HOME AT LAST!

Hey there,

 We FINALLY made it home Wednesday just before midnight.  We left the hotel at 2,  and got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. It was almost boarding time when  they announced that our plane had a leaky window, and the plane would have to be  replaced.

 This delay was going to make us miss our connection in St. Louis, so we got rerouted  to Chicago again.  It was snowing there, so that delayed things further while we lined  up for landing.  After getting there, we went to the gate for our flight to Louisville.  Next, they changed gates, so we all wandered down the hall. We called the dog sitter  and asked her to make another stop at our house.  After another hour, they finally got  us boarded, and took off for home!

 Arriving so late was horrible, but the poor dogs were so glad to see us, that it made it  all worthwhile.  Getting smothered with love is always good.

 The wonderful news is that after all the scans and blood work at MD Anderson, Ben's scans are clear.  This is now 6 months out, from the end of his clinical trial.  We don't have to go back til May! YEA!!!!!

The next morning, after arriving home, Ben had to go pick up his car which had been in the shop for 3 weeks. They got parts in, and were able to fix an engine problem. Several thousand dollars poorer, Ben arrived back home.

Later, Thursday night, we went to our Gilda's Club for a couples dinner.  There were 15 couples, and we each had our own room for dining.  Our meal was served  by the staff.  They were all dressed up in black pants, white shirt and red bowtie.  The meal was to die for. It was catered by some of the chefs that teach at Sullivan College Culinary School. After the meal, we all gathered together to talk together with a nurse practitioner that counsels cancer couples.  It was very good.  We then returned to our private rooms, and had dessert.  All during this time, music was playing.  It was a combination of all the songs the couples had said was "their" song. Quite romantic!  We all got a goodie bag, with a CD of the music, along with lots of other things.  We  then went back to meet together, and we all got to choose a door prize bag.  Each one  was unique, and had been donated.  We won tickets to Actor's Theatre.  That is  wonderful!

 Today, Saturday, it has been cold and snowy.  It started to stick, but it finally stopped.  I am really tired of all this snow and cold weather.  I need to have the sun and warmth.

 Spring can't come any too soon. 

 Hugs, Mary

DEEP IN THE HEART OF HOUSTON

Well, we finally made it here yesterday afternoon, after a long, long day in airports, and in the air. We had to travel a round about way to Houston from Louisville, by way of Chicago. Had a long layover there. Finally made it here just in time for rush hour. Fortunately we had a driver that got us to the hotel in good time.
We were both exhausted. Houston is on CST (God's time) I always say, so we had to wait to get dinner since we were an hour ahead of the time here. Our stomachs didn't know that though! As soon as we could, we went down to the lobby Starbucks so I could get my chai tea. They were out of the concentrate!!! That happened the last time we were here too.. We waited, and finally the restaurant opened , and we got a table. We ate a huge meal, choosing the buffet instead of ordering off the very expensive menu. A glass of wine helped calm the nerves, and the meal was great. We then walked across to the hospital via the walkway, and got some coffee for Ben, and my chai latte that I desperately needed for my caffeine fix. We came back to our fifth floor room, way down at the very end of the hallway. We are getting a lot of walking in, which is good, since we tend to eat alot more here than normal.
We watched a bit of TV, before we fell into a deep sleep. It was so unusual to not have to fight for a place in the bed, since the two dogs weren't here to take over our space.
Ben got up at the crack of dawn, and went over to get coffee, and me another chai-bless his heart, he is so sweet to me. We brought cereal and fruit with us, so we ate in the room, and read the morning paper that they provide here for free, right outside your door. Ben got ready, and left to begin his long day of getting blood work and xrays and MRI and CT scans. He isn't allowed to eat 3 hours before his CT prep, so he is going to be starving when he gets back around four, and not a very happy camper either!
I can't stand being cooped up in the room, so I headed down to the computer room to catch up on all the emails and Facebook, and Etsy correspondence.
The lobby is huge and looks right out at the beautiful grounds with flowers and palm trees, and much warmer weather than what we left in Louisville. It's very overcast though, and thunderstorms are predicted later today. Tomorrow is supposed to be near 80, but of course we have to be inside with all the doctors tomorrow, and then we have to get to the airport for the flight home. We go back via St Louis this time, thank goodness! I know things will go well with all the tests, thanks to all the prayers and good thoughts from friends and loved ones, and strangers too that have become our friends here, at Gilda's Club, and through the internet. Love and gratitude to all of you.
Mary

I Spoke Too Soon!

Hello again!

 Well, I know it's weird, but we lost power AGAIN this past Tuesday night.  It finally came back on  this morning.  Fortunately it was warmer outside than the last time, so it was tolerable. Friday the 13th turned out to be lucky!

  This outage was a result of a big windstorm that finished off the hanging branches from the trees that were damaged in the ice storm two weeks ago.  The first night, our neighbors on the street behind us got their power back  soon, then it went out, and the neighbors across the street got theirs, and it stayed on. Our side of the street of course did not!

  I don't know how people cope .  I know we are all spoiled, and we take for granted the fact that we have electricity and warmth, when so many people in the world have nothing.

  I am so thankful that we have been blessed to have so much in the way of conveniences, but I also feel so sorry for the people who don't.  There are still many people in the western part of KY and in rural areas that still don't have power from the original ice storm.  They are saying that these folks might not get power on til March!  Unimaginable!

We are still waiting for tree guys to come and take down the trees that have been destroyed.  The curbs in all the neighborhoods are filled with big piles of brush, waiting for the city removal departments to get around to all of it. It took months for the piles to be removed when Hurricane Ike came through here in September. There will be lots of mulch available though!

Speaking of mulch, we have been inundated with flower and seed catalogues.  I know that Spring is coming when that happens, and we can plan our garden this year. Hooray!

Hope all is well with all of you.

 Later, Hugs, Mary

Finally-POWER

Hello Again!

In case you haven't been watching the news lately, much of our area and beyond was struck by a huge snow and ice storm , that crippled the state.  Thousands of people lost power Tuesday night a week ago, and many still remain without power now.  The western part of the state was especially hard hit.

We lost power when the ice literally caused branches to shear off the big pine in our backyard.  The branches unfortunately hit the power lines, and ripped the electric service to our house off the wall. We called our electrician in the middle of the night, and he came out the next day to put that part of the service backup. The power company then had to come and inspect the work, before they could reconnect the power lines from the house to the pole.

It was freezing in the house, as the temperatures outside plummeted to 10*.  We had planned to go to Nashville on Saturday for a funeral, but we left Friday instead.  We loaded up our dogs, and took off to stay with my brother and sister in law. What a lifesaver that was.

  Our neighbors called us Sunday to tell us the power had been restored.  We came home on Monday, to a very cold house, but we flipped the switch, and the furnace came back to life.  It took a long time for the house to get comfortable, but it was wonderful to see things coming back together.

  Our cable and internet service was not restored until Thursday, so I have been catching up on emails, Facebook, and my Etsy shop.  I wasn't able to make things for my shop with no electricity, so I am way behind there.

Today was almost 60* outside, so Ben cleaned up some of the branches after I took photos for the insurance company.  It's supposed to be nice this weekend too, so maybe more ice will melt.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR SPRING!!!!!!!

Have a great weekend.  Talk to you later.   Mary