Sorry it’s been so long since I posted. I'm sharing a couple pictures from our New Year's celebration with Joahnna Rivera's family (Guy's fiancee). The first is Joahnna's mother Carmelita (known to most as Millet-accent on the second syllable). The second is Guy and me.
Our Christmas plans for a nice family time in Morro Bay were upended when my stepmother had a stroke the Monday before Christmas. She was in the hospital four days, released on Christmas morning, so we managed to get everyone together at my parents house in Carpinteria for a nice Christmas dinner. The drive back and forth from Morro Bay was over two hours each way, however, so I only got down to see them twice, and the rest of the group just on Christmas day. Needless to say, we had a few anxious days, but she is recovering well, with the primary damage some trouble in retrieving the words she wants. Around the edges, we had a nice family time in Morro Bay, with Phil’s brother Howard joining us, along with Shana (in from North Carolina) and Guy, together with Joahnna and her son Zach. Fun having a teenager around again! (that would be Zach, who is 16)
After Christmas Phil and I drove to Long Beach to visit our friends Ken & Jean Frost, greatly enjoying their charming home on the Naples community canals. Then we drove back up the highway to Santa Clara to celebrate New Year’s with Joahnna’s family. We met lots of aunts and uncles and are working to get names fastened to faces so we can recognize them at the wedding. We have now been inducted into how one extended Filipino family celebrates New Year’s—with lots of family fun.
After three days in Santa Clara, we then spent three days driving home, arriving in Seattle on Sunday January 4. On Monday I turned around and flew back to Santa Barbara in order to participate in some workshops at Fielding Graduate University (where I did my doctorate). They continue to hold workshops that alumni can attend, and I enjoy dipping into that intellectual atmosphere once a year. I’m staying at my parents and going back to Seattle nest Monday, so it’s nice to have a bit more time with them too.
I continue to shed side effects a bit at a time. My appetite and taste buds seem to be back to normal, though I may have to reacquire a taste for red wines, I’m finding. My hair is very gradually beginning to thicken up a little. I reacquired the swelling in my legs that I experienced while on the boat this summer (I think for the same reason—a lack of activity), and am working dutifully to increase my exercise by walking and doing yoga, hoping that that combination will diminish it. That’s my primary issue right now.
I have my first followup CT scan scheduled for January 26th, with a debriefing by my radiation oncologist on February 3. That’s the date I’m looking to to be certified to celebrate. So hang on with me as I patiently wait to get there.
