You might have heard about the Amazon Prime series "The Summer I Turned Pretty." I don't know anything about that series, but I thought it was a great play on words for my blog title.
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| August 11th |
So far, this summer has been FANTASTIC!!! The Lord has been so good to me!!! So, here's what I've been up to since I last blogged at the end of May. BTW - I'm referring to meteorological summer (June, July, August).
June started with attending the graduation of one of my BFF's son from Trinity Prep. Congratulations CR!!!
Another BFF and her family arrived from Germany where they serve the Lord to drive to Texas and visit some supporters and visit some colleges/universities along the way. I didn't get to see them as much as I wanted, but I was glad for the time that we did get to be together.
On June 15, I had my oncologist's appointment. My CA125 was finally under 90. Not by much, but it was 89!!! I still have a long way to go to get below 35, but down is the right direction!!! My main complaint was my horribly itchy feet due to the Doxil. They were so bad, that the doctor actually took pictures and recommended seeing a dermatologist before getting any more Doxil. My appointment with the dermatologist is on Wednesday, August 2. More later.
At our June Philadelphia Modern Quilt Guild meeting it was time to turn in our color challenge. We were tasked to make an 18" by 18" finished quilt using the Kona color of the year (Crush) and one other color. All the mini quilts will be shown at the Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza in Oaks, PA from September 14-17. If you love quilts and live in the Philly area, check it out!!! Here is my mini quilt:
On June 29, I had what I call "Part B" of my infusions. All went well for that day.
Around the beginning of July, I began thinking about what my oncologist said about not getting Doxil until I see a dermatologist. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed a chemo break. In messages back and forth with my doctor's office, I decided to cancel my July appointment and infusions and give my body and mind a much-needed rest.
But did I really rest??? You decide.
July started with a bang. On July 4th, I was supposed to have dinner with another BFF and her Mom and then watch our town's fireworks. Unfortunately, God gave us his own sky show. Late in the afternoon, the sky opened up and it poured rain for several hours. It ended up flooding our street and cancelling the town's fireworks. The dinner & town fireworks were postponed until the following day. It was a great night until I got up from my folding chair on the street and slipped and fell on my backside. One good thing was that it was almost dark. My back was stiff & sore for a couple of weeks, but no broken bones. Yeah!!!
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| Fireworks finale |
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| Flooded street |
On that Saturday, July 8, Triple Threat Theater, an organization that runs several summer drama camps for ages 8-18 was putting on "Music Man, Jr." at a local church. Several of my friend's children were in the cast. They did a great job!!!
Then with much anticipation on Wednesday, July 12, I boarded a flight at 5am and flew to Atlanta, picked up a rental car and began my trek north to Charlotte to attend She Speaks 2023. More about the conference in another post. But if you know me, I love taking the road less traveled. In planning my trip, I Googled things to do between Atlanta and Charlotte. And what did I find??? The Blue Ridge Parkway!!! So, after I picked up my rental car, I headed north out of Atlanta. I had also found a bakery with good reviews in Gainsville, GA. If you're ever in the area, go to Diletto Bakery. This is where I finally had my yummy breakfast.
Then onward to the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center. The drive was longer than I expected, but it was a nice drive on back roads. I finally arrived at my destination. And they gave me a map and some basic directions. I got back in my car and continued north, finally on The Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a beautiful day with abundant sunshine and a nice breeze. There weren't many cars on the Parkway, but at the first overlook, I met a couple who had driven from Texas. Somehow, they got ahead of me and we laughed many times when I pulled in after them. I jokingly told them that I was not stalking them!!! LOL!!! I finally lost them or they lost me, but I drove up to Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi. From the upper parking lot, I still had to hike up the paved trail about 300 yards to the observation deck. For me, it was a bit challenging, but I hadn't done any incline walking in quite a while. I made it and I sure glad I did. The vistas were incredible. Thank you, Lord, for your beautiful creation!!!
From there, I really needed to start down the mountains and head to Charlotte. It was a very winding road down. Then it was back on the highway with the sun in my rear-view mirror. My prayer was that I would get to the hotel before it got totally dark. After a stop at a Chick-fil-A drive thru for dinner, I arrived at my hotel with 5 minutes to spare. Whew!!!
After She Speaks, I took the "faster" route down to Easley, SC to have lunch with a long-time friend. After some good BBQ at The Smokin' Pig, we said good-bye and I realized that neither one of us took a picture. I continued the drive south to Atlanta to stay with my Georgia family until my flight departed late Sunday night. It was the perfect ending to a great trip. I got to cuddle with the littles and spend quality time chatting with the adults. Good food & good fellowship is so good!!! My flight departed after 11pm on Sunday night. I walked into my house around 2am. I had no problem falling asleep!!!
Thankfully, I took the next week off from work. It was filled with doctor appointments for myself and my Dad. After my mammogram on Tuesday morning, I headed to Camp Fellowship to check out Camp Wired. WOW!!! What a great day camp program for kids from grade 1 to 8!!!
Thursday afternoon, I took my Dad to our former church for the seniors program. It was a hymn sing led by the former choir director and friends from the former choir. It was a great program. As much as I love singing the new worship songs, I also love singing the old hymns of the church. The singing was followed by an ice cream social. Win-win!!!
Going back to work was tough, but getting together with a beautiful young lady was the highlight of my Monday. We met at a local TCBY and spent the next hour or so catching up on her first year of college, her dancing, her family, and what she's done on her summer vacation. She was quite busy!!!
Then on Sunday, July 30, I went to visit Cedarbrook Camp in PA (CCPA), now Cedarbrook Camp Mid-Atlantic, to help with registration and see many friends who I either served with over the years or I was their cabin counselor, many, many years ago. For almost 40 years, it's been so great to be part of a ministry to girls & boys and see girls that came as campers now bringing their children and are now counselors. What a legacy!!!
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| Long time "bird" friends Hum & Phoenix |
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| One of my campers who is now a counselor! |
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| Line up, time for dinner |
Well, that gets me to the end of July and I'm sure you're as exhausted reading as I was living it.
Have you ever lost something important?
At that point, the Parking Authority was driving around and asked me what was wrong. I advised the driver that I lost my car. He kindly asked me to get in the truck and we drove around the levels as he hit the panic button for my car. Finally, we heard my car alarm and we found it, right where I left it. I thanked the driver and got into my car.
This reminds me of many places in the Bible where things or people are lost - sheep, coins, sons, riches, hope, and many other examples (Read Matthew 15). Many of these examples are in the form of parables or short stories that Jesus told his disciples and others to explain spiritual truths. When Christ talks about lost items, he is basically letting us know that we are the lost ones without His saving grace, His redeeming love and our belief that He rose from the grave on the third day. I'm thankful I found my lost car, but I'm more thankful I'm no longer lost. I've found salvation in Jesus Christ. I pray that you are not lost. I hope you have found Jesus and accepted his free gift of salvation!!!
Prayer Requests:
August 14 - Labs - Please pray that my numbers are good, especially a lower CA125.
August 15 - Meeting with a new family doctor
August 16 - Follow-up appointment with dermatologist
August 17 - Oncologist appointment followed by Chemo "A."
August 31 - Chemo "B."
SANDY Perry - Fundraising For National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (donordrive.com)
And thank you in advance!!! Please let me know if the link doesn't work.
Only by His Strength,
Sandy
