tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74612427059430890382023-11-16T10:33:08.849-08:00Bonnie's BlogBonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.comBlogger329125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-76791591692186959342017-02-25T06:13:00.000-08:002017-02-25T06:13:03.575-08:00Laguna de Santa Rosa-At last<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZh9TG027FMnGseBZaxtcN7qwj81TSEzcnW6YMRFNwnr6cNmSIZlnpOro9USdeXfoMAu8OrjlasrUPv54CPJHnZZu9AXaW2s3jsI0-Ky2yYRmS7u2vywCiESYaCZFRis8pugnuZ0f0-Me/s1600/IMG_0236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZh9TG027FMnGseBZaxtcN7qwj81TSEzcnW6YMRFNwnr6cNmSIZlnpOro9USdeXfoMAu8OrjlasrUPv54CPJHnZZu9AXaW2s3jsI0-Ky2yYRmS7u2vywCiESYaCZFRis8pugnuZ0f0-Me/s320/IMG_0236.jpg" width="320" /></a>No kidding, I finally got to see the fabulous laguna with water in it. I have been trying for four years, without success, but this past few weeks everything has changed, The trees are up to their elbows with pooled water, drain off from the Russian River. Now I have to catch it at sunrise or sunset, or just create a painting with color reflections. This is a bit of a challenge, since I am still on morphine, and unable to drive. But it is less than an hour's drive and last week friend Steve took me for an outing. (All our outings end at Super Burger, where Steve feasts on his childhood favorite, a malted milk shake, and this writer plunges into a child's size grass fed burger.<br />
The laguna can be reached by driving or walking from Sebastopol. Many web sites describe it. There is a good environmental center there which offers classes and education on the wetlands. It may be that one can also rent kayaks to explore the bird life. I snapped a dozen or so photos from the car's front seat, which will inspire me to get out the paints.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-39715140526898544652017-02-11T18:33:00.000-08:002017-02-12T11:54:24.080-08:00Is It Too Late?12/11//17<br />
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When is it too late to turn a child's life around?<br />
I am writing to you, who I am advised is the basketball coach at Stanwood Hi, for advice. Since you and I are not acquainted, this is awkward. I assure you I am not writing for money, and this is not a crank letter. In fact I could contribute money to a fund if such existed.<br />
My name is Bonnie Crosse and I live in Santa Rosa California. My life expectancy is less than a year, as at 87 I struggle with Stage 4 lung cancer.<br />
What prompts my letter is concern for my great nephew, a freshman at your school. It was always Preston's dream to be a basketball player. but neither of his parents could get their act together to sign the application papers for him to try out at the necessary time. Therefore I understand he was denied the opportunity to try out. This may or may not be accurate.<br />
About three years ago his parents divorced. Custody was awarded to his mom. Both parents have issues with drugs and alcohol, and Preston has little if any support. His grades plummeted. As I look at his life I see little hope for him. He has never been in any kind of group with his peers, and pretty much navigates life alone, although he fishes and snowboards with his dad.<br />
It is sad that he knows little or nothing about his great grandfather, Douglas Hoyt Ford. Doug was a star athlete at the University of Washington during WW2, achieving varsity in swimming, baseball, and basketball. Preston has the genes to follow in his footsteps. But no one to encourage him.<br />
My half sister and I were raised by my father, who both loved and encouraged us, but he died when I was a sophomore in high school. I became a ward of the court and was assigned to live with my Mother. It was a pretty primitive life for two years in a log cabin in Woodinville, with neither electricity or running water. Once at the University of Washington I was blessed with a roommate from a dairy farm in E Stanwood. The Frederickson family became like second parents to me, and still remain important in my life. Most weekends I went home with my new roommate and we attended basketball games. (There were two schools then.) That is my connection with Stanwood.<br />
So. what does this have to do with you? There must be other kids like Preston, loners and hurting. and living life without direction. If you can think of anything I can do to turn this child's life around I would sincerely appreciate it.<br />
In my book club I recently read Boys in the Boat, and was struck again how important it is for a child to learn teamwork. Is there anything you can do or I can do to change what seems like an inevitable road to sadness and failure? Are there any other answers for Preston?Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-58810714616725538052017-02-05T10:59:00.000-08:002017-02-05T10:59:04.518-08:00Breaking RecordsAnother week of rain slithering in, sometimes in torrents, and when will it stop? Yesterday morning I asked Sam, my daytime caregiver, to pop over to the cascading stream by East Rec six blocks away) and pop some photos. She was back in ten minutes with half a dozen pictures of new plant stalks wiggling from milky water. Later Beth and Barb drove up from Alameda and while Barb serenaded us on her traveling guitar Beth and I tried to interpret the stream dribs sometimes in water color.<br />
Not very successful for me, but at least I'm trying. Seems we are breaking all rain records, after such a long drought. Meanwhile, Tara Vanderveer, coach of Stanford women's basketball team broke new records by coaching 1,000 winning games. Trump nominated DeVos. an out of touch millionairess to be the new secretary of education. She can't even count straight and later apologized for her boo boo. Trump also nominated Neil Gorsuch for supreme court. Oh,my....But mainly last week was a record breaker for me, as I shifted from full time care to just five days a week. I completed my five days of chest radiation the previous Wednesday. At this time my vision is improving, and some memory is coming back, which is terrific. Last week I ventured out to open studios, the women's cancer support group, and current events. Of course others have to drive me. I was a happy but exhausted camper. What isn't good is that the pain is increasing nightly so I'm not sleeping enough. I am usually up and sitting on the couch by three. I had my first and only hallucination two weeks ago at 3 in the morning, which resulted in a fight with my caregiver. Morphine every four hours helps enormously. My appetite has improved slightly, so I have much to celebrate. At Current Events (about 70 peple, 67 democrats) they decided to quit doing nothing but trump bashing, and so we did, but it makes for a pretty dull meeting. Lets see what records are broken this coming week.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-83519833043639824842016-11-25T12:29:00.000-08:002016-11-25T12:29:05.319-08:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxH1WSRG7ciJqeb7m_5I9tzcM8BaJCRQ1tN5_G22KCKFaHRPmp0amfZqgKxFY4IIwBpeW6qkQr-6KyrjxSs6SFG5kTvgA3N-3rEE7_D8LiBZyaXElu3wkjnUS9_7xHfXDziPw1R96QxLLx/s1600/IMG_0202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxH1WSRG7ciJqeb7m_5I9tzcM8BaJCRQ1tN5_G22KCKFaHRPmp0amfZqgKxFY4IIwBpeW6qkQr-6KyrjxSs6SFG5kTvgA3N-3rEE7_D8LiBZyaXElu3wkjnUS9_7xHfXDziPw1R96QxLLx/s320/IMG_0202.jpg" width="320" /></a>37 last night, and it feels like winter has arrived. The Japanese maples in my front and back yard have just a smattering of leaves left. Soon my gutters will need a good blowout. I had a quiet day at home yesterday, working hard to be grateful when I actually felt little gratitude for the ongoing pain in my ribs. It seems so bizarre that my lung cancer is not growing and causes me no pain, whereas my broken ribs seem to hurt incessantly. I took an Alleve with food last night at midnight ad it made me nauseous, so mostly today I am just loafing and catching up with lost sleep. Were she still living, yesterday would have been my 60th anniversary with Lee. Not many of us get to celebrate 51 years together.<br />
The photo is of a leaf I painted last week for a Thanksgiving card.<br />
Oh yes. I am truly grateful for your friendship. dear reader.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-7552766444956259642016-11-18T20:56:00.001-08:002016-11-18T20:56:38.497-08:00Progress by Baby Steps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I have experienced progress in my journey to getting back to independence since my hospitalization. My legs no longer feel like old wet rubber bands and I can walk a little with just a cane, instead of a walker. I have cut my caregivers down to ten hours a day instead of 24, and this Sunday I'm going to try my first day all alone.. Though I doubt I can consider the one million womens march in Washington, this dab of progress helps me to focus on something else than Trump.<br />
One day this week the thermometer on the deck measured 35, and my succulents are shivering. Today with Monica's help I went to the nursery and bought six cyclamen, which I will attempt to paint on Sunday. Meanwhile the falling leaves from the maples are making a thicker and thicker carpet. Here is a picture of some just before they fell.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-2905952545303049762016-11-11T10:39:00.001-08:002016-11-11T10:39:27.101-08:00A jumble....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Like the Japanese maple in my back yard my feelings since Tuesday are a jumble. Never having lived in the midwest or the South, I find the mentality of the electorate incomprehensible. My head tells me all these leaves will soon fall and next spring will be replaced by new green growth. But for me, I feel such deep personal sadness, and know medically I will not be around to see any of the changes I thought were coming. In a way I,m glad I wont see what happens to the supreme court, or planned parenthood, or the dreams of little girls.<br />
Many of my married lesbian friends fear their marriages will be overturned. Anything is possible, I fear.<br />
On the plus side, Hillary's, Obama and Elizabeth Warren's comments have been full of grace, a grace this writer does not yet embrace.<br />
<br />Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-37922247560226950112016-11-04T10:49:00.001-07:002016-11-04T10:49:56.355-07:00Desparate<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgY4KnMC9HVEWg-3-HlD7msfL79xaY1y6OiZ5cUsdVjYEqW7d6QRd_4LNedLRh44RMi4cy0w-YQL5TWGtx8N-i4SvUEqG1VC9nri1USYoJUIFd_Ne2HtGa1DjYcyvX-Kiu3blRX-E_7f-/s1600/DSCN0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgY4KnMC9HVEWg-3-HlD7msfL79xaY1y6OiZ5cUsdVjYEqW7d6QRd_4LNedLRh44RMi4cy0w-YQL5TWGtx8N-i4SvUEqG1VC9nri1USYoJUIFd_Ne2HtGa1DjYcyvX-Kiu3blRX-E_7f-/s320/DSCN0046.jpg" width="240" /></a>Still at home with full time caregivers who pamper me night and day. But its hard not to glue my eyes to the election polls, looking more and more scary. My friend Nancy in Denver writes she thinks Trump will win, even though he is not liked, because the Clintons are so lacking in trust. That's driving me crazy. Is most of the country crazy? I wonder what Lucy would say? (photo of my friend Jan J at the booth.)Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-28802718777647680972016-10-27T20:11:00.000-07:002016-10-27T20:11:53.589-07:00Twp Years Ago, This Date...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A dry river bed in the Sierra.,maybe taken by Jan H. Seems like centuries ago; I just got out of Petaluma Valley Hospital where I confounded the doctors and nurses for a few days. Now I am home with wonderful full time care. I had taken the magic $200.000 a month targeted pill to kill my rare cancer mutation for ten days with no problem till everything suddenly went south. I called 911 when I started vomiting blood. Three days to the ER. then three in the hospital, where my left arm looked like a huge sausage link and my right lung filled with fluid. How blessed I am to have friends here and Catherine in the wings to intervene. It was a long haul. Not sure where we'll go from here but I must be getting better because I'm getting bossy.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-57422992968612937912016-10-14T11:14:00.000-07:002016-10-14T11:14:04.646-07:00More Matters of ConsequenceSince last week's blog much has happened in the political world. Just before the second Donald-Hillary debate, an old tape of Trump revealed him boasting about sexually molesting women which was followed a few days later by other women reporting his advances. All of this made women incensed. For me the anger churned and churned, and I have been unable to let go of it. The anti nausea pills I take a half hour before the chemo pills hardly touch my emotional upheaval. Not being a mother, I've so often wondered if mothers of boys teach their offspring to respect women? If they do, how come the boys when they become men forget the lesson? I presume Trump had a mother...I wonder what she would think? Does anyone know how Trump was raised?<br />
Last night at a meeting (I ventured out for the first time in a week)I took an informal poll among my Rainbow Women colleagues. "Is there anyone here who has NOT been groped, hit on, or molested by a man?" The answer was no. I guess this is universal. So sad.<br />
I thought of my own life. It has happened at least a dozen times that I remember, and I've probably forgotten another dozen. Twice a janitor at a place of employment cornered me after hours and made a pass. I was young, and it never occurred to me to report them. Among the stories I heard last night was that of a young woman who was volunteering at a farm in Israel. She stepped on a scorpion in her bare feet, and while laying on a gurney in the hospital corridor getting novacain injections a medical employee in a white coat came by and climbed on the gurney and mauled her. Many other stories, curiously enough, happened in medical settings. Apparently doctors, like entertainers, think they have special privilege.<br />
Hillary's election will not stop this behavior. I'm not sure if anything will. I'm incensed that any woman would cast a vote for Donald after what has come out, and yet thousands will. I know at least half a dozen who live near me. They vote the way their husbands tell them to, and they tell me that "I just don't understand". Well. I don't, and never will.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-85186534044587231752016-10-07T10:48:00.000-07:002016-10-07T10:48:26.394-07:00Matters of ConsequenceSince there are ten of us in the book club I started almost four years ago, each person gets a turn every ten months to choose a book and hostess the group. For my turn yesterday I chose St Exuperey's <u>The Little Prince, </u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiES9K4J-YHBkgZDviUtBaPyos_0pYZvydFE8SY04j4wEl43RzAvGkMclrW2okEoiO7bdNRbZUA1wslEpY5cH62L_rv2bjfp8btehy6nWPWoTkmvI_l3X1yAGlXyZAm0uzCHOQAHxlbc5mi/s1600/IMG_0185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiES9K4J-YHBkgZDviUtBaPyos_0pYZvydFE8SY04j4wEl43RzAvGkMclrW2okEoiO7bdNRbZUA1wslEpY5cH62L_rv2bjfp8btehy6nWPWoTkmvI_l3X1yAGlXyZAm0uzCHOQAHxlbc5mi/s320/IMG_0185.jpg" width="279" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEu0dLSutkRjX5PCoiS-2dvm99PLO71ibAjJ6a3znvBV73XCIGswlulGdwAq8yWLBGWjKutZJ8_s74c3ebnP49L2TE2RcIsOl12I3befeID9DpxrFEf1I3tX6-GLiXw0GIxdU8nO45Abks/s1600/IMG_0184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEu0dLSutkRjX5PCoiS-2dvm99PLO71ibAjJ6a3znvBV73XCIGswlulGdwAq8yWLBGWjKutZJ8_s74c3ebnP49L2TE2RcIsOl12I3befeID9DpxrFEf1I3tX6-GLiXw0GIxdU8nO45Abks/s320/IMG_0184.jpg" width="320" /></a>This a book given to me as a gift in 1949, and I have probably read it forty times. The pages are a little yellowed and the jacket is gone, but it never fails to speak to me. For the meeting I asked each member to read a selection that spoke to them, and if so moved, to come in costume representing that part. Since my agenda was to start the magic chemo pill the next day (today) I personally chose the part about the little prince visiting the fourth planet and interviewing the business man on matters of consequence... Niece Cheari took the role of the business man counting the stars.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfU-48msG50nHmX6O80KtE14pUPsiQ1FwiYy8MzTNYRWO7XI0panO4eCwF_HFWbEAoY-rrgGfdUxrU0ilqyrcj-vO0ZBElhYRXLGFOuDuDXIEl2HwkM5IKa4Sx38FwdL9vpV7HgW0cJQAq/s1600/IMG_0182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfU-48msG50nHmX6O80KtE14pUPsiQ1FwiYy8MzTNYRWO7XI0panO4eCwF_HFWbEAoY-rrgGfdUxrU0ilqyrcj-vO0ZBElhYRXLGFOuDuDXIEl2HwkM5IKa4Sx38FwdL9vpV7HgW0cJQAq/s320/IMG_0182.jpg" width="320" /></a>It was such fun. I tried to serve french cheeses and decorate with the tricolors of the French flag. You can see by the pictures that we had great fun. Another "Bonnie" in the group chose to read about the fox in the desert, and you will see that I tried on the fox ears.<br />
So as for today, I took the pill at nine, took an anti nausea pill at 9:45, and so far have managed to keep both <br />
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down. Between my insurance and Pfizer, the pill manufacturer, all the costs of $12,000 a month are being picked up. How lucky am I.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-23743640737405337492016-09-23T10:53:00.000-07:002016-09-23T10:53:34.353-07:00Genetics, Stubborness and Unstuck<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsr4IImoJipY21Nqt1iFkifNibeg0k4kCtCpr4fwRIRpRXzSV9W0koRrHjLUXQhfVm9yzpU_NRUi6aKrU7U658tnIsbxi-tf2kGJL6FnqptoFQBycYllHvw4jxtTIErDau65kvESTzQ1z/s1600/IMG_0180+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsr4IImoJipY21Nqt1iFkifNibeg0k4kCtCpr4fwRIRpRXzSV9W0koRrHjLUXQhfVm9yzpU_NRUi6aKrU7U658tnIsbxi-tf2kGJL6FnqptoFQBycYllHvw4jxtTIErDau65kvESTzQ1z/s320/IMG_0180+%25281%2529.jpg" width="256" /></a>About six months ago, similar to the time I was diagnosed with lung cancer, I decided to fork out the money to Ancestry.com to learn my DNA. Part of my motivation was that I happen to have a few rare genetic abnormalities, especially in my eyes, but then who doesn't. (This was before I knew I had a rare genetic lung cancer). It took three tries, as it turned out. Either my spit was not potent enough, or I wasn't coughing up enough. Finally a month or so ago the results were revealed. To my amusement I was mostly British Isles and Northern European, but I was also 28% Scandanavian. (I guess those Vikings made merry when they invaded England). The Ancestry profile also revealed I had several second cousins. So I picked one at random, and was delighted this week to hear from him, a real second cousin on my father's side named Gary, who is a rancher and politician near Trinidad, Colorado. I've been having great fun learning about him and his family. From my aunt Celia <br />
(his great aunt) I inherited this photo of the Cross children, taken I imagine about 1898. They lived in a rough cabin in the Rockies, and according to Aunt Celia, it was an all day buggy ride to Trinidad to get the picture taken. My dad is the one on the left, his brother Sandy Sr. in the center, and then Celia, the oldest. Please note my father, dressed in a skirt as was the fashion, has a stick in his right hand. According to Celia, he was playing in the yard with the stick when his mother called him in to get dressed for the trip. He refused to give up the stick, had a tantrum, and his mother finally dressed him with him still holding the stick. Even when they got to town, the photographer was unable to get him to part with it, so the picture was taken with him still holding it. This was an example, Celia said, of his stubborness; a pattern, or gene, or trait, I'm guilty of displaying as well.<br />
I'm not especially proud of it, but sometimes it serves me well.<br />
So I've finally decided, whether out of stubborness or just plain exasperation with research and doctors, to opt for trying the "pill" for my lung cancer. I'm satisfied that the robot radiation is not an option, nor is surgery, so that leaves me with the experimental pill to alter the genome, or to do nothing. It costs $12,000 a month, but insurance and other sources will pay for it, and if the side effects are too bad, I'll just stop it. Wish me luck, and that my stubborness works in my favor.<br />
<br />Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-45834105565491354762016-09-16T05:50:00.000-07:002016-09-16T05:50:18.424-07:00What Color Is Stuck? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_4r8_nBiwAvGogWokNuEVgOiKa9_yfeTaUSUkSy5RGisTdpw7CjIrBquRFEF1f0NvVBTF3NkUkoOh_X1sjlLxg2lVpithBuUgSCZQTPH7e0-VYVU0NwM5CUvk3webuWxxaJFs5ZmNmHv/s1600/Bonnie%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1_4r8_nBiwAvGogWokNuEVgOiKa9_yfeTaUSUkSy5RGisTdpw7CjIrBquRFEF1f0NvVBTF3NkUkoOh_X1sjlLxg2lVpithBuUgSCZQTPH7e0-VYVU0NwM5CUvk3webuWxxaJFs5ZmNmHv/s1600/Bonnie%2529.jpg" /></a>Photo by Jan Hagan of me in more carefree days.<br />
What color is "stuck"?<br />
For several months now, in an exhausting, sometimes merry go round of doctor visits, I've been trying to decide on lung cancer treatment options. All of the docs kindly, yet in disagreement. <br />
It boils down to three options: 1) do nothing, 2) targeted radiation, or 3) the pill, a new kind of treatment for my rare mutation said to treat the genome.<br />
All have their pros and cons. This week I saw a palliative care doc who wants me to decide nothing until we treat the pain. So I've added liquid morphine to the medicine cabinet, which is already spilling over to the sidewalk.<br />
Meanwhile my creative friend Beth in Alameda has been sending me a tanka every day, highlighting a certain color. In traditional Japanese a tanka is 31 syllables, grouped as 5,7,5,7,7. Goodness, as I tried to write one, I kept substituting words because I couldn't decide on the number of syllables. Authors please check me out.<br />
Here we go.<br />
<br />
Indecision drags<br />
Sucking me down, up, sideways<br />
The color of ooze<br />
With occasional lightness<br />
Mostly void of clarity<br />
A spiral of confusion in quicksand.<br />
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<br />Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-79650695311918893632016-09-05T23:25:00.000-07:002016-09-05T23:25:45.011-07:00Missing ObjectsWe all understand about the dryer eating socks, but here's a new mystery. My gardener has been putting large baited rat traps in my back yard, because the population of rodents is exploding. We don,t like to use poison because there is so much wild life here. (Last week there were even sightings of mink and river otters.) I try to avert my eyes when I see a dead critter inside s sprung trap, and call my gardener to come to the rescue. However this week he appeared on my porch with a scowling face. It seems his traps are disappearing. All he can figure is that racoons or foxes are climbing the fence and taking home the booty, trap and all.<br />
Meanwhile, the population of rattlesnakes is also exploding. A small terrier got bit by a baby rattler a couple of blocks from here. Fortunately his vet was able to save him, but it was a close call.<br />
The rattlesnakes are our friends, of course, because they eat the rodents. Talk about coming to terms with the balance of nature!<br />
Among home owners near the vineyards there is much complaint about the bird cannons going off. These are load blasts every seven minutes to scare the starlings off the grapes. I understand they don't work too well, either. My goodness. Science has got us to the moon, and a probe to Mars, don't you think they would come up with a better solution to handle the balance of man and nature?Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-87767930518611975352016-08-28T10:34:00.001-07:002016-08-28T10:34:35.366-07:00Change of plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here's a quick sketch of my pears done Thursday on hot press. Kinda fun.<br />
Well, last Tuesday I ventured to UCSF by private limo (which was a hoot) to see a Dr. who is a specialist in my rare lung cancer mutation. The bottom line is he spoke strongly against my having the robot radiation. He was convinced that the area at the bottom of my left lung which other doctors thought was fluid or infection, was indeed metasticis from the tumor at the top of the lung. You can see that I don't even know how to spell metasicis, let alone understand it. He ruled out any kind of radiation, chemo, or surgery. As hard as that was to hear, Catherine and I felt for the first time we were talking with someone whose knowledge was trustworthy. So that was a warm relief. I came home and cancelled the extensive plans for radiation and staying at the Mikado. A ct scan up here on Thursday seems to validate everything the UCSF doctor said. So the only possible treatment seems to be a drug which is not yet approved by the FDA and costs $11,000 a month. Moreover it is a drug which can only be taken for a year, as it harms the liver. At 86 I am not stressed about my diagnosis, but I do hope that I will soon get a handle on pain management. Right now it is a challenge. Most pain drugs make me loopy, and I am loopy enough without adding to my agenda.<br />
On a lighter note, my asian pear tree is producing vigorously, and I can't give them away fast enough.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMKexQfP12a7Wemd3cn6j2p7zM6PmL-jHVnYd3u3G-HG1At9cbRM_q87fhAKKYDwLtpBCaLqaE_xozqx2UlUg1gpnpo-YzlGNRMk0frdsuTibNtjQFV_Pfi4hyphenhyphenyddHPp7pKW8mC2mal-3/s1600/IMG_0175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMKexQfP12a7Wemd3cn6j2p7zM6PmL-jHVnYd3u3G-HG1At9cbRM_q87fhAKKYDwLtpBCaLqaE_xozqx2UlUg1gpnpo-YzlGNRMk0frdsuTibNtjQFV_Pfi4hyphenhyphenyddHPp7pKW8mC2mal-3/s320/IMG_0175.jpg" width="320" /></a>My gardener finally hauled away the summer growth of flowers and with Indian summer coming, I may get a new harvest. Yeah.<br />
Around Sonoma county all of the grapes seems to be harvested and the tourists are pouring in to taste the latest.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-75357122241302402662016-08-21T11:34:00.000-07:002016-08-21T11:34:10.620-07:00Winding Down, or UP?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOHsq5BXlTZ491LsC9W310uNtkCclWxlzqCDG4WllZHEtB1BB2KL5dFxrMQrOkFQqXrEY_pc24B7SCl8GdRFu_CeufpAugifVkTpqRxC1lB_pzhBh9gOpwWP_jStcGJtyEmnCUwgFAwkJ/s1600/IMG_0169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOHsq5BXlTZ491LsC9W310uNtkCclWxlzqCDG4WllZHEtB1BB2KL5dFxrMQrOkFQqXrEY_pc24B7SCl8GdRFu_CeufpAugifVkTpqRxC1lB_pzhBh9gOpwWP_jStcGJtyEmnCUwgFAwkJ/s320/IMG_0169.jpg" width="320" /></a>Summer days now are shorter, and a little cooler, which is appreciated, though the fire around Lower Lake makes for dramatic orange sunsets and moon risings. This author with compromised lungs does not appreciate the hazy air. The authorities are pretty sure they have the arsonist in jail who started this, and seventeen other fires.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwM6Fjzc-BS9MkFnu_C_c3_KGRbqs8HedgANIawDDj3aQ7rDt7vOXVwLpk8U2Z9LsOOVXgCa4ELEm9mYCu7TdF23OeI1GIUI0MlHoYDJSOLOLpMSva34JR8YiNn72y3WWmbDEHdfs-r2bC/s1600/IMG_0170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwM6Fjzc-BS9MkFnu_C_c3_KGRbqs8HedgANIawDDj3aQ7rDt7vOXVwLpk8U2Z9LsOOVXgCa4ELEm9mYCu7TdF23OeI1GIUI0MlHoYDJSOLOLpMSva34JR8YiNn72y3WWmbDEHdfs-r2bC/s320/IMG_0170.jpg" width="320" /></a>On the home front I've been pestering my gardener to prune back the perennial plants, which he usually does in July, allowing for a radiant second bloom of everything in September, but my pleadings seem to be ignored. The garden looks forgotten. Now he is coming<br />
<br />
next Wednesday with a big truck to haul away the dead stuff, and who knows if I'll get a second bloom. I guess in the larger scheme of things, this is inconsequential, but it bugs me.<br />
Tuesday morning at six a.m. a professional driver is taking me to UCSF in the city for a second opinion on my rare cancer mutation, and he will hang around for the two hour appointment, before bringing me back home. A new kind of adventure. Cross your fingers that his diagnosis and treatment plan agree with the one I already have in place. Otherwise, like the flowers, I will be in a confused state.<br />
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Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-23218367343932814862016-08-14T08:34:00.000-07:002016-08-14T08:34:00.368-07:00Progress. Finally. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlO0GJ5GdaLF79Kyi7RI8Gc8Y2jovi0_iYRPnLses9kk57ZeIcKpY-qSVM15gbreM3ZVkSkId-AkYl3Lu0J9UP7KfFl3lPsoS3lCOnW2sHVk5nxI1HcSccsUEorMqiOoJCWvhI55IQLZL/s1600/IMG_0165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlO0GJ5GdaLF79Kyi7RI8Gc8Y2jovi0_iYRPnLses9kk57ZeIcKpY-qSVM15gbreM3ZVkSkId-AkYl3Lu0J9UP7KfFl3lPsoS3lCOnW2sHVk5nxI1HcSccsUEorMqiOoJCWvhI55IQLZL/s320/IMG_0165.jpg" width="320" /></a>Looks like I will hang my hat at the Kabuki hotel in San Francisco's Japantown for radiation the week of August 29-Sept 2, and Sept 5-8, with my fifth and last radiation Sept 12. I'm relieved to have it all scheduled, that is if the robot does not go on strike or the earth shake.<br />
Meanwhile, in sunny Santa Rosa I have not found any more rats nibbling my asian pears or sending me indoors shrieking.<br />
All over Oakmont the crepe myrtles are showing their stuff. They come in as many colors as in my water color palette, but I love the intense pinks the best. Some are thirty or forty feet high. but I keep my three (sample shown) at about eight feet, so as not to obstruct the mountain view for my neighbors.<br />
Driving to Boyes Hot Springs yesterday for fish tacos, which is twenty minutes East on Highway 12,<br />
I noted all the grapes have already been picked. Its a very early crush,they tell me.<br />
Excuse me now, while I catch Face the Nation. I have to see what new tricks Trump is up to.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-49765573759057190122016-08-07T10:27:00.000-07:002016-08-07T13:29:16.074-07:00I Am Unique!I'm really tired of writing about my lung cancer, but its about all that consumes my life right now, other than the proliferation of rats that have invaded everyone's garden in Oakmont. Since the fruit of my large Asian Pear tree started dropping, two six inch long critters have set up shop in my yard. They think they are household pets, and so far have ignored the traps set by my gardener. They are so tame I could name them, and they'd probably eat out of my hand, but they give me the creeps big time. They look and act nothing like the wood rats I had in the Oakland hills, which primarily lived on wood, including my rafters. These guys are very light grey, and have white tummies. They look like they escaped from some child's pet cage.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8E94n3Ho8G9W2smGm7fk-Q5aeGqibCv6LFV0zacHsRCevWJ6hp_w44MXIvkjhcYN4mR-AKLBMr-TkKF70LKlXy3BJki5N0sOrOAwkmto1ZFBevpEIbezEOLWCOzLwsy9EOnqCPOOszrA/s1600/IMG_0162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8E94n3Ho8G9W2smGm7fk-Q5aeGqibCv6LFV0zacHsRCevWJ6hp_w44MXIvkjhcYN4mR-AKLBMr-TkKF70LKlXy3BJki5N0sOrOAwkmto1ZFBevpEIbezEOLWCOzLwsy9EOnqCPOOszrA/s320/IMG_0162.jpg" width="320" /></a>So, there is much news on my lung cancer. Friday I saw my oncologist here, Dr. Brett. He informed me the mutation studies were back and showed I had a very rare mutation., called Met. Now all cancer is a mutation, but this is a mutation on a mutation. No one on his staff has ever heard of it. In such cases the cancer is treated not with radiation or chemo, but with a pill which changes the gene.<br />
So he thinks in the meantime we should go ahead with the Cyberknife at Sutter, SF, and then deal with the mutation later.<br />
On the phone I ran this decision by a therapist, Angie, who leads the women's cancer support group here. She is adamantly opposed to my pursuing the radiation, as is my neighbor, Linda, who works for a company that manufactures a robot in competition to the cyberknife.<br />
Yesterday Catherine and I spent four hours on the internet researching MET. Seems that there are a few places in the world, including Northern Italy, where they are seeking volunteers for clinical trials.<br />
So don't be surprised if my next blog comes from a foreign land.<br />
Meanwhile, Brett ordered a lung xray because I was in so much pain. It seems that the simulation for the robot two weeks ago which failed because I was screaming with pain, caused two more ribs to fracture. Thats all I needed. Previously 10, 11, and 12 were fractured in my fall last Sept. They are almost healed, but now 8 and 9, just under my diaphragm, are newly fractured. Brett gave me stronger pain pills, which help.<br />
In a way, I'm glad I am unique. But decisions would be easier if I were a plain old roof rat. Wish me the wisdom to make the right decision.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-18174363532463650342016-07-28T16:41:00.001-07:002016-07-28T16:41:48.332-07:00More DelaysNothing is ever for sure. Twenty minutes before we were to leave for San Francisco Tuesday the hospital called and and informed me their scanning machine was down.... Reschedule for Friday.<br />
We made the best of it and went to lunch at Sea Thai Bistro, here in Santa Rosa. Its been a hot, smoky week, with the fires down south. Still, keeping my chin up. Cross your fingers nothing else will happen.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-76120409197810695932016-07-22T08:48:00.002-07:002016-07-22T08:48:37.843-07:00The Waiting Game Almost OverThree days from now (and waiting is hard) I trek to SF for the robot simulation for zapping my lung cancer. At that time many experts will measure me, tattoo me, and make a body cast for me to lie in during the five day procedure. Its all very exciting and sometimes the anxiety of the unknown kicks in. Right now, however, my lung infection seems healed, and I am antzy to get on with it.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-58434740703853385242016-07-16T06:46:00.001-07:002016-07-16T06:46:29.320-07:00Hurry Up and WaitLast Wednesday an Oakmont friend, Karen, drove me to meet with the robot doc in San Francisco where Catherine and Michelle (Lee's cousin) sat with me for a two and a half hour conference with a nice man I'll call Dr. A. Seems Dr. A has a slightly different opinion of the radiation treatment plan than my oncologist up here, whose plan (though not personality)I prefer. <br />
They are going to confer by phone next Monday or Tuesday. And then confer again with me. Then yesterday I met with my pulminologist and got yet other suggestions. And I may seek a fourth opinion. "Anyhow" as my Canadian relatives would say, it looks like early August is the first anything can happen. Thanks to everyone who is being so supportive.<br />
Birthday celebrations continue. This is getting old, as am I. <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wr_sbpysu-aq-iHKvl9LM-QtPMzUSHKb74iUtSRvH0JIqhbsKwc1l2DaVOknuMQmyCm9JKF-7WtPb6r0U3-_yRFv2dkDTX7H749zNl4iCpOSEMSUAUPnSfvYDqhPcRujCP6C0ya60_vR/s1600/IMG_0148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wr_sbpysu-aq-iHKvl9LM-QtPMzUSHKb74iUtSRvH0JIqhbsKwc1l2DaVOknuMQmyCm9JKF-7WtPb6r0U3-_yRFv2dkDTX7H749zNl4iCpOSEMSUAUPnSfvYDqhPcRujCP6C0ya60_vR/s320/IMG_0148.jpg" width="303" /></a><br />
On the left, Shirley and Dolores, my freshman sorority roommates from 68 years ago, dining at Michelle Maries, a french coffee house here.<br />
Additional bonus, my great niece, Darcie, and her husband Dave, whom I had never met, flew to California from their home in rural Wyoming to interview for a job up by Mt Lassen. By rising at four am they were able to visit with me for an hour, just before I left for SF. The job turned out to be a reject, but Darcie said they whole trip was worth it just to see me. My head is swelling.<br />
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Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-41391646963425139622016-07-09T09:38:00.000-07:002016-07-09T09:38:18.428-07:00Birthday Girls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGcxyGbyJ2YSYmbmZ-t3W17MXN0uhn42utO2EuR09R9WgVJ4eJkZPInXZeqtTGdA4IO3sJrkk92c7Q7rG5CdTOI7n8Umztf-LDugDQ-CxChu2pe42JvBpoIm3aIIxIMocyUopyOdRPXcx/s1600/IMG_0144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGcxyGbyJ2YSYmbmZ-t3W17MXN0uhn42utO2EuR09R9WgVJ4eJkZPInXZeqtTGdA4IO3sJrkk92c7Q7rG5CdTOI7n8Umztf-LDugDQ-CxChu2pe42JvBpoIm3aIIxIMocyUopyOdRPXcx/s320/IMG_0144.jpg" width="312" /></a>As usual on Wednesday nights here fifteen or sixteen of us go out for dinner, at which time those who have had a birthday that week are celebrated. So last Wednesday after the cards and songs for two of us, I told the following story:<br />
Eighty-six years ago in Seattle's Swedish hospital, a hospital that still exists, a strikingly beautiful Canadian woman of twenty one, an illegal immigrant, gave birth to a 7.6 oz baby girl. When Dr. Torland held me up for my mother to see, she screamed. Her baby was not perfect, for the second and third toes on both feet were webbed. She begged Dr Torland to take a scalpel and cut them through, and even though he was one of many men who was smitten with my mother's beauty and charisma, he refused.<br />
When I was little and other kids pointed at my toes and teased me, I tried to hide my feet.<br />
I guess I was seven or eight,<br />
by then altogether used to my mother's romantic dalliances, that I noticed my beloved father had identical webbed toes. I realized then I was his kid, and ever since I have celebrated my uniqueness.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-49982100817395670302016-07-01T09:21:00.003-07:002016-07-01T09:21:27.308-07:00Seems Cancer Makes One Self AbsorbedMuch as I'd like my focus to be on the world, you, nature, ect. it seems when one has cancer one can only think of themselves.I very much dislike that, but that is how it is right now.<br />
I am in a fair amount of pain, which my new doc thinks is from the cancer, not from the broken ribs yet healing.<br />
As of Wednesday morning I have an oncologist Dr. Brett and he rules the roost. He wants me to go to Sutter hospital in SF for one to four days for treatment with the cyber knife, to radiate away the tumor in my left lung. Even though we don't yet know much about the nature of the kind of cancer, he wants this done immediately. It could be anything from stage one to four, or even a mutation, but he insists on immediacy. So I am waiting for insurance approval. You can read about the cyber knife on Goodgle.<br />
Then I will stay in a hotel in SF that has shuttle service to the hospital. All of my friends and family in SF have houses with stairs, which I'm not up to at this juncture. So I may leave as early as tomorrow or it could be a week from tomorrow. The holiday complicates things. How lucky I am to have the means and friends and family to accomodate this.<br />
Cousin Michelle who lives in SF has familiarity with the cyber knife and will accompany me the first day. Wow. A lot to digest.<br />
Its better not to phone as there are so many hospital calls, but I can still get and send emails with ease.<br />
Love you all.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-36019374313040619282016-06-24T20:19:00.001-07:002016-06-24T20:19:22.721-07:00Standing InMy niece Cheari and hubby Alvey from Arlington, Wash. are holding Oakmont together for me as I'm still fighting off this bug that wants to hold court in my left lung. I need another CT scan of what's going on in there but it has to be delayed till the infection is healed, so right now its a waiting game.<br />
The Raineer cherries from Washington are about to say bye bye as is my favorite flavor of frozen yogurt, Mango Sorbet. Not sure I will survive these major losses.<br />
Today is an exciting day in the news, Cheari attended Current Events for me while Alvey smoozed in a deck chair. So I'm going to let her tell you about it. <br />
Here goes ... it was my first current events session and interesting subjects were discussed. Climate change, Trump and more Trump, the pull out of England from the EU, organic farming and the use of GMO's, the recent verdict concerning the sentence of a woman in Oakmont who killed an elderly woman and badly injured another while driving by accelerating rather than braking. There were others that don't come to mind at the moment, but will trickle into my head and consciousness in the next couple of days. I understand the draw of all the clubs, social and educational opportunities and everything else Oakmont has to offer, and am so happy that Aunt Bonnie found and moved to this stimulating community that has given her pleasure over her years living here. Best wishes ... CheariBonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-65150867272387603072016-06-16T06:21:00.000-07:002016-06-16T06:21:50.661-07:00Another Moment in Lavender<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DC_6gRsYpr-vPZq4aE88Qz-6z6Ft_lRAYJYscl6umLsUhhceDMQ-Ipjakau5ZUmj-SzxuvBnvhJcNcdE9U9POZhAuaZVizboQ0lCsc8IrbyOJTCZR980KLh_ydYikxycK2j1FE7jMDN-/s1600/IMG_0125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DC_6gRsYpr-vPZq4aE88Qz-6z6Ft_lRAYJYscl6umLsUhhceDMQ-Ipjakau5ZUmj-SzxuvBnvhJcNcdE9U9POZhAuaZVizboQ0lCsc8IrbyOJTCZR980KLh_ydYikxycK2j1FE7jMDN-/s320/IMG_0125.jpg" width="240" /></a>Its a challenge to catch the lavender in bloom at just the right moment. When I scouted out to Matanzas winery last Tuesday I determined I was a week too soon for the peak. Last year when I took the picture of the tourist I was three days late; they had already started to harvest. Anyway, I had fun taking pictures and Wednesday I finally finished revisions on the painting I started a year ago. Can you see what she is staring at so intently?<br />
Many memorials around Santa Rosa this week for the 49 shooting victims in Florida.<br />
My days seem filled with medical appointments so I have been saving my energy for that. Pet scan tomorrow, which means a weird low carb diet today. For breakfast Im having a cheese and spinach omelet----no fruit or toast or coffee. Seems weird.<br />
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Meanwhile in Washington DC we are filibustering to change the gun laws. All of my heart and energy and will are attached to this effort. <br />
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Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7461242705943089038.post-85001263196164498332016-06-08T09:03:00.001-07:002016-06-08T09:06:39.754-07:00NOW Every Little Girl Can Be Whatever She Dreams To Be<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DMtPgE7toDEpoHCHfc4xACdMjWE1p-97frcoIFtW1DyuXp1LUdDABokP858W5o3T8RHmUnvkaWgKC_n4GHDs_SeoxZMMdn1N5lbKkp2ooT4wnWZe0cN488vCSe23TRp1WGFfbiu7n0Xq/s1600/IMG_0116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DMtPgE7toDEpoHCHfc4xACdMjWE1p-97frcoIFtW1DyuXp1LUdDABokP858W5o3T8RHmUnvkaWgKC_n4GHDs_SeoxZMMdn1N5lbKkp2ooT4wnWZe0cN488vCSe23TRp1WGFfbiu7n0Xq/s320/IMG_0116.jpg" width="190" /></a>With joy and relief I celebrate Hillary's nomination. Now we can all breathe a bit deeper. Except me, maybe, for right now breathing becomes a challenge, at least deep breathing.<br />
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I am ambivalent about reporting that I hope I will be around for her inauguration. Day before yesterday my lung biopsy of the previous week confirmed what I suspected, lung cancer in the left lung. Thats about all I know for now until I see the oncologist June 29. Meanwhile I'm continuing my usual activities and enjoying the support of so many friends here.<br />
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What tickled me yesterday was my petite housekeeper, Kelly, arrived with a Hillary tee shirt. Kelly is a treasure. Not only did she make my house spic and span, she found a ring I thought I had lost for sure, nestled under the cedar chest in my bedroom. It would have been so easily vacuumed up. The ring was my Aunt Celia's from the First World War in France, where she served in the trenches as an army nurse. It was originally from her beau, a soldier and patient who loved her, but sadly died.<br />
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When I inherited it I had it remade, adding a lapis stone, my favorite. Thank you, Kelly.<br />
Along with other Albany high school girls, in "42 and "43, Lee was a Rosie the Riveter at the Richmond Ship Yards, so the image is especially precious to me.Bonnie's Bloghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280995423671150803noreply@blogger.com0