WEEKEND EVENTS

I won't discuss the football games. Our teams lost except for Sylvia Grider who has an undergraduate degree from UT. I have a graduate degree from there but it doesn't count. What was interesting was the TV coverage on the Mumbai massacre. Our son had eaten in the restaurant in Islamabad a couple of weeks before it was destroyed by bombers and our granddaughter, Vanessa, had eaten in the restaurant in the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai last summer when she was on a mission trip for her church to India. It is interesting how the news can come close to home when it is on the other side of the world.

We had a good weekend with Kathy's family. After Thanksgiving day together Jim, Mandi and their sons went home Friday with Jon-Marc. Kathy, Keith, Valerie went home to San Antonio and Vanessa to Lubbock Saturday morning. We enjoyed the good food and company. Lou still has pain all the time but she enjoys the company.

Tomorrow Lou will start the oral chemo protocol by taking five little pills before breakfast. She found the energy to check her email this morning while I went to church. She said she could eat some chicken-fried steak from Staghorn restaurant that was recognized in Texas Monthly as a good restaurant in a small town. I picked up a single order and we split it. Lou ate a couple of bites of steak, mashed potatoes, salad (I put blue cheese dressing on her part) and a couple of bites of roll with gravy. I got the large portion. She ate a small dip of frozen yogurt for dessert while I made mine a chocolate nut sundae.

I finished my online edition of the Flame by converting it to a PDF file and emailing it to my church mailing list yesterday. It wasn't really professional looking but worked when I wasn't sure I could do it. Today I copied it as an HTML file and tried to put that on the church blog, but that effort failed. I have a lot to learn about this Internet stuff. Our SS lesson this morning talked about being "slightly imperfect" and my Flame fell in that category.

Continue to pray for Lou as she starts a new round of chemo.

FAT AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING

It has been a happy day with all of Kathy's family and Sylvia Grider enjoying a lot of good food and fellowship. Because Sylvia is a Longhorn we even have someone enjoying the A&M - TU game. Everyone else is an Aggie rooter and not too happy.

Jon-Marc got Christopher and Brent help him fill my deer feeder. Then he and Christopher went out into the woods on an exploratory hike while Keith and Jim helped me diagnose the septic tank and decided it would take some heavy equipment to work on it.

Kathy made a great breakfast this morning and then she and Mandi cooperated on turkey, ham, corn pudding, greenbean casserole, sweetpotatoes, dressing, cranberries, and all kinds of dessert with my favorite being the chocolate meringue pie from Bryan that Sylvia brought.

Lou even ate some at each meal but is still feeling bad. She took some laxative before bed tonight in hopes that will help some. She thought she had some temperature but we had our budding nurse Vanessa use my swipe the forehead gauge and we don't think it is giving good readings. Lou doesn't have any excessive temperature.

Oh well the Cowboys won today.

LOU IS DANCING

Lou said that if she didn't have to take chemo today that she would dance out of the doctor's office. She forgot to dance but she didn't have to take infusion chemo. Dr. Hancock prescribed Alkeran (Melphalan)
Melphalan is a cancer medication. Melphalan interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their growth and spread in the body. Melphalan is used to treat multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer), cancer of the ovary, and breast.
(I copied that from a search.)
She has to take 5 pills a day for 5 days starting Monday for the month. The primary side effects are lowering immunity of her system. Her next appointment is Dec. 29. The pharmacist said that someone would call by Tuesday to see how she was reacting to the meds.

She was so happy to get through by 9:30 that she even got hungry. We visited with Mary Kathryn and Mark got off of work early and we all ate at Olive Garden in Weatherford. Lou even ate a little salad and some shrimp and pasta. The first time that she has eaten in two weeks. We got home before 3 and got a nap. Kathy and her daughter Val went with us. About 5 our TT student got in and 5:30 Dr.Sylvia Grider drove in from Bryan complaining about the college students passing her on the right shoulder coming out of A&M. But she got here safely. The rest of Kathy's family is on the highway headed this way for a big Thanksgiving.

Your prayers are being answered.

TVLESS WEEKEND

I goofed up again. Dish TV sent me a smart card that wouldn't go in the receiver so they sent out another new receiver. I decided Saturday morning would be a good time to install it. It took about all of my strength to try to take out the old one and screw the connections into the new one. It turned on OK but wouldn't send a signal to the TV. I checked everything I knew to check and called their help line. I spent a good hour following instructions to no avail. All I got was a blue TV screen. We had disconnected the outside antenna so that I couldn't ever go that route. I called the technician who was here adjusting the satellite dishes a couple of days ago. He gave me a number to call and the recording while waiting said they were available 365 days a year, but when I asked for a technician to come out Saturday they said it would be Monday before they could schedule one. So we couldn't watch the TTU-OU game. We tried all the local radio stations that were carrying it and couldn't get a hearable station. I went to ESPN on the net and tried their play by play "live" broadcast but it was lousy. It did keep us up with the score well enough that we were glad we didn't have TV to watch.

So it has been a quiet weekend of reading. Lou finished Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters and yesterday picked up Elmer Kelton's The Sandhills Boy and is getting ideas for her memoirs when she can get back to writing. She still can't stand the sight of food but this morning ate a little cereal, one half biscuit with her milk and coffee. For lunch I talked her into chicken noodle soup. She ate some soup with a few noodles and one cracker with her milk. Tonight after a coke and a couple of cheetos she did eat one-half a container of yogurt, one-half boiled egg, a few grapes one-quarter apple with her glass of milk. She has quit taking her ginger pills because the large pills make her gag when she tries to swallow them.

Our daughter and her oldest daughter are coming in Tuesday night and will get up at 5:30 to drive to FW for the next Drs. appointment and possibly another chemo round. Wednesday the rest of Kathy's family along with Sylvia Grider will come in for Thanksgiving Thursday. I just got a phone call from my brother, Robert, and he said they will try to come by Friday for a short visit before going up to Altus to visit one of his grandsons. So it will be a merry week.

Today after church, Georgia Allen flagged me down as I was leaving and asked about Lou and told me that they were praying for her. Georgia and her husband Doyle Allen are both black Methodist ministers. Doyle preached today. He was our District Superintendent about 15 years ago and has been in the Conference office since. Georgia was a revival preacher for us many years ago. Wonderful people.

HARD WEEK

Last Friday I reported that the CA125 was down a little bit. Lou had chemo that Wednesday and things got worse Saturday and Sunday with so much pain that she took four pain pills a day that caused constipation that by Monday was bad. She didn't eat anything Monday and vomited up what little she did eat. She was running out of nausea pills and I called to get them refilled in Abilene. The nurse said that if she didn't get relief that they were worried about a tumor blocking the colon and to go to the emergency room in Abilene and get a "picture of her tummy". Lou said no that she knew what the problem was and took a dose of Milk of Magnesia Monday night. That worked. Tuesday morning the blockage was removed and she was relieved by that. Her appetite returned a little and she asked for a waffle for breakfast and ate 1/4 of one. She rested while Lydia cleaned the house but had some fever. When I went to Abilene Wednesday to get her prescriptions refilled I called the nurse who told me to start keeping a record of her temperature and again said to take her to the emergency room if it got bad. When I got home I checked about 3 p.m. and it was 99.7 but dropped later.
She still complains of feeling punk and hurting in her abdomen and back. She sleeps in the morning and afternoon and only checks her email about every three days. She is feeling a little better today but still is not eating much. She isn't nauseous but doesn't have any appetite. She hasn't been outside for the week. She is a little better every day after a really bad Monday. She says she doesn't know if she can face another round of this chemo.

She really hated that she missed the Joyce Thompson lecture by Fran Vick Monday but said she was glad she made the decision not to go after feeling so bad. Lou was overwhelmed by an email from Jeff Singleton who has put together a prayer team of all faiths in the Metroplex to pray for her. She appreciates all of your prayers. It is one thing that helps her get through the day.

It finally got below freezing on Halsell Hill this morning reaching 30 degrees. Abilene reported a freeze last Wednesday. They are predicting a nice day for Thanksgiving next Thursday. I still have to write my Livestock Weekly column that comes out that day. We are seeing the deer every day but the turkeys haven't come back. Lou says that the fox we are seeing is a new mother fox who will have kits soon.

NEW CA125 RESULTS

Dr. Hancock's office called with Wednesday's CA125 test results. It is down again a little. The reading was 293 down from 322 two weeks ago and the 355 four weeks ago. Lou is doing fairly well today and ate scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast a little of my shrimp stir fry at lunch.

I think I ran the 6 turkeys off this morning when I walked to mail some letters. They were in the road at the front gate and ran out through the gate when I came up the hill behind them. The spike buck and a doe are still here at the feeder this afternoon. The cold front blew through about noon and is howling in the chimney. Sounds a lot colder than it is. Our red oaks are changing color but in their usual random fashion. Some have changed completely but others have only a few spots turning red in the canopy. The leaves are blowing off the oak at the pond and keeping me busy raking them out. This new wind ought to really make a job for me tomorrow.

WILDLIFE UPDATE
This morning when I drove to the mailbox I saw three turkeys. We haven't had turkeys on the place for years. I told Lou about them. Also there were two deer at the Halsell House.

Then this afternoon I looked out of the window and there were three deer watching six turkeys who wandered all around the house eating bugs. Then I noticed that one of the deer had a small set of horns. Must be his first year as a buck.

For the last several days we have had four big raccoons that come in to clean up the sunflower seeds on the terrace that are for the birds. The aggravating things then shinny up the pole on the metal bird feeder and pull the wooden bird roost out. I have had to replace it three times in the last week. They also clean out the seeds in the feeder.

I haven't seen the skunks lately, but we do have the a couple of foxes active in the back yard. This morning one was lying in the sun waiting for me to put feed out. I think we have spoiled all of our wildlife.

Lou had a little better day today. She always does the day after taking the steroids with her chemo. She ate a little oatmeal this morning but the fox got most of it. She ate a couple of bites of fish for lunch and a little better fruit, cheese and crackers and Activa for supper along with a glass of wine. She is dreading tomorrow and the days after. She has cancelled her trip to Denton Monday to hear Fran Vick give this year's Joyce Thompson lecture. She has missed very few Thompson lectures since they were started.

3RD CHEMO IN THIS SERIES

Today Lou had her third chemo in this round. We had a good day for the drive with cloud cover going in and some coming back into the sun. Scheduled for 2 p.m. we got in at 1 and started the chemo at 1:30 that let her finish and get in the car by 3. We got home before 5. Lou has felt miserable all week and wasn't looking forward to this day, but made it fairly well. She hasn't been hungry all week. She at a poached egg this morning and a little toast. Neither of us were hungry at lunch but split a ready made sandwich and a few baked potato chips for lunch with a few sips of coke. Tonight Lou ate a little yogurt with some crackers and cheese. The nurse advised her to take a nausea pill tonight with the pain pill and nausea pills tomorrow morning and tomorrow night. She was sleepy because she hadn't had any naps except for a few winks in the chemo chair. I tell her to sleep more to build up her resistance.

I have almost finished the HISTORY OF THE CHEROKEE NATION. I had it in the waiting room and the couple sitting across from us remarked that his parents were married on the border of Indian Territory about the time it became a state. He now lives in Fort Worth.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

DOUBLE EVENT WEEKEND
I have amazingly accomplished daughter and daughter-in-laws. The two Kathys helped Sue's children prepare a great 80th birthday party for Sue Saturday afternoon. Kathy R. made one of her famous strawberry cakes for the BD cake. They both made a lot of sandwiches. Three kinds of punches to drink. The event was held in the Baptist Family Life center and the kids all had a basketball court to use. Logan Livesay, Sue's grandson, was not only shooting baskets but his dad had photos of the large buck Logan shot for his first deer. They hunted on the Livesay place at Stephenville.

That was followed the the first Lord's Acre in our new Methodist church. A long time tradition of serving a turkey dinner, having a Little Store selling small crafts and baked goods plus an artist, Mary Barton doing silhouette cutouts all followed by the auction at 7 p.m. Mary Kathryn has always donated her craftwork to the auction. For the last several years she has donated a beautiful jacket that gets a lot of attention and this year she added four stacks of six pillows that she makes for Cook Children's hospital with four different themes. Two were for seasons of the year, one for boys and the other for girls. All sold for good prices. Mandi, Kathy Wilcox's daughter-in-law had her two sons there and they fell in love with a huge dog that she won for them and a few minutes later a young girl had joined them sitting on the dog. I had donated five bolos but only saw two of them sell. Those two did better than I expected.

Lou is doing better. She was able to take pain pills yesterday and make Sue's party but couldn't make the Lord's Acre. Mark, Mary K and her mother all left to go back to Weatherford last night. Kathy W., Vanessa and Mandi all went home after breakfast this morning. I taught SS class and served as worship leader at church. We had a guest pastor who is the Chaplain at Harris Hospital in Stephenville plus a Baptism service by Rev. Wallace Bennett for two of his grandchildren. It was Veterans Service and the children all signed certificates that they handed each veteran. We have veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and I think the Gulf War in the congregation. The Navy, Army and Air Force were all represented. We also celebrated over $13,000 raised by the Lord's Acre event.

Lou and I got a nap this afternoon and watched the last half of the Mavericks and LA Clippers. The Mavs lost.

HOUSTON ODYSSEY

Thursday we drove to Houston and hit the 620 bypass at 4:00 and took 45 minutes to get to the Hampton Inn at the Medical Center area. Lou did fairly well but had to make several pit stops. We got to bed early and got up at our regular time Friday morning. We ate the free hot breakfast and Lou ate some food for the first time in several days. Two other regents were staying there and we had breakfast with them.

We drove to the TWU building and missed driving up to the 3rd floor so the guard told us to park in a handicapped spot on the ground floor. When we left we had a ticket but the office said they would take care of it. Lou attended the Regent's meeting and I read The CHEROKEE NATION HISTORY by Robert Conley. I got past the photos pages and was surprised to see that all of the early Chiefs were dressed in suits and ties and all had a lot of facial hair. I had always grown up with the concept that American Indians had little facial hair.

Conley gives an interesting view of the history from the Indian viewpoint. He detailed the Trail of Tears story in more detail than I had read before. It is interesting how the various factions within the Cherokee culture continue their feuds from back in their past related to giving up their land in the East and moving to Oklahoma Territory. The Cherokees were one of the most civilized tribes with a government, homes, farms, a written language with a newspaper, but the Europeans still took their land with treaties that were continually broken. As with the other tribes especially in the East they were decimated by the diseases that the Europeans brought with them. Many tribes had up to 90 percent wiped out by smallpox and other new diseases.

In 1809 Tecumsah tried to get all of the Indian tribes to form a national consortium to work together to drive the Europeans back. When they wouldn't cooperate, he said he would go back home and stamp his feet and the earth would shake. In 1811 the Madrid Fault did shake the Georgia area but the Cherokees who had moved to Missouri were shaken so badly that they moved down to Arkansas. Another prophet predicted a hail storm that would destroy everyone if they didn't follow his advice. When the storm didn't come the day he predicted they didn't follow him. They were never able to form a concentrated front to oppose the white invasion. Later the plains Indians had the same problem. They were so used to fighting each other they couldn't combine forces to oppose the invaders. Conley's book is very well researched with a lot of references and a glossary with each chapter to explain Indian names. He even uses entries from Bibles in his family to supplement the history. If you want to know more about the Cherokees, read this book.

We left Houston at 3 p.m. and drove the 313 miles getting home at 9:15 to find our children and some grandchildren plus two great grandsons here and going to bed or in bed. We got to bed and had a good night's sleep. Lou ate a good breakfast this morning and seems to be getting over the chemo somewhat.