Demotherapy, as in demolition

Dang, we’ve been busy around here. I have to apologize to all of you that have been supporting me through this ordeal for taking a month off. I know you pull up this blog every couple of weeks to see how things are going. I guess they are going so well that l don’t have much to say about leukemia. Now that we’re almost done remodeling my body (until the left hip finishes its degrading remarks about my life), we are in the beginning phases of remodeling the house.

Before I go on about that, let me just say that my health is the same, blood counts are fine although my red blood cells are slightly enlarged. My doc doesn’t seem worried about that, and I have been in the gym a lot so maybe they are just more muscular. My weight is steady at about 160, and I eat everything and often, it drives the wife nuts. Still sucking down the chemo, only ten more months. I have thrown in glucosamine and chondroitin to stave off the hip and back pain. The four racquetball sessions every week with Uncle Barry and Mikey aren’t helping my hip or my ego, but it’s still fun.

We just finished emptying out our old computer room, and they will tear off the roof and walls of that room tomorrow, if it doesn’t rain. This will be the new dining room once it is expanded, flowing into the kitchen and living room. This is what the hobbit architect that originally designed these houses intended, but he made all the rooms too small for their purpose. The stupid rain started four weeks ago, just after they dug the trenches for the new footings, and didn’t really let up until the end of last week, but finally we have begun.

Dana and I have been appliance shopping, window and door shopping, floor shopping, revamping kitchen layout, and figuring out what to do with the stuff that is here, like the giant computer armoire I am typing this at, which is now in the old dining area, and which you can have for only $1500. We will live in a Chinese puzzle house for the next 3-5 months. I am trying to throw a yard sale together for this weekend and clear out all the stuff we haven’t used in the last 5 years – boogie boards, wetsuits, garage couch, entertainment centers, tech stuff, games, clothes, and on and on.

I am back on the job market, and was given an offer today, good job and potential for money, but I have some others I am waiting to hear from so I have to hold them off and see what happens. Plus Randy and Donald are coming out May 4-7, short trip but we’ll have some fun. Beauch and I will take them up to Plaskett Creek or Limekiln Park and camp, hit Jade Cove, go to Farmer’s Market, maybe golf although I am not so hot on that.

The Blood Bank called me a few weeks back to see if young John could come in and donate – they were critically short of blood. He started donating when I went in the hospital. I had to tell them that he had come down with mononucleosis in January and couldn’t donate for a while, and I would but I have leukemia. I asked them if they wanted me to write a letter to the Tribune as a recipient to say how blood donations had saved my life, and they loved the idea, so I did. The Tribune did not print my letter; I didn’t call anybody stupid, and didn’t mention the sewer controversy, so ………. They kind of ticked me off, so I forwarded the letter to the marketing people at the blood bank. They called me up and wanted to know if they could come interview me, as they were doing some celebration of a donor that had made his 300th donation, and I said I would be happy to do what I could.

This morning they came out and interviewed Dana and I, and took our pictures, and we may get to meet the 300-donation donor at some celebration. He donates platelets, which you can do every couple of weeks. It takes about 2 hours to donate platelets, so his is a heroic effort. If he’s light enough I will carry him around the celebration on my shoulders.