Suddenly Good Reads Dysfunctional

I have been participating in the 2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge, pledging to read 20 books.  I have met my goal but Goodreads will never know that because it won't let me add one of the books I have read! I have tried everything I know but it just won't get added to my "read" list.

The book is titled "West of the Creek:  Murder, Mayhem and Vice in Old San Antonio".  It is a small book with 35 stories about all sorts of scandalous activities in San Antonio from the early days until the 30's and 40's.  Now, I recognize that this isn't a book for everybody but being from San Antonio and doing lots of family research in the area, I found it to be a really interesting read.  I was curious because, when I worked downtown just south of Hemisfair Plaza, my mother was horrified that my place of business was actually in a section of what used to the the old "red light" district.  I laughed but one day I was there late, by myself until my husband could pick me up, and the neighborhood definitely took on another feel at dusk.  Ghosts, maybe?  Ha!

The book was very interesting when I looked at where events took place or where businesses were located and they were areas that I am familiar with and had no idea that shady things had once gone on there!

Anyway, this was my 20th book for my Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge and I can't get it to post!  Grrrr!

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times -- No, Wait, It Was Just July


Do we all remember when Queen Elizabeth referred to her particularly very bad year as "annus horribleus"?  Well, that is how I feel about July but just don't know how to say it in Latin.  It all started the last of June, actually.  School had let out,  plans were made for the Bean's birthday party, the day had arrived, the guests were there and the party ensued but the honoree's mother was on the bathroom floor writhing in pain.  Immediately after the last guest left, Dear Daughter was taken to the emergency room (this was a Saturday) to have her gall bladder removed as she had two gall stones stuck in a duct.  Of course, she had to wait until Monday because only emergencies are taken on weekends so she had one procedure on Monday to remove the offending stones and the second procedure on Tuesday to remove the offending gall bladder.  I stayed at her house for the duration.

I felt terrible.  Couldn't breathe.  Couldn't walk. Chest pains.  Yes, I was going to the doctor right after the planned trip to San Antonio on July 8.

The trip to San Antonio came and went and I wasn't able to participate much because of the aforementioned symptoms.  During one sight seeing venture, I just stayed in the hotel room.  We came home.  Truly, the daughter shouldn't have gone either as she was having trouble eating from the surgery. I made and went to the dr. appointment as I said I would. I still felt horrible but he said everything sounded fine and looked good.  This was on Wednesday.  On Thursday I was sent to the hospital because my hemoglobin was half what it should be. I received four pints of blood.  When the doctor started quizzing me I mentioned that I had never been through menopause and immediately a gyno was called in and in very short order I had an exam, a sonogram, a biopsy and a referral to a gynecological oncologist.  The next week I had a hysterectomy, a pathology report that declared everything negative but one lymph node and because of that one lymph node and the fact that the type of malignancy tends to be a bit aggressive,  I will be starting a  twelve week stint of chemo starting on August 19. 

This blog is primarily a book blog, a Bean blog, sometimes a travel blog, sometimes a rant/vent blog.  What it will never be is a political blog or a cancer blog.  I am upbeat, I think things will go well, I have faith in the doctor and in my God and I will not allow this to define me.  I have not discussed this on Facebook and will not do so -- I have talked to the people that I feel need to know and that is where I am leaving it.  I just wanted my bloggy friends to know why I haven't been here for a while and also that I feel really good, have a very positive outlook and feel that things are going to go well for me. 

So, on that note, I would like to add that I have been doing a LOT of reading during all of this -- I finished "Sullivan's Island" and am half way through "Return to Sullivan's Island".  They are fantastic reads and I recommend to everyone.