My iris blooms arrived in May and departed in June. Most of the lavender flowers shriveled unattractively on their stalks and I cut them off. Yesterday, I dug a colony of these bulbs from my perennial beds. I shook off the dirt, storing them in a paper bag. I’ve four more clumps to remove, energy willing. … More It’s Complicated
Last Thursday I visited my oncologist. We reviewed the most recent lab tests. Things are good. My M-Spike holds at 0.1 g/dL and serum free light chain numbers are all within the reference range. My drug-free remission continues 21 months post transplant. On Friday I drove to Portland, OR to attend the International Myeloma Foundation’s … More IMF Patient & Family Seminar
What I’ve been reading: The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson Take perfect pacing, add quirky characters, a tablespoon of revenge, and a pinch of profanity, then feast on this top-notch police procedural. Afghanistan by Stephen Tanner All the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot put Afghanistan together again. Its geography defies conquest and … More Remission
On Valentine’s Day, my wife and I adopted a neutered adult male cat. I named him Spanky. He’s a brawny Bengal looking tabby. He weighs 16 pounds and is oblivious to his size, believing he is a lap cat when, in reality, he is a two lap cat. We estimate his age at three to … More Balance
On January 14th, I put my beloved cat, Buckwheat, to sleep. Since my last post when I mentioned her claim to our household as a private domain, she deteriorated rapidly. She stopped eating and moved from her perch on the couch only to sip water. When doing so, I observed that her back legs, particularly … More RIP
First, some book reviews of 25 words or less: Because They Wanted To by Mary Gaitskill Raw, kinky stories, populated by conflicted heroines engaged in short term urban relationships. Men are welcome; I think. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri These stories are comfortable as old jeans, but there are holes in the pockets through which … More Survival Stories
“All the soarings of my mind begin in my blood.” Rainier Maria Rilke The seasons fold into one another like origami. Several days of hard frost caused my tomatoes to droop with dismay. As if on cue, east winds set the maples ablaze with fall color. Then a front of marine air, spring-like, collided with the … More Where The Wild Things Are
Last Sunday morning, I walked six miles. Then, I spent the afternoon working in my garden. I dug up a row of potatoes. I rooted after the spuds like a wild pig. I got down on all fours and, with a potato fork acting as my snout, unearthed the crop. I washed and sorted the … More Harvest
I returned to work on April 6th following a ten-month absence. I’d taken time off to receive treatment for multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting the plasma cells in my blood. I spent the fall and winter months recuperating from an immune suppressed condition, the result of an autologous stem cell transplant. I am the Postmaster … More El Gato del Correos
For the last several months, I’ve followed the open sea journey of Rich Wilson. He is the only American and the oldest entrant (58) in the Vendee Globe 2008. Some call the VG the Mt. Everest of sailboat racing. The competition goes around the world from France to France with Antarctica to starboard. It’s the … More Joie De Vivre
Good Blood, Bad Blood 