March 17, 2025 Monday--5am

Good morning!

Was an eventful week!  Goodness!  But I did manage to get some coloring done in the new mandala coloring book, anyways.

Monday:  Nothing left but small snowbanks.  

Was a week of doctors, nurses, clinics, messages, and needles in my arms.  First of all back when I went to Dr. Agamawi (the new urologist) she saw all these pale cysts in my bladder wall...I did, too, as I could watch the screen.  She said they are caused by inflammation and not cancerous.  The speedy male urologist never mentioned them so we don't know if they are old or new.  She suggested I could go on antibiotics for a couple of months...but antibiotics and I usually do not get along well at all because I get diarrhea from them.  So we agreed, not a good idea.

But, since I had gotten a UTI when I saw the male urologist before she put me on just 3 days of an antibiotic to prevent getting one.  I agreed with that.  

Much to my surprise, I didn't have any reaction to being on these three times a day for three days and actually noticed slightly feeling better.  As soon as I went off of them...right back.  Soooo...I messaged her to ask her if I could try going on these particular antibiotics for a couple of months like she had wanted.  Might work, right?  She called me back and said these are prophylactic antibiotics...preventative.  She'd not given this kind of antibiotic over a longer period of time for this use...but since my body overreacts negatively to many medications, she also thought it wouldn't hurt to try them...for three months.  Yes, you heard that right...three months.  We'll see how that goes.  Could possibly jumpstart me out of this stagnation I have been in for some time and help get rid of the inflammation or lessen it anyways.  Or I'll react badly after a while and have to stop.  I have nothing to lose, right?

These are obviously not the usual antibiotics because the pharmacy didn't actually have any in stock and had to order some.

Meanwhile--got the test results online from the biopsy.  Skin cancer.  

Tuesday: Leah was going to pick the antibiotics up for me after work but had also scheduled Target and Cashwise pickups and forgot the pharmacy closed at 7pm.  She brought in my groceries and also cut my hair for me!!  Nice!

Wednesday: Leah dropped me off at the clinic for my annual Medicare checkup with my regular doctor (Kessler) while she went to pick up the antibiotics.  We knew Leah would have plenty of time because these annual appointments usually run about an hour.  Checkup went well and Dr. Kessler agreed that I have nothing to lose by going on those antibiotics and it is a low dose.  I told her Dr. Agamawi said if I tolerate them well and have positive results I could try going to twice a day with them, too.  Time will tell.  

Then Dr. Kessler wanted me to stop at the lab on my way out.  She wanted to double check my thyroid and some other things.  I get this young guy who--firstly--I notice doesn't tie that band very tightly around my arm.  He pokes the needle in.  Nothing.  Digs around and around.  Nothing.  Decides to try the other arm.  Pokes the needle in.  Nothing.  Digs around and around.  Nothing.  I ask him--what now?  He says he can't try more than twice, so I'll have to come back tomorrow...or to one of the clinics in town.  I go home with two bandaged elbows and wonder what the heck?!  I've never had any problems with blood draws or IVs at all.  I had more trouble with my port--lol!  Very strange.

Thursday: Started the new antibiotics.  Dagan brought me to a different clinic lab over his lunchtime.  She was tickled by my cat bag.  Even had me hold it up so she could really look at it.  Happens to me fairly regularly when I actually do get out and about--lol! 

This was a lady knew what she was doing.  Seemed disappointed I didn't know the guy's name who tried to draw my blood and left me with two red and green marks in my arms.  Said he went too deep.

I have no doubt she will track him down and give him some pointers, shall we say--lol!

That night I saw Dagan briefly again when he dropped off Costco groceries.

Friday: I got a call from the dermatology department.  The lady went through the surgery type questions (do you have any metal parts or a pacemaker, etc).  She said I will be having Mohs Micrographic surgery and that Dr. Matzke is their Mohs guy and very good.  I am scheduled for May 14th.  Obviously not afraid of it growing or spreading anywhere.  She said this type doesn't...but if by chance it changes to let them know.

Of course I googled the procedure and watched some YT videos on it.  Now I feel more prepared and am glad I will be getting this guy who does this kind of surgery all the time.  Never had a surgery where they suggest you bring a book or something to work on--lol!  They cut it out, bandage you and you wait while they freeze and slice it so they can look under a microscope to see if they got it all.  Cancers can have microscopic roots.  Sounds like they get all they can visually see the first time and usually have to go back in and take another layer...then you wait again while they freeze, slice, and examine.  They do that as many times as they need to until they can see no microscopic cancer.  Then they sew the hole up.  If it is large you might need a skin graft that they take from your ear or behind the ear...but I don't think mine is that big.  Anyways, it can take 2-5 hours depending on the depth of the cancer.  

Yup!  Silver lining that I scared the young guy who did the biopsy--lol!  Now I have a guy who is known for less scarring and knows this type of specialized procedure.  

My sleep was off all week due to DST and then all these appointments and health things to think about.  We were supposed to get a blizzard Friday night and into Saturday.  Yah, right!  We sure got the cold!  Went from 67 degrees (no lie--crazy warm) down to 27, I think.  And we definitely got the wind.  But this is how much snow.

So glad because on Saturday:  There was another IKEA Party!  They packed the car up.

This is all that is left in my garage now.

Chris, Robyn, and their boys, Payton and Isaac, came over again to help!!  Now those are some really good friends!  Here they are working on the other wardrobe.

Then they got going on the drawer units...or dressers...whatever you want to call them. 

I will have a wall of storage!

Payton and Isaac worked well together and put together 21 drawers, Leah told me!

Liam came down for a while.  

Was screwing in a brace here...

...but then he got sidetracked with all the tools that looked so interesting.

So he went back upstairs with Ian.

These are the two biggest 12-drawer units!

Notice the second wardrobe is together!

The 12-drawer unit when done!

They got both the big 12-drawers together!!

And even got the other two end tables together.  Well, what I am going to use as end tables.

It is really starting to come together!

In-between the two 12-drawer units will be an 8-drawer unit.  The TV will go over the 8-drawer on the wall.

A matching 8-drawer unit will go under the window.

It is really beginning to look like an apartment!

Ian decided to turn himself into a green Minecraft zombie while everyone else was busy downstairs.  He tried to sneak down the stairs to scare everybody.  

Didn't work and Mama and Daddy were not pleased with him drawing all over himself with a green marker--even arms and feet!

So, what do you think they did when they went upstairs?  Liam wanted to be green, too.  No pictures...baths!

What is left to put together?  The two 8-drawer units and a big table for the living room/kitchen...and Billy bookcases around that back corner and down the wall in the studio.    

There's also a wall shelf unit to match this one I have on the studio wall here.

They will go on the walls in that corner of the studio by the bathroom.  Actually are shelves for DVDs--lol!  But they've been just perfect and I love them.  Couldn't believe they still sold them.  Bought this one in 2012 from Amazon.  Got clear storage bins to fit the shelves so that it is easy for me to take bins down and put them back up.

Yes, I have really gone for maximum storage.  I will kind of have a tiny house in the basement over there.  Looks like a lot but the furniture you see in the living room takes the place of all my bedroom (triple dresser, hutch dresser, regular dresser, nightstand, curio cabinet, and closet), two desks, my TV cabinet, three end tables, and plus part of the many bookcases I had here (10).  The furniture in the studio--some of it is coming with, like I said...but the rest will hold over half of what I had in the bookcases here (6-7 regular size bookcases) and a couple of closets.  Whew!

So, it is a good thing I have downsized all I could so far.  Took me a year to get through everything in this apartment--downsize and then pack what I could.  Baby steps--15 minutes at a time.  I know there will probably be more downsizing after I move as I am trying to figure out where everything will go.  I'm glad I will have some storage shelves in the maintenance room and in that storage room under the entryway!  I do have a bunch of bins and boxes in my garage shelves here that are going with me, too.  I look forward to the organizing challenge!

It does look now that I might be moving in May or possibly June.  Depends on how much help Dagan and Leah can get with the IKEA furniture and other furniture...and there is still some electric work to be done...and I don't know what else.  I don't want Leah to wear herself out.  She's just about over the pneumonia.  And we can't expect her wonderful friends to be coming over again.  They must be exhausted--all of them!  But I am so grateful that they have come over...twice!!  This has helped Dagan and Leah tremendously.

Well, this coming week...going to watch the boys this evening while Mama and Daddy go to parent-teacher conferences.  Either I will go over there or they will drop the boys off over here.  Playing it by ear.  When I am doing poorly it is easier for them to come over here...but I would love to see all the new furniture in person.  (Writing this on Sunday night and it will depend a lot on how well I sleep honestly.)

Then Tuesday Keanna comes to clean.  Other than that...should hopefully be a much quieter week.  And we'll see how things go with the antibiotic, too.  Very well I hope.  :)  

If you made it to the end...whoohoo!  Was a busy week, like I said.  Till next time...thanks so very much for stopping by!!  :)