The Shoe Dropped

Well, Dad felt sickish today. Flu like symptoms...headachy, muscle and bone pain, common for the meds he got. Also he is retaining fluid. I think it is probably because of the steroid he received because of his chemo reaction. I told him it was time for the "pee pill" again...lasix. He agreed and actually took one. Mom is going stir crazy. She needs to get out a bit. I am just plain tired. I feel exhausted in fact. I didn't open the coffee shop today though I should have. I didn't get my house clean or my Christmas decorations down. Lucky I got my dishes from yesterday done. I hate New Years Eve. Always have. For some reason it makes me blue. I took Mom to Walmart in McCook today because she needed to get hair dye...like mother like daughter...hee hee Actually she needed to see the eye Dr. and get her broken glasses taken in to be fixed. Since it was New Years Eve...we missed the office hours and therefore went to the stupid Walmart instead. I bought 3 DVDs...FRENCH KISS...which I LOVE!! A MIGHTY WIND which Mark and I have watched many a time and loved for it's hokey ness. And last but not least...Standing in the Shadows...MOTOWN which we just watched MOTOWN and liked it very much. The boys are at Moms and Katie has several friends over and here Mark and I sit like old farts. He keeps getting called out...just now in fact...out the door he goes.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Survived the Christmas party without wearing cake in my underwear or a lime in my hair.

Keeping My Fingers Crossed

Dad isn't sick from the chemo yet. I say yet because I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We went to Kearney quick like the wind today. First Radiation...we got in and out fast. Then...to the hopsital for yet another X-Ray...this one of his left shoulder. The PET and bone scans showed probable degenerative changes but they still gotta check it for cancer. I hate that. After this...Perkins, YET AGAIN, for another plate of break the fast. Dad loves it there. I think because they still have a smoking room there and he can dream can't he. Tonight is our Christmas Party for the pharmacy and the coffee shop. I'm ready for a nice drinky poo but I'm afraid I will be too tired. I'm letting the kids have a party at our house. I know...what the hell was I thinking...sigh

Something Else Indeed

Dad's first chemo treatment was today. We left at 7 am to get to his 8:45 radiation first. We also saw the radiologist(to be forever referred to as Dr. Gaydar) and wasn't that fun. He asks dad, "How are you?" dad says "alright as far as I know". . . the Dr. says "Fine, see you in a week". Dad gets radiated...we are off to chemo at another office. We get there and check in. Dad is on a Taxol and Carboplatinum regime receiving chemo every 3 weeks. He is pre-medicated with Zofran and Benadryl to alleviate any nausea or reaction to the meds. This will take about an hour and the other meds will take around 4-5 hours to infuse. Mom and I decide, after Dad is hooked up to the IV and in a comfortable recliner, to go and quickly shop and then we will bring dad a hamburger for lunch. Off we go. We buy a few things at a Hobby Lobby and then go for lunch. When we get back to the office Dad is sleeping. He wakes up when we go in and tells us that his "head almost blew off" and he had a reaction to the chemo and his IV rate was now slower. The chemo nurse tells us she medicated him with Solu Medrol, Benedryl and maybe something else. She says this sometimes happens and that the medications will be running in at a slower rate. We will be here longer that the 4-5 hours we were initially told. We saw sooo many people with cancer today. The chemo room is just that...one big room and all the chemo patients sit side by side in recliners while the nurses adjust rates, draw blood, flush ports and start IV's. There are no secrets in this room. "Let us know if you have blood in your urine" tells a nurse to a bald big eyed woman. She nods and says she will. Quietly she vomits into a plastic bag much like an airplane barf bag and then cleans herself up. There is a man who looks robust and healthy hooked up to an IV of some type of chemo. He tells me he is an experiment. There is no cure for what he has. He just takes treatments until he croaks or... is cured. His daughter just had her first baby last night. Another woman twists and turns and moves her legs restlessly while her medication runs in. Her husband and 2 older children visit quietly in Spanish while her youngest boy, about 4, plays with plastic animals and leaps them across bedside tables and across the arm of the recliner. He grins and gives his mama a kiss on the cheek when she opens her weary eyes. Her bright bandana slips and she tugs it back in place. A 6 year old boy leaps into the room, sidles up to the bowl of hard candies, shovels many into his gap toothed mouth and proceeds to leave. The nurse shouts, "Hey...where do you think you're going?" and then he grins, caught in the act, sits in the chair and gets his cancer fighting drug infusion. He looks and acts like any other 6 year old except he is bald and has an infusaport implanted beneath his skin. One lady is as white as a bedsheet. Transparent almost. Her husband and daughter pretend they are enthralled with the beautiful pictures in a big coffee table book about Nebraska but in reality they are just looking away, at anything anywhere else but the sickness of their loved one. It is quite something this disease.

Really, It's MARKS gift...Not Mine...REALLY!

Mark's Christmas present arrived today. Beer of the Month Club! Yah Baybe! I rapidly tore open the package as he "was busy" up front at the store and I was in the back of the store pacing around the box and too impatient to wait. hee hee hee I LOVE IT! The first featured microbeers are from ABITA BREWEREY from Abita springs, Louisiana and the FLYING DOG BREWERY out of Denver Colorado. The well padded box contained...in no particular order...TURBODOG BROWN ALE, CHRISTMAS ALE, OLD SCRATCH AMBER LAGER (GOLD SCRATCH) and SNAKE DOG I.P.A. good god how could anyone RESIST such tempting names as these? Shenry...have you been to the Flying Dog Brewery? If not...you must go. The beer labels are hilarious and probably worth the trip anyway. They all feature a type of dog in mid turbodog throes with tongue hanging out as if to say...must have beer...must have beer....must have beer...and who hasn't really felt that way?? and often...for that matter. Mark had to go back to work...so...I...must...wait...to open...HIS...present...gasp...cough cough cough...must have beer...must have beer...must have...gasp...BEER! do I sound desparate? SO WHAT! Join me??

Nice

Okay, I was just thumbing through the channels during a commercial break on a show about EB (Epidermolysis Bulosa...that's a disease where skin doesn't stick to your body) and I saw one of my old favs was on...Born Without A Face...but it too was having a commercial break. Guess what the commercial was for? A Home Kit for Micro Dermabrasion. god

Happy Christmas from the McCurdy's

In lieu of a card...ta daa you get an e-mail. In short...a cliff note on each of us. Mark...busy as a one armed paper hanger best describes this man as most of the waking hours are devoted to scheduling work around attending sporting and school related events. Luckily he has a good harem of pharmacy workers to fill in when necessary. He's also done a lot of Medicare speeches throughout every little town, village and street block that wants him to. Hobbies are taking a backseat lately...unless you call the above...a hobby. Sheryl...making coffee, tea and swirlies by the gallon keeps this chick busy...as well as attending sports and school events. There is always something to do at the shop or at home or at school or at ... you get the picture. Katie...busier than the busiest one armed paper hanger says it all. Katie is in volleyball, basketball, one act, speech, FCCLA, Cheerleader, Swing Choir, Band and yadda yadda yadda ya. When she's not busy with any of those things she is cruising with her buds and when she isn't busy with that...she just LOVES to help me out by working at the shop. Andrew...Junior high years...sigh...just the best don't you agree?? Andrew is participating in football, basketball and track. He is in FPS and Quiz bowl for extra activities. He even managed to squeeze in a girl friend (for a week or two) much to our surprise....aghhhhhh! He has a crew he hangs with and boy oh boy I can't wait until they start to drive! wheeeeee Alec...Yet another busy body. Alec is in 6th grade and aren't they the kings of the school yard now. He is busy with FPS, Quiz bowl, being the high school boy's basketball manager, playing 6th grade basketball and is involved in the Sing Around Nebraska program. We are excitedly awaiting his entrance into the pre teen years...actually we are teetering on the edge if ya know what I mean. Oh Boy! Petie our dog and Pickles the cat still remain active members of our home. Petie's favorite hobby is sneaking into the cat litter and strewing about special sculptures for us to find. Pickles enjoys only food and sleep. I envy her. In other news my dad has been diagnosed with lung cancer. He starts chemo and radiation therapy on Tuesday. We've been dealing with this since Thanksgiving and so it feels good to be starting something. Much time will be spent on the road as he is to receive his treatments in Kearney which is 1 and 1/2 hours away. The radiation is Monday through Friday for 33 does and his Chemo every 3 weeks for 6 doses. They are not thinking they would be able to do surgery at this time. My mom is doing okay but it is a difficult time for her and all of us. I'm sure it brings up some memories for you all as well. Anyway, we miss you and wish we could see you soon but it seems impossible with all that is going on and will be going on this winter. Until we do...e-mail will have to suffice. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year The McCurdy Clan

Christmas Tidings

It's almost Christmas. Though, not cold winter mitten time that I long for. No need for sleds or long johns now...the Chinook wind is blowing tonight...the snow is still melting atop our deck. dripping dripping dripping yet. Ugly brown and naked branches are showing. ack...I h a t e the ugliness of this time of year. Am I ready for Christmas? Perhaps. Gifts are not my priority this year...maybe tomorrow they will be. I wrapped and be-ribboned the few packages I had hidden in the trunk of my car. We will have soup and sandwiches at my house tomorrow...Mom, Dad and the McCurdy 5! Then on Christmas day we will go to Mom and Dads...for prime rib and other goodies. Already the kids are tired and bored with Christmas vacation. Only... 12 days more to go!! How many chores can I create? I also wanted to thank those who have supported and encouraged me during this time of uncertainty with my Dads cancer. Thank you all...you are my support group.

I'm In The Mood . . .

Powered by Castpost ...the epitome of... me! Perhaps my epitah should read this entire song.

Look Ma No Hands

The day turned out differently than I expected. No gloom and doom. No waving of the finger saying, "You idiot, why did you smoke!", or "You get what you deserve when you smoke." No such comments were made at all. No life expectancies were brought up. No talk of death or dying...nothing except talk of living with cancer and the treatment of cancer. The office smelled of new carpet and paint,was calmly decorated and relaxing. The chemo room itself was beautiful and the nurses, the ones we met anyway, were very nice. The oncologist is almost an exact replica of Mark's older sister, Teresa (she's the one who is going to be opening a coffee shop in Iowa). It was very bizarre to see and hear her. She was easy to visit with, open, friendly, and Dad liked her. The main reason he liked her is that when he mentioned cigs the Dr. did not freak out. She said, matter of factually, "The damage is done, if smoking helps you to cope, is something that you feel you must do, than do it". My dad instantly thought he would send her a Christmas card, invite her to lunch, buy her a gift... We go back to Kearney on Thursday for an introduction to the radiologist and perhaps a simulation of his treatment. We start next Wednesday with his chemo regime...again...in Kearney. The two meds he gets will be given per infusion, but no port will be placed! They will just start an IV each time. He will receive chemo every 3 weeks for 6 doses and radiation every day (Monday through Friday) for 6 weeks. Dr. Lewis does not travel closer to Cambridge and we will have to make the 1 1/2 hour trip there and then 1 1/2 hours back Monday through Friday. The longest days will be his chemo days when the meds take around 4-5 hours to infuse. I think we will have helpers when I can't go or mom can't go. Surgery did not appear to be an option. Dad did not mind that. He preferred this route. It feels good to be starting something. So, let the roller coaster begin.

Tomorrow It Will Begin

My mom told me that she told my dad, "People don't die from cancer...they die from not eating!" Therefore she justifies the 3 squares and 3 snacks a day plus 3 glasses of liquids per meal and a daily vitamin smoothie that appear magically in front of dad at every strike of the clock. I thought to myself...By God I'm not going to die skinny! I might die...but I'll be buried in a piano case! I saw the PET and bone scan reports today. No mets. Really. We must be thankful for small victories. Still there is cancer. Still cancer is deadly. But it felt like such a relief that the cancer was not all through the body as I earlier suspected. It sure felt different going and telling mom and dad that, so far anyway, according to the recent tests, the cancer is confined to the lung. Still we will probably be doing chemo, radiation and perhaps surgery. Funny how your priorities change. First the word cancer sent us into a downward spiral. Now we hear "no mets" and that sends us into positive orbit even though we know there is still cancer to deal with. Mom is running around, wrapping presents, getting out more decorations. Dad is animated. He got out and drove around in his pickup today. Went to his old haunts. Tomorrow we go back to Kearney. It won't be roses I know that. We will probably hear about life expectancies and chemo and mortality and radiation and nausea and vomiting and minor surgery for insertion of a port and God knows what else. I'm glad though, to see mom and dad less anxious. That's worth a great deal to me.

Yes My Dad Smoked But...

What About All The Other People Who Live(d) Beside And Around That Area of Town? Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in the West, its greatest anamoly being that it is primarily self-inflicted: over 80% of lung cancers are caused by smoking; next is residential radon, a by-product of naturally-occurring breakdown of radium, which comes from decaying uranium. (hmmmm....uranium...where have I heard that before???? Oh YAH...IT'S IN OUR WATER THAT'S WHERE I HEARD IT!!!! ) One in fifteen homes has been calculated to have ambient radon levels exceeding safe levels. Lastly, comes work-related carcinogens - again, self-infliction. Self inflicted...kind of like saying I'm Thirsty, My Body Needs Fluids...I'M GOING TO DRINK THE WATER HERE EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!!

The Back of the Neck

Some days I don't feel quite so bad about Dad's cancer...for a moment. And then, I remember how thin his shoulders looked when I helped him put his shirt on, or I see the back of his neck as we were driving up to Kearney for his bone scan and I feel so very very bad. I remeber seeing that little patch of neck skin and feeling so goddamn helpless. Just that tiny bit of skin exposed to the elements. Unprotected. So much like riding a rocket that's out of control. Actually this feels like having a baby...it's coming and there is nothing you can fucking do to stop it. It's not under your control anymore. The strangest things double me over. Like seeing Dads hands drumming along his knee as we were heading up to Kearney...I wonder...is he thinking...this is it...I'm going to die soon...my day's are numbered...will I suffer...how much pain will I have...is this my last Christmas...I can't hardly take it. I think of holiday music and warm homes and everybody getting together for their family meals, I think of Christmas Eve and how we always go to Mom and Dads for soup and and I wonder what we are going to be doing then. Getting a subclavian for Dad's chemo to start? Taking radiation? Both? Worse? I don't want Tuesday to come. I don't know if I can take it. Every day that passes by and we don't go to the Dr. or talk about going to the Dr. makes it seem less like we are dealing with cancer. Seems we are just biding time until...something bad happens. Tuesday will be the start of...something. The results of the scan I'm afraid will be devastating. Mom want to postpone the appointment until after Christmas. I don't know what to do right now. except cry

National Player of the Year

Christina Houghtelling Cambridge is proud of you!

Bath & Beer O' Clock

I found myself pacing pacing pacing tonight and for some reason I wanted to go jogging. However, the thought of feeling my fat gut bulging and swaying in the breeze not to mention the slap of a couple of jugs in the face made me reconsider. I walked and left the running up to my nose. Tomorrow we take Dad up to Kearney for a bone scan. Today we had the PET scan. Next Tuesday, we go up and talk to the oncologist who will tell us if the cancer can be treated with chemo, radiation, surgery or... nothing. I fear the worst. Merry Fucking Christmas. Jingle Fucking Bells. Deck the Fucking Halls. In other news: I recently found out that the Bike Ride Across Nebraska(BRAN) ride will be coming to Cambridge next year. On Day three the riders will be camping here! Jo Jo Dancing Bear is still alive and kicking although after her latest bout of illness I had my doubts. She was sputtering and spewing, pale blue and laughing at...of all things...my Christmas Stick Tree the last time she was at my house. I saw her today at Duckballs where she was picking up a discounted egg peeler... a perfect holiday gift for that special someone...(??) Hopefully not me. Petie has a new name. Yes, it's Petie Rat BasTurdburgler. When we got home from Kearney, I hurridly threw down the few presents I have gotten around to buying on the "piano room" floor and tried to wrap them as I had a spare hour. As I knelt down on the floor I noticed a lovely dried litter encrusted cat turd staring up at me as sweetly as a dried litter encrusted cat turd can stare. I knew something wasn't right. Yes, I was that sharp. Petie was standing at the open door with a shit eating grin on his face. When I narrowed my right eye and lifted my lip in disgust, he slunk down and fell on his back like he'd been harpooned. That RAT BASTURDBURGLER!

Weary

When you find yourself delivering very good, hot Colombian coffee (from a reputable coffee shop) and Xanax to your parents home and wishing you had a vat of whiskey as well you know things are going downhill. One minute you may find yourself making homemade apple fritters, the next...telling your Dad that the Dr called and he has non small cell squamous cancer of the lung. You may find yourself setting up PET scans and bone scans and buying groceries for your folks. You may find yourself crying when you least suspect it. You might wonder how you can smile and wish anyone happy holidays when your own are tainted by the appearance of those bastard cancer cells. We are now in the process of staging. You can't know how awful it was to take the phone call from the Dr in the early evening hours, decide to wait overnight to talk to your folks so they won't have a sleepless night, go in the morning and see them turn to you with fearful eyes and then say "Dad, it's cancer". I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Define Better

We wait for reports and I feel myself growing older and grayer. It's only been 2 days, yet it feels like eternity. My Mom and Dad are hibernating in their home. Locking themselves inside a protective bubble. Forgetting everything the Dr. already told them, they are waiting for a miracle. I am so not ready for this thing to get rolling. Let them remain in hiding I want to scream! I imagine I will call the Dr's office in Lincoln tomorrow or early early Monday and ask them for results, explain that I would like to know before they dial up my folks. Somehow, I don't know if they will tell me anything. HIPPA violations are something to behold. I dread for Mom or Dad to answer the phone and take in the news like sponges...only to deflate, curl up inside themselves and implode. I'm expecting the worst. My stomach is in knots. My Mom is in some kind of world I cannot fathom. It's almost unbearable. I find myself feeling guilty if I forget for a second that my Dad is sick, my Mom floundering. What I could have should have need to do is flogging me with every breathe. I wish I could do anything to make things better. Sitting In Limbo Posted by dashblog on 2005-12-10 22:15:12 PDT | Permalink Filename: john_cruz_sitting_in_limbo.mp3 | Tags: by John Cruz

Today I Forecast...Nap

Chinook wind like weather...almost feels like Spring. Who knew 30 degrees could feel tropical? I wanted to open the windows up and air out the house. But instead of doing dishes, laundry, etc...I think I will take a nap and then go to basketball games.

We Are Home

Got back from Lincoln around 5 pm today. Dad had his, as he called it, scopealottome, or otherwise known, bronchoscopy and biopsies this morning. Mark asked him if he also got an addadicktome while he was at it. boys Dad tolerated the procedure well. Better than us in fact. Me, Mom and Mark sat in the waiting room and waited. Waiting sucks bad. The Dr. talked to us, showed us pictures of the bronchial airways (right side perfect...left side...not)...the good news(which I don't think there was)...the bad news(probably cancer)...and now we await the biopsy results. Early next week. We will know for certain sure what we are dealing with and then we can plan what to do or not to do. I'm so tired right now. I can't imagine how my Mom is feeling let alone my Dad. This SUCKS in a big big big way.

Tests and More Tests

One day down. We got here(Lincoln) last night, checked into a motel, slept zero, got ready, had a massive breakfast, and then, went to Bryan Medical Plaza. There we met Dr. Johnson, pulmonologist. Dad's x-ray looked worse today then when he got out of the hospital 2 weeks ago. More fluid around the base of the left lung. The lower left lobe was not expanding at all. Probable cause...cancer. No surprise there really but to hear the Dr say it out loud was almost a relief. At least it was out in the open. Dr. Johnson also said that the haziness could be caused by a severe pneumonia. He gave us that glimmer of hope. He isn't abrupt and cold. I mean even if there is 1 chance in a zillion it is just a severe pneumonia it's nice to hear that there "is a chance". I like him. He is a non threatening and non judgmental Dr...so far. We found out he grew up around Alma. He knows some of the Cambridge folks too. That was kind of a neat plus. Dad was then scheduled for a pulmonary function test and after that and an arterial blood gas draw, he had a thoracentesis done. This is when a needle is passed between 2 ribs and into the space between the lung and the rib and fluid is drawn off. In dads case...2 liters of beer looking fluid. Dad teased Dr. Johnson and said his distillery had been found out. His lung did not immediately expand after the fluid was drawn out. It might yet, or not. We don't know yet. Tomorrow, we go into Bryan at 5:30 am and dad will have a bronchoscopy done. There Dr. Johnson will take biopsies. Then, we go home. We will have the results of the biopsies early next week. Once we receive those we will form our plan of action or non action. Right now, we don't know for certain sure what we are dealing with. Mom is doing okay...as good as she can. Dad seems good. He doesn't say too much. I almost felt like he was relieved that the word cancer was out in the open. I don't know. It's been a day. If the weather doesn't get a lot worse (been snowing off and on all day) and dad tolerates the scope, we will be home tomorrow late afternoon. Thank God for Mark. He has been toting us all everywhere, getting our rooms, getting baggage here and there. This trip would have been HELL without him!!

Leaving Today

Due to the weather we are leaving today. That means we won't see the kids' Christmas programs (silver lining?) ha ha ha. I am sad though, because I hate to miss anything the kids are in. I soaked Dad's feet and trimmed his nails last night...slowly slowly slowly...cuz that's my way and Mom veered in with a sidecutter and practically wedged off a toe. Good Lord! No wonder I love gore, sores and weeping pustules! It was born right in me! Cindy Sue called me late afternoon, from Kearney, from the mall, to inform me SHE'S SNOWED IN AT THE MALL!!! OMG! Call 911! The stores will never be the same! I think she and her mom were going to buy sleeping bags and camp out in Herbergers or something like that. What A Terrible Tragedy!! Snowed in at the MALL!!

Husker Volleyball and other stuff

Academic All American ...that's our girl! If you haven't been keeping up with Nebraska volleyball (and WHY NOT!!) then you wouldn't know about Christina, who hails from our sweet town of Cambridge. Regionals are Dec 9-10 and should be awesome. I hope we are all home and watching on our own TV set not in a Lincoln hospital bed. Dad is quite the Husker fan...he always watches, listens to the games. It would be cool to take him to a game one day. Dad looks good, says he feels good, is not coughing, is eating and NOT SMOKING!! The not smoking part is amazing. It's probably good I chew my fingernails cause if I didn't, I would probably be a smoking machine like Dad was. Dad is quiet, Mom is exhausted and this wait is almost unbearable. I dread what is coming yet, we need to know and take some type of action. We may leave tomorrow, depending on the weather. Wednesday at 11:30 is the appointment. Other news, I made raspberry walnut cream cheese biscotti tipped with holiday almond bark last night. yah me baking...and no fire. They don't taste half bad either. Today, I spent in a flurry of activities trying to organize my leaving for a few days. The shop is in good hands, but there are all kind of bizarre things I need to do to leave. Well, gotta put an order in for goodies so more later.

Bar None

At the basketball game last night, at the "away gym", I saw a small boy, with his head stuck through a grill or "barred" area at the end of the court. It kind of looked like one of those black wrought iron fence type things. I thought it looked as if this kids head was actually stuck between two of the bars. He wasn't screaming or cyanotic so I thought, hmmmm...maybe he isn't...but then again...maybe his is and I raised up in my seat and started to go toward him. Soon afterward, before I got there, he pulled his head out and wandered off to torture his own parents. Head intact. It brought back memories. My own son, Andrew, got his big melon stuck through a chair seat one time...no not recently thank God. He must have been 3 or 4. Mark and I were laughing so hard it was difficult to get a good picture...but we managed. Now if only I could find and post it!!

A Week of Feng Shui

One week we go to Lincoln. One long week of waiting. It's hard, very hard. You know what you will probably hear and you don't want to hear it but maybe hearing it will ease some of the strain. Actually, it will probably just put the strain somewhere else. Funny, this afternoon I thought, I'm going to put up my Christmas decorations. I'd come to the conclusion...We should be living life one day at a time and we should enjoy what we have together...now...and now meant decorating for Christmas. I called Mom and we talked about that and she felt the same. I had a moment of relief. Then, tonight, I felt like shit...bawly and morose again. I just feel so damn sad and I hope and pray that if we hear bad news, that Dad won't have to go through a bunch of painful medical procedures. I just dread that. I just can't hardly stand the thought of it in fact. I may have to rearrange my furniture again. I do that when I'm nervous. Feng Shui Furniture Therapy I guess. Maybe I could start a Feng Shui Furniture Moving Group. We could meet at each others homes, wearing kimonos and thick canvas work gloves. Our steel toed boots would protect us from any injuries we might possibly receive from taking oak buffet tables from one corner of the room to the other. Baby Grand Pianos wouldn't slow us down either. In other news, I picked up several branches that blew down from our "blizzard", stuffed them into "Petie's Pickle Crock", threw lights on them, our Christmas decorations and taaa daaaaaa....our Christmas Tree!! RedNeck Style...except I haven't hung any beer bottles on the ends...yet.