Mendocino

  

Just getting back.  More to come.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Road Trip About to Happen

We're going on a road trip.  Taking off this morning and heading out with an itinerary of "North along the coast".  We're taking the camera and will return with, hopefully, better photos than these.  It has been so long since we really went away that these pictures are kinda old!

We do plan to visit little coastal towns and see the redwood forests. What else?  Hmmmm...

We'll share next week.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Almost Spring, again!

For Becky, get well...

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Trees and Cows

Here I am sharing some of my favorite things: trees and cows.  Not all cows, but once in awhile I'll see a group of contented bovines in the perfect bucolic settings and I think they are beautiful.

The drive to my Thursday job has many beautiful site. We've seen bobcats, quail, deer, fox, raccoon, and squirrels. This past Thursday I came upon a small group of cows that were contentedly lying on that hillside until I pulled up and pulled out my camera.  It's such a remote location that cars aren't that common, and someone walking up to the fence is even more rare, so they decided to take on the 'better part of valor' and leave.

We attend services at the Carmelite Monastery where the tree shots were taken this morning.  I love the branches coming over the wall of the cloistered garden.

Just pretty pictures today.

In bocca al lupo. m & v

First Blush

Not quite spring, yet, but the apricot is beginning to bloom. Last year we had a frost just after the majority of blossoms opened and for the first time since I moved into this house 15 years ago, it had no apricots!  Fingers crossed for rain and no frost.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Sewing Day

We call it Sewing Day, this day that my friend and I meet every other week, but lately it has been more toward fiber art.  Sometimes it's a garden day and we spend our time checking out the local nurseries.  It is always friendship and sharing of ideas and any new skills either of us has picked up.

More often than not, I'm the one on the learning end.  She comes from an incredibly talented family with four sisters.  Someone is always learning something new and passing it on to the others:  Jewelry, spinning, wood working, sewing, needlework, collage, canning, preserving...

They cause me to miss the sisters I never had.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Translate Button Added!

My morning this morning.  v is off on assignment and I crept back into bed, after he left, to savor my coffee and the early morning sunshine.

I have added a translate button to this blog.  I've also added one to the blog that is just for chronicling my  growth (hopefully) with photography: Biondography.  I notice that I have had visits from several other countries which I find really exciting and gratifying.  I want to make it easy to share our thoughts and experiences here.

As for v's cancer; we are in a sort of limbo.  We know from the CT scan results that the tumors remain present, but we don't know how active they may be.  His physical condition is so good that the doctors are offering alternatives for us.  He can take a break from treatment for the time being.  He can begin another round of chemotherapy with a new combination of drugs, one of which will cause hair loss.  He can, if authorized by his insurance, begin a maintenance regimen.  All with close monitoring and, all of the above will depend on the outcome of another PET scan.  The doctor's office is attempting to obtain authorization for that test.  As best I can explain: the PET scan will show metabolic activity of the tumors and let us have more information about what is actually happening.  As what most people who know what v is going through generally remark: he looks far too healthy to be dying.  He gains weight consistently, he has no difficulty eating or swallowing, his energy and activity level has improved, and he has little, or no, discomfort.

We have decided that, as much as possible, we aren't going to live under a cloud. 

Mostly this morning I just wanted to introduce our new "translate" button.  Now I hope to hear from some of those people in countries I have to find on a map when I see them listed as having visited.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v