Walking this morning before the predicted rains

My lower legs, ankles, feet, shoes, and socks carried the rest of me two blocks east, one block south, two blocks west, around Albertina Kerr, and back across the street to home.



My first stop, Providore Fine Foods, where I bought two chicken breasts, never frozen, and a container of medley tomatoes--several sorts of cherries and other small tomatoes. I do not intend to have to go to Fred Meyer this weekend. By the way, I had to enter through this partially open door since I arrived right at 9:30 a.m. and no one had yet unlocked the door. This is a photo I took a few weeks ago when we had brilliant blue skies which I wish we had today. Alas, it is May in Portland and lately our weather has been spectacular which makes anything at all bearable.



On that block south, I noticed these lovely flamingos advertising Pie Spot where one finds fabulously-crusted-and-filled delights, sweet and savory. So happy they weren't open yet because the brown sugar pecan pie tempts the hell outta me.



Across the parking lot, here's more exciting art--a mural I know nothing about other than I like it! Next to 24th and Meatballs, a place I've only eaten at once back four years ago when they opened. I didn't care for it, at all, so I've not spent any more money there.



See what I mean by exciting art! Here's a close up for y'all to enjoy!



I sat at a picnic table on the sidewalk at the end of the block and took this photo looking west along the rest of the micro-restaurant pod known as The Ocean. I have no idea why. I've only eaten at the last restaurant in the row, Slow Burger. It's pretty good but doesn't call my name very often.



Across the corner, a shop I've never been in--I don't drink wine--but I like their windows a whole lot!



Around the corner as I headed back west, I noticed some lovely roses on a shrub/tree beside the steps up to an apartment building. Well, it might be condos for all I know. It has a locked wrought iron gate on a wrought iron fence which keeps folks who don't belong out of the courtyard. I'm still learning how to use my Olympus E-M5II that I got last October, and it took me several tries to get a photo I could live with. What do you think? Is it OK?



The peonies look heavy-headed alongside one of the driveways to the Albertina Kerr parking lot.



For perspective on our spring, the peonies on March 27.



And the peonies on April 16.

Now for random roses at Albertina Kerr. I'm blessed to have these across the street!













And the crow who joined me for a few seconds.

UPDATE and why I went outside again this morning.

UPDATE:

Yesterday evening the outer dressings came off my two incisions without any trouble. Hooray! Woke up at 1:45 a.m. and finally got back to sleep around 2:30 a.m. Slept until 6:15 a.m. which means I got some rest. I ate breakfast after I woke up the second time. Still no nausea or taste alterations. The peripheral neuropathy continues to get better--thank goodness. When it does happen, it's mostly in my feet. Since I need to build up my stamina before Chemo Round Two, I walked outside in the shade yesterday for a total of 4583 steps, according to the Health app on my iPhone 6 Plus. That's four times my daily average. Hooray! This morning when I went outside, the skies were overcast, so I was able to walk in my neighborhood and made it 1194 steps in about 20 minutes. I'll be back outside in the shade until much later today because the sun has come out. I am blessed to live where I do, to have the opportunities during my recovery. Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern.



Yesterday when I walked outside on the south side of the building in the shade, I made it to the corner of my building and saw the beautiful sunshine in the banana tree in the southern end of the front yard. The two-story Albertina Kerr building across the street makes great early morning shade.



I continued toward the front steps and took this photo at a different angle from all the others I've taken of our front sidewalk and entrance.



Here's the sunshine that I needed to avoid. Isn't it beautiful?



To me, the proximity of these roses and the difference in the age of their blooms makes for a great photo. What do you think, please?

UPDATE - All about the chemo port

UPDATE: Discharge instructions after port placement say it's OK to remove the outer dressing. I cannot get an edge started by myself, so I've texted both sons, saying one of you needs to come by after work and get these off me--y'all talk and decide which one. It will be taken care of, I have no doubt.

I'm on my 3rd 28-ounce mug of water for today. I have not had any hot tea--not sure why, but I haven't wanted any. Possibly the lack of interest in food/drink that accompanies chemotherapy.

Slept from around 10:30 p.m. til 4:30 a.m. the longest span of time I've slept in I don't know how long.

Still no nausea, yea! One mouth sore at the back right side of my tongue--rats. Made a recommended mouth rinse of a quart of water, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking powder. It does make my mouth more comfortable.

My goal now is to build up my stamina, walking. So, I've been out in the shade on the narrow sidewalk on the north side of the building and walked five times for about 10 minutes each time. I'm setting the timer on my phone to go off so that I don't forget to give it a go. One time I walked inside the building, too, up the stairs to the top floor which is only 15 more steps up, then back down, but every step is one in the right direction. With those pinpointed walks and the regular around-the-apartment steps, I'm up to 3,549 today which is right at three times my daily average in August. I'm back, cautiously, listening to my body, one hundred percent.

I am blessed. Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



This is a photo of the port from the Patient Guide that they gave me when I was all done on Wednesday. Dr. Klein showed me one beforehand, and described in detail exactly what he would do and why. He's the same guy who did the needle biopsy--I really like him a lot!



When I go back for Chemo Round Two on August 19, I'll have that sort of needle inserted into my port so that the chemo will get inside me through it. No need to be stuck here and there, trying to find a vein. In fact, on August 18, when I go to have pre-chemo blood work done, they will get the blood out of the port--at least, that's what I've been told. I hope it's the truth.



Here's one of the places that I've been told about the uses of the port. I like that part about being less harmful to my veins. After all, they're 67 and a half years old, like the rest of me.



I felt the three bumps on the sample port that Dr. Klein showed me. I have not felt the bumps on mine because I cannot get the outer dressing off by myself. Like I said earlier in the post, one of my sons will come over in the next few hours and help me remove them. 



More detail about accessing the port. These folks have steady hands. 



My port incision and the other one needed during the placement procedure have been glued shut, after stitches. The stitches will dissolve and the glue will turn into a scab which will eventually come off. That's what the glue did for the six incisions I had after the robot surgery on June 25.



I have my Identification Card in my coin purse, along with my Kaiser Insurance card. I'm not wearing that bracelet because it will get in the way of my acupressure motion sickness bracelets. I slipped the cardboard key ring card onto my key chain--I wonder if it will last throughout this process since my keys get a work out whenever I go anywhere, tucked into my waistband or a pocket or my purse.

Chemo Round One, Day 2. Three cheers for the window unit and the anti-nausea meds!

I slept from 11:30 until 4 a.m. When I woke up, I was hungry. I toasted a King Hawaiian bun--there really is very little Land o' Lakes butter on that bun, I have no idea why it looks so shiny--put a few blueberries, grapes and cherries with it on my sunny yellow salad plate, filled up my cup with hot Twinings English Breakfast Tea and my mug with 28 ounces of water. Before I took this photo, I ate two bites of half of the bun. Between 4:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., I ate the rest of this, interspersed with napping in the recliner and talking on the phone with Lamont to be certain that I understood my meds' schedule for Day 2. I believe I finally have it straight and have entered correct reminders in my phone in case I'm napping. I want to take those anti-nausea ones on schedule since I'm getting ready for Day 3 which could be the day that I get hit with nausea, etc.



I was told yesterday to not go out in the sun without sunblock. Since we are supposed to get to 100 degrees, or at least close to it, today, I will not be wasting any sunblock just to get in some walking. I have a great place to walk indoors, through the hallways and up the various carpeted stairs. Here's a photo looking down onto my apartment's windows, to the left. You can see my splendid window unit in place and doing its wonderful thing for my little studio. Three cheers for the window unit! When I took this photo at 8:34 a.m., I checked the weather app--it was 73 degrees.



I walked through that multi-glass-paned door, across this landing and explored the hallways off it. Then I took this photo so that you could get an idea of how great a place I have for indoor walking, with carpet and stairs and handrails almost everywhere. My window unit is peeking through the bottom right corner of the rightmost window. Three cheers for the window unit!



One more photo from the landing before I explored some more. You can see someone who lives upstairs from me has a window unit. I also know that the people who live next to me, as you look to your right, have a window unit. They also have a darling little pug named Charlotte. Their window unit is not visible in the photo, like mine and my upstairs neighbor's. Three cheers for all of these window units! Not everyone in the building has one, though, so I hope all of them have lots of fans and/or shade from trees to help them out during these continuous days of mid-90s.



This is the first floor vestibule--the sun coming through the front door makes a sort of church-window-like impression on the tile floor. I like this vestibule a whole lot, especially that brown bench on the left which is a great place to sit for spell if one is spent, energy-wise. I had plenty of energy and walked through the multi-glass-paned door and up the five stairs you can sort of see through it, at least the white-painted wood not covered by the carpet on each step. I walked up and down my hallway and decided to go out onto the completely shaded sidewalk. I had my keys with me, of course, so I knew that I could get back inside without getting into the sunshine.



Shade to the west.



Shade to the east. Outside that gate I could go either across the street to Albertina Kerr and its rose gardens, or I could sit in my aluminum folding chair. Not doing any of that today unless it is after sundown which is supposed to happen at 8:43 p.m. I'm going to set a reminder on my phone to check it out then, sunwise, especially if I'm going stir crazy in here. Who knows, I might get up early again tomorrow and feel like going out for a bit before sunrise. I imagine it will be close to when it came up today at 5:53 a.m.



I walked east and into the other building in my little apartment complex, straight through it to its front entrance that faces south. I looked out and realized that I could go out there for a short walk in shade. Hooray!



When I reached the top of the stairs, I realized I was going to be holding onto that handrail because these are a bit steep.



Here's the side entrance to my building which I use very often. I like the gate's shadow on the sidewalk. I could tell that it was pretty warm already out there and believe the weather man's report about what we will have here today. As I'm typing two and a half hours after I took these photos, it is already 82 degrees.



I walked in the grass beneath the trees as far as I dared go and was able to at least see Albertina Kerr's building and that massive and well-tended hedge around the front yard. I turned around and walked into my building through the side entrance. I'd have been foolish to have continued up the sidewalk and in through the front entrance which is to the right, off that sidewalk beside the street. I don't want to tempt fate where any possible chemo side effects are involved. So far, so good, y'all! Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.