were a couple catalogs and the Visa bill, but the rest of it was junk mail.

While I was reading the paper Alyssa called to invite us to Natalie's school Easter program tomorrow night, and so I talked to her for a while. Then shortly after that Sue and my Mom called and talked to them for a while as well. They were all concerned about the rise in my PSA count, as am I, but I think that I am more at ease just waiting to see what the doctor says when she returns from her surgery.

Kathleen called after her sleep study and said that she was going to do some shopping while she was out, so I went outside and mowed the neighbor's front yard and the side that borders on ours and then did our back yard. Kathleen was still not home so I got cleaned up and went to the credit union as I had three large insurance checks and some cash that I needed to deposit.

Kathleen was home when I got back and told me a little about her experience last night. I was hungry so I got the rest of the chicken/macaroni salad from a couple days ago and while I was eating it Kathleen asked if she could have a bite or two. I finished it off and then got a couple kumquats to top my lunch off.

After a while I went outside and cleaned off the table that I had used for potting plants. It had become more of a storage pile and was really rather useless. After that I decided to put up my driving net and hit a few golf balls around. I was pretty worn out by the time I started it, but it is suppose to be in the seventies for the next few days do I thought that I would put it up now and get a couple days use out of it before I needed to take it down to mow again.

I hit balls for about a half hour, and since I was tired to begin with I decided to sit and rest for a while. Well the resting went so well, that I decided that I would gather up the golf balls and driving mat and put them back into the garage. Then I got my driver, glove and phone and went into the house and got cleaned up.

After a while Kathleen asked if I wanted a DeLight pizza for dinner, it sounded good to me, she had to go out and get some distilled water for her sleeping devise that she has to wear when she sleeps. She got back in about forty-five minutes and we ate about 1915.

Well, I have put the dishes away, put the left-over pizza in the refrigerator and now I am ready to crash. I am not ready to go to bed yet, but I am extremely tired and I think it will probably be a rather early night.

Alyssa called again tonight so Kathleen and I talked to her for a while again. Well, I think that that is all I can think about so I will just say good night.

Tuesday's Termoil

I was awake for quite a while last night so naturally I fell asleep again just before daybreak and slept until about 0800. After eating breakfast I went into the living room to read the paper, and then the mail when it came. I did not have much of anything, but Kathleen got a few things. I think that the most exciting things I got were a Bi-Mart sales book and a Costco sales flier. Like I said, not much.

After recycling the paper and the mail, I went outside and got my vegetation killer and sprayed the fence line all around the house. Luckily there are no neighbors in the back, the house to the east is vacant and the driveway on the west is an area that I mow anyway, so I am always there anyway.

After doing that I did a little more trimming on the birds nest spruce and then pulled up some more ivy, something that I had not done for a while. Right now there are a lot of daffodils, tulips and grape hyacinth growing in there and I do not want to disturb them until they finish blooming.

I was getting pretty tired so I put my tools away and went into the house and got cleaned up. Then I made myself a Limburger cheese and onion sandwich and had some of the left over chicken macaroni salad from last night and a dill pickle.

After resting for a little bit I went out side and dug out some plants that Kathleen did not want and disposed of them. Then I came back inside and as I was sitting down I remembered that I had not heard from the doctor about my PSA test that I had taken last Wednesday, so I called the radiation/oncology office.

My doctor was out having surgery and the doctor that I saw last week was on vacation so I talked to the nurse. She told me what my PSA was and I thought that it sounded a little high, but she told me that it was okay. After hanging up and thinking about it for a while I suddenly realized that it was about two and a half times higher than it was before I had my radiation, so I called back.

They had a doctor there that was filling in for the other two, but she had never seen me so she took a look at my folder and then called me back. She said that it was higher than expected and that it is something that I need to keep an eye on. She also said that she would leave a note for my doctor so that when she got back to work after her surgery she could call me if needed.

So I still do not feel really too good about having gone through what I did for the last few months only to have my PSA climb as much as it has. So I guess it is not over with as much as I would like for it to be.

Anyway, Kathleen needed to take some books back to the library and pick up some she had on hold so we took off to do that. On the way Kathleen remembered that she had some prescriptions to pick up at Fred Meyers so we stopped by there on the way. While we were there I went back to the lawn and garden department because I have been thinking about getting a small electrical chipper/shredder to use before I put the stuff into the new compost tumbler that have on order.


We also stopped by Home Depot to look there, but I did not see any electrical ones at either place. I stayed in the car while Kathleen went into the library and then we headed home. I gathered up the clothes and started a load of dark clothes and then went into the living room to rest. Needless to say before long I had dozed off and woke up just in time to put the dark clothes into the dryer and then loaded up the whites.

When the clothes were done drying I went upstairs and folded the dark clothes. On my way upstairs I asked Kathleen what she had planned for dinner, she did not know. She has had an upset stomach, from anxiety over her sleep study tonight, so she did not want anything too spicy.

She asked what I though about hash, since I could eat hash just about anytime I said okay. She also heated up some green beans, Kathleen only had the beans, and even the hash did not appeal to her.

Shortly after we finished eating and I cleaned the table off, the dryer went off, so I gathered up the clothes and went upstairs and folded and put them away. Well, Kathleen just took off for her sleep study and I have run out of things to write about, so good night.

Misty Monday

This morning I woke up at 0900 and stayed in bed until 0700, I was kind of hoping that I would fall asleep again as I was not really rested. I did not get back to sleep, so I finally got up and made myself some oatmeal for breakfast. After breakfast, I cleaned up the kitchen and then went into the living room to read the paper.

Kathleen had a doctor's appointment at 1030 across town, but she did not leave until about 1015. The mail came shortly after she left, but there was not much of anything there. I went outside and rearranged some of the irises that I had dug up earlier this spring and put them back by the back fence.

Then I went back inside and did not feel like staying there so I went back outside. The ground was dry so I thought that I would mow at least the front lawn. So I got the Honda out and then thought that I would get out the old push reel mower and see if I could get through the lawn with that. It was rather energy consuming, but I did it, I needed the extra workout, as I have not been doing much of anything physical for several months.

I was tired when I finished, but I had wanted to trim the birds nest spruce, so I got out my hedge clippers and hacked away at it. I got it so that one can walk past it with out brushing into it every time. Then I got the loppers out and finished cutting out the dead wood from underneath.

While I was walking back to the garage, I realized that Kathleen's SUV was not in the driveway, so I decided to get the blower out and blow off the fir needles off the driveway. By the time I was done with that I was pretty tired. Kathleen came home just after I got cleaned up Kathleen came home.

I asked her if she wanted the crepes that were leftover and since she did not, I heated them up for myself. I thought about sitting down and resting for a while, but I knew that if I did I would probably not get up. So I went outside and decided that I would try to take out the old dog run.

So I got my shovel and started to work the post loose, I took four of them out and rolled up the fence up to the next post. The sun was starting to come out so I put the shovel away and got my spading fork out and decided to so a little weeding in the old dog run.

I worked on that for a couple hours and got a little bit done; I am trying to get all of the crabgrass roots out of the area so that it is not a problem this summer. It is something that has needed doing for a couple years, but I have just not had the time to do it.

I finally reached my limit and decided to clean up my tools and get cleaned up myself. It was 1630 by the time I got back into the house. After cleaning up I sat down in my chair and before long I had dozed off. I woke up a little after 1730 and just in time to get ready to watch the Ohio State/Florida finals game.

Kathleen asked me what she should make for dinner so I suggested macaroni and chicken salad. It took a while to make, but it really tasted good. Well, I think I have run out of things to write about so I will just say good night.

Smiles for Sunday

I slept in until about 0800 this morning, I still did not feel well enough to go to church or Sunday School, but I have been feeling better just about every day. So after breakfast I went into the living room to read the paper. I am not sure why but I did not finish reading the paper until about 1130.

I dinked around outside for a while and then went into the house to make myself lunch. I had just about run out of leftovers so I opened up a can of hash and mixed in some hot salsa and cooked it. After cleaning up the dishes, I went back outside and decide that I would do some weeding.

I wanted to weed along the east side of the property by the old fence, so I started on the outside of the old dog run, something that really has not been used since Caleb. When I get a little more ambitious, I want to pull it out and plant flowers in the old dog run. I could never get anyone to put Reggie in it and it has been a difficult area to mow or do anything with.

Anyway, I spent a couple hours working on that area, I did not get a lot of area weeded, but I did get a lot of weeds pulled. Part of it was hard to weed because it had fences on three sides. I also pulled out some roots from trees that I took out a long time ago. I finally got tired enough to quite so I cleaned up the tools and put them away and went inside and got cleaned up myself.

When I looked at the clock it was 1530, so I made my way to my chair and rested until about 1830 when Aaron called and we talked to him for a while. Kathleen heated up the crepes from the other night and mashed up an avocado and opened up a can of peaches for dinner. I added some hot salsa to the avocado and was all set to eat.

After dinner Kathleen and I loaded up the dishwasher and then I went into the living room and Kathleen went into my office to check our tax return for me. So I am in the living room on the laptop doing my blog and Kathleen just finished checking the taxes. It looks like we will get some back from the federal taxes and pay a little to the state.

Well, I am tired, but it is a tired because I did something today and it is a good tired. So I guess that this is all that I can think to write about, so I will just say good night.