Costumes

I hate Halloween, but I put on a mostly happy face for the children.

Victor wanted to be a combine harvester this year. Here is what I came up with:




Zeke was a dump truck.


Jeremy took them both trick-or-treating. I think they were gone for twenty five minutes, tops. I stayed home to pass out candy.


Jeremy has something to say: I love Halloween. Halloween is one of the last community events in our culture. When else are you ever going to actually speak to someone who doesn't live within 50 feet of your property line? It is a great opportunity to say hello to people you don't see often, and it gives you a chance to . . . as NPR would say, connect with members of your community. *gag. It's true, though. You walk around, wave, and say thanks for the candy. You meet your neighbors; everyone has fun. I see nothing objectionable about it whatsoever, and I think participation by buying a bag of candy and a pumpkin is not only reasonable, but a civic duty.

Halloween

I hate Halloween. I will never believe we are in truly dire economic straits until we stop celebrating this ridiculous holiday.

Sticks

Boo Hoo for me. I got stuck five times today.

Five sticks and no real answers.

Blah.

Shots

This morning I went to the doctor to have some blood drawn and tested. Nothing new there, except it was for blood clots instead of cancer.

Unfortunately, the results were not good enough, and I'll have to keep giving myself shots. The bag of pre-filled syringes I picked up at the drugstore was enormous. My mouth dropped open when I saw it. According to the receipt, my insurance saved me $4068.00 on my prescription. Pretty neat.

More Tests on the Horizon

On Monday I had my post-chemo CT scan. Cancer-wise, it was good. It showed no cancer--although I haven't had my official post-chemo doctor appointment, so I'm not feeling too confidant, yet .

However, the scan did show something fishy in my lungs. A second CT scan confirmed two pulmonary emboli, one in each lung. This is not a good development, but at least they know how to treat it.

So, chemo is over, but now I have to be on blood thinners for somewhere between six months and my whole life, depending on what they decide caused the clots.

Actually. . .

We have been enjoying the company of my sister-in-law Candice and her five month old daughter, Laura. Victor calls her "cousin Laura" and Zeke calls her "beebee." They both adore her, and she tolerates their attention very well.

Yesterday, Candice took Victor and Laura to Portrait Innovations to have Laura's picture made. On the way out, the photographer said to Victor, "Thanks for being such a big helper, Buddy."

He replied, "Actually, my name's Victor."