I LOVE SUMMER *sigh*

What a beautiful morning! I ate my oatmeal/fruit/flax combo on the deck and read the paper, listened to the birds and then surveyed the garden.

Mom is heading home today after taking care of all our laundering needs. My undies have never been so nicely folded since I was a kid! Thanks, Mom, for coming in and giving us a hand this past week even though there are lots of things you needed to get done at your own place. Your garden ... or what's left of it ... will be glad to have you home. People at the Lake will wonder what's happened to you. Now is the time to be there.

Kevin's stomach is settled this morning and even though he still feels ravaged between the food poisoning and his cold, he thinks he will go in to work ... if he can get off the phone with work, that is.

I had another good sleep last night. The fatigue part of chemo is turning out to be a blessing I hadn't anticipated. I was prepared for a lousy night just because my chest was bugging me so much. Just irritating. Like an itch you can't scratch. Not exactly painful, but uncomfortable. I had trouble settling so, for the first time in a long time, I reached for a book. I have several "wannareads" beside my bed but I just haven't been able to read during all of this. Well, not exactly true, I was really able to enjoy reading while we were on vacation in Kentucky but that's because I was in place of relief. Surgery was over and went well, I knew I had to wait to start chemo anyway, so there was no worry and no urgency. At that time I didn't know I'd have more surgery down the road either.

So, I started reading and was actually able to get into it ... for a little while. I didn't last long before I had to put the book away. But it's encouraging for me that I didn't WANT to put the book down. Reading has always been my pleasure and my refuge. I'd like to keep it that way. And then I slept. Of course, I get up a few times in the night but, so far, I always fall back to sleep easily.

This morning, I feel pretty good. My chest annoyance is still there but it's easy to ignore, I think. Hopefully it will stay that way or just go away altogether. It really drove me bonkers yesterday.

Thanks, Jack, for calling last night. I needed that.

See Norma? Tiger Lilies! In our yard! You have such good karma!