I had SOOO much fun last weekend.  My DH, and my BFF and her famly all flew up to Seattle for my son's wedding!  I did not know right up till we went whether I would be feeling well enough to go, and to enjoy. No matter WHAT happened, I was going!!  As it turned out it was a lovely wedding and I felt really okay. We had such a good time.  I am so thankful I was able to be there.   

Congrats, Judie! Having had my daughter's wedding in June, I understand what great fun and a blessing this was for you.

Caryn

Judie, what a great report. So happy for you and your son and your family! Seattle is such a cool place; we visited a few summers ago for the Fourth of July holiday and really enjoyed ourselves.

Today we went to our county fair. It is a huge agricultural fair with all sorts of animals; big exhibit barns full of 4-H projects, needlework and baked goods; a raucous midway; awful food of every sort--in short, everything a fair should be.

We watched a wonderful takeoff on Project Runway sponsored by a large local fabric store. The store had donated a bin full of remnants and the teenage participants dove into it Thursday, choosing random pieces of fabric in a free-for-all. Each of eight teams of three got a chit to buy notions at the store. They could plan what they were going to make, but were not permitted to begin sewing until 9:00 am this morning, which they did in full view of proctors and fairgoers in one of the fairground halls. At 6:00 p.m. we saw the parade of models and the judging and cheered the three winners. The dresses were amazingly inventive and appeared to be very well constructed. It was pure fun to be there.

Tina

Weddings...I just love them.

That project runway takeoff sounds incredibly creative and interesting....what a great idea.

I love to read all this happy wedding news. Funny, I am not by nature a weeper, but I usually shed a few tears at weddings.

Yesterday my partner and I had the great fortune to serve as "Ladies of Honor" at a small but elegant wedding of two dear friends who have been together for 35 years. If friends are truly "the family we choose ourselves," then this wedding was definitely a "family affair." It took place in a church on Capitol Hill where the pastor, a friend of ours, performed the ceremony. Another friend, the church organist, played magnificent, soaring music. Still another friend sang. What's amazing is that we know all of these people from another part of our lives , not through anything to do with the church!

I was asked by the couple do a reading of my choice. I considered many obvious and not-so-obvious pieces until I found and fell in love with this:

A Blessing for Wedding

By Jane Hirshfield

Today when persimmons ripen

Today when fox-kits come out of their den into snow

Today when the spotted egg releases its wren song

Today when the maple sets down its red leaves

Today when windows keep their promise to open

Today when fire keeps its promise to warm

Today when someone you love has died

     or someone you never met has died

Today when someone you love has been born

     or someone you will not meet has been born

Today when rain leaps to the waiting of roots in their dryness

Today when starlight bends to the roofs of the hungry and tired

Today when someone sits long inside his last sorrow

Today when someone steps into the heat of her first embrace

Today, let this light bless you

With these friends let it bless you

With snow-scent and lavender bless you

Let the vow of this day keep itself wildly and wholly

Spoken and silent, surprise you inside your ears

Sleeping and waking, unfold itself inside your eyes

Let its fierceness and tenderness hold you

Let its vastness be undisguised in all your days

Did a book presentation and signing today at a local library. It went well and I really enjoyed it! There were about 35 people in the audience...mostly friends and family and friends of friends...some from meetup groups...some cousins..some highschool friends...my journaling group. I really enjoyed it. And felt well enough to do it despite feeling miserable much of the past month. Was scheduled for an infusion this morning that I didn't get..mostly because tumor markers and liver pain are telling us the taxotere is probably no longer working anyway so why keep making me sick with it. So doing scans..bone, CAT, and brain MRI on Wednesday to see what's going on. Will probably move to TDM 1 soon. But for now I'm just so grateful for the chemo break this week!

Thanks, teacher911. It's nice to get feedback. It would actually be easier if the scans are bad because I really don't want to continue the taxotere. I'm looking for more quality of life at this point...even though I know my options now are few. I can't believe I slept until 12:30! Despite some pain in the liver, I'm already starting to feel better. No nausea...and that's great!

Thanks, Nancy! So glad to see you recovered and back among the living breathing posters again! . The book signing was a lot of fun...and that seemed to be the general consensus of the audience too which was very gratifying for me. Glad I got to do it. Don't know what to do for an encore. Like many of us I think I'm getting to the end of treatment options now. I think I'd like to hang around at least until ring dings come back though! I've heard twinkes were back but I haven't yet seen any ring dings.

Made it on my train ride last week-end. It ended up raining but was still so pretty. Not as scary as I thought it was going to be, and much more crowded. It was sold out and there were 10 busloads of people. The scariest part was the bus ride where they were trying to keep all 10 buses together on a mountain road with runaway truck ramps posted every mile or so. We traveled 1000 miles in 2 days counting traveling to and from Tenn. to NC.  But it was fun and were thinking about doing the Asheville-Biltmore house trip in October.

I go to Asheville alot, and have been to the Biltmore house once. Ive heard Christmas time is the best time to go. They do a candle light tour thats said to be just beautiful.

I had no idea how hardy fig trees can be! Lol. in only 3 years to have turned into such a serious fig producer! Wow. Well I hope you continue to enjoy them and the tree.

I just went to see The Book of Mormon with my husband and son.



We had a great time. The language was incredibly profane. But I didn't stop laughing for two solid hours. I'm sure it had a beneficial effect on my endorphin levels.

I am a "Broadway Baby" who has seen a lot of shows over the years. "Book of Mormon" stands out as one of the funniest, beginning to end!

Tina

Well, this is not something I've done yet, but I'm looking for cheerleaders. As I've mentioned, I'm going to cruise New Zealand (Auckland) to Sydney in late December. I love cruising and am so looking forward to seeing this beautiful part of the world. The ship docks in Sydney early in the morning and my flight home is not until 9:30 pm. I have suddenly gotten it into my head that I want to do the Harbor Bridge climb. I am adventurous in the sense that I will travel anywhere, eat anything and wander cities and small towns without a care but, I have never been a physical risk taker, i.e. no sky diving, fire walking, bungee jumping etc. The idea of the bridge climb scares me a bit and I'm not great at heights when I'm so exposed but I really, really think I want to do this. It feels like I will be conquering something, though I'm not sure what It is also quite expensive, so I need to be sure before I plop the money down. My daughter's MIL ( mishapacha, for Jewish sisters) said she would go with me. Thoughts, concerns or encouragement?

Caryn