BFF's

When I hear youngsters refer to their BFF's, I wonder if they really know what that means. I've got BFF's--and we've all been friends for over 50 years. We haven't been close for all that time, but we've known each other was there and that if we needed one another, we were there. For as much more time as God gives me, I will not forget my friend Kris walking into my hospital room last year. She was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. And my friend Roz--here we are in our 60's and either one of us can call the other and start a conversation in the middle and know what we're talking about. Those are Best Friends Forever. I've got newer BFF's, all of whom I treasure. The Girl Scout song is right, one is silver and the other gold.
I've been in the dumps these last few weeks. Nothing specific, just weepy at inappropriate times. I had chemo on Tuesday. The orc wars belonged to last year's chemo--this year's isn't bad, it's just there. This was new chemo number nine and there is no end in sight. I suppose I should just suck it up and get on with things. Like Monty Python's Fred, I'm not dead yet. I'm not sure I feel like doing a Highland Fling, but there we are.
Anyway, here's to my BFF's. Thank you for being out there where I can touch you electronically. Thank you for the years of memories. Thank you for Mabel and her flawed diamond. Thank you for being unique. Friends are the slubs in the fabric of your life. I love you all, all the time.
xxooxx

The Joys of Nature

When I moved to San Bruno, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, we didn't have squirrels or crows. Sometime over the last 37 years, they have moved in. They are nor a welcome neighbor. the squirrels are just pests who run along the utility wires and scare the poop out of me when I'm sitting here at the computer with my glasses off--all I see is some fuzzy streak. The crows are just noisy. They seem to have replaced the pigeons who lived here before we did. I've been a gun control advocate all my life--well, since my mother said we couldn't have the Annie Oakley little girl's gun set--but I really do wish I had a bazooka handy when the crows start up.
Sweet, retiring, and gentle. That's me.
xxooxx

Momentary Loss of Mind

People who know and love me love many things about me. Housekeeping isn't one of them. Just don't come if you are allergic to dust. I have a collection of it. I no longer have dust bunnies, they are dust rhinos and there is no danger of extinction for them. So it will come as a great surprise to many, myself included, that I just got out the vacuum cleaner and sucked up pounds of dust in the hall. I'm proud of the few cubic inches I cleared out. The effort exhausted me. Maybe I'll add that to my "to do" list--vacuum 1 square foot per day. Maybe not. In any case, the vacuum cleaner is now digesting my few minutes work. I haven't put it away, just in case the spirit overcomes me again and I want to suck some more dust. There's lots left.
That was today's excitement
xxooxx

The latest word

Here we are with the latest CT scan info. Most everything is unremarkable. the para-aortic lymph node is actually a little bigger--15 x 18 mm as opposed to 9 x910 mm from the last scan. My doctor didn't seem overly concerned about it. So we'll do two more chemos and repeat the scan. Next chemo is already set for a week from tomorrow. I'm doing well, looking good, which is all that matters. Some stray pains, but nothing to get excited about. So in the immortal words of Fred from Spamalot, "I'm not dead yet!"
xxooxx

Social Butterfly

Oh, the excitement of it! I've been pretty stuck in the mud lately--let's face it, when you have Facebook you really don't need any other life. How many hours are there in a day? Facebook can fill them. But lately, I've been doing real things.

Yesterday afternoon, as I was trying to decide whether I felt good enough to drive 40 minutes to have an early dinner with friends, there was a knock on the door. It wasn't the raven, he taps on windows. It was my daughter and her SO, popping in for a surprise visit! What a treat. First thing I did was yank her into the computer room to show her a picture of her that had been posted on, you guessed it, Facebook. So here I am, sharing it with you. I think she was 17 or 18 there. It must have been somebody's installation, after she was Honored Queen. So thank you, Daphne (the one who posted it) for bringing back those days. We had a nice little visit. I have instructions to call her tomorrow and let her know the results of Tuesday's CAT scan. They stayed just long enough so that I could leave for the dinner and only be a few minutes late. That sealed it. Off I went to Los Altos for a really fun dinner with Eastern Star friends. I hadn't seen many of the people there in months. I've been a little remiss about posting e-mail updates, what with this vehicle that people can check or not, depending on how they feel. It's good to let people know that I'm still around and looking good, even if I don't always feel it.

Most of them went off to a reception--I knew I couldn't handle that--besides, it was Third Saturday, and that means Open Mic Night at church. We had a small but congenial crowd. The entertainment was good and the food was better--and I was home before nine. I must live in a really safe neighborhood, because when I got home the garage door was wide open--in my haste to get to Los Altos, I may not have waited to check that it closed. Oops. Anyway, nothing is missing. Of course, any burglar in his/her right mind, on seeing the interior of my house, would think that someone else had gotten there first and trashed it. Stuff safe.

Today I had church, then a Worship Committee meeting after church. The meeting was made all the more pleasant by a band of pain around my upper abdomen. It is something that comes and goes. When it comes, it stays for half an hour to an hour and I just want to die right there on the spot, then it goes away, leaving me exhausted. There is simply no way to get comfortable and nothing really makes it better. i sort of squirmed around in my seat and tried to stay focused. It wasn't easy.

After the meeting, I had about an hour to regroup, then it was off to an Eastern Star Tea, seeing more friends that I haven't seen in months, and assuring them all that I'm still kicking--a little more difficult post-pain. I ate myself stupid on lovely little cookies and had tea in a delicate cup. A good, if really warm, time was had be all. When I'd grazed sufficiently, I came home where I could finally take something strong for the pain and get out of my heels.

Now I'm back at the computer, playing my silly games and updating you. And yes, I will let you all know the results of the latest CAT scan.

xxooxx

The Joy of Pack Ratting

I know I have a problem with stuff. Everyone who has ever been to my house knows I have a problem with stuff. But sometimes stuff is really cool. I saw some papers sticking out--said to myself "I wonder whose obituary that is," because that is about all I save from the newspapers anymore. Sure enough, one page with two obits--New York drama critic Walter Kerr and violinist Gail Denny Schwarzbart. Of course I didn't cut out the part of the paper with the date. Gail's younger sister was two years older than I. Our Junior High orchestra conductor always held her up as an example to us--concert mistress of the Willard Jr. High orchestra, the Berkeley High School Concert Orchestra, the University of California orchestra--everyone in the violin section wanted to be Gail. Gail died at 55 in October 1996 (thank you, Google). OK, that was interesting. I also found a Pillsbury Bake-Off winner from Feb 1996 for a Macadamia Fudge torte--won by a man from Redwood City that I don't know, but the cake sounded good--I haven't made it yet. I was going to throw that away, but I looked at the recipe again and it looks good--so maybe not yet. Also mildly interesting.
The coolest thing I found in that pile today was the hospital bill from when I was born! I knew I had it somewhere just wasn't sure where. 4 days in the hospital at $12.00 per day, $48.00/ Gas and Oxygen-Local-Spinal $3.00, Delivery room, $30.00, Baby Necklace $1.00, Clinical Laboratory $1.50, Pharmacy #2.92, Surcharge, $.20 for a grand total of $86.62. My mother paid $85.00 cash for me and she got the dollar back for the baby necklace. I wonder if the hospital still wants the 62 cents balance. Nah--they stamped it paid July 20, 1947. Now, is that cool, or what? My children can throw it out in the future. I'm not letting that go. Maybe I'll frame it.
xxooxx

Two Years Ago Today

Two years ago today, I lost my Lee. This picture was taken on St. Patrick's Day of that year, at the Ceili at our church. It was just after Hospice fired him as too well for their services. I'm not sure if it was carrying in the loads of firewood or changing the oil on his truck. He still had a few good months left, and we made the most of them. We went to England and France, and we went to Yosemite so that he could say good by to people and places. I like to remember him this way, with a big old smile on his face, just happy with the world around him. I still think I miss him the most at breakfast. We had such a routine down. I think of him with the little chores that he used to do every day.

So Happy Birthday in Heaven, Mr. Lee. I expect you are keeping them on their toes there. Please don't sing "Kingdom Coming" to the heavenly choirs. I love you.

xxooxx

The last little bit of the trip

I think I have some energy back to tackle the last of the trip pictures. Monday afternoon, which I guess was two weeks ago now, after lunch in the Castle Pantry, we were off for our second scary ride. Monica wanted to take the gondola ride up Sulpher Mountain, so that's what we did. Lee and I took it in 78, only to land in a snow storm. We met some big horn sheep, and hot chocolate, and rode down the mountain, only to look up and see that the cloud that snowed on us went someplace else. I don't like little baskets that are suspended on a string, but anything to make the memories rich for Monica. $29.00 Canadian each to scare my socks off. It was another adventure in "Please, God, let me live long enough to die of cancer."
This is a view of the Bow Valley from the top. Our hotel is in the foreground and the town of Banff is to the left.

Here's another one, showing the hotel, the golf course, and the Bow River, working its way through the valley and one of the Bow Valley going on forever.

Then there's one coming down the mountain showing the skinny little threads that got us there and back.

I took a picture of where we went just to prove to myself that I'd lived through it.

In my job as tour guide, here is Mt. Rundel and some other assorted scenery.

Here we have a little of the landscaping around the hotel.

That night, we had dinner in the Wald Haus. It was the golf clubhouse the first time Lee and I went to Banff. It has been replaced with something grander, so it became a restaurant. It is down a long flight of stairs from the hotel. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get there--enough time that we went on down to take the obligatory picture of the Bow Falls and the Bow River.

Here's a shot of the weather vane on top of the Wald Haus--taken after dinner at nine something at night.

Tuesday was Spa Day--no pictures, but glorious. Monica just wanted a facial, so that's what she got. I was sort of restricted in what I could have, because of the chemo and my skin's reaction to it. I managed a Body Quench, something called Feet First, and a Tranquillow facial, which is a back facial followed by a face facial. All of it was wonderful. We had dinner at the Castello, which is the hotel's Italian restaurant, then watched Finding Nemo.

Wednesday was get away day, which--at least when you're at a Spa with me--starts with a pedicure and a manicure and a good long rest in the lounge to let them all dry. Once we were sure it was save, we packed up and left for our return to city life and Calgary. Calgary was the best hotel room--I used a suite upgrade and we had a full suite--bedroom and living room, and a bathroom for each of us. Each hotel honored my birthday fortnight in its own special way. I only got a picture of the one in the suite in Calgary.

It was strange to be back in the city after two weeks in the parks. We hadn't had to deal with traffic or traffic noises either. Our last day was something Monica had been looking forward to--not because it was the last day, but because it was THE MALL and shopping. I thought she could visit plenty of malls at home, but I guess I just didn't get it. We'd taken a walk after dinner the night before, to get the lay of the land were we were. I could tell that just wasn't going to cut it. So I took the advice of people who knew the city better than I, and took Monica to the Chinook Mall. I couldn't have scored a better hit. We shopped. "We" (read that Grandma most of the time) bought perfume, make up, nail polish, earrings, and the show stopper, a Juicy Couture pink purse. Then we went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Life just couldn't get any better.

Friday brought us home, back to the land of reality. I don't know quite what to do with myself, because I have NO major trip planned. It is the first time in years that I haven't been planning something. Guess I'll have to fix that soon.

So I really am back to reality. I had chemo last week. I saw my primary care today--she'd still tweaking my meds. She also told me that my beloved Dr. Kubin died while I was gone. I googled him when I got back to the house and read the obituary. He died the day after my birthday, one week short of his 76th birthday. I feel blessed to have had him in my life and taking care of me, even though it was only for a short time.

So that's it, that's my latest real journey. I'm almost unpacked and merrily going through the souvenirs. I want to go again. And I would happily go with the same companion.

xxooxx