new camera is a-comin'....

Another weekend at home - and another visit from some awesome people! Zoe and Georgina zoomed down to visit me on Friday and left on Sunday afternoon, and we fitted some damn fun times in between. Including: fish and chips with the parents and godparents at the dinky country pub near our house, a trip to Nottingham's vintage shops (Zoe was in heaven) and proper hot chocolate at Chocolate Utopia (no they aren't paying me to advertise them, I just REALLY like the place), some curry and great chocolate, the Eurovision song contest, initiating Zoe into the wonders of Devil Wears Prada, etc etc etc. And lots of banter. And tea. Thank you my loves :) There would be photos but alas I am still camera-less. But I am on the case!!

It's a week after chemo #4 and the side effects are just about tapering off - though I am sleeping a lot longer. No more nausea and the appetite is back to normal. My arm is a little sore after this one but not too bad. The hair is STILL holding steady - v. odd. It sounds very weird of me but I actually want it to fall out now. Dammit, I've over-psyched myself up about being bald. In my head I think I will look like this:


The reality will probably be more like a naked blind mole rat:


The constipation lifted last Friday to my disproportionate excitement. I haven't tried running yet, due to pure laziness, but will drag myself out this week. If only the weather was nice... I would have some motivation! But NO it has to be schizophrenically SAD-inducing.

I think that's all the side effects covered for the moment...The new shrew hearing aids are still taking some adjusting to... and it doesn't help that the moulds have suddenly decided to turn against my ears and make them bleed/pus up by rubbing at the wrong place...ew. I really cannot afford to get my ears infected when neutropenic - would probably wind up with septicaemia or something. Tried everything to file down the moulds of evil - nail file, Revlon nail kit, sander etc etc. Nothing worked - Molloplast is irritatingly resilient. Then Mother came up with the idea of using a safety razor and HEY PRESTO I shaved strips off the little bastards! Literally. Mwahahahahaa.

My plan is to keep the days full until the next chemo so I don't get bored - so this morning drove out to somewhere in Leicestershire with the godmother to pick up some wee goslings! (Who will be eaten at Christmas, so don't get attached when I start putting photos up.) We mainly just talked about food and made ourselves hungry. Caroline suggested roasting cherry tomatoes with olive oil and herbs until soft, then eating them with crusty bread - WHERE HAS THIS IDEA BEEN ALL MY LIFE!!? Have a serious tomato craving at present and this seems like the way forward....

Not much looking forward to chemo #5 - the novelty has most definitely worn off now. Oh well, it could be the penultimate one!! Maybe... I am being slightly pessimistic, but I can still feel my neck lump and it still feels biggish. Gaaah. Off to watch a DVD and carry on making the rag rug which is taking shape! Mother's idea... as she hates me being "idle" when watching telly she has decided to harness my latent creativity and get me to make a rag rug like peasants did. Have just learned from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rug_making that in Northumberland rag rugs are/were called "proggy mats", so am off to prod my proggy mat.