My mother went to the doctor today. They removed the tracheotomy tube and sutures from her neck. She looks a lot better now without that thing sticking out of her neck. She can also eat now. The doc did give her some good news. They had removed the lymph glands from her neck and they had received the lab reports back. Zero cancer in them. That's a great thing because it means the cancer was localized and hadn't started to spread at all. Her spirits are much better now and I think she's goi...

OK, this is the first progress photo of the sapphire blue sweater I am knitting. In the photo I know it looks like the left sleeve is shorter. That's just  a combination of how I have it on, standing at a slight angle, and that one edge being rolled more than the other. They're actually the same length. I think it's coming along ok for my first attempt at a raglan sweater.     Still a lot of knitting yet to go.

I woke this morning with a mother of a back ache. WTF? It was a struggle just to get out of the bed. My back was so stiff and sore I could barely walk. I didn't do much yesterday except laundry, knitting, a couple of walks to the C-store across the street, and grilling a couple of burgers for dinner. I have no idea why my back felt the way it did when I got up. I made some coffee and downed one of the pain killers I have left over from when I injured my back on the job a long while back. It h...

While I've been busy doing laundry and assorted other odds and ends I've spent a little time here and there knitting my first raglan sweater. As I prefer to create my own stuff instead of following someone else's pattern, I did all the measurements and calculations needed to create a sweater. I'm knitting it from the top down on circular needles so that it's basically knit in one piece without having to do any seaming. Once I get the body finished I just have to go back and pick up stitches a...

Ok, I was bored and playing around with the camera. Just some shots of ugly ole me now that I have my full Summer look in place. Should be good for frightening small children.   Just ugly ole me   Just doing a bit of knitting     Just goofing around   Ok, enough of the horror show.

Wow, I have to say that knitters are great. Knowing that my mother is going through this whole cancer surgery thing and soon to be going through chemo, a bunch of the folks on the main knitting site I frequent are getting together to knit her a bunch of chemo caps, socks, and who knows what else. Some of them are as far away as Scotland. I am honestly touched by their caring and generosity. What a great bunch of people.

Today I went and bought myself a HeadBlade so that I could finish up getting into my Summer look. Not having any hair is so much easier out on the road.  When I do have hair (in the Winter) I rarely bother to comb it, I just put on a hat and move on. In the past I have either shaved my head with an electric which just doesn't provide a very close shave, or with a regular razor which is somewhat awkward for the head. I had seen the HeadBlade in stores before and decided to give the thin...

Now that warm weather seems to be here to stay I have shaaved off the Winter beard and am back to my normal Summer look. I did keep the Fu Manchu style moustache but am otherwise clean shaven again. It'll take me a few days to get used to myself in the mirror again. Mom seems to be doing well with her recovery from the surgery. They're sending a nurse twice a day to help maintain her tracheotomy tube and with the feeding (liquid diet). I'm glad a professional is coming around to prevent infec...

On my way home yesterday I made a quick stop to grab a bite to eat. As I was in a hurry I violated one of my own rules and stopped at a fast food joint; Arby's. As far as fast food goes I think Arby's is a little better than most of them. When I walked up to the counter I saw a large sign that listed some specials for each day of the week. Yesterday's special was a buck off a combo meal. Cool. I ordered a combo, the girl rang it up, I paid thinking it seemed a tad high, and looked at my rec...

I finally made it home this afternoon. I decided to drop my trailer atthe place where I park my truck and bobtail to my house to unload mygear and three months worth of dirty laundry since Mom's husband isbusy with her at the hospital. I figured that way all he would have todo is come and pick me up and not waste extra time while I unloaded allof my crap. As I pulled onto the street I caught a glimpse of a car that lookedjust like Mom's with two people in it. I figured it couldn't be her'sa...

When I called to find out how my mother was doing after her throat cancer surgery I was infuriated. The person who answered the phone transferred me to the first of their three ICU wards. The nurse there told that my mother wasn't in her ward and that she was in ICU 2 and transferred me there. The nurse there told me that Mom wasn't there and that she must be in ICU 1. No, I said they transferred me there because she wasn't in 1. She said she must be in 3 and transferred me there. At this poi...

I spoke with the nurse in the recovery room this afternoon.  My mother made it through the surgery ok. What a huge relief off my mind. I appreciate all of the prayers and positive thoughts.

I spoke with my mother on the phone a bit ago. I can tell she's worried  about her surgery tomorrow although she's trying hard to not let it show. Same thing I would do. She gave me the phone number for the hospital and we talked a bit. I can tell. I make a point of staying positive when talking to her but I suspect she can tell I am worried. I know there's nothing that I can do that will affect the surgery one way or the other but I still wish I could be there. Not being there for...

I've been trying like hell to make it home in time for Mom's throat cancer surgery on Friday but Murphy's Law has been in full effect and it just isn't going to happen. At best I'll make it there a day or two after. This is really depressing me and stressing me at the same time. I know she really wanted me there when she goes in. As her health is poor I am really concerned about her going in for this surgery. The last time she had surgery she stopped breathing on the table and they had a hell...

The plan was for me to get loaded up and headed for home today. So far that hasn't happened. Yesterday I picked up a generator going to Florida and we had planned for me to fill out the load with a military truck this morning. The factory is running a bit behind and the truck isn't ready yet. I am sitting around waiting for dipatch to figure something out to get me loaded and going home. I am starting to be concerned that I won't make it home in time for Mom's surgery. It's not like she'll...