I'm feeling a little sorry for myself right now.

 A little lonely, a little sad, mostly about relationships that have ended, one that I have been nurturing in my own mind for over 3 decades.

So I called dear Karl, one of my favorite buyers of real estate. I've learned a lot from Karl and I admire him very much.  He does some sort of social work and he houses, in his own home, people who need care.

We looked at lots of places. We met some interesting animals including a pig that we posed with and a dog who attacked me. Karl loved them all and wanted to buy each one, instantly. He showed his parents a couple of them and they totally said no and withdrew their financial support from his dream. He let it go for that summer and saved up enough of his own money to proceed without the help of his parents. 

He struggled a bit with the decision in the end and my comment about the darling house under contract was, "You can pay that much for a car."

Done. He loves it and has made many excellent improvements. 

Turns out it was a great call for Karl, too. I'll ask his permission before I relay any of what he said, but I think we were both helped by my call. 

 Then I talked to Ruby, George, Bobbi, Joan, Sue, Beth and the vets office. I have an appointment with Dr. Neil Story to examine an abandoned dog that someone else may not be able to keep.  He is the perfect size and so handsome, plus he is two years old. I know it's a little soon to get a dog what with more chemo coming, but the doctor said walking is the best revenge. And I had no reactions  or symptoms of nausea or pain in the first round of the aborted cycle. So maybe a dog now is a perfect timing. 

Andy and I'd been talking about a dog: he wanted a pure Daschound and I want a doxy mix. I'm sort of surprised we never got a call from the ASPCA, where we registered for one of 71 Daschounds that had been rescued this "spring".

Connie thought I was doing fine

Because my blog seemed so easy breezy.
 I  haven't been writing about an especially difficult part of my life since my relationship is private. But Andy did make it public during my surgery by telling the kids, my sisters and three very good, old friends about our separating. I spent much of the weekend following surgery mourning the death of my family. Even though I am  grateful to be alone, I do feel very sad about the end of an era. And actually I think our family will be better for our separation, especially because there will be no tension during family get-togethers For some reason during my four-day stay at the hospital last weekend, I had a psych evaluation. The psychiatrist said it was about my scratching and letting germs enter my body, risking another infection. Andy told me it's because the nurses thought I am crazy.
After talking to me, Bambi and Becky, the psychiatrist told me she thought I am very resilient. I agree.
 But it is lucky this Evaluation happened before I caused a little panic in my sick ward. I left the premises, which the nurses knew. But they never expected me to be out for three hours. They called the plastic surgeon and hospital security. Dr. Liao called Andy and Blake and missing persons at the Police Department (I think he was really joking about that). I had dinner with Pat and Laura at the Liberty Hotel next-door. I did have a vodka, for which the nurse was grateful I was truthful. I was no longer on pain medication and they told me it was fine to have a drink then.