I was up at 3am with another episode of knee pain. I'd had a little accident earlier in the day that caused the knee to get compressed. The accident involved someone sitting on my bent leg a little forcefully. In their defense, it was a legitimate accident. I managed to get an ice pack on it and after a few hours was able to go back to sleep. Today, it feels like preschoolers have used my leg like a pinata.

I'll also confess to feeling the cumulative effects of too little sleep. I've been staying up past my normal bedtime the last few nights and sleeping too few hours during the night. I'd hoped to remedy the situation last night by going to be early, but you know how that turned out.

I had a few projects planned for today, but in light of how my knee is feeling, I think I'll have to take a pass.

Dawn of the Songsmith

For those of you who don't know, our pals at Microsoft have released a new program called Songsmith. It allows the user to "sing", and I use that word lightly, lyrics to his/her computer, which while running the program will "construct" music around them. In effect it's sort of a reverse karaoke.

The net effect is hilarious. Regarde'



Ann and I were gasping for air after this

Microsoft -1 Sting - 0


Ohh the pain!



Microsoft - 1 Oasis - 0



Microsoft - 1 The Beetles - 0

And finally the best for last...



When the slide whistle went off at 1:59 Ann and I nearly choked to death.

Microsoft - 1 Van Halen - 0

It seems that Dr. Clayton Forrester is heading up Microsoft Research now.

We just got back from a visit to my local oncologist and I can report that my numbers are fine. My white blood cell and absolute neutrophil counts are elevated but that's still due to the steroids. It was really nice to see Jennifer and Dr. Bienvenu again after so many months away. As usual, the waiting room was packed and I was odd man out wearing a surgical mask. It still amazes me that there are people in there actively undergoing chemo and not taking precautions. Do their doctors not warn them or do they choose to ignore the advice?

I managed to finish the beret that I was knitting for a friend's little one. I even blocked it so that it looked less like a smurf cap and more like a beret. Pictures will be forthcoming after I mail it off and have comfirmation that it's been received.

There were one or two episodes with my knees last week, but they were so minor, I didn't think that they bore noting. Besides, I brought it on myself by staying on my feet for too long.

Chris is in charge of dinner tonight, so I plan on taking a small nap and expending the minimum amount of energy required of me today.

Wednesday evening Dixie noticed that our cat Jay's breathing was a little labored. He wasn't displaying any other signs of illness and had a healthy appetite, so we decided to see what happened the next day. On Thursday when his breathing didn't improve, we made an appointment with a vet. We learned that he had a tumor in or next to his heart that was eating up his blood supply and causing his lungs to fill with fluid. The vet explained that because of the position of the tumor and the amount of fluid in Jay's lungs, there was nothing to be done. She went on to explain that although he was hiding it, Jay was suffering terribly.

We miss both Squeeze and Jay terribly and want to thank everyone for their kind words.

Rest in Peace Jay and Squeeze

Jay
Rest in Peace
6/1/1996 - 1/16/2009

Squeeze
Rest in Peace
3/15/1995 (adopted) - 1/12/2009

Wonky knees

I awoke a few minutes before 2am with excruciating pain in both knees. I had a small episode the night before last, so I wasn't surprised by this incident. It didn't help that I stayed on my feet most of the day, so that by the end of the night my left knee felt a little twitchy. My own fault, really.

I hobbled out to the kitchen and got the ice packs, but for some reason the weight of them on my knees made the pain worse. That's never really happened before. To put things in perspective, the weight of the blanket on my prone knees stressed them. I bit the bullet and left the ice packs on, but switched over to a lighter blanket. This was torture since the temperature had finally dropped to something resembling winter and I was deliberately applying ice to my legs. I'm one of those people who doesn't like to be cold while sleeping. Queen weenie, that's me.

This morning, it feels like my knees are grinding, so I've resolved to stay off my feet as much as possible. I did forget to mention that we discussed these intermittent episodes with my transplant doctor last week and she's under the impression that my knees are over-stressed and compensating for the fact that I've lost muscle mass from the steroids. She's suggested that I start doing low impact exercises to strengthen my thigh muscles and glutes. I'll add it to my list of things to do.

Overall, I feel really well and have no other complaints. The knees aren't so bad in the big scheme of things. The last few days have been trying. One of the cats became very ill over the weekend and had to be euthanized on Monday. The vet estimated that she was between 17 and 22 years old and Chris and I knew the day was coming, but I don't think you can ever really be ready for something like that. We had 14 great years with Squeeze and we'll miss her very much.

I'm going to install myself on the couch and try to finish knitting another baby gift. Thankfully, this one is for a toddler, so it's a bit bigger than some of the other things that I've tortured myself with. Maybe I'll remember to take a picture of this one to post. :)

For Amanda

Here's a link to the gyro recipe. I'd increase the spice measurements by one teaspoon each and since I like garlic, I'd double the amount of garlic.

The pitas can be found here. I make a double batch of pitas to serve four people and there are never enough. As a matter of fact, I'm in the middle of making another double batch today to take care of the left-overs. :)

Hope you enjoy!