new blog

I've been on Facebook for over six months, maybe close to a year, and only in the past several months have I started seeing people I know, or more accurately, used to know. People from as far back as elementary school are showing up there. Unfortunately, strange memories are coming to my mind along with some of these people (mostly high school related).

I was asked by a friend from this former life whata kind of art I was doing. This question is always a stumper for me, so I decided to start an art blog. I've linked it over in the corner of this one (my diaper site closed down, which is okay). I don't have much there yet, but it gives me a place to put things.

Vacation!

Thanks to my niece Kim, we had a good excuse to take a proper vacation this year. Kim and her husband Mark had their wedding in beautiful Hatteras, NC. Clare, Steven & I arrived a week early and had a much needed and very relaxing time in the sand and surf.


This is the house we rented with some of my siblings. For the first three days we had the place to ourselves. It was a strange feeling, the three of us rattling around in a five bedroom, six bath house. It was certainly a luxurious place to us, with pool, hot tub, huge tv, all of which we barely used since the weather was perfect and we were on the beach and in the ocean most of the time. I'm grateful for the accomodations, and yet I'd have been perfectly happy with much less.


The house in the center of this photo is where the wedding was held. This four story house makes the one we stayed in look like a shack! It was a great place for a party, and I'm glad it had an elevator, considering I'd just finished my sixth round of chemo and was a bit weak. This house was completely destroyed by a hurricane just 5 years ago. Apparently, the revenue from renting it out was enough motivation to rebuild, on this narrow strip of sand where houses aren't meant to be.

The newlyweds, Kim & Mark


Most of my family (two nephews weren't able to come)

Cape Hatteras lighthouse - Steven & Clare climbed the 270 or so steps to the top. I stayed on the ground.

Our first evening there, Clare was totally captivated by the ocean, and by the shore birds.

Clare hadn't been to an ocean in three years. We were fortunate to have great weather all week, and the ocean was still warm. Being south of the cape, where the island turns back southeast, the surf is very gentle in Hatteras. Steven and I both got some swimming in, and we took Clare out past the breakers where the waves would lift us off our feet and set us down again, much to Clare's delight. I have very strong childhood memories of beach vacations (usually in MD and DE) and I was happy to get to share the experience with Steven (whose beach has always been California) and Clare.

Clare hanging out with my eldest brother Mike and his wife Janna

The wedding was simple and elegant and beautiful

Clare made a friend and they played all week!

My youngest brother Greg and his daughter Lily

Clare had a great time learning new dance moves from the best man.

I know we never would have taken this trip if it hadn't been for Kim's wedding. It would have seemed too far (six hours of flying, followed by four hours of driving) too expensive (thankfully, my parents helped with airfare, and sharing the house with three other families made a huge difference). We are all really glad we went and will cherish the memories forever.

Omnivore’s Hundred

I saw this on Sylvia's blog and it looked like fun...

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating (I couldn't figure out how to "cross out", so I did my "nevers" in red).
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp - I think gefilte fish is made from carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari - love it!
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich - plenty of jelly please!
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes - though it's been so long I can't remember what it was
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes - Cherokee Purple and Pineapple are faves
22. Fresh wild berries -
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters - best when raw, though I think they'd be too polluted now.
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float - Yum!
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (not on purpose)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu (pufferfish)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50.Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV - Had a homebrew that was probably this high
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis - I would try this
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost - would love to try this
75. Roadkill - yes, I would, especially if I saw it get killed.
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab -though I prefer picking blue crab meat
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano - I've grown poblanos, but never had them as a mole
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

If I only had a brain!

I'm not remembering stuff.
Steven told me he had at 11:00 appt on Tuesday. I think he must not have told me anything beyond that, as he often doesn't elaborate, and I feel like if he'd said more it might have stuck in my brain. But I did not remember at all - not even after the fact, like, "oh yeah, now I remember you saying that". I've asked him, when that comes up again, to write it down or say something like, "which means I'll be taking Clare to Bubbie's early". Because when I was waiting for someone to help me at the hospital I was thinking that Clare had only been at her grandparents' since noon or so, instead of 10:30. No wonder they looked like they were ready for me when I picked her up! They generally have a 3-hour limit before they get impatient, and I'd thought Clare had only been there for an hour & a half.

Just now I was picking up toys and came across a penguin toy that I didn't recognize. Clare said it came in an egg, and I just barely remember, but not really. Was it from the egg hunt or did we buy it at the thrift store? I'm leaning towards the latter, but it's really not clear.
Surely, it doesn't matter where a toy came from, but other stuff I'm going to have to start jotting notes. I wonder if there's any tips online for memory loss.

It's no wonder I'm having such a hard time figuring out the details for my projects, things like how to put together the platform for her bed, do I want it to be larger than the mattress or to just fit, can the headboard attach to the wall or does it have to attach to the bed... and, oh yeah, I better make a list for the fabric store so I can look for some dark blue velvet and some star buttons for that headboard (because in a store is when my memory loss is the most pronounced!).

Thank God for my ruby slippers! I'm going to need all the help I can get to find my way back to normal after all this chemo. ~~~there's no place like home...there's no place like home~~~

Eating locally!

a rare "Purple Peruvian" potato

Beef, swiss chard and white & purple potatoes

Clare enjoying the meal

My friend Beth brought me some purple potatoes from her garden, which were really yummy, and I was inspired to dig some from my own potato patch. The result? This weekend we enjoyed a delicious, locally grown meal. The pasture-raised beef came from Ironwood Farm, and the potatoes & chard were brought in from our own garden. We felt so blessed to be able to eat so well and so locally.

RAIN!!!

Well, this is what I get for saying we never get rain! About one hour after my post mentioning our lack of rain, we got dumped on - 1.75" in about 1/2 hour!! The next day we got 1/2" more.

The pictures above are actually from last summer. Do you see the "dent" in the rainbow in the top photo?

4 out of 5!

I just completed chemo Round Four out of the five that I am getting. One more round (another month) and I get a CT scan & MRI to see what effect it has had on the tumors in my breast & liver. The scan I had in early June after just 2 rounds showed amazing shrinkage, so I am cautiously optimistic. Dr Royce, my oncologist, said that if the liver tumor is but a speck on the MRI I may be able to get surgery. Woo-hoo!


The treatment is beginning to take a toll on me though. I am awake tonight at 2:30 am because of what the chemo is doing to my digestive system. My tummy is ever gurgling and sounds like a ripe melon when I thump it. Eating is always a gamble these days.

I am really looking forward to being done with the chemo and working on regaining my health. I want to cleanse my liver of the chemo & other accumulated toxins, work on helping my body be better able to get rid of rogue cancer cells that will pop up. I'm learning so much these days! (always seems to happen just when I think I know almost everything... go figure!)