We're Still Here!

 I've been meaning to post an update here for several weeks, but like so many retired folks I know, we have just been so "busy" that I've not gotten back here to write anything. Kathie and I just returned from a very fun two weeks in Canada with good friends, and I want to write a separate post about that soon, but first I want to share other news.

First, my health continues to be great. Well, maybe except for a pair of cranky knees! A few weeks ago, I had a post-chemo/post-cancer checkup. These occur about quarterly. My oncologist indicates that she'll keep scheduling these for the first three years following the chemo, since that is the most likely period of time during which a recurrence could happen. The hospital had to reschedule this checkup from an earlier April date, and they happened to pick my birthday, in May, for the new time. So, I spent about four hours on my birthday having a CT scan, blood tests, and a meeting with my oncologist—most of that sitting in chairs in waiting rooms. Everything continues to look very good. Nothing has shown up on CT scans, the blood tests all show good results, and the special blood test related to the research study in which I'm participating has found no circulating tumor DNA since the surgery in January of 2022. There will be more such tests going forward, and I'm already scheduled for a colonoscopy in November—the first since the cancer was detected in late 2021. Maybe the best news, at least from my perspective, is that my oncologist has ordered my medical port to be removed in early August! It has not been uncomfortable or much of a problem all this time, but having it out feels like a big step and some affirmation that it likely won't be needed again.

There was one glitch in my checkup that I find humorous. Remember this was on my birthday. Since the CT scan requires fasting, I had nothing at all to eat or drink that morning. After the scan was finished, I was home briefly and hungry before heading back for the remaining appointments. Kathie had given me some candy for my birthday and made me a strawberry shortcake. I ate quite a bit of each before heading back to the hospital. Hey! It was my birthday! As I said above, all my blood test results were good except for one. My blood glucose level had spiked. My health records are now all online with access through something called MyChart, so I can always review test results even before I see the oncologist. My dad developed diabetes late in life, but I have never before had any indication of such a problem. Having seen nothing similar in earlier tests, my oncologist wasn't very concerned, especially when I mentioned my birthday snacking, but she ordered an A1C test just to be safe. That result was completely normal, so no problem. Safety tip: Avoid excessive sweets prior to blood tests!

The end of the school year has found us busy with activities and events in the lives of our grandchildren. Eleanor enjoyed a school trip to Spain; Penny performed in a youth choir concert we attended; Anders has been engaged in bicycle races, one of which we got to see; and Leo and Maia are playing lots of soccer, swimming and doing triathlons. Several of them will be involved in summer camps. A highlight this year is Henry's graduation from high school—he is the oldest of the eight. I was eager to attend his last band and jazz ensemble concerts this spring, especially because the two years of Covid and cancer interfered with most prior opportunities to do that. We were able to hear both Henry and Clara in the final spring band concert. They played one very special piece this year, commissioned for the school. That and the fact that this was Henry's last appearance made the evening quite emotional. A few weeks later, we heard his last jazz performance too. The music was terrific! Henry surprised me too with a bit of flute playing in one of the charts—he is an alto saxophone player. I keep listening to that concert, as his high school has an online archive of videos of most school events and activities.

Spring is prom season too. Henry and his girlfriend (an accomplished baritone sax player and a wonderful vocalist in the jazz band) coordinated their attire for the senior prom. Looking so grown!

In early June, we attended Henry's graduation. The occasion brought nearly all of the family together for a fun backyard party that Betsy and Pete arranged. Henry will attend the University of Iowa this coming fall, and he hopes, after an upcoming tryout, to be accepted as a member of the Hawkeye Marching Band.

The day prior to my birthday, my cousin Rex invited us to have breakfast. We had done the same earlier for his birthday. Getting together with him and Chris is always a good time and a chance to catch up on our respective family activities.

Some time ago, my good friend Richard offered me a cherry tree from the timber on his property. This was a perhaps 50 foot tree that had been topped by the derecho a few years ago. In April I arranged to have it taken down, cut into logs, and hauled to a nearby sawmill. In early June, the mill called to let me know the lumber had been cut and kiln dried, so I arranged to pick it up. I got nearly 350 board feet of very good quality wood from the tree—much, much more than I can use myself. I have given some to other friends and will give some to Ron, my brother-in-law, but there is still plenty left. The photo below shows what I have after giving some away. I may try to sell some of it to cover the costs of taking the tree down and having the sawing done. In the meantime, I toted it all down to my shop for storage. Things are a little crowded down there just now!

Finally, to end on a "cute note", Kathie has been doing lots of work to find a new companion dog, since we lost Tighe last September. She loves English Shepherds and is involved with a national club or society that carefully tracks genetic lines and helps to insure the integrity of the breed. With access to individuals that help to maintain these lines and the health of the breed, Kathie has found a litter from which we may soon be able to select a puppy. The breeder has posted pictures regularly so that she can follow the development of the little guys and gals, which are now about seven weeks old. Here is one of them sleeping on top of another. We are going to visit the pups in a few days, and in another two weeks, if everything works out, we may be getting one of them!

March in Arizona

 (Remember once again, that you can click on any photo to see a larger image. Clicking on the X in the upper right corner will then return you to this posting.)

Greetings and salutations my fellow earthlings! Kathie and I are presently in Scottsdale, Arizona, though we will be returning to Iowa in just a few days. For many years, we have appreciated a gracious invitation from our good friends Richard and Rina to join them here during the month of March. Although the weather this year in the southwest has been unseasonably cool and often rainy, we have still frequently been able to enjoy the sun and opportunities to be outside. You may recall that prior to coming here we were at our cabin in Wisconsin where there was and continues to be a considerable amount of snow still on the ground. So the transition has been interesting. Meanwhile...

In early March, son Rob reached his 50th birthday. Though we were not able to be in attendance for the celebrations, I contributed by providing a slide show and a gift book with photo selections from his 50 years. Rob, his siblings, and their spouses posed for this very nice picture and shared a copy with me. I thought those of you who know them might appreciate seeing them all together on this occasion.

Of course, you will recall from my most recent prior posting, that we have been following grandson Anders as he has competed in various cross-country skiing events through the winter. He qualified this year in the U16 group (under 16—age 14 and 15 year olds) to be a team member for the Midwest Division and to participate in the Junior National Cross Country Skiing Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. Competing with the top 70 individuals in this group from all over the nation proved to be a clear step up in terms of challenge, but Anders finished all three of the events in which he participated. Though he did not reach the podium, we were so proud of him nevertheless. Few athletes get to compete at national levels such as this, and there is always next year! Below are two photos from Fairbanks, one of his proud parents and another of Anders during the classic skiing event. Yes, it was mostly bitterly cold up there. Events were not held unless temperatures reached at least negative 4ºF. We were thrilled to be able to watch most of the competition via Internet streaming.

  

The house and neighborhood we are inhabiting while in Arizona are very comfortable. I don't have a photo of the house, but there are some strange vehicles around. A junked old 1950s Jaguar is actually in the back yard of our "home", and another strange vehicle is nearby in the neighborhood.

 

 Son Travis flew down from Colorado to join us for a few days. The three of us spent one morning at the Desert Botanical Garden which is a favorite spot to visit. We highly recommend it if you are ever in the area. Numerous trails through the garden allow one to see many varieties of cactus and other desert plants and flowers. Currently, the garden is featuring Rotraut art work, including the one called "Rainbow Bridge" seen below.

 

 There are many majestic saguaro cactus to see throughout this region, including in the desert and in city neighborhoods. This one, located in the botanical garden was most unusual and definitely caught my eye.

 

 

A few days ago, Kathie and I drove north about 30 miles into the Tonto National Forest. Our plans included a horseback ride and viewing wildflowers. The riding was a way for us to practice prior to a guest ranch vacation we will be taking in early August in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of western Montana. Neither of us has been on a horse much or at all in recent years, and at least for me, the question had to do with whether or not my increasingly old frame could handle it. The answer turns out to be, "Maybe!" Though we rode only for an hour, both of us had a little trouble regaining our "land legs" and felt a bit sore the next couple days. Still, it was enjoyable, and when the ranch vacation rolls around "we shall see." By the way, the names of our horses were Hoolihan and Remington.

 The hills in the vicinity of the horse stable were very green this year—the desert has received more rain this is usual. California Poppies were everywhere and made the scenes golden. We have never seen the desert so beautiful as this, although it is always fascinating.

We also came across wild horses grazing on the hillsides. Word had obviously spread throughout the valley that this was an especially good year for viewing flowers and seeing the horses. Roadsides along the highway were jammed with cars pulled off to the side with groups of individuals taking photographs and walking into the landscape for closer looks.

Unexpectedly, upon arrival I learned that a good friend was also visiting the area. Tom and I go back nearly 60 years (can hardly believe I just wrote that!). Some of you will remember that son Will, Tom and I completed a cross-country bicycle ride from Seattle to Atlantic City during the summer of 1989, just one of several great memories. Anyway, we arranged to meet for lunch one day and tried to catch up on at least some of what each of us has been doing in recent years.

March in Arizona means spring training baseball. We saw quite a few games while here. Travis, my baseball buddy, loves the game as much as I do, so we typically work in several games during his visit. Major league teams we saw included Cubs, Angels, Rangers, White Sox, Padres, Brewers, Reds, Rockies (Diner, the mascot, seen below), and Royals. We even worked in one extra game in the World Baseball Classic between Canada and England. Travis is a White Sox fan, so I had to take one of him with the giant Frank Thomas bobble-head doll at the spring training home of the Sox on the day we saw them play the Cubs.

 

 The last game that Richard, Rina, Kathie and I attended just a couple days ago was at Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Cubs. We all wore the required color.

 

 

 Along with everything else, we have been following the amazing story that is the 2022-23 University of Iowa women's basketball team. These Hawkeyes have made it to the Final Four behind the leadership of several amazing players. Some of the them, particularly Caitlin Clark, have been featured in national news articles. Click here for one especially good read in the Washington Post. We'll be traveling home tomorrow and will be there in time to watch Iowa take on number one South Carolina. A win would advance the team to the championship final, but it will be a challenging game. Still, they have met and surpassed many hurdles already this year, so one never knows until the games are played. Go Hawks!

 

Just Have to Brag a Bit

I hope you will pardon a grandfather for being proud and wanting to brag a bit. I hope (and think) I have featured each of my grandchildren here from time to time for their various achievements. I know I have mentioned Anders' growing accomplishments in cross country skiing before, but yesterday we were present at the annual Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin for his participation in the Kortelopet event, which is a 29km race (slightly more than 18 miles).

All of the Birkebeiner events finish on Main Street in town. The city hauls in loads of snow to cover the street for this purpose. About 10" of fresh snow had arrived a few days before, so the trail was in very good condition too. Yesterday, though, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, though the temperatures were around only 0ºF when the race began.

Anders finished 1st out of 40 men in his age group (13-14 years), 23rd out of 892 participating men, and 23rd overall out of all 1,582 participants. Below you can see him as he nears the finish line, as he attempts to cool down while staying warm with a blanket, posing with his parents, and posing with one very happy grandfather.

His next events will be at the Junior National Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska March 13-16. He qualified as number one in the U16 group (14-15 years old) to be a part of the Midwest Division team that will travel to Alaska.

 

 

Staying in Touch

I haven't posted anything here in awhile, but we've been busy with various things, so it seems a good time to share some news. Each of us has dealt with various, probably age-related, aches and discomforts, but generally our health has been good. Little slows us down. I have another full post-cancer checkup scheduled for April, but all news on that front has been and continues to be good so far.

 We are currently at our cabin in Wisconsin enjoying the snow (really!) and the crisp, pine-scented air. Strange, but a given temperature never feels as cold here as it does back home. Perhaps the drier humidity level has something to do with that, perhaps having wind blocked by the forest helps, or maybe it is being able to enjoy our cozy home in the woods with its fireplace and other comforts.

When we arrived, we found over 2' of snow on the ground and on the roofs of our cabin and garages. I always worry a little about the weight of all that snow, but so far the trusses seem to be holding up--this isn't the first time for so much snow. The individual who has kept our entrance plowed created quite a hill of snow at the end of the driveway, and the pathway to the front door was quite narrow, though deer have been using it regularly.

 

 Of course, we guys like our "big boy toys." I have a nice snow blower here, so I got a chance to do some additional clearing of snow at the entrances to our garages, to widen the path to the front door, and to clear the heavy snow from our deck. Later, I used a long "snow rake" to pull snow from the cabin roof below each skylight, since failing to do so often results in ice dams and some dripping water inside the cabin.

Through the winter months back home, I managed to finish a couple of woodworking projects. I made a simple hall tree which has proven to be a nice addition for guests' hats and coats. I also made a quilt rack to display a quilt that Kathie made with some help from her sister. The quilt was made from most of my old work neckties. It is really pretty--I'm very proud of the work Kathie did on this, and now the quilt rack both displays and protects it. (Double click on the photo of the quilt for a closer look!)

 

 We love our new home in Iowa, but the kitchen likely had not been altered since the home was built in 1994. A number of the cupboards and drawers were showing significant wear or had broken, so we decided to do some updating. We picked out new cupboards, countertops and backsplash as shown below. Before we left home to come to Wisconsin, the old cabinets were removed. Since we have been away, the floor has been refinished. New cabinets are scheduled to be installed next week and other work to follow soon after. Being away while all of this is going on is a good thing!

 

We have enjoyed watching our grandchildren in various activities this past winter. Anders has been skiing very well and has qualified at the top of the Midwest in his age group. He will compete in the Junior National Trials in Fairbanks, AK in March. Via event streaming services, we have seen several of his past races. He will compete at the end of February in one of the Birkebeiner events in Hayward, WI near our cabin. So, we'll get to see him in person for that.

Penny was part of a choral concert during December.

Over the holidays, Jessica's family visited for a few days. There was card playing and a Hawkeye women's basketball game to attend, and I showed Leo how to use the lathe to turn a small goblet from walnut.

In January, Betsy's family visited, and we attended a Hawkeye men's basketball game. Ice cream may have been involved.

And Pete is often good for a laugh.

At the end of February, we are flying to Arizona to spend the month of March with friends there and to see a number of spring training baseball games. So...more news later from there!