Day +52, Friday

Originally, my Photo of the Day was going to be this:

I didn’t mean for my entire cup of tea to spill, but it did. A small miscalculation on my part. Balanced on Harry Potter, smack in the middle of my bed, laptop and phone a few inches away. Whiskers served as a buffer. All it took was a bit of my body weight and ka-pow! Mug spilled, tea everywhere, sheets soaked through to the mattress pad. The few droplets that hit the phone and laptop seemed inconsequential; I was concerned about cleaning Whiskers up. After 35 years, I’m not sure how she would fare in the wash, so a delicate sink-bath it was, air dry over the tub with Harry for company.

Next time I’ll be more careful.

The day as a whole was a decent one. I had the opportunity to FaceTime with Andy, chat briefly with Dad, meet via Microsoft Teams with my NIH social worker Jennifer, and then go for a chilly walk with Mom. I also drank way too much tea, did a tad more tea trimming, and ate (what else?) buttered pasta noodles.

My body is feeling OK. The Whack-a-Mole battle with my GvsHD spot on my head is still ongoing, but per my Team’s instructions, I’m sticking with the hydrocortisone cream and not the stronger topical medication that I’ve got, should my skin get unexpectedly worse. Once in a while, I’ll just a sudden zinger of joint pain in my knee or hip, or my bones will ache a bit – back and hips. If I’ve been sitting too long or when I first get out of bed in the morning, I feel stiff – as though I’ve carried an ill-fitting, heavy pack over mountain passes for 30 miles and then slept on the hard ground. I’ve been told this is also normal – bone and joint pain, so onward I go.

Another favorite part of my day was walking with Mom. I double-hatted it, wearing a Merino Wool skull cap under my regular hat, as the weather was chilly. The salt on the walking path crunched under our feet, and the late afternoon twilight made for soft clouds and a beautiful pale blue sky. We spotted a majestic bird, perched high in a tree, staring imperiously at the nearby marsh. We got a little lost, walking through the neighborhoods of Chevy Chase, but eventually found our way back, no worse for the wear. Urban adventures at its finest. Next up, the weekend!