Graduation - At Last

Today is a day that 6 months ago I thought would never come.  Time flies, doesn't it?      

                                  

Yup!  I finally graduated in my Chemotherapy treatments.  No more IV's.   I can say, though, that it was bitter sweet as I will truly miss the friends I've made at Harrison Oncology Poulsbo Campus.  The folks there have become very special, from the gals at the front desk all the way through to the wonderful RN's and my doctor Shirisha Jain. They all made my visits tolerable and I'd have to say we had some good laughs.  It's not over as I still 7 days worth of nasty pills and must return next Monday and Tuesday for my Neupogen shots to boost my white blood cells.  But, rest assured, the worst is over and I am one HAPPY CAMPER.  I will have a six week hiatus to rest my body and regain my strength then meet with the doctor regarding follow-on treatment which will include 5 years of some type of estrogen blocker pills, but I know it won't be Temoxifin as that is for younger women.  

Anyway it is a good day for me and I will enjoy it for what it is.

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Another subject:

During the past 5 weeks I have been taking a collage and assemblage class from Tess Sinclair at the Artist's Edge in Poulsbo.  We met every Thursday morning and this worked for me as the Artist's Edge is just up the street from me.  I really enjoyed the class and my classmates.   Tess was a really fun and generous teacher.  I will take another class from her next year.

Our first assignment was a "Shrine" of our choice.  Don't know why I chose "Mermaids" but here you go:

This is the finished piece as it hangs on my wall.  Following are some close-ups:

These are some shells I had in my collection along with white "sand" collected the other morning from Oyster Plant Park, just down the street from me.  It was a cold damp morning and after I collected it I brought it home and boiled it to kill the buggies and then dried it for a few hours in my oven.  No one liked my cooking that day. 

This is a fish that my wonderful Jack carved just before he died.  In back is a transparency that I printed from mermaid picture I found on the internet

This Mermaid is from a doll pattern I got from the wonderful Barbara Willis.  I've made and  mounted it a couple of times before but I had to shrink it to get it to fit this project.  The skirt fabric came from my friend Pamela Armas of Treasures of the Gypsies.  Shells from my collection and a treasure chest (just the right size) from my favorite shopping place, Amazon.com.

The tiny sand dollars were a gift from Tess Sinclair as was the "test tube" holding more sand from Oyster Plant Park,  The green bead in the corner came from a private collection of Lois Venarchick from the bead store in Port Townsend.

The top has a poem by Walter De La Mare called "Mermaid",  another internet find.  (sorry for the blurry photo)  The fibers are from my collection.  Sometimes it just pays to have "stuff".  If only it was better organized.

The whole thing measures about 13 x 14".  I love it and am glad to share it with you all.  

"It feels mighty fine to actually finish something, especially when I haven't been feeling so great", she said as she nimbly patted herself on the back. 

"Toot your own Horn"

122 Days and Counting.

But who's counting.  Just had my second IV of my 5th chemo cycle.  3 weeks left on this one and one 28 day cycle to go.  (please don't check my math) There will be much celebrating.  I'm doing OK but most days,  "Just OK".  My mornings seem to go pretty well but by 1 or 2 o'clock I'm finished for the day.  I've started taking vitamin B12 to hopefully help me get back some energy.  Actually, I thin it's starting to work.  That's a good thing.  Also taking more nausea pills.  That is helping also.

  

There are so many things I want to be doing.  I'm excited to be taking an art class at the Artist's Edge which is just up the street.  It lasts 5 weeks and we are creating "shrines".  Mine is about mermaids and the deep blue sea.  Hopefully I will be able to post a finished picture or two in a few weeks (if I get my homework done.)

So, my sister-in-law, the wonderful Jean, took me to Trader Joe's in Silverdale the other morning.  I had two great guys checking me out, one a regular checker and the other a manager.  As they were bagging my stuff they asked how my day was going.  I asked if they really wanted to know the truth and they said yes.  So, I proceeded to give them the whole story about chemo, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, and lastly the fact that "they" had taken both my boobs off.  These guys were great.  They really cared and I felt such great empathy from them.  When I started out they wished me a great day and complete recovery.  Jean wasn't done shopping so I went to sit on the bench just inside the front door.  Suddenly appears the manager with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me.  Need less to say I cried and still tear up as I write this.  Amazing how a random act of kindness can change your perspective.  I already loved shopping there.  Now, I love it even more.  (No , this isn't and ad - well I guess it could be).

Here is a picture of something I did finish this past month.  As I walk each morning I am looking for s couple of nice feathers to add.  And - yes - I know that isn't Mr. Poe, but this guy was much better looking.  This is done on a board about 8"x10".  The base is painted with a house paint sample from Home Depot (love those things)  The little wood pieces on the edge came from my neighbor Glenn's scrap pile.  The shiny round things are furniture tacks. The Scrabble tiles are  from my huge collection of same.  The little piece of paper in the bottom right came from a stack of "spirit" paintings I did several years ago by randomly dropping paints and inks on paper (never throw anything away)  The rest is all papers and copies from my collection.  The birds eye is a stick on plastic thing from the hardware store.  Now I've given away all my secrets.  I'd like to do several of these and get them in my Etsy store.  All it takes is time.  Let me know if you have any theme ideas.

I'm also happy to report that the quilting machine is up and running again.  Yes, ladies, your quilts are actually going to get done, and soon if I have my way.  I can only work on it a couple of hours a day as my surgery is not completely healed, but I'm plugging away at it.

So, next time you hear from me I should be either done with my treatments or really close.  Can't tell you how much I am looking to get back to normal (whatever that is).  My first project will be joining a fitness and nutrition group sponsored by Poulsbo Cancer Care.  This is a new program for folks who have finished treatment.  They've learned that just 10 pounds can make a difference in recurrence and prevention of cancer.  The program includes fitness, nutrition, yoga and meditation.  I'm very excited about getting out there and getting back in shape after the last few years of taking care of Jack and now myself.  

Here's to a great next few weeks.  If you get close, give me call and come visit.