Faster than a Dog with a Bone

This week went faster than a dog with a bone. Michelle had 2 physical therapy appointments. She has a love hate relationship with these appointments, but they have harvested good results. She loves that they are making her feel stronger and more capable. She hates going, but what sane person likes being forced to exercise? Every time we leave PT, she is bone tired. One appointment was scheduled for 5:30 pm. Neither of us were looking forward to this late day appointment. A call came in offering an earlier slot that we jumped on. Michelle later confessed she would have “called out” if we kept the 5:30 pm slot.

I forgot to give Michelle her bedtime meds once this week. This was the first time I forgot the bedtime meds. Michelle forgot to take her lunch meds once also. I’m surprised this doesn’t happen more often, but we are good about making the medicine go down. Make no bones about it, that dark chocolate has close to a spoonful of sugar in it.

I asked Michelle if she felt stronger. She said she works herself to the bone at physical therapy but can’t really tell if she is stronger. She is sore when she leaves which means she is building endurance. She said she feels much stronger mentally, even though her legs feel like mushy tomatoes.

Here is the feature of the week, Michelle’s first Michelle made her first attempt at crocheting this week. It wasn’t much, just a chain stitch. Making something from nothing has always been her specialty. She said she is looking for an easy pattern to start with. I was as excited as a dog with 2 tails to see her crocheting again. I hope to see more of this soon.

Highlight of the week Michelle helped me bake cookies this week. I decided to make some cookies. I gathered all the fixings and mixed them all up in the kitchen-aid. My computer started to make some noise telling me that work needed my attention. Unfortunately, this meant that the baking would need to wait until work slowed or was done for the day. Michelle stepped up to the task and baked the cookies for me. She only burned herself twice (I learned this the following day).

Random Fact of the Week A dog’s sense of smell is approximately 100,000 times better than a human. Dogs can be trained to detect cancer and other diseases in humans. Cancerous cells release different metabolic waste products than healthy cells in the human body. Dogs may even be able to sniff out cancer cells simply through smelling someone's breath.

Dog Gone Daytime TV Michelle enjoyed watching “Fractured” (Netflix) After his wife and injured daughter disappear from the emergency room, a man becomes convinced the hospital is hiding something. Not buried in the garden either, An appropriate movie for Mental Health awareness month. She also watched “Ford Vs. Ferrari” (YouTube) American automotive designer Carroll Shelby and fearless British race car driver Ken Miles battle corporate interference, the laws of physics and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. Together, they plan to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

Dog Gone Primetime TV This week’s featured presentation was “A Man Named Otto” (Netflix). When a lively young family moves in next door, grumpy widower Otto Anderson meets his match in a quick-witted, pregnant woman named Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world upside down. The new featured series of the week was “FUBAR” (Netflix) When a father and daughter discover they both secretly work for the CIA, an already dicey undercover mission turns into a dysfunctional family affair. “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV) has just one episode left this season. We finished “Jury Duty” (Freevee). A silly series that followed a fake trial profiling a clueless juror who had no idea he was the only one unaware the entire series was fake.

“3 Dog Night Saloon”

The Menu

Appetizers

Pear & Cottage Cheese parfait

Potato chips

Vanilla Oreo Cookies

Entrees

Smoked Paprika Chicken Thighs

Swiss Steak (the name comes from the "swissing" technique for tenderizing meat, not the country)

Luck Beef Meatloaf

Beef tlaxcalli

Creamy Poblano Cornish Cross (garden fresh poblano peppers)

Boston Butt Shredded Sliders

Philly Cheesesteak Goulash

Sides

Jasmine Rice

Tater Tots

French Fries

Peas

Sweet Corn

Frozen Vegetable Mix

Deserts

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dark Chocolate

Drinks

Lemonade

Fenbendazole Lemonade (Otherwise known as chalk)

La Croix (Berry and Razz-Cranberry)

Coffee

Water

https://BarkingUpTheWrongTree.gov

My Castle is my Home

My home is my castle, she softly said, as we backed out of the driveway for her bi-weekly physical therapy (PT) appointment. Every day Michelle is getting stronger and more confident, she just isn’t sold on the idea she had to leave the house. She is liking her PT appointments though; her therapist is challenging her to get stronger and stay motivated.

Michelle had immunotherapy this week. She was nervous this week because it was a new location with new people and unknown expectations. “I’m sick of this bull crap, can we just stay home?” She asked. Chateau de infusion is no Fortress de Luck. Her anxiety was high, but it was calming to see such nice and inviting nurses and nursing assistants. It was more than a job to the nurses; it was like they were taking care of their own family. This was Michelle’s 8th immunotherapy infusion, and it is the first time the lab work was taken from the port. Not getting futile needle sticks is great news. Michelle was excited to hear she could go in the Luck resort hot tub if she wants. The scheduler has scheduled infusions through July already. He was nice enough to schedule more than just one month of infusions, giving us a schedule to plan from. I always wondered why they scheduled her infusions one at a time, scheduling those months in advanced makes so much more sense. We did not see the oncologist. We saw her nurse. We will see the oncologist every 3 weeks, unless there is reason to see her more often.

Back at the Castle von Lüch, I asked Michelle how she was feeling about the new facility and if she was impressed with the staff at the new infusion location. Her response was stoic. For Michelle, virtue and character are all that matter. The approach to this cancer journey isn't about her being a great role model and being strong, because in the end it doesn't really matter. I told her she is an inspiration to all that know her. “You’re too much” she said, then she thanked me for "trying" to encourage her. We both chuckled a bit.

Highlight of the week It never gets old seeing Michelle in her garden. This week she was harvesting peppers. I wasn’t sure what she was up to when I saw her in the garden this week. It didn’t take long for me to see that she had 2 arms full of poblano peppers. I thought to myself, she may have one too many peppers. She turned to shut the portcullis to the garden, dropping peppers as she turned. Latching the gate is unavailing I thought, as I watch another pepper fall to the ground. When Michelle finally made it back to the fortress, she was tired. She said her back hurt. That didn’t stop her from roasting the peppers she just harvested.

Random Fact of the Week At first, castles were built for military and government means. As centuries went on, hostilities subsided, and wealth started to flow during Renaissance, nobility and royalty started to create vanity castles that were used to be summer houses, hunting houses and royal houses. One more interesting fact. The word “dungeon” was derived from the word “"donjon” which described central keep of the castle. Because those keeps were dark, cold, and often housed prisoners, the word dungeon was born.

Fortress Daytime Television Michelle was into watching “The Devil in Ohio” (Netflix) this week. A psychiatrist takes in a young patient who escaped from a cult, putting her family and life in danger. She is also enjoying “Lore” (Prime Video) Lore is an American horror anthology television series developed by the creator of the podcast of the same name, Aaron Mahnke, with Valhalla Entertainment and Propagate Content. She enjoyed watching “BattleBots” this week as well.

Primetime Fortress Television We watched the movie “Burn” (HULU) Melinda is a lonely and unstable gas-station attendant who's tired of being overshadowed by her more confident and outgoing co-worker. When a robber holds up the station at gunpoint, Melinda tries to make a connection with the desperate thief. It was slow in the middle.

Michelle and I started watching a new series called “The Last Thing He Told Me” (Apple TV) The main character Hannah, who is played by Jennifer Garner, must forge a relationship with her 16-year-old stepdaughter, Bailey, to find the truth behind why her husband has mysteriously disappeared.

We finally watched the final episode of “The Night Agent” (Netflix). Great TV. There are scenes that are loud, but it is an exciting series to watch.

“Alcazar De La Suerte”

The Menu

Appetizers

Fruit Cocktail

Pear & Cottage Cheese parfait

Potato chips

Entrees

Chilly Mac

Huevos Rancheros Sandwiches

Biscuits and Gravy (Michelle was not a fan)

Bratwurst

Turkey Peperoni Pizza

Smoked Paprika Chicken thighs

Sweet Garlic Ginger Baked Salmon

Sides

Angel Hair Pasta

Jasmine Rice

Fried Corn

Campesina Blend Frozen Veggie mix

Cauliflower Rice

Deserts

Brownies

Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Squares

Cookies

Drinks

Lemonade

La Croix (Berry and Razz-Cranberry)

Waterloo Sparking Water (Blackberry Lemonade)

Coffee

Water

http://ManorMansionOnSparks.gov

A Hard Nut to Crack

Michelle can be a hard nut to crack sometimes. This week we had an orchard of appointments. We started the week with a Physical Therapy (PT) appointment. She said her legs felt like a stale pistachio, all rubbery. I told her, this means that whatever they are doing, is working. She is not convinced. Honestly, she is just a homebody. I asked her later in the week if she felt physically stronger. She said it feels like things are moving in that direction, but it is too early to tell, which is fair.

Michelle’s neurologist has really come out of her shell. Michelle’s short-term memory has declined in recent weeks, so we expressed this concern with the neurologist. She explained that the brain is like any muscle, with exercise and training it can improve. She was also honest about expectations. The lesion scars in the brain will never go away. Learning the best way to learn and grow from this will be our new way of life. More tears flowed when we heard this. It can be overwhelming. She will take things one step at a time. Michelle has cracked a few games on her phone that specifically target her memory. One is a word search game. Another game she plays is a treasure searching game. They both stimulate the brain. I am not convinced they will help her short term memory. Some studies show that brain training games are not effective, the recollection and work that the brain does during these games does keep her mind fresh and alert.

We had some rough patches early in the week, most of them were memory related. A lot of the feelings are fear. Michelle has had a hard time remembering what she had for lunch for quite some time now. A good work around for her was to say that she had leftovers. This is true 100% of the time. While it does not exercise good memory tactics, I can’t fault her for ingenuity. Recently she started to forget her dinner meal. I know there are things she’s forgetting but choosing not to ask or share them with me. I can’t imagine how scary this would be. It drives me nuts not to be able to make it all better for her.

Here is the feature of the week Michelle disappeared while I was working this week, as she often does. Sometimes it’s a walk out front, or maybe out back to look at the wildflowers. On this day she had been gone for quite some time and I started getting concerned. I first looked outside through my front windows. Not seeing her, I panicked slightly. I went outside and softly called her name. Not hearing her I look around both corners of the house. She was still nowhere in sight. I looked down Sparks Rd to see if she ventured out for a quick walk, no sign of her there. No sign on Bobby Rd either. My heart started to race a bit more, so I quickly walked into the house to do a quick look around before I went into panic overload. Silly Brian. She was in the shower this whole time. She walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and freshly showered and said, “Hi baby”. Excitement and relief filled my heart. This was her first solo shower since October 19th, 2022.

Highlight of the week My favorite Michelle memory this week was watching her in the vegetable garden taking pictures and admiring the spring growth. I miss seeing her in the garden daily. When I do see her there, it’s always a highlight.

Random Fact of the Week One nut you have likely never seen in the shell is the macadamia, and for good reason. Unlike opening a peanut or a pistachio, it takes some serious muscle to extract the edible nut from its shell: 300 pounds of pressure per square inch to be exact, making it the hardest nut in the world to crack!

Daytime NutChele on the Tel Michelle started watching SWAT for the first time this year. She is definitely not watching it for the acting. I think the Shemar Moore eye candy helps move the show along. Station 19 has also been a staple during the day. Michelle is also enjoying the Chicago trilogy, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and even Chicago PD. She kind of likes Hank Voight. I know some of you have mentioned how much they really dislike this character.

Nighttime NutChele on the Tel Tel We did not watch as much TV together this week. Recent rains bring a lot of maintenance to the ranch. When we did settle in together, we watched “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV), “Schmigadoon” (Apple TV) and “Jeff Dunham – The Bull Calf” with our grandchildren. Vivian’s favorite puppet is “Peanut”.

“Marshall” (Netflix) was the featured movie this week. The movie is based on a true story from the 1940’s. NAACP lawyer, Thurgood Marshall faces one of his greatest challenges while working as a lawyer for the NAACP. Marshall travels to conservative Connecticut when wealthy socialite Eleanor Strubing accuses Black chauffeur Joseph Spell of sexual assault and attempted murder. Thurgood Marshall was born in 1908. Not related to this movie, but interesting to note, Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first Black person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice in 1967. This was the hit movie of the week.

“NutChele Cafe”

THE MENU

Appetizers

Hershey’s Chocolate Bar

Potato Chips

Mandarin Oranges

Entrees

Mexican Enchiladas

Taco Salad

Turkey Pepperoni Pizza

Honey Garlic salmon with sweet homemade sriracha sauce

Philly Cheese Steak Goulash

Potato Hamburger Hash

Garlic Roasted Chicken

Sides

Pan Seared Mixed Vegetables

Jasmine Rice

Fresh Green Beans

Peas

Cauliflower Rice

Deserts

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dark Heavenly Brownies

Vanilla Ice Cream

Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip

Drinks

Lemonade

La Croix (Berry, Lemon and Razz-Cranberry)

Waterloo Sparking Water (Blackberry Lemonade)

Coffee

Water

http://DeliciouslyNutso.edu

Not a Happy Camper

Being from Minnesota, I love camping. Michelle hates it, she always has. Michelle had her first, outside the house physical therapy (PT) appointment this week. She was not a happy camper. There are many things Michelle likes, on the top of the list is sleep. Her appointment was first thing in the morning, and I needed to wake her up, so we would not be late. Luckily, we are only 10 minutes away from the PT facility. We had some bagels and cream cheese for breakfast (I snuck some bran under the cream cheese) then we headed out to her appointment. I thought it went well. She was the only person in the room. It was her first appointment, so she was being evaluated for her needs and strengths. The therapist, asked her what her goals were. Michelle initially shrugged and said “nothing”. Then she thought about it and said she would like to drive again one day.

After the appointment, we discussed the positives and negatives of PT. Michelle seemed down about the whole experience. I asked her if someone stole her tent and made her sleep in the open air? If you think she wasn’t a happy camper because of a lack of sleep, you should have seen the look I got after that comment. After pulling some teeth and tent poles, the truth finally surfaced. She didn’t like the mask. We decided to talk to the staff at the PT facility and let them know that we are hyper aware of germs and infection. We asked that they try to keep Michelle at least 6 feet from other patrons. The therapist suggested they may just disappear behind a closed door if things get too busy in the PT room. Loaded with this information, Michelle had a great second appointment. She came home tired from the exercises but satisfied she did not have the constriction of a mask. Michelle has been seen exercising around the kitchen island with an exercise band being used for resistance.

Here is the feature of the week Michelle planted her first plant this week. I bought an annual from Home Depot to replace one that died due to lack of sun. I took it out front and I was going to start repotting it when Michelle appeared on my right shoulder. “I’ll do it” she said soft and sweet. That’s my happy camper. My sweet ladybug.

Highlights of the week My highlight this week was watching Michelle out on the back patio every morning, enjoying the view of Luck Lake. Listening to the birds sing and the chirp and chit sounds of the hummingbirds warbling. You can tell this always puts her in a happy place.

Minutes passed at Luck Simulcast This week “The Exorcist” was the featured series to pass the daytime hours. Michelle sure does know how to pick out the horror. Michelle also watched “Survivor” and “Next Level Chef”. She seems to be enjoying the throwback series “Third Watch”.

Simulcast Nightly Michelle has spent a few nights alone this week. Recent rains mean our 20 acres needs my attention after work. I’ve been given the nickname “ADHD kid” for some reason. It's also the "Ole white dude on the corner." But who keeps track of nicknames? 

When we did watch simulcasts together, we watched “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV) “Jeff Dunham Unhinged in Hollywood” (Netflix). Jeff Dunham is Michelle’s top comedian. We had tickets to go see him in Las Vegas in October. Unfortunately, that trip was canceled. 

Throwback Story We watched “Whose line is it anyway?” (HBO). When Michelle and I were dating, we used to call each other every night. We would watch whose line together, on the phone. That was 22 years ago, before internet streaming was big. It still makes us giggle.

Random Fact of the Week Sometimes given the nickname of flying jewels, Hummingbirds cannot walk. Hummingbirds can only perch or scoot sideways. They belong to the bird order Apodiformes (meaning “footless”), which also includes other great aerialists with tiny feet, the swifts. Small feet are an asset both for swifts and hummingbirds because they reduce drag in flight, making these birds more aerodynamic.

“Luck Ranch Potted Planter”

THE MENU

Appetizers

Pear & Cottage Cheese parfait

Mint girl scout cookies

Hershey’s Chocolate Bar

Entrees

Mexican Gorditas

Cheesy Mac with hamburger

Sweet Italian sausage

Angel hair Spaghetti and 3 meat meatballs

Sous Vide Chicken Breast

Wings-n-Luck

Fried Shrimp

Sides

Mezcla Frozen Veggie Mix

Cauliflower Rice

Corn

Broccoli

Rice and pasta blend in Cheddar sauce

Deserts

Chocolate chip cookies

Michelle’s Brownies

Chocolate

Drinks

Lemonade

La Croix (Berry and Razz-Cranberry)

Coffee with homemade creamer

Water

http://PottePlantFever.edu

Squirrel or the Nut?

Some days you’re the squirrel, some days you’re the nut. This week Michelle was the nut. Emotions from last week, blended into this week. Her rheumatoid arthritis calmed down a lot by day 6 of the 7 days of steroid regimen. I was beginning to wonder if her body was immune to the steroids but was elated to hear the burning, sharp pain and sustained pressure from swelling was finally decreased to a manageable level.

Michelle showed up with her best squirrel face on for immunotherapy this week. I could see her face melt slowly and knew it was the nut, not the squirrel she was feeling when they told her they needed to get blood drawn again. She told me the lab sticks are hurting more and more each week. Her oncologist did not mention labs last week, so we assumed there would not be any. I knew we were not in for a good morning when I saw her sweet blue eyes swell with tears. It was going to be a long day. We saw the original oncologist for our last time and of course I had more questions. This time I asked why the labs? This is when I learned that since December, they could have been taking the blood samples from her port. Why isn’t this standard procedure? Why are we just learning this now? These will be questions we hope will be answered by her new oncologist. 

After seeing her original oncologist, Michelle was called back for her Immunotherapy. She was fortunate that her favorite administration nurse helping her with the infusion. I decided that she needed my moral support on this day and that the post COVID rules of no visitors in the infusion room would need an exception. I squirreled my way in back with her. The 30-minute infusion took 60 because her pump wasn’t working properly. I was glad I was there with her.

The original oncologist prescribed a lesser dose of steroids (5mg) that she can take in conjunction with the immunotherapy. We are hoping this will lessen the swelling of her rheumatoid arthritis.

Michelle’s general practitioner (GP) 4-month follow-up appointment was this week. We are not going out on a limb for this nut when we say that we both love her doctor. She treats Michelle like a special confidant, and even called her a “good friend” during the appointment. It was a telemed appointment so having the comfort of our couch was nice. Michelle will start physical therapy to rehab her rubber legs. We also talked about mental health. We are hoping to get on the schedule for an evaluation soon in that area as well.

An update from last week. We were not sure about a studded bra in a shadow box on the wall at  new oncologist's office. I learned that one of her many specializations is breast cancer. Being a strong advocate, she would naturally support the charities that support breast cancer.  I was sent this link by a close friend of ours last week, after she read the update. https://rachelkbelkin.com/breast-cancer-survivors-model-bras-in-runway-event/

Here is the feature of the week, Michelle’s firsts Michelle walked down to the barn this week. She helped with an animal wellness check. She helped gather eggs and start the preliminary investigations of where’s Olaf? By the time we got home she was walking sideways because she was so tired. I am grateful she recovers quickly and the rubbery legs feeling disappeared, but it scares me when she gets so uneasy on her feet. Rarely does one see a squirrel tremble.

Highlights of the week Michelle ventured out to the apiary this week. Our apiarists and friend helped us check our apiary this week and Michelle was there for a few minutes when we started. Michelle has always loved taking care of the “ladies” and really misses the interaction of being an apiarist. I could see she was feeling excitement but also a little trepidation because she did not want to get stung. After about 5 minutes at the apiary, I brought her back home. Her smile was wide and large as I guided her back to the couch. Keeping with the squirrel theme of the week, I told her I was nuts about her and I went back down to finish the apiary check.

Random Fact of the Week Do you ever wonder why your eyes get puffy after crying? It's because emotional tears are waterier, they're less salty than basic tear secretions and the tissue in your eye. So, through the process of osmosis, the water moves into the saltier ocular tissues, which makes them swell up.

Luck Ranch Picture Palace Daytime All eyes were on “Station 19” this week, as this was the fire and rescue procedural series. Practically raised at Seattle's Station 19, Andy Herrera is a confident firefighter who is also the daughter of Pruitt Herrera, the formidable head of the firehouse. “Survivor”, “Next Level Chef” and “Fire Country” were also kept up to date.

Primetime at Luck Ranch Picture Palace Hockey once again was a nightly scene, as we watched the Minnesota Wild’s dreams of a Stanley cup slowly fade. I may or may not have been following the NFL draft live on my phone while we watched other things on the TV. “Mayor of Kingston” (Paramount +) has been the thriller series of choice this week. We re-watched the movie “CODA” (Apple TV) this week. Ruby is the only hearing member of a deaf family from Gloucester, Massachusetts. At 17, she works mornings before school to help her parents and brother keep their fishing business afloat. We watched the finale of “Schmigadoon” (Apple TV). It ended just the way we expected. It was a fun “musical” to watch for us. We can’t wait to start watching season 2 to find out what happens next, both him and her.

"Luck Ranch Fence & Post"

THE MENU

Appetizers

Lays Potato chips

Hershey’s Chocolate Bar

Entrees

Ham and Cheese loaf

Rib eye, Tenderloin, T-bone

Pork Chops

Cheesy Rice Chicken skillet

Angel hair pasta and chopped sirloin

Philly Cheese Steak Stroganoff

Sides

Mezcla Guarnacion Vegetable Blend

Cauliflower Rice

Broccoli Stir Fry

Ranch Style Beans

Potatoes Au Gratin

Deserts

Cookies

Chocolate

Drinks

Lemonade

Water

Gin and Tonic

http://SisterLove.org

Unicorns Aren't Real

I promised rainbows and unicorns, as this journey rages on, you will have to settle for just the rainbow. Sorry folks, unicorns aren’t real. I find myself picking days and weeks I like better. This past week was a week that I liked. There were only two appointments. The first was the original oncologist. She was once again very impressed with Michelle’s progress. She has suggested that she be put in for some experimental cancer studies. It is interesting that we went from “Chemo or hospice” to now exploring the idea of experimental cancer studies. The oncologist talked positively about Michelle’s TCFL2 numbers. These are HMG proteins that play important roles in remodeling the assembly of cells. During the meeting prior to the immunotherapy infusion, Michelle asked if she could start her hydroxychloroquine, which she takes for rheumatoid arthritis pain. The oncologist explained that the immunotherapy was probably the culprit of the rheumatoid inflammation. She made the decision to push the infusion for 7 days and put her on 20mg of the steroid prednisone. Prednisone, a glucocorticoid steroid, is a very potent anti-inflammatory. She is scheduled for her infusion next Wednesday, same bat time, same bat channel. As I edit and finish typing this Sunday morning, I can update you all that the prednisone has not helped with the arthritis pain unfortunately. She has an appointment with the rheumatologist on Monday.

The new oncologist’s office called to schedule an appointment for 5:45pm Friday evening. Asking for more options, the scheduler said how about Monday May 1st at 5:30pm?  Michelle’s comment was, “Does this oncologist not have a personal life?” We packed a picnic dinner and headed out for our late appointment Friday evening at 4pm. The staff leaves the building at 5pm, so we needed to be there at 4:30 to get checked in. We enjoyed the new oncologist's openness, and she seems to have a great knowledge in her field. We are excited to start down this new path.

Pluses include her willingness to listen and share information. Her openness to new and experimental testing. Liking quiet and quaint meetings, private and to herself. She knows all of Michelle’s other doctors. She knew by name the doctors and surgeons that have seen and are currently seeing Michelle.

Not sure about Waiting over an hour to see the doctor and having to bring dinner with us, because it was at dinner time. There was a shadow box on the wall with a studded bra inside, neither of us knew what to think of that.

Here is the feature of the week Michelle’s firsts. We gave our dog Izzie a shower. This is not an easy task for anyone. Izzie rolled in cow manure. It's instinctual behavior, harkening back to the days when a dog's wild ancestors would mask their scent to help them sneak up on their prey. Wolves, for example, have been observed rolling in animal carcasses or the droppings of plant-eating animals, to cover up their own smell during the hunt. Concerned about Izzie’s scent, we brought her to a dog whisperer and later found out she was trying to help Michelle. The immune system is known to be stimulated by the inhalation of bacterial cell wall components called "endotoxin" that become airborne as cow manure dries up. Exposure to cow manure may explain why dairy farmers have substantially lower rates of lung cancer despite smoking. Who'd thunk it? We all felt much better after she was all clean.

Highlights of the week Michelle ventured out to an Asian Market for coffee and muffins with the ladies. She had a great time getting out and spending time without her overprotective husband hovering over her constantly. She also got her makeup done and manicured this week!

Daytime Ranch at the Multiplex Michelle started a new series called “From” (Amazon Prime). The residents of a small-town struggle to find a way out when mysterious unknown forces keep them from leaving. She continues to enjoy “East New York” (Paramount +). She stays current with “Survivor” and “Fire Country”. Her guilty pleasures are “911”, “FBI: Most Wanted”, and recently went old school with “Third Watch” a 1999 drama with Firefighters, paramedics and cops that rush around during the 3 p.m.-to-midnight shift, saving lives while squabbling over personal differences.

Luck Primetime Multiplex It is prime Stanley Cup season and the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche are both in the playoffs – this week. We are actively watching both teams play. We normally only get to watch just one period before bedtime, then watch the rest of the game the next day.

At the request of Michelle’s cousin, we started watching a new series on (Freevee) called “Jury Duty” It follows the workings of an American jury trial through the eyes of Ronald Gladden, a juror who is unaware the entire case is fake. It's a good comedy.

We are still watching “The Night Agent” and “Schmigadoon”.

We finished the finale of “Truth be Told” (Apple TV) . It had a great twist at the end. It is worth a watch.

This week at “The Promiscuous Knife”  Where not everything here makes the cut.

Luck Ranch tomahawk pork chops made a debut. Fresh off the grill at 130 degrees. Rested then cut up for consumption.

 Luck Ranch Honey garlic with a Cornish cross chicken made for a great dinner over white jasmine rice and fried corn and maybe some hidden bran sprinkled intermittently.

Rancho de la suerte Pollo Cremoso, made in a roux broth with cream and condensed milk, soy sauce and Worcester sauce. Served with cheesy rice and steamed carrots.

Classic stovetop salmon was the perfect message that Michelle was feeling great. Michelle made it taste delicious as usual.

I made Shrimp fried in avocado oil accompanied with French fries and cauliflower rice. Made with love

Chopped meat raspberry marinade with bowtie pasta was on the menu this week. It was the brainchild of Brian Luck. Probably not for you and not a make again.

BLT sandwiches – picnic style, accompanied with a bag of Lays potato chips and some fresh fruit. This was served up at the doctor’s office. We ate while we text and played games on our phones.

Random Fact of the Week Fire ant bites burn like fire. A single ant stings an average of three times before removing its stinger. Ask me how I know. Stings are most common and most painful during the summer when ants have the largest amount of stored venom (saved up just for you). The most common reaction to a fire ant sting you will find is intense itching and a burning sensation (fire-like) at the site of stings. A common site is in vegetable and flower gardens, next to or in the weeds. You will scratch it.

http://www.TalkingAboutCancerMakesHerCry.edu

Rainbows and Unicorns

If you think everything here at the Luck Ranch is always rainbows and unicorns, you’d best stop reading this update and move onto the next. Michelle’s week was full. It started on Monday at the foot doctor. She has an ingrown toenail that has been bothering her for a few weeks. The earliest we could get her in was this past Monday morning. After a quick visit with the doc, she decided to get the toenail cut back. When we told our family foot doctor of 22 years about Michelle's cancer diagnosis, she got emotional. After the podiatrist left the examination room, I climbed up on the one-person Podiatry examination chair with her and held her close. The nurse came in and caught us hugging on the chair with four legs but definitely built for one body. The nurse smiled feebly. I didn’t move, I held Michelle tightly while the mean nurse stuck her with the huge needle. (It wasn’t that big, it just felt big to Michelle) Her soft squeal was adorable yet cacophonic to listen to. I knew I couldn’t help her; all I could do was hold her. I climbed down off the podiatrist chair because it was uncomfortable for both of us.  When The doctor came back in, he started slowly cutting away at her toenail, he soon realized she was not numb enough. He had to stick her yet again. She’s a living pincushion I’m telling you. The podiatrist was finally able to get her toe numb enough to cut away the irritation and hopefully prevent it from causing a future nuisance. In our small talk, we mentioned that we were not happy with the oncologist at Texas oncology. He suggested that we try to do a transfer of care due to location and gave us the name of a friend and colleague of his. We didn't know this was a thing. So, a new chapter begins.

We wasted a trip to the oncologist this week. I set a reminder for 1 week out for some reason, then misread it thinking it was this week instead of next. When we got home, I saw Michelle was not in a good place. It is so hard to comfort her because I am not a counselor, and I am not sure what she needs.

I contacted the “LifeLine Lung Cancer Support” center hoping they could help. They assigned Michelle a mentor named Heidi who currently is struggling with small cell lung cancer as well. She talked to Michelle a lot about her own diagnosis, I suppose it may have been good therapy for Heidi. Michelle was not impressed.

Still struggling after hanging up with her “mentor”, I did my best to understand what was going on inside her head. Michelle finally opened up to me and explained that she was feeling like she was taking too many medications. Michelle is a visual person, so I put all her meds on the counter and showed her that all the medication that she is currently taking except for 3 were supplements. This eased her mind. I think she was feeling like she was an old lady with a medicine cabinet full of prescription pills that she needed to take. Once I made her understand this was not the case, she seemed to calm down a lot. Taking daily vitamins (& supplements) is not the same as taking prescription pills.

I logged into the patient portal at Texas oncology and started a transfer request through Michelle’s oncology nurse. While logged in, I looked at the cat scan results from April 4th. The results showed that the mass in her LIVER has slightly increased into a conglomerate mass measuring 48 x 35 mm previously 39 x 30 mm. She is not getting chemotherapy, so this is probably why this is growing/metastasizing. In her LUNGS, the right lower lobe nodule increased from 16 x 10 mm to 16 x 11 mm. There is an increase in the size of a right hilar/infrahilar LYMPH NODE metastasis measuring 36 x 30 mm, previously 21 x 20 mm (.5 in x .4 in difference). This is not a lot but it does mean that the cancer is still active and is still growing. This was compared to a previous scan on February 2nd.  There were a lot of numbers that stayed the same, these were just the ones that changed.

Michelle's current oncologist called on Saturday morning to tell me she approved the transfer of care. She explained there were some minor changes seen on the MRI results from 23 March.

There is positive therapeutic treatment response of previously identified intradural metastasis in the lower neck area (C5-6 level cord surface). This means that they are seeing positive results from immunotherapy.

There is new metastatic focus in the upper neck or the second vertebra of the spine. (Left C2 inferior articular process). In layman's terms, this means new cancer growth from metastasis in the spine.

The immunotherapy appears to be helping and has been approved for this coming Wednesday. We will see this oncologist one last time before we move to a new oncologist in Round Rock. I have discussed the option of chemotherapy with Michelle, and she is thinking about it.

Michelle had an MRI this week. They stuck her only once and besides the 90-minute wait for a 45-minute scan, it was the best MRI experience she has had to date!

Here is the feature of the week, Michelle’s firsts. Michelle was able to walk down to the creek on Bobby Road. She did this pre-clot last December, but this is the first time since December that she has made it that far. She described her legs as if they were rubber when she got home. "Jelly legs" is a common feeling for someone in her condition. I was excited to see she made it as far as she did.

Highlights of the week: Taking Michelle to the barn with me to feed the bees. She didn’t go into the apiary, but it was nice to have her there. She helped me make the sugar water to feed them, then she offered to come with me to the apiary while I fed them. We made a trip to Stephan’s house. It was nice getting out of the house again this week. We watched the movie “Tetris” (Apple TV) together. Henk Rogers discovers Tetris in 1988, and then risks everything by travelling to the Soviet Union, where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov to bring the game to the masses.

Random Fact of the Week: There is no copper in a one cent piece. If you wash a penny, you will rub the magnesium alloy off and ruin the penny. (I wonder how I learned this?)

Luckatorium during the day: “Ice Road Truckers”, “Survivor”, “Fire Country”, “Chicago Med”, “So Help Me Todd”.

“The River Murders” (Amazon Prime) A homicide detective (Ray Liotta) investigating a series of murders becomes the prime suspect when the FBI uncovers his close ties to all the victims.

 “The Invitation” (Peacock) After the death of her mother and having no other known relatives, Evie takes a DNA test and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Michelle loves a good vampire movie.

Luck Ranch Coliseum: “The Night Agent” (Netflix), “Yellow Jackets” 

“Schmigadoon”(Apple TV) . On a backpacking trip designed to reinvigorate their relationship, a couple discovers a magical town living in a 1940s musical and learn that they can't leave until they find true love. I really liked this one. Michelle is still on the fence with it. It has one of my favorite actresses in it, “Cecily Strong”. I also really like Keegan-Michael Key who plays her boyfriend. It is just the 30-minute show that I have been looking for.

“Zodiac” (Showtime). In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks its residents. I was not feeling well, so I watched it in a mask, and found myself drifting off frequently throughout the movie. (I had already seen the movie before and liked it) One thing I learned was, the zodiac killer case is still unsolved!

This week “Persnickety’s Pub and Grill” Where she wants everything just so.

Once again, I tried to mix things up a bit. I had a failed attempt at an over cooked pork roast that I pawned off on Brandy and her kids. What should have been cooked for 5 minutes in the Instapot, I cooked for 20! Michelle opted for a hotdog with ketchup.

I thought a potato hotdish would be good too. It wasn’t too bad. Michelle said it was great, but I was a little more critical. I am not sure I will make it the same way again. Maybe next time I will use a recipe rather than just gather a bunch of things I think might be good.

I made a taco salad which is always a hit. It is not always great for leftovers. I still have some leftover taco meat that will probably go to waste.

We enjoyed some more pizza from Grazie! Pizzeria. Where the pizza is just as good on the second day.

One morning I made oatmeal and didn’t realize that our milk ad expired – 10 days earlier. She couldn’t eat oatmeal without milk, so down the drain went to oatmeal and out came the toaster. A cinnamon and raisin bagel with whipped mixed berry cream cheese was a perfect way to make up for a bad start.

We had Turkey and mashed potatoes for our Eater feast. It was a nice change. I am not sure why turkey seems to be a once-a-year meal in our house. I am going to try to change that.

We had a late lunch one day, so we skipped dinner. I made Michelle some corn bread so she didn’t take her pills without food but there was no main course for the evening.

We had a buffalo wings night this week. Deep-fried chicken wings have long been a staple of Southern cooking. We enjoyed them with some French fries and a couple of pieces of fried shrimp and some veggies.

Love, Brian

http://www.ItTastesLikeHerLegsFelt.eww

Given' the Dogs a Bone

We had one appointment this week for a cat scan. It was a morning appointment, and she could not eat or drink prior to the scan. I brought her morning pills and a breakfast donut for her enjoyment on the way home. Missing the vein in one arm and going to the second to get the IV in, took more time than the actual cat scan did.

I got more bills in the mail this week. The first immunotherapy bill made my heart stop. I was dumbfounded when I learned that 1 immunotherapy infusion is $25,440.00. She’s had 5 total infusions, 4 this year. We have only been billed once. Insurance covered all but $1,480.72 from this 1 bill. I spent 30 minutes on a call researching charges. The only charge found was from February. It was for immunotherapy and chemotherapy, which was only $707 interesting enough. I guess poison is cheap. Being she did not have chemotherapy in February, the Texas Oncology billing department will open an investigation into my case and call me back. I called ARA radiology about the out-of-network charges for MRIs while Michelle was in the hospital. It looks like the patient responsibility was released, so no charges are currently noted on my account.

We made it out and about again this week. We went to Lauren’s house again for a visit. This time We brought her some hummingbird food.

We also visited Melinda at Voelker construction. We needed to get something notarized, and Melinda does notarizations. It was great catching up with her. Stan was there to give Michelle a hug of course.

We also went to the post office to drop our taxes off and mail off our notarized paperwork. We stopped for some pizza that we brought home to eat.

Here is the feature of the week Michelle’s firsts After doing chores one evening, I returned to the house and immediately realized that Michelle had washed the dishes while I was gone. I teared up. This is the first time in 5 months that she has hand washed the dishes. This used to be a shared chore, having Michelle help with this now is not just monumental it is a sign of healing and remedial therapy.

Michelle gave the dogs their morning dog bones. Again, not something that sounds too spectacular, but indeed something she has not done since October.

Michelle made her own lunch. This was a first. I was on a call working with a medical billing agent and started her lunch but did not finish it. She got up and finished it. I later asked if she was hungry and she said, “No, I was just trying to be helpful.” These are great strides. I forgot her pills that day because my routine was out of whack, but I was so proud of her.

Highlights of the week: Watching Michelle in the kitchen making sugar water. Michelle made 2 batches of sugar water for the hummingbirds, one for us and one for Lauren. She also made some bee food for the apiary. It was really cool to see her in the kitchen, just like the old days, cooking up some sugar water.

Daytime theater this week was Judy Justice, Survivor, Fire Country and MASH (she finally watched the finale)

Primetime at Luck Ranch “Night agent” (Netflix), “Tell me your Secrets” (Amazon Prime), “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV)

“Finch” (Apple TV) This was a story about a robot that lives on a post-apocalyptic earth which was built to protect the life of his dying creator's beloved dog, it learns about love, friendship, and the meaning of human life. Great story. It even made Michelle emotional. The old Michelle never got emotional at TV shows.

“The Mule” (HBO) Clint Eastwood plays a Broke and alone 90-year-old horticulturist who is facing foreclosure on his business and home. He takes a job as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel.

Minnesota Gopher Hockey. We watched the Gophers lose the national championship in overtime this week. I had to google their opponent Quinnipiac, to find out where it was located.

This week at “What the Truck?” diner: 

Your food might be greasy, but it does wonders for the soul. The menu, cuisine, concept and even the name change constantly at this restaurant.

Fried Chicken sliders with French fries were a hit. There were too many buns prepared, so the hogs ate well on this night.

Bratwurst with a smile were a delicious delight. I usually compliment them with some veggies, but not on this night, just the simple sausage on a bun. Michelle likes hers solo with BBQ sauce.

T-bone steak and Filet Mignon were the birthday feast I made for myself and Michelle. I also made a cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting.

We also enjoyed a pepperoni pizza from “Grazie Pizzeria!” In Manor. “There’s no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box in your lap.” Michelle said on the way home. We ate it for Medicinal purposes only, I promise.

Michelle was my sous chef when we prepared the sloppy joes one evening. She did great but her legs got tired and felt rubbery towards the end of the task.

We also had some fried fish. It was nasty. Neither one of us finished it. I served some veggies with it, so we filled up on veggies and threw the fish in the trash. We will not be buying that brand of tilapia again.

Frankenstein Stroganoff. What is that you ask? It is a tweaked recipe of Beef Stroganoff. Michelle doesn’t like the texture of onions, so I caramelize them for her. I caramelize the onions using 1/8 tsp of baking soda with some butter in a pan on medium heat. Once the onions are soft and caramelized, I start browning the beef. I add green peppers then a can of chicken soup. Michelle doesn’t like the texture or taste of mushrooms either, so I substitute the cream of mushroom with cream of chicken. I add a little bit of milk and let it cook. Stephan coined it as Frankenstein Stroganoff because of the added tweaks modifications.

Love, Brian

http://www.egocentricass.org

Wild RIde

Buckle your seatbelts, it was a wild ride this week. Michelle had a full day of appointments on Wednesday, which means dealing with Texas Oncology. My confidence in them is getting less and less. Michelle’s appointment with the oncologist was the first appointment of the day. Knowing that Michelle had asked not to hear the results of her MRI, Michelle's oncologist decided it was still in her best interest to tell Michelle anyway. I interrupted her immediately. She looked at Michelle and said “You don’t want to hear this? It is good.” Michelle said NO! She acts like we are not intelligent and would not understand what she is talking about. I think she is not telling the truth when she tells us things about insurance. She told us on our last visit that insurance would only approve immunotherapy every 4 weeks. I found this to be false. After checking with my benefits pro, no insurance procedure code was denied. I questioned her on this during my visit this week and she said she doesn’t know anything about procedure codes and doesn’t mess with this side of the insurance. I have a hard time believing this. When it came time to talk about future treatment, we were told that a brain cat scan must be completed for insurance to approve further immunotherapy maintenance. The oncologist explained that if she is seeing a progression in the cancer, this would indicate to her that the immunotherapy is not working. This is what she says less than 5 minutes after she tries to tell Michelle that her MRI results look great! Something is wrong here. The oncologist just wants Michelle to be on chemotherapy for some reason.

The next appointment was the neurologist. I said in the past that I did not like her, but she has grown on me. She remembered that Michelle did not want to hear the results of the MRI and was willing to speak without Michelle present. The neurologist tested Michelle’s agility and mental state. She was again impressed with her memory and strength. She got an A+ grade and the appointment went by relatively quickly. After Michelle returned to the waiting room, the neurologist and I talked about the MRI results. We decided to set up new MRIs every 6 weeks with contrast. The neurologist said that all the tumors have either disappeared or reduced significantly. She explained that some lesions could be inactive but there are still lesions present. There is no way of telling at this point if things are inactive or if they are slowly growing. It is a waiting game. Microscopically, we do not know what is happening. She talked about the lesions in the brain, even though this is more what the oncologist should have explained to me, not the neurologist. She said that the brain will always remember that the lesions were there. The scarring from the lesions in the brain will never go away.  This was interesting. It doesn’t mean a lot. There is no negative, just that there is scarring, and the brain remembers everything.

A supervisor from Capitol home health came by the house for a final visit. She evaluated Michelle and decided she was best fit to start a physical therapy regimen outside of the home. There is no longer a need for home health care. We are both happy with this.   

The neighbors had a healthy baby boy this week. Hayden Walker Moran. Michelle and I went to their house and spent about an hour with them. Michelle spent the entire time holding the 3-day old baby.

We also made a stop at a different neighbor’s house this week. Lauren Stauss was interested in Michelle’s hummingbird food recipe. We visited for about an hour then we ventured back home. 

Here is the feature of the week, Michelle’s firsts: This might not sound like much, but Michelle answered the door. This can be a daunting task at Luck Ranch. When the doorbell rings at our house, all hell breaks loose. Our beagle Izzie thinks that whoever is at the door, has come to see her and only her. Nothing stops Izzie. She will jump up on whoever came to see her, then roll onto her back and tinkle a little. Titan doesn’t know how big he is and doesn't know that he is in the way. He just wants to make sure whoever you are and that you are safe to enter the house. Unless you just enter the house while we aren’t there, and you know his name. Then he will buddy right up to you. As you can tell by the description above, answering the door could be a challenge. Michelle accepted it! For those curious, it was the home health nurse, and I was on a work call. Another first this week, Michelle made her own doctors appointment. Michelle’s rheumatoid arthritis has returned. She scheduled an appointment to see the rheumatologist. 

There was a time early on in our cancer journey where Michelle was not interested in little ones. Seeing Chele hold Hayden brought joy to my heart, it was the old Michelle. Some advice from me is, enjoy the little things in life because one day you`ll look back and realize these may have been big things. 

Highlights of the week: A stop to the nursery for a few bushes to plant out front. Michelle was excited to get out to the nursery.

Round Rock Donuts is always a highlight, if we get a chance to go, it will be included as a highlight. She loves the early morning drive there and the delicious Crème Bismarck.  

Watching Michelle with Hayden. 

Small Screen Daytime: Judy Justice was the main feature on the  this week. Chicago fire, 911, Survivor and CSI would have also gotten the Michelle’s Emmy awards of the week. 

Primetime Feature: “Yellowjackets” (Showtime). Yellowjackets tells the narrative of a team of high-school girls soccer players who survive a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness. This is a dramatization of a Christians Club rugby union plane that crashed in the Andes mountains in 1972. Yellowjackets is nowhere even close to a true story, but it is entertaining! 

Runners up for Michelle’s Primetime Emmy award were: “Ted Lasso”  (Apple TV), “Your Honor” (Paramount +), “Truth be Told” (Apple TV), “Tell me your Secrets” (Amazon Prime Video)

"On the Rocks" (Apple TV). The story of a young mother who reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father on an adventure through New York. The father is played by Bill Murray, which is what drew us to watch the movie in the first place. 

This week at “Luck’s OptimaBoost Bisto” 

We highlighted Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Divan. This featured dish was presented on a bed of Jasmine rice with a dash of shredded Monterey Jack cheese. 

Also on the menu this week was Beef and Bean Burritos 

Italian sausage 

Hamburgers

Pizza

Beef ranch style skillet

Sous vide chicken breast with rice a roni 

Roasted dark meat chicken with brown gravy, served on a bed of rice with ranch style beans.

Love, Brian

www.helpmenametherestaurantnextweek.gov

Will Sugar Fix the Emotion?

 3/26 – Sunday

It has been an emotional week for Michelle. It started out with her favorite thing (not), the dreaded MRI. Her late morning appointment was on Sunday, so traffic was light. Unfortunately, construction at the radiologist made parking a challenge. Fortunately, I hate being late, so the 15-minute lead time meant we were only 5 minutes late getting into the radiologist office after finding parking, catching a shuttle then walking to her destination. After filling out the paperwork she went back for the MRI about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. I waited close to 2 hours and finally she made her way out of the MRI room. She looked so sad and down. I could tell she had been crying. She told me the story of having a hard time getting her gown on. She finally asked for assistance from the radiologist. This MRI was with and without contrast, which means they gave her an IV to administer the contrast dye. The radiologist missed the vein on the first try so she got stuck twice. She said she cried on the cold lonely table during the MRI.

I promised her that the next MRI I would make sure she would not have contrast. I talked her into getting some warm cookies at "Insomnia cookies". On the way, I looked over and saw her beautiful blue eyes swell up. I softly asked, “What’s wrong love?” I hate being sick was her answer.  It took some strong convincing but eventually I was able to sway her thinking. I hope she now understands that this is not her fault, and she is not really sick. This is cancer, it sucks, we are just going to have to get through this life challenge and move on. There was a lot more said and I may or may not have pulled over and given her a hug or 2. After getting all the tears wiped away and emotions settled down a bit, she settled in for a triple chocolate chip cookie. She also tried a brownie and dark mint chocolate chip. Not a 10 out of 10 but a solid 7 for sure.

We also had a rough night on spaghetti night. I asked Michelle to help with the sauce. The kitchen was hectic, and it was a lot to ask. She was frazzled. She later told me she was upset because she wanted to help but there was too much going on around her and it was very hard for her to focus on the task. She felt like she was being watched and was uncomfortable and tired. She went and laid down. We got the sauce finished, albeit a little more sweet than normal, but all ended well.  

We had a second MRI done on Thursday this week. This one went a lot better than Sunday’s. She was in and out in 30 minutes. I asked for no contrast. She hopes it does not come back to bite her, but after Sunday’s drama I don’t care. We will get another MRI in a month and that one will be with contrast. 

We are starting an additional medication regiment. It is called the Joe Tippins regimen. If you’re curious, you can google it. I should get the new medication this week. Feel free to text or email me if you’d like further information.

Weekly Highlight: Michelle’s firsts. Michelle was so excited for hummingbird season. She boiled water and filled her feeders outside. There was a broken mason jar that caused a sugary mess, but nothing a little soap and water couldn’t resolve.  I also caught her winding the grandfather clock this week. It sounds like a small task, but for me it was huge. She noticed it needed to be wound, stopped and wound the clock. This was the first time since the cancer diagnosis.

On telly during the day: Game show network – Switch, $100,000 Pyramid and The Chase. The Great British Baking Show, Chicago Med, Criminal Minds and FBIs Most Wanted. 

Nighttime shows: “Shrinking” (Apple TV), “Truth be Told” (HBO), “The Last of Us” (HBO)

“Tell me your Secrets”. There are three characters, each with their own troubling backstory, are pushed to the edge as the truth about their pasts and motives becomes murkier.

Headlining the culinary delights

Sous vide chicken breast with rice. 

We enjoyed the simple yet delicious BLT sandwich, featuring pork bacon from Luck ranch. 

Chicken thighs on the grill. Michelle said it was dry. I’m either losing my touch, or she is getting more honest. We had creamy noodles and fried corn as the sides. 

The meatloaf this week was delicious as usual. 

Larry Luck's chicken parm was a special treat. 

Spaghetti with 3 meat meatballs and homemade sauce was a hit. We used canned tomatoes from Michelle’s Garden last spring.  

Kung Pao chicken with no peanuts or celery delivered from Golden Beijing in downtown Manor.

Love, Brian

www.isthisyournumber.com

Milestone Mania

 3/19 – Sunday

We had one appointment this week for an MRI. When we showed up, the receptionist looked at us like we were foreigners. “I don’t have you on the schedule” she said. After further research, it turns out we were a week early. When I made the appointment, they told me this Thursday. Rather than clarify which Thursday, I assumed it was the first this Thursday, not this next Thursday. Had they given me a date, I would have remembered. This is my sister’s birthday, March 23rd. All in all, it’s my fault for not asking for the date. Michelle wasn’t happy about the futile trip. “At least we got out of the house” I said. Not the comfort she was looking for. 

Capitol Home Health called about a nurse visit this week. We pushed them off because it wasn’t our favorite nurse, J-Rod.

Here is the feature of the week, Michelle’s firsts. Michelle Trimmed some rose bushes out front this week. I caught her with a set of pruners, dressing up an overgrown rose bush. She also helped me unload the dishwasher. This was the first time she did this, since October! My alarm went off on Thursday to water the plants and she said, “I got this” She jumped up, grabbed a water can and watered all the plants around the house. She even groomed some of the plants that were getting overgrown. She was my Sous Chef one night and helped me season the beef and cut up carrots for dinner. She completely dried herself off after an independent shower. 

One last thing to note is her self-dancing. She has been moving her head to the beat while listening to music on TV shows. You’d have to see it to understand how cute it is, she’s adorable. These might not seem like milestones, but as a loving husband and caretaker watching the progress day by day, these landmarks are tremendous.

Weekly highlight: Seeing Michelle in the kitchen again. Smiling as she helped me with my cooking tasks. Round Rock Donuts! Crème Bismarck and Chocolate Eclairs, the perfect start to a Saturday morning.

TV Daytime: "911" (Hulu), "FBI: Most Wanted" (Paramount +) 

“Accused” (Hulu). Crime anthology series where viewers are taken on the journey of the defendant.

“Luther” (Prime) Luther is an emotionally impulsive British detective who is tormented by the dark side of humanity while hunting down murderers. 

TV Nighttime: “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV), “Shrinking” (Apple TV), “1923” (Paramount +) “The Last of Us” (HBO) and we tried watching “Carnival Row” (Prime) but it was strange and we never got into it.

“Truth be Told” (Apple TV). It is about a murder case that propelled a true-crime podcaster to nationwide fame comes back to haunt her when new evidence arises that suggests her original suspect may have been wrongfully convicted.

“Pennyworth” (HBO). Batman’s butler is a former British SAS soldier, Alfred Pennyworth, who forms a security company and goes to work with Bruce Wayne's billionaire father, Thomas, in 1960s London.

Food:

Teriyaki Salmon on a veggie bed with mashed potatoes

Pork chops with scalloped potatoes

Fillet Mignon and Ribeye

Chicken and Broccoli on a bed of rice

Fried Shrimp and French Fries

Swiss Steak

Ramen Tonkotsu

Love, Brian

www.MilestonesMakeMeHappy.org

The Race is On

 3/12 – Sunday

Michelle continues to impress me with her inner and outer strength. She pushes herself each day, walking outside, back and forth from the big garage to the gate and back to the house. She is doing leg lifts at the kitchen island. Every 2nd or 3rd day I find her doing squats on the couch. Capitol Home Health sent a supervisor out to evaluate Michelle for her future Physical therapy needs. I really liked the therapist. She was informative and professional. She also made me laugh, more than once. She asked Michelle to get off the couch without using her hands, walk as fast as she could to the dog beds near the far wall, turn around, come back and sit down. She said this will be a timed event. “On your mark, get set – GO!” and she was off. She quickly gets up and moves one foot as gracefully as she can in front of the other. She does her best 180 at the dog bed and the therapist chimes in with “whoa lady, how many drinks have you had there”. I’m dying here. Michelle sits back down on the couch and the therapist says, “great job Michelle, it sure is easier sitting down rather than standing up, isn’t it?” She went on “You did that in 6 seconds. Normally I expect to see a 13 second run, so you are way above expectations.” Again, I’m dying. I’m thinking, she has a baseline of my living room for her patients and 13 seconds is not something she pulled out of her ass. Needless to say, the therapist decided Michelle could continue physical therapy on her own. She encouraged her to start doing household chores. Help with the dishes, laundry or feeding the dog. Not only will this help me, but it will also help with boredom and give her more purpose.

She did give me a scare one night. She ate too much ice cream and got sick. Normally this is not a big deal, but anything that is not normal is reason for alert. Luckily after a good night's sleep she woke up feeling much better, even though at 4am she still had a belly ache.

As promised, here are some first of the week. Michelle helped me fold some laundry. I had to refold some of it, but this is the first time she tried to help with laundry. She also made dinner one night!  She made Salmon and a veg. It was delicious and it was the first time since October 18th that she had made something for dinner. Michelle took a shower without assistance this week. I was there to help in case she needed it but for the first time since October, she was independent in the shower.

TV Daytime: “Ghost Writer” (Apple +), “Family Feud” (Hulu),  Chicago Med, Chicago PD, East New York, Survivor, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test and 911.

TV Nighttime: “Shrinking” (Apple +), “Pennyworth” (HBO). “The Last of Us” (HBO) and “1923” (Paramount +).

 “CODA” (Apple +) I may or may not have been bawling. It was about a deaf family who had one hearing child, a teenage girl. It was her struggle with teenage life, family and pursuing her love of singing.

“Causeway” It was based in NOLA. It was about a lady with a TBI due to an IED exploding under her vehicle and her struggles to return to normal. It was a slow starter and a slow finisher. Not recommended unless you hold this subject matter close to your heart.

Food:

Honey Glazed Chicken with Egg Tagliarini Noodles

Sous Vide Chicken breast and potatoes au gratin

Italian sausage and Bratwurst with Rice a Roni and steamed carrots

Fried Fish, Shrimp and Fries

Taco salad

Pizza

Salmon and a veg from Michelle.

Breakfast was Bagels, Cream of Wheat, Waffles and bacon and egg tacos. 

Love, Brian

http://www.13second.dogbed.gov

Spring has Sprung

 3/5 – Sunday 

We continue to see improvement. Michelle is getting more bored. I asked her yesterday what she used to do when she was bored. She used to crochet or weed her garden. On very boring days, we would go out shopping to Home Depot or Hobby Lobby. She has been exercising a lot. She is tired of walking around in circles, doing the same routine. We will occasionally walk down Bobby Rd to change the scenery.  Sparks Rd has become the next Indy 500, it is too dangerous to walk on.  Once, we took the gator down to the barn so she would walk around down there for a while. That was cut short when we noticed the physical therapist showed up early. 

Michelle had physical therapy and home nursing this week. The physical therapist put her through a vigorous regiment of exercises ranging from squats to balancing. We really like the therapist. He has been impressed with her progress and perseverance. He is on vacation next week. We asked to skip therapy. We aren’t sure if this will be an option or not.

Home health nursing had the RN evaluator show up this week. She wanted to evaluate Michelle to see if we needed to continue with home health nursing. Our feelings are, if insurance covers it, we are all in. We went over some concerns with previous nurses. We set expectations and went over baselines. Michelle chuckled at me yesterday. She said, “I can’t believe you told the nurse you are sneaking Bran into my diet”. Well, it’s keeping you regular, I told her. She smiled and agreed. Bran instead of MiraLAX! Nobody is none the wiser after a sprinkle of Bran in your Cream of Wheat.

Michelle fed the dog for the first time this week, since October. She was tending to her household plants for the first time since October. I will try to record firsts as I see them throughout the week.

Chele's sister Tracy spent some time with her this week. She helped plant some springtime plants and flowers.

TV Daytime: “MASH” (HULU), “Next Level Chef” (Hulu), “Great Chocolate Showdown” (Hulu) 

TV Nighttime: “Ted Bundy, the American Boogeyman”, “Tulsa King” (Paramount +), “Mayor of Kingston” (Paramount +), “Your Honor” (Hulu),  “Yellowstone” (Paramount +), “The Last of Us” (HBO), “Shrinking” (Apple +)

Food:

Tuna Casserole

Michelle’s famous Sloppy 

Honey Garlic Chicken with rice

Kung Pao Chicken 

Chalupas 

Meatloaf

Love, Brian

www.Cdedbdbirds.edu

Faster than a Butterfly

 2/26 – Sunday

This week flew by faster than a butterfly. Michelle looked at me on Friday and said, “where did the week go?”. We started off with temperatures in the 80’s this week. The high was 89 on Wednesday. Too hot in the sun. Michelle did a lot of walking outside. She likes to walk up to the big garage. The slight incline gives her a good workout. Our low this week was 46 on Saturday. We ended up with winds from the north towards the end of the week which really cooled us down. 

We had a home health nurse come by last week that was horrible. She spent 7 minutes with Michelle. She read from a script, took her vitals then left. She had cynophobia. She chose the wrong profession for sure. I would think she would have better success in the emergency room or working in a clinic somewhere, rather than making house calls. Poor Titan looks intimidating but  he wouldn’t hurt a butterfly. Izzie just thinks you are there to visit her! I called Capitol home health and complained. Getting a 7-minute visit is hardly worth the effort of interrupting our day. This week they sent a nurse we’ve seen before, one I requested. She spent over 30 minutes with us. She gave Michelle tips on nutrition, exercise and mental health. They shared stories and it really seemed like she cared. This is the type of visit I would expect from a professional outfit. 

Our 5-year-old, bottle fed cow Tilly, had a baby this week. We think it is a heifer. Michelle and I took the gator out to the pasture on Monday to get our second look at her. She was born around 9pm Sunday night, so it was dark when we first saw her. She looks great. We think our other cow and heifer are also bred so we may have a pasture full again soon. Springtime is so fun, watching the babies run and play. I need to keep the mama’s fed and happy so I got 7 bales of hay this week. Luckily the guy is close. It took me 3 trips and an empty bank account to get the hay.

Tilly's baby ended up being a bull calf not a heifer. She always breeds a nice looking bull, so we are excited to watch him grow.

The GMC didn’t start at Home Depot this week. I think it’s the battery. I recently replaced the alternator. I cleaned the terminals yesterday, hoping this will give me a few more months of life on it.

TV Daytime:  “13 Reasons Why” (Netflix), “Mash” (HULU) 

TV Nighttime: “Tulsa King” (Paramount +), “1932” (Paramount +), “Yellowstone” (Paramount +)

“The Last of Us” (HBO) This is a 12-hour video game that was made into a TV series. It is about a global pandemic that destroys civilization. The story is about an immune character trying to get to a science lab so they can create an antidote. 

“Shrinking” (Apple +).  We watched episode 1 and really liked it. It is a comedy starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel. Shrinking, means psychology – or shrinks. 

Food:

Fried Fish and French Fries

Chalupas

Pork and Rice Bowl

Pizza

Salisbury steak

Mac and Cheese, Creamy and Delicious. 

Love, Brian

https://whosyourdaddy.icu2.edu