Our Girls Came to Visit Maw and Paw a Few Minutes Ago!

This mother/baby have been visiting us for a few weeks now.  They're slowly getting closer and closer to the house, which delights us.

I was tickled to get these shots today.  They were hanging out at the cremated burial sites of my parents.... Dad's ashes were buried at the Live Oak, and mom's are at the Redbud Tree with the birdbath.

A fun story-  back in '89, my brother was in town for a visit.  We had everybody over here.  Dad was a stroke victim and confined to a wheelchair.  Ric wheeled him outside and said, "Oh Dad!  Wouldn't it be neat if a deer came out of the woods right now?".  Guess what happened immediately?   YEP!  Maybe an ancestor of these guys!  One never knows!

Researchers say therapy improves stem cell engraftment in umbilical cord blood transplant recipients

 "There is a significant need to improve the speed and quality of engraftment of cord-derived stem cells," says trial leader Corey Cutler, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women's Hospital. "FT1050 has shown the ability in preclinical research to activate hematopoetic [blood-forming] stem cells so they engraft more quickly and with a higher degree of success."

The goal of the phase I trial was to assess the safety of FT1050-treated cord blood cells in adult patients receiving umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants, and determine if the treated cells accelerate engraftment. In the 12 patients who participated in the trial, engraftment occurred approximately three to four days faster than happens with standard cord blood cells. Levels of white blood cells known as neutrophils returned to normal in the patients after a median of 17.5 days, similar to the rate in standard stem cell transplants. Side effects of the FT1050-treated cord blood cells were minimal. In none of the study patients did the stem cells fail to engraft.

JUMP

Inside the Strange Science of Cord Blood Banking

“If you have the money, and you want to bank your child’s own cord blood, you’re essentially investing in one of two things,” said Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of the Duke Pediatric Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Program. “One, the possibility that another child in your family will need that cord blood, and that it matches. Or two, that somewhere in the future there will be new developments and new uses for your child’s cord blood — say in regenerative medicine or cell therapy. But to date, none of those exist.”

While a few rare diseases, such as multiple myeloma and lymphoma, use stem cells taken from a patient’s own body, the chances of a child having these are vanishingly small. The chances are so small, in fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend private cord blood storing. Parents should only consider it, they say, if a family member has a disease that could be treated with stem cell transplants.

Jump To More

This sounds like a reasonably priced "insurance policy" to me.  We live in amazing times with new medical developments constantly!

Stem cell and regenerative medicine's future: WOW!!!

The video clip opens with Wilmut referring to Shinya Yamanaka, the Japanese scientist whose team was the first to make human IPS cells. These cells act much like embryonic stem cells, but can be created from adult skin cells. They thus avoid the ethical issue many have with developing therapies made from human embryos.

In addition, IPS cells hold the potential for personalized therapy. A patient with a damaged spinal cord, for example, could receive a transplant of new spinal cord tissue, grown from his own cells. Likewise, a patient with Parkinson's disease could receive new dopamine-producing brain cells. (In the case of inherited disease, researchers are investigating whether these cells could be corrected with gene therapy before being transplanted back into patients).

Read more: http://www.nctimes.com/blogsnew/business/scitech/stem-cell-and-regenerative-medicine-s-future-video-from-ian/article_6f87eb38-3405-5ffd-9fec-d565555e1eba.html#ixzz1fjCwbGKY

Our Wonderful Holiday Season Continues!

Hi gang....

It's been another great week.  Dom is feeling and looking GREAT.  There IS light at the end of this Myeloma Tunnel.  Hang in there and be tough, guys.

Earlier in the week, Dom ended up with some type of upper respiratory crud  that rubbed off on me for a couple of days.... it didn't last long for either of us.

We celebrated 23 years of marriage on Friday.  Or as Dominic says, "23 LONG, LONG years".   ;)  Had a couple of nice filets, a baked potato and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate.  Very pleasant.

Dom caught this sunrise this morning.  Thought I'd share it with you.  Note to self:  "FIX DOMs CAMERA DATE SETTING!"

A Useful Myeloma Staging Chart

Multiple Myeloma: A Clinical Overview

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant, progressive plasma cell tumor characterized by overproduction of monoclonal immunoglobulins, osteolytic bone lesions, renal disease, and immunodeficiency.[1] Before the 1980s, patients with MM experienced a slow, progressive decline in quality of life until death approximately 2 years after diagnosis,[2] but the advent of high-dose alkylating agents increased the probability of remission and prolonged overall and event-free survival. During the past decade, important advances have been made in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of MM, leading to the development of even more effective treatment strategies,[3,4] including stem cell transplantation, the immunomodulators thalidomide(Drug information on thalidomide) and lenalidomide, and the first-generation proteasome inhibitor bortezomib(Drug information on bortezomib).

Currently, MM is an active field of research for novel pharmacotherapies, with a number of agents in phase II or III of clinical development. This supplement describes several therapeutic advances in the context of the underlying molecular mechanisms. The objective of this article is to put these advances into the current clinical context by providing an overview of the epidemiology, etiology, and clinical features of MM, along with the prognosis for patients with this disease.

More Here

For DETROIT area MM patients.....

"We are pleased to welcome Karmanos Cancer Institute to the MMRC's esteemed clinical network," said Beverly Harrison, VP, Clinical Development. "Like all MMRC Member Institutions, Karmanos was selected to join this exclusive network based on its outstanding reputation for clinical excellence, its demonstrated commitment to rigorous research, and its true spirit of collaboration and team-science. We have no doubt that Karmanos will prove to be an invaluable asset in our efforts to rapidly shepherd the next generation of treatments through the MMRC."

More Here

Multipe Myeloma patient runs marathons!

Saw this on HLN this morning.

In case you missed it, here's a link to the video:

Video Link

Salvage transplant safe, feasible for multiple myeloma

Salvage autologous hematopoietic cell transplant should be considered for patients with multiple myeloma who have relapsed after initial transplant, according to the results of a restrospective analysis.

The study included data from 44 patients with multiple myeloma who had undergone a second salvage autologous hematopoietic cell transplant between 1992 to 2008.

JUMP TO STORY

Federal ban on selling organs does not apply to sick children who need bone marrow transplants to survive,

A federal ban on selling organs does not apply to sick children who need bone marrow transplants to survive, the 9th Circuit ruled Thursday, finding that modern technology has made the once painful and invasive procedure little different than donating blood.
   
The ruling gives new life to the California-based nonprofit MoreMarrowDonors.org, which has stumbled in its plan to offer donors $3,000 "awards," such as scholarships or housing allowances, because bone marrow is classified as an organ that can't be legally bought or sold under the National Organ Transplant Act.
   
The nonprofit and a group of plaintiffs who have personally been affected by the ban challenged that classification as irrational and unconstitutional given a new, less invasive method of extracting marrow cells that has been developed over in the last 20 years.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/01/41879.htm

VA Recognize These Diseases as being Linked to AGENT ORANGE

More than 40 years have passed since the U.S. military used Agent Orange in Vietnam, but only in recent years have health care costs escalated rapidly.

In a report by The Institute of Medicine, an association between exposure to Agent Orange and illnesses including soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and chloracne has been found.

The report requests further research to determine whether there could be a link to other illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, tonsil cancer, melanoma and Alzheimer’s disease.

Federal officials estimate that 10,000 more veterans have sought medical compensation for diseases related to Agent Orange over the last two years than projected. Over the next decade, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expected to pay $50 billion for health care compensation for only one of the 14 diseases the VA says is associated with Agent Orange exposure.

Last year, ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and B-cell leukemia were added to the list of diseases the VA associates with Agent Orange exposure. According to a VA report, ischemic heart disease alone added $236 million in 2010 and $165 million this year in compensation costs.

Alan Simpson, former chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, is among those questioning how the VA will afford the compensation claims without increasing the strain on the national budget. He maintains that today’s veterans could become subject to longer delays for disability-compensation claims, primarily because of the backlog created by veterans from previous generations.

Here is a list taken directly from the Department of Veterans Affairs of diseases that are currently recognized as being linked to Agent Orange:

Acute and Subacute Peripheral Neuropathy

A nervous system condition that causes numbness, tingling, and motor weakness. Under VA’s rating regulations, it must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of exposure to herbicides and resolve within 2 years after the date it began.

AL Amyloidosis

A rare disease caused when an abnormal protein, amyloid, enters tissues or organs.

Chloracne (or Similar Acneform Disease)

A skin condition that occurs soon after exposure to chemicals and looks like common forms of acne seen in teenagers. Under VA’s rating regulations, chloracne (or other acneform disease similar to chloracne) must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of exposure to herbicides.

Chronic B-cell Leukemias

A type of cancer which affects white blood cells.

Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)

A disease characterized by high blood sugar levels resulting from the body’s inability to respond properly to the hormone insulin.

Hodgkin’s Disease

A malignant lymphoma (cancer) characterized by progressive enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen, and by progressive anemia.

Ischemic Heart Disease

A disease characterized by a reduced supply of blood to the heart, that leads to chest pain.

Multiple Myeloma

A cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell in bone marrow.

Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

A group of cancers that affect the lymph glands and other lymphatic tissue.

Parkinson’s Disease

A progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects muscle movement.

Porphyria Cutanea Tarda

A disorder characterized by liver dysfunction and by thinning and blistering of the skin in sun-exposed areas. Under VA’s rating regulations, it must be at least 10% disabling within 1 year of exposure to herbicides.

Prostate Cancer

Cancer of the prostate; one of the most common cancers among men.

Respiratory Cancers

Cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus.

Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)

A group of different types of cancers in body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels, and connective tissues.

Photo thanks to vsai under creative commons license on Flickr. 

Read more: http://vabenefitblog.com/agent-orange-claims-grow-rapidly/#ixzz1f8JYkZhg

**EDITED TO ADD DEPT of VA Link:  http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp

Dom's Latest Numbers

From November '11

HCT:    36.1

WBC:   5.3

ANC:   3330

PLATELETS:   157

Since they were sticking him, anyway.....

LIPID PANEL-

Cholesterol:  150

Triglycerides:  112

HDL:    56

LDL:    86

All of this fell into the "Optimal Range"

We're very pleased, as are his doctors.

Onyx Pharma Says FDA Accepts NDA For Carfilzomib To Treat Multiple Myeloma

Onyx stated that carfilzomib data makes it a suitable candidate for accelerated approval in the relapsed and refractory treatment setting. The company expects a decision from the FDA in the next few weeks regarding a priority or standard review.

Carfilzomib achieved an overall response rate, which is a partial response or greater, of 24.1 percent and a median duration of response of 7.8 months in 003-A1 study, an open-label, single-arm Phase 2b trial. The median overall survival for all patients in the study, regardless of response to drug, was 15.6 months.

LINK

Our Fabulous Thanksgiving Week- We're Truly Blessed

Hi gang-

I trust that everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  We had non-stop fun.  Dear friend, Chris arrived on Wednesday morning.  The 3 of us hopped in my car and went to Crystal's Trip.  Wendy and Bubs met us there for beers.  As I was designated driver, I limited myself to 2.

As I refused to cook anything until Thursday, the 3 of us went to Yo Yo's Mexican Restaurant and loaded up on great food.

Got home around 4 pm.  I got busy in the kitchen with prep-work for the feast while the boys shot pool.  Joe and Ping arrived around 6pm.  We had a fun evening of pool, darts, catching up.... basically whooping it up.

Dom cooked breakfast for the gang on Thursday morning.  (he's a wonderful help to me on holidays!)  I banished everyone from my kitchen and got cooking:

*22# Turkey.... cooked ala Martha Stewart ... cheesecloth, wine and butter
*Cornbread, cranberry, sausage and pecan stuffing
*Mashed Potatoes and gravy
*Carmelized Balsamic Pearl Onions
*Corn Pudding
*Lima Beans
*Sweet Potato/Pecan Casserole
*Spinach/Arthichoke Casserole
*Store bought Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie
*Butter Pecan and Vanilla Ice Cream
*Beaujolais Nouveau
*Bubbly

I stayed in the kitchen sipping on wine and cooking all day.  The others did a little target shooting.  I'm fond of the picture of Ping shooting.... you can see the smoking gun!

Had dinner by candlelight with The Nutcracker and Johan Strauss playing.  Very festive.  Alot of fun.  Ended the night in the hot tub for awhile.

Everyone left on Friday morning.  Yours truly did not even get out of bed until after noon.  SERENITY NOW!

Had a lazy weekend.  Wendy and Bubs came over for a day of pool, darts and beer on Sunday.

Got our wonderful call from Tulane Cancer Center..... Dom continues to be in Complete Remission/Response ..... 28 months post Stem Cell Transplant!

Last night, our Saints demolished Eli Manning and his NY Giants.  GREAT GAME.  GREAT WEEK. 

GREAT to get back to normal!

Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells: Prime Source for Transplants and Future Regenerative Medicine

The 5th ITERA Life-Sciences Consortium Symposium took place in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and showcased the progress of stem cell research and promising therapeutic applications. Thanks to solid scientific data, researchers confirmed that umbilical cord blood stem cells are one of the prime sources to be used in current stem cell transplants, ongoing research and future regenerative medicine.

Cord blood is one of the prime sources for stem cells, more and more used for stem cell transplants

Jump To Story.... 

Dom Continues to be in Complete Remission/Response..... YAY!!!!!!

Just hung up the phone with Tulane Cancer Center.

His latest M-Spike test showed ZERO..... he's now been clean for 28 months!!!!  Modern medicine is marvelous, isn't it?

Bone marrow cancer hope as scientists identify gene that increases risk by 30 per cent

Related to last evening's post:
  
*Relatives of those suffering from multiple myeloma are four times more likely to develop cancerous cells  

*First time genes responsible for the disease have been identified


 MORE HERE

Scientists identify first genetic link to myeloma

 Although we've been convinced that Dominic's MM was a result of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, this was interesting.... we live in amazing times, gang.... best of luck to all of you!

"Rather than identifying who will or won't develop the disease, the researchers hope that the study will help to identify drug targets or further information about the disease's causes."

Good read here:   http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/cancernews/2011-11-27-Scientists-identify-first-genetic-link-to-myeloma

Emerald Coast Cruisin'

This was quite the impressive event.  Over 3000 classic cars and rat-rods were in town last week.  Our dear friend, Donn gave us VIP Tickets for this event.  Free entry and preferred parking.

We strolled around the event on Friday afternoon and looked at cars.  These pictures were taken then.  When we headed back on Saturday, we were alarmed to see Back Beach Road literally STOPPED with cars waiting to pull in.  We blew it off.  At 10 bucks per person per day, and 3 dollar parking per car, they made a BUNDLE.  Thanks again, Donn.... you saved us money, honey!

Saturday night, we strolled over to Pineapple Willy's http://www.pwillys.com/  via Coyote Ugly Saloon and Dee's Hangout.  They were hosting the FIRE SHOOTING CONTEST.  Unfortunately, my camera batteries died, but it was alot of fun...

Emerald Coast Cruizin

Dee's Hangout Does it Again!

The gang at Dee's Hangout never fail to blow us away with their food and service.  This has turned into our favorite joint on the beach.

Whether it's po-boys, baked oysters, burgers or plates, this is our MUST STOP place.

Went in a couple of nights last week.  Wanted to share pictures of their JALAPENO BAKED OYSTERS....  delicious!   Washed 'em down with ice cold pints of beer for only a BUCK!
Visit Dee's on Facebook

Check out Dee's Menu

Pier Park on Veteran's Day..... Nice Job!

We were in town for the Emerald Coast Cruisin' event, and took a drive through Pier Park on Friday.  They truly outdid themselves this year!  I don't know if I've ever seen so many flags before.  Just lovely.

Pier Park has it all.... retail, restaurants, bars.... the works.  Also beautiful landscaping.  Huge place that runs between Front Beach and Middle Beach roads.

Trip Advisor Link

Pier Park Directory

Novel Therapies Put Multiple Myeloma 'On the Ropes'

SAN FRANCISCO – A sweep of new agents are poised to deliver what could be a knock-out blow to multiple myeloma, according to the director of the myeloma program at the University of California, San Francisco.

Some are second- or third-generation agents in a mainstay class that appear to have less toxicity than and/or overcome resistance to their predecessors, Dr. Jeffrey L. Wolf said at the annual Oncology Congress here. Others come from classes not previously used in this disease. 

"There is a rush to develop new drugs in myeloma," Dr. Wolf told attendees. "We [understand] some mechanisms that the disease seems to favor, so we can interfere with those."

The prospects, in turn, are excellent: "We have made such tremendous headway in myeloma, except for those exceptional cases with 17p deletions and some other adverse prognostic features," he said. "As a disease, it seems to be on the ropes." 

More After the Jump

Multiple Myeloma: Challenges and Progress

 This story is a bit of a downer, but has a nice ending:

“Hopefully, the impressive response rates being reported are durable and will translate into meaningful and long term improvement in survival if not yet cure,” Dingle and Rajkumar concluded.
Link to Entire Story

Diabetes and the Stem Cell Promise

We certainly live in amazing times!

"Another approach to the autoimmune problem is being tested by ViaCyte. The company is working on an embryonic stem cell-based therapy that will enclose beta-cell precursors inside a membrane envelope, then implant them under a diabetic patient's skin. The pouch will allow insulin to flow out of it, into a patient's bloodstream, but won't allow cells of the immune system to get in and attack the implant (or allow rogue cancers from the transplant, should they arise, to escape into the recipient's body).

Finally, diabetes researchers face the same challenges as any other scientists working with stem cells: They need to figure out how to produce large numbers of the beta cells and make sure they're safe and stable.
Over the long term, the best solution would probably be to study how stem cells generate beta cells to figure out how to teach a patient's body to regrow islets for itself from stem cells, and possibly even other types of cells, already in the body, Firpo says. "We could have stem cell therapies that don't actually involve a stem cell being transplanted into a person."

FULL STORY HERE

Multiple Myeloma: A Clinical Overview

By Kenneth C. Anderson, MD¹ | November 7, 2011

ABSTRACT: Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy in the United States, affecting slightly more men than women and twice as many African Americans as Caucasians. Older age is the primary risk factor for MM, but obesity also increases risk. MM is incurable, but treatment advances in the past decade have more than doubled the duration of survival. MM is a progressive plasma cell tumor in which an initially stable clone becomes malignant via a multistep process. Causative factors implicated in this process include radiation, environmental toxins, chronic antigen stimulation, and genetics. The malignant plasma cells interact with other hematopoietic and stromal cells within the bone marrow microenvironment to disrupt homeostasis among cells and within the extracellular matrix. These tumor-host interactions lead to MM cell proliferation and migration, angiogenesis, osteolysis, immunodeficiency, and anemia. As a result, patients often present with osteolytic bone lesions, recurrent infections, renal insufficiency, and fatigue. The Durie-Salmon and International Staging Systems are used to stage MM, with the latter providing prognostic information based on readily available laboratory data. However, a number of cytogenetic markers are emerging as prognostic indicators, introducing the possibility of more refined disease staging systems and tailored treatment strategies based on genetic profiles.

http://www.cancernetwork.com/multiple-myeloma/content/article/10165/1983377?pageNumber=1

MORE AFTER THE JUMP-  SEE ABOVE LINK

This was Fun!

You'll be surprised at how this works. BE HONEST and don't look at the movie list till you have done the math!

Try this test and find out what movie is your favorite. This amazing math quiz can likely predict which of 18 films you would enjoy the most. GUARANTEED!!

Movie Test:

Pick a number from 1-9.

Multiply by 3.

Add 3.

Multiply by 3 again.

Now add the two digits together to find your predicted favorite movie in the list of 18 movies below.

Movie List:

1. Gone With The Wind

2. E.T.

3. Beverly Hills Cop

4. Star Wars

5. Forrest Gump

6. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

7. Jaws

8. Grease

9. The Defeat of Obama in 2012

10. Casablanca

11. Jurassic Park

12. Shrek

13. Pirates of the Caribbean

14. Titanic

15. Raiders Of The Lost Ark

16. Home Alone

17. Mrs. Doubtfire

18. Toy Story

Dom's New Project- His '72 Corvette

Well, I can't seem to slow this guy down.  (And couldn't be any happier that he's feeling so well!)

Dom has a '72 Corvette that he loved.  About 6 years ago, a lightning strike caused a fire in his barn.  (shown in the distance of one of these pictures).  The insurance company declared this car a "Total Loss", and allowed Dom to buy it back from them.

He rubbed out most of the smoke damage himself.  The rag-top wasn't damaged, thankfully. He tried working on his brakes numerous times.  Even trailered it to a local mechanic.  He couldn't do anything, either.

Now that he's got his new garage, he moved it up here.  Presently talking to a guy who's showing interest in coming over on weekends to work on it.  (brakes, headlights, etc.)

Was hoping this would be my car, but nope.  Once it's fixed, getting that car will be MY NEW PROJECT!

(Looks like I need to fix the date on his camera!)

My LIPID PANEL came back..... "GREAT" !!!!

Hey gang....

Got a great phone call a little while ago.  My latest blood work was EXCELLENT!

Total Cholesterol:  248   (not too hot)  but......

HDL (Good Cholesterol):  152  "Great"  (optimal HDL more than 60)

LDL (Bad Cholesterol):  81  "Great"  (optimal LDL less than 100)

Triglycerides:  73 "WOWIE ZOWIE!"  (optimal Triglycerides less than 150)

That's down from a whopping 331 a few months ago!

I am absolutely giddy, guys!

The nurse said, "Wow... you really HAVE been busting your ass, Nan!"   

So, the 3 months of not smoking, walking 1.5 miles 5 days a week, working out at the condo, and going heavy on the Omega 3 through diet and fish oil worked!

I'm going to celebrate tonite with a BIG ASS CHEESEBURGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (no bun!)

Our Beautiful Visitor

What a pretty girl!

October on the Beach with Joe and Ping

Hi Gang-

Hope this post finds everyone healthy and happy.  We've been home for 1 day, and Dom's sinuses are acting up again.  He felt great in Florida.  *sighing*

We headed to PCB on Wednesday morning.  Our first stop was Smokin' Vapor for my liquid nicotine, then on to Pier Park and a Cowboy Burger at Tootsie's .  Great stuff!

Spent some time across the street with Travis, who is now managing the joint.  (Donn has moved on to bigger and better things.)

We hit our fitness room every morning.  Much to my delight, Dom is enjoying it.  I'm becoming quite fond of the steam room after working out.

On Thursday, Happy hour at Coytoe Ugly was fun, but the bartenders weren't very pleasant.  I miss the summer crew.

Ate at Dee's Hangout afterwards  His food is absolutely incredible.  Dom had his usual.... an over-loaded shrimp po-boy.  I had a dozen jalapeno/cheese baked oysters.  Hit the spot with their dollar pint draft beers!

Spent alot of time on the beach.  The water was gorgeous, but a little chilly.

Dom's cousin Joe and his wife joined us on Saturday.  Ping cooked us her signature noodle dish with chicken and soy "Italian Sausage".  Great stuff.  Hung out playing on the beach all day with them, then ventured across the street where Tina was working...  had big fun.

They left on Sunday morning after our work-out.  I spent a little time at the beach, then we settled in for a DISMAL Saints game.  Horrid.  Absolutely horrid.

Hit the road at 9am yesterday, and arrived home 5 hours later.

Fall is Upon us.... FINALLY

Hello gang.  Hope this note finds everyone well.

Things have been busy, busy around here.  Now that the temps have dropped into the mid eighties, we've been spending alot of time outside.

Cut the grass for what will hopefully be the last time until Spring.  Dom poured gravel at the entrance of his new garage, so as not to bottom-out his car.

He's been fighting some kind of upper respiratory thing for weeks.  Finally got him to the doctor on Thursday.  He dropped me off to get my hair cut and colored, and saw our Nurse Practitioner in Slidell.  It turns out it's a bad sinus infection.  (he's allergic to Bahia (??) Grass.... unfortunately, we've got acres and acres of it).  Gave him a shot in the fanny and sent him on his way.  Over 70 bucks of meds later, he's still spitting crud up.  He's promised to start wearing a mask while bush-hogging the property.

While waiting for him to pick me up, I stopped in an upholstery shop.  I've got my maw's Queen Anne Chairs which are beginning to look a little rough.  Met the owner and liked him.  LOVED his many fabrics.  Going to drop the chairs off to him soon.  I'm going to have a helluva time trying to pick out the fabric.

Dom picked me up and we put the top down a drove back roads.... put a couple hundred miles on his little beauty.

Had a late lunch at Yo Yo's Mexican Restaurant, did a little grocery shopping and came home.

Speaking of grocery shopping....  Because I've been watching my triglycerides for the past few months, I haven't had any bread, pasta or potatoes.  Bought some whole grain white bread, which I enjoy.  I've always had an aversion to "whole wheat" ANYTHING.  But, my little spaghetti-face (as I affectionately refer to him) has been feeling deprived.  So, I went ahead and bought a pound of Barilla Plus.... Angel Hair pasta.  Super high in Omega 3.  Contains flax seed, which I like.

He wanted some clam pasta.  So, when buying the garlic, I saw this gorgeous product.  Much to my dismay, it was from China.  Bought it anyway.  DELICIOUS.  Uniform cloves, tasty, easy to peel.  Probably chemically altered or something sickening.

Made Dom his pasta using the whole grain Angel Hair.   DELICIOUS!  I fully expected to dislike it, but was presently surprised.  I'll have no problem switching to this stuff.  

I've been walking to the mailbox 5 days a week (1.5 miles round-trip).  Heading into see Dr. Culasso around the 19th for bloodwork.  If I haven't lowered them after all of this, I'll have to resign myself to meds.  Yuck!

Oh yeah.... our Saints are 4-1!!!!!!  WHO DAT!!!!!

Wednesday's Wicked Weather

Man, did we have a storm on Wednesday afternoon.  It lasted a couple of hours with serious wind, rain and lightning.  Wish these pictures could have reflected just how bad it got here....