Awhile back my thoughtful colleagues from Hospitality Saint John presented me with a lovely get well basket which included a gift certificate for a pedicure. This being barefeet season (actually at the time we'd had a week of fog, but I was hoping for barefeet season) I made an appointment for my first-ever pedicure. It was lovely and, at Harvey's suggestion, got my toenails done to match my red sandals. (His suggestion was red, not the matching the sandals part!)
Thanks so much to Willa and Jennifer at Inn on the Cove for this lovely treat.
Wendy
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Chemotherapy Completed
Chemotherapy is finished and my hair is starting to come back. I have eyebrows again and there's a visible fuzz of hair on my head, which is very soft. Not sure how quickly it will come back, never having grown a new head of hair before, but I'll still need my hat wardrobe.
Appointments this week for CT and bone scans. My oncologist will have the results of these when I see her the week after next. The CT scan doesn't take long, after drinking a barium liquid in advance and then getting an injection of dye. The bone scan takes longer; there's a 2 hour wait after some sort of radioactive injection. The scan itself takes 20 minutes of staying very still, a good opportunity for meditation.
Wendy
Appointments this week for CT and bone scans. My oncologist will have the results of these when I see her the week after next. The CT scan doesn't take long, after drinking a barium liquid in advance and then getting an injection of dye. The bone scan takes longer; there's a 2 hour wait after some sort of radioactive injection. The scan itself takes 20 minutes of staying very still, a good opportunity for meditation.
Wendy
Monday, July 7, 2008
Strawberry Season
We've been enjoying fresh local strawberries for the last week including some in our first delivery from Chestnut Farm. I picked a few wild ones at the edge of Rockwood Park on my walk the other day. That whetted my appetite and on the weekend I went out to a U-pick; should have got going a little earlier because the heat limited my stay. But I did get enough to eat fresh as well as freeze some.
Our first box from the farm also included carrots, lettuce, green onions, beet greens and swiss chard. Harvey found a great recipe for the greens, cooked with onions and a few slices of finely chopped bacon. I'm hoping there'll be peas in this week's assortment.
Wendy
Our first box from the farm also included carrots, lettuce, green onions, beet greens and swiss chard. Harvey found a great recipe for the greens, cooked with onions and a few slices of finely chopped bacon. I'm hoping there'll be peas in this week's assortment.
Wendy
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Happy New Month
My blood count was low again so we weren't able to go ahead with chemotherapy on Monday. Just got back from the hospital where they took more samples, so should be able to find out where we're at tomorrow.
On Friday we had a lovely outing, taking the old highway up the river valley, with a stop for lunch in Gagetown. Then on to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton to see the new NB architecture exhibition. Great photographs but not a lot of interpretation or different levels of information.
We celebrated Canada Day with a potluck gathering at friends who live outside the Saint John fog belt. It was warm and sunny so we could sit outside and admire the garden. Fireworks in Saint John were postponed until tonight because of fog, but the fog is persisting today.
This afternoon we'll be receiving our first vegetable delivery from Chestnut Farm, so perhaps more recipes to come.
Wendy
On Friday we had a lovely outing, taking the old highway up the river valley, with a stop for lunch in Gagetown. Then on to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton to see the new NB architecture exhibition. Great photographs but not a lot of interpretation or different levels of information.
We celebrated Canada Day with a potluck gathering at friends who live outside the Saint John fog belt. It was warm and sunny so we could sit outside and admire the garden. Fireworks in Saint John were postponed until tonight because of fog, but the fog is persisting today.
This afternoon we'll be receiving our first vegetable delivery from Chestnut Farm, so perhaps more recipes to come.
Wendy
Monday, June 23, 2008
Treatment Today
We were able to proceed with chemotherapy today; one more treatment to go, hopefully next Monday. Then I'll go for CT and bone scans again, so Dr. Burnelle can determine what's next.
It's been very humid with occasional rain the last few days. We can see fog down below but it usually doesn't come up the hill this high.
The neighbourhood deer came for a visit sometime late Saturday night - lots of hosta leaves on the sidewalk when we got up the next morning, but the hostas seem to have survived. The first of the peony buds have come into bloom, despite the cloud.
Wendy
It's been very humid with occasional rain the last few days. We can see fog down below but it usually doesn't come up the hill this high.
The neighbourhood deer came for a visit sometime late Saturday night - lots of hosta leaves on the sidewalk when we got up the next morning, but the hostas seem to have survived. The first of the peony buds have come into bloom, despite the cloud.
Wendy
Friday, June 20, 2008
This Week's Events
My blood counts weren't quite high enough to go ahead with chemotherapy as scheduled this week; the doctor has prescribed self-administered shots again, to stimulate white blood cell production. Also found a sequence of postures for the immune system in one of my yoga books, so I'm trying that too. So we should be able to proceed next week.
Earlier this week I attended the second afternoon of a two-part art therapy workshop offered by the Cancer Society. The instructor is a former RN who is just completing an art therapy program offered at a college in BC; she needs a certain number of working hours to finish, so we were part of that. The first afternoon we worked with watercolours on canvas, on the theme of what we are thankful for. In between the 2 sessions she made these into a wall hanging for the Cancer Society offices. This week we used either watercolours or oil pastels, and, because we'd gotten to know each other a bit, there was a lot more sharing of our experiences as well as painting/drawing.
I've also been part of some public input sessions on the upgrading of Reversing Falls - and yes, the point was made that Reversing Falls Rapids would be a more appropriate name.
And Harvey's son Matthew, who's a long distance truck driver again, stopped by for an overnight visit, enroute from deliveries in NS back to Montreal. He parked at a truck stop, assuming that his truck wouldn't be welcome in a residential area. There was a taxi there but when he asked the driver if he wanted a fare, was surprised that the answer was "no". Another man overheard this and offered to drop Matthew off where he was going (turned out he was an off duty cab driver). Matthew was quite impressed; said "that would never happen in Ontario."
Wendy
Earlier this week I attended the second afternoon of a two-part art therapy workshop offered by the Cancer Society. The instructor is a former RN who is just completing an art therapy program offered at a college in BC; she needs a certain number of working hours to finish, so we were part of that. The first afternoon we worked with watercolours on canvas, on the theme of what we are thankful for. In between the 2 sessions she made these into a wall hanging for the Cancer Society offices. This week we used either watercolours or oil pastels, and, because we'd gotten to know each other a bit, there was a lot more sharing of our experiences as well as painting/drawing.
I've also been part of some public input sessions on the upgrading of Reversing Falls - and yes, the point was made that Reversing Falls Rapids would be a more appropriate name.
And Harvey's son Matthew, who's a long distance truck driver again, stopped by for an overnight visit, enroute from deliveries in NS back to Montreal. He parked at a truck stop, assuming that his truck wouldn't be welcome in a residential area. There was a taxi there but when he asked the driver if he wanted a fare, was surprised that the answer was "no". Another man overheard this and offered to drop Matthew off where he was going (turned out he was an off duty cab driver). Matthew was quite impressed; said "that would never happen in Ontario."
Wendy
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Fiddlehead Soup
I can understand why fiddleheads became such a popular food. They would have been the first edible green thing anyone had seen in months. To me thay have an odd 'mouth feel" but not an unpleasant flavour. For this recipe you can easily substitute asparagus.
500 grams fiddleheads
1 medium onion, cisler (chopped)
100 ml white wine
1.5 liter chicken or vegetable stock
15 ml Herbes Salee*
lemon juice
butter
sour cream
*Herbes Salee is an Acadian or Quebecois perserve consisting of carrots, parsely, onions, leeks, savoury and a great deal of salt. I bought some on our last trip to Quebec, thinking it was a pickle, but it turns out to be a garnish. It has a much sharper flavour than dried herbs.
Pick through the fiddleheads and choose a dozen or so small, tight attractive heads for decoration. Trim them and put them aside in the fridge.
Sweat the onions in butter until they are soft. Add the white wine and reduce to a glaze. Add the chicken stock and fiddleheads and Herbes Salee and bring to a simmer. cook until the fiddleheads are soft.
Using an immersion blender, stand blender or food processer blend the soup as thoroughly as possible. No matter how well your equipment works, there will be lots of detritus left in the liquid. To eliminate this, work the liquid through a seive. It will take some effort to work the liquid out of the solids, but it will be worth it. Gently work the solids with the back of a spoon until you've extracted all the liquid. Dispose of the solids.
Put the liquid in a pot, taste and add some lemon juice. Just enough to brighten up the soup. To serve, bring the soup to a simmer, add the fiddleheads you've set aside and cook until just tender-crisp. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
For asparagus, cut off the white parts and dispose of them. cut off the tips and set aside. Chop the stalks into one inch pieces and proceed as above.
500 grams fiddleheads
1 medium onion, cisler (chopped)
100 ml white wine
1.5 liter chicken or vegetable stock
15 ml Herbes Salee*
lemon juice
butter
sour cream
*Herbes Salee is an Acadian or Quebecois perserve consisting of carrots, parsely, onions, leeks, savoury and a great deal of salt. I bought some on our last trip to Quebec, thinking it was a pickle, but it turns out to be a garnish. It has a much sharper flavour than dried herbs.
Pick through the fiddleheads and choose a dozen or so small, tight attractive heads for decoration. Trim them and put them aside in the fridge.
Sweat the onions in butter until they are soft. Add the white wine and reduce to a glaze. Add the chicken stock and fiddleheads and Herbes Salee and bring to a simmer. cook until the fiddleheads are soft.
Using an immersion blender, stand blender or food processer blend the soup as thoroughly as possible. No matter how well your equipment works, there will be lots of detritus left in the liquid. To eliminate this, work the liquid through a seive. It will take some effort to work the liquid out of the solids, but it will be worth it. Gently work the solids with the back of a spoon until you've extracted all the liquid. Dispose of the solids.
Put the liquid in a pot, taste and add some lemon juice. Just enough to brighten up the soup. To serve, bring the soup to a simmer, add the fiddleheads you've set aside and cook until just tender-crisp. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
For asparagus, cut off the white parts and dispose of them. cut off the tips and set aside. Chop the stalks into one inch pieces and proceed as above.
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