Brrrrr!!!!!

Today it is COLD, COLD, COLD. So far it is only NINE degrees outside, feels like SEVEN. That is just not very common here in the mid-Atlantic area. I don't think it's going to get too high all day. I'm more concerned about the storm coming up from the south. The current forecast is that there will be snow/wintry mix Wednesday night into Thursday morning. We are planning on driving up to Long Island, NY on Thursday, and it looks like the storm is going there, too, the same day. UGH! Thursday could be a nasty day to drive. We still have the possibility to put the drive off to Friday, so we'll keep following the weather reports.

We were quite successful in our cleaning and packing endeavors yesterday. It took about five and a half hours, although there was about an hour in the middle there for lunch. We loaded the car with a ton of stuff, threw out two large garbage bags of junk that accumulated, returned a pile of books to Cindy, and laid out a few things that we didn't want to take with us or weren't going to be able to fit into the car for her to decide if she would like. If she doesn't want those things, they can go to charity or the trash. We each kept one suitcase of clothes and all the things we will need to stay here until Thursday, but it's still a lot. I'm a little concerned that the stuff still in the house is not going to fit in the car. Mark is more confident, and he usually loads the car anyway, so I hope he's right. We need Evey here! I have never seen anyone load a car more tightly or efficiently than she does on all those trips up and back to Boston over the years. The best news about yesterday is that I could do it! I worked all those hours and did not feel totally exhausted when I was done. I worked slowly, but there were many trips up and down the stairs and to and from the car. I was pleased that I had the energy to do it. I'm sure that's a sign of good things to come in terms of regaining my strength and endurance.

Mark has an appointment with his cardiologist today in Columbia at 12:15, so we'll be out of here at 11:15 to head down there. Sadly, we are then going to a funeral at 3 p.m. here in Pikesville. The mother of one of my synagogue lady friends passed away. My friend is also a breast cancer survivor, so she was one of those who stepped forward in the fall to help me understand everything that would be happening to me. Thanks for that Jackie, and we will see you this afternoon at your mother's funeral.

Cindy and I made an "appointment" to watch the movie Eat, Pray, Love this evening. She had read the book awhile ago and recommended it to me while I was here. I carried it with me to several chemo sessions and read it in the hospital. I have been wanting to see the movie ever since I finished the book, so we finally just had to make an appointment and put it on our calendar.

Then there is no food or drink for me after midnight because I have surgery tomorrow morning. I feel pretty happy about getting this port removed! It's a big milestone meaning I have completed two of the three steps in this cancer journey. Surgery and chemotherapy are behind me; only radiation is left. Well, that's if you don't count the five years of oral meds I'll be taking after radiation! I'm not worried about that, though.

I don't want to jinx things (so everyone knock on wood somewhere right now), but around noon today, I will have passed the C Diff milestone I set for myself. If you remember from an earlier blog, I said that after the first 14 day course of Flagyl, it returned in five days, 2 days after the second course, and 5 days after the third course. So when the fourth course ended last Tuesday morning, I decided not to get excited about this until SIX days passed. That would be TODAY at noon. So...I don't want to get too excited yet or jinx it, but today will be six days. Knock on wood, cross your fingers, keep hoping! Maybe it's finally gone.