Findings and Treatments and Other Stuff

 Yesterday, I had my first consult appointment with the surgeon. I felt very good about her (I know that's not necessary, but it helps me and how I feel about things). I found out that I am stage 1 (early stage) and the procedure will be a lumpectomy, followed after healing with radiation. I will then take hormone replacement therapy. Because I only spoke with the surgeon yesterday, I don't know anything about the radiation or the hormone replacement, as those are dealt with by other doctors. 

I feel very positive about what I was told and I know it could have been much, much worse. My heart goes out to all women who have had to hear less positive information from their surgeons.

The one thing I am most concerned about is the painful procedure that involves injecting radioactive solution into the breast to prepare for the sentinel lymph node biopsy. The hospital paperwork even says it is a painful procedure. They do not freeze you. I don't know why, but they don't. The only suggestion is topical numbing cream. I'm just so tired of pain (previous stuff that I don't talk about here) in hospital settings and just so tired of women having to tough it out. I made the mistake of looking online at first hand accounts of the procedure and scared the living daylights out of myself. Ughhh. 

Regardless, the rest of the news is good and my surgery date is set for only two weeks from now, so that's excellent. If I can figure out a way to sleep without worrying about the other thing, then I'm golden.

Other stuff: Tomatoes continue to ripen. I used up most of my jars canning just plain, diced tomatoes. I guess I'll do some freezing now. 

I booked myself in for a half day of supply teaching tomorrow afternoon just so I can do something and get distracted. 

It is feeling much more "fallish" here, as some leaves are changing colour and the night time temperatures are dropping. 

I'm back to not being able to concentrate enough to read and remember what the heck I've been reading (crucial when you are into murder mysteries - must keep all the clues and details straight).

I'm looking forward to the new season of "Island of Brian" which will start on October 2. There's not a whole lot on tv that I'm really into right now. Watched the Netflix two part series, I think it was called, "I Killed My Father". Interesting. 

Bluejays are loud. 

Chill

 Don’t stress. Just relax at the pool.

Friday, September 9, 2022 - Let's Salsa!

 Of course, the foremost in minds in Canada is the death of the Queen. Although we are not surprised given her remarkable age, it is still a momentous event. My daughter’s boyfriend proudly displays a picture of the Queen ( updated- not the age old framed picture that always hung in our schools as children) in his office ( he works in municipal government). There has always been a connection to the monarchy in Canada. We will watch to see how Charles steps in and hopefully leads with the same grace as his mother.

On a different, yet repetitive, note, my tomatoes continue to ripen and my canning marches forward. 

I’ve already made seasoned tomato sauce and my mother’s chili sauce. 

Today I embarked on a friend’s salsa recipe.

Time to get all the paraphernalia ready - not like it was stored away since the last round of canning... I just noticed that picture is out of place - I wasn't boiling the water in the blancher quite yet at that stage. 

Lots of chopping ensued.

There were onions from my garden.

Lovely green peppers from my garden (a good year for them), and...

although you can't really tell, there are three jalapeno peppers chopped up (minus the seeds) on top of the mix. They were NOT from my garden.

Next came garlic... I made sure to find Ontario garlic. The two gigantic bulbs beside the package came from garlic that a dear friend grew and shared with me. 

I minced up all those cloves.

I washed and cut out the stem ends of a combination of Roma and "regular" tomatoes. For future reference, that amount, after blanching, peeling, and seeding came to about five cups of chopped tomatoes. I needed about nine to ten cups in total.

I set the mixture (also includes a bit of cilantro, salt, sugar, apple cider vinegar, some cumin and two small cans of tomato paste to thicken it) on the stove to come to a boil and bubble away for about 20 minutes.

It was then time to put it into jars, lid them, and then...

boiling water processing time! 

This final picture is for Joanne - yes, your tea towels continue to live on - still look great, not a thread out of place!! 

So this little adventure took about five hours or so out of my life, but well worth it. 

Now what the heck do I do with all the other tomatoes?!? One can only eat so many toasted tomato sandwiches! 

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

Planning on Canning

 This year I had a very successful tomato crop. They are now ripening beautifully. I planted some Roma (plum) tomatoes as well as regular kinds like beefsteak and an early one (??). 

I’m am getting myself ready to do some canning tomorrow which fittingly enough is labour day here in Canada. 

Of course for the past thirty years or so I would have been in full on “ get ready to start teaching again “ mode, would have already been back in the classroom for at least a week, dragging furniture around, creating bulletin boards, planning, labelling, photocopying and so on. As well when the kids were younger, there would have been shopping for clothes, assessing the state of lunch containers, renewing school supplies, and all the other things that went along with getting them ready to return to class. Or perhaps loading up two vehicles to move them away from home for university or college. 

The timing of ripe tomatoes and the task of turning them into chili sauce, salsa, or just canned tomatoes always coincided with an incredibly busy, exhausting time of year. But I still managed to do it. Obviously I had more “gumption “ in those days!

Alas, I have the time now. This is what my countertop looks like at the moment:

There are more tomatoes still on the vine that need to ripen but this is a great haul so far. 

I’ve dug out my old trusted and true Bernardin canning book.

This book is older than my daughter! I’m planning on making seasoned tomato sauce. I’ve made it before but maybe only once or twice and of course, I’ve added my own handy notes.

I’ve checked the canning supplies and should go out today to buy more sealing lids. I have jars, retrieved from the basement, in the dishwasher. I have my own onions from the garden and plan on adding my own basil to the recipe. I have garlic that a friend grew herself. I’m looking forward to this! 

I’m contemplating mustard pickles later in the week…

Bringing back Mundane Monday

 I think it’s worth a revisit. Today’s topic is “ my spot”. Where is your spot? Where do you almost always sit to watch tv or converse? Last night the whole family was round and we watched the new Elvis movie ( daughter’s boyfriend had rented it through some account or other). I switched where I was sitting so more people could fit on the couch and in the room. It felt very awkward. Normally, this is my spot, the end of a three cushioned couch, so I can stretch out, have access to the coffee table, and see the tv. 

There is a two-cushioned matching couch on the opposite side of the room where husband's spot is.

If I am out on the “ front porch”, then this is my spot:

As you can see it is partially occupied.  

My father had a rocking chair for a long time which was his spot, book in hand, cat on lap. 

So, where is your spot? 

(I’ve amended my post and decided not to include an email address for picture sending, for those of you who may have seen the original post).

 

The quiet where I live

 I am, right now, on my porch, Harry Bingham book on the cushion beside me. I feel contented and peaceful and think about the quiet of living at the edge of this tiny village in midwestern Ontario. 

I realize, however, that it isn’t quiet. In fact, there’s a lot to be heard, noticed. I can hear the distant crowing of a rooster ( they don’t just crow in the morning), the triple call of a crow, the hum of a hummingbird that has visited almost every blossom in my mixed pot of flowers - petunias, geraniums. The neighbour’s son just started the four wheeler and is carefully driving away. There is a slight breeze making a soft rustle of leaves. The crow and the rooster aren’t letting up but other twitterings of birds, sparrows I think, add to it. And underlining all of the sounds is the incessant chirp of crickets. If I were on the porch on the opposite side of the house, I would likely hear more road sounds, the occasional deep rumble of a motorcycle, and about twice a day, the self-impressive squealing of tires as someone in the village peels away from their parking spot. I still don’t know who it is.

There is so much to hear, and at the same time so little.

Better - Aug. 23, 2022

 It is amazing what being treated by professionals who know what they are doing does to change your peace of mind. I understand that's a convoluted sentence. I'll explain. 

This last Friday, husband and I drove in the early morning hours to "the city" so I could have more tests done at a centre which is "all breasts, all day" as it was put to me. Apart from a slightly brusk (is that correct?) receptionist, everything was done at a much higher degree of skill, detail, and care. 

For those who want to know / care / don't get weirded out, my procedures were, in order, a contrast mammogram on both sides (I, at this point, was told I had cancer in my left breast), another very thorough ultrasound on the left side, and a stereotactic biopsy (one using mammogram to guide it) on the right side. Throughout all of these procedures, I was given explanation and detail and felt like I knew what was happening at every stage. I was treated with kindness and was provided with water, juice, and a warmed blanket. Every attempt was made to make the procedures as pain free as possible. I was given information that I didn't even know to ask about. There were even huge apologies provided because the biopsy was being delayed by an hour. I was told they were very thorough there, making sure that they knew exactly what was going on with my body. I was initially seen by a nurse navigator (there's that word again) who went over the day's proceedings with me, provided me with a very informative booklet, and gave me three phone numbers of navigators that I could call if I had any questions, concerns, or worries at all. 

Probably the biggest difference for me was the aftermath of the biopsy. My first biopsy was, of course, my first biopsy. I didn't know what was "normal", what to expect, how it should feel, etc. The bruising, pain, difficulty sleeping in a comfortable position, did I mention bruising? (think eggplant) took about a month to finally dissipate. 

This time, pressure was applied, a compression bandage was used, an ice pack was provided for the drive home, and a very detailed information sheet was given to me and explained. This was a much more "robust" biopsy and the difference in pain, bruising, swelling is mind blowing. I couldn't get over how little bruising and pain there is by comparison. 

I now wait until results are sent to the nurse practitioner who is overseeing things, and then an appointment will be set up with a surgeon at the same "big city" place who will determine the course of action. Yes, I know the wait will be weeks, but I feel confident now that these people know what they are doing. I feel that I will be given good, consistent, knowledgeable and skilled care. 

Yes, I still have breast cancer, but I now also have some peace of mind. I am now able to relax, focus on reading a book and having some of the words sink in (impossible a while ago). Yes, I still don't have a family doctor (and likely won't), but I feel taken care of by the professionals at this place and am so grateful that I made that choice for my next steps in care. I don't feel like I'm in this vacuum of lack of knowledge, although I still don't know everything.

 I am able to enjoy my time, laugh, notice the little things, proceed on a quest to find the dastardly tomato horn worms (shudder!!), think about getting a hair cut, binge watch the entire new season of Indian Matchmaker on Netflix, and freeze my peas from the garden to enjoy this winter. The other part of me is so angry about the lack of care that I have received at my little town hospital where this all first happened, and so angry at health care in general here in Ontario (or anywhere in Canada for that matter), but I'm pleased to say that the peace of mind trumps the anger right now.