Situation Improving, Including Bowling Score

I started feeling much better yesterday. My hip hasn't been hurting so I feel encouraged that the radiation did take care of the tumor in my hip bone. Mentally, I had gotten kind of down and was cranky, but that has passed, too.

I attended the Woman's Club meeting yesterday and Doris Sutton was named "Woman of the Year". (Last year I was the recipient.) Doris is probably in her 80's and just does amazing things - she grows plants to sell at the Woman's Club Rummage Sale and they sell out the first morning. She helped get the Woman's Club Mini Park set up with the City of Ouray and lobbied for new playground equipment. She collected a gillion aluminum cans to help pay for the elevator in the Community Center. When I was City Treasurer here and Jim Miller was mayor, she and Verena Jacobson weren't afraid to come in and tell the mayor what they thought about various issues, and Jim Miller - who could be rather gruff and not afraid to cut people off - would be totally disarmed. I used to tell both of them I wanted to be just like them when I grew up. Doris said yesterday she realized that she has grown over 100 different varieties of flowers in her time here since 1961.

Last year, when I was awarded "Woman of the Year", it was one of my first outings after surgery and I remember it was so hard to get all dressed up and leave the house. I didn't expect to be here one year later to see this award given again, so I am really thankful that I'm still alive and doing as well as I am.

So I went to bowling last night, and had I not gone, our team would have had to forfeit. (One person was out of town, another had a school function that her kids were in.) Our team is in 3rd place, half a game from 2nd, and one game out of 1st. I bowled 78, 112, 129 and my hip didn't hurt. (It hurts a little this morning.) My average is 94 and my hadicap is 86. We lost the first game by a bunch of points, took the second game by 3 points, and then won the last by a bunch. In overall points, we were ahead so we took the "4th game" which is based on total points.

I couldn't get my ball to go where I wanted it to in the first game, so in the second game, I started bending my knees more, worried that it might make my hip hurt, but it didn't. So by the third game I got several spares which was very gratifying. The team we bowled against has some excellent bowlers with low handicaps. One of them, Richard Gibson, picked up some incredible splits - I was very impressed.

We have had probably two feet of snow since Monday night. Not a good day to travel in Colorado, but this will be good for ski season and the snow pack. We have winter storm warnings and avalanche warnings in effect.

I have chemo tomorrow and the snow she be letting up by then.

I have to scoot. I started changing out the window displays in the store last night and I have to go finish them this morning.

Happy Holidays everyone. Just be glad you're hear.

Just up here in Colorado happy about my bowling game.

Sincerely, Caroline