One down, Seven to go...

Hello all you wild things and thingettes!

I'd like to check in, give you the report, pass the dirt, but at the moment I'm feeling rather deliriously tired.  My life, like many two year olds, is consisting largely of toast, naps and True Blood.  Ok, maybe not like most two year olds (what with the vamp drama).  But today I feel more like myself than I have in the last week; I've eaten two (count 'em TWO) whole meals AND managed a beach excursion.  Because we all know the only thing better than fresh air is beach air.  Plus I filled a very large sack with the roundiest, flatiest, most satisfying stones that are now neatly stacked and awaiting the dash of my paint brush.

But for now, I think my fingers are beginning to stutter and my eyelids are no longer cooperating.  Actually I'm not even sure what I typed just above these photos so I do hope it was decipherable, or at least somewhat sane.  Sleepy brain has a way of slipping in random comments about ridiculous things like Walker Texas Ranger and how to grow snap peas from pool cues without my knowledge.

So.
Yeah.

I'll see you on the other side.

Cheeri-snooze...

I love a good rock

What is it about a good rock?

The way it fits in your palm?  The smoothed grit of a surface tumbled hard by the surf?  The dull clang of a trio packed tightly in a back pocket?  The way they hold the heat of the day and the chill of the ocean?

Or is it the way they whisper softly, in their low rocky voices...

"paint me"

?

Hello Friendlies...

Have I told you recently how much I appreciate you?

Yes.  You, sitting there with your fingers on the keyboard and maybe a half-drained cuppa or a basket of Summer-ripe Sungold cherry tomatoes that you're eating by the greedy handful (oh wait, that may be me).  You, the one reading these words right now.

I think you are wonderful.  Positively Brilliant.

Even when I'm not able to respond to each individual comment on a post, please know that your words have NEVER gone unnoticed or unappreciated.  Feeling your support and encouragement has lent me wings when my own were becoming tattered and badly in need of rest.  You make me laugh with your quips and glow with your friendship.

And maybe most importantly, you make me remember that we (WE) are never alone.

So whether you comment regularly, once in a blue moon or have yet to click that button, know that you are on my mind today, as I send up huge thanks with every breath.

All my love and a sprinkling of pixie dust,

- Umber

A bit of This, a bit of That and the Medical Update

:: THIS ::

True confession: it's 10:28 and I just finished eating breakfast.  Some nights I stay up too late and dragging yourself out of bed before 8:00 am just isn't going to happen.  But luckily I was able to greet the day with some of these:

And a little of this:

Today's second confession:  This is how I eat my toast every morning.  I've been artfully perfecting my Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe for the last few years and simply can't bare to buy that stuff from the grocery store.  And, as you may well guess, the BEST way to enjoy a slice of fresh baked bread is with an ungodly quantity of butter.  SO as a precautionary move against the inevitable thigh expansion that would happen if I daily smothered my toast in butter, I divide my toast into quadrants.  I get one butter quadrant which can be loaded up as thick as you please, and the other three are divvied between the jam and nut butter selections in the fridge.  It's a little of the best of all worlds.

:: THAT ::

How 'bout a little stitchery stitching sneak peak?  I've been working away in the textile studio and am almost ready to reopen shop...  I'm so very excited about these newest pieces.  They feel ever more like me, like my paintings, clean and crisp and 100% full of California Loving.  Every piece has been inspired by the flora, fauna and the bliss in my heart I experience on my evening country runs.

:: MEDICAL UPDATE ::

In completely unrelated news, I'd like to give you the update on the medical front.  I'm so sorry this update has been SO long coming but between doctors on vacation, insurance red tape, and some big decisions BC and I needed to make, everything kept getting pushed back by the week.  I finally was able to see my oncology doctor and schedule out the next few months of treatments.  The short story is, I'll be starting chemotherapy next Friday, August 27th (with targeted radiation therapy afterwards).  I've already begun some pre-treatment injections (Ladies of that "Certain Age," I'm joining the club with my medically induced temporary menopause!  Please send ALL the good vibes you can to BC while he loves me through hot flashes and all that other fun stuff!).

The chemo schedule I'll be on will last a little over four months, with injections every other week.  But it's just four months.  I keep telling myself, just four months.  Such a short period of time.  Yesterday (truthfully, right this second as well) after my appointment I was really struggling with the reality of this, and a hot panic kept creeping up the back of my throat and blinding the corners of my vision.  But it's just four months.  And I KNOW I'll be ok.  I JUST DON'T WANT TO DO IT.  But I feel deep in my gut that with all the information I've gathered, this is the best decision I can make to help my body.  So I'll ride out this next week and see what we shall see.
Sheesh.  There were a lots of buts in that last paragraph.  I'm trying.  I'm breathing.  Just please remind me it's going to be ok.  Because I'm a little bit scared.

Oh yeah.

One last thing.

It's about to get hard core.

A bit of This, a bit of That and the Medical Update

:: THIS ::

True confession: it's 10:28 and I just finished eating breakfast.  Some nights I stay up too late and dragging yourself out of bed before 8:00 am just isn't going to happen.  But luckily I was able to greet the day with some of these:

And a little of this:

Today's second confession:  This is how I eat my toast every morning.  I've been artfully perfecting my Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe for the last few years and simply can't bare to buy that stuff from the grocery store.  And, as you may well guess, the BEST way to enjoy a slice of fresh baked bread is with an ungodly quantity of butter.  SO as a precautionary move against the inevitable thigh expansion that would happen if I daily smothered my toast in butter, I divide my toast into quadrants.  I get one butter quadrant which can be loaded up as thick as you please, and the other three are divvied between the jam and nut butter selections in the fridge.  It's a little of the best of all worlds.

:: THAT ::

How 'bout a little stitchery stitching sneak peak?  I've been working away in the textile studio and am almost ready to reopen shop...  I'm so very excited about these newest pieces.  They feel ever more like me, like my paintings, clean and crisp and 100% full of California Loving.  Every piece has been inspired by the flora, fauna and the bliss in my heart I experience on my evening country runs.

:: MEDICAL UPDATE ::

In completely unrelated news, I'd like to give you the update on the medical front.  I'm so sorry this update has been SO long coming but between doctors on vacation, insurance red tape, and some big decisions BC and I needed to make, everything kept getting pushed back by the week.  I finally was able to see my oncology doctor and schedule out the next few months of treatments.  The short story is, I'll be starting chemotherapy next Friday, August 27th (with targeted radiation therapy afterwards).  I've already begun some pre-treatment injections (Ladies of that "Certain Age," I'm joining the club with my medically induced temporary menopause!  Please send ALL the good vibes you can to BC while he loves me through hot flashes and all that other fun stuff!).

The chemo schedule I'll be on will last a little over four months, with injections every other week.  But it's just four months.  I keep telling myself, just four months.  Such a short period of time.  Yesterday (truthfully, right this second as well) after my appointment I was really struggling with the reality of this, and a hot panic kept creeping up the back of my throat and blinding the corners of my vision.  But it's just four months.  And I KNOW I'll be ok.  I JUST DON'T WANT TO DO IT.  But I feel deep in my gut that with all the information I've gathered, this is the best decision I can make to help my body.  So I'll ride out this next week and see what we shall see.
Sheesh.  There were a lots of buts in that last paragraph.  I'm trying.  I'm breathing.  Just please remind me it's going to be ok.  Because I'm a little bit scared.

Oh yeah.

One last thing.

It's about to get hard core.