Our Thanksgiving Day

I"m so happy we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving early. It meant I had all day Saturday to cook. How relaxing!  Who knew?

I'm casting my vote right now--the Thanksgiving holiday from now on needs to include Wednesday so we can all cook at our leisure and enjoy it instead of spending our Wednesday at work then entering our kitchens like rabid ferrets on a mission!

 

On the menu:

• roast turkey with gravy, 
• cranberry sauce, 
• yams and green beans, 
• deviled eggs, olives, and pickles, 
• homemade bread with decorative butter pats, 
• sparkling apple and apple-pomegranate cider, 
• pecan pie and warm-from-the-oven apple pie.  

I love the tradition of bringing out serving utensils that have been handed down through the family, using recipes from Fresno Thanksgivings, silver from our wedding, and goblets from my grandma's holiday table.  It just makes the day more special as it links us with happy memories from our past.

I had never realized until this year that my guys are Mayflower descendents.  They have the genes passed on by those brave and hardy souls who somehow survived that first year in the New World and flourished.

Let the leftovers commence!

R&B

R&B?  It could be Rhythm and Blues. 

Not that we're blue about anything right now.  Except for the intense blue of the summer sky.  And can I just say that a summer (relatively) free of doctors or labs or appointments was extremely nice?  Normal is good!

The clinic at Stanford was efficient, well-organized, pleasant, and reassuring.  Their directions were great and we found it with plenty of time to spare.  Check-in was a breeze.  The staff is friendly and helpful.  The doctors were thorough and reassuring.  Our Stanford doc is also a researcher and is expert at what's working, what's new, what's in the FDA-approval pipeline now, and what's going to be tomorrow.  If you have to have cancer, then you want to have an expert watching your back.

The lymphoma specialists meet and discuss the patients they'll see that day and formulate a treatment plan (if the exam shows nothing unexpected).  So since the RCVP didn't work on the type of NHL as hoped, they had a new recommendation for us--R-B.  It's the abbreviation of the next kind of chemo---Rituxan and Bendamustine.  It's supposed to be extremely effective and has very low side-effects.  Sign us up!  (Easy for me to say since I'm not the one having poison pumped into my system.)

We don't have to travel to Stanford for treatment since it can easily be administered here in Reno with our regular oncologist.  But Stanford is available if we have any questions or concerns. 

And the chemo starts next week.  We'll be getting used to the new protocol.  Every four weeks instead of three.  Two successive days of chemo instead of one long day.  The timing is good as the pain index is inching up a bit.

Let's hope the next CT (in two months) shows a vast improvement.  If not, then Stanford has a Plan C up their lab-coat sleeve.  It's nice to have backup for the backup but I'm hoping it's not needed.

The side benefits of our Stanford trip were getting a good visit with his family while we stayed in the Bay Area and getting to watch E play in a soccer tournament that just coincidentally happened to be in the area on the same weekend.

Baby Album

Photos from our trip to visit with the newest grand-daughter.

Her nursery.

 

Hot pink everywhere!

Three generations.

 

She obviously gets her beautiful dark hair from Mom's side!  We're wondering what color her eyes will be.  I'm thinking brown, but some of her cousins have blue eyes so we'll see.

The best big sister in the whole wide world.

 

And an official teenager now.

Somebody's almost ready to smile.

 

I've only been away for two days and I already miss holding her.

Napping contentedly in Grandad's arms.

 

Mom and Dad and Baby.  And Wilson, the volleyball.

 

None of us ever tired of looking at her.  Didn't matter whether she was awake or asleep.

Catching some shuteye on Dad's lap.

 

Good thing that there's a webcam on order for her long-distance grandparents.

Joe Blow and the Quarter Century

Somebody had a birthday! We celebrated with a dinner at Grammy's house--Erkie-Pie requested her special lamb and potatoes. Yum!
He asked for a bike pump--it's called Joe Blow. I thought it was a cute name although I still couldn't ever remember the brand when I tried to tell Grammy what he wanted. It fits both kinds of bike stems and has an attachment for blowing up rafts and tubes. It's so heavy duty that it'll last forever.


Shopping was easy because he posted a wish list on Amazon--ideas galore. This scale will not only tell him how much he weighs, but also how much body fat he has and if he's well-hydrated. I'm afraid to step on it--ignorance is bliss when it comes to my percent body fat. His smile says he's gonna get me on it anyway. Evil child.

Of course, he asked for some science fiction and fantasy books too. Poor guy, it's in his genes and he can't help it. (He's even named after a sci fi character.) There's no escape.

Memories of birthday parties with watermelons, cakes with little trains, special presents, birthday cash. Seems like just yesterday he went out this door on his way to kindergarten. How'd he ever get so big so quickly?!

Just Great

I was thinking about the new little guy and reminiscing about how cute his mom was when she was little. And then it hit me--I'm a Great-Aunt! Then it occurred to me that I'm a Great-Aunt four times over.

Boy, am I slow! My apologies to all my great-nephews for my very tardy brain.

Newbie

We have a new family member as of yesterday morning! We're pretty excited--but after the three days of contractions needed to push out her 9 lb. 4 oz son I'm sure our niece is ecstatic as well as exhausted. Ouch!

Equally momentous, somebody became The Big Brother. That's an important job for a four-and-a-half year old but Jay will do it beautifully!

On our family birthdays the Queen Mother always tells us about our birth day--I get to hear about the fog, my sister gets to hear about her red rash and I'm sure my brother has a yearly story as well.

This little guy will get to hear about how Big Brother Jay cut the umbilical cord with Dad, Gramma and Grampa all in attendance. How different is that from the "old days" when fathers-to-be paced the waiting room alone!?!

Welcome, little fisherman! May you always catch your limit. And if you get tired of the ocean, we have some nice mountains and a big lake here for you to explore.

Golden

A post that's not about Mongolia, imagine that!

I admit Oregon is somewhat less remote, but it has better food. There are trade-offs in life and it was strawberry season (yum!) when the Queen Mother and I were there to help the birthday girl celebrate her special day.

Birthday Girl activities included

• the obligatory parade of presents throughout the day
• making a wish when blowing out her candles
• reading birthday cards from friends and family
• picking strawberries (we ate as many as we picked)
• visiting Hughes Water Gardens (fabulous plants, incredible waterlilies, huge koi)
• strolling the International Rose Test Gardens (filled the memory card on my digital with all my favorites)
• and dinner at Macaroni Grill to end a splendiferous day.

Did you know tropical water lilies come in blues and purples?

We also snuck in a trip to Fort Clatsop (conveniently located close to my dear SIL and BIL) on Tigger's first day of summer vacation. We had sun the entire day and Tigger got to try out his throwing arm on Calvin who will retrieve his tennis ball till H-E-double toothpicks freezes over.

Throw in some yardwork and visits to the local nurseries, lots of yummy food and perfect company...what more could we have asked?!

Memories

Memorial Day family visits are becoming a tradition. It's fun to relive old memories and then make new ones together.Every bed in the Queen Mother's house was filled and a couple of sleeping bags rolled out in odd corners. The table was full at every meal and she even Used-The-Dining-Room and the world didn't come to an early demise as a result. (Just kidding, Mom.) Visiting with one of your bridesmaids is pretty cool too, after what, sixty years?!

We're lucky to have family that thoughtfully brought lots of cherries with them. We're blessed with some family genealogists who regale us with stories none of us knew before (and we're hoping they write some of them out for those of us with faulty memories. Hint, hint).

We're lucky to have family that we're happy to see come and sad to see go away.

Missing Out

The Queen Mother is missing a few colorful events in her garden while she is being enchanted by Pierre's garden instead.

Siberian iris in bloom: I'm totally jealous because I gave her these divisions and hers are blooming while mine are sulking.



Dame's Rocket: Grow just one of these in your yard and presto! you'll have a hundred the next year. Don't say I didn't warn her. They are awesome each spring.


Azalea: It made the trek from California with her and has survived three winters, not only that but it obviously blooms its fool head off! Fortunately it'll still be glorious when she comes home--'cause this is one she would really regret missing.

Before I Was A Mom

Happy Mother's Day to All of Us! Whether your heart's desire is a new dress and a fancy brunch or levis and a load of manure, I hope you enjoy your special day. We do our best for our families because we love them and don't ask for thanks, but it's nice to get a little recognition once a year. Here is a poem that struck a chord with me:

Before I was a Mom

• I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
• I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
• I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom

• I had never been puked on.
• Pooped on.
• Chewed on.
• Peed on.
• I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
• I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom

• I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
• Or give shots.
• I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
• I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
• I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom

• I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
• I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
• I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
• I never knew that I could love someone so much.
• I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom

• I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
• I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
• I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
• I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom

• I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every ten minutes to make sure all was okay.
• I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
• I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

I LOVE BEING A MOM!

In Love

Where to take out-of-town family who've been to Virginia City, Tahoe, the Donner Memorial and the car museum? The mustang adoption center in Palomino Valley! We all enjoyed it tremendously and here is one little reason why..

and another...

The wild horses are gorgeous creatures one and all, yet the little fillies and colts definitely stole the show. It left our visitors all asking how you could possibly choose just one!

LA eNVy part 2

Spring in L.A. How well I remember it: marine layer every morning (which means it's grey until 11 or 1 o'clock) and then the sun shines nicely. Of course, down there you put a heavy jacket on if it's fifty degrees. Because that's a whole thirty degrees cooler than those extremely hot summer days.

Spring in Nevada now. Well, up here it's about how many seasons can you pack into a very short period of time.

The weekend was fabulous. Low eighties, blue sky, stars at night. Nice. It's kinda like The Screenwriter brought the weather with him. But he flew out on Sunday.

Then Monday arrived and so did the winds. Instead of the temps being in the 80s, the wind gusts were. So instead of our backyard looking like this:

It looked like this: What can I say? We had plans to replace several of the 4x4 posts this weekend. We did not have plans to crush our ten year old wisteria in the process. Kharma loved it--she thinks we enlarged the yard especially for her. Fortunately our neighbor is a dog person.

Ah, but that was yesterday. Today we woke up to find:

Yes, snow. Followed quickly by an earthquake at 8 a.m. Followed by an entire day of jittery little jolts. They are predicting seventy degrees for tomorrow.

You just can't get bored by Nevada weather.

Hydrology

Sort of.

The rocks on Grammy's pond waterfall have shifted over the past two winters and were in need of an overhaul. Erkie-pie moved all the heavy rocks for me and I took advantage of a brief spell of warm weather and began rebuilding the waterfall. We went for a longer drop this time with a smooth veil of water. The new rivulet has a nice deep sound as it hits the pond.

***

But then I look back on this picture of the old waterfall engineered by Pierre two years ago. It looks so natural as it fans out on the rocks, splashing and tumbling on the way down. I wonder if I really improved on the original?

Photo Safari

They aren't exactly camera-shy. They're more non-cooperative than shy. Here we are at the Rio Grande Zoo. Do you think I could get them to turn my way for just one family photo op? Not when there was a good excuse like the darling baby chimp right in front of them. I can't compete with that level of cuteness. Instead I have this photo of four anonymous humans who may or may not be part of my family. Hmmm...those buns do look a little familiar.

***

Occasionally they will humor me, but getting a good photo of them is still a challenge. They're looking at the camera, they're posing, they're actually smiling (which I attribute entirely to the fact that they know we'll be waving goodbye in five more minutes). Now if I could just get everyone to keep their eyes open at the same time--two out of three ain't bad. Let's count noses: Pierre, check; Leah, check; Romeo, check; Deni...uh-oh, where's Deni? It's hard catch all four of them in the same place at the same time and willing to pose.

***

Of course, if you can trickflatter a little girl into thinking she's the Lion Queen...you might, just might, get one lucky shot.

St. Valentine's Day (or What I Love About My Family)

Happy Valentine's Day to all family, near and far!!!

Some things that I love about you:

I love that you understand I'm so organized that any birthday card that reaches you before your next birthday is actually ON TIME!

I love that you realize I have good intentions but my follow-through is pathetic.

I love that you no longer comment on my blonde hair.

I also love that you never comment on my weight. Oh, how I love that!

I love that you also have cars in your garage, in your driveway or on the curb that you no longer drive and/or no longer run.

I love that you frequently call Grammy to check up on her and keep her company.

I love that we keep in contact although we are far-flung.

I love that when it is An Occasion, you show up.

I love that you will drop everything if you are really needed.

I love your enthusiasm and the sound of your laughter.

I love that you not only tolerate but enjoy my dogs (present and past), even when they chew up your doors and escape from your yard and must go everywhere with us.

I love thinking about you; the thoughts are good ones.

I love sharing memories of swimming, The Ranch, cousins, holidays, pets, The Shop, sprinklers, weddings, various relative, cars, etc.

As they say, you choose your friends, but you get stuck with your family. Well, I'm got lucky when I was stuck with you!!