Where do the days go?

It's hard to believe that Reid is already up to day +83 post transplant.  Except for a little bump in the road a week or so ago he's been slowly regaining some stamina and strength.  He does a little more each day, but has to stop often to rest.  He's looking forward to day +100 when some of the restrictions (especially the dietary ones) will be relaxed a little. The doctor seems pleased with his progress.

On April 1st (day +100) he will have a CT scan and a PET scan.  Everything has gone well so far and we're very hopeful that the scans will show no cancer.  We appreciate all your prayers.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to get some things done around here.  I had the slab work done and most of the floor work completed before Reid went into the hospital on December 15th.  However, I put off the plumbing work until I was able to be here full time.  Last week they came for the better part of three days to dig under the house and repair a broken pipe.  The pipe was under the utility room, so at least it was only laundry water that was leaking under the house.  That's why I felt I could wait.  If it had been any other waste water I would have had to make arrangements to have it done while Reid was in the hospital.

Here's a picture of the plumber under the house.  Needless to say, they send a small plumber down there.  This is definitely not a job for a 200 pound plumber!  He was gracious enough to pose for a picture.

He offered to take a picture of the pipe under the house.  Good thing since I certainly wasn't going under there.

After he fixed it they did another pressure test to make sure there were no more leaks.  Then they filled it all in and fixed the concrete sidewalk.

Here's where they piled all the dirt in the driveway.

They got it all back under there and cleaned up the mess.  Things are as good as new now.

Remind me to move before I ever need this kind of work done again.

I still have paint touch ups to do and a few boxes to unpack from when they did the slab work, but I'm slowly making progress.  We've even settled on a date for Christmas.  Yes, we've never had Christmas.  I still have Christmas packages piled in the den.  So, we're going to get together and have our Christmas on the day before Easter.  I'm even going to put up a small Christmas tree.  I haven't decided what we'll have to eat.  Maybe a turkey?  It will all depend on my energy level.

A couple of weeks ago a very special package arrived.  It was a bittersweet moment for me.

Earlier I wrote about my friend Karen dying.  In the last E-mail I received from Karen she told me that she was no longer able to get to the computer.  She used her cell phone to send an E-mail telling me that she wanted me to have her 1954 African American Vogue Ginny.  I cried when I read the E-mail because I knew it meant her life on earth was winding down.  I hadn't expected to lose her so quickly.

Just knowing she was thinking of me at that moment meant so much to me. If her son had decided not to send the doll I would have understood and lived with the wonderful memories of our friendship. That would have been enough.  However, he contacted me and sent the package shortly thereafter.

The 1954 AA Ginny is special because the Vogue Doll Company only made the AA Ginny  in 1953 and 1954.  Karen stumbled upon this doll at The World's Longest Yard Sale around 7 years ago.  We were both so excited when she found her on a table full of the usual yard sale junk.  She was in good condition, but missing her wig.  Karen paid something like $15-$20 for her.  Finding her like that was pretty amazing and a real stroke of luck.

I will treasure her always and the special friendship Karen and I shared.

Karen replaced the wig with a curly caracul one.  She was dressed in the Vogue pink 1952 Carol dress.  I was thrilled because I already had the dress in the orange version.  Isn't she sweet?  I love this special doll!

Thank you Karen.