Hugely Grateful

Hugely Grateful-that is what one of my patients told me yesterday when she came for her usual check up on diabetes and high blood pressure. Her husband of 47 yrs died of a ruptured bowel in late January, and she had not been in to see us since. She said that they had been together "since the 10th grade" and that she was "hugely grateful" to have had so much time with a great man (she is now 66). I was struck by her words because I too am hugely grateful. Hugely grateful to have been able to attend the Brewgrass Festival in Asheville last w-e, when I couldn't last year due to my treatment. Hugely grateful that I have so many great people to enjoy both at work and outside of work. Hugely grateful that my girlfriend is game to run 13.1 miles with me to celebrate life. Hugely grateful that my best pals are willing to hang out all day listening to bluegrass music while we eat pretzels and sample craftbrewed beer. Hugely grateful that my family is ever ready to call, visit, and drop their daily lives to be with me when I am sick. So today, after hearing my patient's story, I just want to reiterate how hugely grateful I am to be here enjoying the heck out of everything I get to do-each day, a gift to share with people who are terrific. You know who you are!

Okay, on a different note, we did finally get to the Brewgrass festival this year. We had tickets to attend last year. But that w-e, I was busy recovering from one of my chemo treatments, and we couldn't travel. Susan and Donna sold our tickets to someone else and attended on their own. This time, we got to go too. Donna made us pretzel necklaces to chomp on during the day, and naturally,I ate all of mine (see photo). We loved hearing the Dehlia Low band, and the others were great too. One band from Knoxville, Tenn was terrific. We arrived good and early to get our chairs set up close to the stage, which was great, because later in the day, that field was full and I mean full, full of people. We sampled lots and lots of craft beers which was really fun. I didn't enjoy the taste of them all (pumpkin beer-why combine the two???), but it sure was fun trying new ones. I got a temporary tattoo from the "Tattoo Man" so now I am tickled like my little kid patients who get them from us at the clinic. Mine says "Rogue Nation" with a big fist. I got one for later that says "Big Boss" so watch out for that one. Fun and silly.

We are staying in Hillsborough this upcoming w-e since it's my turn to work the Saturday clinic. We plan to reconnect over dinner with some friends who live here. And I'll have a chance to work in the garden here, getting the space ready for my fall plants and bulbs. Later I'll leave for Charleston to be with my Mom, whose husband is having surgery on Monday. Hoping all of that goes smoothly.

Happy Birthday Momacita!

Today is a very special day-my Mom's birthday. I had to call (as she always does) and sing her happy birthday early this morning. I just love that we celebrate birthdays as a special day in my family. Of course it's all I've ever known. But I simply can't imagine being in one of those families that treats birthdays like any other day (you guys know who you are). I try to be open minded and tolerant of differences, but with this one, we are right and they are wrong. So a big warm, happy birthday wish to my Mom on her special day.

Saturday morning Holly and I ran the Asheville half marathon over hill and dell, past Beaver Lake and up Lookout Rd. It was a challenging 13.1 mile course, to say the least, and we were happy to finish in about 2hrs and 9 mins. Actually, we ran the course a bit faster, but we stopped to visit with our support crew (Donna, Susan, Jan and Ellen, see photo) at our house which happened to be near mile marker 10. The new course is a good bit hillier, and it gave us a great excuse to pause before heading back to the race. They were sweet to come out and cheer us on, and the eclairs from the Creme bakery afterwards were pretty nice too.

Lovely, Just Lovely!

Holly and I are home again, safe and sound in our little Hillsborough home after a week in Scandinavia and England. We had a terrific time-blessed with fabulous, sunny weather and only one choppy,rainy day at sea. Friday night we caught the direct flight from RDU to Heathrow airport in London. That got us into London around 7am their time, where we took a National Express bus directly to the Southampton Cruise terminal some 1 and 1/2 hrs away. Neither of us slept much on the overnight flight so the bus ride allowed us a short nap before boarding the ship. Our cabin was terrific with big sliding glass door, balcony, and deck on the starboard side of the ship. That turned out to be the better side of the ship as we got to see the dixieland jazz band play at the gangway as we sailed away. It also afforded us a marvelous view of the Oslo fjord both coming and going on our last port of call at the end of the trip.

Our first stop was in Zeebrugge, the port for Bruges, Belgium. We took the local train to Bruges about 8 miles away-through the beautiful countryside of Flanders-an area of important battles during WWI. It was green, lush farmland. The Bruges train station was a short walk to the old part of the city, a medieval village that has preserved much of its character and history. I got a picture of the bike lockup area outside of the train station because I have never seen so many bikes. It was just the first of many such bike parking areas in these European cities that tax cars at 180% (yes, you read right. We couldn't believe it either, but a car, even a small car costs the equivalent of $40,000 to encourage biking, trains, buses, etc).
Anyway, we literally ate our way around the Bruges walking tour I'd downloaded from the internet. In short, we had waffles, chocolate, beer, mussels, and frites (fries). We bought some great Belgian beer to take back to the ship since they only had can British beer-not our favorite. Beer must be heavily subsidized in Belgium as a bottle costs little more than 1 euro in the grocery store (well they are brewed by monks...). We bought a selection of different ones and enjoyed them one at a time each night before dinner. Unfortunately we didn't have time for a brewery tour at one of the monasteries-next time.

Our second stop was in Copenhagen Denmark. The walking tour started right near the boat dock with the Little Mermaid statue and continued along the shore to the Royal Palace, the city hall and then to the central shopping district. We had packed some delicious sandwiches for lunch from the hard rolls, smoked salmon, and cheeses from the ship buffet. But we still ate our way around the city, stopping for chocolate and pastries at the golden pretzels (that's how they advertise their bakeries). I wish we had had time to take the countryside bike tour with Mike at one of the local bicycle shops. Bikes are huge in Copenhagen-everyone has one-those cool commuter types with good fenders, baskets for hauling goods and, of course, bells on the handlebars to warn pedestrians. They cost the equivalent of $1,000 for the basic model-a lot cheaper than a $40,000 car at least. The bikes have there own lane in the streets, and watch out if you're a pedestrian, because they do have the right of way. We saw every kind of person biking, and I mean even women dressed in chic outfits with fancy shoes. Everyone bikes and you can get everywhere on bike. People were especially friendly and happy, it seemed to us, in Copenhagen; it's high on our list to see again. Maybe a bike trip next time.

Next we cruised an hour or so North to the small town of Helsingborg Sweden. It was the least impressive of the ports we saw. But we had a great walk through town and up past the fortress to a preserved farmstead from the 1800's. That was pretty cool-to see what an old town square was like complete with shops, barns, animals, windmill, and gardens. I looked, but I couldn't find Pippi Longstocking. She was in the bookstores though. Tee hee.

Our last port of call was Oslo Norway. We cruised up the Oslo fjord just as it was getting light; we really enjoyed seeing that entrance into town. It was the prettiest of the places we docked being at the marina for ferries and other boats. We bought one of the Dagskot cards to get the tram, or streetcar, out to Frogner park with all the famous Gustav Vigeland sculptures. We managed to get there early before all the tourists arrived. It's a city park with many paths for walking or jogging and some 200 sculptures. I took lots and lots of photos as the guy made sculptures of all kinds of human figures expressing various emotions. At one point, we were walking along the jogging path and noticed a big monument that looked remarkably like Lincoln. When we got closer, we realized that it was Lincoln-our Lincoln seated on a big slab of marble. The monument said it had been given to the people of Oslo from the state of North Dakota in 1914-Go Figure. Must have been alot of people from Norway in ND in 1914, who knew?
Oslo was full of interesting museums, including the Nobel Peace Museum, right near the docks. Again, there were tons of bikers just like the other cities, but everyone rode mountain bikes instead of those city commuter bikes. And man, talk about an expensive city. The cheapest mountain bike was Kroner 14,999 which is the equivalent of $3,000. A typical sandwich at a shop was Kr80, about $16 each. A beer was Kr49, about $10. It turns out they are the richest country in Europe due to their oil (3rd behind Saudi Arabia and Russia), fishing, and timber. But $3000 for a mtn bike, really that is alot. Makes my little Bella seem like a bargain (and she is).

We had a beautiful trip back out the Oslo fjord on the way back to Southampton England. Once we got to the North Sea, we hit bad weather with galeforce winds and rain. The Captain slowed the boat to a crawl, and we landed in port later than planned. Many people missed their connections to buses, trains and planes, including us. Fortunately, we were able to go online in the Ship's internet cafe and rebook a later bus back to London. We missed the chance to go into London and sightsee, but that was okay. We had a nice dinner of fish and chips and Fuller's ESB in the Three Magpies pub near our airport hotel. All in all, we only had 1 day of bad weather (out of 8), and it was a day at sea anyway, so who cares? As the Brits say, Lovely trip, just lovely!

Bon Voyage

Well later today Holly and I take off for our grand tour of Europe. We are taking this trip to celebrate her upcoming 50th birthday. In my family, birthdays are a big deal, and a fantastic trip for turning 50 yrs old seemed in order. She has been to Europe, and we've even been to Italy/London together. So I wanted to plan a trip somewhere that she had not been previously. Scandinavia seemed just perfect. We fly out of RDU later tonight, straight through to London. Then we shuttle down to the coast to board our cruiseship. The actual cruise leaves Saturday afternoon and heads on to Brugge,Belgium, then Copenhagen,Denmark then to Helsingbor, Sweden, then to Oslo, Norway and back again to London-all in one short week. We've never been on a cruise together but this seemed an easy way to sample some ports, unpack only once and require less time/planning than most Europe trips. I know that we will have fun, but I've been pretty nervous and excited about everything working out well. I know that we'll have a spendid time.
Hopefully you'll have a splendid time during the next week too and enjoy your Labor Day!

Bon voyage!

Summer Fading Fast

Holly and I have been enjoying the w-e in Asheville. It's been mild and breezy-that kind of late summer weather that is so gorgeous in the mtns. Friday evening we had dinner with friends, enjoying their house which is nestled among the hardwoods, rhododendrons and mtn laurels. What a beautiful spot to enjoy a delicious dinner with such terrific hosts.

Saturday morning we did another section of that challenging half-marathon course which we will run Sept 12th in Asheville. The course begins downtown near the historic Grove Arcade and winds its way through town to a beautiful neighborhood near the Grove Park Inn (i.e. it's some up), the Kimberly area, over to the golf course (again, it's up), around Beaver Lake, then down to the River (what goes down must come up), turning on to a winding road that passes our house (that one is really up, up, up), around the university and down a long street heading back toward town to complete the 13.1 mile route. This Saturday we ran a little over an hour and a half. We have been reading in the local newspaper about all the people training for the half-marathon who have already completed the course for their training. I like a little more excitement and mystery in my life. If I'd already completed the whole thing, I wouldn't feel the need to do it on Sept 12th. I mean, the purpose of the thing is to see if you can do it. It's a kind of health celebration for me-to prove that I can run that far after all of that horrible chemo last year. I need and want the mystery of wondering how I will feel running that far. As far as I am concerned, all of those other people can train by doing the entire course if it makes them feel better. Me, I'll stick with a little uncertainty on this one.

Saturday afternoon we attended the Beer & Baseball event held downtown at the stadium. It was a showcase for about 30 microbreweries with several bands playing on the actual field (there wasn't a bit of baseball, go figure). Anyway, we got turned on to a new artist named Kellin Watson, a bluesy rock singer who did a terrific hourlong set. Really cool to catch some new live music and enjoy some great fresh beer. My two favorites were the ESB from Sweetwater Brewing Co and the new offering from the Hebrew brewery. However, there were lots of other great styles to try. Water was a very popular beverage too as it was fairly sunny and warm early in the day.

Sunday we ate brunch with our friends Susan and Donna before they had to head off to work. Great to catch up with them over eggs and bacon. I got to show off Bella, my new mtn bike. Susan tried it out briefly. I think she liked it, especially having that extra shock in the back. Afterwards, Holly and I rode the mtn bikes in Bent Creek, and we did one of those routes with the big hill climb (59 mins of continuous up but who's counting...) followed by the big whirlygig down, down, down (Green Lick, it's called). Wow what a blast on my new bike. I love that Bella girl. It really does make a difference in the amount of jostling and jerking when you ride over rocks or roots. And there were just a few of those.

We saw the "Julie & Julia" movie Sunday evening. What a treat! I love seeing Meryl Streep in anything, and getting to see her play Julia Child is incredible. She does such a good job laughing in that sing song way that Julia did, lumbering around in all of those old outfits, and wrestling with all that poultry. She made the movie so fun to watch. Just don't go hungry, or you'll be starving by the end. Even I am tempted to cook beef bourgandy after seeing it in the film, and I don't even eat beef.

Next Friday, Holly and I leave for a trip to Scandinavia to celebrate her 50th birthday (which is actually in October). In her honor, I wrote a message in stone (well sort of...) The pink bit is an orchid bloom.

Meet Bella

Things have been more than a little hectic the past few weeks. I am extremely busy at work with more than my share of patients, their phone calls, refill requests, and the mounds of paperwork every primary care doctor has to wade through. Actually, work has been pretty stressful lately with more than a few patients now homeless and unable to afford their medicines due to the economy, another few with new diagnoses of cancer, and many more with complaints of depression and/or anxiety due to work or family issues. Some of the time, it is all I can do to keep from drowning myself in the 20-30 stories I hear each day, but then I remember to breathe, relax my shoulders, take a walk at lunch, and enjoy some delightful patient or co-worker.

Though we schedule our w-e's in Asheville to the max, I finally found time to buy that full suspension mtn bike I have been talking about for over a year. I named it "Bella" which means beauty- so attached is the photo of Bella AsBike. Tee-hee as Susan would say. For those of you who care, it's a Trek Fuel EX 8 Woman's Specific Design, and the technology with that rear shock certainly does make a difference. Now I can bound up the hills faster, higher, easier and all that. I am very happy with my purchase as is Holly who was already way past my long wait to (finally) buy something so nice for myself.

Our Buddy Jo's birthday is coming up Sat Aug 22th. Happy Birthday Georgia Girl.

No Needle Until November

I was scheduled to have my next bone marrow biopsy and general check up yesterday at Duke. My blood counts looked so good that Dr Long gave me a reprieve from the bone marrow biopsy they had planned. I have been getting them every 3 mos since I finished my chemotherapy last November. My white cells are behaving themselves as are my other blood components.

My only problem has been soreness in my right hip near the spot of my past biopsies. We think that I have a little scar tissue aggravating the nerves in that area. I took an X ray to make sure everything is okay, but I haven't heard back yet. I was certainly relieved to get away yesterday without another big needle stick in my rump. Thank you Dr Long.

Holly and I were on vacation in SC last week with my family. My Mom rents a large beach house right on the front beach at Folly near the park area (i.e. fewer homes and lots more wildlife). We had a great time enjoying the sun, the relatively mild temps (upper 80's mostly), and hanging out with family. I got to see both of my sisters, their kids, both of my parents and their spouses as well as my Mama. I think I'm the only one who looks older. Everyone else has managed to age in reverse except for the kids.

Our first day there was my birthday (July 25th), and Mom cooked my favorite - fried shrimp. For dessert, we had a 4 layer chocolate cake that she adorned with 47 candles. We ate famously well during the week-what with Mom cooking all the time, one night out at my Dad's, a dinner downtown at a ritzy restaurant, and plenty of Bessinger's barbeque to fill in the gaps.

Emma and Ethan sure earned their water wings. Emma jumped at least a million breaking waves until she learned to go with them and bodysurf. Ethan may still be submerged peering through his scuba mask. He collected a veritable treasure trove of ocean goodies including starfish, all manner of shells, eggcases, and seaweed. I suspect he'll announce the opening of his ocean exhibit later this month. Next year we'll be lucky if we see him at all. He'll probably have a boat or surfboard by then and merely playing in the surf won't do.

Here is a photo from the birthday-a gorgeous cake not yet decorated with all 47 candles.