October 23, 2008
Where to Start???
Hello readers! In this weblog, I’ll be sharing some thoughts on personal growth as well as some interesting tidbits. Welcome Aboard!!!
The way my blog is set up, with the exception of this post, the most recent entries are at the top . One way to access the older entries is to click on a particular month in the Archives section. There are some interesting stories in there, so be sure to take a look! You may click on a category in the box to your right and it will bring up all posts in that category — for example- recipes or swifts. Or… you may type a topic in the search box and that will bring up any post related to that topic — such as skin care.
For those of you who have been directed here because you or someone you know has cancer, there is an easy way to read only the articles relating to cancer. Simply type ‘cancer’ in the search box and it will bring up all of my posts that have the word cancer in them. You then just roll the cursor over the title of the article (which should highlight the title) and then click to read the entire article. You then click the back button to return to the other articles. My personal odyssey with cancer began in my 3/14/2009 article “Under the Weather”. You can also access it by clicking on March 2009 in the archives section and reading back from there. You may also click on ‘Health’ under the categories heading to the right.
And so, readers, I welcome you to Portland Firefly and I look forward to your comments. If you do write a comment, be sure that you click on “submit” to send it to me. I must approve all comments before they appear on the blog, so it is possible for you to send me a personal note stating that you don’t wish it to be made public.
Now, “Buckle your seatbelts for takeoff!!!”
March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
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Be sure to participate in the “wearin’ of the green” today!!!
Here’s an Irish Song:
When Irish eyes are smiling,
‘Tis like a morn in spring.
With a lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
~Author Unknown
Here’s an Irish Wish:
For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way -
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.
~Author Unknown
Here is an Irish Joke:
Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don’t want to press your luck.
And it wouldn’t be St. Patrick’s Day without an Irish Toast!
Saint Patrick was a gentleman, who through strategy and stealth
Drove all the snakes from Ireland, here’s a drink to his health!
But not too many drinks, lest we lose ourselves and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick, and see them snakes again!
~Author Unknown
“Top of the Morning to Ye!”
March 15, 2010
The Gerson Connection
On the second night at sea, the suggested dress for dinner was ‘cruise elegant’ as it was the Captain’s Dinner. I got dressed up as did the other dinners in the Dining room.
It was necessary for me to pass by several tables on the way to our assigned dinner table. On this particular evening, as I was leaving the dining room, I passed by a table that held three generations of vacationers. Grandma & Grandpa, Mom & Dad and two curly blond-haired boys ages 4 and 7. The women were all dressed up and all the males at the table (including the littlest ones) were in their suits and ties.
The little boys were so adorable and so well-behaved that I couldn’t pass by them without saying something positive. So I did. I said ” Oh my! You look so handsome and polite eating your ice cream!” as I looked directly at the littlest member at the table. Then I noticed the older boy at the opposite end of the table and I said the same thing. Then I noticed that the men were also dressed up and I acknowledged them, too! Now it was time for the women, I couldn’t leave them out. They were a very beautiful family from the youngest to the eldest and the children were very well-behaved as they enjoyed their ice cream!
From then on we always greeted each other as I would pass by their table.
Two days later while in line at what I call ‘the concierge desk’, the man behind me started talking to me. It was the Dad, whom I didn’t immediately recognize because in his baseball cap and tee-shirt he looked much different than he did in his ‘dining room clothes’.
He asked if I had a few minutes because he felt compelled to share something with me. We started talking and then we sat down in the adjacent seating area to finish our conversation while his wife and children joined him.
He started asking me about my cancer which I was happy to tell him about. He then went on to tell me that they had started ‘juicing’ and drinking green drinks many months ago. He felt that there are numerous benefits to drinking wholesome fresh squeezed juices and wanted to share that information with me.
He then went on to tell me there is a doctor who has a cancer protocol of juicing along with other things and has had some remarkable results. The doctors name is Gerson and he realized that their waiters name is also Gerson. And what are the odds of that? And I am the only person that stopped by their table. And then here he was in line behind me … Well!!! He just felt compelled to tell me about this. “It’s as though the universe is telling me something” he said to me. And he would not have felt right not telling me about The Gerson Diet.
I was very happy to have this information passed on to me even though I had previously heard of Dr. Gerson, but I’m just not into ‘juicing’ just yet!
PS: I have started drinking ( well, trying to drink) a ‘green drink’ on a daily basis. I have to admit that I do feel energized whan I drink it, but the taste isn’t the best. Not the best and not the worst –so maybe I’ll continue with the green drink for a while anyway!
March 14, 2010
Alone on the Cruise
I mentioned that on my cruise, I planned to room with an acquaintance from high school that travels frequently. I did know that she lives alone but I did not know that she usually has her own room when she travels. I have lived with people my entire life; in college, in Flight Attendant training, in our Manhattan apartments, even sharing rooms on our layovers. And then of course while married! I enjoy the camaraderie and fun that such situations present.
She told me at the time we agreed to room together that she preferred to get up early and leave the room and just ‘do her own thing’ all day long. This did present some uncomfortable situations which we were able to resolve since we were sharing a cruise ship cabin. We would run into each other rarely on the ship, but we did eat dinner at the same table in the dining room each evening.
At dinner one evening, our waiter asked about our relationship. Her reply to him was, “We are actually two strangers.” and I had to agree with her astute assessment.
The outcome of all this is that I was essentially alone on the cruise. It was not what I had expected, but as you by now, Portland Firefly does try to make the best of every situation she is thrust into. And this cruise was to be no different.
In retrospect, this allowed me to meet many people who I probably would not have met otherwise. Added to this is the fact that I preferred to wear scarves (as they are more comfortable than a wig) and I discovered that my turbaned head was a great conversation starter! I had many memorable conversations on board ship and I met several interesting people whose stories you will be reading about here this week. I hope you enjoy them!
March 13, 2010
Spring Forward Tonight
Be sure to turn your clocks FORWARD 1 hour tonight before you go to bed.
At 2:00 am, it will become 3:00 am and we lose one hour of sleep.
I have a really cool automatic atomic clock and when the time change occurs at 2:00 am, my clock automatically updates itself and hurries the time to 3:00 am automatically! It’s really cool to watch the minutes flying by itself!! I have been up times past to observe this, but tonight I’ll be fast asleep getting my beauty sleep!
March 12, 2010
Cruise Departure
Last August, I received information that my high School Alumni were going on a cruise. I thought that it sounded like a good diversion from my rigorous chemotherapy schedule and it would give me something fun to look forward to, so I decided to go on the Cruise which was to be in February.
I called a classmate that I sat near the last few class reunions. I can get along with anyone and most people are flexible when rooming with others and since she has travelled a lot, I thought that she would be a good travelling companion for that reason. We decided to room together on the cruise.
Well, the Alumni part of the cruise was cancelled. I called my roommate and asked what she wanted to do. She said that she had not purchased the travel insurance (which I had purchased) and so she was locked into the cruise. She told me that if I cancelled she would be responsible for the entire cost of our cabin herself. I didn’t want her to have to bear that cost and decided it still could be fun, so I decided to go even if our school mates would not be there. Secretly I hoped that some of them would keep their reservations and show up on the cruise anyway, but none did that I could find.
In November, I told my Doctor about my intended trip and we worked my Chemotherapy schedule around this trip. I would have Chemo three weeks before the trip and then have chemo the day after my return. One has to do what one has to do!
I had fun deciding what clothes to take for the cruise. I checked the weather at our destination ports and packed accordingly. I had to fly to California where the cruise departed . I’d be spending the night before my flight at my Son’s and he took me to the airport for my early morning flight. I was met on the other end by a dear childhood friend and we spent the day together visiting before she dropped me off at the ships terminal. After boarding the ship I found my cabin and my roommate was already there. I had chosen to schlep my luggage myself ( I am learning to travel lighter these days ~ lighter being the operative word ~ not light) so I could unpack immediately which was really nice because I felt settled in for the week and had only been on board for less than an hour!
We made our way up to the buffet to have a snack before we sailed and we sat and visited for several hours. During that time, I saw a ferry boat leave for a local island. My Daughter and her Number One were on that Ferry boat and she called me as they passed by our ship! It was a beautiful day and soon the ship was ready to set sail. I hurried out onto our balcony to watch the departure and saw the harbor slip past us. It was my first time on a cruise ship in over 25 years and I wanted to enjoy everything about it.
March 11, 2010
Portland Renovation and Remodeling Show
The Portland Renovation and Remodeling Show runs from Friday, March 12th through Sunday, March 14th at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. $4.00 for admission and the hours are 10:00 am to 7:00 pm all three days.
Portland Renovation & Remodeling Show is the premiere event in the building and construction industry dedicated solely to the remodeling industry. This is the only national event that brings remodelers, custom builders, residential architects, and designers together.http://www.eventseye.com/fairs/f-portland-renovation-remodeling-show-11140-1.html
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“Spring” Forward Saturday
Be sure to turn your clocks forward this Saturday night. Remember “Spring Forward and Fall Back”.
So at 2:00 am (Sunday Morning) it will become 3:00 am. Yes, You will lose one hour of precious sleep. And unless you turn your clock forward before you go to sleep, you will be one hour late for church on Sunday morning.
March 10, 2010
Tim is My New Favorite Geek
A few months ago, I bought it…. A little netbook computer just so I could write while on vacations and while having Chemo. It is really cool and I love it.
And two days ago while enjoying writing on it, a message from the netbook manufacturer came on the screen. The message said that it wanted to do an update. Since it came from the computer manufacturer, I figured it had to be safe. Right?!! Wrong!!!
After several minutes a message came on the screen that said basically “whatever you do, don’t touch any key on the computer!” You better believe that I didn’t!
The next screen that came up was very confusing to me because it gave me several options from F 6, to Alt F something or other to F 2, to F 8. All of it was confusing to me and totally unlike any Microsoft update I’ve ever seen. Since I didn’t know what to do, I called the company and they put me on hold and then transferred me again to someone else.
This someone else was a young woman with a “difficult to understand” accent. She assured me that she was in Fremont, California and that English was her first language. I was not convinced. She was almost impossible to understand clearly. I called back a few minutes later and got another young woman who was minimally easier to understand. It was clear to me that she was reading the instructions to me and not really ‘hearing’ the problem that I was explaining to her. In exasperation, I requested to speak to a supervisor.
I had been on the phone now for over 26 minutes but I agreed to “wait while a supervisor came on the line.” At least 10 minutes later, a supervisor came on the line. After explaining (again) the situation, she had me retry something called the ‘hard reset’. It didn’t work the first two times and it didn’t work this time either!
She informed me that the next step would most probably cause me to lose all of my documents and files. But of course, it would be alright because I “had ‘backed up’ my files before I started the update.” I told her that ”NO. My files were not backed up. There was no message to that effect before the company initiated update came up on the screen.”
What do I do now? She informed that I need to take my computer to a ‘professional” to have them “remove the hard drive —-carefully— and then back up all of my files.”
By this time I was really upset. I informed her that I am a writer and there was no indication that my files were in jeopardy when the update message appeared on my screen. I finally gave up and hung up the phone… but Portland Firefly was not a happy camper.
Today, I stopped by the ‘professionals’ at Geek Squad. Tim was my Geek.
After I unpacked and turned on my lovely little netbook, he turned the computer toward himself to see what the screen said. He touched two keys and magically….there was the welcome screen that I was wanting to see!!! He showed me a few little keyboard shortcuts while making sure that my documents were safe. Then we ‘backed them up’ on my little flash drive.
I was amazed. It was so easy for someone who knows what they are doing. He was very kind and said that he enjoyed showing people the things that he showed me. With great sincerity and a genuine smile I thanked him, and then I told him “you are my new favorite Geek.”
Portland Firefly sincerely thanks you, Tim. I wish you lots of luck and great success in your life! You deserve it!
And I am so happy to be able to write on my little computer once more!! Now maybe I ‘ll be able to write some of my ‘cruise stories’ for you.
March 9, 2010
Sister Claudette
While living in Kansas City, I met several remarkable women. One of them is Sister Claudette, RSM. She is a Catholic Nun and is a Sister of Mercy and an extrememly talented organist.
I have always felt a kinship with this lovely woman and as happens, we lost touch of each other. I “found” her again through an email that had been sent to about 50 other people besides myself. Normally I don’t even read those long lists of names, but this time I chose to do so. And there she was…. “How many CSchiratti’s can there be?” I thought. So I emailed her and sure enough it was her!
She is approaching the end of her working career —yes, Nuns do get to retire — and we hope to maybe make a trip together somewhere. Since she was born in Italy and wants to travel back there — that would be my choice also.
She also wrote several liturgical songs and one that I have just discovered is delightful. It is titled ” Dancing, Singing, Circling” and here is a link to it.
March 8, 2010
Lip Stix Remix
Portland Firefly enjoys watching the show ‘Shark Tank’ where inventors pitch their products to the 5 multi-millionaires in the hopes that they will provide money and guidance . There are some deals that are made and one regarding lipstick caught my attention.
A young woman has developd and patented a product that enables us at home to melt and re-make our broken and partially used lipsticks into a usable product. She has named it Lip Stix Remix. You can find it on this web site: http://www.lipstixremix.com/index.html
March 7, 2010
Raptor Watch
The Raptor Watch has begun! March 3, the Red-Tailed Hawk laid her first egg and you can watch the ongoing antics on the KGW Audubon Society raptor webcam.
Last year the pair of Hawks laid three eggs, but only two of them hatched. It was really fun to watch them. Some of my readers would log onto the KGW Raptor Cam while they ate their lunch and watch the show!!!
The incubation lasts 28-32 days. The female does the majority of the incubating with the male providing food. After hatching the young spend 44-46 before attempting their first flights. This is the time that Portland Firefly thinks it is the most fun to watch the birds because the baby birds are so interesting!
For your free show go to : http://www.kgw.com/lifestyle/raptor-cam
March 6, 2010
Portland Saturday Market
The Portland Saturday Market opens today!!! This first weekend is Kids Corner and children will be taught how to make musical instruments out of recycled materials with a parade at 2:00pm.
2010 Market Hours
March 6 - Dec 24
SATURDAYS 10 – 5pm
SUNDAYS 11 – 4:30pm
Weekend Market
located at
SW Ankeny St + Naito Parkway
For more information go to this website: http://www.portlandsaturdaymarket.com/
March 3, 2010
Happiness
I recently heard the happiness is the absence of anxiety in our lives.
That makes sense to me.
How can we tell if we are happy? We can make a ‘happiness journal’ and write down one thing each day that made up happy. We can also ask our child what did he/she did today that made them happy. Great conversation starter! Especially for solitary seeking teens. Be sure to share your happy minute with them, too!
If you find yourself loosing track of time while doing something, then the chance is that you enjoy it and are happy while involved in that activity.
We could all use a little more happiness in our lives! So lets figure out what makes us happy and do it!
March 2, 2010
Too Many side-effects to Write
I know…. I promised you the first of several ‘cruise stories’ today. But the Chemo generated fatigue and peripheral neuropathy are just too overwhelming and Portland Firefly is unable to write.
I promise you that I have started a couple of stories and others have been written in my mind… so you will get some stories ~~~ just not today.
March 1, 2010
Cruisin’
Portland Firefly had the opportunity to go an a little cruise. It was not as much fun as I had hoped it to be, but with my open-mindedness it did present other very worthwhile situations which you will be able to read about here hopefully during the next few weeks.
I have so much to write about that I don’t know where to begin. I think that I’ll begin with the last event and you can read about that tomorrow!
February 27, 2010
Rose Festival Clown Auditions
The Portland Rose Festival is looking for clowns!!!!
A. Applicants 18 & over will undergo a background check.
B. Upon selection, participants are required to pay a fee to cover their makeup, costumes and
background check:
February 26, 2010
Chemo Once More
Portland Firefly had Chemo on Monday. This was the fourth in my scheduled yearlong maintainance chemo sessions.
Last month, my doctor asked very pointed questions about the side effects that I have been experiencing with this round of chemotherapy. When I stated that “I am completely committed to the year-long completion of this maintainance chemo.”, she reminded me that I am not the only one that can take me off the chemo. As soon as I recovered from her statement, I realized that, yes, of course, she can stop my chemo any time she thinks that it isn’t being helpful or any time she believes that the side effects are becoming too intense. Some of them like the peripheral neuropathy that I have continued to experience can become permanent, even resulting in a person becoming wheelchair bound.
There are some side effects that have become increasingly intense for me. One is the fatigue. it used to be that I’d have about 10-14 days of energy (just prior to my next chemo session), but this last month I only felt like I had a few energy filled days. Of course, I was travelling and I had two presentations, but I still feel that the fatigue was more intense than it should have been.
Also the peripheral neuropathy has continued to present problems for me. I experience numbness in my feet daily even taking the L-Glutamine and extra B-Complex vitamins that have been recommended. This numbness in my feet is the reason that I cannot wear high heels and also is one of the reasons that I have not gone dancing for almost a year.
A minor side effect, but one that deserves consideration is that of hair loss. I have continued to lose any little remnants of hair that had returned while on my trip to Spain. The few hairs that remain will certainly fall out in two weeks. I was really excited to have my cute curly hair for 8 weeks and I’ll really look forward to seeing it again whenever that time may come!!!
And so, I will be keeping careful track of my side effects this month so my doctor and I can make a decision about whether to continue my chemo or to stop it at this time. I have done a lot of thinking about this issue during the last month and it will continue to be on my mind the rest of this month. Any decision that will be made will be made with careful consideration and consultation with my family as well as my doctor. But if you ask me for my ‘gut feeling’, I will tell you that I think I had my final Chemo last Monday. And I am perfectly fine with that!
February 25, 2010
Lost Theory
OK!!! Of all the TV shows that I have watched during this illness, Lost was one of those that I skipped over while channel surfing. Until one night a few weeks ago. I actually watched most of the show. And slowly a theory evolved.
I believe that everyone who has “blood” on them is one of the ‘lost’. I believe that the lost people are people who are in comas after some disaster. It can be a common disaster –(ie: the plane crash) or new ones as new people come into the series. When shown with blood on them, they are in the hospital. Without blood, they are in their real life outside the hospital.
I believe that this entire show takes place in a hospital or medical facility. And therefore words and phrases are euphemisms that lay people, hospital workers, visitors and medical staff use when speaking in the room with these comatose patients.
People who never have blood on them are in these comatose patients subconscious one way or another. I believe that this entire series has been a way for these comatose patients to try to ‘make sense ‘ of the world around them through dreams, flashbacks, phrases that they hear spoken near their beds. This why they know about other patients. They are all in one big room, one big ward. It is possible that most of them are on life-support.
I believe that knives represent pain and or surgery. The bigger the knife, the greater the pain. (ie: knife-like pain, cutting pain, surgery) . The more knives, the greater number of surgeries.
Guns represent medicines– specifically pain medicines. Little guns for pain killers, medium guns for medium pain and ‘big guns’ for excruciating pain.
We ‘drown’ when we are given too many pain killers. We ‘drown’ when our lungs fill with fluid.
I need to watch at least one more episode in order to go farther with my theory, but I’d be interested to hear what other have to say about this fascinating series.
February 24, 2010
Portland Home and Garden Show
And available at www.OTshows.com.
MORE INFO:
February 23, 2010
Free Pancakes Today!!!
Today, Tuesday, February 23, 2010 is National Pancake Day. IHOP is offering Free Pancakes all day today until 10:00pm. They do ask that you consider making a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network in exchange for your free short stack of three buttermilk pancakes. Sounds like a ‘win-win’ situation to me! Miss Oregon is helping out at the Portland Southeast IHOP this morning! Beauty, Breakfast and Philanthropy!!!
The Portland IHOP is :
| IHOP #675 |
| 4931 SE 82nd Avenue |
| PORTLAND, OR 97266-3103 |
| 503-771 1582 |
Since this is a national event you can click here to find the IHOP nearest you : http://ihoplocator.com/.
February 22, 2010
Found Money?
Every state has procedure for citizens to claim money that is rightfully theirs. Usually the money has been ‘forgotten’ in a bank account, an IRA, an unclaimed insurance policy or a refund of some sort.
You can go to the following website to see if your state is holding any unclaimed money for you. I have not thoroughly checked this website myself, so that is your responsibility. www.missingmoney.com
The residents of other states, or if you EVER lived in another state, you should check to see if there is any money that is due to you from each state that you have lived in.
Be sure that you do not pay anyone to claim your money. Do not give anyone your personal information unless you are absolutely sure of the website. involved. You should go to a government approved website or call your state Treasurers office for more information in this matter. Good Luck!!!
February 19, 2010
Runpee.com
This website is sheer genius. For those of you who do not know of this site, let me tell you about it. It tells you the best time during a movie that you can ’run and pee’.
For those of you who are techies, there is even a free App that you can download onto your phone.
The website even gives you several options for each movie; it then gives you the movie cue when it is the best time to leave the movie; it tells you how long you have; then it gives you a synopsis of what you missed during your ‘bathroom break’.
Go to www.runpee.com for for information.
February 18, 2010
5 Second Rule Debunked
The 5 second rule has been debunked!!!! You know the rule … if it drops on the floor and you pick it up in 5 seconds or less, its still OK to eat it??!!
Well, it seems that if the food or item falls on the floor, germs attach to it in less than 5 seconds. Bummer!!!
The thing that Portland Firefly wants to caution you about is who funded this study. The study was funded by Clorox. And of course Clorox wants you to use their produce to disinfect your household surfaces. And, of couse, chlorine is one of the best germ killers out there so there is probably some truth to this study.
But, on the other hand, I am sure that we all ‘ate dirt’ as a child. So it might be helpful to build up a little immunity as well. Use your best judgment.
Here is the weblink so you can read about this yourself www.simpleandsurprising.com .
February 16, 2010
My Speech
Portland Firefly was very busy last week. Not only did I experience computer problems, but I was refining my speech on Primary Peritoneal Cacinoma, the deadly aggressive sister to Ovarian Cancer.
I had two speaking engagments and I was very excited to be able to educate women about this difficult to diagnose disease. I spent a small fortune at Office Depot and Staples on printing and laminating so my presentation would look professional.
At both groups, the women gave me their undivided attention and even though the presentation went longer than I had hoped it would; they said they needed to hear what I had to say so they didn’t mind the length.
Since much of the information is medically technical I felt good when the nurses present said that they learned something new too.
My mission is to present my program as often as I can so that as many women as possible will be educated about the subtle symptoms of this disease. Hopefully this will increase the probability of early diagnosis which also increases the probability of survival.
My title? ” How Can I have Ovarian Cancer? I don’t have any Ovaries!”
