PennyC
PennyC's JournalHappy Birthday to me - got my own smart TV!
This is a small one, just 32", but it's for my sewing room (we just had the one in the living room). It's a Vizio and it has dedicated Netflix and Amazon buttons.
Now pardon me while I go delete everything that isn't in hi-def!
Exciting, because I like to watch while I sew or do other stuff, and not always "make" my husband watch what I want to see.
Death in Paradise?
I've never heard of it, but I know we're going to get to the end of Midsomer Murders at some point. Has anyone watched it? How is it? I see Netflix has five seasons.
Paper Doll Clothes (really)
I'm obsessed with "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries," an Australian TV show that came to both PBS and Netflix. Long story short, it takes place in Australia in the 1920s, and Phryne Fisher is an upper-class woman with brains and savoir faire, who becomes a private detective. The shows cover many social issues that we still struggle over today and it's terrific. And the clothes and the settings are gorgeous!
An artist made a paper doll of the character, but it's not copyright-approved, so she took it down from the Internet. I didn't care -- I bought one from her privately. It came with seven outfits, all clothes she actually wore on the show. I have a bit of a background in fashion illustration, and I decided to make more clothes for the doll. I pulled out my colored pencils and my husband's light box, and I'm having a BALL brushing up on my drawing skills. The show is based on a series of books (by Kerry Greenwood), and right now I'm doing one that is on the cover of one of the books, a steel-gray silk evening gown with pearls and pailettes. Fun!
Just in case this doesn't sound insane enough, I also plan to dress up as Miss Fisher for Halloween!
I'm moving over here from the Cancer group
I've been experiencing anxiety and depression. It's come and gone away twice so far. I can't explain the first time, The second time, it seemed to be caused by a blood pressure med, Amlodipine. I was able to stop it, and I started to feel good almost immediately.
Then, about three weeks later, the feelings returned.
I should mention that I've been through full treatment for breast cancer, and even though I finished full chemo a year ago, I had to continue one chemo drug, Herceptin, for a full year (which ended in August). I'm still experiencing some of chemo's side effects (hair and nails are still crappy).
I made an appointment to see my PCP for next Tuesday. I have some Xanax, and I'm using it, as little as I can, to get me through until we can figure out what else could work for me. I'm trying breathing and what little bits of exercise I can do to help me for now.
Frustrating to feel so down! I'm usually a cheerful person and even through chemo, I never got that depressed. I was planning a trip for later this month, but now I feel so unhappy it just doesn't seem like a good idea.
Hair help
I have hereditary thin hair. It's naturally curly, really African-American frizzy! But since chemo, the regrowth has been typical: very fine and softly curly. I completed full chemotherapy almost a year ago, but had to take Herceptin for a full year, which I completed in April. It's so sparse! I used to be able to disguise it with my curls, but not now. In fact, I'm using a keratin powder to hide my scalp.
Someone suggested I try taking Biotin. I've been reading about it and it does seem to help some people. Can anybody offer me advice? have you tried it and if so, did it help?
Mood and what affects it
You know I've been through a lot, thanks to many complications and side effects of treatment.
Well, I've been depressed and anxious for weeks...and then, suddenly, a few days ago, my sadness lifted. I could feel it happening -- just like a cloud lifting -- and I've been trying to peg it to something or other, but I can't. I felt so good that I almost started to cry!
And although I wouldn't say I'm singing all day long, the depression that I experienced is mostly gone.
It's been several months since I finished my year of Herceptin, and two months since I stopped taking Xarelto, but neither of those seems to point to depression. It could well be that I'm finally done with treatment (although I now have to deal with what seems to be some form of arthritis), except for reconstruction, and that I can do this fall or winter.
I'd appreciate any insights anyone can offer me, because I'd love to understand why I suddenly feel so much better, and how to KEEP feeling this way.
What do we feast upon, saturday July 1
I don't see Cher here, so I'll start:
we're having snacks for dinner. Fresh guacamole and blue corn chips, devilled eggs, cucumber-scallion salad, and I bought some teriyaki chicken salad at the Green Turtle market, and we're watching an episode of The Great Briitish Baking Show.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
I'm having it for a chest wound. My surgery area got infected after a hematoma went bad.
So today was my first treatment. No skin lotion, cream, or makeup, no metal. They have you put on cotton scrubs. You lie on the "bed' and slide into the chamber, which looks like a giant incubator. It's comfy, somewhat chilly, and you can watch TV or a movie. My ears clogged and unclogged several times, but no biggie. It was supposed to last for two hours, but felt like twice that long. And I'm scheduled for 40 of these! They often shorten it, depending on how well you heal.
Certainly better than chemo or radiation, but boring. If only you could read in there.
New pots and pans and changing my cooking habits
I'm guilty. Guilty of a lifetime of mistreating my cookware.
I like to cook with a fork, and I have been guilty of ruining non-stick pots and pans by stirring and poking food with a plain old metal fork, and using metal utensils.
My daughter just visited and chastized me for my bad habits. She introduced me to cooking tongs! I had just bought a lovely new saute/braising pan, and then I decided to start out fresh with new cookware since most of what I have is in terrible shape. I am a cheapskate, so I ordered a budget Calphalon set (non-stick, anodized aluminum). I especially like that they all can go into the oven....and I did find a non-stick-safe cooking fork to use with them!
I will keep one or two of the older frying pans for use with higher heats, but I'm hoping to finally turn over a new leaf and treat my new pots and pans with love.
Gosford Park
We just watched all of Downton Abbey on Amazon Prime and weren't quite ready to say goodbye, so it looked like Gosford Park would be our best bet to recapture the mood. It actually cost us $3.99, even with Prime, but wow! it was worth it.
It was difficult to listen to; the sound levels were very uneven, and we stopped about 2/3 of the way through, planning to pick it up the next afternoon (you only get it for 24 hours). When we got back in, it seemed easier to listen to, and we finished -- or almost finished -- you get the one playthrough. I stopped it as the credits began, and we started it again, to get some clarification on what had been confusing at first.
Well worth it. A great movie with an unbelievable cast. I felt very smug in that I figured out at least part of the solution to the murder mystery. Hats off to Robert Altman, Julian Fellowes, and Bob Balaban.
Up next will be "Doctor Thorne," Julian Fellowes' new take of Trollope.
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Member since: Sat Dec 18, 2004, 11:43 PMNumber of posts: 2,302