On destroying your house, on purpose

Yes folks, just about a year after we got the house in order (we moved in late August; I was determined to have it done for Christmas) we are destroying it. Temporarily, but making a giant mess nonetheless. This year, we're having the entire place painted (save for children's caves) over three days next week, and then we have to put the entire place back together--you guessed it--in time for Christmas. That is my goal. Oof, indeed.

After overdoing it on Thursday and Friday, I paid dearly yesterday. I also managed to get some sort of stomach bug thingy and spent the entire day in bed, very close by the bathroom. I'm better today, so we were able to get the majority of the massive dismantling done today, with the help of the kids. Having largish boys helps a lot, since I can't move anything heavier than about 5 lbs without pain.

Of course, now I'm IN pain, so I quit for the day. I'm going to goof off and read and do nothing else useful now. After a day of activity, like shopping or something, I usually start hurting pretty good around dinner time. Today, I'm already there and it's only 2:00, so I'm taking that as a pretty broad hint.

In other news, the tiny knitted, felted snowmen are coming out beautifully. I finished one already, and totally forgot to take a picture of it before gifting it away. Oops. I'll do better on the next one!

Time to go read my snake book and find more useless facts to post for you.

Oof!

Yup, I overdid it yesterday. It didn't really feel like it at the time, and I didn't do anything physically strenuous, but I overdid it. I'm hurting severely in several different ways today, so I'm going to have to take it realllllly easy today.

Repotting houseplants and wrapping gifts sounds like about the level of exertion I can handle, and not much more.

Not much more to report yet, since all I've done since last post is sleep till 11 am.

I did forget something last night though--anyone going to Vegas for VLV this year?!!!! (VLV = Viva Las Vegas 12th Annual Rockabilly Weekender, Easter 2009) I got the wild idea yesterday that I need a cancer-survival celebration, and going to Vegas sounds pretty good. I went ahead and booked a room since there were actually rooms open. The event got moved to a bigger hotel this year, so there are a lot more rooms. If I can't go, for either health or money reasons, or there's no one to go with, I have plenty of time to cancel.

Now I just have to save up to go! I have a little dogsitting money put away and we'll see what else I can manage. And I have to hope that Aimee gets a job real soon and she can go too.

It's something to look forward to. I need that, a lot.

Now to finish waking up and get my butt moving a little bit. But only a little bit today.

Happy Turkey Day!

I give you turkeys again just in honor of the holiday. I have no complaints to register today, really, since it's been a very nice day. We got tons of stuff done around the house, getting ready for the painting chaos, first with the parade on tv, and later with Kermie, Piggy, Swedish Chef and company singing Christmas songs to keep us company.

Then we kicked back for a few hours, made a nice Thanksgiving dinner for just the two of us (we got a turkey breast--all the yum, with a tenth of the work!) and then had a three-hour Grey's Anatomy marathon. We're still only two episodes into this season, mind you, but it was still a lot of fun.

(The bit with the hyper kid that George took into the OR was one of the best tv moments in years, IMHO)

And I knitted tiny accessories for tiny snowmen. I love my tiny felted snowmen. Tiny felted snowmen fall into the category of "things which require very little thought and even less stress to make" and are therefore just for fun. I also finished a trilobite for a small girl, save for sewing on the eyes. A knitted trilobite was actually an item on her Christmas list. I shit you not. Lord knows, I aim to please.

Tomorrow will bring more work, of course, but I'm fine with that. It's actually kind of nice to be well enough that I can do something that feels productive. I can't do as much as I want to, and Lloyd has to police me to make sure I don't push myself too far, but it's still nice to feel like I can contribute. I had to quit fairly early today, but still. I solved actual problems and discovered just how much that closet under the stairs can hold. Tomorrow, I get to replant some houseplants which have outgrown their quarters and work on bookcases and such.

Well, and to be fair, I do have one complaint--pain. Lots and lots of pain this evening. Evenings are hard, after being up and doing just about anything at all during the day. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a really bad thing that I'm kind of used to it now. At least with the kids gone, I feel free to yell loudly as needed, when needed without fear of alarming someone. I think Lloyd is used to me and my random loud expletives by now.

I guess that's it...I have a well-fed, happy snoring husband and two REALLY well-fed, happy snoring doggies here with me and a few cats rampaging up and down the stairs. Gracie discovered the joys of turkey today, but tryptophan seems to have no effect on her...

I hope everyone out there had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Sappy as it sounds, I know that I really have a lot to be thankful for this year. Well, I always do, but it seems rather more poignant this year. I am alive, I have all my hair, I'm recovering, I have a paid-off house, purring cats and snoring dogs, I have a husband who loves me and takes really great care of me, and I have an incredible family and friends.

Love you all!

More countdowns

Tomorrow night at this time, I will be alone with my husband, sans children! Whee! And only another 8 days until oncology.

And tonight, we added a new milestone to our countdown list: Only nine more days until we have to have our entire house 90% ready to be painted. Yikes! We don't have to pack up and move everything, just large bunches of things, including emptying all my bookcases in the living room, and eventually, moving our giant bed into the middle of the room.

My original plans of a quiet, leisurely Thanksgiving have changed rather dramatically. I was planning on doing Christmas decorating, to make sure it got done before radiation....nope! Instead, we'll be going gangbusters to get the rooms prepped before the painting starts on the 4th. The AMAZINGLY GOOD NEWS about it though is that it's going to be done in three days. Three! That's it! I guess that's the payoff for hiring the same painter that the builder used to paint all the houses in the first place, huh?

It's going to be a hell of a lot of work, but the timing is good, because all the work in preparing and then putting the rooms back together should be done before I'm in radiation, and we'll have everything repainted and gorgeous before the holidays. I'll have to post photos as soon as it's all done. The colors we're using downstairs will be pretty dramatic changes.

Lots to do...........and I'm exhausted already! We got a few more Christmas gifts out of the way today, and we'll be shopping for a few more tomorrow in Roseville after we drop the kids off with Grandma. Almost done! (Sorry Dad...) At least I won't have to go near a retail outlet of any kind on Friday.

I'm trying to ignore the aches and pains and rest as much as I can, but you know how it goes. I hurt a lot, but I'm trying to ignore it. Now, it's finally time to shut down entirely and get some sleep. Sleep is good.

Same old, same old

Now, doesn't that look cozy? It's starting to get cold up here in the mornings. And I know what you're thinking and my dogs are not spoiled. Geez.

Today was an oh-so-thrilling day of cleaning out all the accumulated Christmas loot in the walk-in closet and sorting it by recipient and figuring out if we were done shopping yet. The answer is, almost. Really almost! Yes, prepare to hate me, but after a little online cruising today, I think I might actually be entirely done shopping before December 1.

HAH! Take that, holidays.

It's kind of a cool feeling, actually. Of course, I have radiation hanging over my head, so there was a real motivation to getting it all done, but still. I'll get to spend the month of December resting, surviving radiation, and just decorating, baking and enjoying the holidays as much as my body will let me. It sounds good to me anyway.

Today's pain-o-meter registers about the same as yesterdays. Last night was hell. I was up till 2 am having one of those intense fibro attacks where strands of my hair touching my neck felt like branding irons. Branding irons with barbs. I had to change clothes twice to find something soft enough not to make me want to cry, could not get comfortable and was generally miserable until my sleeping pill finally kicked in and let me pass out for a few hours.

The weird pain in my leg & groin area from yesterday is a little bit less severe, but still there. I really wish all those weird nerve connections would make up their minds what in gods name they want to do and get it over with. I'm entirely sick of both the stabbing pains and the very sore tender areas that feel almost like severe bruises, or a new surgical injury.

It's been frustrating as hell, because it's like I backslid or something. I was semi-functional, and now I'm back sitting on my butt, having trouble climbing the stairs (a lot of trouble) and needing to ask everyone for help. It sucks!

Otherwise.......I've been having a great time fiddling on Facebook and reconnecting with people I haven't seen or talked to in as much as 20 years. In some cases, it's a total, complete trip. [Mom! I'm talking to Misty! How cool is that?!] The support and good wishes I'm getting from everyone is really good for my brain right now. It's a big lift, even when Jason starts quoting really scary Journey and Rush lyrics. No matter what, Jason has always made me giggle.

At least I'm keeping myself entertained...only 9 more days till oncology. I'm trying not to count.

Post #80

Wow. That's quite a milestone. 80 posts, at far less than 1 post per day means I have had cancer for a long time now.

Today is an icky day. Well, not everything is icky--two out of three kids are playing Risk with their father, the third is upstairs being quiet, one dog is asleep and the other one is rolling around on the floor like a dipshit with her toy, it's bright and sunny, and I have discovered how to waste eons and eons on Facebook.

But PAIN-wise, things are very icky. There seem to be little, tiny, evil gnomes stabbing me with red-hot needles in my upper thigh. It is maybe a lymph-related problem, or maybe nerve damage-related. (It's an area that has had significant nerve damage since surgery) Whatever it is, it HURTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I am sitting very, very still.

To amuse myself, I'm starting a new list. I have this bizarre habit of sticky-tab-flagging or ripping out pages in magazines where I find random information that I want to remember, and I am now faced with a pile of ripped out pages that I have to decide if I should keep or not. (And if I keep them, what do I do with them?) I'm trying to sort them...

Yes, I am this bored, because I am in too much pain to concentrate on anything for more than a minute at a time. New list, consisting of random useless information, to appear at right.
---------->
Bleh! (And OW.)
Hope everyone's having a less painful day than I am.

I am officially off duty for the weekend!

I refuse to do anything productive, constructive or otherwise useful. I am goofing off on Facebook, reading, knitting and eating junk food for the rest of the weekend.

And going to yoga. That counts as relaxing.

Basically, I am completely and totally wiped out, trashed, exhausted and dead from my week of activities. Everything is swollen, and everything HURTS. I'm not sure I can make that word big enough on here to convey just how much emphasis to give it.

I therefore certify myself as out of commission.
Facebook has Scrabble...I sense a serious time-waster about to happen here.

And another day...

And yes, still sleepy.
I had a very eventful day of getting my nails done, getting my phone fixed at the Verizon store (read: waiting, then waiting some more), doing some Christmas shopping since I was stuck at the mall waiting for Verizon, and doing a short Walmart run. That about knocked me out, and now I'm making dinner for the gang, with one extra little girl spending the night with Anna.

Yesterday was fun though! Aimee came over and spent the day with me, which was beyond fun. I really enjoyed just having someone to talk to, and to hear about someone else's goings-on, instead of my own. My own life gets really old after a while!! I also taught her to knit. Another convert...[insert evil laugh here] Visiting, lunching, and knitting makes up a pretty damned good day in my opinion!

As soon as dinner is done and served, I am off duty for the weekend. I am in all sorts of interesting pain, but I did make myself get down on the floor and do a real yoga practice and meditate before my shower this afternoon, and I feel worlds better. Worlds. The pain is still there, but I'm able to work past it or at least ignore it some. Mondo lymphedema swelling in my legs and tummy from being up and around so much too. Bleh!

Sunday, I'm going to drag myself out of bed at the crack of dawn and actually get to a yoga class. And then I'm going to do it Monday. Lather, rinse, repeat. I've decided that yoga class is the one thing I can't live without now. What it does for my brain AND body is amazing. And I think the Zoloft is working.

My weekend is going to be dedicated to four things only:

1. Resting
2. Reading
3. Yoga &
4. Knitting snowmen (you'll see those later!)

That's about the state of the universe right now. Let's all pray to the deity of our choice that the hours of waiting to get my phone software updated actually makes it hold a charge. It's the little things right now!

Another day...

...still sleepy. I can't seem to get enough naps!!

I'm trying to look at my oncology delay as a Christmas shopping and prepping and baking extension instead of a frustrating and fear-elevating event. I really want to start baking and candy making, so I guess I'll try and throw myself into that in the coming days.

Otherwise, nothing to report. I'm wishing for a crystal ball that might tell me the Big 3 are going to rebound so I can go out and buy 100 shares of Ford at a buck a share. $1! Yikes. Aimee is coming over to keep me company and hopefully somewhat sane for a couple hours, which is always good.

Then, probably a nap.

Oncology change!

Due to a surgery needing to be scheduled, my appointment with the oncologist has been moved from Monday November 24 to Wednesday December 3.

I'm not thrilled about this, but I understand. If it were my surgery needing to be scheduled, I'd want him to do it. But, the delay in finding out about my radiation treatments and any other possible nastiness does NOT make me a happy camper.

I'm going to go take a nap now.

How I'm doing.

So, Darcy called me tonight, and asked me how I was doing, and it led me down some very interesting mental trails. I figured I'd make an effort to explain it a bit here, so that everyone would know how I actually *am* doing.

The thing that got me thinking was that she said it seemed like I'd kept up a really positive attitude during all of this. Hmm. I have?

I don't FEEL positive. I guess one part of me is so used to having monster health problems that the factual side of it is just clinical to me, like I'm reporting on something that happened to someone else. I really haven't let too many people see the bad moments. I've tried really hard be honest on here and not just sound perky and pithy, but it's difficult for me to share how much of it is really crappy and scary. It is not easy to talk about, and I don't like to feel like I'm upsetting other people.

I've had an awful lot of depressed, sad, scared out of my mind, anxiety attack, totally despondent days. It's not something I want the kids to see, and not something I have an easy time putting into words or sharing even with Lloyd. Does that make sense?

So, the real answer to the question of how I'm doing is pretty complicated! I feel like absolute hell a lot of the time, and totally normal sometimes. If I do too much one day (like today) then I'm all swollen like the Michelin man and my fibro kicks in and makes my entire body hurt and I spend most of the next day in bed. Randomly, I'll feel like there are giant rubber bands inside where the surgery was and someone has stretched them so tight they might break AND lit them on fire. Or it feels like someone stuck a really long, sharp needle right up inside me and stabbed where the cervix used to be.

At this stage, I'm really nervous about the radiation, and scared shitless about even the slightest, vaguest possibility that I might have to have chemo, but I will do whatever I have to do to get rid of this forever. I just want it to be over and not have it all about me anymore. I get beyond depressed thinking about how much money we've spent on stupid stuff for me, me, me because of this, that isn't real medical stuff. Dumb stuff like supplies and clothes and yoga classes.

You know?!!!!

I have some *ahem* slight anxiety and worry issues. I think the biggest emotion I've gotten from cancer is GUILT!!!!!!!!!!!

So, that's how I am actually doing. I am tired. I am mentally strung pretty tight. There's still a good amount of pain in all sorts of interesting ways. The immediate future is still pretty uncertain, and I think I'll feel better once I know more about radiation and everything else. It's one day, sometimes one hour at a time right now.

Stay tuned boys and girls.

And before I forget, I got a double-shot of the CatBox saga. Pretty soon I'm going to have more small cardboard boxes around here than actual furniture.

Movie reviews...

Health-wise, there is little to report, aside from the fact that I am swollen, exhausted and achy. In addition to the normal cancer-aches, I've been having a very bad fibro weekend. Ow. Death Flu has largely receded, leaving only a few occasional yucky coughs and stuff.

And, I am happy to report that I managed to eat very decent amounts of food yesterday. I am less happy to report that my intestines are not pleased with this and are working diligently to eject it all, but we'll take what little victories we can get.

Otherwise, things have been quiet. Saturday's family movie night movie was "Kung Fu Panda." Trevor loved it, Conner said it was so-so, Lloyd found one or two good laughs at the very end and Anna didn't like it. I fell asleep about a half hour in, which should tell you about what I thought of it.

"Madagascar 2," however, was another story entirely. We went to the movies yesterday and all ached from laughing so much when we were done. People magazine only gave it two stars. Hah! It might have been funnier than the first one. The penguins and King Julian stole the show, of course, but that's fine with me. Sacha Baron Cohen brings that kind of frenetic insanity to the movie that Robin Williams had in the original "Aladdin." Of course, if you're looking for high-quality artistic cinema, you'd be entirely in the wrong place. Hypochondriac giraffes and a great "Twilight Zone" spoof involving a lemur, check. We'd give it a very strong 5 thumbs up for pure silliness.

That's about it from my part of the planet...

Ok...lots of doctor related news. I saw my internist on Wednesday. I don't have bronchitis...yet...but I do have a sinus infection, and my lungs aren't terribly happy, so Keflex it is.

Andy (my cool country jeans-and-tshirts-and-hugs doctor) isn't pleased with the amount of pelvic pain I'm having, in that it could affect my overall chronic pain conditions, so I'm supposed to make use of my pain meds more often than I am. I tend to try NOT to take them, but he and my gyn disagree with that philosophy. Ok...

Otherwise, Andy is concerned about my weight, nutrition and anemia, but overall, I'm doing fairly ok. He sent me for a bazillion blood workups, including my regular A1C diabetes check stuff and metabolic panels, to see how everything is working after surgery and after losing all this weight. I'm also having a bit of an anxiety problem again, thanks to the impending radiation and general state of the universe, so we're going to address that with some mild anti-anxiety meds too.

And then, I went to the gynecologist yesterday and there is good news to report! The ugly dehiscence (aka HOLE) in my vaginal cuff seems to have healed. Let us all rejoice! I really didn't like having a big hole opening into my insides. Depending on how things progress between now and my visit to the oncologist on the 24th it is likely that I'll be ready to start radiation.

My very, very nice gynecologist was nice enough to do a vaginal probe ultrasound and measure the thickness of the healing cuff so that he can send a report down to the oncologist, because if the healed part isn't thick enough, the radiation could hurt things. Right now, I've got thicknesses ranging from almost a full centimeter down to 6mm (I think) at the point where the hole was.

I'm not sure where the cutoff point is for radiation, how thick is thick enough, but I'm quite sure the oncologist knows and will fill me in.

Otherwise, the very, very nice gynecologist is concerned about (drumroll...........I give you ONE guess...........) my weight, anemia, and overall nutrition. He gave me a big bag-full of iron goodies that are supposed to not cause major bowel problems, and a talk about eating well and taking good care in the face of radiation and the ugly side effects it will bring.

However, I'm fighting an uphill battle there. Half the time, the thought of food makes me ill. The rest of the time, it rotates randomly between eating making me throw up, not being able to get any food in me in the first place or having diarrhea.

I try and eat lots of protein-heavy food, even if it's horribly bad for me, like crab dipped in butter, but sometimes I just can't get anything to stay in. I deny myself nothing except for sugary things that would spike my diabetes, so it's not like I'm dieting! Cheese is my friend!

I do the best I can, and then have things happen like yesterday--I got some very yummy chicken salad from a wonderful grocery store, enjoyed it very much, and mid-afternoon got hit with either food poisoning or some sort of reaction (sulfites?) and was sent straight to bed,where I still am with nasty stomach cramps. I managed to eat some toast late last night and a little bit of rice krispies and triscuit crackers today, but I still feel like hell, and my system is very, very unhappy. My blood sugar just crashed, AFTER eating the nice whole grain complex carb triscuits.

And people wonder why I have major nutrition problems, anemia and my weight is too low...
At this point, "upright" is enough for me...

World domination is happening in my kitchen...

Apparently, MY family cannot play a board game at anything less than right-up-against-the-speakers-in-the-front rock concert volume. A game of Risk can now be heard all over the neighborhood, I believe. Luckily most normal people are at work. I am not playing, but no one seems to appreciate my one helpful suggestion, that Alaska is a very strategic property because you can supervise Russia from your backyard.

Martian Death Flu STILL has me in its hold, therefore there is very little to report. I think I might be getting bronchitis, but I'll let you know on that. I have a visit with my internist tomorrow and my gyn on Thursday. I should know something about that nasty little hole after Thursday's visit, and maybe then there will be something to report. Let's all cross our fingers that it's healing well, because I want to get the radiation done and over with as soon as possible.

Until then, I'm just working on sedentary holiday-related activities such as addressing cards and planning shopping lists. I think I'm going to retreat to the living room to knit and turn the tv up to about level 36 to combat the warfare being waged at the dining table. I think my eardrums are bleeding. At least they're having fun, right?

Long time, no blog

I guess there hasn't been a lot to talk about... It's been a fairly blah week of feeling more than just fairly blah. It's been pretty icky, actually. Martian Death Flu continues to make life unpleasant, but not quite as miserable as it was a few days ago. There were a few really ugly days in there.

Today, I overdid it. Yup, in a big way. Well, I guess I started by going to Walmart (and Lowes and Home Depot and Michaels and Jack in the Box) yesterday, coming home and making dinner, and then going to Safeway today, along with supervising a very large amount of cleaning and organizing activities and then cooking a big dinner. And then I wonder why I'm swollen up like a big lumpy balloon and miserable...

But, I did accomplish several things on The List. See, The List has developed in response to the fact that I may end up in radiation during the weeks leading up to Christmas. I feel like I have to get a huge jump start on Christmas because I strongly suspect that once I start radiation, I'll be totally useless. So much to do, so little time, and so little energy...but I'm trying.

Having cancer has totally screwed up enough of this year for the kids, it doesn't need to screw up Christmas too...or at least as little as possible. This is my "honeymoon" period of starting to feel semi-human (in between Death Flu attacks) before the radiation knocks me on my ass again, so, so, so, so...........................

However, I have learned my lesson, and I will spend tomorrow on very sedentary List activities. I promise.

I hope.

The Day After

The above image reflects my feelings toward the outcome of the presidential election, senate elections nationwide, and *most* of California's propositions. The image below, however, reflects my feelings toward the all-but-certainly-confirmed passage of Prop 8 in California. I don't have a graphic of the pig or cow screaming and ripping its hair out.
Yes, it's a public forum, but it's MY blog, so I would just like to say that Prop 8 really, thoroughly sucks beyond all belief, and I'm very disappointed that the people of my state turned out to be such bigoted morons en masse to vote the damned thing in. So there. (no offense, but...I'm pissed off, sorry) To my friends who are directly affected, I am so, so sorry, and so sad. We tried, we really did.

Otherwise, I tried really hard last night to explain to the kids just what an historic election it really was. I explained that I actually never thought (read: never had enough faith in the rest of the country to get it in gear) that I'd see a black president or vice president, or a female president or vice president in my lifetime, and in this election, we were guaranteed at least one of the above. It was worth breaking out the good crystal champagne flutes and the sparkling cider for everyone once it seemed a done deal. The boys seem to understand the magnitude, and maybe even the little one. They definitely will when they're older, and I am proud that I got to see it in my lifetime. Wow. My generation didn't see the man land on the moon, but we're definitely having our moments.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we are still sick. Very sick. I was up at 3 am with the next phase of Martian Death Flu. In this episode, the disease has moved into my head and sinuses and ears and is working its way down toward my chest. I am taking my Walmart cold & flu multi-symptom liqui-gels on a regular schedule, along with a generous sudafed chaser, and that dulls it for short periods

I am really, so very, beyond utterly sick and tired of sick and tired. Where is the magic pill? I had my flu shot, damn it. We all did, but apparently there is no vaccine for this one. I don't think I can get radiated if I've got the flu, nor would it be a good idea. I'm also still having quite a bit of pelvic pain, below the incision, and lots of edema that aches. I don't feel like my nasty little hole has closed itself up much yet, and I really need that to happen so I can get the radiation over with. I know, whine, bitch, moan.


Again, patience is not my strong suit.

Doing my civic duty...

Well, I voted. Yay for me. Did you? There are some definite advantages to living in a small town, I tell you. All those places with all those lines you see on CNN...the longest wait I had was while the little old lady looked up my name. Regardless, I couldn't help but feel that it was definitely some sort historic day. I've got a strong personal investment in a certain proposition, and of course the presidential race, so I'll be watching the returns with great interest.

The sad part of that is, aside from waiting on pins and needles to see what happens to my proposition and praying it goes down in big, giant FLAMES, is the fear that we'll end up with some sort of mess like we did in 2000. I think that is as much of a fear as that stupid proposition passing, or the "wrong" guy winning the oval office--the idea that morning will come, and we still won't be sure! I think that would be the worst. Hanging chads! Butterfly ballots! We won't even talk about Joe the Plumber.

Other than that, little to report, other than the fact that we remain firmly in the grasp of Martian Death Flu. I definitely have it now, and I am not enjoying it one bit. I'm still not as sick as Lloyd, or at least I'm just sick in different ways. He finally went to the doctor and he has a sinus infection. I'm just...SICK. But I have good reading material, not to mention a not-very-subtle hint that I have a story of my own I should be working on. (thanks Mom) It's hard to be creative while I'm feeling like hell though. Sometimes it's hard to tell which parts are cancer-related and which parts are flu. I can't tell if my dehiscence is healing or not, because it still hurts. I have an appointment to have it checked next week, so we'll see. I can't start radiation until that booger heals, and I'd really like to get that over with.

Patience is not my strong suit.

Post-Halloween coma time!

Despite all obstacles, Halloween was a success. The rain held off, so while things were wet, the big drops didn't start to fall until things were pretty well over with.

Anna did indeed have a good time going out with the giant, 50+ person group trick-or-treating, a group I will have to help chaperone next year when I am far less cancerous. Trevor hid in bushes with soda cans full of pennies and made horrendous noises to scare people. Conner did his quite excellent statue act on the front porch, scaring the pee out of those who deserved to be scared by moving at the absolute right moment.

After fighting the headache from hell all afternoon, I finally gambled and took a mondo pain pill and gained superpowers for a few hours. I ended up putting on my standard insta-costume (KVI scrubs, lab coat & stethoscope) and manning my post by the front window. Because of the way our front entry path curves, Conner can't see the people coming up the path until they're right on him, and vice versa. From my window seat, I can see all the way down to the sidewalk, so my job was to watch for anyone tiny, almost invariably wearing tiny pink wings, and pop out the front door to hand out the candy and reassure them that nothing was going to eat them. Otherwise, they'd make it half way up the path, see Conner and the decorations, and run in the other direction.

Some of the more medium-sized ones remembered us from last year, and were appropriately cautious. Some of the bigger ones got themselves scared well enough that they left without even getting any candy. Hee hee. Teenagers make good prey.

Next year, hopefully we'll have better weather, and the boys and I can revert to our previous plans, which involved walkies with headsets under their faceless robes, and me spying from the upstairs windows...we have some good ideas planned...

I'll post Anna's traditional Halloween costume photo up here next time I'm near my camera, which is downstairs. My body aches have progressed to about a 17 on a scale of 1-10. I've made it down and back up the stairs once, and I do not have any immediate ambitions to try and do it again. This is the part where I pay for those few hours of super-powers. Today is for laying still and listening to the very loud, very heavy rain. Rain is good.