Midwestern Sojourn

My, but I do love the midwest. And I especially love Bloomington, Indiana.

My vacation last week was relaxing, blissful, fun, and just plain wonderful.

Part I: I flew into Indy on Saturday the 19th. My college friend, Janine, was gracious enough to put me in her guest room for the weekend. She and her charming family were going to a Seder (to which I was invited), but I went to dinner with Janine's college roommate, and my friend, Sue. The next day, we went on a fundraising walk for Best Buddies and then the three of us played around Indy. Sue and Janine made a wonderful quilt for me (pictured here) that has a cross-stitch of Maxwell Hall (from IU) in the center, and is surrounded by photos from our friendships, over the years.

On Monday, I drove down to Bloomington (a.k.a. B-town) and checked in at the Indiana Memorial Union. The campus was beautiful and I enjoyed walking around for a couple hours, revisiting some old haunts. My roommate, Melinda, drove up from St. Louis to play for a day or two, and it was wonderful to catch up on each other's lives. Here's a pic of Melinda, on a bridge over the "mighty Jordan River" that cuts through campus.

In Bloomington, I/we visited: our old dorm (where we managed to smuggle ourselves aboard an elevator, to get our pic taken in front of the door to our old room), the Arboretum, the aptly named HPER (Health, Phys Ed, and Recreation Building), the Art Museum, Beck Chapel, Myers Hall (the Bio building, where Melinda spent much of her undergrad career), Ballantine Hall (the liberal arts and humanities building where *I* spent most of my undergrad career), the Kiva Commons (where they had coffeehouse performances when we were students, but which now appears to be a pretty good sandwich/salad place), the Sugar and Spice bakery (where we rediscovered the joys of the peanut butter/Special K cookies), and so much more.

It's so satisfying to visit your alma mater and see it aging so gracefully. Whenever a change is made, it seems to be an improvement. The campus is in good hands and I look forward to future visits.

Part II: After three days in B-town, I hit the road for Chicago (and "enjoyed" the attention of an Indiana State Trooper along the way. Prone to a "leadfoot" on the gas pedal, I was being extraordinarily cautious on the road. What I didn't know, though, is that it is now a law in Indiana that one must move to the outside lane when passing a law enforcement vehicle that is stopped on the side of the road. Because I was ignorant of the law, the trooper "kindly" lowered my fine from $200 to $150. <sigh>)

Anyway. The weather in Chicago wasn't as perfect as it had been in Bloomington, but what a fun city. I got in on Thursday afternoon, checked in at the hotel, dropped off my car at the rental facility downtown, and then spent a lovely two hours or so at the Art Institute. My sisters got in around 9 p.m. and hijinks ensued. :-)

We visited the Navy Pier (where we videotaped a testimonial for Cottonelle toilet paper--look for us online at cottonelle.com in about three weeks), we took an architectural/historical boat tour,
we saw Blue Man Group and the Baton Lounge, we reminisced on the Northwestern campus with Lynn, and we walked and ate a LOT. (I still had indigestion when I landed in Oakland on Sunday.)

I always have a wonderful time with my sisters. I think we all feel so blessed to have each other and to enjoy each others' company so much. Three of us have kids (and one of us has a dog that is treated like her baby, but, ahem, enough about that), and we all work outside the home, so scheduling time together is a challenge. But it's so worth it.

Many thanks to Janine, Sue, Melinda, Lynn, Dawn, and Bonnie, for making time and travelling distances to play with me. And thanks to Frank and Maggie for being gracious about me being absent for so long. :-)

Maggie McKeown: Artist

Well, artist is just one of things Maggie is, of course. But Grandma Mary came to visit last week, during Spring Break, and taught Maggie some basic watercolor technique. (Grandma Mary paints and teaches in Ocala, FL.) Herewith, a sample of Maggie's work. I, too, took a lesson, but I didn't have quite the same natural proclivity as did Maggie. I did, however, paint a tree, an pear, and an apple, with great assistance from Grandma.

We had a lovely, but all too brief, visit with Grandma, and our house is full of watercolors, to prove it.

Tomorrow, I head off for my "Post-Chemo 2008 Tour". First, I'm visiting Indiana (Indianapolis and Bloomington) where I'll get to see three out of four of some of my dearest friends, and my alma mater (Indiana University). Then, on Thursday, I'm driving up to Chicago, where I'll get to play with all three of my sisters. This is kind of a big deal. We're all busy and I'm interrupting more than one of their lives right now, but they're good sisters and they're humoring me by making an appearance in a city that I love. I'm sure I'll have lots of pics to share upon my return, on April 27.

A Wonderful Weekend

I can't even believe it's already Thursday. Em's Spring Break is almost over, and it feels like it's barely even begun. We had a most fabulous weekend, bringing her home.

It started on Good Friday: I drove down to Santa Barbara, taking my time. I listened to Ragtime on tape, courtesy of Dennis and the SF Library, and stopped off at two missions on my way(Santa Ines and Soledad). It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

I checked in at the Ramada Inn (which is, thankfully, upgrading its rooms) and Em called me around 6 to say she was done with her last final (yay!). I picked up her and two stuffed duffel bags (girlfriend--how long are you going to be home?) and brought her back to the Ramada. We dressed and went to dinner at the Four Seasons. Di.Vine.

The next morning, after breakfast at Alfie's in Goleta/Isla Vista, we drove up to Cambria to rendezvous with Robert for the rest of the weekend's festivities. We all enjoyed a lovely lunch in the sun at the Indigo Moon and then headed over to San Simeon.

We went on tours two and five (evening tour) and had a fabulous, fabulous time. <sigh> Really. Wonderful.

After our two tours (preceded by a visit to the beach at San Simeon), we went to the Madonna Inn, in San Luis Obispo, for a picnic dinner in Emily's and my room, the Highway Suite.

The next morning, Easter Sunday, Robert, Emily, and I had breakfast at the Copper Cafe, and then Em and I hit the road. We were home by 1:30, well in time to enjoy an Easter Supper with Frank and Maggie, and also Jackie and Zaheer.

A lovely, lovely weekend.

Maggie: Pretty Bald Chick

Team Albany before:
















And Maggie at the end of her head-shaving:





















And Team Albany after:
















We are so proud of our bald daughter.

Who's Done?

I am.

T Minus Two

Just two radiation treatments left. I'm so very, very pleased. To celebrate the end of my morning radiation routine, I'm thinking I might force Frank to change our routine this Friday and have him take me and Maggie out for breakfast on Friday (Maggie has no school).

Speaking of Maggie, she is doing a great good thing and having her head shaved in support of the St. Baldricks fundraising event for childhood cancer research. You can see a pre-shave pic of her here. She's part of a team for her middle school, and they'll all get their heads shaved on St. Patrick's Day (next Monday). I'll post a pic of her new "look" after that.

Meanwhile, I am so looking forward to seeing Emily next Friday night. Her last final is at 4 p.m. that day (what a sadistic professor, to give a final mere minutes before Spring Break), and I've promised her a lovely dinner with her mother as a reward. The next day, we'll meet Robert in San Luis Obispo for our 24 hours of fun (San Simeon, Madonna Inn, mad hijinks...) Of course, I only realized this week that the Sunday is Easter. We typically have friends over for a feast on that day, but Em and I won't be rolling in to the Bay Area until about 2 p.m., so this year Easter will be a bit more lowkey than usual.

Give Me a Boost

Today was the first of seven "boost" radiation treatments. My routine (check-in, changing into a hospital gown, assuming the position on the bed in the radiation room) was the same, but they had added an attachment to the linear accelerator. The lead alloy plate they made for me was at the end of the attachment, and they lined it up with the drawing they made on my left breast over a week ago. They left the room and zapped me for 30 to 40 seconds and then, ta da! I was done.

As we near the end of it, I have to say this whole radiation regimen hasn't been too onerous, actually. But I am looking forward to just waking up in the morning, having breakfast with Frank and Maggie, getting dressed, and then going right into work. And that day will be next Friday, March 14. Yay!!!

And now, with the end in sight, I'm thinking I won't be needing to update this blog so regularly. During this ordeal, I've been trying to update the blog on a weekly basis, but after I finish radiation next week, there won't be much of anything to report. Well, other than how much I'm enjoying my family, friends, neighbors, job, etc.

In the next few months, I'll be taking some trips for fun and will have some follow-up visits for the breast cancer, and I'll be posting after those occurrences. So, if you have a burning desire to follow my life, you might want to check this site on a monthly basis, rather than weekly, after next week.

And to those of you who will be happy to move on, thank you for keeping me company during the past seven months. It's been so comforting--in the truest sense of the word--to know that people were thinking about me and caring about me. I continue to be enormously grateful to have the life that I have. It's a wonderful and wondrous thing.

Thank you.