It's been a long time

I've neglected this blog for a long time. May, I think. Shortshanks and Longshanks keep me busy, especially on our trip. Things need a bit of tidying up here so I'm gonna start tonight. I'm in the kitchen of Little Pudding Cottage in Looe, Cornwall.
For starters I'm going to put up some photos of me. There have been some big changes in my life this past twelve months. Time for indulgence.

a celebratory cup of tea

Yes, he did it! Paul Longster made it to the start of the Everest Marathon yesterday, complete with chest infection, and completed the course in 8 hours! That ain't bad folks, as the winner did it in four hours! Now we're waiting for results and pictures of course, and we know that Paul has a three-day trek out before he can fly home! What an inspiration!

Here he is:

haven't been here in a while for a cuppa

What a pathetic title! I am a bit ho-hum glum, one week after my radiotherapy treatment finished, and I have been incredibly sore, tender and VERY red, particularly closer to the armpit. The nurse gave me a pot of Sorbeline with Lignocaine to bring home (she knew something I didn't) and it has been a blessing.

I am trying to keep motivated by thinking about tasks to do with our big trip overseas in less than three months. We're quietly putting a lot of stuff away so the poor people who take care of our place while we're not here don't have to dust so much. I wouldn't want to dust it. I don't want to dust it; I'm not a great duster. 

So, at the moment we're thinking of our friend Paul in the UK who is about to compete in the Tensing-Hilary Everest marathon (tomorrow). It's been a tense time as many people have been airlifted out as they are too ill to compete. Paul had a cold, but the latest news is that he's higher up and feeling better. So my energies, mostly mental ones, are with him on Everest, supporting him for something that he has wanted to do for a long, long time. I will post again about this when we get some news.

Now for that cuppa...

coffee with friends

I have had my first week of radiotherapy, and I'm home for the weekend. It was a full-on week as on the first day it was a media event and I was interviewed for WIN news (Ballarat) and for the Ballarat Courier. I won't go into it here, but it was exciting, nerve-wracking and ultimately a great thing to do. The staff were all excited about the new equipment and space. The new Cancer Centre doesn't open officially until July.
I had a couple of dinners out with friends, which was nice, and  a day out with two Davids.
More of this soon with some pictures.

a time for us

I heard a young man sing tonight on TV in a show called The Voice. It's compelling viewing, manipulative and thoroughly enjoyable and a real tear-jerker. The young man (30 I think) sang 'A Time for Us' (Un Giorno Per Noi) from Franco Zefirelli's 1960s Romeo and Juliet. I fell in love with the song, the movie, the young actors, everything about it at the time. I was a teenager and like most teenagers developed a crush on Leonard Whiting (Romeo) and Olivia Hussey (Juliet). The song stayed with me forever. Tonight it was sung with a conviction, heartache, turmoil and absolute power. All the judges banged their buzzers and turned around. But the first to do so was Ricky Martin, who only had to hear three notes to commit himself. It was spine-tingling.
His name is Luke Kennedy. Remember that name...

So tired...

Gee, it's nearly the end of March, nearly Easter, and what happened to term 1? It was BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, and I seem to be learning new skills (all at once) and time is shrinking. The only big carrot I have is the knowledge that we're heading overseas in August. Can't believe the amount of snow in Cumbria at the moment! Unbelievable. We are counting the months, weeks and days, but before then a lot has to happen, including my radiotherapy. For which I don't have a date yet. Sometime in April...maybe.

We watch lots of TV programs about the UK, and at the moment there's a program called Wainwright Walks, which follows some of the Lakes district's fell walks/climbs, made famous by Alfred Wainwright about 50 years ago. We've since added a few things to our list of things to do. We'll also be going to the Orkneys, and have managed (the brilliant Laird Peter) to have a weekend package stay at the Stromness Hotel while their Blues Festival is on. Wow!

I'm already getting toey, so I'm not going to say any more. I made an executive decision today at work which has relieved my tired brain tremendously. I need to do more of that.
That's enough for tonight.

just some piccies if they work

Just some piccies of our market stall last Sunday in Halls Gap for the Jazz weekend. 'Our' being my sister Margie and me. Had a great time! I'm the one wearing the black hat and my sisters are standing together.

Pinker than a flamingo's legs

It's been a while. I am three weeks post surgery no 2. I feel good, but still fighting some soreness and pain. I was hugely entertained by a period of fluid developing in the 'space' in my breast. The first thing I knew about it was in the shower. I heard a high sort of hum and realised that it occurred every time I let the water pan across the surface. Mm. Then when I moved (braless) there was a distinct gurgling. Disconcerting to say the least. That has subsided, so there goes my party trick.
Now I'm facing up to a visit to radiology/oncology on Tuesday, where hopefully I will be discussed the hows and when of my radiotherapy treatment. I've also been told I'm hormone receptor positive, which means I may have a separate treatment for that with medication. We'll see.
Meanwhile...
I've been making my scarves and Margie and I decided to sell our wares at tomorrow's market at Halls Gap during the Jazz Weekend. We have an early start to get ourselves a good spot. I've already sold one scarf to my lovely friend David as a gift for a mutual friend. He took me for a drive yesterday to visit our friend and she was thrilled with the scarf. We had homemade scones and tea on arrival, and a late lunch, finally leaving for home late afternoon. 
Now I'm giving my thoughts over to another dear friend who is in hospital in Ballarat, and about to undergo surgery on Tuesday. Keep positive Kaz.
Here's the beautiful scarf David purchased yesterday.

Knights in blue satin...

I have one more day before we head to Ballarat for my second lot of surgery. We are going early as the weather is going to be around 40 degrees, and we've booked ourselves in to the Regent Multiplex Gold Class cinema to see Les Miserables. HOPING that the theatre's airconditioning doesn't break down as Cinema 1's did when we went to see The Hobbit! That will be our wedding anniversary/Pete's birthday treat. Then Friday morning 7am we front up to admissions, the weather outside will be cooler, and I won't know much about it. Oh well, it'll be good for Pete. I've been mucking around with material and a shibori technique and here below is one example, one I'm quite proud of. I won't be able to do any of this for a couple of weeks or more after Friday. There it is!

Time for pictures

Just a late-night look at some pictures of things I've been working on.

and a little collection of furry friends who reside amongst the stuff...

Let's lap up some cooler weather

After some incredibly hot days and the awful news of bushfires in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania, it was lovely to have a cool one yesterday and a pleasant, bit warmer day today. Last week we travelled back to Ballarat for results of surgery and sentinel node biopsy. The BEST news is that the cancer cells haven't travelled, so given the all-clear there, and the only hiccup is that I have to go back next week for second surgery (in the same incision) to 'clean up' as pathology suggested that not all margins were clear.
I am ok with this as I want to make absolutely certain that it's all gone. Apart from having to go back to work this week I have been doing a fair bit of textile work, as much as I can manage most days with a couple of wounds still healing and causing pain. Speaking to a friend yesterday in the supermarket reminded me that to go through my particular breast cancer experience is to somehow have been given a ticket to explore the great unknown and to experience as much as possible. So if I have a New Year's resolution, part  a is to leap off into the unknown, exciting world, part b is to advocate breastscreening for women 50+ and to  remind younger women to be aware. Now all I need to do is to make something pink.