I notice that time has flown yet again. Don't ask me what we have been doing between Jan 4th and now...seriously!!!
We have spent more time in Doctors waiting rooms than anywhere else, it seems.
We kind of make our way through the weeks and hope that tomorrow will bring a brighter day, as it were. First we had to go through more of the Doctors appointments...this time the Dermatologist!
I had been keeping a close eye on a small spot...oh, about the size of a dime, I guess.... on my left wrist. It has variously changed color, shape and flakiness....as had a small spot on the left of the bridge of my nose. Skin cancer is something that appears to take time to gestate, so you know that ALL this skin damage was done in our teens and twenties when it was totally COOL to sun bake using various oils and potions to literally FRY ourselves. FOOOOLLLLS!!!!! DO NOT DO IT!
Hear this folks....
1. Get an annual skin screen from a Dermatologist
2. If you notice ANY changes to a mole or discoloration on your skin (get your significant other to check you out!) do something about it NOW.
3. Cover up...use long sleeved shirts...yes, even though it is hot! Esp. all you fair skinned Anglo-Saxon types...however, my ex-mother-in-law had chunks taken out of her dark ethnic skin, so nobody is immune!!
4. Make sure your kids/grandkids etc are all sun-screened every day...minimum SPF30 and wear hats..Dont forget the ears! I have just seen lots of older men (in particular) with chunks taken out of their ears! at the Dr's office.
OK...you get the picture, so now you can LOOK at the photos!
After biopsies on various body parts, the wrist spot was removed...Squamous Cell Carcinoma! A much bigger chunk was taken than I had anticipated....let me tell you...it was not fun!
First they pump saline solution into the skin that is to be carved...(that's the white stuff around the wound)...then he cut....went and did some lab work...to make sure there were no more cancerous cells left...it is called a MOHs procedure...they keep taking more chunks until they don't find any more cancer cells. Having satisfied that requirement, he closed the wound.
This wound is now just over 2 inches long. Those are dissolving stitches...so the wound had to be kept covered and dry. Whooppeee! I now have similar scars on both wrists!:(
And I know this isn't exactly a lovely photo of me....Waz had orders to take the photo before they put the plaster on it....
This is just the BIOPSY...he drew an irregular circle around the suspicious looking 'spot' for lack of a better word, and then injected it full of saline...hence the white appearance...which was NOT nice at all...and then just seemed to 'carve'. This is what is left.
I am officially OVER IT ALL! NO MORE CARVING CHUNKS!!!!
Fortunately, at the wound check yesterday, a week post-surgery, the biopsy was pronounced pre-cancerous and the rest of the cells were blasted with liquid nitrogen. To cauterize the wounds they use a blow-torch...just joking....a high frequency ultra-sonic gizmo (Waz's words) and sizzle the skin..it smells horrid! Well, it is, after all, burning flesh!
Isn't all this just happy stuff??
Sooo..in between there, somewhere, I took a nose dive and did a face-plant on the ramp from the floating dock to terra firma on the other side of the security gate. How? Good question. I'm sure we have all, at some stage, been standing up and walking, and next minute are face down on the ground, wondering how the heck we got there...ditto!
So...in order to save my new left hip and my new right hand, I stuck out my right elbow and landed on the cheese grater surface (non-slip), severely grazing the elbow skin and my face hit the deck and the same surface. So, yes, literally a face-plant!
What did THAT look like??? Aren't you glad I take photos of everything? :)
Actually, the worst was on the other side of the nose, but I didn't turn around for Waz to take the other side....next time! oops..NO NEXT TIME!
I really should not be let out alone...seriously!
So, in between all the medical appointments...not just me, by the way (But that is HIS story to tell....)....we do get to enjoy the winter sunshine, even if it is on the 20'sF, which we have enjoyed a couple of weeks ago. We had to get the BIG GUNS out....jackets that is... I think we each had on four layers!
The wind chill was nasty and the wind was fierce, blowing things around. The Bimini supports up top moaned and groaned all night.
On the same day, I was looking at the boat in front of us on the other dock, and noticed something in the water at her bow....and it looked large. No idea where it had come from, but with the fierce wind, if could have been anywhere.
Waz went down to see if he and the Dock Master could retrieve the 'thing' and were successful, as you can see.
It turned out to be a double seat, of the kind you find at West Marine, and they aren't inexpensive! Glad the guys were able to pull her up, heavy with water.
I stood on the front of our boat in the freezing cold and took the photos...of course:)
It's about time I put some food things on the blog...don't you think?
There was a get together in the Yacht Club at the beginning of the month....yes, that's it...for the Super Bowl! HOW could I forget? silly me:)
There was a Chili cook-off, and as I'm not a maker of such things, I opted to provide a dessert. This was Chocolate Dulce de leche truffle ganache butterfly cakes. These individual cakes were filled with the dulce de leche (caramel, basically) and then frosted on top with truffle ganache and dusted with powdered sugar.
Voila! Butterfly Cakes!
BUT....people looked them over and under and couldn't decide what they were, so they didn't try them. At half time (of the football) most of the tray was still there, and when we left before the end of the game, there were still 4 cakes to be eaten. I explained to more than a few people what they were....next time I will be sure to put a large sign next to them! sigh! They were delish, by the way!
And while we are on the subject of food....This cauliflower pizza was fantastic! I made it differently this time, and it was the best one ever. It was more like a frittata, but who's telling??
And I know we aren't supposed to be eating processed carbs....well, it IS winter, and we are using more calories staying warm right??? RIGHT! We are, actually. Both of us have lost another 3-4 pounds, depending on where you weigh yourself. Besides...these are low sugar cakes! Banana , this one.
Surprisingly, I had never made a 'Coffee Cake'....I have been in the USA for approx. 23 yrs and never made one...for shame! or not. That is sugar on the top, mixed with some flower, butter and cinnamon. That is a Blueberry Coffee Cake made in muffin pans. Again, portions...and we cut these in half and share one for dessert. Nice warm too.
The leaves have all fallen, and we miss the color. Bare branches are showing signs of spring, however, and buds are now appearing. Tulips, daffodils and Hyacinths are for sale in bulb form in the supermarkets, and I smell all of them:)
The Live Oaks are enjoying the rain when it arrives infrequently, and the epiphytes respond accordingly.
Love the last of the leaves, two weeks ago.
This trees leaves disappeared in a hurry with the wind...Almost overnight.
And then there was Valentines Day. We choose to NOT do Valentines Day as dictated by the Retailers, but find that every day is a good one to practice being a Valentine. So, with that in mind, we did what we do most Sundays....went out for breakfast. BUT...Most of the usual Sunday breakfast/brunch places were really busy, so we decided to do the McDonalds thang. We were sitting there after our $3.33 for two, Sausage, Egg McMuffins, plus hash browns and Lattes (which are really good, by the way!)...and I looked at the remains...below!
Soooo...which one of us is the OCD type???:) This still cracks me up!
On the following day, Monday, we went out to Atlantic Beach, north east of the city, but still part of the city, if you know what I mean. Yes, this is the Atlantic!
We were to meet some new friends there at a Sushi restaurant for lunch. We were a little early, so we went for a walk down to the ocean. It was cool, but the day was stunning.
This is the path to the beach....the rest of the dunes are protected for the Sea Oates.
The sushi was excellent and so was the company, and the short trip to the beach was a nice prelude to a longer walk after we farewelled our friends.
We always take the turn off to Jax Beaches, on I 95, so it was nice to actually get to one of the Beaches.
Well, its time for me to go and put some food in a pot for dinner 5.30pm!
Ciao for now.
