Columbus Day Weekend

Columbus Day weekend was absolutely gorgeous.  In fact, it was a bit freakishly warm with temperatures in the 80s.  We would have liked to go away for the weekend, but unfortunately I was sick with some type of flu-like symptoms, so we stayed home and did a couple things around home.  If I was feeling better, I would have spent a lot more time outside, but we found a balance between getting out and about and me being able to stay home and rest.

Saturday we ventured over to the Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton. Some very cool stuff, but VERY expensive! Most things were in the hundreds of dollars and some were in the thousands. We did buy one thing (as a Christmas gift) but it was under $50 which was a rare thing to find. Part of the fun, though, was checking out the prices. A beautiful jacket for $800; a necklace for $4500... Really?? It was entertainment for sure!

On Monday we headed up to the Hardwick Winery and did their wine tasting and bought some wine.

On the way home, we stopped at the Quabbin Reservoir. It was a beautiful day so we spent time walking around the Quabbin and enjoying the views.  We even ran into a few people we knew!  I forgot what a great place this is to visit.

All and all a nice weekend!

October

My birthday was two days ago (Sept 30th) and lucky me has Dan home this weekend! He came home to play golf with Ed today (not because it was my birthday...but what a treat for me either way!). The golf tournament was originally scheduled for August but was postponed due to Hurricane Irene. So while the boys are out playing golf in the rain, I am doing laundry and putzing around the house. I just got done baking some apple crisp--one pan for us to enjoy tonight and then a smaller pan for Dan to take back with him tomorrow morning! It's a cool, rainy day and the house is now filled with the wonderful aroma of baked apples...yum!


On Thursday, 9/29, Ed and I took the day off of work and went to the Big E. Not the best weather...a bit rainy, but last year was a downpour and we didn't end up going, so we were determined to go this year. Walked all around through the State buildings and the Better Living Center...bought some gifts for Christmas and after checking out all the food selections, Ed ended getting a steak sandwich and then some Quahogs from the RI building. My only indulgence was a Maine baked potato...with the works, of course!


We then went to Carabba's for dinner on the way home and had a very relaxing, delicious dinner.

I couldn't ask for a better birthday celebration. Going to the Big E (which I love), having dinner with Ed (which is always nice), and having Dan home for the weekend (couldn't get better)! Life is good...

Nothing is better than having the family home together. I love them both!! Life is good...

September

After earthquakes and hurricanes in August, we were looking forward to a quiet September which it proved to be. Labor Day weekend was uneventful. Dan remained in Bristol since classes had just begun. Ed and I putzed around the house and had time to both get things done but also relax. We were hoping to make it to the 3-County Fair, but never fit that in.

On Sept 19th-21st I went to Tallahassee, FL, for work. It was cool here, but it was HOT there! Got out of the airport and it was about 90 degrees and humid!

On Sept 25th, we attended Grace's baptism. Grace is the daughter of our nephew Billy and his wife Courtney. After the Baptism, we went to Billy & Courtney's house. It was a nice day visiting with Ed's family (which we rarely get a chance to do). Below is a picture of Billy & Courtney and their daughter Grace and son William.

Returning to Original Treatments

On Sept 6th, Ed returned to his original chemo treatment--Avastin, Irinotecean, and Xeloda. He was definitely more tired for at least a week afterwards and also had some queasiness. Definitely not what he was used to with NO side effects at all. Mid-September he began to lose his hair. He could tell it was thinning but it was less noticeable to me.

On Sept 19-21, I traveled to Tallahassee for work. When I returned on the 22nd, Ed was losing quite a bit of hair in the shower each morning. By Saturday morning it was quite upsetting as there was hair all over the bathroom. Although Ed had no obvious bald spots, the amount of hair in the shower and on the counter/floor in the bathroom was significant and Ed was quite upset. Our first outward sign that Ed had cancer.

On one hand, I kept reminding him to be thankful...we'd gone about 16 months without any outward signs. So Ed called his barber and we went in Saturday afternoon to have his head shaved. Thankfully a lot of men shave their head so it's not like wearing a big sign saying "cancer" (especially since Ed still has his eyebrows, etc.). Unfortunately, though, for Ed, he is reminded every time he looks in the mirror.

Ed's Barber Matt....a great guy who kept us laughing through this momentous occasion.

The end result...

Other August News

Ed and his friends at Pine Grove Golf Course on "Hawaiian Shirt" Night (aka Johnny Pratt night).

Ed won this year's prize for the wackiest outfit.

In early August Dan took a road trip to Pittsburg with his girlfriend Cassie. They just went for 3 days with the primary purpose to visit his site for his thesis project. While in PA, they also went to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water and then also stopped in Hershey, PA on their drive home.

Dan and Cassie at Frank Llyod Wright's "Falling Water"

Later August was going to the beach again! This time staying with my mother who rents a place for two weeks (yes, same as the last couple years)! On August 23, we were all on the beach when we felt the 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in VA. That was quite a feeling! I was laying on the beach and it took a few seconds before I realized the ground under me was moving!!

Ed cooking on the grill at Grandma's cottage.

Dan, Grandma, and Cassie

Ed and Dan

On August 24th, Dan returned to Bristol and his last semester of school. Ed and Dan were scheduled to play in a golf tournament on August 28th so Dan came home on the 27th. This was also the weekend Hurricane Irene was hitting New England. They evacuated the beach Friday at 6 PM and then the area we were staying in needed to evacuate by 6 PM on Saturday. Thankfully we had to checkout by 10 AM on Saturday so we were home safe and sound by the time the storm hit. And thankfully so wasn't Dan.

We lost power Sunday morning and got it back about 12 hrs later. Dan returned to Bristol Wed morning even though they were still without power in Bristol, but since power was restored on campus, classes were going to begin on Thursday (one day later than originally planned). Thankfully Dan got power back that evening so he only went 1 day without power, although his landlord and his roommates went 4 days without power!

Tree down in our backyard the morning Tropical Storm Irene hit.

Quite a month of activity!! Hopefully September will be quieter!

August 15th

As you may have noticed, there has been a lack of posting regarding Ed's cancer. That is because we've been holding it at bay. He's been on the same treatment (Avastin and Xeloda) since last summer and gets the treatment once every three weeks (versus every two weeks which he was doing originally) and no side effects. Of course, we knew this couldn't last...

On August 15th he had another CT scan and this one showed some growth in the tumors and some new tumors. So upon return from our vacation in late August, Ed went back to his original treatment which included Irinotecean (as well as the Avastin and Xeloda) every two weeks.

In addition, in July we unfortunately began to deal with insurance problems with 6 months of unpaid claims. This was eventually cleared up but caused us some stress in July and August while we worked to get this straightened out between hospital billing, our doctor's office, and the insurance company.

Although claims are now being paid, we are dealing with some residuals and additional costs as our oncologist is purchasing the chemo drugs via our prescription plan to address the insurance claims. What a business!!

July 2011

Of course July was kicked off by going to the beach! Our annual week at Misquamicut! It was a beautiful week! A couple mornings were foggy, but the fog burned off and it was HOT! Friday was the only day we got rain so Ed and I headed to Foxwoods that day.




Family was also able to visit throughout the week. Dan and his girlfriend Cassie were there for the weekend. My sister Cathy and her family came for a few days followed by sister Theresa and her kids. My mother also came for a couple days. So, all-in-all, a terrific week. I wish we could have stayed longer and had more guests...but alas, need to work and earn money to continue to enjoy these vacations!

June 2011

On June 16th, Ed and I celebrated our 27th anniversary. It was a weekday so it was a typical workday; however, we did celebrate the following weekend.


For Father's Day (which was the weekend after our anniversary), we went to see the Red Sox. The three of us went (me, Ed, and Dan) and we started the day by having breakfast at The RoadHouse in Belchertown. It was a beautiful day...hot and sunny and I even brought sunscreen with me (versus last year when we brought raincoats and sweatshirts!)!

An added bonus was that this was two days after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup and so the Bruins made a special appearance before the start of the game!

All-in-all, a nice day!

June also marked the end of our "choir" year at our church. It's been about 6 years that I've been singing in the choir. We had our party at the new rectory and spouses and family were invited as well. Ed and Fr. Vern get along quite well and enjoy the opportunity to get together for food, drinks, and conversation. I love the picture below, so just had to share it!

Ed and Fr. Vern at the Choir Party (end of June)

June 1st Tornado

Okay, I'm back tracking to catch up on missing posts in this blog. June...June 1st to be exact...the day a tornado ripped through western MA. It was quite devastating and touched many lives.

On that day, Dan and I were both working at ES. I was in a meeting and he overheard how a tornado touched down in Springfield. We both checked online and saw the video. At that time, though, we did not know the full extent of the storm. We thought it was an isolated tornado that touched down in one location...that's typically the only thing that happens when a tornado touches down in western MA.

It was a Wednesday, so Ed was playing golf in Northampton. No TV so he had no clue about the tornado. Because of the rain, he got out early and we all met at Arizona Pizza for dinner together. At Arizona Pizza there are TVs at most tables/booths and we all were glued to the news and the extent of the storm/damage began to unfold. We ended getting home before a second string of storms were coming through. We did lose power that night for a few hours, but that was it.

Overall, we were very thankful that losing electricity was our only inconvenience. Our nephew and his family live in Brimfield and the tornado hit less than a mile from their home (see photos below) but they were all safe and there was no damage to their home. As we watched footage and saw the damage in Springfield, Monson, and Brimfield it is amazing more lives weren't lost.

Most importantly, though, we were reminded to be thankful for each day and we were reminded how quickly, in an instance, lives can change.

Below are some pictures we took on Paige Hill Road in late September, four months after the tornado hit.

The Start of Summer...

A sign of Spring.

So much for writing monthly! But I guess no news is good news!! This weekend summer has arrived with 80-90 degree weather for Memorial Day weekend. It was only a week ago that we had a lot of rain and it was cold and rainy. Somehow we went from cold to hot...spring should have been in there somewhere!! I still haven't packed up my winter clothes, but I did bring out my shorts and t-shirts for this weekend.

Things are still going well for Ed. His last CT scan showed no changes and so Dr. B opted to go to once every three weeks for treatment. Thankfully Ed still does not have any side effects from the treatment.

March was pretty uneventful...still cold and winter. Dan came home for a couple days for spring break. We did go for breakfast at the No. Hadley Sugar Shack one morning. Lots of maple syrup on our pancakes! Yummmm....

April brought Easter and celebrating my brother Michael's 50th birthday. For his birthday, we put together a "memory" clothesline with little, cutout t-shirts with our memories of him. Then, the following week we all went to Goten (hibatchi place) for dinner--that was a lot of fun.

Dan on Easter at Grandma's with his cousins Matt, Nick, Lexi, and Ali.

Dan and Grandma on Easter.

In early May, Ed went to "Grandparents Day" in Westhampton for Amanda Tobin. He had a lot of fun. I guess "Uncle Eddie" is now "Grandpa Eddie"!

Amanda and Ed on Grandparent's Day

This spring we've been enjoying the wildlife in our yard. Lots of bunnies around this year and lots of birds...goldfinches, bluebird, pileated woodpecker, the hummingbirds are back, and we've even seen a scarlet tanager. Dan uses his cell phone and plays the bird songs and believe it or not, this does attract the birds. The scarlet tanager and the hummingbird was swooping around the back deck and the chickadees actually came and sat on the back deck next to Dan! Very fun to watch...unbelievable!


We've also got two Robin's nest in our yard. One is in the bush outside the kitchen window and the other is behind the Lilac bush. The picture above is from the one behind the Lilac bush...it's only a few feet off the ground so we can get good pictures inside the nest.

And, yes, Dan is home for the summer! Came home a few days ago. He'll start working at ES tomorrow and we're thankful they have work for him. He applied at a number of architect firms and there's no paying internship. He will be interning at TIA one day a week and he's got a freelance "job" (unpaid) for Kraus-Fitch. Hey, it's experience and better than nothing!

So life is good. Counting down the weeks til we get to go to the beach! It will be here before we know it!! In the meantime, we're enjoying the warmer weather. Ed is planting flowers (no garden this year) and I'm putzing around the yard (I am NOT into gardening!). Here's hoping I write more than once every three months! May you enjoy the spring and start of summer!!

My Mother's Day gift.

February

Snow!

Snow...

...And More Snow...

So I intended to write a message by the end of February, but only having 28 days obviously messed me up!

The highlights for February was all the snow! It just kept coming and coming and, like a number of people, we were up on the roof clearing what we could. Thankfully there was no damage or leaks in the house so we're happy about that!

Ed up on the roof...

Me shoveling off the roof...

Mid-February was Valentine's Day...a day to pause and tell those you care most about that you love them. Of course we sent a little package to Dan in Bristol (doesn't matter how old he gets). And Ed and I went out to dinner on Sunday. Nothing too fancy. Our Valentine's gift to each other, though, was an overnight to Foxwoods later in February.

A nice home cooked meal for Valentine's Day.

And that's exactly what we did February 27-28. We headed down on Sunday and stopped by Misquamicut on the way. It was very windy and cold, so we didn't stay long on the beach.

At Foxwoods, we stayed at the MGM Grand in a director's suite which was certainly NOT worth the price. Several years ago we stayed in a suite at the Grand Pequot and that was lavish. This was more like a slightly larger deluxe room. I mean, it was nice...but not what you'd expect for the price or hype and I would recommend to others to go to the Grand Pequot instead.

MGM Grand. We were on floor 26 (four from the top) at the end.

The bedroom.

The sitting room.

The view looking straight down.

The panoramic view.

Regardless, though, we had a great time. Ed would love to play Blackjack, but at $15 minimum per hand, he stuck with the slots. And me, I like the penny slots. There was a particular slot machine that I liked and we played on those for almost 2 hrs on Monday and the machines were good to us as well. So that was fun! It was really good to get away and just "play" for a bit.

Our low point came after we got home. During the weekend Ed has a slight sore throat, but nothing that slowed him down. By Tuesday, though, the sore throat was quite painful and he went to the doctor's where they ruled out strep. By Wednesday, though, the pain was worse (he could barely swallow or speak) and so he went to see Dr. Bowers (his oncologist) who immediately sent him down to the ER at Cooley because he had an abscess that they were afraid would end up blocking off the airway.

By 5 PM, Ed called me to let me know they were transferring him to Baystate since there was no Ears/Nose/Throat (ENT) doctor available at Cooley. So I rushed to Cooley from work and followed the ambulance to Baystate (yes, they transferred him via ambulance which was a good thing or we'd be sitting in triage for hours!). We ended up in the Baystate ER until around 9 PM when they decided they were going to admit him. The abscess wasn't big enough to drain (without taking risks) but was big enough not to send him home. They put him on antibiotics and would have an ENT assess him in the morning. It was about 11:30 PM by the time they got Ed admitted and I was finally on my way home.

Thursday I spent several hours at Baystate visiting with Ed. He was certainly improving and could talk and eat. It appeared the antibiotics were working. By Friday morning they gave him another dose of antibiotics and sent him home. He's certainly doing much better--still a slight sore throat, but he's eating and feeling MUCH better.

Dinner together Thursday night.

My $5 dinner.

It's hard to believe that it was just a week ago that we were off to Foxwoods having fun and in this short week, we've been to the ER, admitted to Baystate, and then back home again. Can't wait to see the bills for this little adventure. Thank God we've got good health insurance. And I'll tell you, the Baystate ER was a trip. Thankfully, somehow, we got a "room" in the ER so we weren't in the hallway for 4 hours like 50% of the patients. Really crazy and they said it was nothing compared to a Friday or Saturday night!

And, I'm sure you're wondering...there is no change with Ed's cancer. He continues his chemo treatment every two weeks (although he missed his treatment last week). The tumors continue to remain at bay (not getting larger, but not shrinking either).

Just about a week and a half ago, a good friend of my mom's passed away suddenly--Peter Galante. He was 57 and it happened suddenly. Which is another reminder of how precious every day is. Ed got his diagnosis about 14 months ago and we didn't know how long we had. But here's Peter, who is a year younger than Ed, and dies totally unexpectedly. Just a reminder to live every day to the fullest and always tell your loved ones how much they mean to you since we do not know when our time on this earth is up.

So we're glad it's March and spring is coming. I noticed last nite at 5:30 that it was still light out. The days are getting longer!! And next weekend we change the clocks (spring forward!) and, even better, Dan is coming home for a few days during his spring break!! That's the best part. We haven't seen him since early January so I'm really looking forward to having him home for a few days.

May you have a meaningful Lent and a Happy St. Patty's Day! {{Hugs}} to all!

At the Beach (2/27)