UPDATE and my little picnic Wednesday after work in my front yard

UPDATE: The difference between my energy/stamina levels yesterday and today is shocking. Today both are at an even lower level than they were on Monday and Tuesday. I've had to lean on exterior building walls and/or handrails to rest before continuing to walk on the sidewalk to get where I'm going. I even had to rest a bit at work when going to check the fax machine, one of the things I do twice a day--I stopped and rested on the locked shred bin that is near the fax machine. After such a great day on Wednesday when not only my muscles felt more normal than I expected, but also my brain seemed filled with clarity, I'm working hard at not being down in the dumps about how I feel today. The thing to do is take these side effects one day at a time, maybe one hour at a time, deal with each one the best that I am able. And to not give up! Here's to Friday, y'all!



Wednesday after work the weather felt perfect. So much so that when I got off the bus around 3 p.m. and walked by the Subway, I thought to myself, "I'm gonna go in there, buy myself some food and drink, and see if I can get it in my front yard with my folding aluminum lawn chair and my wooden snack table. I'm having a picnic!" If I hadn't been having a good energy/stamina day, I would not have been able to get everything outside without dropping something or spilling something. Here you see my food, a six-inch tuna on wheat with an extra scoop of tuna, shredded lettuce and tomato. Plus Lay's original potato chips and a cup of Coca Cola with no ice. I know it's boring, but that's what I always get when I go to Subway. It's reliably the same which I find comforting.

To say that I enjoyed my little picnic would be an understatement. I loved it! Plus, I got to visit with my neighbor Matthew and his dog Birdie. Then, Lamont found me out there when he came over after work. Sweet! He told me later yesterday evening that it made him feel real good to see me enjoying myself outside.

Today, I was in the recliner by 4:30 p.m., about an hour after I got home. Like my little Mama used to say sometimes, "I just don't have it." That's today, Thursday. We'll see what Friday brings. Next round of chemo is one week from today, Thursday, October 1.

Slice of life, seen on the street, downtown Portland, January 25, 2012

I've had a terrible cold, felt awful for over a week, and now almost another week later I'm beginning to feel more like I want to feel, like I need to feel. Thank goodness. So, here we go.


When I got on the bus after work, I wished I was on the 4 instead of the 14 because the 4 would mean a shorter walk to my second bus once I had crossed the river to the downtown Transit Mall. The sneezing and strange feeling which turned into a full-fledged cold by Friday morning had started mid-day, and I had little energy left to expend. However, a short-lived rejuvenation struck when I began my longer walk to the next bus because I looked diagonally across SW 6th Avenue and saw the two mounted police and their horses standing in front of the Subway. I walked to a spot out of the wind, set down my backpack on the sidewalk, and got out my camera, the zoom lens still attached from the Blazers' game the night before.

Got myself a fine slice of life photo, the black horse tethered to the lamp post, the tan horse tethered to the bicycle post, the officers dining al fresco. That's a woman on the right, by the way. I could tell that she was a woman before I even took the photo--stance is a dead give away, isn't it? But I certainly didn't notice the unusual color combination on the tan horse until I had downloaded the photo.

Corporate landscape--various flowers

Subway at the corner of West Burnside and NW 21st