Our kitchen remodel – week #4

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Our kitchen remodel week #4 was pretty exciting … Baby Ben was born … Rick had his 9th clinical trial infusion … and there was lots of paint! This week priming and sanding of cabinets, texturing of walls and then final paint on cabinets happened. Lots of dust … and that “new paint” smell. It was a long week with painters in the house … but the results are so worth it! The cabinet color is “stucco.” The kitchen island color is called “caviar.” And the color of the walls, which we don’t have much of, is called “waterfall.” It totally matches the three art tiles which will go above the range. I know … it is a little different. Trust me. But then again … this is what happens after waiting 35 years to remodel a kitchen.

Rick is still creating delicious breakfasts on the grill on the weekends. Chances are a kitchen sink is in our future. A gas range can’t be far behind.

A cancer journey with immunotherapy – Infusion #8 and magical infusion #9

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Since maintenance immunotherapy infusions are pretty routine stuff, I’ll be writing about them two at a time. Both infusion number 8 and 9, two weeks apart, started at 6:30 am with bloodletting. Only now since we are so far into the clinical trial, they only take about five vials instead of 15. Then we hang out for a couple of hours and wait for test results before meeting with clinical research peeps and oncologist. After bloodwork is blessed, we head up to 8th floor to wait for infusion. Usually back at home by 2 or 2:30. We can do this!

Infusion #9 was a pretty darn special forty-eight hours. Our daughter, Katie, went into labor with her second babe the day before the infusion. When I got the news, it took most of the morning to get my ducks in a neat little row. I quickly packed a bag, got a quick kennel reservation for Lulu, and a spot for Mimi at her respite house before heading into Houston for a few days. There was a high alert placed for our son-in-law’s parents, Nana Jana and Pee-Paw to assist with little Jacob. They drove in from the Dallas area. Yes … it would take four grandparents to take care of one little toddler! Jacob is a busy boy. Rick and I picked him up from daycare and then out to dinner. As Houston is not our usual arena, we relied on Yelp for dinner spots and almost wound up taking little Jacob to a sports bar. A quick call to our daughter in labor and we settled into a more appropriate dinner spot.

The following morning, also infusion #9 day, grandson Baby Ben arrived … 8 pounds, 7 ounces! Rick started his day at MD Anderson. After dropping off Jacob at daycare, I hurried to get my paws on our newly born Baby Ben. Such a handsome little guy! I am in serious love! Later in the day, I arrived at MDA to supervise Rick’s infusion. Afterward, we headed around the corner to see Baby Ben. I have an adorable photo of Pop-Pop wearing his hospital bracelet from MDA holding Baby Ben all tightly wrapped up with his hospital bracelet. All in all, an interesting infusion #9 we will never forget! Prayers and MDA made this magical moment possible!

Our kitchen remodel – week #3

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I am liking what is going on in our kitchen during week #3. It is starting to get very interesting at the Frantz house. The week started with more floating, taping and some new texturing on a few walls.

Shaker-style cabinets were also delivered. Gilbert is Finishing Touches amazing cabinet maker. Geez … even unfinished, I can already tell our kitchen is going to exceed our expectations! Gilbert and crew spent two long days working their magic. During our planning meeting a week or so back, Rick and I asked for a few subtle changes to the cabinet detail to add a tad bit of character and he delivered!

Another amazing breakfast cooked on the grill … veggie egg white omelets and sausage! We even plugged in the toaster in the living room for some toast. Felt so much like camping out during our college days cooking on our propane Kangaroo Kitchen!

The week ended on Halloween with the painters coming back in to start preparing the cabinets for paint. Our very pregnant daughter, awesome son-in-law and little Jacob drove in from Houston to check out the construction zone and trick-or-treat in the neighborhood. What a fun night!

Three guesses what happens most of next week!

Our kitchen remodel – week #2

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Gotta tell you, as kitchen remodels go, work during the second week has been kinda boring. But I realize … very necessary. Basically, we had a plumber dude come out to set the gas line for the old switcheroo from electric to gas range. The outside walls were re-insulated. Oh, and the walls and ceiling were buttoned up with sheetrock and floated. This was especially nice since I’ve been having nightmares of bugs dropping out of the ceiling holes at night.

We are moderately adjusting to not having a kitchen sink and dishwasher. My favorite part of this whole remodel adventure is Rick cooking Saturday morning breakfast on the grill. Week #2 saw perfection in cooking hash browns!

Our dog, Lulu, seems to be hanging in there with all the noise and people she deems as extra special scary.

Our kitchen remodel – week #1

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So my thirty-five year old kitchen is getting a major makeover. It was a sad thing … my kitchen … but with lots of wonderful memories made over the years. So many family dinners. My kids learned to bake cookies sitting on that kitchen counter and to this day are awesome cookers and bakers. And too many holiday dinners to count on both hands and feet. Well, it’s time to make some new memories!

It took just two dusty days to demolish the crusty stuff down to the studs. Thank you Finishing Touches! I understand getting it put back together in working order will take approximately four to five weeks. That would mean Thanksgiving in a new kitchen! During the first week, we have already seen part of the kitchen put back together. We also had the electrical roughed-in and a layout planning meeting with the cabinet maker.

Some of the things we are changing: gas cooktop/electric oven … painted cabinets … an island … tile backsplash with some art tiles (call me crazy) … an interesting sink choice (stepped out of our “boring” zone on this one) … and granite! Rick and I collaborated on most all of the choices, but I also worked with an awesome designer on colors, etc. so our kitchen didn’t look like Walt Disney threw up all over it in the end.

OK … so I know the really fun stuff hasn’t happened yet! Give it a couple of weeks!

Things I have learned … how to use paper and plastic eating utensils to the max! Oh how much I miss my kitchen sink. Living with the refrigerator and microwave in the living room is really quite handy … but weird!

A cancer journey with immunotherapy – infusion #7 sweet spot and a return trip!

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Last week we had a major milestone with “the schedule” at MD Anderson. We discovered our sweet spot after lots of 12-hour “infusion” days. Basic schedule now is bloodletting at 6:30 in the am, meet with clinical trial nurse and oncologist at 8:30, and then a lovely infusion before and during lunch! No more grumpy bug faces on our part. I think we got this! Maintenance infusion #7 was a like a gentle fall breeze and we got home about 2 pm.

The most interesting part of the day was meeting with one of Dr. Campbell’s fellows! I learned our awesome oncologist, Dr. Campbell, gets a new one each month. I wish I wrote down his name. The young man was chatty … I love that … and has a PHD in immunology. He told us Rick had kidney cancer long before the severe symptoms appeared that lead us on the quest to figure out what was wrong. He called those scary symptoms the “tipping point.” I learned once you get to that point it is imperative to quickly get a correct diagnosis and start treatment. We also learned that Rick’s clinical trial for clear cell kidney cancer now has all their sixty patients. Rick was number 36. No more slots are available. So far Rick is still the rock star performing the best in this particular immunotherapy trial. Sixteen and one-half months to go!

The day after the infusion we took a trip … back to Washington, DC … to hang for a few days with our son and lovely daughter-in-law. We were there last in March to fulfill a promise and witness Kate’s confirmation into the Catholic Church. That trip was also after Rick’s very first infusion after being approved for the clinical trial. We went back and forth on the teeter totter about whether we should go. Rick was in lots of pain and nauseous most of the time. It was Rick’s decision to go for it … and we made it happen. I remember pushing him through the airports in a wheelchair. Back then he didn’t walk much in D.C. He was mostly there in spirit.

What a difference seven months make. This time we stayed up late, walked our feet off, got up and personal with lots of Washington D.C.’s monuments, went on an awesome history tour (History Nerds) of the Gettysburg battlefield, played trivia with Ricky’s cadets in a bar, toured the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and so much more. I think I got my hubby and travel buddy back!

My favorite day was the Gettysburg battlefield tour in Pennsylvania. Ricky and the lovely Kate had purchased the tour for hubby’s birthday present in September. I had no idea Gettysburg was only a ninety minutes drive from Washington, D.C. Al Condit was our amazing tour guide on the History Nerds tour bus which lasted just over two hours. The comfortable bus held about a dozen people. Al knows his Gettysburg history and provided non-stop fascinating commentary and occasional videos on the famous three-day battle. We got out of the bus a couple of times … once on the Confederate side and once on the Union side at Little Round Top. While there are many ways to experience Gettysburg … I totally recommend the History Nerd tour. Just saying!

I spy Jacob!

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Our grandson, Jacob, loves to poke around my sewing room. I make it a point before he is due to arrive to lock up anything remotely interesting and dangerous to a two-year-old like pins, rotary cutters and scissors. Earlier this year he got a peek at the “I Spy” quilt I made for a charity event. Little did Jacob know I was working on one for him also!

The pattern is again from Missouri Star Quilt Company and so is the novelty layer cake fabric of ten-inch squares. With Jacob’s quilt, I added a couple of his favorite Minion fabric “jars.” I also used a mottled black fabric for the background which I love over the flat-looking black fabric on the charity quilt.

After finally getting the quilt top finished, I asked Jacob to pick a binding fabric. The charity quilt binding was black and totally worked but I wanted to try something different. Jacob’s choices were ladybugs or zebra print. Obviously, ladybugs won! The ladybug fabric is by Charley Harper.

The awesome Kim Norton, at A Busy Bobbin, quilted with an all-over digital pantograph design called Circle Swirls using a multi-colored King Tut thread (921 Cleopatra). I absolutely love collaborating with Kim! The adorable Tracy at Personalize It embroidered the quilt label for the back.

Martha’s Quilters Fall Festival Booth preview

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Sneak preview alert! Martha’s Quilters have been busy again this year sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidering and handcrafting one-of-a-kind items for sale! Come by St. Martha’s Fall Festival on Saturday, October 8, in the back of the church parking lot. Each year our ladies expand their horizons with unique creations!

We will also have two quilts in the Silent Auction and one quilt in the live auction. Stop by and start your Christmas shopping! Cash, checks and credit cards will be accepted!

A cancer journey with immunotherapy – maintenance infusion #6 … turtles … scan results

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Infusion drugs!
So the hubster had his CT and MRI scans this week, along with his every other week maintenance infusion. This week was maintenance infusion #6 of the immunotherapy drug Nivolumab. The scans are an added stress and just two more things we gotta do … but only every three months. They give us some great information on how Rick is responding to Nivolumab as we very slowly inch toward the finish line of treatment about 17 months from now.

When we both get to be grumpy bugs about “12-hour Thursdays,” I like to tell Rick his cancer journey reminds me of one of Aesop’s Fables, The Tortoise and the Hare.

“Dear … you are that slow and steady tortoise in a race for your life. And we all know who won in that story, don’t we?”

It was during our meeting with the lovely Simi, Dr. Campbell’s awesome PA, that we got the results of the MRI from the evening before. Rick wouldn’t have his CT scan until later in the day. Simi started with the liver tumor which went from 2.1 cm to 1.8 cm. Nice! Just don’t ask me how big a centimeter is! The tumors in both lungs were already reported to have disappeared in a previous scan, so no news there. The tumor on his chest was reported by the radiologist to have “decreased” but no specific measurement was given. I’ll take that and run with it!

I was hoping there would be some good news on the four cancer affected areas of bone. In all these months nothing much has been said about the bone areas. Simi indicated that in three bone areas the cancer was “killed.” Simi then looked us straight in the eyes, starting with Rick, and then grabbed Rick’s arm. With a smile that touched both her ears, Simi repeated that one important word “killed” again. News like that sinks in slowly … and in waves. Oh, and one other bone area, on the 9th rib, had decreased. I’ll reserve my happy dance for later at the house.

Simi also told us Dr. Campbell shares his patient cases with his fellows.

“He doesn’t use anyone’s name, but when Dr. Campbell is describing a patient, I always know when he is talking about you! Rick … you are becoming a celebrity with the fellows. They all want to meet you,” Simi told us.

Dr. Campbell dropped in grinning a few minutes later. He told us Rick’s dramatic results in this clinical trial has shown the “best results he has ever had in a patient.”

So yesterday … was a very good day.

And after all these months I am still learning. This week I learned that only 3% of cancer patients are participating in clinical trials. We need to do better. I learned that being a celebrity sometimes has nothing to do with receiving an award like an Oscar or an Emmy. Sometimes it is just awesome test results and excited fellows! I learned that someone new tells me every day they are praying for us. It is very humbling. I also learned I get lost every time we have an appointment in the main building at MDA. I also learned the gift shops at MDA sell Chex Mix snacks, Rick’s favorite snack. Oh … and I really like turtles!

St. Martha Quilters create quilt for Fall Festival live auction!

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Martha’s Quilters have been busy for months getting ready for this year’s St. Martha Catholic Church Festival & Market which will be held on Saturday, October 8. As always, our booth will have for sale some really unique handcrafted items such as Christmas gifts, lots of fun college items, baby wearables, table runners, adorable doll quilts, beautiful lap-size quilts and lots of items I haven’t even seen yet. Basically, something for everyone! Just be sure and stop by our booth! You won’t be disappointed!

Our prayer quilt ministry group has again made a one-of-a-kind quilt for the live auction. Each of our members participated in making this quilt another masterpiece! Last year our Nativity quilt sold for $2,200.

This year’s quilt is an adaption of a paper-pieced pattern called “First Snow” by Tina Curran. Lynn, one of our lovely and talented Martha’s Quilters, acquired the pattern a couple of years ago and promptly began collecting fabric for the project. A couple of months ago, I remember seeing Lynn hunkered down at her sewing machine with little pieces of colorful Christmas fabric flying all over the place. I thought she was making the whole quilt by herself. It wasn’t long before Judy, who sat next to Lynn most Wednesdays, was making blocks for the project. Lynn even taught Judy to paper-piece. Judy also designed the church block, which is not a part of Tina Curran’s design, but definitely just what our Festival quilt needed! I think Clara made some blocks as well. Several of our talented ladies … Noreen … Clara … and Sally come to mind … machine-quilted the project. I was privileged to sew the binding on … and Marie sewed the binding by hand to the back. Embellishments are next week. This quilt is stunning!

The three-month project took our members hundreds of hours to complete and will be hanging in the narthex at St. Martha’s Catholic Church the weekend before the festival. Feel free to take a peek! Opening bid for this live auction one-of-a-kind Christmas quilt is $500.