Preparing for a bronchoscopy Tuesday

Alison enjoyed this past weekend having her Dad as company, and then friend Meghan Imoehl spent Sunday into Monday with her before Joleen made the trek back to Iowa City in lots of snow, and Meghan drove back to Cedar Falls in the same nasty snow! Going to be a long week with weather like this!

There were the typical labs and rehab today .... tomorrow Alison's slated for a bronchoscopy in which they'll look at those new lungs of hers. Since she'll be somewhat sedated anyway, that's when they'll also remove the last of the stitches from her chest (rib area) where the chest tubes had been doing their job. Doesn't she look great with pink-colored cheeks? In this photo taken Saturday, she's counting out her pills for the week. Not all are the serious anti-rejection drugs like Tacrolomus – there's iron and calcium in there too!

Promise to provide a report tomorrow after the all important bronchoscopy. Alison's expecting they will tell her an approximate release date too. So stay tuned!

Fire alarms, iTunes & Katy Perry

Alison's day began much earlier than she intended when the fire alarm in their hotel began blaring about 6 a.m. And continued for the next 30 minutes .... no sleeping through that! When the fire truck eventually arrived (did I mention no one left their rooms at that hour?) Alison and her Mom began to worry they'd actually have to evacuate. Joked Alison, "Should we meet them at the door singing, Billy Joel's 'We didn't start the fire ..." Mom failed to see the humor.

So here we sit on a Friday night, feet up and digesting our big meals from Red Lobster (yum!)

After spending an hour trying to figure out why we can't get our laptops to recognize one another so we can share music from our iTunes programs, we've decided there's a block in the hotel internet because we've successful done this before .... Aunt Janell needs some new music to work out by and Alison's suggestions range from Rihanna and Lady Antebellum (like) to Ke$ha (who?) and Nicki Minaj (what?) I'm getting quite an education. But now my head hurts from too many Katy Perry songs that Alison keeps inflicting on me – each time she plays one of KP's more obscure songs she thinks I won't know who it is and might say I like it. I won't. Those cupcakes she wears in the video, "California Girls," kind of ruined it for me.

Goodbye Meropenem! Hello Weekend!

It wasn't soon enough for Alison, but today she got the green light to discontinue a medication that she had to mix together and then administer intravenously, called Meropenem. Dr. Sarah Bradley, the illustration below is for you. I found it in Wikipedia when checking the spelling of this drug!

Anyway ... the drug is an antibiotic that suppresses pseudomonas so it was essential to her regimen of care, but the lung patient is certainly glad it has run its course, because it meant she got to have the needle removed from the port that is in her chest. Probably cause for celebration and an ice cold latte from McDonald's!!

The patient upped her pace on the treadmill to 3.5 today (see new photo in previous post), had her incision examined (looks good) and was told she's still on schedule for a biopsy next Tuesday. She plans to lunch with a friend Friday, and will then have dinner and maybe watch a DVD on demand via laptop with her old Auntie Friday night.

Certainly some inquiring minds out there wonder if Alison had occasion to bump into any of the 13 Iowa football players hospitalized at UIHC for that muscle disorder. Answer: No, but she and her mom did see the Fox News van doing a broadcast outside as they left yesterday.  Like the rest of us, they're waiting to hear "the rest of the story."

News Flash! Alison breaking speed records!

OKAY, a little better photo of Alison working out during pulmonary rehab . . .

Alison emailed this photo taken by mom, of Alison at pulmonary rehab today.

She looks so good that if one didn't know better, an observer would never guess she just had a double lung transplant on Jan. 6!  I imagine this is bringing a tear to the mama's eyes .... mine too!! We're so proud of you Alison! I expect you'll want to be jogging with me soon, eh? I'd better pick up the pace so I can keep up with YOU!

Another good day!

Alison says it was another good day today, as her back pain is now non-existent and she walked 20 min. on the treadmill and did another 20 min. on the Nu-Step. The patient said she is feeling more confident during exercise and expects to be increasing both resistance and time spent exercising as the days go on.

Friends Emily and Tiffany spent time with Alison Monday night. The biggest decision of the night: whether to dine at the Olive Garden or the Texas Roadhouse!

The girls will have to rise and shine early Tuesday as Alison is scheduled for labs at 8 a.m. The blood draw will determine dosage amounts for her immunosuppressants. The patient said she expects to conclude both her 3X daily IV medication and an inhaled med, Wednesday. That means no more 12 midnight alarms to start the IV and then having to set another alarm to unhook the tube from her port!!! YAY!

Keep up the excellent progress, Alison!

Subzero temps outside; but the Garvins have warmed hearts

The lung transplant patient spent a lot of Friday catching up on missed sleep, and allowing her body to heal. She got the needle changed in her port, and continued to set alarms for some of the odd hours she has to take medications.

Like a tailor adjusting sleeve length or trousers, the doctors continue to tweak and adjust Alison's medications to get the full benefit from their intended prescribed use. Every person reacts differently to medications, and CF patients have a particular challenge to absorb all that is good for them. This lung patient's other organs, particularly the kidneys, tend to quickly eliminate the main anti-rejection drug being administered, rather than allowing it to be carried to her organs by her blood.  Alison's actually getting the highest dosage they've ever prescribed, three times a day, but blood draws continue to reveal little presence of the drug.

Adjustments continue to be made to prepare Alison for release from daily hospital care. She's hopeful one or two of the prescribed meds, including that IV administered drug she's hooking up to her port in the photo above, will no longer be needed by about mid-week.

The Garvins' church family recently surprised them with an assortment of gift cards they can use in the Coralville area, personal gifts for Alison, and a generous donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Bethel Presbyterians, the photo is still on a camera in their hotel room, but they promise to share that image of Alison opening your special package – soon!  The card with all of your names, will go in a scrapbook that hopefully Alison herself, will put together once she returns home.

Alison's got her own little mine field

It was nearly a full day at the hospital today as Alison had labs, pulmonary function test, pulmonary rehab, saw Dr. Klesney-Tait and again had her medications tweaked.

She's still experiencing back pain and so sleep hasn't been plentiful. In fact, sometimes she feels like she hasn't slept at all and right now, it's just what she desires most. She DID finally get that full soak shower now that her chest bandages have been removed, and she washed her hair. She said it was a WONDERFUL feeling to stand under the water. Her remark to Mom later, however, was, "My torso looks like a war zone!" And it does. I saw her "clam shell" incision, which admittedly was beautifully placed as even Alison won't see much of her scar. However, the patient's stomach area is peppered with pokes and bruises from the Heparin shots. And then there are the stitches from where the chest tubes had been. It does look like a minefield!

Tomorrow her visit to the hospital will include pulmonary rehab and more labs.

If anyone is still wishing to send a card, probably best to send it to the Garvin home in West Union, rather than her hotel, as Mom and Dad and friends are traveling back and forth between Iowa City and home quite frequently. The street and house number are 401 Rickel and the zip, 52175.

And a little bit of Bella

No, Bella isn't a kind of wine .... but the Garvin family dog, who made a guest appearance in Iowa City early tonight!!

Big Daddy Garvin was commissioned to bring his girls some necessities tonight (their room refrigerator is so full of medicine, there isn't room for a soda!) so he took Bella along as a surprise. The sight of her dog put tears in Alison's eyes! A Golden Doodle, Bella is just one of those dogs you can't help but love - even when her favorite thing is spreading her entire body across the people she likes.

One would have to think the patient is going to sleep well and have sweet dreams tonight!

Looking good & living large

After a night with no pain medication and no sleep after 3 a.m., Alison had a rough start to the day, but the situation improved once the med became available and started working its way into her system.

She was hardly gone from the hospital 16 hours when she returned so the women in pulmonary rehab could put her through the paces. Alison walked at a leisurely pace on the treadmill for 15 minutes, and then did another 15 min. of leg resistance on the Nu-Step. She stretched her arms over her head which tugged at those incisions a little, but it was all very impressive. Tomorrow, she's likely to step it up a little more. The wheelchair's been kicked to the curb along with the oxygen tanks. Alison's loving her new lungs! Now if those incisions would just hurry up and heal, along with the other areas of her chest that were stretched this way and that! She still can't drive, and she has a restriction to not lift more than five-pounds.

After lunch at Red Lobster today, we enjoyed some of Alison's delicious cake and mints made by Glenda Koehn, of Elgin.  Between bites, Alison said, "Love you Glenda!"

Doesn't the patient look good? And that's with no make-up or styled hair. Later tomorrow, Ali finally gets to take that first full shower in several weeks. 

Alison's also becoming a pro at administering herself her numerous medications, including one IV drug that she hooks up to her port and will take for a week. There's been very little time for boredom thus far in her recovery, but she's hoping after a longer day at the hospital tomorrow, she'll be able to catch up on her Facebooking and texting with friends. Oh, and she says thanks to all those who sent cards in the last couple of days!!!  It's been fun reading through them!

Hotel living, here they come!

It was a long day for Alison and her mom ... waiting, waiting, waiting for decisions. Don't have many of the details because these two are exhausted .... but they are settled into the Baymont, not far from the hospital. So chest tubes are gone, and now phase two begins, filled with days of exercise, documenting a regimen of pharmaceuticals and Alison making her way down the road to recovery.

We all pray the next road to better health will go as well as Alison's initial recovery from the surgery.

Still in limbo

It was a day filled with anxiety as Alison never returned to peaceful slumber after 3 a.m., due to chest pain. While she wanted the tubes removed, the situation posed a double-edged sword scenario: you also want all the drainage from the lungs to be complete before they're removed because it won't be fun for anyone if the procedure has to be repeated later.

Another chest x-ray was done, and due to low hemoglobin, Alison got a blood transfusion this afternoon. However it does appear the tubes from the right lung will be removed and plans can then be made for her to be released to begin her 30-day hotel stay.  More details later as they become available!

Hospital staff just doesn't want to say farewell quite yet

They must really like Alison as a patient there at UIHC because they are keeping her yet another day! Although her doctor is ready to have her released, there are still those chest tubes to contend with. The patient's getting to know the staff in radiology real well, as chest x-rays are the method to determine how well the lungs have drained, and whether or not the drainage tubes have done their work to the greatest extent possible.

Certainly Mom and Daughter would love to think they'd be watching 'The Biggest Loser' from a hotel room tomorrow night, but it just might be Wednesday before that happens.

Hang in there Alison, hopefully it won't be too much longer until you begin phase two of your recovery!

Hotel living another day away

Before Alison thinks too much about room service and having someone make up her bed and room every day, it looks like hotel living might be another day away.

As of Sunday, she still has chest tubes providing drainage from that hard-working right lung. So, she'll just kick back, take the walks that are doctor's orders and enjoy some of the company she's been getting. The other day while on another floor, her Mom ran into the nurse, "Scott" that Alison used to see a lot of in her pediatric stays in the hospital. So Scott later stopped by for a visit with Alison and reminiscing of those hospital stays when she was a teenager.

Alison posted a message on her Facebook page that thanks everyone who's sent prayers, cards, care packages and love her way. "My new life is just beginning and I love having each and every one of you in it," she said. We couldn't have said it better!

Monday will be a memorable day!

Upon examination of the patient this morning, Dr. K-T said, "Alison, you'd better have your hotel room reserved and ready to move into." That's because she expects to release Alison from the hospital on Monday!! Undoubtedly, that is earlier than any of us expected.

The transplant patient doesn't get to go back to her apartment in Cedar Falls, or even to West Union to see her dog, Bella, just yet. She'll remain in the Iowa City area for approximately 30 days, returning to UIHC for labs, pulmonary rehab and clinic visits.

A chest X-ray today was to determine if the drainage tubes from her right lung would be removed late day or possibly Sunday.

Before anyone thinks Alison will begin a month of watching soaps and reality TV shows, she does have a regimen she'll be following. She has to do exercises with a spirometer numerous times daily. There are many medications to follow and record, and of course there's that walking! Alison texted yesterday that she "had a pretty good pace going" in her loops down the hall, around the nurses stations and back again.

One giant leap - ta da!

And the chest tubes to the left lung are gone!!! Late this afternoon, it was a small step for lung transplant patients, but one giant leap for Alison G. who felt some of her pain vanish with the removal of those pesky drainage tubes! She was feeling so good about it all, she picked up her laptop and started catching up on the news on Facebook! She said it's been fun finding out what everyone ELSE in the world has been up to!

Day 8

This is Day 8 since the Big Lung Transplant. The patient is feeling quite a lot more pain today, which she attributes to those pesky chest tubes. She's got her fingers and toes crossed that the chest Xray reveals she can have the tubes from her left lung removed yet today. She gets to remove herself from the monitor, so it's a small victory to lose the 5 patches and every wire that attaches to them which provided a read out of her respirations, pulse, etc.

She's getting education about identifying her various meds and has begun a diary regarding the meds she takes as part of her regimen. Those who know Alison well, know she's quite accustomed to taking pills and inhaled medications for her cystic fibrosis. But now she'll have to keep track of them in a journal that will go to the hospital with her for her check-ups to help her physicians know how to best make modifications when necessary.

Mom & Dad Garvin are preparing for a change of the guard later this afternoon. Poor Bella (the dog with whom Alison is pictured on an earlier post.) She misses Alison – primarily because she's among the short list of people who allow Bella to give kisses right on the face.

Another day closer to jail break

Not a lot of change today, yet progress continues to be made. Dr. K-T continues to modify the medication plan to achieve ultimate results. Alison's doing two laps down and around her floor on each of her walks. When I spoke to her mother, she'd done three walks already today.

There's been some back pain with the epidural now gone, but she's tolerating it. Alison was happy to get the news that the thrice daily heparin shots administered in her stomach, will soon be replaced with another drug – administered just once daily.

The lung transplant patient is hopeful the first of four chest tubes might be removed Friday. (We're all cheering that you get your wish!) The team that will make the diagnosis will be knocking on her door before 7 a.m. so hope she's ready for them!

Oh, and for anyone who doesn't know ... that's Alison in the header of the blog .... she's pictured at Aunt Gail's house. I think the photo was taken this past summer before she got so ill. Lookin' good Alison!

Bye bye catheter & hello smiles

Mama Garvin reports the patient was SOOOOOO happy tonight to finally say goodbye to the catheter!!

Just one week ago tonight the family arrived at UIHC and began the prep for Alison to undergo the surgery which eventually began a little before 4 a.m., Thursday. Hard to believe it was just 7 days ago -- so much has taken place since then.

Helping brighten A's days are the visits she's been getting from friends of the family & Pastor Galen Smith. She is really enjoying all the cards, too. They told her today she had more mail than most patients and that made her smile! Thanks to everyone who's thinking of her during this time!

Taking a risk with pain

Today was a step forward again, as the epidural was removed from Alison's back. The epidural was put in place to alleviate some of the pain she would be expected to feel in conjunction with an incision from one side of her chest to the other, and chest tubes that provide drainage from the chest cavity.  Removal of the catheter should follow, either later today or first thing tomorrow. Hopefully the pain she's been feeling won't be too much worse without the epidural. She's still getting an oral med to cope with pain.

The modifications in her treatment have meant she is better managing sudden drops in blood pressure when she first sits up in the morning, and by 12 noon, she had two of her four walks completed today.

With her Dad arriving late morning, he brought a treat – lunch from Applebee's! It's one of Alison's favorite places to eat out. Dr K-T encourages her to drink at least two liquid protein drinks every day too. Alison saw more of those 'Boost' or 'Ensure' protein drinks prior to surgery than she probably cares to see in awhile.

Just another day

Today was more of a challenge, again. It looks like it might be Friday before the chest tubes come out. Alison had increasing pain in her back, so some adjustments in treatment were made, and she'll be keeping the epidural to treat her pain.

While she's had a pretty good appetite, she needs to consume more protein to increase the effectiveness of some of her medications. Who knew eating could be such work?

Here's a quick fact for the day: Did you know Alison is only the 77th person to receive a lung transplant at University Hospitals & Clinics? A total of 13 lung transplants were done at UIHC in 2010.

Vertical during the day; horizontal at night

Alison has a number of goals to work toward.

There's a chance she might lose one or two of her four chest tubes tomorrow. Depending on the Dr.'s assessment, modifications will be made Tuesday.

The patient is getting a little frustrated with all the tubes hanging from her body or draping across her as she lies in bed or sits in her chair. All that hardware does limit movement.

Alison hasn't had any limitations yet on what she can eat. Today she had popcorn and a donut in addition to a chicken breast and mac and cheese for lunch.

Like other transplant patients, Alison cannot have flowers in her room. Cards are welcome and she's starting to use her phone to check and send text messages.

Today is a struggle

Today has been a tougher day for Alison. She was just able to get her first (of four) walk of the day. She's having a bout of low blood pressure and is quite dizzy. Fingers were tingling. They pushed the IV fluids and she's feeling a little better.  We hope for improvement this afternoon so she can make the benchmarks they have established for her.

The progress continues to amaze us

No update until now because Jeff and I spent the day with Alison in Iowa City! She looks SO GOOD. Lots of color in her face and arms, and for the first time in a long time she has WARM hands! Like a typical young adult, she's longing for a shower, once the chest tubes get removed. We thought her hair looked awfully good considering it hadn't been washed since Wednesday. After all, it isn't like you can say, 'hey, I need to jump in the shower first,' when you get the call that donor lungs have become available and must be transplanted within hours.

Its pretty incredible to think that just 72 hours after she came out of double lung transplant surgery, she has walked the entire length of her unit and back, in RSCU. 

She ordered up her own lunch, including a chef salad with extra ranch, a baked potato with eight pats of butter and cottage cheese. She couldn't quite eat it all, but she did her best, knowing good food and protein will help her wounds heal.

Today the patch came off the straw-sized hole on her neck where she had one of numerous IVs. Mama Garvin showed us Alison's various "messages" or "questions" she had written to them before the vent tube came out. This was mostly in the first few hours after surgery, on Thursday and some on Friday.

"How many tubes are coming out of my body?" she wanted to know. She was also concerned that her mother had forgotten to call the gals at pulmonary rehab at Palmer back in West Union, to say she wouldn't be making her regular appts. Her sense of humor and spunk are evident as she convalesces from this major surgery, too. Throughout her frequent hospitalizations, Alison has often had allergic reactions to various medications. This surgery was no different. It seems the epidural pain medication is the cause of constant itching - everywhere on her body. As a caring mom tends to do, Mama Garvin asked where it itched so she could scratch for Alison ... but the reply was, "in butt." Ok, so as much as mom loves you, she wasn't going to scratch THERE!

In a few more days we hope to hear that the chest tubes, catheter and epidural pain med are things of the past as she continues to progress. Keep up the fantastic progress Alison! Sleep long and well tonight!

The lung transplant patient was hungry for pizza!

After moving out of ICU and into her own private room on the 7th floor, Alison was hungry for pizza: canadian bacon, mushroom and green peppers to be exact. So pizza she was given!

But while the patient can choose to eat many foods she likes, she still has some restrictions. She still has a catheter in relation to requiring epidurals for pain. Dr. K-T however, gave a thumbs up to her progress. She did suggest instead of two laps walking, she do four throughout the day ... so modifications in the boot camp regimen have been made!

Alison continues to have two chest tubes in each side, although the IV was removed from her neck, along with the arterial IV in her right wrist. Monday, education on charting her medications will begin. While no expected date for her departure from the hospital has been given, most transplant patients have a two-week stay.

Well wishes can be sent to her at: (note there needed to be a separation between the Rm. # and the street address!! Sorry!!)

UI Hospitals and Clinics
7RSCU #10
200 Hawkins Drive
Iowa City, IA 52242

Moving out of ICU!

Alison was sitting up in a chair this morning & is feeling pretty good. Her doctor's report is that she is progressing well enough to be moved out of Intensive Care!! The patient is particularly thrilled about that because it means a bigger room - quite likely on the 7th floor!

Will post again a little later with an address once we have info about her floor for sure ...

Good night & sleep tight!

Alison is just about ready to call it a night – the boot camp began as scheduled this afternoon as the UIHC staff got their lung transplant patient sitting up in a chair for more than an hour, and she enjoyed some Jell-O! They also had her walking twice.

When Mom Garvin remarked that she only seemed to be using 1 liter of oxygen, (it used to be about 6 minimum, and even 10 at times when she was hospitalized last November) they said, "we could probably take her off of it entirely." And so they did!

There was a huge smile on Alison's face when that cannula was removed and she can now rely solely on her new lungs to breathe!

Patient shown an image of her old lungs

Sorry so slow to post this morning folks! Have had several updates from Joleen about Alison's condition.

The patient didn't get her vent tube out until late morning, which did cause increased irritation in the patient as her parents - hard as they tried – couldn't read her writing on the clipboard. Hard for us to imagine. Your arms are in restraints to the side of your bed ... you're in a prone position so you can't very well see what you're writing ... Dad's holding the clipboard so Alison can try to write, but the clipboard must be moved to accommodate the length of her question and the letters start going on top of one another . . . the Garvins probably wouldn't win any prizes for charades either as they tried guessing what she wanted from her hand gestures. One message they did understand, "I love you," when the patient tried to put her hands together in the shape of a heart. It goes without saying the patient is THRILLED to have her voice to communicate again! The things we take for granted!

The docs showed Alison a picture of her old lungs. "It's no surprise she couldn't breathe," says her mom after viewing the image. Alison had been on oxygen 24/7 for a couple of months prior to the surgery and participating in pulmonary rehab at the local hospital up until being admitted to UIHC, Wednesday.

The patient also got the advisory, "Boot Camp starts soon!" Quite possibly, they'll remove enough IVs (she has many) so she can sit up this afternoon. Before that however, she was ready for a nap after all the exertion of getting the vent tube out and being given an epidural for pain.

The patient is asking questions on a clipboard

The transplant patient has come out of enough sedation to ask, "When do I get this (vent) tube out?"  The reply: possibly later tonight or maybe tomorrow. Questions are being asked via the lefthander writing on a clipboard. She has quite a lot of pain as her incision is horizontal across her chest, from side to side. The next two days continue to be critical for her.

The parental Garvins report Alison to have shown marked improvement just in the last couple of hours as she's also inquiring about when she can move to the 7th floor – what became her "home away from home" the last few yrs. during her frequent hospitalizations for cystic fibrosis at UIHC.

Your prayers are being heard and we kindly ask that you continue to think of our spunky Alison as she fights to meet the benchmarks being set for her.

Critical period has begun

Alison's parents finally got to see her for a few minutes. Although she is still very sedated & groggy, it was difficult for them to see their little girl in intensive care and still so critical. She has received a lot of donor blood. The surgeon reports the right lung was working at 68% capacity and the left lung, at 32%, which they were satisfied with, at this point.

The next 48 hours will be a critical time for Alison. Our entire family appreciates your emotional support and prayers.

Alison gets donor lungs!

Does my niece, Alison, ever know how to kick off the new year with a bang!! Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011 will be a day our family and friends will remember for years into the future because it will mark the day Alison got the call that donor lungs became available for transplant into her 23-year-old body.

Just before 4 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 6, Alison was wheeled into surgery to begin the process of receiving the donor lungs she hopes will provide her with a breath of life like she hasn't experienced in a number of years.

Shortly after 12 noon, Alison was brought out of surgery and into recovery. There was one complication during the procedure in that the blood vessels connected to her damaged left lung, had narrowed to the size of a pencil. When put in place, her new left lung struggled to pump blood through the too-small tissues. She was placed on a bypass machine until the surgeons were satisfied they could proceed with attaching her new donor lungs to her cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. We hope you'll join us in praying the donor lungs won't be rejected and the procedure will be successful.

We also pray for the donor family. We trust they will be comforted with the knowledge they have provided hope for several people in need of functioning organs like the lungs being transplanted into Alison, today.

The photo above was taken for the Garvin Christmas card, with Alison removing the cannula that provided her oxygen, just long enough for her Mom to snap three or four shots. The dog, Bella, is a new addition to the family, this summer.

Proud owner of a Kindle!

Lucky me, I was given a Kindle for Christmas, but sadly, I haven't yet been able to read an entire book on the reading device!!

The problem begins with having started the Steig Larsson trilogy at the urging of my oldest stepdaughter. While she was correct that I would enjoy the books, because I finished reading book one about a week before Christmas, I started reading the VERY LENGTHY "Cutting for Stone."

My Doctor Stepdaughter had just read books two and three and offered to bring the remaining trilogy back to Iowa while home for Christmas from North Carolina. That's why I began reading, "Cutting for Stone," in the interim. What I didn't realize is that the 657-page paper back would be such a SLOW read. (Which isn't to say it's boring – I'm just getting caught up in all the medical terms.) I might have put the book aside except that Dr. Stepdaughter said the author, Abraham Verghese, spoke to her and her peers at Duke .... Today, I have read through page 370 ...

So in the interim, I'm keeping a list of books I'm ready to order on my new Kindle. I'd love to hear any comments from readers of the blog, regarding your ideas for great reads, or let me know via the comment section if you've read any of the books on my wish list. They include: "Skippy Dies," because the setting is Dublin; and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," by Rebecca Skloot, because it sounds like a fascinating report about the impact of one woman's cancer when some of her cells were preserved after her death, without her family's knowledge. A third on the list is, "A Scattered Life," because it's about family dynamics which is a theme I enjoy. I also received the hard cover versions of "The Red Thread," and Nicholas Sparks' latest work, and don't forget I also have "The Girl Who Played with Fire," and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," to read ....

Still, I have found the time to discover that a Kindle is more than a reading device. I can do 'Jumbles,' crossword puzzles and play Scrabble and Solitaire ... and I can have manuscripts or other documents emailed to my Kindle. And while most people probably don't get excited about the screensavers - I think they are the coolest thing!! Each time I put my Kindle to sleep, a beautiful black and white illustration of a famous author appears on the screen until I awaken the device for use.

Refracted light?

I am not sure of the scientific term that results in this imagery, but during the recent cold spell we experienced, and then a brief thaw, icicles nearly 3-feet in length formed from the string of LED lights that decorated our roof-line during the holidays.

It appeared as if every icicle took on the color of the light above it. It reminded me of the "sun dogs" that appear to either side of the sun when there is snow on the ground and the temperatures drop to around zero.