Spent much of yesterday at the Fortress of Healing for chemotherapy treatment. My reading material for the day was Julie and Julia, which inspired the movie. That led to phoning Harvey to suggest he get some leeks when he went shopping. The resulting leek and potato soup is delicious, as was the borscht he made last week. His Ukrainian friend said, with tears, that it is "just like my mother makes."
Some of the chemo nurses hadn't seen my blonde persona until yesterday. They agreed that it looked good but were very amused when I reported that as a blonde I needed to shorten some of my skirts. My hair is gradually coming back - maybe 3/4 inch of very fine gray brown - not enough to keep my head warm.
I have a CT scan coming up and then Dr. B will know when this chemo is working, in which case we'll continue with more treatments.
Wendy
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Birthday Celebration
Last week (October 20) was my birthday, and not just any old birthday, but my 65th birthday. I’m now eligible for various pensions and a seat outside the coffee shop in the Mall with all the other old farts. Bah, humbug!
Birthday week began on Sunday evening when Wendy asked if I wanted to know what was going on this week. What good is a surprise if you know about it? I, of course, said no and just went along with the flow. Monday (the 19th) I went to a reception at the Museum announcing the formation of the New Brunswick Geopark, Stonehammer. That was fun and a chance to meet some new people. After we all went out to a quick dinner at The Ale House. We, means Dale and Lynn, Carol and Gerry and Wendy and I. We managed to get our meals and back to our cars within the time limit imposed by Wendy (tour organizer extraordinaire).
Next on the agenda was the Imperial Theatre and a concert by Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans. Corb’s music and poetry is definitely “Country and Western” but he has a great sense of humour (see “The truck got stuck” on YouTube) and a strong sense of place. The band was set up for a typical bar setting - they played a couple of nights at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto later that week. The instruments were too loud and they drowned out Corb. On the other hand the rowdy crowd (not your typical Imperial Theatre crowd) knew all the words anyway. All in all, a great evening. Gerry and Carol stopped by the house later and put one of the posters for the tour in my mail box. Thanks for that.
I woke up Tuesday morning to a gentle chorus of Happy Birthday from Wendy and a variety of gifts from Wendy, Comet, Ginger and Simba. Many books – hurray- a new mug, and most shocking, a beautiful, hand crafted wooden chair made by a local craftsman. I have encountered chairs made by this craftsman in a variety of places and every one I’ve sat in is disarmingly comfortable.
That evening people showed up to celebrate my birthday and to reinforce the fact I was now sixty five. Sigh. Thanks to Dale and Lynn for the muddler that Dale made on his father's lathe and to Suzanne and Jack for the bottle of Pernod. It's open already. Yum. Wendy got me an ice cream cake which everyone enjoyed.
Wednesday, Heather and Debbie Marshall, friends from Alberta, arrived after getting lost in Saint John several times. We gave them a city tour and they shared Wendy's admiration for a place which has its major tourist attraction, Reversing Falls, next to its major industry. Stops included the Martello Tour, a Frenchy's and Misty Harbour Seafood for lobsters. We had the rest of the ice cream birthday cake for dinner.
I did manage to stretch out my birthday for three days, which I thought was pretty good. Not as good as my friend Dianna who, if my memory is correct, managed to stretch her birthday out over seven days.
Thanks to all who brought or sent their birthday wishes, and especially to Wendy who organized a great time and managed to hide a chair right under my nose in the house for several months.
I've already enjoyed my first movie at the seniors rate, Where the Wild Things Are. Off to the mall to hang around with the other old guys and ogle the girls.
Harvey
Birthday week began on Sunday evening when Wendy asked if I wanted to know what was going on this week. What good is a surprise if you know about it? I, of course, said no and just went along with the flow. Monday (the 19th) I went to a reception at the Museum announcing the formation of the New Brunswick Geopark, Stonehammer. That was fun and a chance to meet some new people. After we all went out to a quick dinner at The Ale House. We, means Dale and Lynn, Carol and Gerry and Wendy and I. We managed to get our meals and back to our cars within the time limit imposed by Wendy (tour organizer extraordinaire).
Next on the agenda was the Imperial Theatre and a concert by Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans. Corb’s music and poetry is definitely “Country and Western” but he has a great sense of humour (see “The truck got stuck” on YouTube) and a strong sense of place. The band was set up for a typical bar setting - they played a couple of nights at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto later that week. The instruments were too loud and they drowned out Corb. On the other hand the rowdy crowd (not your typical Imperial Theatre crowd) knew all the words anyway. All in all, a great evening. Gerry and Carol stopped by the house later and put one of the posters for the tour in my mail box. Thanks for that.
I woke up Tuesday morning to a gentle chorus of Happy Birthday from Wendy and a variety of gifts from Wendy, Comet, Ginger and Simba. Many books – hurray- a new mug, and most shocking, a beautiful, hand crafted wooden chair made by a local craftsman. I have encountered chairs made by this craftsman in a variety of places and every one I’ve sat in is disarmingly comfortable.
That evening people showed up to celebrate my birthday and to reinforce the fact I was now sixty five. Sigh. Thanks to Dale and Lynn for the muddler that Dale made on his father's lathe and to Suzanne and Jack for the bottle of Pernod. It's open already. Yum. Wendy got me an ice cream cake which everyone enjoyed.
Wednesday, Heather and Debbie Marshall, friends from Alberta, arrived after getting lost in Saint John several times. We gave them a city tour and they shared Wendy's admiration for a place which has its major tourist attraction, Reversing Falls, next to its major industry. Stops included the Martello Tour, a Frenchy's and Misty Harbour Seafood for lobsters. We had the rest of the ice cream birthday cake for dinner.
I did manage to stretch out my birthday for three days, which I thought was pretty good. Not as good as my friend Dianna who, if my memory is correct, managed to stretch her birthday out over seven days.
Thanks to all who brought or sent their birthday wishes, and especially to Wendy who organized a great time and managed to hide a chair right under my nose in the house for several months.
I've already enjoyed my first movie at the seniors rate, Where the Wild Things Are. Off to the mall to hang around with the other old guys and ogle the girls.
Harvey
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thanks for the Veg
After a low key Thanksgiving at our house, we set off on Wednesday afternoon for our last weekly trip of the season to pick up veggies at Chestnut Acres. We've enjoyed the weekly drive, which includes 2 short ferry trips, especially over the last few weeks as the leaves have been turning their bright colours.
This week's bag was filled with potatoes, carrots, lettuce mix, green onions, beets, parsnips, butternut squash, garlic, parsley and turnip.
It has been a challenging vegetable growing season for Jodi and Andrew, and we appreciate the results of all their efforts. We'll be thinking of them on Saturday as they complete their harvest. And as the winter months unfold, no doubt we'll be looking forward to the earliest of the fresh greens right from our own neighbourhood.
If fresh organic vegetables every week interest you, check the Chestnut Acres website, where they will probably be accepting new subscribers in March.
Wendy
This week's bag was filled with potatoes, carrots, lettuce mix, green onions, beets, parsnips, butternut squash, garlic, parsley and turnip.
It has been a challenging vegetable growing season for Jodi and Andrew, and we appreciate the results of all their efforts. We'll be thinking of them on Saturday as they complete their harvest. And as the winter months unfold, no doubt we'll be looking forward to the earliest of the fresh greens right from our own neighbourhood.
If fresh organic vegetables every week interest you, check the Chestnut Acres website, where they will probably be accepting new subscribers in March.
Wendy
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Reading Suggestions
A couple of novels I read recently and recommend:
The Outlander, a first novel by Canadian Gil Adamson. Set in what is now Alberta in 1903, the protaganist is a young widow who is on the run after killing her husband, pursued by his twin brothers intent on avenging his death. Unique characters she meets along the way transform her journey. Continues to a strong ending when I was afraid the author might cop out a bit.
Mister Pip, by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones, was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. The theme for this novel is the power of stories to transform, with a teacher who "taught us how to imagine the world" using Dickens' Great Expectations as his major tool. It's from the perspective of teenage Mathilda, who lives in a community on a South Pacific island shattered by conflict.
Wendy
The Outlander, a first novel by Canadian Gil Adamson. Set in what is now Alberta in 1903, the protaganist is a young widow who is on the run after killing her husband, pursued by his twin brothers intent on avenging his death. Unique characters she meets along the way transform her journey. Continues to a strong ending when I was afraid the author might cop out a bit.
Mister Pip, by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones, was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize and winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. The theme for this novel is the power of stories to transform, with a teacher who "taught us how to imagine the world" using Dickens' Great Expectations as his major tool. It's from the perspective of teenage Mathilda, who lives in a community on a South Pacific island shattered by conflict.
Wendy
Thursday, October 8, 2009
This Week's Treatment
After my appointment on Monday, Dr. B gave approval to proceed with chemotherapy yesterday. She's planning 4 rounds of this one (this is the second) and then a CT scan to assess the effect. The summary of Monday's review of my experience with side effects was "It's no walk in the park, but you're walking in the park." which I thought was a pretty good line.
Harvey has come down with the nasty cold that has been making the rounds here. Expect we will both be laying low this weekend, but have a good supply of reading and viewing material.
Happy Thanksgiving
Wendy
Harvey has come down with the nasty cold that has been making the rounds here. Expect we will both be laying low this weekend, but have a good supply of reading and viewing material.
Happy Thanksgiving
Wendy
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Basket Weaving
Here's the basket I created in a recent Museum workshop, with the assistance of instructor Darryl Paul. Made from black ash strips, following a traditional pattern. Photo courtesy of Jack Hill
Monday, October 5, 2009
Busy Weekend
After Wendy’s bloodletting Saturday morning, (in preparation for a Doctor’s appointment on Monday) we went off to the Kingston Farmers’ Markets with Lynn and Dale. It was a perfect, sunny fall day and Lynn brought her camera to capture landscape views. We eyed the goods at the market, purchasing some really good sausages, carrots, onions and apples.
Instead of heading straight home we went to Brent Rourke’s “Barn” in Bloomfield. Brent is a meticulous woodworker who produces wonderful Shaker boxes, among a variety of wonderful and beautiful items. Dale, an amateur woodworker who has inherited his father’s tools, was inspired by the professional set up in the Barn.
They had some food at the Barn, but no place to sit and enjoy a meal. Wendy, still reveling in having an appetite, suggested we proceed to the Inn at Evandale where we’d had a good meal on another trip. Despite frequent stops in dangerous places to facilitate Lynn’s landscape collection we made it to the Evandale Ferry and across the St. John River for lunch. The day was gorgeous and the trees displaying perfect fall colours with whole hillsides a riot of reds, yellows and greens.
Sunday was a gloomy, wet day and, of course, the day we had booked a boat tour along with a bunch of Museum folks. Inappropriately, it was a three hour tour (no the boat wasn’t named “Minnow”) and Wendy kept breaking into the theme from Gilligan’s Island. The view of Saint John and surrounding area from the Kennebecasis and St. John Rivers gives a totally new perspective on our city. The size of Grand Bay, the body of water that flows out through “Reversing Falls”, is quite astonishing at water level. It is much larger than it appears from the shoreline. Development along the shores is increasing at a very rapid pace and many of these new homes seem to be large for the sake of being big. I suppose if you pay a lot for a lot, the house you build has to reflect that cost.
Randy Miller, the Museum’s Curator of Geology, gave us interesting information about the visible geology along the shoreline. Gary Hughes, Curator of History and Technology, provided us with some fascinating history of the river, settlements, mills and the steamboat era. Interestingly, Dale’s father’s first job was Freight Agent for the last two riverboats on the St. John River.
Eagles, loons, cormorants, mergansers and a great blue heron cooperated by letting us spot them. The Captain added some of his own anecdotes from fifty years on the River and brought us safely back to the marina. A comfortable indoor seating area protected us from the elements and passengers were inquiring when the Museum would arrange a next trip – a spring outing seems likely.
It was a great weekend, topped off by Wendy beating me by only one point in UpWords.
Harvey
Instead of heading straight home we went to Brent Rourke’s “Barn” in Bloomfield. Brent is a meticulous woodworker who produces wonderful Shaker boxes, among a variety of wonderful and beautiful items. Dale, an amateur woodworker who has inherited his father’s tools, was inspired by the professional set up in the Barn.
They had some food at the Barn, but no place to sit and enjoy a meal. Wendy, still reveling in having an appetite, suggested we proceed to the Inn at Evandale where we’d had a good meal on another trip. Despite frequent stops in dangerous places to facilitate Lynn’s landscape collection we made it to the Evandale Ferry and across the St. John River for lunch. The day was gorgeous and the trees displaying perfect fall colours with whole hillsides a riot of reds, yellows and greens.
Sunday was a gloomy, wet day and, of course, the day we had booked a boat tour along with a bunch of Museum folks. Inappropriately, it was a three hour tour (no the boat wasn’t named “Minnow”) and Wendy kept breaking into the theme from Gilligan’s Island. The view of Saint John and surrounding area from the Kennebecasis and St. John Rivers gives a totally new perspective on our city. The size of Grand Bay, the body of water that flows out through “Reversing Falls”, is quite astonishing at water level. It is much larger than it appears from the shoreline. Development along the shores is increasing at a very rapid pace and many of these new homes seem to be large for the sake of being big. I suppose if you pay a lot for a lot, the house you build has to reflect that cost.
Randy Miller, the Museum’s Curator of Geology, gave us interesting information about the visible geology along the shoreline. Gary Hughes, Curator of History and Technology, provided us with some fascinating history of the river, settlements, mills and the steamboat era. Interestingly, Dale’s father’s first job was Freight Agent for the last two riverboats on the St. John River.
Eagles, loons, cormorants, mergansers and a great blue heron cooperated by letting us spot them. The Captain added some of his own anecdotes from fifty years on the River and brought us safely back to the marina. A comfortable indoor seating area protected us from the elements and passengers were inquiring when the Museum would arrange a next trip – a spring outing seems likely.
It was a great weekend, topped off by Wendy beating me by only one point in UpWords.
Harvey
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