Can you say cupcakes?

My friend Duchess Linda of Norwich-Upon-Thames Facebook messaged me last night (do any of us use a real telephone any more?) and asked me to accompany her in search of cupcakes and tea today.


Sounds like a plan!

The sun is shining and it's unseasonably mild. We're lucking out weather-wise.

Details to follow...

The ups and downs of daily newspapering

So...two days ago I interviewed a 91-year old World War II veteran. He served in Alaska in 1942-43 in what has been called "The Forgotten War," and in Ie Shima, an island off of Okinawa, after that.
I thought he was going to tell me about his war experiences, but he told me so much more. He has had an interesting life, and I hope the article I wrote (that has not yet been published) does him justice.    
 
Yesterday I covered the sentencing of a man who drove drunk and struck a local police officer, who was a Vietnam veteran and beloved member of the force, as he was directing traffic. The officer died several days later from his injuries.
A dozen of his fellow police officers showed up in the courtroom to witness the sentencing. It was an extremely sad story and not the kind I normally cover.


Today I made up for dealing with a story about such a tragedy by writing about an 85th birthday party. It was an open house for a wonderful woman who used to run a downtown luncheonette.
People from all walks of life turned out to honor her. I quickly learned she was beloved by many, many people who got to know her over the 19 years she ran the restaurant.


It was wonderful to see all the love being bestowed on her from family and friends. Although she had no children of her own, she treated the young people who used to frequent her place after school as her own kids, the now-middle-aged partygoers told me.
"When Millie yelled, you listened," one woman recalled fondly.

Today I also interviewed a woman who grew up on a farm. She has opened an old-style general store that sells antiques and will carry only Connecticut-made and Connecticut-grown foods, from ice cream, maple syrup and organic bread to fresh produce in season.
She will be serving light meals on weekends and live music will also be performed there on occasion. It's a lovely spot and I'm sure she will succeed in her new venture. I plan to return there soon with Ralph. Sounds like fun.

So that's my world as of now...thanks for reading. 

Happy, happy

It's a new year and soon to be a new me.

I found out yesterday that the chemo port can be removed! My collar bone area will be back to normal, except for a scar. 

The minor surgery is scheduled for next Thursday! Yay! 

And no, I won't post a photo of the port. It isn't pretty. 


 That's all I got for now.


{Thanks for reading my online cancer journey journal.}

So I already broke a resolution

Not good.
I actually broke several. I resolved to post every day, get organized, read more books, and more.

Yesterday wasn't the day for any of the above.

Who came up with this (silly) resolution stuff anyhow? I know it wasn't kitty cats.

When I stress about anything all I have to do is turn around and peek at Linus. Pet therapy is the best.

 

New Year's Resolutions ~ do people still make them?

I have a few...but I didn't put them down on paper like I once did.

This year's resolutions are remarkably similar to those of previous years. They go something like this: 

1) get organized
2) exercise more

3) keep up with blog friends

4) post daily on my blog

5) read more books

6) write that book (It's going to be fiction based on fact)

7) take more photos

That's about it for now. If more come into my brain I'll do another post. haha

I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

New family activity...

Touching my soft, new hair that is growing back. It's fun, it's easy and it only takes a few seconds.

And it's bringing us together as a family. What's better than that? 

Tea-rific surprise

Thought I'd make a holiday wreath out of the multicolored envelopes of herbal tea Duchess Linda of Norwich Upon Thames sent me.

We were chatting one day on Facebook about caffeine-free herbal tea and she kindly sent me some samples. I haven't had any in a while, preferring to stick to my regular caffeinated coffee or tea. ;-)  

Looking forward to trying the Vanilla Caramel, Cherry Vanilla and Perfect Peach, three flavors I've never had before.

We had a merry...hope you did too

Grandma didn't get run over by a reindeer so all is good.

So, now it's time to share a corny post-Christmas riddle. It's a groaner.

Q. Where does Santa put his red suit after Christmas?

A. In the Claus-et


Ho, Ho, Ho!

Ho, ho, repost!

Merry Christmas to all!

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Ho ho ho

Ralph took this photo last night after I was asleep. Santa was waving to him through the front window!
Quite the capture, if I do say so myself.

4 comments:

Empress Bee (of the High Sea) said...

oh good one ralph! ha ha ha merry christmas! smiles, bee xoxoxoxoxoxoox

December 25, 2008 9:15 AM

storyteller said...

Excellent ;--) Merry Christmas to both of you. Hugs and blessings,

December 25, 2008 11:42 AM

Dianne said...

Ralph knows ALL the famous people ;) have a wonderful day!

December 25, 2008 12:52 PM

Linda said...

Ah, that would be the perfect picture for Ruby Tuesday - too bad Christmas came on a Thursday this year or Ralph would have had the perfect shot!

December 26, 2008 12:49 PM

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Comeback time

As quickly as they disappeared from my face, they are now coming back. My eyebrows, that is.

And yesterday I suddenly noticed my eyelashes are starting to reappear.

Woo hoo times two!

I graduated yesterday ;-)

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ BLTN

That stands for Better Late Than Never!


I finally found a shadowy photo in my Linus archives. =^ . . ^=

See more shadow shots by visiting here.

Viral, I went

Posting this for any of my friends who didn't see that I went "viral" on Facebook last night. ;-)

Yes, I'm tooting my own horn here. (toot, toot)

I was surprised the story link that one of my editors posted got several shares and many comments.

Yesterday I wrote a story about my experience at a "Look Good...Feel Better" session Thursday night and sent it to my editor. He put it in today's paper.

"Look Good...Feel Better" is an American Cancer Society program for women undergoing cancer treatment. I had written about it five years ago, as an observer. This week I was a participant.

Here's the link

Thanks for reading! My online cancer journal continues.

A Christmas miracle ~ for moi anyway

I found out today I only need to have 25 radiation treatments instead of 35. Woo hoo!

And today's was number 24, which means on Monday I'm all done. 

Not that it adversely affected me; and not that I won't miss the four awesome radiation therapists I've gotten to know. 

They're all wonderful women who made me feel great about myself.

My radiation oncologist said the blood work and the skin in the affected area both look good. So again I say woo hoo!

In a few weeks I have an appointment to learn more about the next step: pills. 

~

This is yet another in my continuing cancer journey saga..thanks for reading! 

Ah ...

I just had my second (complimentary) Monday morning massage after radiation.

It felt so good! Relaxing for sure.

Looking forward to having this week off. 

What to do? What to do?

Oh, that's right I remember now: Christmas shopping, sending out (a few) cards and taking care of related Yuletide activities. ;-)

Happy Monday to all.

This 'n that at holiday time

Don't know what else to call the post I'm about to write.

I love writing and feel kinda icky when I don't get to it on a daily basis. 

But the work schedule has been hectic, and the energy has been (temporarily) diminished.

And there are those four (4!) farms I must tend. Insanity, I tell you. I like working on the new one, Winter Wonderland.   

Anyhow, yesterday I was brave and went to Tar-jay. It wasn't too crazy there. I got some things for our family's wacky Yankee Swap on Christmas Eve. A few years ago we gave up trying to buy for people and started the swap idea.

It really takes the pressure off! I just buy "unisex" items ~ can you say 'Ove Glove'? I brought one two years ago and it caused a few chuckles, so I got another one for this year.

I also bought a snow globe with Santa inside..it plays "Jolly Old St. Nicholas." 

And a Nutcracker ~ a throwback to the old days, when Ralph's parents collected them. I forgot to mention that our niece who is hosting the party has proclaimed a theme for the holiday fare this year. 

It's Retro. "Vintage Villers." 

Ralph is going to bring redskin peanuts, because their grandfather (Ralph the First) always brought them when he visited on Christmas. 

Our nephew is bringing potato chips and onion dip, I hear. Another fancy and festive item that they used to have on their holiday table.  ;-)  

Can't wait to see what other delectable foodstuff will be there. Sounds like a lot of fun. 

Shadow Shot Sunday

"Hey! Can't a cat get any privacy around here? I was trying to sleep." 

Not to worry, Linus forgave me. 

He knows who takes care of his every need.  =^. .^=

Join the fun each week and see lots more shadowy photos at Hey Harriet, hosted by our awesome Aussie friend Tracy.

19 treatments down...

Having radiation is easy, but it makes me tired. Wishing I could take a nap right about now.

In happy news, my hair continues to grow in a fluffy sort of way. Someday my tresses will return.

I'm not yet ready to post a photo, but soon I shall.


{Jotting these things down for my online cancer journey journal. Trying to keep a record of what is going on with me these days, for future reference.}

Happy Friday to all!

F is for Fatigue

Just returned from radiation treatment #17 ~ not that I'm counting.

It's all good but I am getting rather tired.

Since F is for Fatigue, I made up some words for the letters leading up to F in the alphabet. Woo hoo!

A is for Allegra, my helper these days.
B is for Breast.
C is for Cancer.
D is for Diagnosis.
E is for Exhausted.
F is for Fatigue. And this is where I'll stop...I don't want to whine. I can deal with fatigue.


And so ends my latest online breast cancer journey journal entry.

Thanks for reading!

Still doing OK with the radiation

I haven't been true to myself ~ I've not been blogging about my cancer journey on a daily basis.

If I don't write about it now, where will I get the info for that upcoming book? 

This week is flying along..between work and tending three farms, I've been quite busy.

Nothing new to report health-wise. This morning after treatment I'll probably see the doctor. 

She can check my "tan lines."

Oh, and my hair continues to grow...very s-l-o-w-l-y...

Happy December to all!

What's the rush?

All over the neighborhood I see nothing but Christmas decorations.

Ack! It's November, people. 
I really love Christmas, but this weekend I've been feeling like Scrooge. 

Bah Humbug!

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ getting into the holiday spirit

I'm not one for November Christmas trees, but yesterday Allegra and I toured the classic Osborne Homestead Museum in Derby, Ct., where I spied these shadows created by the morning sunshine. 
Each year local garden clubs decorate the home for the holidays. It opened for tours on Friday.


I wrote a story about it for the paper, which you can read here.

If you want to see lots of shadowy photos, visit our awesome Aussie friend Tracy, our hostess, at Hey Harriet.

Leftovers, anyone?

We finally sang 'Happy Birthday' to our guy

Work and Thanksgiving preparations got in the way Wednesday of having a birthday cake for Cameron. But we had the cake for dessert yesterday, instead of the pumpkin pie. 
I hope he had a good birthday! We're happy to have him home for a few days.


I go to radiation this morning after a day off yesterday. Then I'm heading out to do a story on the beautiful Osborne Homestead Museum in Derby, Ct.
Each year local garden clubs decorate the house for the holiday season. This year's theme is cinema, and a friend who is in a garden club told me that her group used The Grinch theme to decorate the childhood bedroom and bathroom, with a sleigh set up in the bathtub. 

Looking forward to the creativity!

I'm thankful for a lot on this Thanksgiving Day

Money makes the world go around, or at least the song from 'Cabaret' would have us believe that.

Call me crazy, but I prefer instead to believe love makes the world go 'round. Yup. Who's with me?

In the past four days I have gotten a lot of love: every day was another surprise. 

Hmm...I wonder what today will bring?

Over the weekend a cousin (who is a regular reader of my blog but doesn't comment) e-mailed me to tell me he had ordered two magazine subscriptions for me.

He was hoping I didn't already subscribe. Of course I don't! 

Who can afford magazines? Although a certain unnamed man in this house gets a couple that deal with cars. It's his therapy.

On Monday an artist friend gave me five Christmas ornaments he had made three years ago. They still have the price tags on them. ;-) 

My favorite is a lump that is black on one side to resemble coal with the word naughty painted on it and the other side is painted to look like a gold nugget, and it says nice.

On Tuesday a woman I've met through my job gave me a ceramic guardian angel to hang on the wall to watch over me.

And yesterday as I was leaving radiation one of the technicians wished me a Happy Thanksgiving and handed me a homemade apple pie. It's delicious! What a nice surprise!

And after that I covered a story and tried to interview four-year-olds. When I was ready to leave two of the girls asked their teacher if they could give hugs. So they hugged me around my knees. It was adorable.

'Tis better to give than receive but I must say being the recipient this week hasn't been bad at all! 

Yesterday was our Cameron's 21st birthday. We didn't sing Happy Birthday or have his cake, so we'll do that today after dinner, if we can stuff anything more into our stuffed selves. He understood I was busy with work and other things.

I do have a lot for which I'm thankful. I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Radiation: Days 6 & 7

I don't want to jinx myself here but the treatments continue to go along fine...no side effects yet.

That's something for which I am thankful, especially in this season of Thanksgiving.

Today our Cameron comes home for a long holiday weekend ~ yay! 

And tomorrow is his birthday ~ double yay! 
I wonder what kind of cake he would like?

Shadow Shot Sunday

November sunshine creates shadows on our Linus. Isn't he cute?

=^..^=

Join the Shadow Shot Sunday fun each week at our awesome Aussie friend Tracy's Hey Harriet blog.

Radiation: Day 5

And so I finished week one. That went by quickly. Yay!

Seems like I was just there last Friday to do a run-through  before starting treatment. Now it's a week later. Time is flying by.

And a week from today is the day after Thanksgiving. Yikes!

Guess it's about time I get organized...

{thanks for reading my online cancer journey journal!}

Day 4 and counting

This morning I had my fourth radiation treatment. 

I also saw the doctor, and she said my blood work from yesterday looked  fine. Yay!

She noticed my hair is growing back and told me I'll have a new 'do every week. Double yay! 
It's exciting to see my hair return.


{And so my online cancer journey journal continues..thanks for stopping by.}

Radiation: Day 3

Everyone is so friendly there I didn't want to leave! 

I needed a blood test so I saw my "old friends" in the other part of the building (chemo side) and it was like old home week. The doctor asked me if I missed him last week. I said I did, but I don't think he believed me! 

And a volunteer gave me a fresh-baked chocolate chip cookie. It was still warm.

Woo hoo!

Now on to Wednesday stuff..

{My online cancer journey journal continues..thanks for reading!}

Radiation: Day 2

It went fine; thanks for asking.   ;-)

Soon I'll be leaving for treatment #3.

Radiation: Day 1

That was easy.

Bonus points: So what is that white thing above the Easy Button next to the mouse?

Answer: Linus' paw. That was easy.

Bizzy days

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to radiation we go ...

It starts today and will continue for the next seven weeks. 

Life has been a bit busy lately...we got home at 10 p.m. yesterday from Ralph's co-worker's wedding and this morning I'm fixin' to head to my first radiation treatment.

Here's Ralph enjoying himself at the wedding. I had a tough time getting a good photo ~ I blame it on the soft lighting. This was the best one I captured.

Before we went to the wedding we visited our docent daughter working at an open house at the David Humphreys House. 

The annual open house features samples of Thanksgiving fare - turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread, squash pie and more - prepared over an open hearth in the historic house. 

Here's a link to a post I wrote about the event three years ago! I would have guessed I had written it last year. Time sure does fly.  

Allegra surprised us yesterday when she told us she had made the tasty pumpkin soup.

My favorite is the squash pie. Our friend Christine who always makes the squash pies says she follows a pumpkin pie recipe and simply substitutes butternut squash, because it's sweeter than the pumpkin.

Yum!

That's about it from here. Off to get ready to be radiated.  

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ pix from a fun jaunt with a friend

Today I'm using more shadowy photos from a foliage trip I took in early October with my friend and chauffeur, Linda, through Connecticut, Massachusetts and into southern Vermont.

It wasn't easy finding autumn colors, but we did find some interesting places to photograph along the way!

This is an Episcopal church "somewhere" in western Massachusetts. I'm not sure what town we were in at the time.

We both liked the shadows created by the noonday sun.

 

 See lots more shadow shots from around the world at our awesome Aussie friend Tracy's Hey Harriet blog! 

Happy Veterans Day ~ 11/11/11

I'm heading to a Veterans Day ceremony this morning.

I'll see many of the veterans I've met through my newspaper work, and I'll remember several veterans I've known who have passed away in recent years.

Today is a perfect day to say thank you to all who served our country or who are serving now. Let them know you appreciate them!

My online cancer journey journal continues...

It's almost 5 p.m. 

I'm tired and I've caught a cold (boo hoo) but I'm still planning to attend a support group meeting that starts at 6.

I always enjoy my time with the ladies. Our group, Circle of Friends, meets every other Thursday but in two weeks we won't meet, because it will be Thanksgiving already. (gasp!)

I can't believe how fast November got here and how fast the month is flying by us. It has been one of my crazier years, it's safe to say.

Tomorrow I go for a dry run of sorts for my radiation treatments, which start Monday morning. 

Thanks for reading!

'Everything looks good'

That's what I wanted to hear on the phone yesterday regarding my mammogram results. 
And that's what I heard.

I'll get a letter in the mail confirming the good news. Yay!

Now on to radiation. I don't yet know when it will start.


(And so continues my online breast cancer journey journal..thanks for reading.)

I'm all about medical appointments these days

I had a mammogram yesterday before I start radiation.

Dare I make a joke and say the screening only took half as long as it used to take? Or would that be unbecoming of me?

Anyhow, I waited all afternoon for the results but no phone call. So today I wait again.

{My online cancer journey journal continues..thanks for reading!}

Shadow Shot Sunday ~ historic

Four weeks ago my friend Linda picked me up on a sunny Saturday to seek some autumn foliage in Connecticut. 

Of course we were armed with our cameras and were ready to capture colorful leaves and trees for posterity (or at least for our blogs!)

We didn't see much color in Connecticut, so Linda kept driving over the border into Massachusetts. Still not much color for Oct. 8 in New England. It was disappointing.

She saw that Bennington, Vt. was a mere 38 miles further north, so north we headed. I'm so good at being a passenger!  

Here are five of many photos I took in Bennington that have shadows in them.

The fall foliage was at about 10 percent there. You'd think Vermont would be colorful in October...not really. Maybe it's because we were in southern Vermont.

I did find shadows in the historic cemetery adjacent to the First Congregational Church of Bennington. 

Robert Frost is buried there, and we weren't the only ones walking down the path through the graveyard to see his gravestone. 

There were arrows pointing the way to the Frost family's site, and there were lots of folks there when we were, thanks to lots of tour buses in the area.  

The fence below was in front of the cemetery, along the sidewalk. I was able to get a photo without cars and tour buses in it! Woo hoo!

I thought it was pretty and so typical New England. Notice the green leaves on the trees.

And here's Linda photographing The Walloomsac Inn, directly across the street from the church.

It was once a grand hotel, but now it seems like a perfect place for someone to set up a scary Halloween house. It looks kinda haunted!

I read that someone lives there, but I have my doubts. Who'd want to live there?

I urge you to visit our awesome Aussie friend Tracy at her Hey Harriet blog to discover lots of shadowy shots! 

If I glow, it won't be from the radiation

I went to see the radiation oncologist yesterday for a consultation. She explained everything that will be happening with the upcoming radiation treatments and it didn't sound bad at all.

She said it's easier to take than chemo. I feel fortunate to have gotten through five months of that with nothing more than tiredness.  

I also had an unexpected CT scan. That wasn't on my agenda!

It turned out fine, but when I first saw the scanner (don't know correct name of it) I flashed back to my MRI experience in February when I freaked out. 

At that time Ralph had to bring me back another day with a medication inside me to get through the claustrophic feelings I was experiencing.

So now I wait to find out when I start the five-days a week radiation treatment. The nurse assured me I wouldn't be radioactive. So apparently I won't be glowing.

I don't mean to sound flip about any of these important procedures. I simply want to keep my sense of humor about all of this.  :D

{And so my online cancer journey journal doth continue ~ thanks for reading!}