Thanksgiving menu

MikaelThanksgiving 03




So far:

Thanksgiving Menu 2006

Turkey
Gravy
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Green Beans
Corn Soufflé
Collard Greens
Acorn Squash
Deviled Eggs
Broccoli casserole
Relish & veggie trays/dips
Pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Custard Pie
Banana Split cake or cheesecake (maybe)

Crackers & Books

Sitting here this morning nauseous and eating crackers. I have been to the bathroom 3 times in the last hour, for Diarrhea. Haven't thrown up. Gail didn't feel well this morning either, but since I am here guess I will stay.

Gail planted an avocado seed. It was coming up so nice already had leaves on it. When we were gone Saturday it dug the whole thing out of the pot and spilled the dirt all over the kitchen. Then when Gail got up Sunday morning he had done the same thing to her Shamrock, only it had tore this plant into tiny bits, at least she was able to repot the avocado tree. He had never bothered any of them before. She had babied that shamrock since I bought it for her early last spring. It had grown and constantly had blooms on it. It was one of the purple ones.

I got up early Saturday morning and made a big breakfast for everyone.I have never figured out the secret of frying eggs so that everybody can sit down and eat at the same time and not have cold eggs, but I guess I managed pretty well. I was telling Lawrence when I was little my Mother cooked on a wood stove and it had a warming tray she would set a platter on it and put the eggs there until she had everyone's fried. The gravy I made turned out great and we had enough left for Sunday morning.

Gail had decided to take the kids and go to the book sale with me.Lawrence had to go move his Aunt so he dropped us off and we caught the bus back. We got there about 11:30. They still had plenty books except in the rare editions corner. A lady told me those sold out in the 1st hour. I bought a couple books for me and a couple for the twins about Halloween. Gail took them over to a section where they were giving away some kiddy stuff. Mikael wanted to go to the mall so we walked over there. I bought some Halloween earrings in Clairs and Mikael bought a birthday present for Lee Lee birthday party at 3:30 Saturday. We had to take the twins in the Disney store. They love that place, but all of their stuff is so high. Gail did buy them toy cell phones there a couple of weeks ago. They have a tea set setting out so they played with that for a few minutes then we caught the bus back. They had to go to the party at 3:30. I didn't go just sent a card with some money. I wanted to stay there and do some laundry, etc. Dorothy was making home made pizza so I had Gail to bring me a piece.

Brenda is coming home in November and said she would bring me some books. I looked through the books at the Civic Center for a copy of Pat Conroy's "Beach Music" but didn't find it. Gail and I read my original hardback so many times it fell apart. I have a good copy of "Prince of Tides". My first one was a paperback that also fell apart but I picked up a good hardback one free at WC once when we were exchanging books. Although I have not been reading as much as usual. It just seems hard to concentrate with so much other stuff on my mind. It's easier to read magazines and mess around on the computer.

Shane

I got these emails from Brenda Lee about Shane yesterday 10/19/06.

Brenda Lee

Here is the other news. The Shaffer news. I am sure mom would be so busy and stressed to forget to tell anyone else.

Shane got sick about three to four weeks ago. Mom took him to the doctor and they treated him for a chest cold and broncitus. He had a bad cough and chest discomfort.

Mom said he called her about 10 days later and he could hardly talk or walk. Mom took him to an acute care, we thought he had pnemonia. The doctor there would not do an x-ray so mom took him to her doctor. She knew he had pnemonia and not to mention he had lost 10 pounds in the 10 days. He could not eat or anything.

Well moms doctor x-rayed him for pnemonia but she found an orange size mass inbetween his heart and lungs. They went to emergency room and did a biopsy and Shane has what is called Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. It is cancer. He has been very sick sionce then. That was on Friday the 8th of this month. He has been in ICU because the mass is pushing on his vein that leads to his trachea, hindering his speech and breathing. He is now in Tampa at a cancer hospital and on Monday they started a thing where they take his sperm and bank it becuase he will be sterile, more than likely, after his chemo. He started his chemo and radiation today. It will be an ongoing treatment for 6 months. Mom says he will be treated 4 days on and 3 weeks off. Normally it is 7 on 7 off. But Shanes cancer is so large and harmful to him that he needs intensive chemo and radiation. It is so intense that he has to have 3 weeks breaks to allow his body to recover inbetween. That is all I know at this point. It has been a rough two weeks. Now all we do is wait and pray for him.

ME
Oh that is horrible!! Do you have any idea what his prognosis is?
Yes you had told me about her wrist and sent me that picture.
I feel like I am in shock to hear that about Shane.
Is your Mom with him every day at the hospital? How about Bobby and Mimi? How are they doing?

Brenda Lee
Yes it has us all in shock. He goes in with what we assume is pneumonia and find he has a cancerous tumor the size of a large orange and it was growing.
Bobby has taken it very hard Mom said. But now that they are doing something and it is diagnosed, he is holding up better.
Mimi has been upbeat and positive since day one. She has beat cancer and a tumor so she does not worry about Shane beating it she said.

The type of cancer he has is broke down into two kinds. There is b-cell which is also called leukemia. This is the most dangerous of the two. Shane has what is called t-cell. It is the most treatable. His survival rate with chemo during treatment is 80-90%. His survival rate after being in remission for 5 years would be 85-95%.
The doctor feels confident she said that he will be fine. But in all honesty you never know. Shane is very sick now and he just started treatment. I have read that it is the chemo and radiation that is hard on them. But the doc said that there is better medicine today to help with the nausea from the radiation. So time will tell. I can say we have many people praying for him so we are trusting God will bring him through this. Dad is taking it very hard, as expected, since Shane is like his son.

I just wanted to let you know because I know how special he was to you and George growing up.

I will keep you posted or you can talk to mom. She is in the hospital with him as much as she can be.

Today 10/20/06
Me
I forgot to ask. Is he at St Joseph’s Hospital? If so do you know the room number? Not phone but the room I wanted to send a card.

Brenda Lee
I do not know the name of the hospital. He more than likely goes home tomorrow or the next day for 3 weeks until next session. I talked to them just a few minutes ago.

Shane was nauseous and mom said he was being a real stinker. I told him to be quiet, what he thinks he is special cuz he has cancer? And he (Shane) says, well mom should buy me this new X-box game. I have cancer ya know and I might not live to buy it myself.

we were cracking up. His spirits are good right now. But they said his immune system will not drop for two more weeks. That is when they must be careful. He can not eat out in any restaurant for 6 months. All foods must be washed twice and then cooked completely to avoid any food poison because his immune system will be gone. Mimi said he will be like Michael Jackson,. because he will be in a mask all the time.

Another List

Four Jobs I’ve had in my life:
1 Mother
2 Janitor
3 Claims Analyst
4 Supervisor

Four Movies I can watch over and over:
1 Giant
2 Christmas Vacation
3 Prince of Tides
4 Anything with Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones and Dian Keaton

Four places I’ve lived
1 Charleston, WV
2 Summerco, WV
3 Summersville, WV
4 Redhouse, WV

Four TV shows I love to watch
1 Friends
2 Bounty Hunter
3 Paula Dean (food network)
4 Reba

Four places I’ve been on vacation
1 Ocracoke Island NC
2 Washington, DC
3 Jamaica
4 California

Four websites I visit daily
1 http://villagecraftsmen.blogspot.com/
2 http://countryjoe.bizland.com/store/kit-pott-01.html
3 eBay.com
4 http://outerbanksjournal.blogspot.com/

Four of my favorite foods
1 Steak
2 Salad
3 Mexican
4 Breads

Four places I’d rather be right now
1 OINC with George
2 Harpers Ferry
3 At antique stores or flea markets
4 Skyline Drive

Honors

Gail got a letter from the school yesterday that Mikael is being inducted into the honor society. Gail and I were so excited and screaming and she just sat there like "what's the big deal"? I think they have a little ceremony that the parents can attend. The letter stated that this will benefit her when she applies for scholarships and there were some other benefits they mentioned but I don't remember what they were. The funny thing is she had just got her report card Friday and she got a D in music. She had an A in show choir but a D in music??? All her other grades were A's and B's so she was still on the B honor roll but if that grade had been higher she would have made the A. I think it has to be a mistake. She has never made a D before on anything. Gail is going to check to see what the problem is. She will definitely have to have a special treat. Maybe a present and a dinner out. She loves Chili's.

Lies and truths

I just heard recently that last year when I had been home taking care of George one week (in September) that Gail and I supposedly stole the blazer. For one thing how do you steal something that belongs to you and for another how in heavens did that get started? I had to go back to work but didn't want him by himself without being able to come down at least 2 or 3 times during the week to check on him and bring him food. So we (He and I) agreed for me to keep the blazer so Gail could run me down. Then on Friday I would stay and she would pick me up Sunday night. Which we did but when I came down that week end to stay he said he didn't want to do without the blazer through the week and was going to keep it there. I maybe should have argued about that but I didn't because I didn't want to upset him but I did tell him I wouldn't have any way to get back down. I have the feeling that someone, probably Judy knowing that scheming witch the way I do, had told him he shouldn't let me keep it. The question that remains is who started saying that I had stolen it???? The next time he calls I will have to remember to ask him that question.

Roach Motel and Others

Nightmare with the Elkins Motor Lodge and I do mean nightmare. As much as we have stayed in motels I have never seen anything so bad. As soon as I walked in the door and recovered enough from the smell to think; I kept thinking in my mind "Bates Motel Bates Motel"! We were booked into 2 different "cabins" with 2 rooms in front and 2 rooms in back. Debbie and I were in different cabins. To start my door would not unlock and we had to both try several times to get it done and when I did open it, well, the smell was bad. The room was dirty, the bathroom I would not have ever used and Debbie's was just as bad. We were ready to cry or run away. We went back down to the office to ask if they had any rooms in the newer part and they did not. They asked what was wrong with the rooms. I said we just didn't like them. Sort of a lie, but remember we may not have any other choice. We left and went driving to look at the 2 other motels. We stopped at the Econo Lodge and looked in the windows of empty rooms before going to the office. They did not have any vacancies for the next 3 nights, but told us that a Holiday Inn Express had opened in town about a month ago. We had not heard of it or seen it but over there we head. Just walking in the lobby was like being in a different world than the Elk Lodge. Lucky for us they had 2 rooms for Wednesday and Thursday night and would let us know if they had a cancellation for Friday night. We took them of course! Went up to the rooms and it was like heaven after having seen the others. Everything was new and shiny, big beds with 4 nice big pillows! Debbie called the Lodge and cancelled Wed and Thurs night but ask them to hold Friday. The Holiday Inn did get 1 cancellation for a suite. It had a bed and a pull out couch. Although we liked the privacy of having different rooms sharing one was not anything compared to having to go back to the "Bates Motel" so we cancelled with them on Friday night too. Kathy said she was telling someone and they said that a few years back that was "the" place to stay in Elkins.I know their restaurant has been listed as a good place to eat. John and Janet stayed there about 10 years or so ago and loved the restaurant they didn't mentioned the rooms but they probably stayed in the newer part that at that time was most likely still new. I said you should not book in a locally owned motel without having some idea of what it is like. With chain motels you pretty much know what you are getting.Thursday I had the morning shift. I slept really well Wednesday night but was tired from getting there setting up and then the motel fiasco that I fell asleep about 10:30. I work up a few times and went right back to sleep. I meant to get up at 7 since I had to be there at 9 but I didn't wake up until 8:00 then jumped out of bed got dressed went downstairs to eat something. Debbie came down to get coffee and after sticking our nose out the door I decided to not go until about 10. That at least gave me time to recover from jumping out of bed like that LOL. It warmed up and that day wasn't too bad. I left about 3 and Debbie stayed until 5. Then we went to the local Goodwill. The next morning she went in early but once again decided to wait for a little. She went down before 10, but that day stayed cold and rained most of the day. I started closing up around 4:30 that day. I just wanted a hot shower and a place to lie down. We had to share a room that last night but that was OK. Except after I got nice and warm and clean I got so sleepy I could not stay awake I was asleep before 8:30! I could not keep my eyes open. If we had to stay at the Elkins Motor Lodge it would have been a very depressing trip. We started packing up about 4 Saturday and got home sometime between 6:30 and 7:00. We only made one stop and that was at the Dairy Queen in Flatwoods. I had my usual Banana split blizzard.
I never realized so many people attended that festival. I knew it was popular but.... Even with the sometime bad weather people just kept coming through. We were set up in City park but there were set ups and activities all over town. There was a big craft show in the college's gym. I bought some Christmas ornaments. I just remembered I had bought Brockie, Cindy, and Bev a fall leaf pin. Now where did I put them???
I guess Debbie is going again this Thursday through Saturday to the Black Walnut Festival. Cindy Washington will be going with her. I was signed up to go Saturday, but told Kathy unless she wanted me to go 2 would be enough. Linda Gump had come up Friday and Saturday to help us but you don't need 3 people.
On Friday when I had the afternoon shift I watched GMA and Rod Stewart was on it. He just released a new CD. I want to get. It has song hits from the 70's and 80's on it. (not his hits, but other artists) He sang "It's a Heartache". Then yesterday he was on the View but I can't remember what he sang I was not paying a lot of attention.

I didn't do too bad on the trip I was depressed a few times mostly when I was out where I could see the beautiful fall foliage. So I used my "pretend it's not there" technique and try not to look around at anything pretty. At night I would feel bad when I went to my room. I hadn't stayed in a motel room without George since 1988, but I would draw the blinds, turn on the TV, get out my books and get in bed and try to numb myself with books and TV. It may not be healthy but it works, sometimes.

Heading for the Woods

Getting ready to leave here in a few minutes for the Forest Festival. We have to get everything set up tonight ready for the opening tomorrow. I can't remember exactly how long the drive is, but I know it is at least 2 hours maybe more. I am drinking some more coffee so I won't fall asleep on Debbie.

Iwill have fun Iwill have funIwill have funIwill have funIwill have funIwill have funIwill have funIwill have funIwill have fun. Just have to keepo telling myself that.

My fairy Sea

My Fairy Sea
By
D.K. Stevens

I know a deep and boundless seaThat takes three fairy days to reach;And if you'll go along with me,We'll play forever on the beach.

My sea is splendid to behold:
It's top is all a shimmering light,
Just like the narrow path of gold
The moon makes on your sea at night.

It's waves are never blue or green,
but just a lovely kind of pink;
The shore is sugar, white and clean,
Which makes the water good to drink.

And if you want your fortune told;
To know what's coming in a year,
You only have to find and hold
One of my seashells to your ear.

Of course it is a distant sea,
And takes three fairy days to reach;
But if you'll go along with me,
We'll play forever on the beach