Biopsies

Last Tuesday we took Beth to the dermatologist for two biopsies on her scalp. She's been on a topical medication for the scarring alopecia but it's gotten worse.

I made the appointment more than two months ago but we told Beth about it the day before. We didn't know how she would take it and didn't want her nervous for days leading up to it.

Chuck had two punch biopsies when he was going through treatment for melanoma so he explained to her exactly what would happen, and took the day off to come with us.

The morning of the appointment I believe the Holy Spirit told me to call them about a chair. When Chuck had his done he was just sitting on the table in the exam room. Beth does not like those because they're so high off the ground and there's nothing to support her and nothing to hang onto. 

So I called and asked if there was any way they could do the procedure while she sat in a chair. They put me on hold, then came back and said they absolutely could do that, and it wouldn't be a problem. I was so relieved!

When we walked into the room, there was - like a dentist chair in the middle of the room! 

It was perfect for her! They even put her feet up to really make her comfortable! They gave her the numbing medication, then got right to work. Did two biopsies and were done in less than 10 minutes. 

One thing I've learned to do when Beth is at the doctor is to watch her hands. If she's gripping the arm rest or her hands are in a fist, I know she's in pain or is really scared.

Doing the actual biopsy

Putting in the stitches

She was so chill. Even the doctor said, "You didn't even flinch! You're the first one today who didn't flinch!"

I'll add a picture of her scalp but I'll leave it small. Although the spots are pretty tiny. You can always click on it if you'd like.

So now we wait for the results. There's no cure, it will just tell us the best treatment to keep it from spreading anymore and to make sure there's nothing else going on with her scalp. 

Our Days Have Been Full

 Good evening friends,

I'm writing this on Monday night, although when I was getting on the laptop almost 30 minutes ago, I uploaded some photos, then noticed the desktop was cluttered with documents and so I started organizing those... and now my sister is calling from San Diego. 

Okay, so now it's Tuesday afternoon. Chuck is at a doctor's appointment and Beth is down in her place watching TV. We've been so busy lately. All good things, but just really full days.

Chuck and I took a drive over the weekend, headed east over the 520 floating bridge and into Bellevue, Redmond and Issaquah. It was nice to get away for a few, just us. Mount Rainier was out in all her glory, so close it felt like you could reach out and touch it.

This is a picture of one of the bridges (Seattle has two floating bridges) that I took a few years ago flying into SEA Airport. The bridge is on pontoons that float in the somewhat shallow water.

Mount Rainier from the bridge

We've been video chatting with Diana and the kids. Adelaide was helping her make chocolate chip cookies.

Beth had a doctor's appointment and needed to get some lab work done so they could check her thyroid.

And Christmas. I am so ready to decorate for Christmas! The other night I fixed some hot chocolate with whipped cream and watched a Christmas movie. I don't know, it just felt right!

Chuck should be home soon from his appointment so I need to get ready to go to our storage unit. We're putting away my greeting card/market displays and bringing back Christmas decorations! We usually wait until after Thanksgiving but for some reason this year, I want to decorate now. Do you usually wait for a certain day to decorate?

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

Mysterious Moving Magnets

Hello Friends!

I really do consider you friends. I think about you during the week and wonder how you're doing. I wish I could just travel the country and visit each one of you, stopping for coffee, conversation, and a big hug. I hope you're doing well.

I forgot to tell you I took Beth to the bowling alley last week to pick up her bag. She absolutely loves it! It's hard to be the only one without, and now she has the same type of bag as all her friends.

Okay, onto the story behind the title.

I like to collect refrigerator magnets. The rectangle ones are good, I've purchased some of those, but my favorites are the unique ones. Even our girls will sometimes bring one back when they've been traveling.

These tell the story of our lives. Places we've visited, adventures we've had. Sometimes when I'm waiting for the tea kettle to get hot I'll just look them over and reminisce about how we've had such a good life. And I've experienced many things others have just dreamed about.

These are just a few:

One day I come out to the kitchen and notice one or two of the magnets are missing. I can tell there are empty spaces where they used to be. Interesting. So I move them around a little to fill in the spaces and go about my day. 

A week or two later, same thing. Empty spaces. This went on for a while. And I notice the side of the fridge is becoming full. 'What in the world? How did they get over here?' And I'd put them back on the front. 

Then one day I see Beth taking them off the front of the fridge. When I asked her why she was moving them to the side she said it was too busy. "You have too many magnets." 😄

A Little of This and That

 Hi everyone,

Last night was very blustery. It was cold, we had a lot of heavy rain, and there were pretty strong wind gusts (for us anyway.) Our lights flickered a few times and even went out once. Just for a few seconds. Long enough where we had to reset all the clocks. Today our yard and driveway are full of small branches and twigs. And the car windshields are covered with pine needles. Wet pine needles. I'm very grateful though that all the tall evergreen trees remained upright. One of my constant prayers during this time of year.

Speaking of trees, we live in a small greenbelt and I've been keeping my eye on this one tree in a neighbors yard that was really dead. I walked outside the other day to see a tree trimmer taking it down! I'm so relieved it never fell and landed on our homes or cars. Can you see that little orange dot where the trunk ends and the branches begin? That's the guy just starting to remove all the branches.

I took part in a Holiday Market last weekend. I've made my own greeting cards for more than 20 years but I just started selling them last year. Once we all get set up it's fun to walk around and see what everyone else has made. Then when it opens the people flow in and they stop to talk, sometimes more than shop. I loved it though. I think we're all desperate for connection.

Everyone is still setting up their booths. I ran upstairs to get a picture. 

That's my table at the bottom.

I was washing dishes the other day and saw the sun shining on the trees across the street. I turned off the water and ran out to get a picture. This is my view from the kitchen and dining room and I love watching these leaves change every year.

Let's see, what else. Chuck is in Denver visiting his sister. She had a stroke 20 years ago and has been paralyzed on her right side. Last year at this time she broke her right ankle and has been in and out of hospitals and rehab centers ever since. She hasn't been home in over a year. So he's there helping out where he can for a few days.

That's about all from here. I hope you're having a good start to the fall season. Are you as shocked as I am that November starts the end of this week?  

Beth's Birthday Celebration

Hi everyone, 

It seems I've been away from this blog for weeks. When I looked at the calendar this morning and realized it's only been 8 days I felt better.

My days have been so full. And I've been driving a lot of places, something I don't do very often. Most things are within one mile of our house so going up and down the freeway numerous times feels like a lot. And the drivers! They don't pay attention, don't use turn signals. It's so frustrating. It's such a relief when I pull into the driveway! I don't know how people commute everyday!

We celebrated Beth's birthday last weekend. She wanted to go to Red Robin for dinner, then bowling afterward.

She likes to go to the same place she bowls every Wednesday, she knows the place well, and they know her.

We don't bowl very often and it feels a little awkward at first, but then you get used to it, and we really like it. We just found out that since Beth is on a league there, she gets two free games a week! So I'm going to try and take her more often.

Ally had homework to do so Sharaya took her home, then came to our house for cake and presents. 

Her old vacuum broke so we've been dragging our heavy vacuum up and down the stairs. Having her own again is going to be so nice!

Gift cards are her favorite gift. She loves getting - and giving - them! She also got a couple of skirts, and a rolling bowling ball bag. I guess a lot of her friends have them and she's been asking for one. It was shipped to the bowling alley and we're planning to go up today to get it.

She found a full size sprinkle cake a couple weeks ago and said that's the one she wanted for her birthday. I went back later to get one but the lady said she was filling in because the decorator was on vacation and she didn't know when more would be made. When I went back a few days later the same lady was there, and said they had fresh cakes. She pulled out the only sprinkle one the had left, only to find a tiny fruit fly on it. She was so embarrassed and had to toss the cake. Thankfully they had a few of these smaller ones and I bought a different cake for the rest of us. I think Beth was kind of excited to have her own personal cake. 😃 

I'm taking part in a Holiday Market tomorrow. I started making greeting cards to sell back in January and finished up the last few yesterday. I bought another tabletop spinning card holder, and packed the large bin this morning. There's more than 50 vendors and we're all setting up our tables today. I love this event and am so excited to be able to be a part of it. 

It's crazy to think we're in the middle of October already. I'm sorry I haven't read blogs lately. With the birthdays, and work, and the market my days have been so full. Yesterday afternoon I had some tea with caffeine but it didn't help much. I'm so tired come evening. Lots of energy in the morning though!

Well I need to close this and check on Beth, make sure she's getting ready. We've got to get to the bowling alley and home again, and then I'll go set up for the market.

I hope you have a great day!

She Was So Caught Up in the Excitement

Beth's birthday is October 10th and she's been talking about it for months. Back in July, "My birthday comin' up!" She gets so excited about it!

She sends the family her birthday list, talks about what she wants, and when she thinks of something new she tells me to "add this to my list."  

We'll be celebrating on Sunday afternoon but she's been celebrating most of this week. On Tuesday she told some of her friends at All aboard that her birthday was on Friday. 

Then on Wednesday all the bowlers get to go up front and tell everyone their birth date. Then they sing Happy Birthday.

The DART bus was going to be very late so I took her to the bowling alley yesterday and she walked in at 9:59, just in time! I was parking the car and missed her telling her age.

I don't think she saw me because she flew by me and headed down the bowling alley so I followed her. I guess each person celebrating their birthday that month gets to spin the wheel. I don't know how they figure it but she got to spin it three times!

You can tell she's so excited about her cold-hard cash and she walked by me again! She was so caught up in the excitement she never even saw me!

You can see how close she is to me in the photo above but she walked right past me! I had to run to catch up with her and asked if I could get a picture.

She loves bowling so much. Can you guess what she said when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday?

Today at work she saw the Happy Birthday signs I had hung up, everyone was telling her Happy Birthday, and a co-worker gave her a small bag of gifts. Then on Sunday the celebrations will continue: we'll go to Red Robin for dinner, and then to the bowling alley. Then back here for cake and presents. 

Happy Birthday Beth! 

It's finally here!