GRATITUDES:
1. My wonderful husband
2. A beautiful day in the low 70s (perfect!)
3. A large well seasoned cast iron skillet
4. A kind word (❤️)

I wish I could say that I planned something amazing for Rory’s 60th birthday but I’m afraid the best I could come up with was a sweet little card, a new Panama hat ordered too late for the Big Day, and a nice tasty dinner. Ugh. His birthday always sneaks up on me and I’m left scrambling at the last minute trying to pull something together. Last week was a total write-off due to Lauren’s History project and the idea of a party was pretty much out of the question. Rory isn’t much of a party guy and the last time I tried something more elaborate for his birthday, it wasn’t the greatest. One of his friends and I teamed up and made reservations for a party of 12 at a Middle Eastern restaurant in the San Fernando Valley. The meal was good but the restaurant management thought that Rory would appreciate being hauled out onto the dance floor by the resident pack of belly dancers. It did NOT go well. Poor Ror looked like a deer in headlights! I haven’t had the courage to organize a group celebration since then.😱

I have not one, not two, but THREE medical appointments scheduled for this week. Tomorrow (Monday), I have blood work at the Texas Oncology office here in town. On Thursday at 1:30 I have a consultation with a bone marrow transplant specialist in San Antonio, and on Friday I have to be back in SA to see Dr. Santiago. BLURGH. I’m more than a little apprehensive over the appointment with the specialist. Like I’ve said multiple times, I’m not keen on the whole transplant thing, but at least I’ll be able to learn a bit more about the procedure from a man who works at one of the top BMT units in the country (which also just happens to be in our own backyard). Knowledge is power!😊

My feets hurt. Too much time spent in the kitchen. The dinner (sheet pan mushroom Parmesan with an arugula and wild rice salad – YUM) was certainly worth the effort but now I’m a puddle of useless sludge. Once again! I’m good at being sludge.😄