Happy Holidays!

For those of you who have kept up with this blog and the postings throughout 2022, you will know that the year has been one with a few challenges. However, we seem to be past most of that now, and the future looks good. We are already making plans for some traveling in 2023. We have missed being able to do that, what with COVID and cancer interruptions. However, this next year we intend to spend the month of March with good friends in Arizona (yay—spring training baseball games!), travel with our very dear Australian friends through parts of Canada in June, and then in late July and early August spend a week with Jessica's family and Travis at a beautiful guest ranch in the Bob Marshall Wilderness area in Montana, a place we visited with them in 1993 when they were much younger and, in Jessica's case, sans family.

Of course, we are also looking forward to the opportunity to spend more time at our beloved second home in Wisconsin. In fact, in some portion of January and February, we plan to be there to enjoy the woods in winter, to do some snow shoeing and/or cross-country skiing, to spend time with friends who live near there, enjoy visits by some of our own family members, and finally, to watch those of our grandchildren who ski as they participate or compete in the annual Hayward area Birkebeiner event. (Click there for details and access to trail cams and other videos.) Some people escape to warmer climates when it gets cold. We go north into the snow! (At least for a bit.)

Before we say goodbye to 2022, I have to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to all of you who have been so kind, supportive and communicative, especially during the months I was dealing with surgery and the chemotherapy program. Your cards, Zoom or FaceTime calls, and other expressions of care and concern will never be forgotten, and I hope that we do continue to stay in touch. 

Confronting one's own mortality brings all kinds of memories, wishes, and hopes to the fore. I have so much about which to be grateful. My 78 trips around the sun so far have been mostly very good ones, and I look forward to at least a few more. More time up north. More woodworking. More books. More music. More time with my children and grandchildren. More paying attention to living things, green spaces, beautiful scenes, sunrises and sunsets, and friends.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the love and daily care that Kathie has shown and provided all through the year. During an illness like the one I faced, one does stop to think about that "in sickness and in health" phrase which is a part of most marital vows. Kathie lived that notion this year and seemed to do so with strength and smiles, though I know the time was often hard for her. I owe her my life and love, and I must work harder to be for her what she has been for me. (Maybe a new puppy sometime this summer will help!?)

We wish for all of you the happiest of possible holiday times, and best wishes for a healthy, happy 2023.

Kathie and Bill

What We Are Up To + A Few Musings

(Remember, to see better images of any of the pictures herein, just click on them.)

It is time for another report from me, whether you asked for it or not! 😃 This posting will be somewhat "all over the place." We are enjoying the transition to fall and winter, although global warming trends seem to find us now doing lots of things in our yard that we surely did much earlier in years gone by—raking or mulching leaves, covering selected plants, and trimming back growth on other plants. A hard freeze finally stopped our single amazing "Better Boy" tomato plant dead in its tracks. We brought the small plant home from a favorite nursery near our cabin in Wisconsin, and it produced like crazy. Kathie harvested every last bit of fruit near the end of the plant's life, as you can see below. Some of these tomatoes are still turning red, and we have prepared a few as fried green tomatoes. Many were shared with friends too. Going back to those store-bought tomatoes with the texture of an apple will be disappointing.

 

 

For a recent family gathering, I made a big pot of vegetarian chili, which ended up being some of the best tasting chili we have ever had. You can click here for the recipe if you wish. I'd like to say I used some of our tomatoes, but the truth is that I followed the recipe to the letter and used canned whole tomatoes with their extra juice.

 

 

 

As a preview of coming attractions (spring 2023), pictured below are our choices for new cabinets and countertops in our kitchen.  After living in our new house for about 1½ years, we have decided that the original cabinets are too dark and worn. Some of the hardware is failing, sliding pullouts have broken, and the finish is badly deteriorated here and there. Plus, there are presently two different styles/colors of countertops (a different one on the island), a backsplash along only a portion of the counters, and no accommodation for a microwave except by taking up counter space. The wood we have chosen is hickory. Everyone these days seems to be choosing white cabinets, but we still like wood. This hickory is going to be much lighter and varied than the present cabinets, and the countertops will be a nice light color too. Stay tuned! I'll provide more details second quarter next year.

I can't help talking about my children and grandchildren—something I suppose many of us do. So please pardon a little bragging here. Will's son Anders has become quite the athlete, specializing in cycling and cross-country skiing activities. He recently won the Minnesota state championship in mountain biking in his age group. Bicycles can get pretty muddy in such events! Riders too!

Rob's oldest daughter, Eleanor, has become quite the thespian, having performed now in three different productions with a lead in two of them. Here she is posing with an advertising banner for the Iowa City City High production in which she played the part of Peter. A contingent of grandparents, cousins, and an uncle attended one of her performances recently.

A couple of weekends ago, around the time of Kathie's birthday, Will and some of our grandchildren stayed with us. This was homecoming weekend for The University of Iowa (I won't let Ohio State get away with capitalizing "The" in front of their name if I can't do it for my university!), and some attended the game against Northwestern (which Iowa won—not a given this particular season!). Cousins Anders and Henry, who seem to have formed a special bond these past few years, sat together. (By the way, Henry has just been accepted as a student at the University beginning in the fall of 2023.)

All of the grandkids present helped in preparing for a breakfast birthday celebration for Kathie the following morning. They all helped with the cooking and table preparations.

We survived another Halloween! For us in our new home and neighborhood, "Trick or Treat" night is a very different thing. At our prior home in the country, we rarely had anyone come to the door. Here we get dozens! Kathie camped out near the front door while a steady stream of cute, clever children came by—81 in all!
 

Meanwhile, the grandkids were out and about in their respective neighborhoods. Here are Eleanor, I think as a Barbie Doll, and Penny as Elton John.

Henry was a three-hole-punched sheet of paper with other references to "The Office", Frederick was Darth Vader, and Clara was a snow boarder. I think I have this right!?

I want to mention a couple of very interesting NASA-related web sites to you. First, you may find it interesting, as I do, to know about "passes" of the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is a very bright object in the night sky, and it is fun to watch it arrive somewhere in the western sky, pass overhead, and then disappear in the eastern sky. These passes can take several minutes. In order to know when to watch for them, one can register with NASA in order to receive emails that inform you of passes that will occur the next night. These include details regarding where in the sky to watch for the appearance, maximum height above the horizon, and duration of the pass. I find this very fascinating, even after having watched many prior times. Click here to learn more. The second NASA web site I wish to draw to your attention is called "Astronomy Picture of the Day." The web site is located here. I like seeing these different day-to-day pages so much, that I have made this my browser's home page—that way, I cannot fail to see different things from time to time. One page in particular recently affected me. This was the September 26th picture of the day (by the way, the site offers access to an archive of its past postings). If that day's picture doesn't make you stop to think about how precious our planet's water supply is, then nothing will. Click here to see what I mean. If you do, you will learn that if one were to gather up every atom of water on the planet, fresh and sea water both, and form it into a sphere, that sphere would be quite tiny compared to the sphere which is the earth itself. The fresh water only version is even more diminished. When you think about what we have done to our water resources with pollution, runoff, introduction of micro-plastics, and more, some of the water that is tears in your eyes may appear.

Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Since 2010, I've kept a record of all the books I read, so I can tell you that I read between 70 and 100 books each year—mysteries and other novels, history, biographies, science, mathematics, and others. I always enjoying getting recommendations and sharing same, and I thank those of you with whom I share a periodic report about books. Here are a few of the 2022 books I've read that I highly recommend:

• Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South by Winfred Rembert (Only read a paper copy of this book!)
• Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen (Best book I read this year! Thanks, Luther!)
• Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• God Is Not Great by Christopher Hutchins
• The "Broken Earth trilogy" by N.K. Jemisin
• UNIX: A History and A Memoir by Brian Kernighan
• Code Girls by Liza Mundy (Tidbit: I learned that Bill Nye, the "Science Guy", is the son of a "code girl"—one of numerous women who made an enormous difference during World War II to decode enemy communications.)
• What if? 2 by Randall Munroe (His What if? is also very good.)

A bit more about this last one: Munroe draws a funny online cartoon at the web site xkcd.com. Most of the cartoons are about science, mathematics, etc. People have written to him for years asking often ridiculous questions. In these two What if? books, he has taken many of these questions and developed serious, accurate, but often very funny answers. For example, in What if? 2 he takes up "What if my phone was based on vacuum tubes? How big would it be?" (The answer, by the way, is about five city blocks, but the several pages of explanation are quite fun.) Another example (for you, Margaret and Murray): "How many pigeons would it require in order to lift the average person and a launch chair to the height of Australia's Q1 skyscraper?" 

I have a few woodworking projects underway but nothing to show yet. Some pieces for that folding Confederate War era chair I mentioned previously have been cut out, but I have a long ways to go on that project. In the meantime, I'm just finishing up a walnut hall tree for our home. I'm also designing a quilt rack to display a gorgeous quilt that Kathie made, with some help from her sister. She made the quilt from many of my old work neckties. I no longer need to wear them! Yay!

I've been thinking about writing to my readers about the political climate for some time, especially with the elections as they approached. I know this topic can be touchy. Honestly, I have been quite depressed about the state of our nation and the state of my state of Iowa, for that matter. I don't feel a lot better after the election! My concern is mostly for my children and grandchildren and their futures. I am pleased that the so-called "red wave" didn't appear to happen, although Iowa became a shade redder! I strongly dislike that Iowans voted (three to one!) for a constitutional amendment that further enshrines gun rights with language that will make it exceedingly difficult to enact sensible laws that protect us from gun violence. I also dislike that Iowa, which elected President Obama twice, has now become so staunchly Republican. I dislike that some of Iowa's Republican candidates (for governor, senate, and house) gladly accepted alliances with a former President who, in my mind, is simply a bad individual (dishonest, unprepared for leadership, divisive, and prejudiced). I dislike that so much of our political environment is based on lying and misrepresentation—I suppose this has always been present, but it seems so much worse today. I dislike that the Internet, something I helped advance in a small way, is today a vehicle for much of this. I dislike that politics is getting in the way of appropriate and decisive attention to the problems our environment and our planet are facing.  And I dislike that we seem to be turning away from civil rights, the value of diversity, and towards such public, pronounced prejudice. All of this hard line liberal versus conservative thinking isn't helping. Can't we find a way to work in the middle somewhere? I don't think it helps anyone to think that we have to be strictly one way or the other.

In closing, permit me to leave you with a few quotes that a best friend shared with me recently. These are, I think, especially appropriate for we retired, aging folks:

• People who ask me what I'm doing tomorrow probably assume that I even know what day of the week it is. (Amazing how this happens when you retire and keep busy!)
  
• Some call it multitasking. I call it doing something else while I try to remember what I was doing in the first place. (Kathie is a good multitasker. It seems like she can literally listen to and absorb one thing and think about another all while doing something constructive. I, on the other hand, much prefer things one at a time—don't assume I've heard what you said until you're sure you have my attention! I'm flawed!)
  
• Funny thing about getting older: Your eyesight starts getting weaker but your ability to see through people's bullshit gets much better. (And let me personally add...especially politician's!)
  

Getting Back to Normal (Whatever that is!)

Now that I'm no longer receiving chemotherapy treatments, my posts here will appear not so regularly. I have only one small, but important, bit of information to share related to my September 7th post-chemo health checkup. You may recall that I'm participating in a research study that has resulted in a "circulating tumor DNA blood test." Signatera is the trade-marked name of this test, and you can read more about it by clicking here if you wish. Simply put, the test is tailored to each individual based on DNA related to the original cancer tumor. I have had two such tests so far. One was administered in February, about one month after the surgery I had in January to remove the tumor. The second one was administered after my September 7th post-chemo checkup, though the results only became available more recently. In both cases, the measurement was zero, meaning that no circulating tumor DNA (referred to as ctDNA) was found. Absence of ctDNA is a strong indication that there is no reoccurrence of the cancer, at least at the time of the test. So, bottom line, continuing very good news. But as before, on to other things.

Fall colors at our lake home have been extraordinary this year. Here is a sample from about 10 days ago. Things are peaking now, with frost occurring this week and wind and rain knocking leaves down. Still... You might want to double click on this picture to see a larger version.

While I am at the cabin winterizing various things and putting outdoor items away, Kathie has returned to Iowa for an Alpha Phi reunion. When she got home she found that our single Better Boy tomato plant was continuing to produce. Although I haven't actually weighed or otherwise measured our crop, I'd be willing to bet that we have gotten perhaps a bushel of tomatoes from this one, hardy plant. The tomatoes are so so good, with a texture and flavor unlike anything one buys during the remainder of the year at the grocery.

Before Kathie went home, my sister Paula and brother-in-law Ron came to spend a couple days with us at the cabin. There is a local restaurant that specializes in really good breakfasts, so we enjoyed that one morning as you can see here.

Unfortunately, while they were visiting, our twelve-year-old dog Tighe became very sick. Actually, he had been up and down for a few days or maybe even longer before that. We had to make the difficult decision to put him down when the vet diagnosed cancer of the spleen. Surgery was not recommended, and we did not want him to continue suffering from the obvious pain the vet assured us he was feeling.

Many of you know that Tighe had a way of annoying me at times, but he was a very sweet dog too and a good companion from day to day. He loved Kathie most of all. Honestly, I've never seen a dog bond so tightly to one person as he did with Kathie. They were clearly a mutual admiration society. His loss has been really unfortunate for her, especially as she has had to face the stress of my last ten months of cancer treatment.

Tighe was a cute puppy. For his entire life, he seemed able to conjure up this sad looking apologetic face which was certainly enhanced by his face coloring. He had a beautiful coat which nearly everyone who saw him admired.

For his first two years, he overlapped living with us and his great aunt Josey. I have a number of humorous pictures of them playing. Well, truthfully, Tighe is trying to play, while Josey either ignored or simply tolerated him.

Here is what he looked like through most of his mature life. It was always funny to see him decide to play with one of his squeaky toys. He didn't do this every day or evening, but when the mood struck him, he would seek them out, work carefully to locate the positions of the squeakers, and then proceed to exercise the squeaker in an effort to gain more of our attention. He loved to chew on things, especially the beef bones Kathie got for him, and he had a real gift for knowing certain times of day (meal times) as well as morning routines and evening bedtime routines.

He absolutely loved playing with a frisbee. One only had to mention the word and he was ready to go. The appearance of a leash also got him very excited. Kathie took him on lots of walks, and I enjoyed having him along when walking to our Wisconsin mailbox, which is a good distance away from the cabin. He was an English Shepherd, and when I got out the leash, he was clearly trying to herd me toward that promised walk.

I wouldn't have said that Tighe was a lap dog, but neither Kathie nor Tighe seemed to know that. Nearly every evening, there was a "puppy pile" on the couch while we watched something on TV.

At the risk of making my wife more sad than she already is when she reads this, I just have to share this picture of Tighe on his last day. I'll always look at this and know the special feelings that each of them shared when they looked into each others eyes. I said they were quite bonded to each other, and it was true that they were. One cannot see such things and fail to understand the unique roles that pets, especially dogs, play in enhancing, supporting, and increasing the happiness of their owners lives.

Finally, let me end with a shout out to our oldest grandson Henry, daughter Betsy, and our son-in-law Peter. This picture was taken on the night seniors in the high school marching band were being recognized for their contributions. Peter has been going through a rough patch lately with some medical issues, but he was determined, along with Betsy, to be present to support his son. I'm proud of them all. Get well Pete!

1st Followup Results

Today I had my first followup appointment subsequent to completing my chemotherapy regimen. The bottom line is that things look great at this point--no signs of cancer. I will continue to have checkups every three months for at least two years and then every six months thereafter. Reoccurrence of cancer, when it does happen, is most likely during the three years following the initial occurrence. Hence, the continuing checkups.

A few additional details, if you wish to know more. I am a part of a research study that involves a new, personalized method for detecting instances of relapse. You can read about it by clicking here if you wish. The very first use of this test for me occurred post-surgery in February and yielded very positive results. Blood was drawn this morning for another test, and I should receive those results in about three weeks. Down the road, additional instances of this test will be done.

Yesterday, a full throat to pelvis CT scan was done. My oncologist reviewed those results with me this morning. Everything was good. Known issues were all stable, and nothing new appeared. Routine blood tests were done this morning too, and again, everything looks good there--counts or measures that had been low or that were being depressed are all recovering, including the depressed platelet levels that had been a bit of a problem about midway through my chemotherapy program.

You may recall that I had a deep vein thrombosis issue (blood clot in my leg) about midway through my chemotherapy. Since then I've been on a blood thinner. That will continue until I have an ultrasound examination in December. Assuming there is no further indication of problems, I'll likely be taken off the blood thinner at that point.

My medical port will stay in place until around the six months point post-chemo. That will be sometime in March of next year. At that point, assuming all other indications continue to be positive, the port can be removed.

All good news! I'll have another detailed followup in December. So, back to the lake we go!!

While we were up there the latter part of August, Travis came for a visit along with Jessica and her family. Travis and Mike replaced some damaged roof shingles for me on our smaller garage, and we took the usual family "departure photo" of everyone before they headed back home.

One evening, we had a beautiful view off our deck looking out over the lake. This picture looks mostly to the east. The setting sun in the west was casting a strong pink hue over the clouds to the east, and with the reflection on the lake, things were very colorful.

Oh, and you will remember that pie I wanted to make from the apples on our trees at the cabin. Well here it is, and yes, I did eat my slices from the outside in and usually with cheddar cheese warmed over them. Remember: Apple pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.

Thanks!

 I realized after my last posting that there is something I should have said to all of you, my faithful followers and readers. That is: THANKS! Many of you have written emails to me, texted me, sent letters and cards, and have left comments. All of these to encourage me and wish me well on this cancer journey. I don't know if it is fully over yet, but I can tell you that from the bottom of my heart, I am grateful for your kind words and affection. Thank you once more.

I know that in one of my prior posts, I shared an image of the "Get Well" balloon two dear cousins sent to me along with a bouquet when I had surgery to remove the tumor in February. That balloon stayed afloat well into June, although, like me, it grew more and more wrinkled. It held onto its helium with great tenacity. Then recently, the same cousins brought me another balloon to help celebrate my having reached the end of my chemotherapy regimen. Here are my two cheerful, smiling, mylar guys!

Soon, I'll have my first follow-up set of tests, and I'll meet with my oncologist to hear what she has to say about the results. In the meantime, we are at our Wisconsin lake home enjoying the weather, working on various projects, getting out on the water. reading, and relaxing. Some of our children and grandchildren have been able to come to spend time with us here. Yay!

Two of the more significant projects I finished were getting the hot tub back into operation and completing the disassembly of a rather large electric train layout I had created here. I had started replacing the hot tub electronics the last time we were here but discovered a bad heating unit, so I ordered one, got it installed about ten days ago, and we have been enjoying late evening dips in the tub ever since.

Since my youth, I had always wanted to build a significant railroad layout. I have a very nice collection of engines, rolling stock, and scenery items, and recent retirement years allowed me to finally tackle this idea. Involvement of computers and communications technologies have also found their way into model railroading, so that was quite fun as well. Here are a few glimpses of portions of my layout:

If these pics aren't enough, here is a video I took with my cell phone strapped to the front of one of my engines. Call me a nerd if you wish! I had a lot of fun with all of this.

Nevertheless, one soon realizes that more than half the fun is in the building. The grandkids and others always enjoyed seeing the layout, but it wasn't something one could do for hours--fifteen or twenty minutes of viewing was usually enough. I enjoyed operating the layout. I could keep four and sometimes more engines and their consists running concurrently, but even that is not something one does for hours at a time. So given all of this and realizing that it would be better for me to disassemble the layout rather than to leave it for my children or my spouse to deal with when I'm gone, I decided to tear it all down. On top of that, I decided that I'd like to have the garage back for easier boat storage and safer parking of cars when we are here. So that job is now done--most things are packed up and stored away; the tables have all been disassembled.

My daughter saw what follows and says I am weird. This is a piece of watermelon I was eating recently. I told her I like to save the best part until last. I also use a spoon rather than a fork. The spoon works better for carving out the area  below the good part. By the way, I also eat pizza and pie from the outside crust into the center. These methods may not be considered proper etiquette for polite company, but I'm usually not eating these kinds of things in formal settings. Come to think of it, I'm rarely in formal settings anymore! That's just fine.

One of the next projects is to harvest all of the apples from the two small trees I planted here at the lake several years ago. They did really well this year. The variety is call Frostbite, and the apples are small and tart but nice for applesauce and other baking. Kathie is going to guide me through making a Dutch apple pie in the next couple days. I'll eat it from the outside crust edge in towards the luscious middle. 😋

100% Done! (Well, except for some follow-up from time to time.)

 Last Wednesday, I was connected to the last of my infusion treatments. Today, I disconnected from it and the pump and am now completely finished with the prescribed twelve chemotherapy infusions which began in February. It seemed like a long road at the start, but like everything related to time in my life these days, that road has been traversed and one wonders how the time passed by so quickly. We can return to the lake for longer periods now, although both Kathie and I each have one thing for which to be back home. She has a sorority reunion in October, and I have a post-chemotherapy followup/surveillance appointment in September. At that time, I'll have a complete upper body CT scan, some blood tests, and a consultation with my oncologist. Given earlier good indications and the plan to repeat some of the tests which led to those positive indications, I have no reason to believe that I'll hear anything concerning. However, cancer is one of those things that I suppose everyone wonders if or when it might return. I've been little bothered by such thoughts, am optimistic and living as I wish, and plan on just headin' on down the road of life.

Now turning to other news... (By the way, if you like, you can click on pictures in these postings to see larger versions. A separate window will open to display them.)

Granddaughter Penny recently celebrated her 11th birthday. I made a book for her of photographs collected over the years since her birth. The title is "11 Years of Penny." Here she is with that book and also with the ruby necklace she picked out when we went jewelry shopping together the morning of her birthday.

I have a second cousin, John, in Hawaii who makes beautiful guitars by hand. Each one is made from exotic woods and has interesting inlays, usually made with abalone shell. You can look at some of his work by clicking here if you wish.  I have been thinking for some time about buying one of them to keep in the family. My grandson Anders is the likely candidate to eventually have it, since he already plays guitar and string bass. So, recently I bought the guitar that John is holding and playing in these pictures. I have it now and am beginning to learn a little. The instrument is gorgeous, as is the sound. I had a guitar many years ago and managed to learn to play a bit. I think I'll enjoy trying again until it is time to pass the guitar along. John and I have also been exchanging some family history and photographs, which has been great fun. I'll be updating my genealogical records with some of this and will also include these photographs and information about John's work.

 Kathie and I were back at the lake July 30 to August 8. Flowers at our shore line were on display, and the sunset over the lake was especially beautiful (Kathie's photo).

We have been wanting to use our hot tub at the cabin, but it has needed new electronics. I replaced the circulation pump and the main control boards but discovered that the heating pump was not working. I ordered one, have it now, and will install it as soon as I get back up there this next week.

Daughter Betsy and her family came to the lake for a few days while we were there, this year without Henry, who is working at Camp Wapsie. Kathie took the kids out for a boat ride and a little fishing one evening. That is when she got the sunset photo shown above. Here she is with Frederick and more of that sunset in the background.

We rented a pontoon boat for a full day, and it turned out to be the perfect outing. The temperatures were very pleasant, there was little wind, and we enjoyed just cruising around the lake (which is very large at nearly 17,000 acres). There was also some time spent swimming off a sandy shore, and we tried a little fishing, though that was met with little success. (Pete and Clara did catch quite a few bass on other outings, though.) Here are the female and male passengers on the pontoon boat.

We stopped for lunch at one of the resorts on the lake, and I got this picture of the grandkids at the resort's "photo opportunity site."

We may or may not have concluded the outing with ice cream at another lake resort.

Every vist to our lake home concludes with a record of our being together.

My sister has a knack for finding strange gifts that she thinks I need (bless her heart). Here is an example--a fish below a bobber that is actually a bird house. See what I mean!

Speaking of my sister, Paula's grandchildren live in Sweden, so she has not been able to see them for a number of years due to the pandemic and related travel problems. However, she and Ron were able to go this summer, and the smiles below are a good indication of an increase in Paula's level of happiness. They are still there, and I'm looking forward to hear a full report on the visit when she gets home.

More later! But it won't be about infusions!