June 11 - FIVE

As in, five shots remaining. Next few weeks will definitely be the countdown, now doable on one hand. Injection #19 last night the usual scenario – headache, muscle aches, skin aches (Is that possible? It feels possible), shaky and sweaty. The acetaminophen helps to alleviate all of this considerably. Slept well, feeling better this morning following a little more acetaminophen, but am fatigued. Will have my usual very quiet Saturday. By Sunday, will be on the move again!

I am, of course, indulging in the Saturday morning Starbucks ritual, this week including a venti bold coffee (really wanted coffee this morning!) and a lemon cranberry scone, with butter. It is hot, hot, hot still in Toronto. Each day has been at least 30 degrees and sunny. Love every single minute of it. Last night, post shot, we did put on the air conditioning and it helped a lot, however, usually I just like the heat. The cats are rolling about half comatose on the floor, a little less appreciative of the great summer weather in their fur coats.

We have three cats:

Goldie we’ve had since he was a kitten, now 14, is an orange tabby, our only outdoor cat, who rules the local alleyways and brings us home a variety of half dead and fully dead animals, including birds, mice, rats, bats and other bits and pieces, as offerings.

Rain was about a year in age when discovered several years ago by friends of James, left abandoned in an apartment they moved into, and we took her in…. Rain is an “unusual” cat, short haired white, with large, circular grey patches – when we had her spayed, they shaved her and the hair never grew back (I’ve asked the vet if this is normal – he says “no”), so she has pink back legs and belly. My sister Nancy believes that Rain looks like a small cow. Rain has several stuffed toy snakes that she carries around the house in her mouth while howling. Rain is afraid of sudden movements. Rain is one weird cat.

We obtained Curry (short for Courage), when I went to the animal shelter with my sister Sally, who was thinking of getting a cat. Sally did not come home with a cat, I did. Curry is about 9 months old now, is a white long haired female, with multiple grey and red patches and a completely grey and red fluffy tail. Curry weighed 2 lbs when she came home (at about 4 months of age), and was so sick, she almost died. Now, she rules the house and takes great delight in dragging toilet paper from the roll all over the upstairs. Such a cutie!

Both Rain and Curry stay with me after my shots and purr (Goldie’s out hunting).

The week has been great, although blisteringly busy at work. Will look forward to getting some serious energy back after treatment end. There’s been a return of the dreaded thrush, so am back on the “swish and swallow” for the next little while – ah well, it will pass. Discovered the newer version of Dr. Who on CBC this week and love it, so will be watching when I can from now on. Have been listening to Foo Fighters (new release), Coldplay (new release), K-OS, Stevie Wonder and Cat Stevens (“maybe if I laugh just a little bit…”), during walks to and from work. With the hot weather, I’ve taken to doing my morning yoga out on our deck. It is wonderful. There is something quite significant about actually looking at the rising sun while doing the sun salutation! A way to centre and calm, at the beginning of each day.

Sue