Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Still Hunkered Down

My apologies. It has been forever since I last updated the blog. Rest assured that we are both still fine and happy in New Hampshire. We have been here since March with few departures from the property. Being in New Hampshire is not a big difficulty for Barbara in her role as President of the Board at Fox Hill. Most of the meetings are virtual and Barbara has become quite the Zoom expert.  I am still spending my time on the computer and up in the shop and have picked up a couple additional interests. 

My numbers continue to be very good. The indicators are about half of what they were in previous regimen at its best. I also feel like my energy level lasts for more hours during the day than it used to, so that is good. 

I am currently taking a drug called CC-220. I am just starting my 10th cycle of 28 days each. I have to go to Dana Farber on Day 1 of each cycle which was today (Aug 12) and they also want me on Day 15 for blood tests. For April, May and June, they let me get the blood test at a local hospital due to Covid-19 danger. You simply can't imagine how nice it was to go almost a month between Dana Farber visits. 

Side effects continue to be manageable. I get cramps in my lower legs that affect sleeping. Drinking lots of fluids during the day helps. The doctors tell me that Tonic Water is best for cramps. I have never found Tonic Water to be better than just plain water, but I try to follow doctor's advice anyway. Sometimes I dilute it with a little gin. 

I have continued to make bowls and other things in the shop. Here are a couple I completed since my last posting:

On thing I did not want to do during the virus thing was go to a barber. I finally relented and let Barbara take a cut at my hair. I had ordered clippers back in March and it has taken me this long to work up enough courage to let her tackle the job. Mostly it was the heat that made me want my hair shorter. She did a good job, though she left it a bit thin on the top. It was much quicker than waiting in line at the Barber shop. Also cheaper. She charges only $3.00. I give her a 50 cent tip. I don't think I will ever go to a real barber again. 

I am sorry to say that Barbara's memory has not improved at all since we moved to NH. She still does not remember how to cook so I still do all the cooking. She tells me she is struggling to regain this knowledge bit so far to no avail.  

Being in lockdown has not stopped us from shopping - much to the benefit of Amazon. According to them, I have made 50 orders in the last three months. Here is a photo of Barbara coming back from the mailbox on a heavy "Amazon Day'.

We also socialize a bit. We often do "Zoom Cocktails" with someone every week or two. Covid-19 is a great excuse to get together with folks we have not seen in a long time. We also do "Docktails" with folks around the lake. We take our boat to their dock. We stay on the boat and they stay on the dock. BYOB. We also invited the next door neighbors over recently. Our split dock was great for social distancing:

I mentioned that I have picked up a couple of additional interests. I sent my 9th grade nephew an "Intro to Electronics" kit. I then sent him a kit to teach him about the robotics chip. So, of course, I had to get one for myself so that I could judge its suitability. Learning about that has been a lot of fun. 

And if that's not enough, I now have a 3D printer.  Well, it's not actually mine. A friend from FHV whose family has banished him to Ireland for the virus duration has lent it to me. He wants me to figure out how to use it so that I can teach him when he returns. Turns out that there is a lot to this. 

I made a couple of wrenches for one of my woodworking tools. These are tools that cannot be purchased. Here are a couple of photos:


You may recall my fancy "Powered Air Respirator". Unfortunately, it filtered the air coming in, but not my breath going out. I used the 3D printer to make fittings to go over the outlet valves and then I sewed filters to go over the fittings. Now, difficult though it may be to believe, I look even more ridiculous than I did before. Barbara says it makes me look like a vacuum cleaner. Please also note the spiffy haircut.

And speaking of "Old", I passed the big "70" in June. To celebrate, we hosted a "70th Birthday Zoom Meeting". It was great fun to see so many friends and frustrating not to be able to talk individually to everyone who dropped by. Being 70 made me think of how much life is behind me and how much life is ahead. Kinda scary. I should not complain though. There was a time that I did not expect to see this birthday, so I am happy I made it.

So, that's it for the last several months. Stay happy and healthy and let us know how you are doing. 


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