Wow, time is flying...

I didn't realize how much time has passed since throwing up another post to the blog here!  As many of you know Carolyn is off chemo after round five, her blood chemistry took a dive and it was also time for a scan, those results we're good, her lymph nodes are clear and no new spots to track!  We survived Snowmagedden and now are in the midst of Spring!  pollen counts are up, getting spring showers and those of you up north enjoying the Dafodils... our sweet corn is coming in nicely!   (just kidding).
I finished the kitchen table finally for Carolyn, and also finished up another set of Adirondack chairs. Since then I've gotten orders for two more sets.
Carolyn is doing good, she's been busy re-arranging her craft stuff, selling some, trading some and getting ready for the summer season in the mountains.
We're waiting on a contractor to come install 4 sets of French doors in the basement where we're finishing a three seasons / sunroom.  Hopefully there'll be $$ left over for a gas burning wood stove.
Yesterday Ashley brought up the grand kids while Josh played a round of golf.  We took them to the park and then walked the trail to the lake. Oh! Tyler is walking now... and Tinsley repeats everything you say... look out!
Rebecca stays busy in school and was asked to come to work in a Dentist's office so Sunday is her only day off to get anything done,  she's doing good!

Snowmageddon 2014

Joshua Tyler

Hanging out!



Artist at work!

Finishing a master piece

kitchen table in progress,  poplar base with a walnut top

figuring out the mortise and tenon joints

Feelin' All Right !

Finally,  a couple weeks ago Carolyn's doctor prescribed her an antibiotic pack which seems to have immediately knocked out her cold, mine seems to be stubbornly leaving too.  This darn thing hit us around Thanksgiving and is now letting up.  Lot's of folks here in the neighborhood have been fighting it too.
Carolyn is having round #4 tomorrow (hopefully),  her last blood test showed the neutrophils? in her blood took a dive. She's getting shots of Neupogen to get her blood up to a normal level.  This usually does the trick.  If she can get the next two rounds in she'll get a week off before finishing.  All in all she's doing great,  gets a little tired at the end of the day and is beginning to lose her hair,  I suspect after this round she'll lose it all.
The last couple weeks have been interesting, you all have seen the devastation 1 inch of snow can do to Atlanta, what a hoot that was.  Although now we're being threatened with 1-2"  on Monday night, it's 60 degrees right now.
Not much else going on, I have some wood working projects under way.  Carolyn wants a new kitchen/dining table, so I'm modifying some plans from the New Yankee Workshop and we'll see how it turns out.  The table top will be solid Walnut, the base/legs out of poplar which will be painted.  The original lumber I picked out was absolutely beautiful stuff,  then I figured I'd better get a price.  That turned out to be over $800!  (put that back very quickly).  The stuff below was much cheaper and I think will wind up looking quite nice.  The other project is a pair of Adirondack chairs/table for the neighbors.  Won't be long before spring is here, when the weather is warm, I won't be in the basement!  :-)



Walnut table

 

 

 

 

 Laying out mortise and tennons

Almost 2 chairs waiting to be cut up!

Oh a couple pics of the 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie, 5.7 liter Hemi!   I feel American again getting rid of that Tacoma  :)

Birthday Party

Hi all!
Yesterday we celebrated Tinsley's 2nd, and Tyler's first Birthdays. Ashley and Josh had a full house of family, friends and kids all seemed to have a good time.  I expect Ty to start running anytime now, he's gonna skip walking  :)
Some follow-up news which most of you may already know... Ashley had her last check up with her surgeon, she got an all clear and the Doc said he didn't need to see her anymore.  She's doing good!
Carolyn will have her 3rd round of chemo tomorrow, going after a small spot in a lymph node in her chest. Dr. Reddy has been watching this and decided after her last scan that now would be a good time to get after it.  Her chemo drugs are one's she's had before so we know what to expect.  So far though she's had only one rough day. After this round she'll have her Herceptin treatment, which is kinda like a week off, then three more rounds, a week off, finishing up with the last two and then a scan.
Becca is back at school full time and living the life of a student and doing good.
Me, well ... I continue to grow older... but not up!  :)

 

 

Merry Christmas Y'all :-)

Christmas Eve 2013,  I hope this finds everyone in the Christmas spirit and enjoying friends and family.
Rebecca is here, Ashley, Josh, Tinsley and Tyler are coming up this evening for the Candle Light Service and then dinner at home.  Christmas this year is at Ashley's.
Hopefully Marcia and Don will be stopping by on their way back to Florida, looking forward to seeing them!
Here's some recent pics.

Built this mantle to replace the el cheapo one !

Ashley needed a bench to go with her dining room table, after pricing chairs at $150/each,  the bench $23.

fits just right :)

There is absolutely no comparison between a Toy Tacoma and a Ram, truly the nicest vehicle I've owned..... so far :)

Christmas Eve morning heading home from the grocery store.

Approaching the lake.

Its cold out there today  35 degrees.

Our lake runneth over after 3" of rain day before yesterday.

Mary is blooming again for Christmas!

Thanksgiving delayed a little :)

We had our Thanksgiving on Saturday to accommodate busy schedules and to recover from a fast and hard hitting virus that went through the whole family at the same time earlier in the week. Great food, great football (way to go Auburn), and fun with the family.

First Annual  pumpkin roll in Ashley and Josh's new neighborhood.  Tinsley won :)

New curtins in time for Thanksgiving.

Gramma movin so fast she's a blur :)

Everything's good! Gramma.

Where's mine?

Let's eat!

Whew, Glad That's About Over!

Well gang it looks like Ashley's ordeal, and believe me it has been an ordeal for her, will have brighter days ahead.  Last Tuesday we returned to Emory so she could have a Cholangiogram.  Basically they inserted a dye through her drain and x-ray'd to see if there were any more blocks of bile ducts.  That went well.  Since she's been home the pain has subsided some and she's eating better.  This wasn't a fun way to lose 30 lbs. Her incision is scary (to me), so I don't look!  she has stitches on the inside but the incision itself is wide open.  The Drs. say this is the best way to heal (from the bottom up) to prevent infection.  So twice a day she has to change dressings, clean the wound and bandage it back up.  She does have a visiting nurse every other day to see how it looks and keep track of the healing process.
Tomorrow, we'll take her back to Emory to see Dr. Sarmiento (her surgeon), to go over the Cholangiogram and she hopes to have that last drain removed.
Last night we took a walk with the kids around the block in her neighborhood then ordered pizza!  They're slowly getting back to "normal".

Room with a view.

Tyler, my prediction... 6'4" by Jr. in high school.

Tinsley loves her cars!

When we brought Ashley home the first evening, Tinsley was sitting at the dinner table eating and pointing to Ashley saying and repeating "My Momma!"  ....words to heal by :)

Anyway fall is here, the leaves are falling and I'm burning all the scrap wood I can to make room for the next project!  a new mantle for the fireplace,  there's some nice red oak in the shop saying cut me up!
I hope this post finds family and friends are well!  Enjoy and cherish each day.

A short update :)

Took Ashley to Emory Hospital yesterday for a scheduled angiogram to her new Dr. could make sure there was no other damage caused during her first surgery.  As I understand the results the hepatic duct was clamped along with a blood vessel. One of the drains they installed was beginning to "come loose" so that was fixed. The Dr. said her liver had already started growing new blood vessels to compensate for the clamped one.  On Monday she has a consult with the surgeon and pre-op paperwork. So we're on schedule for the 22nd.  It's comforting somewhat to have "professionals" from Emory on this case.

Scientists say they've proved the existence by DNA!, wonder what they compared it with?  Who needs DNA!  :)