Busy, Beautiful Saturday

What a beautiful day it has been! This has been a really busy day for Woody. He got up at a reasonable time for a Saturday (6am...late rising for him!). He went downstairs and started preparing the vegetables for our vegetarian chili. He said that he enjoyed it so much two weeks ago that he wanted to have it again. When I got up, he turned the rest of the preparation over to me...he mainly wanted me to put in the spices. While the chili simmered, Woody went to the library. We had the chili for lunch...very good...probably only a one alarm chili this time! After lunch we went on a looooooooooooong walk. We both rested a bit after we got home...his toes hurt and my back hurt. Then, not long after we got home, Woody brought a can of paint to me to see if it was the paint for the front door. He primed the door (it's metal and rust spots were coming through the paint) and then after that dried he painted the front door. After he finished that, he asked for help...he had the tulip stencils for the mailbox and the number stencils. We had painted the mailbox some time back and had never finished the job of restenciling it. So I went out to help him with that job. So, once again we have blue tulips on the mailbox and the house number on the mailbox post. So if you want to come visit, you will be able to find us! Not long after he came in he started making cranapple crisp. I have been preparing for my next sewing project. I would say that this has been a very high energy day! He has done some relaxing...he has watched football and a library dvd and has read.

Today's collage shows a bit of what we saw on our walk...some leaves are fading, some are gone, some are on the ground, and some are still very vivid on the trees...grasshoppers abound...Woody found a rock and threw it in a stream to make concentric circles...dogs "greeted" us...then the top two pictures show a couple of Woody's industrious efforts after he came home from our long walk!

Cycle 4, Day 26

Friday has rolled around once again. As I said last Friday, time really seems to be flying by. Woody got up early as usual, went to work, walked at lunch, stopped at the fruit market to buy apples on his way home from work, and has been relaxing this evening. He's looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I did the grocery shopping today and that was my walk for the day!

Cycle 4, Day 25

As I typed the day of this cycle, I realized how close Woody is to the end of the 4th month on this drug study. This past Monday's CT scan and this coming Monday's labs will determine if he will be continuing in this study. If the scan shows too much progression of the melanoma, it could mean a "show stopper" for this study. If his lab work is a bit off, then it could mean a delay like he had at the start of Cycle 4. We will know Monday what the verdict is as to whether Monday will be Day 1 of Cycle 5. I did just check the "My Health at Vanderbilt" site to see if the report from the CT scan was posted and it is not...which is what I expected. I will admit to being "anxious" to hear this report...my prayer is that the melanoma continues to be checked...or better yet is shrinking! But as Woody continues to say...all he is praying for is "God's Will." Perhaps... I'm being too specific?

Woody got up early, went to work, walked at lunch, and came home to rest and relax. He and I did walk around the block before the sun went down...a bit chilly. We are supposed to have a freeze again tonight. Woody said that his knee has stopped bothering him...so he is easing back into his walking.

Cycle 4, Day 24

We pass this sign each time we take our "back road" route to and from Vanderbilt. I was finally able to capture it with the camera on Monday, so now I can share it on the blog. Great name for a farm!

Same ol', same ol' for Woody today...he got up early, went to work, walked at lunch, came home and relaxed. I took a short walk with Graham this afternoon, when we went to the library together...before we went into the library, we went to check on the beaver dam and pond.

We got our friendly automated call from Vanderbilt this evening reminding us of Woody's appointments this coming Monday.

Cycle 4, Day 23

This is a sign that we saw on the way to Vanderbilt. We thought that it was a great saying...one that we hadn't seen before...so I tried to capture the sign on our way home...which meant taking the picture from the opposite side of the highway, through the windshield, and in a moving car...but it is readable...and definitely worthy of contemplating!

Woody has had a pretty typical day. He got up early, headed to work, walked at lunch, came home, and has been relaxing. We are planning to go to the library in a little while, as we have both run out of reading material. We didn't walk this afternoon after Woody got home since he had walked at lunch.

In for the long haul!

Well, today we were in for the long "hall." This is the hall that connects Vanderbilt Hospital with The Vanderbilt Clinic. We make this long trek quite often. Walking the length of this hall twice was our walk for today.

Woody got up early, went to work for four hours, came home, and we headed off to Vanderbilt. We left in plenty of time to be able to stop and take pictures along the way. He did stop several times for me to take pictures, but we still arrived at Vanderbilt almost an hour ahead of his appointment. He checked in, we went back to the CT scan waiting room and it wasn't very long before he was called back to get ready for his IV. He was given the yucky drink to down. He then had to wait for 45 min. till they could do the scan. They called him back for the scan at 1:45pm (his appointment was for 1:40) and he was finished with the scan by 2pm and we were on the road by 2:20. There are times when it definitely pays to get to appointments early. We then took our time getting home stopping to take pictures along the way. I will be sharing them with you in the days to come.

I don't imagine that we will hear the results of this scan till next Monday when he goes back for labs, to see Dr. Sosman, have another Zometa treatment, and perhaps start on cycle 5, if all tests say "go." Next Monday will be a much fuller Vanderbilt day!

And...back to the title...we really are in this for "the long haul" whatever that may mean...and God is seeing us through it!

Cycle 4, Day 21

Woody is 3/4 through with his fourth drug study cycle. Woody taught his Sunday School class this morning. We came home and ate lunch and Woody has read and watched football and baseball on TV. This afternoon Graham and Joy came over for a little while to play. Then Woody and I headed off in the car for a "tree picture taking drive." One of the trees in town that is just spectacular was in full color today. There's a plan for a blog picture of that tree in a few days.

We will head off to Vanderbilt in the late morning tomorrow. Woody's CT scan is scheduled for early afternoon. It "shouldn't" be a very long day at Vandy, since it is only for the scan...but one never knows! I'll fill you in on our day at Vandy in tomorrow's blog.