It’s a beautiful warm Sunday afternoon in late October and I’m once again picking scabs.

Now that I have your undivided attention…😆

I’ve gotten back into the wallpaper stripping job and if I’m not careful, this project could completely take over my life and mushroom into something colossal. A while ago I suddenly had the idea of getting rid of the cheesy, fake “chair rail” wood molding in the kitchen and attached dining area. Last weekend I scouted out Lowe’s, made a note of which aisles contained the products I would need (joint compound, wall skimming blades, mud trays, putty knives, etc.), picked up a three-inch paint scraper/putty knife with a nice sturdy blade, and today got to work on removing that stupid molding. After watching a DIY video or two about how to do this without gouging the crap out of my walls, I’ve got all but two sections down and the underlying walls scraped as well as I can. I’m glad I stumbled onto another video showing how to seal, patch and skim-coat walls post-wallpaper because there are some sections that are pretty badly damaged. I had some… issues… with pulling down the paper before I discovered my miracle stripper product! Hey, don’t judge. I had NO idea what I was doing going into this and I’m not much of a DIYer. It’s pretty ridiculous, really. Let’s just say that I’m upping my game fast. Still, this whole process reminds me of picking at a giant scab or possibly several wall-sized areas of peeling skin. Cringe-worthy, I know, but there’s something so weirdly satisfying about it. I’m indulging my lower-primate grooming instinct!

Tomorrow (Monday) I’m going back to my cardiologist’s office for a heart ultrasound. Dr. Wellford wants to make sure that my old ticker hasn’t sustained any damage from all the chemo, which I guess is a fairly common occurrence. We already know that my left ventricle is slightly enlarged and that I have a fetal remnant somewhere in there as well, so let’s just hope that the scan shows an Energizer Bunny heart. This is making me almost as nervous as the idea of getting a bone marrow biopsy. I hate diagnostic tests and waiting for the results. I’m pretty sure that I’ve come through all the medication relatively unscathed but prayers are still being offered up.🙏🏻🙏🏻

Oh, I forgot to mention: I had another IV chemo infusion and blood test last Wednesday and Dr. Santiago has once again adjusted my meds to help with my still-cranky liver. I’m down to only five itty-bitty tablets of Methotrexate per week now instead of the former ten. Some of my other numbers have improved, such as my platelets and hemoglobin, and my kidneys are still firing on all cylinders, so I’ll take what I can get.

Holy moly, I’m actually publishing this blog post on-time for a change. That hasn’t happened in a while!😄