feed me, feed me . . .

We stopped at Ming's on the way home from Tampa.  Good Chinese restaurant on I-drive.  Yummy shrimp cakes, a little eel sushi and calamari for the 9TS, a little more sedate chicken and veggies for moi!  But someone forgot to feed these not-so-little fellows, so the 9TS bought a quarter's worth of fish food and almost got eaten alive.

And of course Orlando, being Orlando, there are always fun sites:

This being one of my favorites since it is the only upside down building I am likely to see.  Sorry Dorothy.

Oh, and we saw a pod of hot air balloons!!!

Otherwise it was an uneventful trip . . . travel wise.

In other news, the PET scan came back with two hot spots.  The leg, which we knew, and another on the surface, next to the incision scars left from the lung surgery.  Another aspiration biopsy was done and it too was positive.  They are thinking it is seeded cells . . . .  which in Jeanne speak means, that when they removed the cancer from his lung, some of Mel and Anoma's offspring broke off on the way out and started a new colony.  How enterprising of them.  Not!

We are waiting to hear when surgery will be scheduled and what happens next.   Looking at Thursday or Friday of next week.

Personally, I think the 9TS and I should just move into Ming's, stuff our faces with anything cooked in wine and garlic sauce and play caretaker to their over fed carp.  A much better proposition . . .

books . . .

My friend Marg posted an interesting tidbit this morning.  Since acquiring her Kindle in May of 2008, she has read 421 books.  She is my hero.  I hope I can come near her count . . .  not to be competitive but to find that many interesting books in which to submerge myself.  The thought makes me giddy.

And finally, after much trial and error, since acquiring my Nook in mid September, I finally nailed the connection to our local library.  Eureka!  Click, click and the book is mine for 14 days . . . or at least on my waiting list, until it becomes available.  And since I have this proclivity for reading everything an appealing author writes, I downloaded Swimsuit and 7th Heaven by James Patterson . . . which opens up the entire Women Club series to me . . .  Alex Cross having already been digested;  Sizzling Sixteen by Evanovich, makes me up-to-date on her books, and Downtown by Anne Rivers Siddens is number 17 of her 18 I have inhaled.  I'm  currently reading Careless in Red by Elizabeth George, the second or third of hers I have snorted.  Also downloaded U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton, leaving me four left in her series and Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank, a new author to replace Anne Rivers Siddens. 

Just before my Nook made its appearance, I read Kathryn Stockett's, The Help.  Excellent read. 

The only downfall of this madness?  Having to buy bigger purses.  Have Nook, will travel.  Perfecto!

across the state . . .

the kindness of the human soul amazes me.  We had not one, but two offers of cars for our trek this morning.  The thoughtfulness overwhelms me.  It humbles me . . . shakes my core . . .  moves me to tears.  Thank you Joanie and Nancy.  Thank you.

As it turns out, the 9TS received a call fifteen minutes before closing yesterday, advising him that his 'toy' was ready.  It is very happy to be back in the garage as is the 9TS . . .  happy that is.   But we had had a long conversation.  The 9TS asked if I would drive.  Not a small thing for him.  And when the question of which car to take arose, he chose the jelly bean.  It will be good for the car, said he.  He can sleep, he rationalized.  Take a tranquiler, he murmured.  What he didn't mention was that no amount of tranquilizing would calm him enough to ride shotgun with me at the wheel of his 'love'.  We tried that once.  It ain't gonna happen again.  Ever.  Snicker. Snicker.

And so I gassed up my little red Miata, crumpled up the 9TS like an overly large sardine into its tin and headed across the state.  He slept.  I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles were white and my fingers cramped. Why do I hate interstate driving so much?  But, we are here . . .  he wrapped in the cocoon of the MRI, I in the waiting room amusing myself with crosswords and my laptop . . .

When he is done, we will repeat the process and head for home.  I like the sound of that.  Home.

updates . . .

tomorrow we leave for Tampa for the 9TS's PET and MRI.  Monday, we will head back to see the amazing Dr. Z. and get the results.  Pins and needles, pins and needles.

when I left for yoga, my toilet was sitting in my bathtub and a very nice man was pulling up the old linoleum.  When I returned after lunch, my new floor was sitting in the driveway.  A few hours later and it was finished and oh my, my bathroom makes me happy. I did have to do a quick bathtub scrub.  The ewww factor was a little too thick for even me to ignore. 

the vette is still ailing, hopefully to return by 5 tonight.  Otherwise we will be puttering over to Tampa and back in the jelly bean, which was so never designed for highways and at eleven years of age . . .  slightly akin to 103 in people years . . .  that is expecting a lot. 

my purple crop pants arrived in the mail.  PURPLE folks.  PURPLE.  and I love them.  They came in a gorgeous rust brown that I couldn't resist and so purchased from Coldwater Creek a few months back.  They are linen but don't wrinkle into nothingness and they are totally comfy with big pockets.  What more could I ask?   At the time, I eschewed the same version in puce.  But then one night, while scouring their website under the 'outlet' section, there they were.  Deep lavender at its finest.  And only $11.74.  Yep, with tax, shipping and handling; $11.74.  Who cares if they are mulberry . . . plum . . . pomegranate?  And as it turns out, I do have matching tops.  Doing my thrift happy dance.

i have been looking for a little triangular table to put between the two leather chairs in the living room.  As of now, the lamp has been balancing on a rusted antique milk can . . .  gee, if I remember these, does that make me a rusted old antique too?  A light bulb went off a month or so ago about a table up in the attic.  It was my parents.  Moved to Florida years after I did.  Has a triangular base-round top.  Extremely abused.  Kept for sentimental reasons.  I looked at the 9TS with glee in my eyes.  Could it be restored?  Could the top be cut to a triangle?  He is at work as we speak.  Everyone should have their very own 9TS.  Just not mine.  I don't share well.

was it a full moon yesterday . . .

*everyone was upset

*the cats would not eat

*i burned the carrots . . .  charred actually

*publix was out of roaster chickens

*moffitt canceled the newly made appointments but rescheduled


today will be better . . .

*yoga

*lunch with the girls

*a new bathroom floor

*hopefully the return of the vette

*a new downloaded book

*a kitten asleep in my arms

ut oh . . .

It has not been a good week for the 9TS.  

Last night, as we were headed to Carrabbas for our ritual Friday night dinner, the 9TS backed his 'baby' out of the driveway and into the cul-de-sac and there it died.  Unable to shift gears, it would not even start.  Think doornail.  Dead.

We pushed it back toward the house only to discover that the only hill in central Florida is the lip at the end of our driveway.  We grunted and groaned and heaved to no avail.  More troops were required.

The unsuspecting Joan and Eddie moved into the neighborhood (yay!) shortly after Paula and Dave  departed (boooo!)  I think they would have been friends . . .  but they'd be occupying the same house      . . .

Anyway, I wandered over and knocked on their door.  They should know by now not to answer my rapping     . . .  last time, we needed help digging a hole for the newly departed.  This time I was enlisting their brute strength.  Soon, Joanie, Edd and I were all grunting and pushing on the Vette's tender gray rump.

Success was had  . . .  many, many thanks to our friends . . . and much to the 9TS's dismay, we arrived at the restaurant in my little red, eleven year old, jelly bean. 

Luckily, by only a few miles, the Vette is still under warranty and was hauled off to the dealer this morning compliments of triple A.  The 9TS is not a happy camper at the prospect of a weekend+ with no Vette.  But as Joanie so aptly reminded us, at least we have a second car.  Food for thought.

CANCER SUCKS!!!

I have taken a little break from blogging since the 9TS found another lump in his leg two weeks ago.  Until we knew what it was, everything else I normally blather on and on about just seemed so petty and obnoxious in the scheme of things . . .  I just cut us all a break and stopped.

Tuesday, we went back to Moffitt to see Dr. Z. before we headed to the CRU (Clinical Research Unit) for his trial vaccines.   Dr. Z, ordered an aspiration biopsy which proved inconclusive and scheduled surgery for today as prevention in case those two little bastards  (can I say bastards on my blog? Well, I guess I just did.  Sorry if I offended anyone except those to whom I was referring.  To them I am not the least be sorry.)    really were back in residence.  Dr. Z. is a very suspicious dude.


Yesterday afternoon, we received a call from Dr. K.  Unfortunately, Mel and his cousin Anoma are back . . .   the gruesome twosome seem to think the 9TS is a time share unit they can crash in every six months, party, destroy the joint, and wait to be evicted.  I hate them.  HATE, HATE, HATE them.

The full blown lab pathology of the aspirations was positive.  Until they can get him scheduled for a full PET scan and brain MRI, to see if the cousins are partying anywhere else in the 9TS, surgery has been postponed.  Oh, and he has been scrubbed from the trial since it obviously was not working.  We are waiting for the phone to ring . . .

And now after that outburst, we are back to regularly scheduled blogging inanities.

Katie's room contains the only remaining carpeting other than the stairs in the entire house.  And it is stained and miserable.  Poor Snoop was so sick before he left this earth that he made more than a few mistakes not to mention the episode with Katie's wisdom teeth . . . you get the idea.

Anyway, Wednesday, I finally called Rick, our flooring guru, to come measure for hardwood.  While he was here, I asked him about linoleum for the upstairs bathroom . . .  both the carpeting and linoleum being 22 years old, the linoleum was curling up around the edges.  Rick did a little digging and handed me a fistful of sawdust and said, don't worry, you don't have termites or rodents. It seems the builders used particle board instead of plywood and splashes from the tub have rotted the particle board over the years and in case I want to wake up with my tub in the downstairs hallway in the middle of the night, I need to cease use of the tub asap.  ACK!

Tuesday, Greg will come and remove the toilet, Rick's guys will fix the floor and lay new linoleum, and Greg will return to reset the toilet.  And I will have newness in the palace!  YAY!!!

Thanks for sticking around while I was gone.  I appreciate it.