What are you doing for fun??

Charlotte,

Florida sounds like a good plan, considering the frigid temps you've had. My father owned a garage at the corner of Kenmare and Elizabeth Streets for well over 20 years, so we always enjoyed Chinese New Years. San Jose has a very large Vietnamese community and they celebrate the Lunar New Year too so I sm enjoying the festivities here. What high school did you go to? I went to Columbus as did my late mother Even the mention of Fordham Rd. brings up a flood of memories.

Not rubbing it in, but I had a lovely picnic on the beach yesterday. 70 degrees, sunny and windless. Picture perfect and soooo relaxing. We were a bit cruel and texted a photo to my brother and SIL in the frozen tundra of northern NJ.

Last week was the BEST week!. In the religious schools here in Israel when the first graders are on their way to reading they have a "Prayerbook Party". The kids are given their first prayerbooks, and the "party" is songs and dances they've prepared for the parents. So on Sunday one of my DGDs had her party and then on Monday another one had hers. The children are so adorable, and they are all thrilled to get their VERY OWN prayerbook.

On Tuesday I went up north for a few days for a retreat run by Beit Natan, a support organization for women with cancer. I've gone to their yearly retreat for a few years now, and as usual my only complaint is that it's too short! The hotel spoils us, and the support sessions and activities were terrific.

This week helped me be ready for what's coming next week - liver biopsy Monday, new chemo (Navelbine) Thursday. Back to real life.

Leah

We have been "exploring our backyard". Yesterday I took a tour of the Fisher Building in Detroit with my DH, his brother and Aunt. It is a beautiful 1920's Art Deco building designed by Albert Kahn. We went up to the 19th floor to get a view of the city and this guy was posing for photos. I believe he is a Peregrine Falcon.

Shutterbug, sounds like an interesting day; I love seeing old buildings and their architecture, inside and out, as well as viewing a city from above. Dh and I try to check out interesting things around the Ohio Valley area where we live, too.

It's surprising how birds survive in winter weather. About an hour from me in Pittsburgh, there is a webcam on a pair of eagles that many people watch. The eagles have already laid two eggs this year. I saw a photo this morning of the nest covered in snow. You can barely see it, but underneath all that snow was the mamma eagle!

Good luck to you, Leah. Hope the biopsy and the Navelbine won't be too bad, I am thinking of you, I bet the little kids getting their first prayer books and then performing for their families has got to be just too cute and a lot of fun! That is a great age. Take care and please let us know how you made out.

We're heading to Spain in late April: Barcelona, Madrid, Grenada and Seville! Flights and hotels are booked. Insurance is arranged. Now we must make lists of must-sees and learn some Spanish.

While many must-sees are immediately obvious--we love art, museums, history and food--I'd love to learn of any off-the-beaten path discoveries any of you have made in those cities.

Ready to shake off Winter,

Tina

Tina,

Despite my extensive international travel, I have never been to Spain. I have heard it is a wonderful country with great food and wine. I do, however, speak Spanish quite well but more of the Mexican/South American variety. There is a website called language 101 which offers good basic language lessons and has great stuff for travelers. There is a free version that should serve you well. ¡Esperoque tu tienes un buen viaje!

It is time for me to have some serious fun!

My last oncologist visit didn't include great news. My last scan shows progression to my bones, from what had only been mets to my pleura. I have crossed a new line. Dr. Christina looked at me and proclaimed "I don't know exactly when, but we will be doing a chemo before the end of the year. Could be June, July or November, but absolutely before the end of the year." I had planned a trip in September. My mother had extracted a promise from me with a classic mother guilt statement of "I want to go to Paris one more time while I am still healthy." My Husband and I had agreed that we would do a big trip but just couldn't agree on the destination. (In the past 18 months, I have been billing out about 50-55 hrs per week. I am exhausted and have a bit more ready cash than normal.)

Clearly, waiting until September wasn't no longer prudent, so I got to work and planned a trip. My next scan is on April 3rd, I get the results on April 10th, and on April 11th my mother and I get on a plane to Paris. I have rented an apartment in the same neighborhood as all of my cousins. Ten days later I put my mother on a train to London to stay with more cousins, and I fly to Malaga where my husband will meet me. Our time in Spain will include Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Valencia, and Barcelona. A full month in Spain, renting apartments, shopping in the markets, visiting Moorish and Roman ruins, drinking wine and eating olives while sitting overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Tina2 will overlap my time in Spain and we won't be in the same place on the same day. How random is that?

And because Spain was not my first choice of destinations and Turkish Air is cheap and I have more family there, and because Ebru is there, from Barcelona we fly to Istanbul for a week. There is a direct, non-stop flight back home, and after my 6 week adventure, home will be a great place to be. As Ebru mentioned in her "I am back" thread, we will spend time together in Istanbul, and evidently I get a coffee ground reading. Perhaps she will even have a meal with me during that week.

I would have preferred a September trip; still would. However, my blood markers went up 23% in one month. We made the correct decision to just plain go. I am so very excited!

*susan*

p.s. how lucky am I to have relatives in such interesting places?

susan, I was worn out just reading your itinerary! Lol I've never been away from home for such a long stretch of time, it sounds like quite an adventure you have planned. Please post some pics of your travels. So glad you are moving ahead with vacation plans

Susan that is so exciting! I am going to call you when I need advice on frugal travel - that sounds like the way to go! I always compare my adventures to the cost of a week @ Disney (something I have never done, nor have any desire to).

OOOOPS!

Wow..Norway! Spain! Turkey! Paris! I'm so thrilled for you all. I currently have friends and coworkers in Mexico (6 month Spanish immersion course), Hawaii, Rome, Paris, and the UK. We may go to the big grocery store in Levin this weekend! (Levin is about 15 km up the road and about 20,000 people as opposed to the town where we live which is about 5,000 people. So they have a much better grocery store.)

We're going to be moving house in a couple of weeks, so sadly, we're not going anywhere. But I desperately need something fun, so we are going to a hot air balloon festival in Levin. (Told you it was a big city!) It's on over Easter weekend and we'll get up early and go see the lift off on Friday and Sat, and the night glow on Sat night and move boxes in between.

So I'm counting on all of you to let me travel vicariously through your tales and photos. I am very excited on your behalf - after I finished radiation for Stage I, I came to New Zealand on vacation, met my (now) husband, and ended up moving here. I felt like - if not now, when? Tina - no shame in a maxed out card for doing something so fun!

Hugs to all,

Terre

I volunteer at a kitten rescue place. And it is fun. Here's a "very fierce" kitten attacking...something invisible!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGoyEI_ZA2U

I already love Turkish Air. First, they are affordable. Second, I had a choice of 32 different eating preferences! So many options especially for Indians: vegetarian no nightshades, vegetarian no onions, halal (of course), fruitarian, all the preferences I have heard about for religious diets. I chose "Turkish." I almost ordered one of the other just to see what I would get, but I love Turkish food, so I decided to be the "simple one."

I too hope to spend some good time with you. The first cousin who is my mother's age, will spend a day with us, but then she is off to Scotland to join her sisters. The second cousins are much like you used to be (and perhaps your age?) They work many hours. He is a director of a large venture capital group, she runs and owns her own architecture firm. I assume that their many children spend the day in school. I think we will find time to spend together. :-)

Istanbul is going to be a wonderful place to investigate. I can't wait.

*susan*