I've been thinking about posting some personal stories for awhile but I just haven't been "up to it" so to speak.

A few weeks back, after I had my mammogram, I briefly noted that my dad had to have a prostate biopsy due to elevated PSA levels at his annual physical. After some research he and the rest of the family had positive outlook as the odds were in his favor: 75% of men his age with similar PSA levels have no cancer at all. Unfortunately he got dealt the bad odds and found out from the biopsy results that he has prostate cancer. 

Since he is young (only 58) it is recommended that he have a radical prostatectomy - which is hard to pronounce and spell, but even more diffcult to go through and recover from. It is a 2-hour operation where, well, I'll spare the gory details but there is slicing and dicing of necessary body parts to remove the gland and then hopefully successful re-attachment of these severed parts. It is a 4-6 week recovery. He is lucky in some respects in that he has gotten control of his weight, blood pressure and glucose levels over the past few months. From a financial standpoint he is able to take short-term disability as well as stay in touch with his team by working from home a bit as he is able.

I've been swamped with various chores, projects, appointments...as well as babysitting duty for our new kitten, "Percy". We got him on Monday afternoon and I've had few sleep-filled night since! He appears to be long-haired and although his eyes are blue-gray now, I would not be surprised if they change to green.

I will likely be very busy for the next two weeks with more appointments, out-of-town visitors, and continuing babycare. He is barely 6 weeks old but is doing well on his food and the "kitten glop" I made to give him that extra nutrition boost. (A sort of pudding made from yogurt, evaporated milk, egg, and gelatin.) He's doing great with his litter box but is sort of pestering our dog and "senior citizen" cat, Buster, so I have to really keep an eye on him as they are tolerant of him but I'd hate to see him push the envelope too much with his antics!

We explained to my curious daughter that "Aunt Patsy" (the lady who died) was creamated as she was asking why we didn't attend a ceremony after Mass to "put her body in the ground."

Today during the funeral mass for hubby's Aunt, my mind wandered a bit during the eulogy, given by one of her sons.

So...

My kiddo and I had a great time in Philly...we crammed a ton of activites into our short stay.

The famous fountain at Logan Circle. When he visited Philadelphia in 1979 (I was there, too!) the now-deceased Pope John Paul II said Mass on a huge platform that was constructed over this fountain. The bascilica of Sts Peter & Paul is across the street, as are a number of other must-see tourist destinations: Philadelpha Museum of Art, Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Sciences, Free Libary, etc.

Me and the kiddo brushing away pebbles and sand in search of "fossils" at the Academy of Natural Sciences.Apparently she was goggle-challenged on this faux expidition.

OK, Mammogram result came back clean and clear. Hurrah. But I was told I have to have one annually now; that's ok since its covered by my insurance. Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts - it worked!!!

I called my mom to tell her my good news, and then she informed me that my dad has to have a prostate biopsy because of some recent test results. Grrr...if it isn't one thing, it's something else.

Oh yeah, and we're in a Tornado watch now while some towns southwest of us are getting pummeled with some twisters as I write this.  Needless to say, my daughter insisted on watching  her "Wizard of Oz" DVD this afternoon!

I may be absent from the blog/online scene for awhile as I have a really full schedule this week. Playdate for kiddo tomorrow, packing for our trip on Thursday, and (hurrah!) a mammogram on Wednesday.

Oh yeah - can y'all send some good thoughts that that mammogram comes up blank this year - I have too much to do this month to take any time out for a friggin' tumor or two this year!!

:)

I just spent 30 minutes picking some teensy bits of former pay stubs, bank statements and mortgage applications out of the gnarly teeth of our apparently sub-par shredder with needle-nose pliers. My back is killing me from bending over that thing and gingerly pulling each snippet out one by one. I finally got it to work again and finished cleaning up that pile of outdated financial papers.

Geeze, I used to work at Arthur Andersen - you'd think I knew a thing or two about proper paper shredding technique...

I am drawing a blank. The only current excitement has been phone conversations with two architects - one of which I'm going to have for an in-home consultation in two weeks, and then coloring Easter eggs today. Big whoop.