Holiday Wishes

No long post tonight--just a wish of "Happy Thanksgiving" to you and yours.  Among the things for which I am thankful is You, each and everyone of you who follow this blog.  Thank you for your thoughts, your prayers, and your support.

Oh, one bit of news and an important milestone:  at 48.7 lbs, Robbie now finally outweighs Sunshine.

A Moment of Silence for Goldie

We had a death in the family.  About a month ago, Liz won a goldfish a the Calvert County Fair, which she gave to Robbie and which he put in our fish tank with our somewhat-startled population of swordtails.  Robbie named the fish "Goldie".  Well, yesterday, after fighting what looked like ick (like I know fish diseases), Goldie succumbed to his/her illness, surrounded by family and friends.  Robbie tried to be blase' about it at first.  He had seen dead fish before.  This was different; this one had a name.  For about 10 minutes, he was kinda upset and teary, then moved on.  We have decided that Goldie rates better than a trip in the old ceramic subway, so we've frozen Goldie and will be having a suitable burial this weekend (weather permitting).

Liz is in Seattle and has been having a hellava trip so far.  On her way to airport Sunday morning she took out a deer with her rental car.  This morning on her way to the Seattle airport, she was the first witness at a fatality accident.  The Washington State Police have asked her to make a taped statement.  Nice bookends for the trip.  She did get home OK.

Finally, a paragraph with no death!  Just a knitting needle in my hip.  I'm scheduled to go to Georgetown on December 3rd for my baselining for the next phase of my clinical trial.  The highlights of the baseline are of course the bone marrow biopsy and the ceremonial drinking of the horrible quart of library paste before the CT scan.  I'll start taking the Revlamid the next week.  It's been nice to be between treatments, but I am ready to start the next phase.

All for now.

Yo Ho Ho and a Tall Decaff Skinny Mocha Latte with Powdered Cinnamon

Happy Belated Halloween!  To the left, you'll see a fuzzy picture of Robbie and me dressed as fierce pirates.  Actually, HE's dressed as a fierce pirate.  I'm dressed more like a flamboyant pirate who loves show tunes and makes catty remarks about other pirates outfits, if you catch my drift.  Liz was also dressed in Pirate Princess garb, but I was told that if I posted those pictures, my next move better be writing my eulogy.

Robbie was great and surprising.  He loved his costume and loved tromping thru our friend Art's neighborhood, but after about an hour, he turned to us and said, "I've got enough candy now.  Let's go home."  After trying in vain to explain that on Halloween there's no such thing as 'enough candy', we gave in and went home.  Once there, he dumped his loot out on the coffee table, took inventory, gave Liz and me one Fun Sized Kit Kat each, then ate one (One!) piece of candy himself.  Over the next several days, he gave away far more of his candy than he ate.  Neat kid.

Yesterday, I went to my first yoga class since June 6th.  I've done yoga since, but not in a class setting.  As I said on my Facebook page, except for my total lack of flexibility, strength, and stamina, I thought I did great!  Actually, it was a challenging hour-and-a-half, but I really like Laurie, the instructor, and I liked the class.  I was a sweaty puppy (now Tim, puppies don't sweat!) at the end, but I never had to bail out of any positions.  I'll definitely be going back next week.

No word yet when I start my next round of treatment, but it's got to be in the next three or four weeks.  I'll keep you informed as I get informed.

Finally, a warm welcome-aboard to "Sadrypali", the newest member of the followers list.  I'm not sure what brought you to this blog, but I'm glad you're here.