Got new snow shoes today to replace the ones that I broke.  Sparky and I had fun trying them out at the park.  I kept going over fresh powder so Sparky had to stay in my tracks.  The snow is over his head.
Had to wash off all the snow balls from his fur when we got back.  Lots of fun in the winter if you dress for it.

I had a request to make a little pink scarf for a 9 year old girl.  It turned out really cute.  I put it here next to a full length purple one to show the difference.  It is a little shorter and one stitch thinner.  I hope that she likes it.  Xcountry skiing went well yesterday.  Just went to Jack Pine trail which as a Down Hiller I would say has no hills to speak of.  Not like going to the Gatineau.  Climbing up hills on skis still amazes me after so many years as a downhiller... the Lift is supposed to take you up.  We went for just over an hour and I was fine.  Then went shopping and home to go snow shoeing at the park.  I broke the binding on one of my snow shoes so kinda dragged that foot around most of the time.  Didn't take Sparky because it was too cold for him but maybe today he will go out with me.  I have to go to town to see if I can buy bindings somewhere ... I hope I don't have to replace the whole shoes.  Just finished the cheeseball for New Years tonight.  Hope everyone has a good time tonight and be safe.  Happy New Year's Eve.

Finally got a picture of all eleven colours that I normally do.  There are a few others but I only buy them on request.  I have a couple more made but are duplicates of these colours.  Some of these are already spoken for but I haven't delivered them yet so was able to take a picture before I hand them over.
I am going to try to xcountry ski tomorrow on an easy trail.  I hope that I have enough stamina for it.  Sitting around knitting doesn't do much for my endurance levels but it does help the feeling to come back in my fingers.  Just need it in the finger tips now.

Went to the VDT xmas party at Cathy's yesterday.  Lots of them want to go on the Ride the Rideau with me and they are going to help with the scarf making and getting the wool.  We got our first sponsor too and she has her tax receipt and two scarves.
You can go to  http://my.ohfoundation-fondationho.ca/janvdt  or go to Ride the Rideau site and search my name as a rider to sponsor me.  I will be setting up a team whenever I figure out a cool name then everyone can join my team.  Go team go!!!

Since I am now cancer free for sure it is on to training for Ride the Rideau.  I just registered for the Ride for September so I have time to train.  I am going to knit a curly scarf for anyone who sponsors me and covers the cost of the wool.  My site on the Ride the Rideau site is:  http://my.ohfoundation-fondationho.ca/janvdt

So far I am on my own there but if others want to join me we can make a team.

I am Cancer Free per the results of my CT Scan that I had last week.

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!

My blog now has had 4,015 views.  I find that amazing.
I finally got around to making the cheeseball for the kids that took care of me in Radiation.  I took it in today with the recipe as promised.  They were not around when I got there so I gave it to another lady who I knew was in room 7 too as a patient to deliver to them when she was called.  She didn't understand me but her daughters did and they said that they would make sure that the techs got it.  We then talked more so I asked if their mom got her hat on the 8th floor during chemo and they said yes...that confirmed it.  This was the lady that I kept seeing wearing hats that Mom and I had made and donated.  I thought that they were the ones that we gave in and now I know for sure.  It is so nice when you meet the people that benefit from what we have done.  I told them that I had just brought in 3 more... I had just put them in the basket in the other waiting room but they said she didn't need any more since that was her last day and she was going to get to ring the bell soon.  They were so happy and I know exactly the feeling.  I also went out to xmas lunch with people from work which was nice.  I then went shopping for more wool to fill the orders that I got today.  I have knit 9 of them since Sat night.  I have to make 5 more at a minimum by Saturday and hopefully will make 6 plus three more cheese balls, two lemon meringue pies and curl two games.

I couldn't wait so I called my doctors office and talked to the receptionist.  I asked how long it would be before I would get the results from the CT scan.  She said that it is usually 10 days because someone has to write them up.  Their office is closed next week so I will have to wait FOREVER.  I guess I sounded very disappointed so she told me to call back on Thursday and they may have something.  No promises but better than nothing.
The roads were too bad to travel today so I didn't curl.  Not worth wrecking my car to curl plus it ends at 5 pm rush hour across the Hunt Club bridge which I hate in good weather.  I do not need any extra stress so I stayed home and knit two more scarves today so far.  Might do a third one tonight or work on my xmas cards.

Kinda shows the peach fuzz growing on my head.  I guess it will be hair some day when it grows up.  Check out in the next picture where I pointed to in this one.

So can anyone figure out what the red marks are under my lip.  Yes there are two little ones.  They appeared Sunday morning when I woke up.  Well when I open my mouth.... my two teeth right above them match.  You got it.  I am not grinding my teeth and breaking them off any more, I am biting my lip.  I guess I am a cool cucumber out front but I have no control over my fear when I sleep.

This is going to be a long week until the phone rings with the results.  I may not even get them until next week.  I knit three scarves yesterday.  Today I will knit and then curl this afternoon.  Jim is home today because of the terrible weather so I have company.  I have to get the ingredients to make my cheeseball this week.  I have had many requests for it and I am going to drop one off to the radiation kids with its recipe.  They all loved the nuts and bolts with recipe from before so I promised them a cheeseball.  I have to make two lemon meringue pies for the curling dinner Thursday as well so I have enough to keep me busy.  I just wish the phone would ring so I would make these Christmas items with a smile on my face.

Test all done so now just have to wait for the results.  The nurse was able to put a big needle into a small vein in the back of my hand which probably made the test easier for me since they had to inject the dye very slowly into the small vein so I didn't get any bad side affects.
Finished another couple of scarves.  People have said that I should sell them for charity so I am going to get set up to sell them for a profit and have the money go to Ride the Rideau for next year.  I really want to go in it and you need to raise 1500 to go in it.  So for every one that donates, they will get a tax receipt and a scarf.  My pedicure shop said that I can put them up in her shop for sale.  She also offered to open the shop on a Sunday in the spring and give free mini pedi's for a donation to the cause.  It should be fun.

Yesterday the massage was really just a chemical treatment on my skull trying to open my pores and let the hairs grow.  I just want the ones up top to grow more and stop that facial hair from growing... not fair.

Mom came and watched me skip this morning and believe it or not we won.  We won in the mixed this afternoon too.  We won't talk about the work league I played in after that but we had fun.  Just trying to keep busy not thinking about tomorrow.  Good night.

Won our curling game today/yesterday... I guess it is after midnight now.  Got to play with the ladies league for our last game together.  New teams for January.  I didn't curl with them during radiation so it was nice seeing everyone again.  Looking forward to my massage tomorrow.  Have to take mom to hair dresser before I go so they had better not be late.  I do not want to miss this apt nor leave mom there for the couple of hours that I go to town.  James has two exams tomorrow so he can't get her like last time.  Oh well the girl will have to roll those rollers fast.

Last walk up Linda Lane to the hospital for a Rad treatment.  The weather was a little different than the last chemo day.

You can think of it as a yukky icy, snowy day or take a look at the trees without leaves and how lovely they look covered with ice.  Need the sun though to make them glisten.

Ring, Ring, Ring, Ring that bell.... really it was a triangle that you hit but it sounds the same.  This was the before I rang it.

This is me actually ringing the bell/triangle.  It is in the hall outside the three waiting rooms.  So now on to the next journey on Friday.  Wed I get my 1.5 hour head massage that came with the wig.  Tomorrow all I have to do is knit and curl.  

Tree that I traded 2 scarves for... pretty nice eh!  All decorated and on top of that I knit five of the scarves this weekend.  Amazing what you can get done when you can't be too far from the washroom.  Tomorrow is the last rad day and then it should take a couple of weeks for my system to get back to normal so then I will be able to go for longer walks etc.

This is the coat that I got that keeps me warm on the way to the hospitals.

This is it with the hood down... the fur collar still comes up high to keep me warm.

I made 5 others that are not in the picture.  I have a few more balls of the same colour so this should keep me busy for awhile.  They make great gifts even if mom thinks that they are weird.

OK Sparky I will quit taking pictures until the tree is up and then I will have to make you mad again.

Can't believe that my Christmas cactus is actually blooming at the right time of year this year.

Got a picture of James and Sparky for the VDT Calendar.

ONLY ONE RADIATION TREATMENT LEFT!!!!!!

I think what he said must have been Lymphedema.  The more I read about it, I think it is what Aunt Helen had in the summer when they found her cancer.  Unfortunately if it is that, from what I can read there is no cure... just treatment.  Oh well one more thing to look forward to to see it this is it.  I think I would rather have the GI symptoms from Lymphedema than the swelling of the leg that Aunt Helen had.... I do NOT want to be in a wheel chair.

Last visit this year to the Radiologist Doctor today.  I go back to see him in February.  I still have 3 more treatments but I don't see the doctor for those.  He says that I flew through the rad treatments compared to other people... go figure.  We then discussed my concerns about the CT Scan next week.  He doesn't think that the growth has anything to do with me not being able to eat without pain... it would be a different problem.  He thinks that since they have ruled out the stomach and gall bladder that  it is lymph...... can't remember the rest of the word.  What he said that was was basically scar tissue from removing the lymph nodes.  Since they didn't take many out which was surprising to Dr Hopkins since she thought that she had... maybe that is it.  She didn't think that there would be scar tissue because of the Robot doing the surgery but Dr Samant ... the rad guy says that it could be even with the Robot.  Oh well wait and see.   He did say that the side affects from radiation should be gone by Christmas which will be nice.  Being tied down to being close to a washroom all the time isn't fun.  He figures 4 to 6 weeks after radiation I should be able to go into a public pool which will be excellent exercise for me out of the cold.  Right now my immune system is still too low for something like that.

I was allowed to take a picture of the Radiation machine today.  The bed raises and goes back towards the machine until the circle on the right is at the top of my legs.  My head goes on the rest at the far end.  My legs go in the two half circle supports.  The machine is in the position now where it is for the fourth radiation shot. When I first lay down on it there is a cloth on it... see the orange folded up.  They then raise the table and move it back into position.  The part on the right is rotated on top of me.  See all the little spots around the glass on the blue disc.  They are stickers with funny pictures to give you something to look at.  While it is on the top they line me up with the tattoos and x's to make sure that they are going to give the rad to the right area.  They then rotate the machine to my right and measure the side x's view.  They then move it to the bottom of me below the table and leave the room.  From outside the room they start it.  It zaps under me, then moves to my  right and zaps again, then moves on top of me then zaps again and lastly it moves to my left and does the last zap.  They come back in and lower the bed and move it forward so that I can get off and off I go.  You hear the noise of it zapping you but you do not feel anything.
Only have to do this 5 more times.  I hope this explains it better than words... they always say that a picture is good.

Pain Pain Pain go away.   Most of the day was ok until I ate a second meal.  I do not usually have two with real food.  Isagenix gets me through most days.  I thought that I was going to pass out with the pain after supper so went to bed for awhile.   Tried to read a book to get my mind off of the pain but fell asleep and the next thing I knew it was a few hours later.  Better now.  Only 12 days until the CT scan to figure out what is causing this nutty pain.  Maybe I will just have to eat isagenix all the time.  The nutritionist said that the isagenix is good nutrition wise and it doesn't hurt so so much for real food.  Six more Rad treatments to go.

Three hats for Cheo and two for Rad patients, all handed in last Thurs.

It is December so on  with the xmas lights on the tree in the front yard.  We even have snow for it.

Three more Cheo hats that I will take on Thurs and one adult one that is crocheted cable just to make me think.  The scarf is one of those boa ones that everyone is wearing these days.  Went to Michaels today and bought the wool.  It is easy to knit but you have to pay attention so it is good therapy for me.  The wool was on sale and a lady gave me a coupon so I bought lots.  Will be making pink ones for the Perky in Pink bonspiel where we are supposed to dress up in pink and raise money for cancer.