Eighth Chemotherapy

Today I successfully completed my eighth chemotherapy, again without the bleomycin drug that has been potentially negatively affecting my lungs. Bought a new chemotherapy beanie today, which Tim is helpfully modeling...

Chopping Wood for Firewood

Today we went out into the forest around our house to search for firewood. It has been in the '50's in the mornings and evenings, so we've been running the wood stove often. After seeing the number of fallen trees around the property, we probably have enough firewood for YEARS...

Trip to the Gold Coast Hinterlands

Today we traveled to the "hinterland" inland from the Gold Coast. It is up on a plateau with spectacolar views inland as well as over the Gold Coast and the Pacific Ocean. We ate a picnic lunch at a cheese fatcory, visited the Tatra Polish Heritage center and visited the lovely Natural Arch National Park, with its lovely waterfalls and bush walks.

Rod and Arlene Arrive in Australia

Rod and Arlene arrived today in Brisbane. Their flight was a bit bumpy, but they are very happy to be here at last!

Putting Finishing Touches on the House

Tim's parents are due for a much-anticipated visit later this week, so we have been putting the finishing touches on the house. We hung up more pictures and such, including this lovely embroidered wall hanging of north american birds, given to us by Roger and Karen Remmington. Roger is a former NASA scientist who is now in our psychology department here at UQ.

Birds in Yard

We've certainly been getting a lot of birds in the yard - our yard list now stands at 24 species of birds and 10 species of mammals and reptiles. The ones pictures here (from the top) are kookarurra, magpie and king parrot. One bird we've seen only rarely (and which I don't have a photo of yet) is the pretty little spotted pardalote (below) which has a sweet little song.

Cousin Robert in Hospital!

My cousin Robert had a very memorable Fourth of July this year - he stumbled at a curb during a parade at the shore, and he managed to break his ankle in three places! We all really hope that his recovery goes well and is swift. We will be sending Robert some unusual Australian care packages to keep him amused!

Cold Days

These mornings have been cold but crisp, and we have has several good days of rain, so the garden is getting greener. I love to come out on the porch in the mornings to see the fog through the trees... and so does Zamboni...

Seventh Chemo Finally Done!

It was good to get this last chemo done after waiting so long... now am 58% finished! Denali is often waiting for us to come back from the hospital - she is a welcome sight when we arrive home!

Visiting Onyx

Today we went to visit our friend Annette and her new kitten Onyx. Leaving the house there were TONS of cockatoos in the upper yard by the mailbox. Annette would have loved it (cockatoos are one of her favorite birds!)...

Eggplant Parmiagana

Today I made some eggplant parmiagana - very good to have on these cold winter days...

Chemo Delayed Again!

Today I went in for chemo, but white blood cell count still at zero. So I'm having some of the bone marrow shots today and tomorrow, and will DEFINITELY have chemo Monday.

BUT the doc said this was OK and would allow him to chase up the results of the lung CT. Those revealed the possibility of fluid in the lungs, which could account for lowered oxygen exchange. BUT what is causing this? To help answer this question I had an echocardiogram today. Compared with baseline measures, the technician thought it pretty much unchanged. (Luckily, I have no vegetation in my heart, unlike the poor lady whose echo you see above! Click on the photo above to see it enlarged...)

I'll have a meeting with the respiratory doc later next week to discuss the whole picture...

Lung Tests

Today we heard some good news. My lung function tests, which were done on Friday, had seemed to be indicating that my oxygen exchange within the lungs was still declining, despite my having neither the bleomycin (the drug in the chemotherapy cocktail that is the most toxic to the lungs) nor the GCS-F bone marrow shot for stabalizing my white blood cell count (which is thought to interact with bleomycin to potentially damage the lungs).

HOWEVER, turns out the technician had made a mathematical error, and my lungs had indeed improved a bit since these drugs were withheld. So the hematologist was pleased. But he also wanted to see if the site of the oxygen exchange in my lungs (the alvioli) were being damaged.
Bleomycin can cause the walls of the alvioli to thicken, thus decreasing the amount of oxygen which can pass through into the blood stream. So I went today for a high contrast CT scan of my lungs. This will have the added benefit of again allowing us to check the size of the central mass in my chest, so fingers crossed.


I'll get the results of the tests back on Thursday, which is when my chemotherapy has been rescheduled (since, without the shot, my white blood cell count today was again zero...)

Feeding the cockatoos on the porch

Nancy showed off her new flannel pajamas for the cockatoos on the verandah (they were more interested in the bird seed....) Click on the photo to see the kitty-printed pajamas in all their glory!

Warm Gifts!

Today I got an excellent care package from my friend Debbie Wolter in Palo Alto - a warm fuzzy tracksuit top and a lovely prayer shawl from her mom Karen. THANKS!

Cold Rainy Days!

Tim is back from Copenhagen today, to be greeted with a roaring fire in our fireplace in the living room. The past week has been very cold and rainy.... The cats are still getting used to the fire and are treating it with caution...

Innovative breakfast...

This is my latest breakfast concoction --- scrambled eggs on pizza --- yum!

NY Slices!

Today my friends Bill and Courtney von Hippel visited for lunch and brought 2 pizzas from NY Slices, the best pizza place in Australia! They even do a nice "white pizza" (with ricotta cheese), my favorite...

Cleaning the House

I've been taking advantage of Tim being gone to try to sort out the last bit of unpacking and arranging of stuff in the house. The cats are helpful, as always...

Viking Museum, Copenhagen

Tim visited the Viking Ship Museum today with his colleague John from the UQ business school. I was visited by my colleague, Virginia (she of the pink wig), who brought me eggplant parmigiana for dinner. We then watched Bull Durham...

Amber Museum, Copenhagen

Today Tim visited the Amber Museum in Copenhagen, while Nancy was treated to homemade pumpkin soup by her friend, Annette. Gromit was fascinated by Annette's fuzzy Rottweiler slippers (she has 2 Rottweilers and a Bombay kitten at home...)

Tim Leaves for Singapore

Tim left for Copenhagen via Singapore (pictured above) today. It is a long flight but Tim is flying Singapore airlines, which had the personal in-flight movie system Tim loves... Meanwhile, Nancy's friend Kate came by and made her delicious chicken soup! (as this is the end of a chemo week, my friends volunteered to stop by and check on me for a few days...)

Venetian Chicken Soup
Serves 6
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 bacon rashers, chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock
A quarter of a cup of dry vermouth
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cups diced, cooked chicken
salt
freshly ground pepper
chopped parsley for garnish
grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Heat oil in a large saucepan, add diced bacon and cook until lightly browned. Add spring onions and saute until soft. Stir in flour and cook 2 minutes. Add half the stock and stir until liquid thickens and bubbles. Add remainder of stock, vermouth, parsley and diced chicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Ladle into a tureen or individual bowls, sprinkle with a little parsley and serve with Parmesan cheese.

Recipe from Mallos, Tess. Australian All Colour Cookbook. Dee Why West, NSW: Paul Hamlyn Ltd, 1977, p.10.

Our Neighbor's New Cat "Bella"

Our neighbors from The Gap, Paul and Ann, lost their beloved cat George to cancer two years ago. Recently they adopted a lovely kitten, Bella. She was really sweet and they just adore her!

Long Weekend

This weekend is a three day weekend (Monday is Queen's Birthday) so we are taking full advantage of it. Today we went to the Gold Coast to do some outlet shopping and to catch the new Pirates movie. We then had garlic butter steak at our favorite restaurant, Cha Cha, a very cool Japanese place by the Jupiter's casino - yum!

Another Fan of the Pink Wig!

Here is a photo of Natalie Portman in the film Closer sporting a pink wig very similar to the one I've been wearing (wore this wig to work today, and everyone liked it, esp. the cut...)

Zamboni Doing Very Well!

Took Zamboni to the vet today, and he was VERY pleased. Zamboni has put on over a pound, which is more than 10% of his body weight. The vet thinks this is an excellent sign. We are scheduled to take him back in a month, when the doctor will consider possibly decreasing his course of antibiotics.

More Snake Excitement

Well, we've had no luck relocating Sophie, but today Tim spotted Jasper from the verandah! Jasper is a 7 foot long carpet python, and he is just beautiful! We watched him all day, and into the evening. He moved along the side of the house, then curled up in a bush near the laundry for a while. The next day we found him high in a tree out back - the circle shows how far he climbed! Jasper stayed there in the tree for a day, then we lost track of him. Although the cats wanted to meet Jasper, we thought it best they remain unacquainted....