Although he is not feeling anywhere near as bad as has has through previous treatments, Ray comments that this "between" week when he does not pre-treat with steroids really leaves him feeling droopy. Also, he's developed a 'something' in that place at least one yoga instructor keeps referring to (you know, to get into proper position "put your weight on your sitting bone ...."). We feel it is likely a muscle something, because I have been successful at massaging the pain away. Also, when he forces himself to walk for awhile, the stiffness and pain seem to go away. Hmmmmmm -- physical therapy time? Will he be successful at doing exercises at home? We wonder if the pain is caused by the position that his newly acquired chair puts him in when the footrest is raised, for he has complained that it seems to cut off the circulation in his lower legs .... Today he started sitting in his old chair, and says that he feels a littlel better. At least the culprit chair was a donation, not a purchase! Meanwhile, Ray moves slowly.

The heat wave has moved east and our temperatures are back down to civilized. Life is back to some semblence of normal -- although I still have lots of rearranging and discarding to do as a result of The Great Freezer Move of last week. The new arrangement really makes more sense, logistically. Now, if I can figure out how to create a movable work surface that will cover the daybed (until someone wants to sleep in it!) and provide a cutting surface/work table for my sewing projects ... That will have to wait for another time.

Give thanks !!!! Keep praying .....

I was rather pointedly reminded today that this blog has not been updated for a week, and asked, "Should we be worrying?" Actually, not. It has just been beastly hot,even for central California. 100 degree summer daytime temperatures are not uncommon here, but when it gets that hot humidity is down in the single digits. That makes the high temperatures bearable -- just a HUGE fire hazard. This year we have been 'blessed' with daytime temperatures 100-110 in Groveland (as high as 116 in Stockton and in Moccasin) and humidity in the 40-50% range. That, friends, is downright nasty. Sans a/c, I think I am counting 9 fans running, and life is OK as long as you are directly in the path of one or more of them. I took Ray to Sonora with me on Mon and Wed so he could spend the day with friends who lived in air conditioned homes while I worked. There is a collection of water bottles that move from the freezer to some overheated body part and then back to the freezer as we work on maintaining reasonable core body temperature. The other half of the problem is that the nights haven't cooled off much, so the house doesn't really cool down. Thank goodness the two hottest sides of the house have trees that give shade. But it is time to think seriously about cenral air conditioning.

Ray looks human once again, after a trip to the hair dresser. His hair, eyebrows and beard were all trimmed -- even though he doesn't think his hair has been growing during this treatment sequence.

On another note, a friend is facing a very large vet bill for a cat with snake bite, and cautions everyone living in snake country not to take 'the good life' for granted. No little bite, this one. The fang points were a good 2-2.5" apart. That's a BIG snake, and made for a very sick cat. It looks like White Kitty is going to come home, but it has definitely been a tough go for him. Nor has the snake yet been captured ....

Keep cool! Keep praying! Give thanks!!!

The nausea is creeping back in very slowly. It may be "that time" in the chemotherapy cycle, as he gets the last dose of the second month's treatment tomorrow. It may be a reflection of the lighter does of steroids he took last week. Or it may be the heat -- temps have been running 85-90 at peak in the house, and we cool with lots of fans, not a/c. Outside, the temps are a good 10 degrees warmer at our elevation, higher in the lower elevations. We talk about a/c every year, and every year we say, "But for the two weeks out of the year when it would be REALLY nice?" and pass for one more season. He's been drinking lots of water, supplementing with orange juice and other high potassium foods, as well as salt. No matter how hard I try, I can't get Rau to drink the sports drinks. He doesn't like them. Can't say as I blame him, I don't like them either!

Give thanks! Keep praying!!!

Ray had another treatment yesterday. As before, he is weathering this drug very well. In fact, he is feeling so good that he is driving me crazy.

Unfortunately, he is not going to be able to drive until we can do something about his second cataract, which means he is dependent on others to get him out into the world. He can only read in the early morning before his eyes get tired and the good eye gets blurry as it tries to adjust to the poor vision in the bad eye. This vision issue has all kinds of other implications -- incuding whether or not he is going to be able to carve again. Major bummer. At minimum, he cannot do anything until this chemotherapy is finished. At worst, the opthamologist may decide that he is not a cadidate for surgery. At best, the cancer will be gone, he will get his eye fixed, and life will be back to normal. More or less.

Give thanks! Keep praying!!!

Yesterday was a Guy Day -- Ray met up with a friend in Sonora who is recovering from knee replacement surgery and another mutual friend who came down from Sacramento for the day. Thy had lunch, spent the afternoon visiting in the shade in one back yard, then adjourned to the home of the Sonora 'gimp' where we were all invited for dinner. It was nice to have the visit time, and even nicer for Ray to have some 'guy time' for a change.

He complains that his taste buds are fading out again -- a sign that the chemotherapy is doing SOMETHING.

Give thanks! Keep praying!!

Ray is stronger and feels better each day. He has spent most of this week "puttering" ... straightening this, clearing that, organizing something else -- all sure signs of getting better. Dr. Drakes says he does not attribute all these signs of healing just to the steriods, although they do help. He says he believes the cancer is healing -- as it is supposed to do! But we will not be sure until we do the next scan in late August.

Give much thanks! Keep praying!!!

Yesterday was a difficult day for Ray. We had guests -- our "big kid" Jeff and his sweetie, Peggy, were here for the day so that we could meet and get to know Peggy. Ray was fine through breakfast, but nausea hit while we were in town visiting Mountain Sage (where he carves in the garden when he is feeling strong enough), our favorite gift shop, and the pharmacy to pick up his next round of steroids. He struggled all day, but I don't think either Jeff or Peggy noticed his struggles.

Today, however, he is back up on his computer and says that his nausea is better. He looks forward to that regular, prescribed dose of steroids beginning tomorrow. We hold our breath anticipating what will happen with chemotherapy tomorrow.

On the cell phone front, he is rapidly mastering the format of the new telephone and repeats that it is definitely more user-friendly than his beloved original model. I did not tell him that I had added some calendar items, and he was delighted when the phone sang to him yesterday morning and told him "Jeff and Peggy are coming today!" So we have added more calendar items and he intends to get into the habit of using that feature on a regular basis.

Give thanks! Keep praying!!