Reunions !

Last weekend was full of reunions. The first was a pre-party at Harold's house for the class of '85. I had planned to go visit with them for an hour, but wound up staying almost 4 hours! It was so much fun getting to see all of them.

Back row: Judy, Harold, Tisha and Mark - Front row: Bunny, Curt and Missy

Sunday was the Steubing family reunion. Loyce, Madisyne, Preston and little brother, Dan, and I went to Moulton. I was disappointed because there were so few people there. It gets smaller every year as the old ones leave us. The young ones are just not as interested in getting together. I have great memories of all the reunions as I was growing up. Lots of people and wonderful homemade food!

Something new this year was Bingo. That was fun and the kids got in on it too.

We got back to Harold's house around 4 pm and the second party for the class of '85 was going strong. Lots of food and fun.

Picture courtesy of Glenda. l-r Glenda, Missy, Dee, Harold, Tisha, Judy, Paula, Curt, and Bunny Back row: Curt, Judy, Harold, Tisha, Dee and Thomas
Front row: Glenda, Missy and Paula

A Big Weekend Coming Up!

Lots of things happening this weekend! Little (or should I say younger) brother, Dan, is coming in this evening for a long weekend here. Harold is planning one or two parties for the weekend for the class of '85. And the Steubing Family Reunion is this Sunday.

I'm planning on crashing at least one of the parties, as Harold's friends are so much fun. And I need to try out his new Margarita machine. :o) I'm also looking forward to the family reunion. Most of the family I only see once a year and don't always remember who they are, but they always remember that I'm Belle's daughter. I guess there's a resemblance there. It's always fun to have Dan here. We sit around and talk, play with BJ, Harold's dog, and sometimes do some target shooting.

I hope to remember to take my camera to all events and hopefully have some good pictures to post on Monday.

Hope all of my readers are planning a fun weekend too.

Three Cups of Tea & Girl's Day/Night Out

I have to report on another awesome book, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Greg was a mountaineer and he traveled to Pakistan to climb K2, which is the mountain that all mountain climbers want to climb. While there he realized that the girls of that country were not getting an education unless they were wealthy enough to be sent to private school. He decided to start building schools there, mainly for the girls. What an inspiring story! I can't say enough good things about this book, and if I ever win the lottery you better know that I will be helping to support this man and his mission to promote peace, one school at a time.

........................

Last Thursday, my Yaya friend, Elaine, picked me up and we went to her sister, Hazel's, house. It was good to see Hazel again. We had a fun time visiting and then we headed to downtown Cuero to eat lunch and shop. We ate at a neat little deli and shared a very large piece of cake for dessert. :o)

After shopping we went back to Hazel's to relax for awhile. Then at 5pm we headed to the Cuero Opry. We had a great dinner there and then listened to some talented musicians. The band was so good and the singers were great. There were two young girls who performed and they were so talented. I had to laugh at the song, My Heart Cracked But It Did Not Break, LOL Only country music has such interesting titles and lyrics.

We got home in time to watch the movie Sling Blade. I usually go to sleep during movies, but this one kept my attention. It was starring Billy Bob Thornton and I'm a big fan of his. While watching the movie we enjoyed a glass of wine that I had bought earlier at a neat little wine shop in town. I can't believe I stayed awake!

Dr Report: Today was my chemo day. I spent 5 hours at the doctor's office. It went by quickly as there were other ladies there to talk to. I also read quite a bit in my current book, Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich. This book is just as funny as the others. My doctor said my blood work looked really good. My red cells are a little low, but they always are. He said my protein level had gone down quite a bit. When you have cancer these levels go up, so going down is a great sign. Dr Raza said that no one would ever know I had cancer by looking at me as I look very healthy. I ask the doctor (who is from Pakistan) if he had heard of Greg Mortenson and he said he had read that book and was so amazed that one person can make such a difference. I am so fortunate that he is my doctor! I think he's the best in the city.

Oh yes, I gained 3 pounds this past two weeks. I was so happy to see the weight gain! Life is good.

Doing What He Loves

This is Chad at the Rodeo in Stockdale this year.

He rides almost every weekend

A BIL With Good Taste

I have a Brother-In-Law, Bill, with very good taste. He loves a good mystery and has sent me several books that I really enjoyed. He also has great taste in wine, and of course he showed very good taste in marrying my sister, Faith.

Bill and I on the beach in Sarasota, FL

I recently finished the book, Land Of Burning Heat by Judith Van Gieson, that Bill sent me. I enjoyed the book so much that I ordered the other 3 in the Claire Reynier Mystery series.

In Land Of Burning Heat, Claire Reynier is an archivist in New Mexico. Someone tells her they have discovered an old faded document that was hidden for hundreds of years under the floor of her family's adobe house. Claire thinks it might be the controversial last words of a Jewish mystic who was condemned to death by the Inquisition in Mexico City. It's a very good mystery that tells of her search for the document and a murderer.

...................

Dusty was very sick all night from working in the heat yesterday. He was so dehydrated that the ems guys had to give him a bag of fluids this morning. He's feeling better now. His cramping has eased and he is able to keep fluids on his stomach. The heat here in my part of Texas has been almost unbearable.

Dr Report: I had my second chemo treatment yesterday. My blood counts were good with the exception of my white and red blood cells. They gave me an injection for the red cells and I will go back tomorrow for the injection for my white cells. I am feeling fine but can tell that I'm beginning to lose my appetite. I will probably start taking the Megace again to beef up my appetite. I don't want to lose any weight.

Tested Faith

To new readers of my blog...you will want to read the post titled "There Are No Chance Meetings...." to see why I read the book, Tested Faith The Power of Mind Over Cancer. I finished the book a few days ago and would like to tell you about it. The author, Yvonne Williams was diagnosed with 3 different cancers and she tells of her experiences as she goes through surgeries, treatments and healing.

I really enjoyed the book. Some of my experiences are very much like Yvonne's and some completely different. Unlike the author, when I was first diagnosed I never felt any fear, depression or anger. It was just something that I knew needed to be taken care of so I could go on with my life. I think the time of diagnosis was what made a difference. When Yvonne found out she had cancer she did not know any cancer survivors and it was almost looked on as a death sentence. By the time I was diagnosed, there were many success stories out there.

What we did have in common was a wonderful upbringing in a Christian home. We were both taught to believe and have faith in God. I think that makes all the difference in the world and I thank God every day for giving me the family that I had.

In the book, Yvonne gives many Bible verses that say just the right thing. She also has many quotations that are real keepers. Even though I normally keep my books very clean and wouldn't think of writing in them, I will make an exception with this book. I plan to go back through it and high lite the Bible verses and quotations that I want to read over and over until I know them all by heart. She even wrote lines from old hymns that I have sang all my life and yet never paid attention to the words. I will listen to those words from now on.

It is a book I would recommend to anyone, not only those facing cancer. I am looking forward to reading her other book, It's All About the Shoes: Hope, Heartbreak and the Search for the Perfect Pair.

Something else I thought was interesting, since my meeting with the author was a little strange....she is from a Caribbean isle and so is my surgeon.