Scattered Thoughts . . .

I was feeling "okay" this morning (which means not all that well but not terribly lousy) so I pulled out a camera and opened the living room window to see if I could find something to photograph.   I didn't feel like wandering outside.  I wasn't feeling well enough to go wandering around outside and it was still a little chilly this morning anyway so I didn't have much of a desire to head outside.  Also, it is a bit muddy out there too.  I could live without the mud and chilliness so I stayed indoors and just opened our living room window to shoot some photos from the comfort of indoors. I used a few different lenses, getting a feel for each lens (I'm a bit out of practice after the long pandemic) but the lens I used for this photo was my lens with the longest focal length.  I shot this one at 600mm...  handheld without the steadiness of a tripod.  The older I get, the more difficult holding a camera steady gets. The robin in this photo was in our spruce tree,

Last week, we had dinner at Sarducci's in Montpelier for Lukey and Kenzie's birthday.  Sheila and I have not been going out to restaurants all that often but we do enjoy our occasional meals at Sarducci's.  Sarducci's is near the halfway point between Liza and John's house and our house so we chose Sarducci's for Lukey and Kenzie's birthday dinner again this year.   Kenzie and Lukey opened their birthday presents at the table before dinner... Kenzie is running a 5K again this year in June with Gee so she has been running regularly after school.  She wanted a fitness tracker to keep track of her running and, I suppose, to keep her motivated to run.  She video chats with Gee almost every evening and they compare notes on their running that day... I almost always order the chicken parmesan at Sarducci's and I did this night too.  It was very good, as usual... Sheila and Lukey had the grilled salmon... Here are two comparison images...  above, what the camer

About a week ago, I wrote about the LCD screen on my newly converted infrared camera delaminating so badly that it was difficult to see anything on the screen.  I knew I needed to remove the top protective layer and replace it with a new LCD screen protector.  Finding one for this old camera was extremely difficult though. The screen protector that I purchased was a package of two protectors, thankfully.  The first try didn't go well...  not at all!  That first one was peeled off the LCD screen and tossed in the trash bin.  I had bubbles in it as well as dust.  It looked terrible so I pulled it off. When I attempted to apply that first screen protector for the first time, I instantly realized that these screen protectors are slightly too long.  Before I applied the second screen protector, I used an X-Acto knife to slice off one end of the second protector and then rounded the corners with scissors.  I think it was still too large though because this one is not sitting correctly ei

As usual, through the night, I remembered more things about yesterday's oncology appointment that I forgot to mention in my previous blog entry so I should add them here in another blog entry before I forget these points again.   When we were discussing the gene mutation that was found, my oncologist said something along the lines of "I don't think we need to do another bone marrow biopsy right now...  I think we can wait until next year's biopsy".   This comment leads me to believe that she was contemplating doing another bone marrow biopsy right away.  Uggg...  I would not have liked that option.  I'm still reeling and recovering from this biopsy performed last month.  It is still fresh enough in my mind to be a bit traumatic whenever I think about it.  In the end and on the positive side, she felt there is no pressing need to repeat the biopsy right away.   Then she continued this thought by referencing 'next year's biopsy' implying that these p

I had my post bone marrow biopsy follow-up appointment with my oncologist today.  We discussed the biopsy procedure, my lingering pain at the site of the biopsy, my lab results and my current condition in a Zoom TeleVisit (seen in photo, at right) which meant we didn't need to drive to the hospital.  The appointment was in our living room.   First we discussed how I have been feeling over the past few months.   My oncologist seemed to be a little surprised that I am still feeling quite lousy since my ambulance ride to the hospital in January and that I am still having great difficulty in doing just small things for a couple of hours.  In order for me to do something for just a couple of hours (ie, grocery shopping, dinner with the grandkids, Kenzie's figure skating, Lukey's hockey, etc) requires planning and closely managing energy.  In order to do any small thing, I need to get extra sleep beforehand and taking extra medications for a day leading up to when we want to do