Cathy's Journey: August 2017

Well, it's been a couple of months since I've updated my blog. We've had a nice, relaxing summer. Abby and Kylie were here until August 14. The girls did a lot of swimming and playing together and really enjoyed each other. We went to the drive-in movie one night, the movie in the park downtown one night and at home we watched Moana about 4 times!!!! We love having them here with us in the summer and are always sad to see them go back to Idaho.

Thomas and I did manage to get away for 4 days to Cripple Creek, Colorado. We stayed in the nicest cabin (was more like a small house) called The Williamsburg out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by aspen trees. There was a rushing stream about 15 yards from the cabin. The surroundings were just breathtaking. We weren't that impressed with Cripple Creek....just a small town with a bunch of casinos. On the way back to the airport, we discovered Manitou Springs which is a VERY cool little town. It had lots of eating places, lots of little shops and the most awesome arcade. It had every arcade game you could ever imagine and they were really cheap. We also stopped at the U.S. Air Force Academy which was interesting. Of course our flight was delayed so we got home a lot later than we were supposed to but all in all, we really enjoyed 4 days of just taking it easy.

As you may or may not know, I retired from teaching in May after 30 years. Well, my retirement was short lived. In July, I just happened to see on the Francis Tuttle website that they were looking for a "part-time" Pre AP Geometry teacher. Geometry is my very favorite thing to teach and Pre AP....even better!! So I interviewed and got the job. I work Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30-2:00 and every other Friday same hours. I have SEVEN students!!! It is the most perfect part-time job I could ask for. It's almost like it was made for me. In fact, this is the first year they've hired a part-time teacher for this class and I just happened to see the posting the day before they were going to close it. The hours are perfect for me as I can sleep in if I want!!

A couple of weeks ago, Thomas and I went to Marlow for the day. We drove around and took pictures of the houses I grew up in, my high school and the chapel where we got married. I did some back-to-school shopping at the Shoe Bazaar and got a few things for the house at A Touch of Bliss. We spent some time at the cemetery and stopped at one of the roadside fruit stands on our way back to OKC and picked up a Rush Springs watermelon. Oh, and we had a wonderful Italian lunch at Giuseppe's.

As far as my cancer journey, I am still doing chemotherapy once a week. My CA125 is now down to 24 (it was 222 when I started these treatments in June). Dr. Walker says it is "coming down beautifully" and she is pleased with those results. I do chemo on Wednesday and usually Thursday I feel pretty good. But by Friday, it hits me and I am down for at least two days. I just have no energy or stamina and all I can do is sleep off and on. My platelets and neutrophils are down this week so I have to postpone treatment until next week. I should be done with treatment sometime in November. Lately I've also been dealing with sores in my throat from the chemo so it makes eating and drinking very unpleasant. I did get a prescription for a liquid that I can swish and swallow which deadens my throat some so it makes eating not quite as painful.

Fall is our favorite season around here so we are looking forward to the Oklahoma State Fair and some Oklahoma State football!

Later, Cathy

P.S. Let me apologize in advance.....these pictures are a hot mess! I just can't seem to figure out how to add the pictures to my blog. Sorry!