GRATITUDES:
1. New colored pencils
2. The smell of wood shavings
3. A person’s laughter from the next hospital room
4. The smell of clean laundry that’s dried in the sun

I’m a week into my blincyto round, a week into my stay in the hospital, and the blues are beginning to close in. It’s right about this time in all of my hospital stays that I begin to hit the skids and all I can think of is how much I miss my family, my own bed, my kitties, my house, my neighborhood… all of it. The one thing I have going for me this time is I know that I won’t be here for much longer. Back in April I was despairing that I wouldn’t be able to go home for months. Now, it isn’t quite so bad, and I do have a really nice room, the Wi-Fi is good, and all my nurses are wonderful. Nothing beats being home though, nothing. *Sigh*

I skipped yesterday’s blog post because nothing much is really happening. There are only so many times that I can complain about the hospital food or grouse about dragging around the ball and chain. I did manage to get out of my room for a bit yesterday afternoon though and logged about a half mile of walkies before dinner. It’s exceptionally dull scenery – my unit is U-shaped and I can’t go past the double doors at the end of each arm of the U, so I’m basically pacing back and forth. Still, it felt good to walk about for a bit, even though the IV pole is ridiculously top-heavy with three pumps and constantly threatens to topple over. That would be very, very bad. Other patients have done it but I wouldn’t want to be responsible for damaging expensive hospital equipment!😳

The afternoon sun is once again pouring through my window. I wish I was home on the back patio, watching the sun filter through the trees and sipping a nice glass of wine. Better yet, I wish we could somehow take a family vacation back to Laguna Beach. All the art festivals are about to start up and it would be great to just hop on one of the free trolleys and ride up to Main Beach or the Sawdust Festival grounds. Oh, the smell of that place! A perfect blend of cedar shavings and eucalyptus, one of the best fragrances I can think of other than sea air.🥰