Lampassas TX with Ryan’s Family

 Recently, Ron and I had to make a trip down to Central Texas to pick up his father’s ring. It had broken and was in for repair at a jewelry store we have used for decades. Whenever we are in the area, we try to get together with at least part of the family. 

Ryan and his family met us at the park in Lampassas for a picnic lunch, feeding ducks, and a chance to just visit. It was a beautiful day, perfect for being outside. It was also our new pup, Theo’s, first introduction to the twins. He fell in love with them! Which was a huge relief. He is a bit on the defensive when he is around strangers. 

Besides the beautiful weather, lovely park, great company, and lots of laughter, there was one more  thing that made the day relaxing and stress free. That was the total lack of interest little Theo had in the ducks. Well, except for their poop. He thought it was rather tasty.

Thank goodness! I really didn’t want to drive home with a wet, stinky dog that had decided to dive in after them! 

Here are some pictures Jamie and I snapped while there. I can’t wait for our next park adventure. Maybe Meridian State Park. It is about half way between us. Soon; for sure!

Sophia looking at turtles of all sizes in the algae.

She tried to interest them in the duck food. They weren’t interested.

Samantha taking a break to watch the ducks.

Sophia getting up close to the scraggliest looking duck there!

It took a while to actually find the ducks. Surprisingly, they were near a group of people fishing.

One of several long legged birds. I am going to guess it is a gray herin… maybe?

Poppy and Theo walking along with the girls.

My number one son, Ryan. Such a kind and handsome guy.

Ron, Jamie, and Ryan cheesing for the camera.

Samantha cornered one!

Yet another long legged bird. Just a little scruffier.

Lots and lots of ducks. All sizes and colors.

 

Skin Cancer

 Being a teenager in the 60s & 70s, I spent a lot of time outside. Swimming at the lake or pool with friends. Canning food in a wash tub over an open fire after picking produce from the garden. Exploring fields and wooded areas for hours on end. Competing with my brothers at shooting skeet or firing arrows at hay bale targets. Playing badminton, basketball, baseball, and hide and seek with either my brothers or cousins. Quite often, I went fishing with Dad; or, hunting with Grandpa Oscar. Most of my non-school hours were outdoors… without sunscreen. 

Over time, the medical community began to warn the public about the dangers of sun exposure. As a young adult, I believed the utter nonsense of, “You have to burn before you can tan. Once you tan, you’re safe from burning again. It’s the repeated sun burns that you have to worry about.” Stupid!!

The first clue that I would eventually be battling skin cancer came when Dad and my brothers began having skin cancer removed. None of them ever used sunscreen either. Plus, they spent even more time in the sun than I did due to their military careers. I think I secretly hoped that their time in the Army was the big difference in the amount of exposure we had. I figured I probably wouldn’t have to deal with it. Unfortunately, I was wrong. My first Mohs surgery took place in my 68th year of life. Sadly, it probably won’t be my last. 

My skin cancer first presented as a dry brown spot in my left eyebrow. I just thought it was an age spot… until it started to bleed, scab over, then bleed again.  It also started getting larger. My PCP put in a referral to a dermatologist, who performed a biopsy. The results were basal cell carcinoma. There was also a pre-cancerous lesion in the same eyebrow. The plan was to remove the skin cancer using Mohs surgery, and to treat the pre-cancerous lesion by freezing it. 

Below are photographs and a brief explanation of the removal pricess.

Diagram of the areas to be treated. Pre-cancerous lesion in the circle, skin cancer in the compass shaped area.

This is area he removed during surgery. It was much larger than I expected! My eyelid is puffy because it is filled with lidocaine. Honestly, the lidocaine injections were horribly painful. But, I never felt a thing during the surgery.

The first 3 days were pretty miserable. The area around my eye was pretty swollen and made it difficult to see clearly. I had to keep the pressure dressing in place for 3 days and start an oral antibiotic to prevent infection. I am a side sleeper and had several sleepless nights because I kept rolling over onto the wound.

This is what the wound looked like the first day without the pressure bandage. The red spot to the left is were the lesion was. 

(Forgot to flip the picture.) Care for the wound consisted of keeping it clean and applying an antibiotic cream 3x each day. That was tricky because the label said, “not for use in the eyes.” Sometimes I would feel it start to drip down into the corner of my eye and it would burn like crazy. 

I was also told I could leave the wound uncovered during the day. However, it needed to be covered if I went out in public and at night. I told my son, Scott, that it was really hard to find a way to bandage it without the gauze sticking to the open area inside the sutures. He told me about a donut dressing the fire fighters used for puncture wounds. Problem solved! It’s a plus to have a firefighter/paramedic in the family.

The sutures had to stay in for 5 weeks. During that time, I finished up the oral antibiotic and continued to apply the antibiotic cream. The wound slowly started to heal and scab over.

This was taken yesterday. It doesn’t look as green as it really was. I had a crusty green area that really looked like mold or moss. I was pretty worried about whether or not the doctor would have to remove  more skin. He didn’t. He said it was just dead skin cells that hadn’t flaked off. He simply cut away the dead skin before the sutures were removed.

As of this morning, I am suture, bandage, and antibiotic cream free!

One thing I forgot to mention was the option to have a skin graft or not. I chose to not have one. The doctor said it would mean caring for 2 wounds and there was no guarantee it would look any better than letting the wound heal naturally. He also said it was common to end up with hairs that are different in color, texture, and could grow in at a different length and direction than the hair in my eyebrow. I hardly have any eyebrows to start with. I sure didn’t want a patch of long hairs sticking out in the wrong direction!  The doctor said I healed well. My eyebrows are symmetrical, I can expect minimal scaring, and in a month it will be hard to tell there was ever a wound there.

Hopefully, this will be my one and only skin cancer removal. But, I will be going back every six months for a full skin check. I thoroughly expect to travel down this road again. 

Ascending aortic aneurysm: The Ticking Time Bomb

During the summer of 2019, Ron and I were escaping Texas heat, traveling through South Dakota by way of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Before we left, I had notice a twinge of jaw pain any time I chewed on one side. We already had all of our reservations made, routes planned and sites selected. So, I opted for Motrin and crossed fingers to get me through the trip. Things went well until a couple of weeks into our trip. The twinge had turned in that toothache the tells you to see a dentist. We decided to head down to Ft. Riley to visit Dave the next day, and,  then head home.

The next morning, my jaw was swollen so it was most obviously an abscess in the jaw under one of my molars.  Being retired military, we have the great blessing of accessing free medical care at any military base. While at Riley, we stopped in at the hospital ER for some pain pills and antibiotics.  Being the thorough medical team you would expect them to be, the doctor explained he wanted to do both a CT scan and chest X-ray to rule out anything else. That scan changed my life.

The doctor came into the examining room with a folder on his lap. He asked if anyone had ever mentioned anything about an aortic aneurysm. Taken by surprise, I said nothing, other than Granny Alice had one that ruptured and caused her death. The doctor asked if I had ever heard of Marfan’s disease or connective tissue disorder. Again, the answer was no. He then explained that the CT scan created images of my upper torso from my ears to my diaphragm. The image showed an aortic aneurysm. He suggested I make an appointment with my PCP once I got home. There was no emergency, just something that needed investigating and monitoring.

For the next 4 years, I started blood pressure meds and a Beta blocker to decrease pressure in the aneurysm,  adopted a heart healthy diet, walked faithfully, and saw a cardiologist regularly for tests and monitoring. Every year, the aneurysm got just a tad bit larger. It started at 4.1cm and grew .5cm with each scan. Each year I would ask about surgical repair; but, was told the surgery wasn’t worth the risk.  Various medical trains of thought all adhered to the watchful waiting approach. It wasn’t until we moved North to the Ft. Worth, area that I found a cardiologist and surgeon that validated my views. Which were: I am relatively young and in good health, which would make recovery easy. I have a family history of aneurysms, and the aneurysm was slowly growing.

After reaching 5.5cm, we started prepping for surgical repair. That involved almost one year of various tests and continued watchful waiting. The surgeon’s rationale for the barrage of tests was to make sure there was nothing else cardiac related that needed fixed while she had me open. Tests and referrals included: chemical stress test, sonogram, electrocardiogram, labs, visit with a hematologist more CT scans and x-rays. It is a wonder I don’t glow in the dark.

Finally, on August 11, 2023, the ticking time bomb was defused. I am currently in recovery; which is brutal. But, the peace of mind that has come with eliminating one thing that could end life as I know it, is well worth the next 8 weeks.

June 2023 Cruise With the Glenn-Searls Family

 Our close proximity to the port in Galveston affords us many opportunities to cruise the Caribbean. Ron and I have been able to sail with most of our kids at one time or another. Sometimes, the cruise was just for fun; and, some cruises had a special purpose. Our cruise this June had a very special purpose.

Jamie’s mother passed away unexpectedly after returning from a cruise with the family. While her death was sudden, I personally feel she was lucky. Dorothy had lived a full life, was loved by friends and family all across the country, and enjoyed  a retirement busy with various hobbies and interests. She ended her journey on Earth by passing away quickly without enduring a long and painful battle with some terminal illness. I can only hope I am just as lucky when my time comes.

Dorothy left instructions for her ashes to be spread at places that held special meaning to her. One of those places was from a cruise ship. Ron and I were honored to be invited to attend Dorothy’s last cruise. Yes, the actual act of spreading her ashes brought tears. But, the cruise was filled with joy, laughter, and precious time with family. I think that made her happy. 

Below are pictures taken either by Jamie or myself. One last hurrah for Dorothy

Opportunities to try exotic cuisine.

Yummy desserts eaten while enjoying the view.

Build a Bear… sea turtle.

Sophia Build a Bear flamingo.

One Ron’s many cruise shirts.

Sophia on formal night.

Samantha on formal night.

Jamie and Ryan…❤️

Ron and I on formal night.

Our entertaining wait staff.

One of many boats that we passed along our route.

Our first sight of Mahogany Bay.

One of our towel pets.

The peace of the sea…

Ron and the twins in dance  class.

Waiting for instructions.

My favorite hang out while Ron played trivia games.

Ron and his many trivia prizes.

A speed boat in Cozumel.

The family in our formal night photo shoot.

Ryan an Ron racking up trivia prizes.

Enjoying the show.

Stormy skies behind Grand Cayman Islands.

Delicious, but small, side dishes.

Nothing quite as peaceful as the sun setting over the water.

The twins in the closing night show.

Ahhhhhh……

Husqvarna Designer SE Sewing and Embroidery Machine First Try

 My previous blog post was about the ongoing challenge to reduce the massive amount of fabric I inherited from my mother. I neglected to mention that in addition to fabric, gadgets, notions, quilting books, and thread, I also inherited 1 serger and 4 sewing machines. Mom was friends with a woman named Gayle, who owned an adorable quilt shop. As most shops do, the shop was a distributor for a line of sewing machines called Husqvarna, commonly called Viking machines.  That’s where Mom bought her fabric and sewing machines.

Luckily, the sewing machines are top of the line and have a great reputation. However, I certainly didn’t need to own so many machine! So, one was given to my niece, Hannah, one went to my daughter, Leslie, the serger is going to my niece, Kaylin; and, the remaining 2 are mine. One of them is a small, travel machine called Gem, which I am going to get serviced before giving it to a granddaughter. The sole survivor of the sewing machine purge is a combination sewing, quilting, embroidery machine called the Designer SE.

My original machine is a Janome, which I still use from time to time. It’s like your favorite blanket; comfortable. No bells and whistles; just a great, reliable, easy to use basic machine… with a quarter inch presser foot and a walking foot for quilting. All I have ever needed. The Designer SE is best described as the Rolls Royce of sewing. Soooooooo many bells and whistles; including an annoying beep that lets you know you’re doing something wrong. Sadly, I hear it quite often.

Anyway, each time Mom bought one of her machines, it included an introductory class. At the time, I thought that was odd. I mean, seriously, they are sewing machines! How hard could it be to turn on a sewing machine and sew! But, after using this machine for the past few years, I realize the classes were necessary in order to really learn how to utilize each feature. Learning how to use the machines by reading the instruction manuals and watching YouTube videos has been tougher than my worst college class!

The sewing side of the machine has been mastered… mostly. I decided I better start figuring out the embroidery side before the collection of embroidery thread rotted away. Lucky for me, I have a genius granddaughter who agreed to help me work out the basics of the embroidery program. When I say the basics, it’s like I am in the Kindergarten class of Viking sewing school. 

Maggie just seems to be wired to learn. She is happiest in school, busy with schedules, activities, learning new things, and accepting new challenges. Because of that, she had absolutely no hesitation when jumping into the challenge. Sitting next to her, with the machine in front of us, and the owner’s manual in her hands, we did it! Together, we plowed our way through and actually succeeded… we did machine embroidery! 

Maggie with her beautiful smile, ready for the challenge.

Mom’s machine churning out one of the quilt labels.

Our first one! Simple but so exciting!!

Our second project.

The last ine for the day.

Ta-da! I was thrilled with our success. 

After spending the morning with Maggie, I felt fairly confident that I could manage on my own. I packed up all the plunder and headed home. I spent the rest of the day sorting through the boxes of embroidery supplies trying to get it somewhat organized. By the time I finished, it was too late in the day to start a new project. A good night’s sleep was much needed. 

The next day was challenging. Lots and lots of annoying beeps from the machine saying, “you’re doing it wrong.” But, I stuck with it and added more quilt labels to my stack! 

Choising colors and switching threads during the process is still difficult. Hopefully, that will get easier.

This is a design Mom had created and saved in the machine. It has flaws due to my clumsy skills. 

My first attempt at mirror imaging. Not bad for a first try.

Day two ended with a repeated pattern; different colors. 

All in all, I feel very pleased with my first step into the world of machine embroidery. Do I ever expect to use it for anything other than making quilt labels? Honestly, probably not. I really can’t see myself wanting to fight with figuring out how to use the machine to embroider clothing, hats, or shoes! Just trying to get a piece of fabric and the stabilizer into the hoop can be difficult! But, who knows… Never say never!