More X-Rays and Decluttering

I had a quiet, relaxed day, yesterday.  I slept in a bit, watched some TV and read blogs, did some paperwork and filing, tidied the coffee table in the family room, and harvested the one peach that escaped getting baked on the tree:

One Perfect Peach

I kept it in the fridge to share with my daughter when she comes home tomorrow night.  This one peach is the sole harvest from my little peach tree, this year.

Another Look!

Later in the afternoon, I did my decluttering for the day:

July 4 Decluttering

Four decorative copper frying pans that hung on my kitchen wall.  I began collecting copper kitchen ware in the 1980s.  These hung in the kitchen in the apartment, before I bought my house in 1991, so, I've had them awhile.  I've more copper items hanging on the kitchen walls and sitting on the counters.  A copper kettle which holds all my cooking spoons, a colander which holds potatoes or lemons, a saucepan which holds some other stuff.  I got rid of the set of four canisters and set of four measuring cups in a previous round of decluttering.  I still like the look of copper, but, lately, all the items hanging from the walls have been too much visual clutter.  So, yesterday, I took down the four decorative frying pans and polished them one last time.  Three of them have little sayings on them:

Home Sweet Home

Welcome Friends

Good Friends, Good Times, Good Health, Good Cheer

One has no saying, just a basket of flowers:

Basket of Flowers

If I had a bigger kitchen, I would have kept them. 

After I took them down, I noticed that they had left some marks on the wall where the bottom edges rested against the wall.  So, I washed that section of the kitchen wall. 

I had planned to post about my peach and my copper pans, last night, but for some reason, my photos wouldn't upload in time.  They had eventually uploaded at 2:00 a.m., but I had gone to sleep by then.

I woke up at 8:00 a.m., this morning and called the radiation clinic to confirm my appointment for later in the morning.  A short time later, my primary care doctor called to check on me.  She calls me regularly to see how I am doing, even though the oncologist sends her regular reports to keep her updated.  I do appreciate her calling me to speak with me directly, as well.  Then, I did some filing before I left to drive to the clinic.

Traffic was fairly light, so I got to the clinic 30 minutes before my appointment time.  Which was fine, I'd rather be early than late.  I sat and read my prayer book while I waited.  I had thought that I would receive my first radiation treatment today, that Wednesday's CAT Scan, etc., was all the preparation they needed to do before hand.  But I was wrong!  Today was when they positioned me on the radiation machine and took X-rays, etc.  They drew some marks on me, put some sticky tabs which I am supposed to leave in place (OK to shower with them, I was told, but don't scrub them off), and took X-rays.  It all took less than 20 minutes.

One of my friends had suggested I get some 100% pure aloe vera gel to put on my skin to soothe any radiation burns.  So, on my way home from the clinic, I drove to the store where I was told I might be able to buy some, but they didn't have it.  I mentioned it to one of my cousins who had called to find out how I was and she was able to find it for sale online from one of the drug stores (they didn't carry it in the stores, only online) and she went ahead and ordered it for me.  I should receive it by the end of the week, according to the confirmation email I received.

After I got home, I had lunch (spaghetti with meat sauce) and rested a bit.  Later, I did my decluttering for the day:

July 5 Decluttering

Five magazines.  Well, actually, two magazines and three brochures that I culled from one of my files.  But I am calling them all magazines for the purpose of my song!

I've two additional verses to my decluttering song:

On the fourth day of July, Bless did declutter,
four copper pans, (three books on cross-stitch, two painted boxes, and a sewing machine with a broken bobbin).

On the fifth day of July, Bless did declutter,
five magazines (four copper pans, three books on cross-stitch, two painted boxes, and a sewing machine with a broken bobbin).  

Yesterday, I was grateful for:
- The freedoms we enjoy in this country.
- The sacrifices others have made to enable us to have those freedoms.
- The holiday atmosphere with all the celebrations and parades.
- Being able to watch my neighbors' fireworks (even though they are illegal in my city!)
- One perfect peach harvested from my tree.

Today, I am grateful for:
- My primary care doctor calling to check on me.
- A safe drive to the clinic and back.
- Clinic staff who are courteous and pleasant, explaining each step of what they are doing and being reassuring.
- My cousin being so helpful and kind and caring.
- My daughter's supervisors being fine with her working remotely from home on Thursday and Friday so she can spend time with me (of course, it was the condition under which she accepted the job offer, but people can change their minds after the fact).

How was your Fourth of July?  How was your day, today?