Saturday Spa Day!

Mom did very well today. Here's pretty much a rundown of the whole day:
We started off bright and early with a lovely breakfast by Kirk: eggs with onion, cheese and bell peppers, sour cream and salsa, and a side of bacon and fruit. No one put their fingers near mom or her plate during this time, for obvious safety reasons regarding her ferocious appetite. (As Kirk has been lovingly saying all day, "cooking for her has never been so fun in all these thirteen years as it has been these past few weeks.")
Christmas preparations have been slow this year, so at 9 a.m, while our favorite Like-A-Daughter (our wonderful Jen) came over to hang with mom, Kirk and I went out in search of a Christmas tree. We found a great, full little 5-foot-something tree and had it home by 10:15. By 10:30 mom and I were out the door to a nail appointment at Bellissima Spa for a couple hours of mani/pedi (that's "manicures and pedicures" in actual English) heaven -- complete with leg and arm massages and foot soaks in warm water with rose petals. It was the perfect place for mom; from the tranquil music and sweet little water fountains, to the professional and very accommodating staff. This was MUCH better than going to a nail salon, under the circumstances. Mom was great the whole time; she was relaxed and happy the whole time (don't worry, we paused the pampering to make sure medication was issued on time). Me thinks we'll be back. :)
Jen stayed in the house to work on the secret Christmas project she and I are working on for mom (it's secret, I can't tell you yet!), and Kirk did some work on his own; when mom and I got back, she had lunch and Kirk and I scooted out the door for a little Christmas shopping (there's been zero time for this so far). Sweet Jen stayed with mom, who attempted to nap, while we were out.
We got home, and Kirk ran back out shortly after for more errands -- Jen, mom and I visited and did lots of laughing. There's no feeling quite like making mom laugh, especially during these stressful times.
Mom's headaches have been minimal to non-existent all day; she has been very good about letting us know whenever she has felt a hint of headache coming on, and we medicate appropriately. However, she seems to have had a good day overall, and headaches fortunately seemed to be too intimidated to come out. (GOOD! STAY BACK, YOU HEADACHES!!!)
She does have some consistent strobing in the right field of her vision, which is annoying to say the least, but not too debilitating.
Jon (who, as I pointed out at one of my earliest birthdays, is the uncle who assembles), will be over at eleven tomorrow morning to install some hand rails to help mom up and down the stairs and around the house. She's pretty stable as of now, but the vision part can be tricky for her, and once she starts chemo next week, they will likely be helpful if she has any moments of physical weakness. We're not anticipating a strong dependency on them, but...SAFETY FIRST! :)

On another note, I have been alerted by several people that, upon attempting to post a comment, some of you are being met with a prompt to enter your "user name and URL." I will contact our site's technical support (cousin Lara) and see about fixing or interpreting this as soon as possible. Mom loves hearing from you; we can see the comfort and love it brings her every time she reads her "fan mail," or hears relayed well-wishes, so rest assured your loving and supportive comments will not be hindered for long. :)
As Deborah has already said in previous posts, this blog and "snail mail" are the best ways to contact her (logging into her email is slightly overstimulating for her visually at times, so that isn't the fastest means of contact for now), until things are a little more manageable.
Mom tells me regularly that she has "no idea how some people make it through something like this alone," and as I always tell her, knowing how many people she has behind her 110% of the way: Fortunately, she'll never have to.
I'll get this comment-posting thing fixed a.s.a.p.
-Dani