It's December, and I am too late to upload my novel onto the NaNoWriMo site. I have 42732 words on my main novel document with about a thousand more in separate documents waiting to be incorporated, but have failed the 50000 target. Little Joe will be disappointed; he has been in most days to look at the graph the site provides, together with a projection of finishing date, words written today, and words required every day to make the target. It has been great fun, and by no means a waste of time. The Christian Writer contact agreed to be my writing buddy, and has driven over from Downham Market twice to meet and discuss, encourage and suggest. I have never shared anything I have written at this early stage before, and it has been a very positive experience. She achieved her 50000 so uploaded yesterday. I don't think the organisers read the work or do anything with it, it is mainly a supportive and encouragement site, with forums for moaning, getting over writers block, simply procrastinating and searching for information from the thousand of participants worldwide. Angela and I are going to meet again, maybe before Christmas for a celebration of what we have achieved, and certainly in January to do some editing and preparation for publication. She already has a novel with a publisher, is finding it frustratingly slow, but at least has some ideas about how to go about it. She may be able to get me some transport for the Christian Writers Group meetings as well, given that I don't have a car in the mornings and they tend to meet at lunch-time.
Well, apart from singing with the new Dereham Town Singers at the Turning on of Lights in the market place on Sunday, I have done little else this month. It hasn't been a good month chemo-wise, with every variety of bowel and stomach symptom. I have had 11 cycles in all, not counting yesterday's, and every time I go through a few days when I think 'this isn't working, I am going to obstruct, the chemo didn't really work last time so why should it work this time', and so forth. Why I don't learn from one session to the next I don't know.
Yesterday's intravenous has left me very tingly indeed. I worked on my novel from 4 .0 am until 6.45 this morning, the steroids keeping me awake. By the time I had made tea for us both and swept up the blackbird and feathers from the kitchen floor I had tingling up to my thighs and had to go back to bed with my little electric pad. It is definitely a day for warm jobs, and I thought I might get on with my Christmas cake, but found I had no cherries or peel that even remotely fell within the use-by category. It was much easier in the old days when we used them if they smelled all right. Anyway, Dave said it was time I updated my blog as Claire uses it to keep in touch, so there you are, Claire, this is for you. My keyboard gets nice and warm too, so it is a good thing for Day 1.
I saw my oncologist yesterday, and he is concerned that the tingling is persisting longer than it used to, and may persist for ever if I continue this dosage for the remaining 4 sessions, so he suggested I stick with this dose, already 20% lower than recommended because of the reactions last time, for number 4, and then reduce again. He gave me a confusing spiel about the value of the intravenous, having given me the choice of whether to have it last time. I said I had gone away with the impression that it would make little difference whether I had the intravenous or not, but he said it had been shown to make a 40% difference. I wasn't sharp enough to ask '40% of what?' after all his muttered calculations. If it's 40% of 6 months I have to ask myself it it is worth all the symptoms and disturbance to life-style, but actually the whole process is evolving so rapidly that the figures are out of date before they are published, and it is a brave person who would say 'no thanks' at this stage.
We are going to try to get our Christmas decs up this Friday. Usually we leave them until the weekend before Christmas, but with Joe and Sally coming this weekend because I can't make the annual trip to Stone for our pre-Christmas bash, and with the boys so full of excitement, we decided to make a full season of it this year. The first doors on the Advent calendars were opened this morning. Joe is all kitted out as a shepherd ready for the reception and Year 1 play. James has been invited to the Dinosaur park for a little mate's party (Hope the weather stays fine). Mrs Reeve's class were invited to take a favourite Christmas book to school to be read in class, and Joe took 'Father Christmas needs a wee'. It will be interesting to see if she uses that one.
Mary-Ann is on three days a week at present, and not getting the supply expected from her school to make up her 4 days. She likes the time at home, but not the drop in salary. She is cleaning upstairs this morning, so I think I'll get her down for a cup of something.
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