MY FIRST RADIATION TREATMENT WENT OFF WITHOUT A HITCH AND 'NO OUCHIES'

'OH GEEEZZZZZ I HOPE THOSE RADIATION PEOPLE DON'T FIND ME'

Under dull cloudy skies with a chilly east wind blowing Pheebs and I made our way along a few gravely roads southwest of Clinton earlier this morning.  Didn't see anything too inspiring in the photo department so we weren't out long. 

Kelly decided to come with me to London today and seeings how this was my very first radiation treatment I wanted to be at the hospital plenty early.  There were a couple things I had to do prior to the treatment and of course I knew I had to get it right.  One hour before the procedure I was required to empty my bladder then drink 400ml of water and keep that in until after the radiation treatment.  So with a 1:15 appointment we rolled out our driveway at 10:55 a.m.  I wanted to be at the hospital itself for the bladder drain and water fill.

A FEW OLDER CARS ON THE WAY TO LONDON THIS MORNING

With clouds threatening rain all the way we had an easy drive to London then down Adelaide street to London's south end and Victoria hospital's Regional Cancer Center.  Hit the washroom then drank my required water while filling out a questionnaire about my health on a monitor screen. (I'm required to do this every time I go) From there it was down one level to the radiation floor to check in and let them know I was there.  Being early they took me in early and a big guy about ten feet tall led me to an inner waiting room near the radiation machine.

I LIKE THE OPEN CONCEPT AND BRIGHT CHEERY ATMOSPHERE HERE AT THE CANCER CLINIC

KELLY CHECKS ON MY UPCOMING SCHEDULE

RELAXED AND WAITING PATIENTLY

KELLY GRABS HERSELF A TIM HORTONS COFFEE

OH-OH THIS REALLY BIG GUY ARRIVED TO TAKE ME AWAY

LOOKS LIKE I AM BEING LED OFF TO THE GUILLOTINE HERE

THAT WOODEN ROOM ON LEFT IS THE RADIATION CONTROL ROOM AND WHERE I GO IS THROUGH THAT DOOR TO THE RIGHT AND TURN LEFT

I FIGURE IF I HAVE THIS MAGAZINE UP IN FRONT OF MY FACE THEY WON'T SEE ME

WHADDYA THINK......DO I HAVE A CHANCE??

Okay, what can I tell you about the radiation treatment itself.  Well, first let me tell you this.  It is totally painless with absolutely no 'ouchies' whatsoever.  And no blue hospital gowns, clothes stay on.....sorta.  The ten foot tall technician guy in describing the procedure to me beforehand used the 'boring' word at least three times.  And yes for the most part he was right.  Two attendants had me lay on my back on a bench/bed and slip my pants and underwear down a bit.  They had to line up the machine's light beams precisely with the tattooed markers they had implanted on my abdomen and hips last week.  Satisfied they had me aligned perfectly they exited the room and the treatment began.  I simply laid perfectly still while the machine itself revolved around me at sporadic intervals.  Sometimes it would rotate right to left and other times left to right.  The machine was not as noisy as a Cat Scan machine.  Sometimes it was motionless for awhile and other times it would move and stop.  I didn't hear any zips or zaps or see any bright radiation beams piercing into my body.  I could understand if people dozed off while laying there.  Of course I'm all eyes watching every move the machine made simply because I find this kind of stuff rather fascinating.  I could see where a claustrophobic person might be a little uncomfortable watching different parts of the machine rotating close over top of them.  The procedure itself hardly lasted 10 minutes and that was it.  Attendant came in and told me to pull my pants up.  Hopped off the table, put stuff back in my pockets, snapped a photo of the machine and I was out of there heading down the hall making my way back to the central waiting room where Kelly was.  With a Tim Hortons coffee to go we exited the hospital at 1:55 p.m. and headed home under semi-sunny skies.  A good first treatment day:)))))

AND THAT THERE IS THE MACHINE WITH THE BED THAT SLIDES UP UNDER IT....THAT WHOLE BIG FRONT SECTION REVOLVED AROUND ME LAYING MOTIONLESS ON THE BED

MAKING MY WAY BACK TO THE MAIN WAITING ROOM AND IF YOU LOOK REAL CLOSE YOU CAN SEE KELLY STANDING IN FRONT OF THE AQUARIUM AT THE FAR END

They gave me a schedule for my next four treatments and I have some pretty crazy treatment times.  Monday morning I have to be there for an 8:25 appointment and two days later a 2:45 p.m. appointment, etc.  It is very likely I will do these appointments by myself.  No need for Kelly to come along and just sit around.  I'm a big boy now:))  Oh, and as soon as we got home today I went into the washroom, pulled the window curtain, turned off the light and checked myself in the mirror to see if the radiation had lit me up like Neon sign.  Nope, it was just plain old dull me unsmilingly staring back at myself:((

SPOTTED THIS LONDON MUSICIAN ON HIS WAY TO A GIG TODAY

A big difference this Friday the 13th from a few Friday the 13th's years ago when Kelly and I climbed aboard my motorcycle a few times and headed 90 miles to Port Dover Ontario from the Old Weenie Roast Ranch.  Thousands of motorcyclists from all over have been in the habit of heading to Port Dover every Friday the 13th for a bunch of years now.  So do I miss my motorcycle and going to Port Dover??  Nope I sure don't...……………...

NO THIS IS NOT MY PROSTATE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  An elderly gentleman was on his deathbed as his wife and three children and nurse stood close by. Then he spoke: "Bill, you take the Beverly Hills houses. "Mary, you take the offices in the City Center. "Debra, the apartments over the L.A. Plaza are yours. "To my dear wife, take all the residential buildings near downtown." The nurse was really impressed. She said, "Your husband must have been quite a man, amassing so much property to leave to all of you." And the wife responded, "What property? ….. the schmuck had a paper route!!"-----------------------
Today,” said the professor, “I will be lecturing about the kidneys, intestines, pancreas, and the liver.”  One med student leaned toward his friend sitting next to him, “Great, we have to sit through another organ recital.”
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I'M MISSING THE USUAL EXCITMENT OF UPCOMING WINTER TRAVEL PLANS:((

HMMMMM SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING ODD ABOUT THIS PHOTO

Bugs me when people advertise things for sale and when you get there to look at what they have for sale it is nothing like the ad described.  We set off to look at a 'Beautiful Condition' older Class C Motorhome Wednesday afternoon and found it to be in anything like beautiful condition.  Why do people do that!!!!!  So yes we have decided to continue our RV search for a suitable little Class C or B+ rig to fill up our empty RV spot and hopefully soon spirit us away once again to not only many of our favorite old spots but new ones as well.  As our good friend Ron at Four Seasons Performance predicted, we are beginning to see more and more Class C and B+ type RV's coming up for sale now at the end of our summer season. 

Under drizzling skies with Richard driving this morning we were once again out and about on another one of our bi-monthly country coffee tours.  Two and a half hours well spent and I can easily tell you a good time was had by all:))

Up until 4 this afternoon I didn't have any photos for the day so Pheebs and I hit the Park's trail for a quick walk around to see what we could scare up.  Aside from a few colored leaves and a Blue Heron on a dull overcast day that was about it. 

AND A PEEK INTO OUR FRONT YARD FROG POND

With Wednesdays heat and miserable humidity once again out of the air I spent time outside this afternoon taking advantage of today's pleasantly cooler temperatures.  With the exception of last year the previous dozen years at this time in September we would be busily planning and loading up the RV for our upcoming Winter travels to the Great American Southwest.  I very much miss that Fall excitement we used to experience when generally leaving the third week of October.  Last year our plans were all topsy-turvy at this time as well and they are even more so this year.  At this point we just don't have a clue what will happen this Winter and it is impossible for us to plan anything.  Neither Kelly or I want to sit here all winter but this year things may be out of our hands.  Doctor Bukala's office called a couple days ago and wants to see me October 8th.  Could have to do with a third kidney stone that might have to come out.  If that's the case I would prefer to have that done sooner rather than later and not travel off far away from home knowing that stone could kick up and cause me grief at any time.  And I don't know what kind of follow-up will be involved after my radiation treatments which will begin tomorrow. (Friday)  Kelly's next London Doctor appointment is in October so I guess we are just kind of going along week by week right now.  Of course if we don't find the right RV for us soon there will be no travels anywhere.  We have no interest in renting an RV or renting a place down south somewhere then just going there and sitting

like a bump on a log for a month or two.  Staying in any one spot for any longer than two weeks is just not for us.  And we have no interest in flying anywhere.  Anyway that is where our heads are at this week and where our heads will be next week is anybody's guess......…………..Oh and did you figure out what's odd about the first photo??  If not, try turning your computer upside down and looking at it again:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man dies and goes to Heaven. He gets to meet God and asks God if he can ask him a few questions. "Sure," God says, "Go right ahead". "OK," the man says. "Why did you make women so pretty?" God says, "So you would like them." "OK," the guy says. "But how come you made them so beautiful?" "So you would love them", God replies. The man ponders a moment and then asks, "But why did you make them such airheads?" God says, "So they would love you!"
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A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect." "Really," answered the neighbor . "What kind is it?" "Twelve thirty" answered the man. 
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WE ARE ONCE AGAIN OFFICIALLY.....RV-LESS

Temperatures came up in the night leaving us with a cloud cover and some humidity in the air.  A drive down around the Grand Bend area this morning didn't result in my usual batch of daily photos.  The photos were out there alright but once again I didn't seem to have my photo hat on.  And as it turns out my usual blabbery blog self couldn't find it's blog hat either.  But wait a minute....at least I came across another herd of attentive cows today.  And remember, when things fail in life...….think Cows:))

FORGOT TO MENTION IN TUESDAY NIGHT'S POST FREEDO VANDITO'S NEW OWNER DID PICK UP THE VAN TUESDAY MORNING

KELLY TOOK THESE TWO PICS OF FREEDO ROLLING OUT OUR DRIVEWAY HEADING FOR IT'S NEW HOME

 OUR RV PARKING SPOT IS ONCE AGAIN......RV-LESS

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A pastor, known for his lengthy sermons, noticed a man get up and leave during the middle of his message. The man returned just before the conclusion of the service. Afterwards the pastor asked the man where he had gone."I went to get a haircut," was the reply."But," said the pastor, "why didn't you do that before the service?"  "Because," the gentleman said, "I didn't need one then."

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“What fruit makes for classy counter tops? Pomegranite.”
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Kofi walks in to a restaurant and wants to order chicken. Unfortunately, English is not his first language and he can't remember how to say chicken in English. Kofi sees the guy at the table next to him with a plate with 4 boiled eggs on it.  Kofi points to the plate of eggs and says to the waiter, “I want their mother!"
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A CALL FROM THE CANCER CLINIC TODAY

AN EARLY SPLASH OF AUTUMN COLOR

If I hadn't driven to Seaforth Ontario this morning I would have nothing to write about tonight.  Met my good friend Jim at Tim Horton's coffee shop for a coffee and we occupied a couple hard wooden seats for the next three and a half hours.  A bunch of locals had beaten us there and taken all the softer cushioned seats.  I'm home now and hopeful the feeling will soon return to my legs.

'OOPS'

'NOW WHERE THE HECK DID IT GO!!'

The London Regional Cancer Center phoned late this afternoon with a slight change of plans for me.  Instead of beginning my first of five radiation treatments Wednesday September 11th I will now begin them Friday September 13th.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A life-long city man, tired of the rat race, decided he was going to give up the city life, move to the country, and become a chicken farmer. He found a nice used chicken farm which he bought. Turns out that his next door neighbor was also a chicken farmer. The neighbor came for a visit one day and said, "Chicken farming isn't easy. Tell you what. To help you get started, I'll give you 100 chickens."The new chicken farmer was thrilled. Two weeks later the new neighbor stopped by to see how things were going. The new farmer said, "Not too good. All 100 chickens died."  The neighbor said, "Oh, I can't believe that. I've never had any trouble with my chickens.  I'll give you 100 more."Another two weeks went by, and the neighbor stops in again. The new farmer says, "You're not going to believe this but the second 100 chickens died too." Astounded, the neighbor asked, "what went wrong?  What did you do to them?  "Well, says the new farmer, "I'm not sure whether I'm planting them too deep or not far enough apart."
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THE FREEDO VANDITO VAN WILL LEAVE FOR IT'S NEW HOME TUESDAY MORNING

MAITLAND VALLEY MARINA

An absolutely beautiful early September day here and I don't think there is a better time of year to experience our areas finest weather than September and most of October.  Autumn's magic is on our doorstep.

A routine Jeep ride to Goderich and back for the little Sweetsie Pie and I.  Noticed lake waters have dropped a few inches and it was apparent when I noticed the top of the fishing and tug boat dock on the harbor's north side was visible again.

NICE TO SEE THAT DOCK ABOVE WATER AGAIN

FISHERMEN AND TUG BOAT OWNERS CAN ACCESS THEIR VESSELS AGAIN

The Freedo Vandito is still here but after talking with the new owner late this afternoon she will be picking it up Tuesday morning.  Freedo's new home will be in Goderich and I have a feeling the Vandito Van and it's new owner just might find their way to the Great American Southwest some day.

A LONE LAKE FREIGHTER ANCHORED OFFSHORE WAITING FOR ANOTHER FREIGHTER TO LEAVE THE SALT DOCK IN THE GODERICH HARBOR

SOON AS THE MISSISSAGI IS LOADED WITH SALT IT WILL SET SAIL MAKING ROOM FOR THE ANCHORED FREIGHTER TO COME IN

OF ALL THE BIG LAKE AND OCEAN GOING FREIGHTERS I'VE SEEN IN THE HARBOR THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE....NOT AS BIG AS THE OTHERS IT REMINDS ME OF THE OLD TRAMP STEAMERS SEEN YEARS AGO IN MOVIES....SINGLE SMOKE STACK AND LOTS OF PORT HOLES....IN FACT I THINK I SAW HUMPHREY BOGART STANDING ALONGSIDE THE STERN RAIL SMOKING A CIGARETTE:))

GODERICH SALT MINE

I OFTEN SEE THIS OLD FISHERMAN HERE

So, will we be looking for a slightly larger RV now or will we just scrap our future RV travel plans??  Well, certainly not scrapping any future RV plans that's for sure.  We're not down and out yet.  What we will do is a unknown right now but I do see another RV somewhere in our future.  Just don't know when and what it will be.  Not another big Class A Motorhome, definitely not a 5th wheel or travel trailer, and not a small van sized Class B.  We're now thinking either a B+ or a small Class C somewhere around 24 or 26 feet…….

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Soon after marriage, a lady's husband stopped wearing his wedding ring. She asked, "Why don't you ever wear your wedding band?"  He replied, "It cuts off my circulation."  She answered back, "It's supposed to!"
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When Bill moved out to LA his company told him he had to stay in shape and work out. He was like, I don't wanna do that. The company gave him a trainer anyway and the trainer told Bill the most important thing is you can't eat late at night or you'll get fat.  Bill says, "Forget that, your supposed to eat late at night. Trainer says, "no your not".  Bill says, "Well then why do they put a light in the refrigerator!!!!"
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OLD ELECTRICIANS never die, they just lose contact.
OLD ENGINEERS never die, they just lose their bearings.  
OLD ENVIRONMENTALISTS never die, they are just recycled.  
OLD ESKIMOES never die, they just get cold feet.  
OLD EXORCISTS never die, they just give up the ghost.  
OLD FARMERS never die, they just go to seed. 
OLD FISHERMEN never die, they just smell that way.
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