Recently, the cat who keeps me company at the Post Office, Curly, disappeared. She adopted our office as her home seven years ago. She spends her day sleeping in a chair atop a red, white, and blue blanket knitted for her by one of our customers. At night and when the office is closed, we … More The Cat Came Back
Trees “Keep a green tree in your heart and a singing bird will come.” Chinese Proverb In November, the deciduous trees on our property cover the lawn with a radiant multi-colored blanket of leaves. Each fall, I spend several hours raking them into piles. Then, I haul them to my flowerbeds where they act as … More Trees
I could be handy, mending a fuse When your lights are gone. You can knit a sweater by the fireside, Sunday mornings go for a ride. Doing the garden, digging the weeds, Who could ask for more? Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I’m sixty-four? The Beatles-1967 As a … More When I’m Sixty-Four
Everyday, I think about having cancer and everyday I forget that I have cancer. Reminders of my illness abound. It does not take much to make me hesitate and ponder the calculus of my future. For example, because we live in a remote area, I often shop on the web. Just last week, I procrastinated … More Everyday
My wife and I spent last week hiking in Washington State. First, we visited Mt. Saint Helens National Monument. We hiked at Independence Pass and climbed Windy Ridge. Our trail followed an exposed slope several miles north of the crater. The devastation caused by the volcano’s eruption 30 years ago dominates the environment. Pumice lay like … More Climbing Mountains
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
A family of Great Horned Owls nest near our property. In years past, their deep whoing call resonated through the forest after dark. This season, for the first time, the owls make regular appearances in the trees around my gardens. The winter was mild. Spring came early and lingers. Persistent rain drenched Oregon in May. … More Owls
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
Spring is a time of rebirth, new growth, and graduations. Last week, my family traveled to California and celebrated my oldest son’s graduation from the University of California, Berkeley Law School. This marks another significant event in an odyssey we have all traveled since December of 2002, when he broke his neck in a vehicle … More Graduation
Last weekend I learned that one of my favorite bloggers and multiple myeloma compadres succumbed to her disease. Nancy, of “Because I Said So” fame signed off her blog three weeks ago after admitting hospice into her life. We had much in common with respect to our cancer. We both received our multiple myeloma diagnosis … More For the Love of Nancy
Good Blood, Bad Blood 