Good Results

These are my sister Pam's hands holding one of her favorite household members, Toothpaste the Bunny.  Today we heard Pam's pathology reports came back negative, they got it all.  Hooray, hooray!  I am so grateful.  She's had her first radiation treatment and is on the path to being able to gather up the threads of her life and move on.  Toothpaste has approved this message.

Crab boat "Gail Force" moored at Tokeland, Washington Coast

This picture was taken a few years back during a trip to the Washington coast, it's dated 11/27 the same as yesterday 11/27/12, the day of my sister Pam's breast cancer surgery.  I am attracted to these little coincidences, crabs being the sign for cancer and all.  Crabbing is a dangerous business, I look this boat up every now and then and see they are still afloat and running.  I always wonder who is Gail?  I visualize our sister riding out her surgery and radiation in a symbolic boat like this, a nice sturdy little ship stocked up with all the right gear, a skilled captain at the helm. 

Pam ended up staying in hospital all night drugged up for pain and being watched over.  She came home midday today and is trying to rest up while they wait for the path reports to come in and say they got it all.  She will have five days of radiation delivered by balloon catheter beginning Friday or maybe as early as Thursday.  Then begins the work of recovering from the surprise and shock of all of this, as well as the wounds, us too.  It was caught early and treated quickly.  It turned out to be stage 0, non-invasive cancer.  So lucky. I truly resent the news articles on the study that says mammograms are overused.   Do they think women should have to wait until something terrible happens?

I was also thinking about how this changes her life down the road, it's bound to be in the back of her mind forever.   I suppose it reminds all four of us that the possibility is there.  My youngest sister just scheduled a mammogram for the first time in some years.  We all get to go in and report our sister got breast cancer instead of scratching in a n/a on the blank.  What I hope is that as time goes by Pam won't have this hanging over her like Joe Btfsplk's cloud from the little Abner cartoons.  I will just keep thinking about the Gail Force conquering the rowdy seas to bring home a good catch and returning safe to port.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

 

If you made an amalgam of my two grandmothers' homes and their big dinners it might have looked something like this in the 40's or 50's.  No suit on my grandpa though or anyone else actually.  I'm feeling nostalgic.  Mom's pies, cream cheese and nut filled celery sticks, I even miss the jellied cranberry sauce right out of the can.  I made a chocolate marble cheesecake that I used to make years ago all the time but had sort of forgotten about.  It turned out just right.  Fortunately the will be lots of us so no one will go into a coma eating too much of it.  I am grateful for those past Thanksgivings with family and friends.  I'm grateful my family gatherings were and are so peaceful, we're not a quarrelsome bunch.  I'm grateful that the current ones are filled with more family and friends even though the lineup has changed.  The rain has let up and the sun is actually out.  I wish many blessings on you all today.

Waiting

Family picnic with sister Pam, myself, and cousin Sam.

 

Friday our sister Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Friday was a day of disbelief, anger, helplessness, Saturday was kind of a numb day, Sunday the crying started.  Then speculation, hope. practical matters and today she and her hubbie go to see the oncologist with their long list of questions.  I expect these feelings will keep cycling through.

 

Meanwhile she waits, we wait.  She and we with her are stunned, fearful, pragmatic, making lists, trying to figure out what help means.  She and I talk on the phone sitting at our computers looking up information and trading various links by email, talking, mostly talking.  I live about 230 miles away from her, close enough to drive but seeming like a 1,000 when you want to run over and hug her.  And I am trying to plan out how to be there for her for the long haul.  For now I'm in the middle of a hacking cold and don't dare share those bugs with her.  Fortunately our two other sisters are close by.  Soon I'll be there even if I have to keep my distance for a bit. 

 

Any prayers you might think to offer up for her would be great. 

A good home for Thor

 

Thor at home.

 

From my son David - "This is Thor. He really needs a new home. That home needs to be out in the country somewhere that he can roam a bit, and ideally have some critters he can look after (he does NOT chase/harm birds, and is a livestock guardian). He is an Akbash, and is 4. He is struggling now that we are in town. He really needs a job. Not a house pet. Not ideal for first time dog owners (at some point you will have to assert yourself as boss, he will yield, but he will test to find out who is in charge. He is sweet, does like to lay at my feet, but again...he not a "normal" dog.

Shots are current, and I would deliver. I'll miss my boy but he needs a safer place to roam (I fear an impending car/dog incident is coming)."

Thor has been a good farm dog, watched over the livestock and the kids.  Living in town is not his forte, if he could sigh I think he would.  I'm sure he's wondering what the heck happened to the fields and critters.  You can contact David by calling 509-301-6207 or by emailing him at dalan.farm@gmail.com.  Thanks. 

 

Retirement Home?

In 1954 my family moved into Portland, Oregon where I started my freshman year of high school. We often traveled over the Ross Island Bridge passing by the Johan Poulsen House.  It was built in 1892 just to the south east of the present bridge.  It had a twin on the north side that was ingloriously leveled that same year to make way for an on ramp to the bridge.  Those two houses fascinated me. A fantasy hatched in my mind how it would be a great place for my two sisters and I to live in some distant time in the future when we might be old ladies together.  After our fourth sister was born, 20 years younger than myself, she was included too.  I found this picture of the Poulsen house on several web pages and am not sure who should be credited for it.

 

 

It seems funny to think of myself at 13 planning my dotage.  Thoughts of husbands and children never occurred to me at that age.   When I go to visit my sisters who still live in the area I usually drive over the Ross Island Bridge to see this home and imagine the four of us hanging out on the turret porch perhaps watching fireworks over the Willamette River on the 4th of July.  That second floor has several bedrooms, and so does the top floor.  Lots of room for creative people.  Someone purchased it, got it on the historic register and cares for it.  I thank them.  Actually Portland is one of the few places that signs of my childhood still abound. 

 

Now I think that house looks like a lot of work, who would sweep and polish all those lovely wood floors?  Or wash all those lovely windows.  Not me.  But I still love to see it, and since its my imagination, I will imagine it in some greener, less road surrounded place of Portland.  I think this year I will imagine us having Christmas there, with all the husbands, offspring, and grandkids. 

 

I saw that the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland, had a Heritage Home Tour in July of this year that I missed which included the Poulsen House, rats. I will have to keep better track, I'd love to see the inside of this place.

An Extra Hour

Just in time.  While recovering from a cold and getting used to the sun rising later, I've been rising later.  The extra hour will be what I need to get my mornings back out of rush mode.  It takes me longer and longer to get myself together in the morning.  I've been making any appointments later in the morning.  My father warned me about how self-maintenance become more time consuming.  I didn't believe him, he'd always been semi-unconcious in the AM.  O' Daddy dear, you were right.

This weekend is battery changing time as well.  All those clocks and watches, your glucose meters, or blood pressure cuffs, installing a new smoke alarm for me.  I'm refreshing my battery supply in case of power failures to run my camp lantern and flashlights.  We are luckier here in SE Washington, mother nature's nasty surprises are usually limited.  No hurricanes or tornadoes or tsunamis, a flooded street corner or the the wind taking down the occasional power line or tree, or in my case the back fence last year.  I'm grateful.

Okay enough, I sound like somebody's mother, of course I do.

Hope your Halloween was good. Mine was.  I spent a pleasant evening with my son's family at my daughter-in-law's mother's house.  Nice soup, fruit, and muffin dinner.  The small ones did their trick or treating and then our 17 month old grandson elected himself the candy hander-outer.  He was perplexed as to why the visitors didn't reciprocate with their bags of goodies but he is good natured and got on with his fun.

The jerks are the day after folks.  Someone has tossed a bomb like object up into a tree in one of our residential neighborhoods.  It's hanging from a tree by about two feet of something, beeping, and has a red flashing led light.  A resident called it in about two hours or so ago and the police have the street(s) blockaded.  They instructed everyone to stay inside and rerouted all the school kids returning home.  After inspection and consulting with the utility companies to see if it was something that had fallen they called the bomb squad.  No small thing, the nearest one is in Yakima over two hours away so we wait. I am fortunate that it is away from me, and 3-4 blocks from my son's family.  I  am sad and concerned for the people sitting in their homes there wondering what the heck will happen.  I can't help thinking it could be a stunt by some JERK, but its not the kind of thing that can be ignored.  Lots of Facebook conversation about what has happened to our quiet little town.  Long day for our police and neighbors.