Well...Wayne went to VB without me this morning. After discussing it, we decided it just wasn't a good time for me to go. I'm feeling okay (just the usual bloat and gas and no Gas-X does not work with me) but he can get things done a lot faster without me there. He worries too much about me and I slow him down. He will be back Wednesday afternoon. And the oldest daughter is taking off from work tomorrow afternoon so I will have fun with her. I will definitely go next time as we're going to have a real estate agent there. I will be so glad when this is over with....this "business end of someone passing away"...gets in the way of grieving and Wayne needs to get to that place where he can finally let it all go. It's been difficult for him. I got a wonderful surprise last night. One of my neighbors down the street from us gave me a prayer shawl. I was so touched by the kind gesture. I've knitted a lot of prayer shawls in the last four years but this is the first one I've received. It mean so much to me. Okay...so now I'm on my own tonight for dinner. My oncologist wants me to try a new veggie or fruit each day to see what I can tolerate. This is something new to me. Applesauce (no sugar added...organic) is good. I can eat a very small tossed garden salad (about 1 1/2 cups) with a teaspoon of oil and a drop of balsamic vinegar. NO raspberries--I'll throw up. My body does not like blueberries either. I have to make sure I eat a "true portion" size and not some gigantic serving. No grains either. I do not need fiber. Nothing fried. No carbonated drinks of any kind. No artificial sweeteners. When I say my body cannot tolerate it, I really do mean it will cause me a lot of pain or I will be nauseous or it's coming up or gonna go out some way. Okay...enough about that.

Perhaps salmon tonight. A little salt. No pepper (another thing I cannot have).

Jean...Easter...the only thing set in stone for Easter is going to church and the all the kids and their kids will be over...and we will eat something!

Donna, good luck tomorrow at the gyn office. I visit there a lot too as I get a lot of yeast infections (from my medication). And yes, the Oscars last night was tiresome. I fell asleep....after I told Wayne if Leo DiCaprio did not win an Oscar this year I'm boycotting it next year! Yes, there was a LOT of jokes/discussion about how racist the Oscars are... Personally, I don't care what color someone's skin is whomever wins but its difficult feeling sorry for anyone that makes millions of dollars for being in a movie. I've read somewhere that it's all politically motivated anyway. Anyway, again, I fell asleep...with my mouth open and drooling (or so my sweet husband tells me). I love meatloaf. I hate when grocery stores rearrange food aisles.

Someone asked where my FIL's house is....in the bayside area...and if you want to discuss bad traffic and high taxes, I'm your person. I swear the Commonwealth of Virginia would tax the air one breathes if they could come up with a way to measure it! BUT the gas prices are low.

And on that note (I am in a good mood today...I swear!) I'm going to Walmart....

Maggie...you got in here while I was typing...well...THAT is one BIG weight loss! Congratulations to you! I can eat salt but not a lot of it. I ate soup out of can yesterday and it was way too salty and caused me a lot of pain last night. I drink a lot of water in a day but that didn't help either. Today I'm okay. Note to self: no salt!

I will try this one more time and then I'm done!

I typed a long post this afternoon and it disappeared. Will see if this one goes anywhere.

Good Evening! It has been another cloudy, gloomy, windy, cold day here. Supposedly snow is on the way tonight. I started my day by having my nails done; I am off my regular schedule since being gone and they were pretty sad looking. We are counting church money tomorrow because the other counter couldn't be there today. The new secretary started today so I'm hoping she will be good, or at least better than the last one who quit w/o notice. I picked up the gift shop money, made that deposit, and took checks back to the accountant. Bob had a manor board meeting at 5 and said it will be a long one. They are scheduled to break ground on a new building in April. I'm thinking a bowl of popcorn for my supper since he will be fed by the chef.

"Gma," thanks for starting the new thread. The way I have to get in here, I have no clue how many posts there are nor what number we are posting under unless you close the previous one. I hate it when stores rearrange their shelves and I'm in a hurry to get in and out. Good luck with your appointment tomorrow. We have a Perkins up at the lake, in Sioux Falls, and in Sioux City. Yesterday we went to a "mom 'n pop" place in another little town. It sits next to the railroad tracks and several owners ago acquired a train car and put in tables and booths enlarging the original eating area. Our breakfast was less than $10 and very good.

Maggie, way to go on the HUGE loss! Please send some sunshine my way!

Gail, it sounds like finding food you can eat, and enjoy, must be a challenge. A hard one for sure. How nice to receive a prayer shawl! I can knit but never learned how to read a pattern. We have knitters that make baptismal blankets and prayer shawls at church. They are beautiful.

I hear the garage door going up so Bob is home. Hope you all enjoy your evening.

Good morning...

Jean, I think if you type a long post, you need to click the "go advanced" button and not the "quick reply".

Donna...unless something happens physically, I usually go to the cancer center every three weeks. I have months of appointments made in advance. 2014, I was going a lot more. 2014 was NOT a good year! 2015 got better and I'm determined 2016, I will do a lot more and go more places. Somewhere along the line I lost confidence. Although the carcinoid tumor that was found at the bottom of my colon, was removed, the cancer had spread to my liver (I did not drink alcohol except for a couple of glasses of wine during the holidays each year). Twelve inches of my colon was taken out. I am still left with carcinoid syndrome. And I have hemmrhoids. Chronic diarrhea and hemmrhoids do not mix. Add in the severe bloating and gas, and I can be pretty miserable. BUT what I hate the most is the lack of confidence. I need to know where a public restroom is located at all times. And I have a fear of public restrooms. In short, I am a basket case at times. The technical terms of my cancer is: malignant neoplasm of ileum and secondary malignant neoplasm of liver and bile duct. Lovely. I'm at the cancer center every three weeks for bloodwork, a Sandostatin injection (which is $11,100 an inject retail market value...but Medicare and Secondary insurance picks up that), and a meeting with a physcian's assistant and/or my medical oncologist. Sometimes, throw in a visit with my oncology surgeon and then there is my cardiologist because my type of cancer can damage my heart (yes, I'm on Metoprolol at night and Lisinophril/Hydro--something in the morning).

To put it bluntly, there are days when I am afraid of food. I used to be afraid of the scale. Not anymore. I get weighed all the time. I'm afraid of food now and I have to write down what I eat so I can figure out what I can tolerate because it changes all the time. I am frustrated. I am annoyed. And yes, I have seen a psychiatrist and was released after the first visit because he said I was handling cancer normally but if I ever needed him to call him. I like him so if I ever need someone to talk with I would phone him. But I have a great support group: my amazing husband, my daughters, my son-in-law, and my grandchildren who make me laugh. I have wonderful friends and a few extended family down in Va. Beach who love me and we phone each other regularly. I have a wonderful and knowledgeable team of doctors and we meet as needed. The cancer center I go to have a lot of programs I can join if I choose to. From nutrition to yoga classes...a library...it's a research institute also. Not that they have a cure for carcinoid...and well, my liver...I am not a candidate for liver transplant because of the hormones that are being emitted through carcinoid syndrome. I cannot complain (although I do at times at my lowest) because there are some people at the center that are truly going through a lot and are on the brink of death.

Before I get too much long-winded...

Donna and Jean...raspberries make me throw up. Blueberries do the same. I can eat a 1/2 of a banana at a time...but not every day. Right now it's only applesauce and this morning it's a peach cup with no sugar added, packed in juice is sitting well. I cannot drink 8 oz. of milk at a time. 4 oz. is okay. Today's breakfast was two scrambled eggs with no salt or pepper and no spray on the pan, a peach cup, 4 oz. of fat-free milk. That was at 7am and I can go without eating until around 1 pm. I'll be at the mall, and I'll probably eat a half of chicken sandwich with a leaf of lettuce and drink a bottle of water and that MIGHT be okay. I take a lot of Immodium (doctor prescribed) which may or may not work. Beano doesn't always work and it makes my throat feel strange. I tried buying one of those Nutri Bullets to make smoothies...bad, bad, bad. Kohl's took it back without question after I explained. The traffic in VB is so bad these days...it drives my husband nuts. Once we sell his dad's house we probably will never go to VB again.

Maggie, hope that Will is having a good day.

Meeting my oldest daughter today at the mall this afternoon. Today is a somewhat good day. Last night was filled with severe bloating and gas which is getting better. Walking is good for that although I don't feel like it. Doctor says to do it. Wayne will be home tomorrow. Yay! We have a movie date for Friday. Last week, we saw Risen.

♪♥♫ GOOD DAY IN MARCH MAGNOLIAS

I am going to get the plants today to plant in my neat wooden box we got that is for inside planting of herbs. There is a little hole about the size of a nickel in the bottom with screen over it and directions said to line the box with plastic and be sure and cut a hole over the drain spot. I used a plastic bag that was large enough and then they said after all the planting soil was in it then cut the excess plastic off around the top. I have done what I could now so that it is ready for the rest of it done when we get the supplies. We noticed yesterday that herbs are on sale now. I have a nice grow light out in our little building here so we need to locate it. I do have the box sitting on a table in front of a window so it will get the afternoon sun since the other side had a nice window but there is an awning over it so I chose to put it over there. I am excited to get this all started now. Their directions said to place it in a bright window and I think the grow light will help if the window doesn’t let enough sun come in. This box is wooden and 6 inches wide and 15 ½ inches long and 9 inches deep. It has a nice looking little box in the front which holds the sizzlers for snipping the herbs. It is a nice size for what I want to grow and looks good sitting on the table. I love cooking with fresh herbs. I had a nice set up with a grow light system while we were in Kansas in a kitchen window seal. This set up will be different here but I do think it will work fine. Getting my herbs all planted will be nice today. I am going to hopefully get the following: Basil sweet leaves, Chives, Dill, Oregano, Parsley flat & curly, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Sweet Margarine, and French Tarragon. I have information covering the use of all of these.

We just got back from buying those plants so now is to get them in the soil. Now is to get another grow light if we can’t locate that one we have in the store house we have this afternoon. Probably easier to buy a new one for this project. When we go after a while to pick up our laundry we will look for one,

Nothing much else going on today but it is windy and sunny.

GAIL That is so wonderful you have such a good folks that are great to you and support is so important.

DONNA FAYE Hopefully you have good news with your doctor visit.

JEAN Popcorn for dinner ~ interesting. That is neat that there is a new one working like that for it will help you out.

I am back for a moment ~ I got all my inside plants planted in that planter and fed and watered and on a table in the sun. The 8 plants fit nicely in that nice planter so we shall see how they grow for the food I have fed them. And BTW I got the mess I made all cleaned up also.

.

Good Afternoon! The sun has appeared just in time to start going down. It's been another cold windy day here. Crazy weather! We counted church money this morning and balanced on the first try. The new secretary must be on the "old" secretary's new time schedule (9:00 or later) because she didn't come in to help us. The job is now considered part-time so the hours can be whatever I guess. I don't know if I picked up a stomach bug somewhere, or what, but have the chills this afternoon and spent most of my time in the bathroom. I don't have time to be sick!

"Gma," we have a funeral director who went to school down south somewhere. There was a restaurant next to the funeral home that closed and he went into partnership with others and opened a bar-b-q place because he liked it so much when he was in school. We haven't tried it but others have said it is greasy, which I don't need. Hope your shoulder feels better soon!

Gail, I hope you enjoyed your time with your daughter at the mall. When we have time I love the mall in Sioux Falls, but I am not a good shopper. Forty years ago it was quite small but has been added on to several times over the years. All the big name stores that aren't in the mall are close by so if I have a list, and am organized, it's good. We are usually on a time schedule because of soccer, football, or baseball games. Sioux City has a much smaller mall with several empty stores so it isn't as handy to shop there. When I go to advanced, the other posts aren't there.

Maggie, have fun with your new plants! My amaryllis plant is outgrowing it's pot, the leaves are huge! When Bob got home from his meeting last night, he said the board has decided to allow pets in all three facilities; two pets for a $500 deposit and $20 per month "rent." Either dogs or cats, and one may have two. Guess I know where we will be going with the "boys."

I need to think of something for supper, a scrambled egg maybe. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Good morning...I do not understand why some of my posts will "take" and others will not. It is frustrating to post and then it will not appear because it tells me I'm not logged in when clearly I did log in. So...one more time...

Jean, I could teach you the art of Shopping 101 if we lived closer. Shopping is a sport for me. I know that seems shallow of me but I do love shopping/buying for others--especially my daughters and grandchildren. I hit the sales racks first especially in J Jill store (my favorite store for me). In fact, those sales people KNOW me by name. They have even wanted to hire me but of course I cannot work. Yes, I enjoyed my time at the mall with my oldest daughter. We went out to lunch and I bought her a celebration gift for getting a new position at work.

Maggie, I do not have a green thumb. I do not grow plants. I kill plants. Wayne swears that's another sport of mine. I do have plants growing inside my home but I'm not allowed to touch them--he waters them! This is a well known fact in my family.

It is extremely windy in Delaware today. Just got off the phone with the hubster and he's either coming home tonight or early tomorrow. He's getting a lot done in the house down in VB. We have got to get that house on the market soon. Taxes will be due in a few months which is okay because if we have to pay them we can claim them on our 2016 income tax return. As much as I complain about traffic and taxes in VB, I wouldn't mind if we still has the house in June so the rest of the family and I would have a place to stay and we could attend the boardwalk art show.

Okay, lets see if this posts...

Good morning! Wayne surprised me and came home late last night with a truck load of furniture. Now I have to decide where to incorporate it with our own. I'm hoping my daughters will take some of it which they already have...but...where to put it?! Some of it is sentimental and do not want to give it away--it should stay in the family. Tomorrow, we are supposed to get some snow. Not much but I don't like going out in it so I'll do my grocery shopping today.

Donna, my favorite food in the whole wide world is a crab cake. And I eat them often because thankfully my body likes them as well! I can tell you where all the good crab cakes are in Virginia Beach. I can also tell you where they are in Delaware and Maryland. In Virginia Beach, hush puppies are served with them and that is one food my body does not like and will cause me a world of hurt. I didn't know you had colon surgeries. I'm sure you told me but my brain forgets. So you know about the type of anxiety I can have! I absolutely positively hate going to a public restroom as I am LOUD. Enough said about that! I've been blessed that I can shop whenever I want. I shop but I don't always buy....for myself. Yep, this old body of mine has been through a lot but so has your's. Just a different story is all.

Maggie, there are a lot of farmers in my family history on my dad's side and my mom was a fantastic gardener but none of that talent rubbed off on me. Mainly, on my dad's side, they were fishermen...and I can remember fishing nets being mended in the backyard of my grandparents' house. And I have picked a lot of fish out of nets when I was younger.

Hi Jean...Hi Susan....

Good Afternoon! It's another gloomy windy day here. I went to the library to return the two books I just brought home, then discovered I had read them both once I started reading. Stopped by the neighboring grocery store for a couple things I forgot yesterday at the other store. I need to get busy on the deep corner cleaning since I have both crafty club and card club here in a couple weeks. My heart is not in that today but I need to get started. I thought I had posted yesterday, but obviously I did not.

Gail, I had the same problem as you, site would say I wasn't logged in to post, and I was, then it would dump my two cents worth. I should have said I love to go through stores to look at dishes, furniture, etc., just don't like clothes shopping and especially when I need something specific for a wedding, reception, etc. Are the crab cakes frozen ones that you buy at the store or freshly caught? I don't think I have knowingly had crab.

Maggie, I hope Will's appointment with his doctor went well. It's so nice of your neighbor to take him. I've never worn anything made from animal fur. My mom had a mink coat and I had two teddy bears made from it for Maddy and Zowie. Bob's grandma had a mink coat and when she died, her three daughters had stoles made; I have one taking up space in the closet. I do have a snake skin clutch purse that Bob sent from Vietnam, which I would never ever, ever never carry. In fact I don't think it's ever been out of the plastic bag it was shipped in.

"Gma," the funeral home guy just put up the money for the restaurant, he still has his funeral business. It's the only one in town so is always busy. His wife comes from money and they are the ones who built the huge fancy house at the end of our street a few years ago. How do you fix your crab cakes? I asked what hours the new secretary will work and they are 9-3, three days, 9-5 one day, and 9-12 on Friday. It will be interesting to see who is there otherwise. The education director is in and out during the day, and doesn't come in until 10 because she has kids' groups two days after school with Fridays off. The pastor's day off is Tuesday and whenever he can leave a few minutes early. It won't be me!

I need to get busy! Hope you all enjoy this terrific Thursday!