Happy Birthday, Ben!

The weather today is clear but windy and in the early forties. At least our 8th month of August should be clear and seasonal as far as temps are concerned.

Today is also Ben's birthday so I send him birthday greetings from Jack and I. We are happy he will be joining us for Christmas but not as happy as Agnes. I showed her a photo of the real Big Ben in London but she scoffs at the idea that anything or anyone besides her Ben is Big Ben!

We had a soup supper with the kids last night. Well, Joe and Karen were there but Joe was rushing about the kitchen getting the soup and pasta ready for us; Karen came rushing in late (in the pouring rain but Jack picked her up at the station) as Joe and Karen were going to a meeting. That's why we were there to watch the kids. Anyway, they left a few minutes late (like 3 minutes) after gobbling down some soup; bathing the kids and putting them in their p.j.s and Bernadette to bed. They were gone about five minutes, probably parking outside the meeting, and the nun in charge of the program called because they were late. It was deja vu all over again for me. I said they probably were walking in the door. Frankly, it irks me that when someone is kind enough to volunteer their services, the fact that it was pouring rain, they have children and also had to travel home from work on the train - they could be cut five minutes or even 20 minutes of slack. They are not habitually late for anything. So there, Sister. I'm being brave because I'm sure she does not read this blog. Yeh, she hit a nerve when I answered the phone to "that" voice. Only now I am a grown up and can have a "voice" of my own. :)

At the moment I am waiting for the Chimney Sweeps to arrive. I hope they sing and dance as they work.

Believe!

As usual, love from me to you.

12 - 7 - 11

Well, July is going to be an unhappy month! Today it is raining and 60 degrees. I surely hope this theory does not work this year as who needs a hot and wet July? Ugh.

Jack and I have been working around the house today, trying to stay out of each other's way. He decided to vacuum which was great and made me very happy as I can't push the cleaner without severe back pain and the dust is another issue. Anyway, ten minutes into the job, the Oreck, which is less than a year old, just up and stopped turning its brush. We spent a good deal of time reading the manual (joke that is) and have given up for a time as we were breaking out in a cold sweat and the vacuum repair fight was about to replace the Christmas tree light holiday argument.

Believe!

As usual, love from me to you!

Feast of St. Nicholas

Poor St. Nick has a warm but rainy day for his feast day. It is close to 60 degrees out but rainy; tomorrow winter weather will make its way here. So, June does not look to be a glorious month in the sunshine department. I hope this is wrong as there are so many special occasions in June which are much nicer in the sunshine!

Joe introduced me to the custom of St. Nicholas Day. He said his family always celebrated it. Joe leaves chocolate coins and little tokens as well as cards for Karen and the girls. I think it is a really lovely tradition.

The day started off with a laugh as I had taken my chemo pill at 7:30 (which is late as I usually take it around 6) and have to wait an hour before I eat or drink anything. So, I was lounging in bed, half asleep but not quite sleeping - you know, that cozy feeling of knowing you can get up but you really don't have to ? Well, the phone rang about 9 and when I looked I saw it was my good friend, Marie, and I answered by saying, "Who dares disturb the mama bear in her cave?" I had to call her back. I am usually up by 8:30 - late by some standards of retired folk - but I have trouble sleeping during the night and sometimes am up from 2 to 4. Marie says they are up extremely early because they have to feed their pets. My cat just sleeps until we wake up or she has a visit outside for a few hours. She doesn't like it outside so she has learned not to awaken the sleeping bears!

Believe!

As usual, love from me to you!

12 - 05 - 11

We were in the BIG CITY again today, this time visiting MSKCC. No one would believe the weather here on December 5. I had to take my spring jacket off. It was close to if not 60 degrees. I don't know what the low was, somewhere in the high 40s I believe. When we left the house, there was a thick fog but it lifted as we drove in. The Manhattan skyline looked like Brigadoon through the mists. So, May should be a warm, dry month. We'll see.

I was relieved today after seeing the doctor at MSKCC. I had been worrying a bit (BIT) about my last CT scan which showed a 4% increase in a "nadir" growth. He assured me this was nothing he would even think about and not to give it any thought. Besides, he added, look how well you are doing on this clinical trial with a drug that isn't even named yet and we have so many that actually work on lung cancer caught early like yours. I guess I'll be around for awhile although some days, it just gets to me.

It makes me a little sad to have an artificial tree this year after all the years of a live one but Jack is being a good sport. I've had bronchitis by the first of the year for the last three or four years and it appears the tree pollen, aroma, whatever, triggers it. I don't know what I will miss more, the aroma of the pine or the fight Jack and I have every year putting it up. It is one of our more stable (no pun intended) holiday traditions.

Kind of knocked out tonight so I will say continue to pray for all those suffering this time of year from a myriad number of plagues from Pandora's box.

Believe!

As always, love from me to you!

12–04 - 12

Ah, it is almost like spring today;  foggy this morning, temps in the early 40s and then clearing and temps rising to the mid fifties.  Looks like April will be warm but have changeable weather – which I suppose would not be a big surprise to anyone!

I’m still recovering from our visit to the Big City on Friday.  I spoke to Agnes on the phone today and she is still filled with the wonder of it all.  She had quite a lot of information to impart regarding costumes, dances, 3-D effects.  Nothing slipped past her!

Jack is outside doing yard work.  It would be a lovely day to put up the Christmas decorations but he likes to wait until it is cold enough to snap his fingers off  on a damp, cold, miserable winter day.  I guess today’s warmth is not very inspiring to him!

Our visit to MSKCC is this week and always brings a bit of trepidation so please send a prayer and a good thought this way.

Believe!

As always, love from me to you!

12 - 03 - 11

Weather on December 2 - clear, low 35 high 53 (although I suspect it was higher, read on and you will learn why.) Looks like February may be a gentle month. Weather today a little chillier than yesterday but bright and sunny; low 35 high 55. As unscientific as this is, looks like a good March. This may not be scientific but it does bring back a happy memory of my mother keeping track the first 12 days of December - right up until she could no longer do it. I feel like I should pick up the stick and run with it. We'll see how far I get; I missed yesterday but I had a good reason!

Yesterday, Jack, Karen, Agnes and I went into the BIG CITY to see THE TREE and the ROCKETTES. I capitalize these because they are Agnes' description. She says she LOVES the city. So did I when I was a lot younger and a bit more spry! Radio City Music Hall never disappoints and now that we are priviledged to a backstage tour by Eric, a neighbor of Joe and Karen's, it is even more exciting. I see that I wrote about all of this a few blogs ago (boy, I have been missing in action) but it is so thrilling, it bears repeating. We left by the stage door and I was overheard asking if the crowd (waiting for tickets) was wanting my autobraph - one of the dancers had left with us and really cracked up. I was going to tell him I was one of the Rockettes that he hadn't met before but he moved too swiftly and my joke came to mind too slowly! Damn. We walked over to the spectacular Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree and I must be getting more sentimental because it looked even more beautiful this year......maybe it was seeing it through Agnes' beautiful blue eyes. I sat and gazed at the tree while the trio went off to see the Angels, skaters and rest of the plaza. I wear out a little too easily these days. We would up at a lovely I

rish pub called Connolly's on 54th Street (next to the Warwick Hotel), were treated royally and had a bite to eat. Then we walked over to get the car. It was more walking than I am used to and feel like I was hit by a truck today but realize that I need to get back to some kind of exercise - if I wasn't so tired. I guess that is like a dog chasing his tail, isn't it?

I wrote this blog awhile ago but somehow deleted the whole thing. UGHHHHH! so it will be a little shorter than I intended. I am hoping to add some photos when Karen sends them to me. I hope I can figure out how to put the video of Agnes' dancing with joy across the street from Radio City!

Believe!

As always, love from me to you!

12–01 - 11

Maybe my Muse knew back in March that she was going for a long rest and leaving me with writer’s block until December.  I was a little shocked when my friend, Joan, said I had not written a blog in nine months.  Nine months?!  Wow, a woman could have a baby in that amount of time!  Anyway, this column is dedicated to Joan who inspired me to get back to writing the blog.

I’ll try to bring you quickly up to date.  It has been an up and down nine months.   March must have gone by quickly because I don’t remember a whole lot about it except St Patrick’s Day, St Joseph’s Day, Shirley’s birthday, Virginia’s birthday and Joe’s birthday.  This always gets dangerous naming people so if I left you out, it was a slip of the pen not the heart.

April was welcomed with open arms as we were all sick of the miserable winter.  I suspect we celebrated Easter in April and the grandies were all decked out in their spring finery.  I know Carol and Joel celebrated their anniversary in April.  It has taken me many years to keep the date straight in my head but once I realized that their anniversary and Jim and Melissa’s birthday were the same, life became much easier!

May, June, July, August all went by too quickly as did September.  I did not get to spend as much time at Sweeney’s East as I had hoped.  Somehow my MSKCC appointments just did not fit in as easily as last year.  I am happy that I am still alive and complaining!  The very best part of the summer was the grandies when they came out to Sweeney’s East.  Our place, you have to understand, is a 600 sq. ft. “apartment.”  It has a lovely deck on the front that is about 4 ft. too narrow but has done well by us for over 25 years.  Agnes cracks us up as she announces she is going to THE HAMPTONS to visit Nana and Grandpa.  Little does she realize that although it is in the township of Southampton, it is in one of the less prestigious villages.  Ahh, how lovely to see things through the eyes of a child.  Both Agnes and Bernadette love the beach, the ocean and the pool.  Agnes was swimming by summer’s end and I’m sure Bernadette will be doing the same next year.

September and October had such weird weather – can you imagine snow here before Halloween, then back to shorts and sleeveless blouses for a few weeks?

It is really great having Joe, Karen, Agnes and Bernadette living a stones throw across the harbor.  I am a little ashamed that I am not more help to Joe but frankly, the only real complaint I have is fatigue.  I am exhausted all the time.  One of the most wonderful things that has cropped up is that Karen takes Bernadette for gym class on Saturday morning and leaves Agnes with me.  We watch a Disney movie (like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Lady and the Tramp – my kind of stuff!) and I make her hot cocoa in a little teapot and she uses a demitasse cup.  We both get a kick out of it and it is a special time for both of us – maybe more for me than for her but moments of pure bliss.  I hope to have the same opportunity to do something like this with Bernadette in another year.  Who can believe she will be 2 next week?  Agnes was 4 in late October.  Every day is a special gift to me and I thank God and the folks at MSKCC in that order!

Thanksgiving was lovely at Karen and Joe’s.  Bill, Joan, Jennifer and Anthony joined us as well as Lia who is 3 months younger than Bernadette.  The girls had a great time playing together and it was nice to see how they get along.  They surely will have a great time next summer as  Bill and Joan have the apartment under ours so we see each other quite a bit in the summer months.  When we first went out there, our kids were all small and all got along and we used to joke that someday we would see our grandchildren running around there.  Well, someone blinked and now we are seeing our grandchildren playing out there!  The kids have also found their way to Carol and Joel’s apartment just as quickly as their parents did.  It is easy for a kid to find the way to a good heart!

So, here we are and it is December 1.  A custom my mother (who is heading towards 101 in January!) was to write the weather of the first twelve days of December down.  She would write the high and the low and whether it was sunny, rainy, snowy -  you get the picture.  She would then look each month and see how accurate her “Farmer’s Almanac” was.  Amazingly, it was fairly on target.  I am going to start one right now.  Dec 1, 45/50 clear and sunny portends a good weather in January.  Tomorrow, we will look at February.  At least it will keep me on this blog for 12 days!

Just for the record, I have been feeling good most of the time – of course, like everyone else, I have good days and bad.  Fortunately, most have been good.

Believe!

As always, love from me to you.