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I VERY RARELY pass on something that I get a forwarded email about... [Dec. 4th, 2009|09:42 am]
[mood | shocked]

But this is IMPORTANT!!!


Hello,

The purpose of this e-mail is not to cause fear or to imply that this will happen to any of us, but to raise awareness. We should all watch as well as pray and be acutely aware of what’s going on with our bodies.

This is so important to every woman you know.
Please share it with everyone you know and particularly those you care about.

New kind of Breast Cancer - DO NOT DELETE
Please forward to all of the women in your lives Mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, etc.

In November, a rare kind of breast cancer was found. A lady developed a rash on her breast, similar to that of young mothers who are nursing..

Because her mammogram had been clear, the doctor treated her with antibiotics for infections. After 2 rounds, it continued to get worse, so her doctor sent her for another mammogram. This time it showed a mass. A biopsy found a fast growing malignancy. Chemo was started in order to shrink the growth; then a mastectomy was performed; then a full round of Chemo; then radiation.. After about 9 months of intense treatment, she was given a clean bill of health.
She had one year of living each day to its fullest. Then the cancer returned to the liver area. She took 4 treatments and decided that she wanted quality of life, not the after effects of Chemo. She had 5 great months and she planned each detail of the final days.. After a few days of needing morphine, she died. She left this message to be delivered to women everywhere:


Women, PLEASE be alert to anything that is not normal, and be persistent in getting help as soon as possible.

Paget's Disease: This is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside of the breast, on the nipple and aureole It appeared as a rash, which later became a lesion with a crusty outer edge. I would not have ever suspected it to be breast cancer but it was. My nipple never seemed any different to me, but the rash bothered me, so I went to the doctor for that. Sometimes, it itched and was sore, but other than that it didn't bother me. It was just ugly and a nuisance, and could not be cleared up with all the creams prescribed by my doctor and dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes just prior to this outbreak. They seemed a little concerned but did not warn me it could be cancerous.


Now, I suspect not many women out there know a lesion or rash on the nipple or aureole can be breast cancer. (Mine started out as a single red pimple on the aureole. One of the biggest problems with Paget's disease of the nipple is that the symptoms appear to be harmless. It is frequently thought to be a skin inflammation or infection, leading to unfortunate delays in detection and care.)


What are the symptoms?

1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it to itch and burn (As I stated, mine did not itch or burn much, and had no oozing I was aware of, but it did have a crust along the outer edge on one side.)

2. A sore on your nipple that will not heal. (Mine was on the aureole area with a whitish thick looking area in center of nipple).

3. Usually only one nipple is effected. How is it diagnosed? Your doctor will do a physical exam and should suggest having a mammogram of both breasts, done immediately. Even though the redness, oozing and crusting closely resemble dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), your doctor should suspect cancer if the sore is only on one breast. Your doctor should order a biopsy of your sore to confirm what is going on.

This message should be taken seriously and passed on to as many of your relatives and friends as possible; it could save someone's life.

My breast cancer has spread and metastasized to my bones after receiving mega doses of chemotherapy, 28 treatments of radiation and taking Tamaxofin. If this had been diagnosed as breast cancer in the beginning, perhaps it would not have spread...

TO ALL READERS:

This is sad as women are not aware of Paget's disease. If, by passing this around on the e-mail, we can make others aware of it and its potential danger, we are helping women everywhere.

Please, if you can, take a moment to forward this message to as many people as possible, especially to your family and friends. It only takes a moment, yet the results could save a life.
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Almost there... [Dec. 2nd, 2009|02:56 pm]
[mood | determined]

I got five out of the six sleeve band trims sewn on. I should be able to finish this up tonight, then it's on to finishing up the sleeves and assembling the loose gown.

I've decided to take off the week before Christmas, as well as the week after. So I'll have a tasty 16 day vacation. WOO HOO! I'll probably spend it doing projects around the house, since Mike has to work. Michelle will be off, so I can maybe get her to work with me. At any rate, since Mike will be going in it will get me up out of bed early so I can get stuff accomplished. Now all we need to do is put the bottom wood and sides back on the utility trailer so I can go to the dump with stuff.
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A little progress [Nov. 30th, 2009|11:07 am]
[mood | happy]

I got the side gussets sewn to the back of the loose gown, and the flatlining sewed to the sleeve strips. The fronts and back pieces have been sewn to the outer strips, and I'm currently working on attaching the puffed parts to the outer strips. Then I can sew the middle strip in, and I'll be ready to hand sew the trim onto the strips. I should be able to finish that much of the sleeves tonight.

We got our new stove on Saturday. It's wonderful to have a nice stove for a change. The oven's first use was to make shepherd's pie on Saturday night. I then cooked the free turkey I got from Shoprite on Sunday, and we had a second smaller Thanksgiving for just the four of us. It's a lovely stove with a center long burner that we can use for a griddle, and that worked very well to make the turkey gravy in the large turkey roaster pan. I wanted a fresh turkey, but since it was AFTER Thanksgiving, there were only two left--22 pounds and 24 pounds. I was just barely able to get the 22 pounder into the turkey roaster I had. I had to take it out in pieces--it just wouldn't come out any other way. LOTS of yummy left overs. I will be making soup out of some of the carcass, and still have LOTS of meat for hot turkey sandwiches.

Hope everyone had a great Turkey day.
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Calling in the PROFESSIONALS time! [Nov. 24th, 2009|09:51 am]
[mood | scared]

I just Googled fixing a garage door spring. I learned two things that are very important...

1. Replace both springs at the same time because if one broke, the other will certainly break soon too. I had already figured that out--I'm someone who replaces BOTH headlights or BOTH turn signal lights when one goes....after all, they're the same age and why go to the garage two times?

2. Have a professional do it--the springs are at a very high tension, and you can get hurt very badly if it pops while you're working on it. Costs were between $150.00 and $200.00 in 2000. So it will probably cost between $250.00 and $400.00 now. A small price to pay for NOT getting injured. Professionals have the tools to do it quickly and more safely (and yes, even they get hurt at times).

So we will be levering up the door the next few times we want to work in the garage and propping it open with a 2X4. Then we will hire someone to fix it. It will be a while before I do this, since I need to replace the stove and the washing machine first. Probably in the Spring.
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Weekend report and plans for the future [Nov. 23rd, 2009|09:26 am]
[mood | okay]

OK, the extra cement blocks are finally moved from the front of the house from the rebuilding of the porch. We cleaned up the wood pieces, and most of the debris from the project. We got the kayaks drained of water, cleaned up, and dried.

We put them into the garage. We had to open the front garage door in order to do that. This was problematic, since one of the springs had broken. Since the door was under tension on one side but not the other, we had to unhook the spring so it would open. After tying the spring off with line, we unbolted the hook. Happily, it came off with very little trouble. No one was hurt by anything flying through the air, and it was released. Then we just had to use a crowbar and some blocks to lever the door open. Once it got high enough that most of it was on the track, we were able to open it totally, and use a 2X4 to prop it open. Now we have to replace both springs, and also replace the angle iron bracket on the broken side. When the spring broke on that side, it snapped with such force that it bent the bracket. In order to have the tension even on both sides, the bracket should be the same size, shape and position on both sides.

Over the next few weeks, we will be working out there to get rid of the junk and organize the stuff so we know what we have, and where it is. We have several cabinets that we can put stuff into once we have floor space and can move them to the sides of the garage. It will be nice to have all of the camping, fishing and kayaking stuff in one place. I think that we will have enough space to put stuff when we clear out the stuff that we don't need. There's LOTS of stuff that is frankly just garbage that we threw into the garage to get it out of the way. Last year I remember the late fall/early winter being pretty warm. I'm hoping I can get out there and work this year to clear out the garage before the weather turns really cold.

And then once it's too cold to work in the garage, there's the utility room which is the same kind of mess. Well, I'm almost done with the downstairs kitchen, so working on the hall and utility room is next. It never ends when you own a home--especially if you are the nesting type that keeps everything. And some of the stuff is from my mother and father who were also nesters. Sigh....

I put the pearl drops on the back of the loose gown last night. It turns out that the ones I bought were too small. I'm using the ones that I had in the house. They give the necessary visual punch. Then I started getting the sleeve pieces together, but ran out of steam and went to bed.
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Funniest spoof I've seen in a long time! [Nov. 19th, 2009|08:53 am]
[mood | amused]

http://www.catsforgold.com/

OMG! ROFLMAOPMP!

Click on the link--be sure to wear your Depends!
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Lost weekend and a little progress [Nov. 17th, 2009|09:22 am]
[mood | okay]

I got hit with a stomach virus and body virus over the weekend. Spent much of the time dealing with diarrhea, nausea, and feeling like I'd been beaten up with a baseball bat. On Monday evening I finally started to feel better.

I finished the beading on the silk strips for the back of the loose gown, and last night I sewed them onto the back of the loose gown. So now I can start sewing again--once I get caught up on the housework I couldn't do over the weekend. I have lots of pick up and dishes to do, and grocery shopping.

As far as cat news goes, it looks like Oliver and Sonja have finally come to an understanding. They were chasing each other around playing this morning, so I think we've finally gotten over that hump. Also, last night I put Oliver into the bed with me, and he tried to play with Vlad, who was getting his night-time loving from me. Vlad hissed at him. He left the room, and came back later, when he was tired. I woke up in the middle of the night to find him on the pillows between Mike and me. So he's figured out that the bed is for SLEEPING, and the rest of the house is for playing. Very smart little kitty.

Now we're working on getting him out of the habit of jumping on the table and begging for food. We had been giving him food from our plates, and now we want to stop the behavior before it gets obnoxious. So for a while it will be--take a bite, put the kitten on the floor, take a bite, put the kitten on the floor. :-D
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Three down and other news [Nov. 12th, 2009|09:15 am]
[mood | okay]

Last night I finished the third beaded strip. I only have the two shortest ones to do, and I'll be totally finished with the beading.

Oliver played with the ferrets last night, and then I gave him a saucer of cat milk before bed. He actually slept through the night--only waking up to play with Chip at about 6:45 when the alarm went off. WOO HOO! He continues to make progress in his relationship with Sonja. I'm hoping that they will be totally OK to leave alone together by the end of the week. He's now completely at ease with Chip, and the two of them were running around playing this morning like loons. Sonja went downstairs this morning, so we left her there with food and water and put up the barrier. He's fine with Chip and Vlad now, so we just have to wall him off from her when we're not there to supervise.

We had the repair man come and look at our oven. The thermostat is dead. And we can't get a replacement part, since the stove is so old. So it looks like we'll have to replace it. Drat!
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Two down.... [Nov. 11th, 2009|08:57 am]
[mood | bouncy]

Finished two of the five trim strips for the back of the loose gown. And one was the longest of the five. Getting there. I had JUST enough of the black and gold beads--50 more motifs total to do.

Oliver is getting bigger every day. He's almost big enough to defend himself totally with Sonja. She's starting to back down as much as she attacks. And he's made friends with Vlad and Chip, so Vlad gives Sonja lectures on behavior, and Chip, bless him, wades right in to defend him.

Tonight is play night, so he gets to play with the ferrets.
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Sleeve trim is done! [Nov. 9th, 2009|09:41 am]
[mood | chipper]

I've finished the beading on the trim for the vertical strips on the sleeves. Now I just have to finish the beading on the five pieces of trim for the back of the loose gown. It should be done by this weekend. Then I can go on to sewing things together.

Oliver continues to be integrated into the household. We're moving to a shared time in the bedroom at night. Unfortunately, he thinks it's a good idea to play at 4:00 AM! So at that time, he will be sent downstairs, and the door open to let Sonja in to sleep with the humans. I don't want her to have access to him while he's sleeping with us until they come to an understanding. I have no desire to have a cat fight erupting in our bed in the middle of the night. He's finally realized that Chip LIKES cats, and Vlad and he have a mutual non-aggression pact from the beginning. Diane, a friend from NJRK, has bred cats for 22 years, so she came over on Friday night and clipped Vlad's and Sonja's nails. So now if she swipes him, she can't hurt him.
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I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and cat news [Nov. 5th, 2009|09:23 am]
[mood | happy]

There are about 17 motifs to bead to finish up the trim strip for the loose gown arm strips. Then I have the five short strips to do for the back of the gown, and I can finally start assembling it.

On the kitty side, Oliver came up and played with the ferrets last night. He loves them. He also went nose to nose with Vlad, and there was NO problem at all. Vlad just gave a "Oh, so he's who I've been smelling look." And he didn't hiss at all at Vlad.

Oliver is still doing some hissing and growling at Chip, but Chip was much more mellow and non bouncy, since he was tired from playing with the ferrets, and he didn't scare Oliver as much. Sonja scared the poop out of him again, but it was less poop this time, and she was locked downstairs while he got fed upstairs last night. Later we opened the door, and after she came up, we took Oliver back down for the night. We want them to stay separated unless we're there to supervise. She hasn't really hurt him, but I don't want her to have free rein with him until she's accepted that she has to live with him, or she'll get in trouble with Mommy. I'm being sure to keep loving on her and reassuring both the older cats that he will NOT take their place. And he won't--he's Mike's cat.
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Tired.... [Nov. 2nd, 2009|11:52 am]
[mood | exhausted]

LOOONG weekend.

Haunted house on Friday and Saturday night.

Costume party on Sunday afternoon into evening. Luckily, Michelle was hosting it--Mike and I both took a nap at around 7ish until about 9. Am still tired....zzzzzzzz.
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Materials and progress of kirtle and loose gown [Oct. 30th, 2009|12:43 am]
[mood | bouncy]

And a bonus picture of the new kitten!

( Read more )
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Last picture didn't load [Oct. 29th, 2009|04:56 pm]
[mood | bouncy]

So here it is. The one taken by the professional at the garb picture booth.


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News [Oct. 29th, 2009|11:22 am]
[mood | happy]

Last night we adopted the stray kitten from Robin. He was declared healthy by the vet, and had some flea treatment put on him, so he won't infect our other cats. I'll take some pictures tonight and post them. He's really cute--a light orange tabby.

Sonja has NOT shown any maternal instincts towards him, but the batting and hissing she's doing is at a distance, so I think she's just letting him know who's boss.

More later.
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Pictures [Oct. 28th, 2009|09:37 pm]
[mood | pleased]

Here are pictures I took at the PA fair. Some informal ones we took, and the last one is the posed portrait done at the picture booth. Mike is wearing his Lord Burleigh outfit.

Cut for my friends page...

( Read more )
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Spooky Weekend [Oct. 26th, 2009|10:25 am]
[mood | devious]

Friday and Saturday night we did the Haunted House at Kip's Castle. We had good crowds both days. And this year they actually had to pay to go in, as opposed to last year when the county paid and it was free. Guess we did a good job last year, because people were willing to pay this year.

On Friday night, I was a zombie in the last encounter. My one line of dialog was "BRAINS!" I leaped out from the bottom of the staircase where I was hiding and helped shoo the people out the door by acting like I wanted to eat them. Sometimes I would attack a fellow ghost--Robin has a great scream. On Saturday night I was an actual character with a name--Madam Alexandra, the medium. Mine was the first encounter, and I was to introduce people to the "history" of the house and get "possessed" by the spirit of the original owner of the house who died tragically. My scream when I was "possessed" was so believable that there were some people who were weeded out at that point--they left because they were so scared. tee hee! The whole point of a haunted house is to scare the pants off people. And we did a great job. We even had some cast members on the shuttle bus posing as scarecrows in the back seat that would "come alive" as people were riding.

At the end of the night, one of the cast members took a picture of a bunch of us in our costumes and make-up. I couldn't resist--I broke into the Adam's Family theme song--and everyone sang along. A spooky, fun time was had by all! Next week, we'll be doing a haunted house at the Day Mansion in Wayne. I can't wait--I LOVE Halloween!

On Sunday I did get the kayaks drained and got all the leaves out of them. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to clear out any space in the garage. I'm hoping to do some of that this week after work. If not, I'll have to finish cleaning the kayaks and just cover them up with a tarp until I can make space.
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I seem to be having a run of BAD luck! [Oct. 23rd, 2009|01:13 pm]
[mood | crappy]

I was going to Fairy-con in Baltimore the first weekend in November. I got my tickets for the whole weekend with the early bird special price. Then we had to replace the car, and I decided not to go. I canceled the hotel room--no problem. Then I canceled the ticket order--and I just found out that I'm out ALL of the money. I didn't notice on the order page that the tickets are non-refundable.

CRAP!

So I'm out $170.00. According to the conference people, I can give someone my email address and order confirmation number and they can use it to get in. So I posted the fact that I'm trying to sell the tickets on the Fairy-con Facebook. Wish me luck--$170.00 is nothing to sneeze at. I really really hope that someone is interested in getting the tickets from me. I do have a Paypal account that they could send the money to, but I'd really rather have a check for it. I'd even be willing to let them go for less so that I get SOMETHING, and the tickets don't go to waste.

Anybody interested in going to Fairy-con? The tickets I have will cover both good and bad fairy balls, and all of the other programming except for the special artist classes.
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Quick update [Oct. 23rd, 2009|11:31 am]
[mood | contemplative]

Got almost half of beading done on the vertical sleeve bands trim piece. I'm hoping to finish beading over the weekend, between the shows, and working on the garage. We HAVE to get some of the mess out of there. I'm hoping that we can make some room by throwing out some garbage so we can store the kayaks in there out of the winter weather. Sunday is supposed to be a nice day, so that will be the day that we can take stuff out of the door and stage it outside so it can be sorted and put into piles for disposal or replacement inside. Right now it's so messy that it's hard to find places to put things.

On the cat front, I'm a little concerned. Robin has gotten a vaguely threatening email from the man who owns Jules. She thinks that the anger is coming from the wife, but she's not sure. I told her to make sure that she keeps all of the emails from him and copies of any responses she makes to him. Hopefully the situation will calm down, but I'm very glad that she involved the police from the beginning. That way they will have a history of what happened, and if this actually turns into harassment, she will have the ammunition to legally put a halt to it.

As I've said to my friends--"You can't cure stupid."
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Well, it's not ALL bad. [Oct. 22nd, 2009|09:28 am]
[mood | contemplative]

I just spoke to Robin. Apparently, she has NOT seen Jules. So hopefully, his owner is taking her advice to heart and is now keeping him in.

The kitten will go to the vet on Monday, to make sure that HE is not infected with anything before we make any emotional commitment to him. They will also get nutrition information from the vet as to how much milk replacement he'll need in order to grow up healthy. The lady who is fostering him says that he's growing like a weed, but will probably need a few more flea baths to get rid of the rest of the fleas. He still has a few on him, but nowhere near as bad as when he was first taken in. Since he's being kept mostly in a bathroom, there isn't any place for them to lay their eggs--a very good thing for her. We're hoping the vet will have something that they can safely use on him, because he HAS to be totally flea free before we bring him into the house.

Last night I cut out the backing for the vertical sleeve bands, and the lining and interfacing for the collar and bottom horizontal sleeve bands. I also found some black lightweight rayon lining for the sleeve base. So now the material is totally cut out for the loose gown. Over the next few days I want to focus on finishing the beading of the trim so it's completely ready to go before I do any more sewing together of the outfit.
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