Well, DARN.....

This morning, while thinking about colors, my NEW NORMAL, and such, I decided to play around with the format of the blog.

I thought I'd lost the whole darn thing.

I did lose my follower's list....so if you've been following, please click on the FOLLOW link again!

Guys that might be reading this, I hope you won't be too embarrassed to read a pink blog.

I also changed the name, as you can see.

My "new normal"!

This is IT!

While not the 1979 version of one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE songs,  it is still quite delicious to listen to as well as view the incredible Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins perform live.

When the song came out, the lyrics had a personal meaning to me that were QUITE different than what Kenny Loggins had written them for

His father was ill, about to give up.  He wrote this to help his father.

I was trying to tell Jonathan I was his miracle.

You probably heard this song and interpreted in your own personal way.

At any rate, ENJOY.

And if you have to, STAND UP AND FIGHT!

"If you're lucky enough to be at the beach......

then you're lucky enough!

(Photo of a Perdido Key, FL beach...the absolute BEST!!!)

I'm not lucky enough to actually be there but I've been playing my new sound machine on "ocean sounds"  all day.

I'm pretending it is too cold to walk on the beach and am enjoying being bundled up in a purple sweater over a yellow striped top.  Feet in FUGGS.  (Thank you, girls, for convincing me I needed them!)  Funky red "crazy tomato" folk art earrings on.

When Jonathan brought me those today, I felt "complete".

I like the simple things.

Healthwise, things are dripping along.  Doctors seem pleased with my response to the chemo.  No ill effects yet.  I continue to have appetite and fabulous sense of taste, for the time being.

HOWEVER, if you see this picture you will know things are not so hot.

I know, I'm not really supposed to use this picture since I didn't take it.

But you get the picture, don't you?

Birthday Greetings.....

Today is Pam Malone Miller's birthday, on December 26th, the "let down" day.

It is not a let down day for me, for she was born and became my friend!

Happy Birthday, Pam!

I always wondered how people with birthdays on the 24th, 25th, and 26th coped with this.

I know someone else who has a birthday within these three days.  She told me that she has always insisted on BIRTHDAY paper for her BIRTHDAY presents, Christmas wrap for the other.

Still, I would think it would be a bit hard.

We almost found out.  I was pregnant with a baby that was due on December 24th.  I remember thinking, first, "YEA!!!! A new baby!"   Then I remember the due date and thought, "OH MY!  A Christmas baby!" which of course, can have two meanings....a birthday lost in the shuffle of Christmas or a birthday shared with the most holy birthday in the history of the world.

We never found out.  I miscarried on Mother's Day that year.  How odd.

Not ones to waste time, we found ourselves expecting again.  Mary-Keeley was born on March 7th, and shares her birthday with my best friend, Jean, her godmother.

Some things are meant to be.

Oh, and happy belated birthday to Kay Sasser Jacoby, a Christmas Eve baby!

Edited to add:  This is also a "birthday" of sorts for my family and me.  Today is the day we start our "New Normal" life.   I've been looking forward to this day since December 10, the day I went to the doctor.  I knew if we could make it through yesterday, as close to "Old Normal" as possible, then things would be ok.  Happy to be sharing my "New Normal" birthday with Pam!

THE. BEST. CHRISMAS. EVER. WITHOUT. DOUBT. (Long Post)

If anyone had a better Christmas Day than I, it was only the young children around the world who experienced their first REAL moment of wonder when the room they saw the night before transformed into  Santa's magic land.  Y'all remember that feeling don't you?

The bicycle in the corner.  A train set you had longed for.  A doll you had only dreamed about.  Doesn't matter what it was.  You had a day like that and it will always and forever remembered as THE. BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER.

I will try to share my wonderment of a day without being "too wordy".

1. Coffee in bed.

1a. Waking up to an comment on a post from Elizabeth from Creative Breathing, a blog I love to read and without whom, I might never have realized that I, too, had stories to tell, things to say.  When I first started reading her blog, I thought, "I wish I had stories like that!"  I do, they're just different.  One of these day there will be a whole post about Elizabeth.  She is amazing.  You will lose yourself in her life, her stories, her creative abilities that she only just discovered she had.

2. A fabulous breakfast with eggs that tasted (almost) as good as my Mama or Dad have always cooked for Christmas breakfast.  Oh yeah.  Served in bed.  Oh, and a moment of thankfulness for the food that came out of my mouth like nothing I'd ever said before.  I even told God "Thank you, for allowing me to go through this disease and trial."  There'll probably be a whole post about that later on.

3. Trying to be the first to say "Chrismuh Gift" to my Mom.  She beat me.

4. BEING the first to say "Chrismuh Gift" to Jonathan after he said "Hey" on and IM chat.  I typed it in real fast.  He said it wasn't fair.  (HUH?  He could have typed in "Chrismuh Gift" instead of saying "Hey".

5. Getting to watch my family as they opened presents via iChat on our computers, them getting to see me watch and react.  Though not physically there, it was pretty darn close.  (Again, Steve Jobs, thank you!)

6. While they ate their breakfast, I got to bathe, unhooked from my "Christmas Tree of Life".  It, fortunately,  needed to charge up RIGHT when I needed to go into the shower.  Priceless.

7. Choosing from my "Dr. Seuss" collection of new tops,  new leggings, and putting on my FUGGS. (Fake Uggs to you uninitiated.  15 bux.)   All of which made me feel like a person in a spa, not a hospital.

8. Putting on my "face" (make-up, guys, make-up), fluffing my hair, and perching myself in the corner chair in the room so my family wouldn't see me in the bed.

9, Hearing my little elves at the door. They bring in presents that are perfect for the hospital.  Long shruggy type sweaters from Chicos, from Mama.  (We LURVES us some Chicos!), jogging suits (not that I'm going to be jogging but I do plan on walking up and down the hall), a pretty scarf, a houndstooth wrap that will be worn not only on January 7th but for a LONG LONG time.   Oh, and a sound machine from my sweet husband, along with some really funky scissors that cut fringe into paper, for when I get out and don't have to worry so much about running with scissors.  And I can't forget these fabulous felted ball ornaments, dotted with red, from Katie, nor my Julie/Julia dvd from Mary-Keeley.  There was more, but I don't want to bore you with it.

10.  Dr. Jordan, who told me I could drink the communion wine.  No problem.  Wine is sterile.  More importantly, it has been consecrated and blessed (blessed and consecrated?) by a priest.  God wouldn't pull something bad on that wine, now would he?  That would be too cruel a joke.

11. Rev. David McGinnis bringing beautiful poinsettias in from church that I couldn't keep in the room but at least got to see.  He looked so snappy in his collar and red vest.

12. Fast on the heels of David, came Catherine Collier, bringing communion for the family in the room. The intimacy of the moment, the being more attuned to the words of the ritual, the saying of the confession, the closing prayer.  The. Most. Amazing. Communion. EVER.    P. S. Catherine had on her red sweater and when she asked what side of her liturgical scarf we wanted her to wear, we picked purple, though it isn't liturgically correct....but it look GREAT!.

13. Family helps organize Christmas presents, jetsam and flotsam, hangs up my clothes.  I am directing from the chair.  They pack up and leave to go rest.  I have on Pandorra to some nice low Christmas music and stay in the chair to read more in My Life in France.

14. Two brothers-in-law and a new girlfriend come to visit.  Nita "KNOWS" me even though we've only really met/talked once, though, we've texted, and she's visited the room twice.  She made me a compilation cd that had almost every song I danced through the early part of my courtship with Jonathan. How did this woman know part of my playlist of faves in my brain?  She also brought a cd of a reading promotional dvd she made to encourage kids to read.  MY. KIND. OF. WOMAN.

It was a fabulous visit.  Rogers looked great and from where he sat I gazed on his face, smooth, serene, with the most beautiful blue eyes.  (All my McBoys have beautiful blue eyes.)  We reminisced about our trip to New York in 1980, where Rogers snapped a photo of Jonathan and me, on the streets of NYC.  We wanted it because we have this great picture of his mom and dad, on the streets of NYC in the 1940s.

Holden brought me the makings for a compost tea brewer to use in the spring.  We are going to grow some KICK ASS tomatoes!

15.  My bestest friend in the whole world, Jean Gordon, walking in the room, seeing me decked out like in Katie's post below, sitting in the chair in the corner,  and then bursting into tears and declaring that THAT was the best Christmas present she could have ever gotten.  I had become "me" again!

She knows my penchant for hand made items and often shops for me in A'Mano in Birmingham. I've never been in the store (WHY???) but know that some of my favorite people, Kay Sasser Jacoby and Niki Quick, work there.  They "get" my work, I love their work.   From A'Mano she brought me this incredible bead encrusted, shell, and and jewelry pieces "hand of friendship".   It is amazing and beautiful, just like Jean.

While she was here, they brought in the "Christmas Special" dinner.  Prime rib, twice baked potato, broccoli with cheese sauce, coconut cake.

Here, may be the best part of the day.  The knock on the door.  "Room Service".  It was a new RS girl who didn't know me.  She looked around the room.

"Where'd she go?"
"Who?"
"The patient."
"Oh, that's me!"
"WHAT?????"  (Jean and are trying not to laugh out loud)
"Oh, You goin' home tonight?"  (Remember, I'm decked out in regular clothes, sitting up in the chair)
"Oh, GIRRLLLL, No!  I'm here for 30 days!"
"WHATTT?????  You don't look sick!"

Can you imagine how that made me feel?  Like a million, billion, trillion dollars!

When I sat down to eat, I was greeted with some of the most incredible tastes ever.  I will now be wanting the recipe for the cheese sauce on the broccoli.  The twice baked potatos were not only divine but the presentation was worthy of the North River Yacht Club dining room, and that, folks is saying TONS if you live around here.  The prime rib was perfect. The coconut cake, delicious but I was too full to eat all of it.  Otherwise, I was a member of the clean plate club.  Everything seasoned to PERFECTION.

After that, phone calls to home, a phone call from my Marlowe family (Rudd, from the earlier post) in San Antonio.

Then time for a benadryl dose before platelets, which made for a GOOD NIGHT'S sleep.

Ahhh.

Oh, and did you notice that I didn't rub in the fact that I didn't have to decorate, shop, cook, wrap presents, clean up, or drive near Mid Town village?  I just wanted to make sure you noticed I didn't rub that in.

Three words.....

Peace.  Happiness.  Love.

Mom's new Christmas scarf, sweater, headband, boots, houndstooth shawl, etc. Merry Christmas! New photos to come soon!!

"Chrismuh Gift........"

For years, my mother and her best friend, Addie Hoole,  have tried to outfox each other on Christmas Day by calling each other and trying to be the first one to say "Christmuh Gift" to each other.  The trick is if you can call EARLY enough (but not too early) you might catch the other person not awake enough to respond quickly enough when the phone rings.

We do it now, in our family.  When Mama or I call to speak to each other on Christmas morning, before she (the best Santa in the world) arrives at our house, it is a race to see who can utter the words first.

Jonathan and I even try to be the first to say it to each other on Christmas morning.

I don't know how this got started but it is always great fun...who's awake enough to remember to say it first!

The other day I got an email from Cheree Causey, with a story to tell about a family tradition in HER family, only it happens the day before, on Christmas Eve.

Her grandmother wouldn't say Merry Christmas on Christmas Eve, but would always just say "Christmas Eve Gift" and laugh, and laugh, and laugh.   They would ask her why but she would just laugh and laugh and laugh some more and never told them why she did it.

Now, their family does the same, and laughs, and laughs, and laughs, and remembers great times with her grandmother.

So here's the conundrum, for which I might to send Ben Windham off on one of his folkloric research excursions....Where did this come from?  How many families do this?  Is it a southern thing?  Does his mother, Kathryn Tucker Windham, know?  (If she doesn't, we may not ever know the answer.)

Which brings me around to stories.  You've got them.  Write them down.  Remember them, even if they seem silly to you.  You want those for you children, your grandchildren, their grandchildren.  They need to know their roots, where they came from, why they're like they are.

Give your families the "Christmuh Gift" of your stories, your life.

Priceless.

Movie Dilemma...

I have to choose between "The Bishop's Wife" and "It's a Wonderful Life" for early night viewing?

What's a girl to do?  Gary Grant? Jimmy Stewart?  Zuzu? Angels?  EEEK!!!!!

Well, she does have on her matching Christmas pjs like the girls will be wearing and is about to  eat a nice little supper.

Ok, Merry Chrizzle, my pizzles....

Nighty night!

Christmas Eve, 2009....

Totally unlike anything experienced before. Not a bad thing, necessarily. Just sayin'.....

You may or may not have jumped to my old Christmas posts on my older blog, Little Red Hen. If you have, move on, have a glass of wine for me or a bloody mary tomorrow.

If not, click here for a taste of December 2007.

Click here to see the madness of what went on in November 2007, leading up to a usual December. Again, scrolling to the bottom and going up will take you up in order. You'll also get a peek into our Christmas world...kitschy, vintage, handmade, color.

I miss that I didn't feel like doing all this stuff this year.

I knew I wanted to simplify, but finding out your have leukemia is just takin' it to the extreme, doncha think?

I'll leave you with a trailer from 1947 for my ALL TIME favorite Christmas movie, "Miracle on 34th Street". I hadn't seen this until I went "YouTubing" a minute ago.

Mama, thanks so much for sharing this movie with me when I was young.

I love you.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a GOOD NIGHT!!!!

Uh oh....

Temp is up a bit this a.m.

We thought it was because of the coffee but I don't think it is.

Woke up sneezing, which is not normal.

Visitors will have to be limited today until we find out what is going on. Family welcome.

UPDATE (8:20 a.m.): Antibiotics being given, Big John, nurse extraordinaire, assured me things were ok. We've all been a little sloppy with hygiene...forgetting to use the sanitizer lotion ALL the time, me included, forgetting it might be better to pat my feet than get close enough for a hug or cheek kiss (which I crave). Ok, I feel better. Plus I just ate my wonderful breakfast, every smidgen. Yes, Cheree, I need you to be my personal trainer.

Besides, all of you need to be with your families, anyway.

Santy Claus comes tonight!

Maybe I'll break down and watch "Miracle on 34th Street" and/or "It's a Wonderful Life".

I know if I wake up in the middle of the night, "A Christmas Story" will be playing.

FRA-GIL-E...yeah, that's Italian!

Mac and Cheese....

Yeah. I got the recipe.

Met the head chef.

Ordering the "Christmas Special" for Friday.

Prime Rib and twice baked potatoes.

People...does it get any better?

Great food that I don't have to cook????

I've always had an appetite. In fact, I've done Weight Watchers three times and there will probably be a few more times in the future. When I got down to my lowest in a several years (a couple of years ago), I realized I had already lost that amount of weight (that I weighed at the moment) over my three tries at WW, the last being hugely successful.

Does that make sense? No? Well, here's the skinny. I weighed 130 in 2007. I've lost 130 lbs over the WW experiences, plus a few more diet tries. Sad. Will I learn?

Until I started eating chocolate chess pie again. That, my friends, will throw you off the wagon faster than you can say, "Jack Robinson." Winning Seasons Chocolate Chess Pie. None better.

(Question to self...Hmmmm, will chemo bring me back down to my Lifetime member goal weight. Here's hoping. )

At any rate, I must blog to the people of Tuscaloosa, (if you don't already know this) that being at DCH is FABULOUS in the food department. You should get your "Golden Age" pass and bring some cash and try out this grill thing they've got going on. FABULOUS!

Gary Lane, head of all the food services is as nice as nice can be and understands good, simple, tasty (yeah, he can season it up like my mama) food and that that's what the people need. He's a local guy who I hope won't get snatched up by some fancy schmancy something or other.

What he (and the hospital and the decision makers who made this happen) is doing for the mental psyche of folks that have long term or even short term visits to DCH, is AMAZING.

People...they knock on your door and say "ROOM SERVICE!" (If I've talked about this before, sorry for the redundancy, but this is some great food and even better service.

(Note to nurses and doctors....your time for praise is coming. It will take me a LONG time to talk about the excellence of care I'm receiving in the hospital where I was born.)

At any rate, waiting for simple sandwich after some mighty excellent Pasta Primavera I had for lunch. The PB and J I had yesterday tasted like home.

Very nice.

Reality bites....

While I was eating breakfast this morning, I heard a plaintive cry, a wail.

Then another. Longer, more painful.

I knew what it was.

Another cancer warrior had become an angel.

My door was pulled shut by someone in the hall.

Elise, my nurse for today, came in and confirmed what I knew in my heart.

"Where they expecting this?", I asked.

Because of patient confidentiality, she really couldn't say. My guess was no, they weren't.

Death is never fun, never really "expected", I guess, but I so hate it for the families who will live with the sadness of missing the person who is gone, and who will always be reminded of it during what is supposed to be a happy, joyful season.

My mom and I go through our slump in late January-mid February each year.

Her mother, my grandmother, passed away at 94, rather unexpectedly, though she had been in a nursing home for years.

My dad passed away three weeks later, from lung cancer. It was peaceful, it was quick. I think, as my friend Pam has said, he had "decided" it was time. He did not suffer, nor did we, except for losing him.

I remember whispering in his ear that last night..."It's ok, you can go now. We'll be fine."

He slipped away quietly. We cried, but there were no plaintive wails. We were happy that there would be no pain for him.

His graveside service was huge. The man had friends like I don't know what. Everyone loved "Popeye" or as my friends knew him, "Pud".

God bless the cancer angels on this Christmas Eve Eve.

Hold their survivors close to your heart, God, and let them know everything will be ok and help them find the peace and strength they need to move through this difficult time.

Love,
Penny

Morning quickie....

Nice restful night, even without the use of the "glamour mask" to block the light. Tired from the low hemoglobin but two new units of blood might make today a little easier.

Breathe deep and get that oxygen to your blood!

Note to self: Get the macaroni and cheese recipe from DCH Patio Grill restaurant. OMG.

Not sure what chemo is on for today but now I can program it into my new phone so I can keep up.

Santa's coming tomorrow!

Let me hear your body talk....

Whew, baby. Did I hear my body talk to me today. They told me I needed a couple of things of blood and I thought nothing of it.

Till I took my shower and was thrown back into a time machine, to a fortnight ago. I felt exactly the same. Totally exhausted.

At that time, I didn't know my red blood cells were low, unable to carry enough oxygen through my body.

Now I recognize the feeling.

Dr. Jordan, third partner in my doctor's group confirmed that the "honeymoon" of feeling good is about to be over for a little while, and then will start to pick back up again.

Sigh.

In the meantime I yearn for a time when I can move around as tamely as ONJ does in the video below.

J and I went to her concert. It was SO wonderful!

This is not meant to be MORBID.....

My husband has taught me so much over the years.

The most important thing is patience.....geeze, the man has been patient with me and my whacked out ideas!

In a close tie with patience, is how he taught me what music really is and what it can do for the soul. Sometimes when we can't find the words to say to each other, it will be the music that says it instead. I love that.

Don't get me wrong. I've always loved music, but it was sort of in the background. Obviously, I now think with music.

The other morning, while in one of the quiet reflective moods, I realized I wasn't afraid of dying. Not that I'm like rushing toward it or anything, but rather, just had that peace settle over me.

Are you humming something now? I was, and for a while kept searching YouTube for the song that I thought was performed by Chicago, because I remembered the horns. It wasn't. It was performed by Blood, Sweat, and Tears and was written by a 17 year old girl, Laura Nyro.

I had forgotten about Laura Nyro and what all she wrote. I had not forgotten the songs, just that they were hers. And they were mine. I loved everything she wrote. It was the music of my high school days, first crushes, first loves. These songs blared through the speakers at Camp McDowell. They really became the first songs of my life.

Trying to find a good youtube of this song was hard and then I stumbled on this one. When

David Clayton-Thomas has an insert (in the middle of the video) about the young girl who came to practice and offered these songs, I had not remembered it was Laura Nyro, so off my search started this morning.

Laura Nyro had cancer and died in 1997. We share a first name and we share a disease. What a loss, but what gifts she has left us.

One other factoid, of interest to maybe only one person reading this, is that supposedly "the song "Baby, Let's Swing" by Todd Rundgren is about Laura....he said after hearing her he started playing songs like her instead of The Who." (This was on a "song fact" site and I haven't "fact checked" it, yet.)

Remember, this is not meant to be morbid......Such a great song!

Morning, peeps!

Just a quick wake up post for you all!

Great night of sleep, easy blood draw, coffee brought to me in bed (how DIVINE!), a quick page or two of read in My Life in France. A few moments of reflection on the day before.

I'm really liking these moments of quiet reflection. I haven't had the tv on in DAYS.

A nice day of visits yesterday.

Jonathan, of course, the nicest of all.

Mary-Keeley, my funny, funny girl. (Missed you, Katie, but you got all your stuff done and I didn't, so I'm glad you got all finished up!)

Liz Pearce, who surprised me in all kinds of ways. Science fiction + Liz= Most Interesting!

Holden, my dear sweet brother in law, who made my heart sing because of his happiness!

Mary Beth Dennis, who brought me the PERFECT supper.....party food and then organized a speaker phone call with some teacher buddies who were celebrating Christmas and knowing each other with some more party food and a martini or two. DANG, a lemon drop would be SO good!

Last, but never least, my dearest friend in the world, Jean Gordon, who came to visit, and always sustains me with her love. We are two peas in a pod who can sit, not talk, and will have said everything we needed to say to each other. She has always "gotten" me. I love you, Jean.

Mama couldn't come yesterday because she, Johnny McPherson and Addie Hoole were celebrating the winter solstice with a lunch at Taco Casa. People, if and when I start telling stories about Joyce, Addie, and Johnny, TOGETHER, well, just watch out.

I missed seeing you, Mama. Can't wait until today when you, Pam, Beth, and Lily show up!

There will be just a touch more daylight today. Enjoy!

Winter Solstice....not a health update, or is it???

The shortest day of the year. A train just passed by and as the sun was setting there was the mournful sound of its horn. "Dark comes quickly, dark comes quickly, dark comes quickly" the wheels of the train clacked into the oncoming night.

Last year, after the Christmas rush and into the quiet of January, I got all caught up in reading stuff on Garden Web about soil, composting, vermiculture (worm farming---y'all I swear, I wanted to be a worm farmer for a while. Jonathan's eyes were just rolling in his head at this....) and other garden related stuff.

There are some great forums over there. My favorite forum is the Soil, Composting, and Mulch forum, with the Vermicomposting coming in for a close second. Fun reading if you're into de-composition!

I won't bore you with all I've learned but will just leave it to you to click on and chase links if you have half an interest in doing things more organically in your yard. When the seed catalogs come in, maybe you'll remember this post.

But I do have to link back to one of the most fun times I had in the Garden Web forums when a bunch of us started talking about what kinds of organic inputs you could create from nothing, but would fertilize and feed your soil better than anything Dow Chemical could make.

When you've got time (and only if you're interested) just start reading "Why I Love the Internet"

where you will meet an interesting group of gardeners and lovers of the soil. You have to want to read about bacteria (good) and making weird brews to feed your plants with, and you'll meet an interesting Russian guy who does cool experiments and shares info from Russian books with cool illustrations. Remember, this is only for those of you who want to spend a lot of time thinking about dirt, I mean, soil.

Which brings me back to the Winter Solstice.

Have you ever thought about getting your tomato plants or flowers ready for the garden on the shortest day of the year? I never had until I stumbled into yet another forum at Garden Web, the Winter Sowing forum. People all over have sown seeds today, in milk cartons and other things they've collected all year.

These seeds will sit in corners of yards, be covered by snow, protected by their new little incubators and they will know when it is safe to sprout (sooner than you think) and they will be acting on what nature intends. I know, it sounds crazy, but just read the FAQ section of that forum. You'll learn lots.

I know this is a really weird post for most of you. And I'm going to end it with some really weird music.

In 1979, the GENIUS Stevie Wonder wrote a score for an obscure documentary called The Secret Life of Plants. (note: this link will take you to the google movie of the documentary, 96 minutes long, just so you'll know.)

The accompanying album (for it was a double album at the time) is truly one of my favorite of Stevie's. (Said like I know him real well....ha ha ha, I wish.) I will leave you with a funkified video of something to think about.... A seed's a star, a star's a seed's a star.

If the big star gives us rain and warmth to grow the seeds, is it the seed of life?

Does Stevie answer in this song? Do yourself a favor, though, and order the double CD and listen to it, in order, from beginning to end. FABULOUS. Simply FABULOUS.

Thank you, Jonathan, for really introducing me to Mr. Wonder. You are MY Mr. Wonder.

I love you.

Thank you, God....

On Friday of last week, our new associate rector at Christ Episcopal Church, Catherine Collier, walked into room 231.

I had only seen her once, across the room on November 19, the day of our first church bazaar in 27 years. She had on this black skirt with a wide white stripe along the bottom and I noticed it right off. It was a bold skirt. I didn't know who she was but I liked that skirt. Bold.

I can't remember if it was Amy Grimes or Gail Windham, supremely excellent coordinators of said bazaar who said, "Oh, that is Catherine Collier, our new associate rector, and she is FABULOUS!" (And, I've just outed myself as not being a good church going member since I did not know this information.)

She came in on Friday to tell me she had been praying for me since July, after my name had gotten placed in the church bulletin (without my knowing it) and wanted to meet this person she had been praying for for so long.

We hit it off right away. We are about the same age, her youngest child the same age as my oldest. She is easy to talk to. Very easy to talk to. She told me she would come back to see me.

This morning I woke up, with lots on my mind, and realized I was wanting to talk to her some more.

A knock on the door. A red sleeve peeks in before the rest of her. Catherine Collier has come into my room. She is wearing red. MY color. Hers, too. POWER. LIFE. RED.

We talk. She knows I am a bit afraid of the chemo that is planned for today.

She holds my hands. She prays. She leaves.

It will be a good day.

A very good day.

Dear Steve Jobs......

If you're reading this (ha ha ha) as I type on my other new Christmas present that you so thoughtfully invented and designed, I would like to make another recommendation for your Christmas 2010 line up.

I need you to get with the Groshong port folks and come up with a similar thing that will plug into the brain so I (we, all the people of the world) can dump our thoughts into our Mac devices and then be able to sort through, arrange (with our fingertips, no less) all the jumble that is there.

So that we can say what we need to say, cause honey, I've got a LOT to say!

So that we can get the music out of our heads and into the light and hearts of the world.

So that we can see the "trash" that clutters our minds and send it to the trashcan in the corner of the screen.....just with the flick of a finger.

Steve, are you listening?????? Time's a wastin'

So for the health update of the day.....

Today is the day they have to test for a type of chemo to see if I can tolerate it. It involves having to have a crash cart outside the door, in case I don't. Hmmmm, would this scare you?

I mentioned my sort of "fear" of this to Dr. Dubay who just sort of waved it off and said..."won't be a problem." I'm trusting you, Dr. Dubay.

Otherwise, things are just clicking along. Had more of a quiet reflective morning, which was nice and very zen like. I don't think I moved in my bed very much because the covers were so straight.

After the blood draw fiasco, day three, involving THREE nurses this morning (actually, not a fiasco, just an annoyance), I decided to pick up where I had left off reading My Life in France by Julia Child. (GREAT book, highly recommend! If you've NOT seen Julie/Julia, I even recommend reading this before you do. If you HAVE seen it, you will enjoy it even more!)

My night nurse came in and asked about it and we started talking about books. She loves to read so we had a fun few minutes talking about what we liked. And then it hit me. SHE needed to be introduced to Diana Gabaldon's fabulous Outlander series, a bewitching combination of a time traveling nurse, historical fiction, hot romance, and men in kilts. PEOPLE, what more can you ask for in a book???? And there are, like, SEVEN in the series.

Mac Attack

Santa came early and visited room 231 this afternoon.

.......Penny now has an iPhone. Now, your favorite librarian, folk artist, mother, daughter, wife, cousin, friend will be even easier to connect with! She practically squealed when Katie called to let us know she and Dad had successfully broken up with Verizon and were now in a serious courtship with AT&T. She could barely contain herself when Santa walked in the door with that bright orange bag. How fun is it when you get to witness someone totally embrace the wide-eyed, warm, innocence of a little girl on Christmas morning? SO FUN!

She's still got some learning to do, as do the other new-to-the-iPhone-club members, Jonathan and Katie, but she's already had fun doing glamour shots from her hospital bed and will soon be an avid texter, just like her tech-savvy daughters.

So, please, I beg of you, texts, texts and more texts! Practice makes perfect, so lets whip this baby boomer into shape! Maybe you could even suggest to her that the youngest Mac (no pun intended) deserves an iPhone too, besides, I think its a great prize for the iPhone Tutoring Job I've now been assigned. (Tutorials, study sessions, etc. will be held in DCH room 231 for anyone interested. Any iPhone veterans feel free to fill us in on any tech-tricks you may have up your sleeve!)

Happy Early Christmas, Mama!

An aside.....

I have another blog that is out of date but kind of fun, if you're interested.

Little Red Hen

You'll see some old Christmas Tree decorating adventures and some dreams deferred, while learning more about my obsessive compulsive tendencies to cram information down your face.

(Picture borrowed from TheatreBristol poster for a puppet show of The Little Red Hen. Hope they don't mind. This Little Red Hen was just too ME to not use!)

What a way to wake up!

My FB buddies already have seen this a while back. But, it still brings back happy memories for me!

This reminds me of being at my grandmother's house (your side, Katie), waiting to walk to school with friends that lived behind her. Because of those friends, who attended Forest Lake Methodist Church, across the parking lot from my grandmother's, I met Pam, from last night's post.

Hope you feel ok this morning Miss Pam!




This is an interesting process I'm going through. I didn't know I had so much I wanted to say. I'm trying to figure it all out.

But the good news is, no chemo treatments today and I'm feeling MUCH better than I did yesterday! I feel so happy, and at peace. As Martha would say, that is a "good thing!"

Plus I have this great night nurse, April, who is so, so sweet. Yesterday we sort of had a panic time while she was trying to draw blood from my Groshong port. It wouldn't come out. No matter what gyrations I tried, it wouldn't come out. Finally, another nurse came in and for whatever reason, the blood started to flow.

This morning, while feeling so good, April came back for the blood draw. I laughed and said "lets get this party started" and she said..."Oh, you like Pink?". Hells to the yeah, April!

We were beginning to have a slow draw again so I sat up and started dancing from the waist up and singing some Pink. She does it better than I do, so here ya go, if you need more of a wake up jolt than the Captain Kangaroo theme song....

The only sort of new realization is that with no white blood cells (from 84,000 to 1 from the time I was diagnosed til yesterday when the doctor gave me the good news about how well it seemed to be working) is that things won't heal up so quickly....so I'll probably not be able to put some pretty red lipstick to cover up that fever blister left over....DANG IT.

People, what is going on here? From Captain Kangaroo to PINK in ONE POST???

I think they're putting something in my drips I don't know about..bit whatever it is, I LOVE IT!

"Have you got five more minutes?......"

I asked my old friend, Pam Malone Miller, last night, after we had been giggling, talking, laughing, confessing, crying, and generally loving on each other on the phone for nearly two hours.

"For you, I have a thousand years...." was her reply.

Isn't that the most absolutely stunning answer in the world?

30 minutes later we hung up and my day ended on a much better note than it had started.

I love you, Pam Malone Miller. I love you so much!

Laxatives of the soul feel just as good as the other kind....trust me.

Pam, I told you just a minute ago, you are one of my Earth Angels.

I have many of them.

Their stories will be told.

One by one, until the stories are done. I promise.

I continue to feel such love and support coming from all of you and I am truly overwhelmed by it all.

I have been going through a period for about 18 months where I've been fascinated by the dynamics of large families that are there for family members in a time of great need or crisis. Perhaps even a little jealous.

I've wondered what would happen if something horrible happened to me. Who could help my family cope with it? An only child of an only child, with only two first cousins. (Who both came from Texas to see me on Thursday. I love you, Rudd and Jimmy. You both feed my soul when I see you because I see Unc (their name for my late father) in both of you and I know he is still here.

It's true....could you call it some weird premonition? I don't know. As I told Pam, strange things have been happening. Strange, weird things, or so it seems to me.

I can say this, though. I've found out I have a HUGE family out there. HUGE.

I am so grateful. So, so, so, so grateful.

I love you, all, so much. I hope I'm not boring you with all of this.

I think this video expresses what I feel more than just words can say. (And don't feel bad if you want to stop about four minutes in.) It's all in the chorus....



Good night, all.......

Just a little funny for you.....

Perhaps you've already seen a copy of Santa's Gmail Inbox.....if you have, I hope you thought it was as funny as I did. It provided a much needed laugh. Click on the link above and be sure to enlarge it so you can read it better.......

Sleepless in Tuscaloosa.......

Ugh, room too warm to sleep....won't forget that again!

Mind spinning again.....sooo many nice comments about my writing/becoming an author (WOW, thanks a BUNCH for those!) which, in turn, made me start thinking about my appearance on Oprah and everything.

And the timing for that might be right because then she'll be filming in SoCali and maybe will invite the fam to her manse in Montecito. And I know she would do that because she would think it was cool that Jonathan had lived in Santa Barbara for 2.5 years to go to Brooks institute of Photography where the main building WAS in Montecito.

Yeah, Oprah would be cool like that. And, I have lot of time to plan on what to where and how to pronounce her hometown's name of (doing it phonetically here)--KAHZI-YOUS-KO, Mississippi.

Oh, and since we come from neighboring states, she would think that was cool, too. See, I have it all planned out. It's how I roll. I see the possibilities...

Now about the movie from the blog thing, I've already cast Renee Zellwiger, so just don't bother to apply. If she can pull off Beatrix Potter, one of my all time favorite illustrators/authors, then she can handle this new role!

Day 2 of Chemo complete. YES! (yesterday). No real results from it, though after a couple of days of bran flakes, I could use some results from those. (TMI? )

Had a really great day yesterday and even better evening, when i got my hair cut into something manageable with my fingers but that is a post deserving of itself. It will even have some pictures! Let me just say HONEYYYYYYY SUGARRRRRRRR, I feel a gazillion times better! (If you live in town and know Johnny Beck, then you understand the last sentence.)

Gonna try to get a little more rest.....

Oh wait, have to make public apology.....got called out by Jonathan about my remark about you know it is a GREAT song when you have to put your hands in the air. I stole that from him and didn't give him the props he deserved. So here ya go, J, PROPS TO YOU!!!!! I love you!

And here's another of my favorite songs that makes me throw my hands in the air.....hope you like it!

Good Morning, Starshine!

"The earth says hello!"....

Just a quick update since i have a lot i want to write but am about to start second day of meds so will come back later and add a story or just more jibber jabber about what's happening.

Great night, even better morning. I woke up and realized that I can treat this like my "hotel" wake up experiences that I have while going to art shows. Completely different from my home morning routine. Room service coffee, easy wake up experience while stretched out in the bed, breakfast, bath, and then on with my day. It was a very nice revelation and even better to put into action! Oh, and even better, I started reading a book that Katie brought me, The Bounce Back Book by Nancy Salmansohn. It has been a great, quick read and the graphics are clean and modern. The advice is great, not overwhelming and i promise, there is something in there for each and every one of you. Put it on your Christmas list or buy it for yourself for Christmas. You won't regret it.

Adding to the excitement of this experience is that Jonathan happened to walk in with my Safeguard soap and got to participate in the shower process...if this is TMI (too much information), well, sorry. (He scrubbed my back, ok? ) It felt nice to feel "normal" again. Not something I felt a week ago today.

I think I'll sign out with some of the strangest lyrics in musical history....

Glibby globby gloopy, nibby nobby noopy, la la la lo lo..... (From the song, "Good Morning Starshine", from the play HAIR.)

Hope you enjoy the music....it has been one of my all time favorite songs since I first heard it. Just the opening of the song makes me want to put my arms in the air and wave them around, and that, my friends, is the sign of a GOOD SONG. Even if you don't like this one, I'm sure you've got your own songs that make you feel that way. If you do, play one for yourself today!

Love to all,
Penny

And the first day is done!

Brenda, my chemo nurse just left.....we are DONE with the first day. Other than feeling stuff flowing through my body, nothing yet.

I told her that this morning I woke up with images of "having chemo" being something like having those bugs in the Orkin commercials coming into my room and saying "Here lady, you need to drink this". It was nothing like that at all. Just another pump, a few more bags and a warm brown face telling me what was going in as she pushed it through the pump.

Piece of cake. But check with me next week...I might be cussin' the hell out of that pump, er, tree o' bags.

My Christmas Tree of Life.

Get your shopping done, y'all. Look what my procrastination has gotten me.

Kisses and hugs to all!

Love,

Penny

Treatment Has Begun

Random Musings....or, Good Mornin', Y'all!

Ok, quick shout out to the makers of Atarax. Can I say M I R A C L E drug for helping you sleep? After feeling like I was caught up in a mental swirling dervish, I got a dose and BOOM, off to la la land I went. So, well rested and ready to start the day.

My chemo nurse, Brenda, came by to explain what will be happening and now I'm just rarin' to go. A week from now, if I get on and say stuff like "F*(* this S^#$", then you'll know I've truly turned the color of Elphaba.

So, on the "F&8k this s^$t" stuff. It may come out witihout little euphemistic ampersands and stars. If that offends you then do like I used to tell my young readers. "If you come to a person's name you can't pronounce, don't waste your time trying to sound it out...just make up a name that sorta sounds like it looks and use that name the whole time you read. Mrs. Schlingodiginnigozzle will still be doing the same things whether you call her Mrs Snow or Mrs. Sligozzle. So, just make up a word that sounds better to you if you are offended, ok. But, please. Don't come down hard on me about it or I might just block you from making a comment.

Yeah, I'm feeling my oats this morning!

Hold on, Dr. House just walked in..... Don't get me wrong, he is not the irascible, gruff Dr. House. Brian is wonderful and has done such a wonderful job of taking care of my mother and me. A more caring and understanding man you will not meet.

Ok, back at it....

People have asked, "Have you thought about going to UAB"?, the huge medical school/teaching university about sixty miles up the road. The answer is no, I never gave it a thought. Last night that was confirmed by Dr. Dubay, one of my oncologists.

"Knockity, knock, knock, knock"

A different sound than the usual nurse or doctor knock. My family had just left so who could it be?

Dr. Dubay walked in and people, I don't really know this man, but he was sending out some GOOD VIBES.... it was in his demeanor, his face, his voice. Maybe he was just as excited to be getting on with this as I, but I was FEELING it, baby.
He explained some things to me (this chemo will be going on for two years....so if y'all get weary thinking about that, I understand)...and asked me if I lived here in town, because if not I might want to think of moving here.

I wanted to shout out.."Hells yeah" because I was born right here in this hospital and have lived within a ten minute drive of it my entire life, my family's, as well. I had known that I couldn't have my family worry about me AND have to worry about driving to see me in bits and pieces.

I told him this and he replied "Well, I WAS the leukemia doctor at UAB and now I am here." Had this happened three years ago I might have been driving to UAB to see him.

So you see, I am where I'm supposed to be.

Love to you all,
Penny

"I couldn't sleep at all last night" or here's my version of A Christmas Carol.

It is 11:00 p.m. I have had on my glamour mask for three hours and it is not working. My mind is spinning faster than that roundy-round sport that takes place up Talladega way. There is no way Jeff Gordon (or whomever is the current leader) to have more points than me.

I have already thought of at least 20 posts I'd like to make, if not more. Most of them are not about what is going on at the moment but are related. (Be it known that I can "chase a rabbit" in a conversation with the best of them but I'll try not to do it. For those of you who don't understand that term, it simply means "getting off track.")

So, on to my on personal version of "A Christmas Carol", with all apolo9gies to Charles Dickens.

Scrooge would have been an apt name for me the past several weeks. My best Christmas sentiment was truly "Bah, humbug".However, all that changed today.

Instead of three ghosts, I had three angels. And each of them represented all three of Scrooge's visitors, the past, the present, the future within themselves. Most importantly, these women are the epitome of strength and courage, humor, and good cheer. They came not wearing swirling robes or wreaths of holly. They came in tennis shoes and workout clothes. Strong women, I tell you, STRONG WOMEN.

My first visitor, the angel of "Christmas past" was Dana Taylor. I have known her since Jr. High and our birthdays are a day apart, though she is actually a year older. Dana had a twin sister, Deb, who died two years ago (Dana, forgive me for not fact checking the exact date.) Deb's death, was a tragedy that was just sort of the quintessential "hell on wheels" chain reaction of events, with the cause of death being laryngeal cancer.

But this wasn't the first time Dana had faed this sort of challenge. While we were in Jr. High her father, Ryan deGraffenried, died in an airplane crash while running for governer of Alabama. We were all stunned. We were 13 and 14 and NOTHING like this had ever touched or lives. We watched as Margaret Nell, her mother, gathered the children and pulled them together into a tight, strong family unit. Dana and Deb were watched over by their older brother, Ryan, Jr, who grew into an influential lawyer who would eventually make a career in politics.

Now down to Ryan and Dana, their mother having died a few years back, it was time to move on. But that was not to be the case. Within months of Deb's death, Ryan suddenly died while attending a conference out of town. I probably would have crawled back into a bed and not come out. Not Dana. She went back to work, painted rooms in her house to relieve the stress and now is as down to earth and the same Dana as before all this happened. Only she is stronger. I see it, I feel it. And she offfered that strength to me today. I will accept. I love you, Dana.

My next angel, Nanci Stewart, appeared a little later in the afternoon. While her appearance is slightly out of order with the story, I view her as the "angel of Chrsitmas future" even though she has a past with cancer. Twenty years ago Nanci experienced what i did las week. She got slapped in the face with the "C" word, totally out of the blue. Her prognosis was six months but she proved them WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. Nanci is the epitome of "good attitude" and probably one of the sweetest people in the whole world. Her message was laughter and to learn that once you join the "C" club it is your responsibility to "pay it forward" by helping new club members cope with what they are most afraid of in the world. I look forward to being able to do that, Nanci. For the next twenty years, she and my husband played in a band together that was one of the highlights of their lives, and mine. You are the best. I love you, Nanci.

My last visitor was Beth Roberts. We have daughters the same age. Beth started teaching at Verner during the time i was sp.reading my wings with professional ideas and actions. All were not pleased. Beth was a kindred spirit. Today she shared a story I had not heard before. New to the school, the faculty, a new husand (she had been widowed when her oldest was three, her second child in the womb), she had , walked into my library where I was telling a story using an apron from which I was throwiing glitter or oatmeal (depending on the part in the story "The Lad and the North Wind") and realized she had reached a turning point in her life. That her circumstances, as bad as they had been, had lead her to meet people she would have never met. Ten years later she would lead me to my current career path by a simple sentence..."I bet you could make these". Another ten years later her strength would be challenged again as her mother faced cancer and died before her granddaughter's wedding. I couldn't have made it through that with the grace she did. She had her own scare with cancer, a divorce and is stronger than i've ever seen her. I love you, Beth.

What do you say to these women who have influnced your life in such profound ways, who offer to help even when you haven't been there for them in some of their down times. I don't deserve you? That is what I feel. Yet they come for me, to lift me up, hold me, love me, and make me laugh. I will love them forever.

If you have angels like these in your life, let them know how much you appreciate them.

These are not my only angels and you will get to know them all before it is over.

Ahhh, my eyes are droopy, my room needs to be cooled down and maybe my head won't spin for blogging ideas. Plus, a dose of Atarax might just do the trick.

Take care, my lovely friends and family.

I love you all.

Penny

Please forgive my typos.



.

Chemo starts tomorrow!

Like Dad mentioned, Chemo starts tomorrow at 9:00 am! Finally we are getting ready to kick "C" to the CURB! Mom was is great spirits today with a few visitors to keep her laughing. 

We gave her some new purple Gillian O'Malley "lounge pants" that are INCREDIBLY soft. We will have to do a little doctoring to the length because we all know Mom is not to blessed in the height department... Some call her short-I call her "fun sized"! 

Wish I had more to update-tomorrow is a new day.

More Delay

Just found out from nurse that chemo is postponed for today, but will begin at 9:00 AM Thursday, unless we have further complications. Penny's been downstairs for tests for the last 2 1/2 hours. Oops...she just got back!

Wednesday 10:55AM

The GI doctor says Penny's Liver and Gall Bladder are improving, according to the numbers. They are going to take one more scan to see if something might be blocking a duct. But Dr. Dubay is determined that we begin chemo today, barring any other complications. More later.

Heartfelt Thank You

Thank you to all of the people out there who are praying for Mom. She has really enjoyed all of the visits, phone calls, cards, and flowers. Tomorrow we start on the road to recovery with Mom's first round of chemotherapy. 

Meme, MK and I have taken all of the flowers home with us because they are no longer allowed in Mom's room. They are so beautiful that Mom even let some hang out at the front desk of the hospital for everyone to enjoy! Let's hope I have inherited a small bit of Mom's green thumb while I baby-sit her Amaryllis. I think it is about to bloom!

Again-thanks to everyone who have kept us in your prayers. 

Waving from the bed before the REAL fun begins!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love and kindness all of you have shown to my family during this incredibly SURPRISING time. So, how does one go from point A to point Z in about five hours?

For years I had threatened that I had "had it" with Christmas decorating....truly, my house had begun to look like it had "vomited" Christmas. Thinking that "more is more" I had piled on so much flotsam and jetsam that it had begun to become a chore to put up and take down. (Anyone else relate to that? Is it our age? Did I just need a "change"? )

At any rate, after feeling tired from what I thought was just an extra busy November, I realized I wasn't sure if I even cared that the first decoration got put up and told the girls, "If it is going to be done, you're going to have to do it.....and let's don't do so much." So, they happily (grumpily, but happily) got the boxes down and started picking out what they wanted to put out. It all looked GREAT and I didn't do A THING. (WOW! A first!) Bad thing was that Jonathan had spent all day in Mississippi and had come home to boxes strewn everywhere, me, stretched out on the couch and crazy dogs running around, and the girls working. Hmmmm, what was wrong with this picture?

As it turned out, they thought I'd been bitten by a BAD case of Christmas "blues". I thought I might have "walking pneumonia" because I was having some trouble breathing, also, a slight cough. I also knew I felt like I had run a marathon when walking from the car to the inside of the house....or anywhere from point A to point B. That was all on Tuesday, December 9.

When I got in to get a blood test at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, the fun began. The fabulous Dr. Brian Wilhite (as good as Dr. Gregory House, no lie) took blood, listened to my tale of woe and send me off for a chest scan to make sure I didn't have a blood clot and then I went home to, presumably, start decorating the tree. Jonathan was stretched out on one couch, I was on the other. Soft Christmas music was playing. I was imagining getting up to drink a glass of wine and put the last of the decorating behind me. Uh Oh. At 4 p.m. The phone rings, I'm asked to come immediately to the doctor's office where I was informed of what my probable diagnosis was.

Straight to the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect 200.00.

So, that's how I found out I had the C word. Totally out of the blue.

Chemo starts tomorrow. Maybe I should have just stuck with "vomiting" Christmas at the house.

Again, love to all of you. Please hold my family in your hearts and prayers as we go through this unknown territory.

Love,
Penny

Good Day So Far

Penny had a good night last night. She wore her new 'glamour sleep mask', and swears that did the trick. Picture a movie star from the 20's or 30's.

No fever AT ALL today. Her color looks better. Took a shower and I blew her hair dry (and attempted to style it, but I didn't have the proper round brush to give her hair lift and volume).

If everything stays as it is, chemo begins Wednesday morning.

Doctors say we're here for a minimum of 30 days.

Jonathan

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Now we know what we're dealing with. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Doctor wants Penny to begin chemo as soon as possible, but she continues to battle a fever. It was 101 when I left the hospital at 7:30 PM Monday night. They'd like to begin Tuesday, but probably won't be able to until Wednesday.

Love to all of you.

Jonathan

Hurry Up and Wait!

Penny's day started kinda rough. Headache, slight fever. Didn't sleep very well. She loved seeing ALL her visitors on Sunday, but I think she partied a bit too much.

We have been told that one of the medicines she's been getting for her blood count is adversely affecting her liver causing her to appear jaundiced. (sort of yellow looking skin) That medicine has been replaced. Turns out the liver plays a very important role once chemo treatments begin. The liver actually metabolizes the chemo.

Only visitors today were family, including my brother, Rogers.

As of 3:30 PM we are still anxiously awaiting final bone marrow test results from Nashville.

Penny says love, love, love to everybody!!!

Me too!

Busy Sunday for Mom...

Mom had a busy day today! Thanks to all who came out to see her, it really brought her spirits up!

She has felt pretty good today and is scheduled to have have an sonogram tomorrow to check on the slight case of jaundice that she has. Good thing she always looks good in yellow! We are now anxiously awaiting the final diagnosis so that we know where we will go from here and how we will attack this.

Again, thanks for all this visits, cards, phone calls and emails. We all really appreciate it. As for flowers and fruit-no more allowed in the room with her. MK and I will be babysitting the ones that have been sent so far-which are beautiful-by the way-so lets hope that we don't kill them. We do not have green thumbs like Mom.

We will update tomorrow once we hear from the Dr.

Saturday, Heisman Day!

Mom had her Groshong Catheter put in today so she "doesn't have to get stuck anymore by vampire nurses" (as mom says) and it was a piece of cake. The nurse even said Mom was really cheerful after the procedure. She's enjoyed a couple of strawberry parfaits for brunch, which is great because her appetite hasn't been so great lately.

Now she's just having a quiet afternoon listening to Antonio Carlos Jobim Pandora Station and watching the rain. Mom said she's patiently waiting for the Heisman ceremony, keeping her fingers crossed that we win this year!

Meme, Katie and I have been visiting with her for a few hours, and now we are headed home to decorate the Christmas Tree with Dad....we'll see how this goes :)

P.S.

Katie forgot to mention that Penny is not allowed to have fresh flowers or fruit in her room due to possible bacterial contamination.

Here we go...

We thought we would start this blog for family and friends who would like to keep up with Mom during this battle we like to call "Penny vs. Cancer". Please use this outlet to ask questions, give advice or just say hi as we will be posting pretty regularly. Here is a little background info...

On Thursday, December 12, Mom was admitted to DCH with a possible diagnosis of Acute Leukemia. Last night, Dr. Hinton met with us in Mom's room letting us know a little of what to expect. He took a blood sample so he cou check things out. This morning, they performed a bone marrow biopsy (Mom said it wasn't very painful but then again she was "Mumbles McGee" from the pain meds..) and sent it to Nashville for testing. We won't know what type of Leukemia we are dealing with until Monday.

Mom is in good spirits awaiting her Maple Glazed Smoked Salmon dinner-fancy, I know. Also, please excuse any grammatical and spelling errors as we don't plan on editing this very closely. Oh, and please credit any lame jokes to Mary Keeley.

We would like to thank everyone for their prayers, visits and well wishes. It really means the world to us. We will keep you updated as the days go by.

-Katie