I Love My Sister Grace

Much more than when I was ten or twelve or fourteen or sixteen.

Grace and I were born two years and one week apart. I am older. We shared a room for the first 18 years of my life with a short exception when we lived on Mystic and I had my own room.

Things were very hard. Grace is a neat-nick, I am a slob. I like to lay-about, Grace liked to do things.

I liked CBS Radio Mystery Theater and Grace had nightmares. She preferred a complete overdose of Barry Manilow. don't get me wrong...I liked him, I just needed a break after 3 LPs.....don't know what an LP is? Get out of my blog you whipersnapper!!

My parents constantly begged, counseled and ordered us to get along....work it out.

We did try at times.

One particularly fond memory is a summer we were about 14 and 12. We were in Rocky Nook and we made a plan to wake up early and have breakfast together outside. We put the two gymp papasan chairs off of the porch and into the front yard with a table between them.

I know cereal was on the menu and I think there were poptarts. Juice would have rounded it out.

It was lovely It was just as my parents promised. When we tried........

And just as my parents promised, I would grow up and my sisters would be my best friends.

Yesterday's Service for 1st LT Robert Kelly, USMC

A first hand account from a Navy blogger from New England. US Navy Jeep is a former Sailor, SeaBee and 1st Class Petty Officer. He served aboard USS Constitution.

Services for Lt. Robert M. Kelly, USMC today at Arlington National Cemetary

H/T Beth

SGT John Jones, USMC

You can read about him on HBO's website for "Alive Day Memories Home From Iraq"

This is a photoshopped pic. By photoshopped I mean made into a motivational poster. The pic itself is taken directly from the HBO and is 100% accurate. Someone added a caption.

It reflects the sentiment of the person who photoshopped it. I don't know that SGT Jones agrees with or even knows about the photoshop. Mentioning POTUS may not suit his views at all. If he is the least offended and I will apologize and remove it immediately.

But for now, I like it.

If I had to guess based on what I have read, I would say that SGT Jones does not regret his service. He has worked with the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center.

“...As for the future, I hope to always help other military men and women forever in any way that I can. I hope to graduate one day with degree in business that somehow incorporates helping others that need me in some way. I hope to be a positive influence for others and to set an example for those that have given up hope. I hope to always
be the father and husband that my family needs and to always show them that I am forever grateful that they love me for who I am. "

-John Jones
Marine Staff Sergeant
USMC

Zombies!

So, you know I am hooked on "The Walking Dead". A new episode starts in a few moments. I have my high potassium orange-pineapple-banana juice and a reheated slice of pizza.

Hot night, huh? LOL

Earlier I fell asleep on the couch and when I wake up my mother says... "Do you feel better?" I told her I did and she makes a "humph" kinda noise. I laugh and say that my eyes are almost all the way open. She suggested I go to bed because I still look really tired. I told her that I had to stay up for my Zombie show.....cause at least I look better than they do!!!

Plus she is worried I will oversleep tomorrow and miss my "stress test" at 0900.

Seriously? Who cares? I am already way stressed and I already have a bad attitude. Did I tell you about the stupid questions? They asked about how long certain activities take to go from discomfort to pain. I laughed and told them that I don't let them get to pain. Who would? Why would they? If something starts to bother me....I stop.

And tomorrow, if they push too far, I will push back, lol.

I haven't had any caffeine, it's a rule for the test.

So the plan is to get up and be there for a three hour stress test, followed at 1230 by my scheduled Velcade/dex infusion treatment. Once the stress test is over I can get a nice vanilla chai tea latte from Starbucks........yummmm....

But the real highlight will be dinner at Doyle's Cafe in Jamaica Plain with some Nook friends. Once again I am so grateful for the people who say "Yeah, Diane/Maggie, we want to spend time with you."

I am so lucky.

Tomorrow night will be lots of fun as we sit and eat and laugh and share our memories of Rocky Nook and the great times we had.

My Father Cuts My Pity Party Short

Despite my push to live like there is nothing wrong with me.....to make circumstance conform to my version of reality.....there have been problems.

Even though Kate has told me to stop "overbooking", I have not.

I insisted that we keep to my plan for Jen's birthday and go to Foxwoods. Now, how strenuous can this be, for pity's sake! We drove down Wednesday, had facials, laid around the spa & pool. I must say, this is my last time at the Norwich spa, the MGM next door is just so much better. The service itself was great, but the whole set-up is all wrong. Then we changed for dinner and had melt-in-your-mouth filet at Cedars. I took all the right meds and slept for 8 hours. Thursday morning I felt fabulous! I wasn't even winded by the crazy Dunkin Donuts adventure and I was the energetic one that drove back to Boston.

I made it through infusion easily....after all, the laptop worked in there! Then it was off to the cardiologist, who saw me quickly despite the fact that I was the one who was late.

Jen and I went over to Grace's where we had dinner and a movie. I wanted to stay and go with them to Logan to pick up my nephew Dan who was returning from basic at Fort Leonard Wood, but I knew I wouldn't make it.

Does that sound strenuous? Does that sound like overbooking?

I have been paying ever since.

Friday and Saturday are a blur. Literally, I couldn't see most of the time. I am so full of fluid that my eyes are blurry and leaking. I showered Friday, but just put on a clean nightgown and sat on the couch. Yesterday I dressed after showering if you want to be nice and call my PJ bottoms and a T-shirt dressing. Then it was back to the couch for a day of western movies. I tweeted the USS Gravely commissioning, but really, that was no physical or brain power, was it?

Last night I was up a bunch of times and when I finally decided to give in and take another half dose of oxy....I couldn't break the stupid pill in half.

Finally, an hour ago, I sat up in bed and was ready to get up. But, for a minute, I just couldn't boost myself up to a standing position. I gave in and started to cry....and get this!!! Tears hurt! What. The. Fuck????? My eyes have been oozing, streaming, running for three days, but tears are different? They stung and I got a stabbing pain in my temples.

So I had to stop.

I got up and took the pills and brushed my hair and headed down to wash my face. Great! What if this is some kind of infection?

I sat down in one of the recliners in the TV room to wait for my father to come out of the bathroom. I was contemplating the irony of my life at this moment. How many times did I think I wish I had more time to just read....got plenty of time now, I just can't focus. How many times did I wish for more time to blog....got plenty of time now, for all the good it does me.

There are people who will come and take me anywhere I want to go or just keep me company, but I can barely get out of bed.

There are M&Ms and they taste funny.

My father has tons of john Wayne movies and fab TV and Blue Ray player...I just can't work myself up to it. He has a bazillion Direct TV channels and nothing moves me.

My calender is full of potential lectures and talks and presentations all around Boston. I could take a quick cab ride anywhere and see whatever I wanted.

I have gift certificates for meals and spa services nearby.

I feel like Burgess Meridith in "Time Enough At Last" which I always found to be an extremely chilling Twilight Zone episode.

And I know, this isn't the bad part.....this is.

And I can't even effin' cry about it because it hurts.

So my Dad comes out, freshly showered and he is singing. He asks why I didn't knock, I tell him it wasn't that pressing. As I pass him, he sees my face. He bends his knees, rounds his shoulders and squints his eyes like some horrible troll.....or more precisely, a mirror of how I look "Well, don't pee your pants!"

I start laughing - "Jerk!"

November 20, 1925

Robert Kennedy was born. I often write about his passing, it impacted me greatly because of it's timing in my life. But really it's a life to be celebrated.

One of my favorite quotes is -

"First is the danger of futility; the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world's ills — against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence. Yet many of the world's great movements, of thought and action, have flowed from the work of a single man."

I feel it is one of the most essential statements of optimism ever made. We get nowhere alone or together without each of us taking individual first steps. I know Kennedy inspired people of his and my generation to take those first steps. I hope it is true for future generations.

1st LT Robert Kelly, USMC

I haven't written about this, and since it keeps making me cry, I will just send you to some links.

I will say, my heart aches for his family. His father is a fellow Bostonian who I would have followed for that reason alone. But he is much more than that and so was his son.

From BlackFive - "Father and Son" & "Angel Flight Home"

My Laptop Gets WiFi in the Infusion Room!!!

LOL!

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

I am on TweetDeck and checking email. This rocks.

The Dunkin Donuts Is Where???

So Jen, Bette & I are in Foxwoods and....no word of a lie, as we used to say as kids.....the DD is a 10 minute trip from my room. Each way! Mind you, I know it would have been quicker in sneakers, but I never imagined it would be that far.

Jen & I came down yesterday, this was the last of her birthday presents. Bette got us the most fabulous suite. Partly because it's nice and I am sure, in part because I snore, lol.

Last time I was here in April there was some coffee/tea place right opposite the hotel check-in. It's gone and the only DD was all the way down at the Hard Rock. I figured it would be packed, but there was no line and three women waited on me, lol.

Ok, well I am off to the shower. It's not worth heading back to the spa. I have infusion today at 1 pm and a cardiology appointment at 3 pm (because of this nonsense).

Wendy, Now That You Live In New England...

....you must make Cranberry Chutney for Thanksgiving

3-4 small oranges
4 cups cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped, unpeeled apple
1/2 cup seedless raisins
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup walnuts
1 tbs vinegar
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cinnamon
makes five cups
Cut oranges into halves.

Scoop out one cup orange segments in three quart sauce pan.

Combine orange segments, cranberries, sugar, apple, raisin, orange juice, nuts, vinegar, ginger and cinnamon. Heat to boiling. Simmer till all cranberries pop and stir till he mix is cool. Refridgerate mix with orange shells. Then fill shells.

This is a make ahead recipe.

5th Cycle/Day 1

So this was the shortest break between cycles and it definitely is bumming me out. Even though things have improved over the earlier part of last week, mornings are still slow. I will barely get rolling shortly only to find myself in the infusion room chair.

But, for all my whining here, I think it was a good plan. I might as well get a move on, huh? When this first started in August I was so shell-shocked at the sudden change of plans and so sure it wouldn't work that I was focused on living in the moment.

But now that we know that it's highly likely it will work and that it will likely buy me another two years.....I can refocus. Although, it definitely took me a while, lol!

So while I am planning some stuff for the next break, I will keep it to a minimum.

Now I am going to shift my focus....what am I going to do post SCT?

Make Your Own Sundae Party!

That's how we celebrated Tommy & Jen's birthdays today at my parent's house. We had three kinds of ice cream and over a dozen toppings; fudge, pineapple, caramel, bananas, 4 kinds of magic shell, 3 kinds of nuts, whip cream, marshmallow, M&Ms, Reese's pieces, Heath bar bits.....and more! I had the Keebler waffle cone cups. Everyone loved it! It was too much fun.

That, and a bunch of us went to the Charlestown Historical Society event.

Oh...and there was lots of screaming at the Jets vs. Browns game, lol. My mother had to tell Grace to "Settle down!" because she couldn't hear the referee.

My replacement Flip video came and I was so happy, I was going to video the WWII exhibit....and I forgot. Oh well. There will be some video later in the week though. I will be down the Navy Yard and My Marine has asked me to get some footage of the USS Cassin Young restoration.

Charlestown Historical Society Event Today

If you are going to be anywhere near City Square in Charlestown today between 1 pm and 3 pm, you should check this out -

"Charlestown Veterans History Project"

Bill Durette of the Charlestown Historical Society will be there with all his exhibits. Bill has worked tirelessly and his research into Charlestown veterans has been exhaustive.

He'll be set-up at 20 City Square in Charlestown. Which, if you know Charlestown, is one block east of Olive's restaurant and a few blocks southwest of the Charlestown Navy Yard and Old Ironsides. You could make an afternoon of it! Visit the ship (winter hours 10 am to 4 pm), take in the exhibit (1pm to 3 pm), and have lunch.

Or just ice cream, there is an Emack & Bolios right in City Square . Yeah, I know it's cloudy and in the 50s.....but New Englanders are hardy.

If you aren't familiar, it's just off the Freedom Trail once you cross over the bridge from the North End.

Pinched this pic from the City Square Park blog. This was taken from 20 City Square, where the Charlestown Veterans History Project will be set up. If you come into Charlestown on the Freedom Trail from the North End, you would enter this pic at the top right corner. That brick building you will have on your right as you turn into City Square, has the Emack & Bolio's. The Freedom Trail will take you to the USS Constitution and loop you around to the Bunker Hill Monument, then back to City Square. So you can hit the Veteran's Exhibit on your way in or out.

If you have seen the exhibit before, because I have been several times, it's still worth popping in. Bill acquires new stuff all the time.

It's a great way to observe Veteran's Day weekend.

Precisely!

As My Marine commented in another post -

"Saw the perfect Boston Maggie bumper sticker on the way home from the pistol range this morning.

"Everyone, let's please focus on me!"

~~~~~~~~~~~

I've got to get one!

The pedicure room at Utopia Place has two of these chairs so Jen & I were side-by-side.

There was too much chinese food and Jen made chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, I know, it's her birthday, but her cookies are better than mine. Besides, I sprang for the Cold Stone Creamery cake.

I didn't have that much food, but I feel queasy. I kinda pushed it today. I got a lot done, but my batteries need recharging.

Let's Talk About How Lucky I Am

I often post pics of the view from Jen's house. Yesterday I had an errand that took me to the opposite side of the Bay. This is the view of Rocky Nook from Duxbury.

So, someone aggravated me. It wasn't really that aggravating, but I knew if I posted about it....someone, or in this case, more than one someone, would say "What jerk bothered you?"

And "poof!" I would be allllll better. It's almost mean to have posted about it, because I am so lucky and that person is such a loser.

But yesterday was aggravating. Fourth day of swelling and numbness and electrical shocks.....and an email from Kate, my NP. Kate addressed my concerns about last Thursday, but the bottom line was that infusion is what it is. I had also written to her about how jumbled and incoherent I feel and how I am slipping away from myself.

She answered that I wasn't imagining it. Kate suggested I stop "overbooking" myself until after the stem cell transplant. And it will get worse.

Living just a fraction of my normal life is now "overbooking".

So I was kinda feeling sorry for myself. But really, I have no business dwelling on it. Between my family and my friends and the people on this blog.....not to mention the fact that there will be life after the stem cell transplant......I am one of the most fortunate people I know.

If I sat down and listed the good parts and the bad parts....and you know I am too lazy to even attempt this.....I would run out of paper for the good parts.

You know in March I will celebrate a half a century. My sisters were already planning for this. I was shocked. You know how I found out? They beefed that my stem cell transplant was interfering with their planning! LOL! We are so mean! I love it! Grace said not to worry, I wouldn't actually miss the festivities.....they would put balloons on my wheelchair and wheel me in for an appearance.

Some friends from high school took me to the disco brunch at Gargoyles on Sunday. It's been years since I saw some of these people, but they put their weekend plans aside and came out to make sure I knew that I mattered to them. Brunch was good, their company was awesome and now I have a new term for the stem cell transplant. Alyce said she didn't want to think about all the time I would spend in the hospital, so she was just going to say that I was "going to the spa". Then the table had a discussion of what my hair will be like when it grows back in. Of course, that was after we had a good laugh about how it's blue and purple now. I love the color, it rocks!

The other day, my son Tom helped me pick out a pair of PJ's for my "trip to the spa". They are purple and go with my hair.

So it's Jen's birthday and this blue and purple haired sister is taking her out for a "spa pedicure".

Happy Birthday, Jennifer!

Today is my sister Jen's birthday and of course.....the sun came out!

Meanwhile, My Marine......

....makes it all better!

He told me to watch "Paths of Glory" and I liked it.

Interesting aside for the Navy girl....Wayne Morris, who portrays the despicable Lt. Roget, flew Hellcats off of the USS Essex during WWII.

When you get the chance please explain why the French soldiers were so moved by the German folk song at the end.

Hey Pal! You're Not In My Chain of Command.

I moderate comments so your friends won't actually see how rude you are.

I had half a mind to tell you to go eff yourself for making it a demand. But frankly, you're not worth the effort.

Brown Neck Gator put this up at the Sniper. And I stole it.

BTW, Sniper had the best post for the USMC birthday.

I am proud to say I know both BNG & Sniper. Happy Veterans Day guys.