Back in the Saddle

And galloping my mouse over the open range. Our old PC finally gave up the ghost, so now I'm working on a brand spanking new (and fast!) one and on Windows Vista, which I'm liking so far. It also came with a flat panel 19" monitor, which is just the bomb, except that I'm still trying to adjust it as some images look pretty washed out. Haven't quite got it to where I want yet.

Anyhoo, lots of stuff going on. Tomorrow is my 50th birthday (yay!) so we're going out to a movie and sushi tonight. If that doesn't sound like much of a celebration for hitting another decade, worry not. We have a fabulous Paris trip planned in May, and it's just about all I can think about. I took 5 years of French, which I can still conjure up enough to understand most dialog in French language movies (and also know when the subtitlers got it wrong) but other than that I've never had the opportunity to put it to use. It will be my first trip to Europe, as well. I've traveled North as far as Canada and South as far as Costa Rica, but have never made it out of this hemisphere. I've been stocking up on books about Paris, including some history, and am almost all the way through one of the most interesting, The Judgement of Paris by Ross King. It combines history and art and personalities during a very tumultuous time in French history, and is a fascinating read. I took a few Art History classes back in high school and college, and this book brings a lot of it back. I've also started keeping lists of various peoples' recommendations for things to see and do, and have quite a list so far. We're actually in the city for about 7-1/2 days, and also want to take a couple of day trips out to Giverny (where Monet painted the water lilies) and the Champagne region to visit wineries and do some tasting. So it's sure to be a full dance ticket.

Monday I go on a diet. Not the kind you think, and not really by choice. I have to go on a low-iodine diet for two weeks prior to my radioactive iodine treatment on March 20. That means no seafood, dairy (aaarrrgh!), any commercially prepared foods except some condiments and mahtzos, certain types of beans (though I found out last night I can have lentils which I love). Fortunately, we have a personal chef in the family, and we've hired my BIL to make me some approved meals. Part of the reason for doing that instead of planning to cook myself is that I also have to stop taking my thyroid hormone on Monday, which means that over the next two weeks I will be come increasingly hypothyroid and can expect to be sluggish, have trouble concentrating, become constipated, and possibly lose a little hair. That plus the diet is likely to make me a very cranky animal. I've already warned my staff at work. But I'm thankful that it's only for a couple of weeks, it's not chemo, and once I'm done, I'm done. Thyroid cancer according to my doc is highly curable, and probably any cancer was removed already with the thyroid gland, so this treatment is more like added insurance in case there are any remaining stray thyroid cells. The treatment itself is painless, I take a pill containing radioactive iodine, and have to stay in isolation in the hospital for a couple of days. Anyone know where I can get a cheap Geiger counter? So by the end of this month, things should be back to normal, for which I am more grateful than I can express. That doesn't mean I probably won't be a whiny baby at least once or twice over the next couple of weeks.