November 22, 2009

Today is the last day of the weekend. I have felt pretty well this weekend and have walked about 2 -3 miles each day. Last week I had chemotherapy on Tuesday, and by Friday of this past week, I felt as though I was really at school.

This week I will not have any chemotherapy, and my sons Matthew and Robert and Anna and Liz are coming to town to spend Thanksgiving with me. I am very excited, as you can imagine. We will be cooking a turkey and all the trimmings - well, they will help me! And it will taste amazing.

I am very rapidly losing my hair. I visited a wig shop on Saturday without any luck. All of the wig people want you to have lots of hair - and I don't want lots of hair. And all of the wigs are brown, blonde, fancy - but my hair is salt and pepper, mostly salt. The lady was not very impressed. We shall see.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. It is a special time for all of us and I am blessed that I am here with everyone wishing you all a grateful time. Please tell everyone how much you love them and how much they mean to you! Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone.

Suzy

Sunday

Hi everyone,

Today is Sunday and I am feeling pretty well, although the morning was a little rough. What I have of hair is starting to fall out which makes me somewhat crazy, so I have decided to have my friend Kim take it all off. I do have a wig from before and it is not too bad until my girls come to town and we search out a new wig for me. I feel a little out of fashion, but it will do for now.

The photo of me with my new hat was created by Charlie who is now three. He is showing me in front of the Phoenix Art Museum.

The other photo shows Henry with the camera and Charlie on the train back to Madison from Chicago. The boys and Lolly spent some time there until David returned from London where he was attending a conference to present his new device - a GPS enabled asthma inhaler. It was very well received and he is to be congratulated!

Tomorrow I have a blood test and then my new chemotherapy on Tuesday, so wish me luck. Then I have next week OFF. I am very excited. It will be a wonderful Thanksgiving. And I hope each and every one of you has the BEST Thanksgiving also.

Suzy

Friday, November 13, 2009

Today is already Friday the 13th! But so far nothing horrible has happened. In fact, it was a good day. I had my chemotherapy on Tuesday of this week, followed by shots to help with the white blood cells on Wednesday and Friday (today), My hope is that the white blood cells will perk up and not make me so tired!

This was my first real week of work and even though it was hard, I managed to get there. I don't know how productive I was, but I was there. And so far, I have not gotten any colds from the students. I am careful, however.

Rebecca and Mark were supposed to come out to Phoenix this week to escape from the cold of New York, but they are both sick and have decided to stay in New York. Probably a good idea!

Matthew is home from Vienna and living in an apartment while we ship his things from Montana to DC. I have decided to hire movers rather than let Matthew drive a big truck across the country (which broke down last time he drove one of those things).
Rob and Liz and Matt and Anna are all coming here for Thanksgiving - so much fun. I am very excited to have all of them here and I have ordered a turkey to ready our plans for cooking. What wonderful smells we will have in this house that weekend!

Today I took the Polka Dog biscuits to Sue Lockinger who will take them to a wonderful AZ Retriever Rescue awareness event in Mesa at Bookman's. Thank you so much, Sue. It was great to see you today.

Next week my schedule will include chemotherapy, but no shots - so that is good. And then Thanksgiving Week, I have OFF. Wow! Great News!

Thank you once again to everyone and for everything. I am taking one day at a time and so far, I can keep my head on straight. But I do thank you for each little thing that you remember about me.

Don't forget to stop by Anthropologie everywhere to pick up the Polka Dog treats in the 5 pound cans - they are oh so good!

Suzy

Mark's Birthday

Hi everyone,

Today is Friday and it is Mark's birthday - Happy Birthday, Mark!

And this week the new and second store for the Polka Dog Bakery in Jamaica Plain had its grand opening. There were about 150+ people there and it was very well attended. The new store is located on South Street in Jamaica Plain - if you live in the Boston area, be sure to pay them a visit.

I worked some yesterday and today at school. I certainly have a lot to catch up on and I thank Kathy Crowe from the bottom of my heart for taking over for me while I have been away from school. There is so much to do and she has done it exceptionally well and I especially thank her for everything. I am hopeful that we can now share the work that is still to come.

It has cooled down in the Phoenix area and my flowers are thriving! They look beautiful, both in the back yard and in the front yard. It's almost fall, now. I will post some photos this weekend while I am out walking.

I had dinner this week with my wonderful friend from Chicago, Jim Whitney. He invited me to the new Hermosa Inn, which is so lovely now that it has been refurbished. The dinner and the evening were superb - wonderful weather and excellent food. It was great to see him and catch up.

I talked with Henry and Charlie (my dear grandchildren) several times this week and hopefully I can see them before the Thanksgiving vacation. I will see my doctor on Monday, the 9th, to see how my blood is and if I can continue on with the chemotherapy scheduled for Tuesday.

Everyone please take care -and thank you to all of you for your good wishes. I shall be back in touch with some new photos from this lovely weekend in Phoenix.

Suzy