Hi! I'm Still Here

I can't believe I've been away for over a month.  It has been a very busy month, though.  Here's a re-cap.

We went to Orlando for Spring Break.  This trip was all about relaxing, so we avoided all of the parks.  Most of our time was spent here

or here

doing this

It was a great week.  I caught myself starting to think about work once, but I smacked myself and never did it again.

Before we left, my daffodils were starting to bud.  I was worried that I would miss their bloom.  A final blast of cold weather in Ohio kept them from blooming and shortly after we came home they opened.  It was a nice 'Welcome Home'.  Last year the daffodils didn't bloom at all.  This year they were gorgeous.

Unfortunately, there was some bad news after we got home.  A very good friend has been diagnosed with acute leukemia.  He went to the doctor because he had a nagging cough all winter.  The doctor ran bloodwork and found the leukemia.  Dean was ordered to check himself immediately into the hospital and begin chemotherapy that night.   Over the past month, he has had his first round of chemotherapy and several transfusions.  The bad news is that his leukemia is acute myelodysplasia leukemia (AML) and requires a bone marrow transplant.  A donor is being sought.  On a positive note, Dean's first round of chemo seems to have worked and his white blood count is going up.  He may be able to go home for a little while until a donor is lined up.  When a donor is found, he'll be back in the hospital for another month or two.  Please keep him and his family in your prayers.

Easter was spent in Cincinnati at my brother's house.  As usual, my sister-in-law Penny had way too much good food.  It makes you wonder how someone who was an only child learned to cook such big meals.  While we were in the area, Ed and I stopped by the hospital for a quick visit with Dean.  We had to cut it short, though, because Dean's medication made him sleepy.

Last weekend my sister Karen came for a visit. A couple of her son's friends play baseball for Ohio State.  The one friend, Alex Wimmers, is a starting pitcher and played Friday night.  The other friend, Dan Burkhart, is the starting catcher.  Friday night we had first row seats right behind home plate.  There were about 20 professional scouts in the seats right behind us checking out Alex.  Karen and I were joking that we'll end up with brain tumors because of the radar guns behind us.  If Alex decides to enter the pro draft this year, he is projected to be a first round pick.  He can throw 94 mph fast balls and has 2 other pitches to his repetoirre.  Dan is a very good player also.  He often throws our players trying to steal second base.  His hitting is a little off this year, but I'm sure he'll get back in his groove soon.  On Saturday, we took Blake.  He enjoyed hanging with Brutus Buckeye

 

and being on the field with Dan for the National Anthem.

On the knitting front, I'm trying to finish up a blanket for a friend's baby.


I'm down to the last few rows of the border.  My goal is to finish it this weekend.