They Came, They Hopped, We Closed the Doors

Art Hop was a great weekend of activity. The studio was bustling both Friday night and all day Saturday, and it was great to see people coming through. Paintings flew off the walls! Well, not literally, but there was a lot of movement.

On Friday, we also met with a urologist, who advised Carol that her kidney issue was no cause for surgery. Even though the surgery would have been outpatient and quite minimal, there was much rejoicing. Now she gets ready for her next cycle of treatment, which starts tomorrow. I can hear her in the kitchen, trying to get in some extra calories before she doesn't feel like eating for a few days.

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"Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell."

-- Ernest Hemingway

Every Hour of Light and Dark is a Miracle

If you think you've seen the title words to this post somewhere before, pat yourself on the back. You either have a great visual memory, or you're marvelously well read!

Carol has the quote sitting in her studio, inside Bren's "mailbox", from a show at the Flynndog a few years back. The quote is from Leaves of Grass, a copy of which now sits in our house, having made its way from Pop's house (remember, Rob?) almost thirty years ago, with a brief stop at the Weybridge church where we were married.

This past week, a CT scan revealed that Carol's condition hasn't changed very much. Through the light and dark of the scan, doctors discerned that there is a partial blockage in one of her kidneys, but this can be dealt with through outpatient surgery -- in in the morning, out in the afternoon. The timeline for that isn't set yet; she'll meet with a urologist later this week. Other than that, the CT showed that there has not been any spread from what the doctors already knew was there. Best news would be if things were shrinking, but stability isn't bad. And she feels good, which says a lot. I certainly couldn't have gone out and ran eleven miles yesterday.

The South End Art Hop is this coming weekend. Hope to see many of you coming through the rabbit warren of studios in our beloved South End Arts District.

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(click on the pages to make them more readable)

Healing Winds Vermont

Thanks to a great vision and the efforts of many hardworking volunteers, Healing Winds Vermont offers sailboat tours on Lake Champlain for individuals, as well as their families and friends, who are dealing with cancer. We were able to take advantage of this great resource a couple weeks ago, and it was a blast. Captain Sandy and mate Kathy (both volunteers) led four of us out on the open waters, through a quickening rain spell, past and around Juniper Island, to a swim just off Redrocks, and finally back to the dock at Perkins Pier. It was a wonderful afternoon. 

This cycle, Carol has felt better than she has in a long time. The usual two-week period of pretty intense nausea and pain has been noticeably calmer this time around, which has been such a relief. Knowing that she also has an extra week off makes it even better.

Jumping in the Water

same lake, different season

You can tell they're siblings just by looking at them. They may seem different as all get out, but don't let that fool you. Each has a left leg that kind of wings out when s/he runs, long legs, and a lean figure (not just from enduring over a year of treatments). And when Wayne says, "I just love jumping into the water from a boat," I know it runs deeper than whatever physical characteristics they may share. So, while they may be different in so many ways, there is a common pulse there.

Last week was a full week. Horseback riding, biking, sailing, traveling, eating out. It was great to share these with Wayne and Debi, and even better that Carol was in her third week. This week is the beginning of the next cycle. There's a little comfort that she will have an extra week of rest this time, to allow her to experience the Art Hop when she's feeling relatively well this year.

A special thanks to everyone from the 100 on 100 team -- we were with you in spirit last weekend!

The Dash Between

Yesterday, on her first Saturday after treatment, Carol said one of her two goals for the day was to go out on a little bike ride. I asked if she thought that might be a little ambitious, if lying on a tube on the lake might be a more suitable first weekend goal, but she just responded that that sounded good, too, so could we do that as well? So we went for a bike ride and later, after a little recovery time, went to the lake.

I should know by now what a sucker I am. But who could resist her as she's biking up a hill, saying, "I am so nauseous right now, and my legs are like jelly," and just wants to keep going?

We had just a beautiful visit with Eliza last week, made even more special by cake and sailing. Thanks, Vicki and Carol L., for making these events so wonderful. Who would have thought that I, landlubber that I am, would say that something would be made more special by sailing? There is always something new in the world.

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                                          And you, who are as old as I am,

                                          I love as I loved you young,

                                          except that old, I am astonished

                                          at such possibility, and am duly grateful.

                                                       -- Wendell Berry

Third Weeks are Better

Why are third weeks better? Oh, for so many reasons. For starters, Carol begins the week feeling like she has something to prove and goes out and runs over 7 miles on Sunday. This morning, I come home as she has her shoes laced up and is heading out to do a brick session. This afternoon, we pick up Eliza at the airport. Later in the week, Carol and Eliza will ride Icelandic horses (I'm bringing the bike this time).  Third weeks are better because she has a semblance of her life back. Of course, towards the end of the third weeks, the first weeks loom. But knowing that the treatment has been bringing down her tumor markers helps make those first weeks a little easier to endure. And the knowledge that these third weeks do come -- that doesn't hurt, either.

Wishing you all awesome third weeks.

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"Beautiful people do not just happen." -- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Along the camino, there sits a little rock doing a big job

One little stone...

Whether it's been Susan running in Grandma's Marathon (btw, great job, Susan!), Sylvie sending photos from the Camino de Santiago showing her decked out in the shirt made by the 100 on 100 team to support Carol, family shifting to accommodate us when our plans change at a moment's notice, the open offer for Callie to have doggie sleepovers, Kathryn and Doug showing up with good cheer and better soup, Harper wanting to go all over the park with Aunt Carol, and so much more, Carol and I are every moment touched by the kindnesses of those we love. As she prepares for her tenth treatment of this cycle, her neuropathy is a little worse, but she takes comfort that she'll be receiving one fewer drug tomorrow, which means that she'll be in the chair for less than five hours. She will still go home with the pump, but sooner.

Along the Camino de Santiago, there is a large iron cross ("Cruz de Ferro") surrounded by a rockpile some 20-30 feet high. It's customary for pilgrims on the walk to leave a rock or other token there, signifying an unburdening of one's soul. Before she left, Sylvie asked Carol to give her a rock, not too heavy, which she would place on the rockpile. That little rock now sits among its fellows at Cruz de Ferro.

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"Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go;

they merely determine where you start."

          -- Nido Qubein