Then This

  the way back machine featuring from left: R, Neblol, OGee, S, Chula and Ike at the almost finished house we built south of Hopkins, Belize      Thwacked by first chemo treatment; pain pills helpful, but only just. Second pickle ball training at the Bob Alexander Memorial Gym on the old middle school campus led to very dizzy, sicky moments early on during wall practice and not much better as S and I were whumped by our opponents. Cancelled dental appointment for 8 am yesterday, just couldn't do. S taking charge of meds, Elizabeth from SCCA downtown phoned - not much help, but nice to have someone to talk to. Plus got Zoloft script and maybe refill on ambian from new primary care doc in Harbor Pointe although visit was supposed to be a video session, but never got vid part to work.      More later if I can think of anything.      Asked S if she could look in to a plot at Woodmens. She replied that she would look for 2 together. I'm consi...

       ...everybody wants a hand to hold. I've got several plus some paws so should be good. pickle ballers looking down airstrip from pickle end court - planes seem to come in this way mostly establishing shot of court looking the other way - down strip from court four rvs, evidence of various projects - pickle end of Porter District and field fire wood factory across street from rv guys airplane skeleton special mushroom - consumption may lead to visions of future of District      Featured this week - a photoessay on Pickle Ball and the rise of the Porter District.      Actually had a lesson in PB from tall fellow in a black jumpsuit. Very good time, got a feel for ball action which is quite different from say tennis ball. Learned to stay out of the "kitchen" and did not learn the scoring which was beyond complex. Have another lesson at Parks and Rec (at the old middle school main gym where some decades ago I played my first game!!) so...

Diverse uses to which Fort Worden is now put: Port Townsend School of Woodworking upstairs and recording studio down under Balloon hanger at fort Guardhouse Pub at fort camp and lighthouse at fort      So weeks have gone by, but what are weeks - the most arbitrary of time divisions not like the other cosmic ones like years so don't worry about weeks. Less than a week ago though we fired up the big old winterized van and met C at Fort Worden in his own van and camped for some nights on the flat before the beach and below the officers houses and parade grounds just before the lighthouse looking east to the Island. Walked all over the place and saw how it was with the woodworking school and the recording studio and the blimp hanger (which once housed the balloons with the wicker basket and the two soldiers in it telling the big gunners how to hit a target they could not see from the ground). It was reported that the fort was in a profound rain-shadowed area while the rest of...

  stumbled upon this tiny house in David and Gayle's backyard with even tiny versions of Angus and Bayrah      What I fear is the immuno doesn’t really work and they start a new chemo and you stay sick, sort of lingering, half in and half out of your life. Yes, that seems to be what's happened or will soon happen as I imagined it a month ago. After some months of infusions of the immunotherapy drug Keytruda or pembrolizamab a single cancer spot in the pelvis lit up in the PET/CT scan and Oncologist Harris said to stop further immunotherapy and start a moderately heavy chemo regimen and that this was to slow the progress or growth of the cancer not to cure it. He further stated that best case scenario I would live for one to two more years although that "best case scenario" and the likely more severe side effects of the chemotherapy give me pause.      Be that as it may, every thing else is pretty peachy what with the great walks with multiple people an...

     unmedical      Wednesday some pet and ct scans to determine if immunotherapy did anything. Friday chat with pa (45 minutes late as S and I sat in exam room on the 7th floor of SCCA downtown twiddling thumbs) who had little to nothing to say about scan anyway. S tweaked her pert little nose on that score; I stared into the middle distance. PA said Oncologist Harris would phone in with his take in under an hour, which he did and told us that there was a li something in the area of the surgical intervention of July of this year, aka the groin, but he couldn't in all honesty say what it was: inflamation, infection, or perhaps cancer. There was a small pool (3x6 cm) of liquid there with a small nodule on one side that was sucking radioactive sugar. So anyway O. Harris wanted to bring together a multi specialist cadre to hash out the most likely conclusion as to the nature of the thing and to figure a safe way to biopsy it. I got stuck on the word "safe" as ...

please click the arrow and then the full screen icon on the far lower left Music "After the Ball" 1891  by  Charles K. Harris        Two weeks gone from the ledger except for bits and pieces. Bits and pieces. One bit was last Friday when Don invited me by text pretty much out of the blue, for a beer, then texted "Well I guess it is cancelled for now.  Maybe we can make a go of it when Nels gets off.  I will check with him. When I texted that I was sad and had been looking forward to it, a text came "Let’s say 4.  Maybe Nels can make it." I texted, "Might have better luck with treat at commons and walk." Don replied, "Either one. Nels should be therefore. You pick the spot. " "Commons", texts I. We three do meet at the Commons. It is closed. We walk to the Spyhop; it is closed. We walk to this and that place; all closed except the fish place so we get a table, Don is not comfortable with the crowds (everyone in town who wanted to ea...

  love bites some of the cars of the dog people at Magnuson Park dog park Golden Gardens Off Leash Area (dog on stump does not have an owl or eagle or kitty on his back) the way down at GG at peace and just in from Miami      Return to Seattle at R's suggestion on Wednesday (note sunset over Lake Union as we cross the big i5 bridge is beyond anything I have ever seen in that regard and I expect people to stop and get out of their cars. It was a benediction and signal that everything is going to be alright) to take over Marbles the next day, give R a ride to the airport also next day and ultimately find and use test kit to see if she has covid because she is showing slight fever. S in Fla. says "you're fine, come on!". C Cunniff provides kit otherwise none to be had. Negative. R flies. Marb, D and I stare into the middle distance for a while and then proceed down the long staircase to Genesee Dog world. Later that day we try Magnolia Park dog park but there isn't o...