2023 March 22

DAY 76°. Mostly cloudy. A slight chance of drizzle this morning. Not as cool with highs in the lower 80s. South winds around 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

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RADIATION TREATMENT DAY 27
& day 2 of a narrower field of radiation.
Now more completely focused on my prostate

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WE stopped at Walgreens for Ella’s presentation. However, they were all at lunch.
SO we went to Dollar Tree for Ella’s shopping enjoyment. I don’t know for sure but I think it was too pickup some prizes for bingo.
WE then returned to Walgreens to await the pharmacy staff’s return. Even after returning it took us 25 minutes to get the meds.

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NIGHT 66°. Cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s. South winds around 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

FROM Walgreens to Walmart. I had a shopping list sorted by the item’s aisle location. So, while I purchased those items, Ella was free to engage in shopping therapy.

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BEFORE going home we drove through Dairy Queen. It was a reward for a job well done.

AFTER arriving home and putting the groceries away, we lay down for a late afternoon nap.

NOW it is need time. ‘Night y’all.

©2023 Thomas E Williams

2023 March 21

THOUGH Spring official began late in the afternoon yesterday, today is the first full-day of Spring!

DAY 67°. A slight chance of drizzle this morning. Patchy fog this morning. Cloudy with a slight chance of showers. Not as cool with highs and a lower 70s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with guests up to 35 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

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DAY 26 OF RADIATION TREATMENT

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NIGHT 49°. Cloudy. Not as cool with Lows in the mid-60s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

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I SEEM TO BE MAINTAINING 270
PLUS OR MINUS A HALF POUND.

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ELLA went to the community room to play Mexican Train. She didn’t stay long because her hip and back were bothering her. So was one of the people she was playing dominos with. So she came home

THAT’S all for today.

©2023 Thomas E Williams

2023 March 20

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OUR alarm went off at eight this morning. I got up, went to the bathroom, washed and fed my beard, started Ella’s coffee, and checked out calendar. ~~PANIC~~ WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AT THE LIBERTY HILL DOCTOR’S FOR LAB WORK AT 8. We hurriedly got dressed and out the door. We arrived at 8:47. only to find that we were two days early. The appointment for labs had been moved to Wednesday. Yes the calendar confirmed the appointment for Wednesday. Once it was changed I had failed to delete it from today’s calendar. So we weren’t late. We were w-a-y early.

DAY 52°. Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 50s. South winds 20 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

BUT we were able to get in and have the blood drawn.

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RADIATION DAY TWENTY-FIVE

WAITING in the patients waiting area.

THEN it is time to go lay down and let the machine do it’s thing. By the by the machine is named Bertha, my grandmother’s name.

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LUNCH of baked potato with toppings, green beans, and some sauce

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NIGHT 38°. Cloudy. Not as cool with lows in the lower 50s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

TONIGHT was game night at the apartments. There were four of us for the first game and five for the next game.

®2023 Thomas E Williams

2023 March 19

Scripture:  Matthew 26:14-30
Sermon
Crossing and Holding Lines
Pastor Michele

Here is the schedule for Holy Week.
We hope you can attend these
services and invite others.
Palm Sunday service-4/2 at 10 a.m.
Maundy Thursday-4/6 at 7 p.m.
Good Friday service-4/7 at 7 p.m.
Easter Sunrise service-4/9 at 7 a.m.
Easter service-4/9 at 10 a.m.
Sunday School on 4/2 and 4/9 at 9 am

THIS evening our apartment complex has been visited by a series of emergency vehicles. But I bet tomorrow’s management post will say, “It was a quiet day.”

Goodnight and God bless

©2023 Thomas E Williams

2023 March 18

NO RADIATION TODAY OR TOMORROW.
I GET THE WEEKEND OFF.

IT’S Saturday and I get to have breakfast because nobody cares if my rectum is empty today!

DAY 52°. Cloudy. A chance of showers mainly this morning. Highs in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts up to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

I TOOK Beket to his job this afternoon. On the way home I stopped for gasoline at Walmart. I called Ella to ask if there was anything she needed from Walmart before going home. She mentioned a couple things on our shopping list. I decided to go ahead and get everything that was on the list (that was in stock). About $170 later I was headed home. It amazes me how little space a hundred and seventy dollars worth of stuff occupies. The two largest items (space-wise) were water and toilet paper and they were the two least expensive items also.

ELLA and I played three or four games of Fast Track today. We enjoy the challenges and unpredictable of the game. We also celebrate each other’s victories.

NIGHT 40°. Cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

I GET to have supper tonight because nobody cares if my rectum is empty tomorrow! Three cheers for the weekend!

and goodnight.

©2023 Thomas E Williams

2023 March 17 St Patrick’s Day

RADIATION DAY 24

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SOMETHING for which I’ve been hungry – deep dish sausage, mushroom, and extra cheese pizza. Today I ordered it from Little Caesars. So of course I received two. I’d forgotten “Pizza Pizza” was their catchphrase. Now we’ll have pizza for tomorrow and at least one other day.

DAY 52°. Cloudy with a chance of showers with a slight chance of thunderstorms this morning then partly cloudy this afternoon. Breezy and much cooler with highs in the upper 50s. North winds 15 to 25 mph. Gustd up to 40 mph this morning. Chance of rain 40%.

THIS evening we had a large Irish themed potluck for Saint Patrick’s day. Ella made dessert bars with pecans. I took my Irish Soda bread that I’d made a couple days ago. There were also potatoes and cabbage stew, corned beef, and other Irish delicacies like spaghetti, and fried egg-rolls.

NIGHT 39°. Cloudy. A chance to showers have to midnight. Lows in the lower 40s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 moh with guests up to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Goodnight and God bless

©2023 Thomas E Williams

2023 March 16

THIS morning began with us taking a grandson from his home to his work. To do this we had set our alarm for 7:00. However I woke up at 6:00. There was no sense in me going back to sleep or even attempting to go back to sleep. I got up and got dressed, heated coffee and started working on the blog. I was a little surprised at 6:30 when Ella also was up and dressed.

DAY 74°. Cloudy with the chance of storm showers. A slight chance of thunderstorms this morning then a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. Highs around 80. Southwinds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

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GOING for radiation Monday through Friday is almost like having a five minute job. Although the treatment is only 5 minutes it’s still ends up taking it an hour to an hour and a half right out of the middle of my day. And it cuts into our social life.

WE arrived at the doctor’s slightly before nine o’clock. The appointment is for 12:10. However, I was able to get in and out of the machine in ten minutes or so. Next was a short visit with the doctor. Another week of all green checkmarks. ✓✓✓✓✓✓

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DID you ever noticed that the collar and broach on the Wendy’s logo spells Mom? If you can’t read script you won’t see it.

WE arrived at Wendy’s at 10 o’clock. It is just across the street from where Beket is working. He is off at 12:30.

SAUSAGE, egg, and cheese sandwich for me and a bacon, egg, and cheese for Ella. The potatoes had a lot of salt and pepper on them. I don’t think I’ve ever had these little potato “pillows” previously. Strange texture for a potato.

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HOME by 1:10 and straight to the stool.. Laying on the bed by 1:20.

NIGHT 45° Showers with thunderstorms likely. Some thunderstorms may be severe. Breezy and much cooler. Less humid with lows in the lower 40s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph becoming North 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph after midnight chance of rain 90%.

2023 March 15

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DAY 22 OF RADIATION 1/2 WAY THROUGH

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DAY 66°. Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 70s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

I BAKED some Irish Soda bread this afternoon. It is a new recipe to me. It is adapted to be pressure cooked in the Instapot. After it was done it looked a little pale to me. My Instapot has an air fryer lid that I set on broil and browned the crust a little.

HERE at the apartments there will be a Saint Patrick’s day potluck on Friday afternoon. I’ll take the soda bread. Ella may make a dessert also. The real take-away here is that it is on Friday. Friday I can eat an evening meal and a potluck sounds haven’t – if I can avoid onions* in other people’s cooking. Have EpiPen, will travel.

NIGHT 47°. Cloudy. A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Not as cool with Lows in the lower 60s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with guests up to 35 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

Goodnight and God bless

©2023 Thomas E Williams

*I’m allergic, anaphylactic shock type allergic.

2023 March 14

DAY 21 OF RADIATION

I ARRIVED early (11:36 for a 12:10 appointment) and managed to get in earlier because the person who’s appointment is before mine ran late due to traffic. That got me home at one o’clock sharp.

DAY 60°. Partly clouded this morning then becoming mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 60s. East winds around 10 mph.

ELLA had a very nice lunch ready when I arrived home. Barbequed chicken legs, herbed potatoes,  and corn. After lunch I cooked some butterscotch pudding.

WHILE the pudding was cooling we played some Fast Track.

TODAY’S NEWS: • $10.3 billion lost to Internet scams in this last year. • President Biden bypassing Congress by using an executive order to tighten gun control. • Both the upper east coast and west coast still in the grips of winter storms. 2 feet of extra snow expected on the east coast. California’s higher elevations now measuring snow depth in yards rather than inches or feet. Fears of flooding abound. • Leander, Texas (KXAN) — An underwater pipeline that is vital in the process of converting raw water from Lake Travis to drinkable water for three cities could continue to experience disruptions, the general manager for the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority said. (Additional info) The pipeline has had several failures since installed in 2011, the latest one happened just weeks ago causing residents to boil water before use.

THIS evening Ella went to play Mexican Train.

NIGHT 45°. Mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 40s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

©2023 Thomas E Williams

2023 March 13

MY bride and I. She standing on the second step to get our heads on the same level. Just right for kissing.

DAY 60°. Partly cloudy this morning then clearing. Highs in the mid-60s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

LOVE is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬7 NRSV
https://bible.com/bible/2016/1co.13.4-7.NRSV

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FIRST thing this morning I u dropped off empty boxes at HCCM. Whole there I picked up a few things from the cupboard.

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DAY 20 OF RADIATION THERAPY

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TODAY’S NEWS: (source wikipedia) During March 2023, three large banks in the United States with significant exposure to the technology sector and cryptocurrency have collapsed. (Added material follows) Today the Biden administration announced that it will cover the debits of these banks, even ones not covered by FDIC. (Comment:) It reminds me of  the Building & Loan in It’s A Wonderful Life. Panic begets panic.

NIGHT 44°. Partly cloudy. A slight chance of showers after midnight. Lows in the mid 40s. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

THIS afternoon Ella and I took our Fast Track game to the Game Night gathering the community room at the apartments. There were four tables of games going. Fran and Ann joined us for Fast Track.

AFTER one game I had to return to the apartment. Lunch had found its way through my gastrointestinal track and was demanding release. I’ve come to believe that the only cure for diarrhea is to not eat anything.

Goodnight and God bless.

©2023 Thomas E Williams