happy halloween

i have the house to myself!

today is my day to cook, so i decided to stay at the house and just enjoy the quiet of the russian river and living in the woods! (i'll post the link to the house after we've de-camped.) this trip has been a worldwind tour of napa valley. we've hit calistoga, st. helena, rutherford, oakville, yountville and, of course, the lovely city of napa. the great thing about staying in a house instead of a hotel is that we've been enjoying our purchases with great dinners prepared at home! everything has been locally grown or made, so the freshness and quality has been out of this world! tonight, i'm making locally raised, farm fresh lamb shanks with organic veggies, local creamery butter, a cheese plate of fresh cheeses and for dessert the absolutely most beautiful flourless chocolate torte from a french bakery right here in healdsburg! the wines...well, what can i say? this trip has been about tasting wines that we don't get at home, finding new smaller vineyards and just following the silverado trail.

an update re: the postcards from the edge contest. it has been decided that everyone who send an email shall receive a postcard because that's the california spirit and surely, the spirit of the valley and absolutely of The City.

no matter where i live or where i go, i'll always be a california girl at heart!

i think the MITM is going to guest blog after we get home and then we'll post photos!

just so y'all know

we're having a great time.

monday madness

we're off to the wine country today. we'll be posting pictures later today or tomorrow. the postcards from the edge contest drawing will begin tonight after the second bottle of wine has been opened! there's still time to send me a snail mail address if y'all haven't done it already: sharifazaw@gmail.com

tales of the city

yes, it's true! that's where i'll be...or maybe not. there's still time to email your snail mail address for the drunken travels with me postcard contest!

xoxoxo

last photos from the MITM & the coconut krewe and one really good photo of ghost!

san francisco update
we've landed, checked in at our hotel, had some italian food for lunch with a lovely bottle of wine and now, the MITM has finally joined us! we're off to the balboa cafe at some point this evening for supper and a stroll along the streets of san francisco!

i love this town!

today is her birthday!

join us in celebrating super nana's birthday, sugarpies, by heading over and wishing her a good one! y'all know how we love celebrations!





and my personal favorite:


and yes, there will be surprises for her today! xoxoxo

in the spirit of the divine mistress mj

i'm going to have a postcard contest!

send y'all's address and over our second bottle of wine, i'll have the MITM pick 1 name every day we're gone! (email is in my profile)

UPDATE: more photos of the MITM & the coconut krewe

the day after

a good friend posted this on facebook and it reminded me how much the coconut krewe loved this song and how much i still do! miss daisy is off on her wild adventures, the MITM is in eastern oregon and i am home alone singing at the top of my lungs and dancing like nobody's watching!



thank you all again for the kind words. i will answer all y'all as soon as i finish dancing!

update: more photos from the field!

so the doctor called

she called this morning and said: "you have atypical cells. there's no mention of cancer, BUT, i'd like to have a surgeon look at the film and reports and then decide the best course of action. it could be another biopsy or just a followup in a couple of months. are you good with that?" of course, after i started breathing again, i said sure, i'm good with that! i called the MITM (using the 1 cellphone number that seems to be working) out in birdland (aka oregon) completely forgetting that even though he's not working, he was going to be on a tri-continental conference call, so the owner of the phone, who isn't one of our sons, had to go over to his room and slip him a note asking him to call me. (do i not write the absolute longest sentences ever?) poor vee (best friend to cap'n chaos), he knew why i was calling and tried so hard not to ask, but i could hear his relief when i said, just ask him to call me. anyway, instead of trying to explain atypical cells, i've done a cut and paste from the mayo clinic site regarding atypical cells:

Do atypical cells usually mean cancer?

Answer
from Timothy Moynihan, M.D.

Atypical cells appear abnormal, but they aren't necessarily cancerous. Many factors can make normal cells appear atypical, including inflammation and infection. Even normal aging can make cells appear abnormal.

Atypical cells can revert to normal if the underlying cause is removed or resolved. In some cases this happens spontaneously. In other cases, it's the result of a specific treatment.

Although atypical cells don't necessarily mean cancer, it's important to remember that some cancers first appear as atypical cells. If your doctor identifies atypical cells, close follow-up is essential. In some cases, the doctor may simply monitor the atypical cells to make sure they don't become more abnormal. In other cases, the doctor may recommend a particular treatment to try to reverse the process that's causing the atypical cells. And sometimes, the doctor may need to obtain a larger sample of tissue — such as a biopsy — to make sure cancer or another more serious condition isn't present.

this is a good thing. doc will send the films off to the surgeon. i will meet the MITM on saturday out in cali and when we get home, we'll see what's next.

for all of you who've taken time to leave words of support, my family and i want to say thank you. this community we've become part of has become as dear to us as the friends who gather around our table. i cherish each and everyone of you and hold you close always! you are my friends.

The West Wing" (1999)

Leo McGarry: This guy's walkin' down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole, and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, "Father, I'm down in this hole; can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey, Joe, it's me. Can ya help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are ya stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out.

thank you,

alan
apprentice
b. e. earl
bock
boxer
charlie
conortje
crazy river girl
daisyfae
debra
djdannak
don
e@l
eleanor
eroswings
eryl
fat sparrow
jack sparrow
jayne
jc
jimmy
kaz
kevin musgrove
kim ayres
leah
lulu labonne
madame de farge
mago
manuel, the waiter
mark
mj
momentary madness
naomi
pat
ponita
roses
scarlet-blue
scout
shan
tc
t-shirt
the jules
the U
tony
white rabbit
xl

and z!

from me, the MITM and the coconut krewe!

~~~~~~~
pictures from the field

super nana on tv! she plays a (guess what) teacher on this episode of lincoln heights. (sorry, huhu doesn't work outside of the states!)



for all y'all outside of the states, one of my favorite pictures of super nana

while we wait...

i nicked this from ginro to keep us entertained while we wait. there will probably be more videos, anecdotes and/or links today because i haven't heard a thing (it is still quite early here) and the MITM is with the coconut krewe minus 1 hunting in one of the western states*, and i really should tell him first...(here's captain chaos' rant about flying take on day 1 of the hunt)




*it's the first part of a trip we planned ages ago! and i'm meeting him on saturday out in lalaland no matter what!

(updates will be numbered today)

1. if y'all don't know scout check her out TODAY! click on the link she provides to her column AND make sure to look up the word (you'll see why!)

2. the MITM just called. seems t-mobile does not provide consistent nationwide coverage, so in order to reach me, he had to use a phone with a different provider...6 guys, 6 phones and they have to use different ones in different areas...wtf? given the amount of money people pay for service, coverage should be everywhere, any time, 24/7/365! dammit (i know, useless rant.)

3. if i haven't heard by noon, i'm calling the doc.

4. it's 1356hrs here and nothing has been faxed over to the doc.

5. i'm cleaning house to keep busy.

6. it's 1715hrs. nothing from the doc yet. i think i might send a note off to the radiologist/pathology department. you know, something along the lines of: note to self: tell the next patient it might be a couple of days, instead of YOU'LL KNOW ON MONDAY!

7. i'm still NOT done cleaning house.

time for fun!

from our pal debra because we can all use a little fUn thEoRY

today

i hate waiting, i think all y'all know this, but that's what we have to do.

wait for the test,

wait for the results,

wait,

wait,

wait.

so the MITM is looking into alarm systems for the house, i've read the papers from all around the world. and it's been raining all night and it's grey and raining still.

we're leaving the house in 20 minutes.

we're taking all y'all with us.

thanks again from the MITM & me!

1253 update:

it's done. we're home. we should have results on monday.

as we were waiting in the reception area before the biopsy, we read y'all's comments/words of support. the MITM looked at me and said, these are our people, babe! and y'all are and we are most grateful and thankful!

i'm going to take a nap. i'm beat!

xoxoxoxoxox

friday

Tomorrow at 10:30AM EDT.

80/20 and i'll remember to just breathe.

thank you

your kind words of support have become part of the blanket of love i'm wrapping around myself. i can't seem to put words together other than the odd comment, but i am reading all of you everyday. i'm sorry i didn't answer each of you individually, but know that i am grateful and appreciative of your time, effort and concern. i have nothing new to tell you yet, but know that i'm counting on all of you to remember the 80/20 rule for me!

don't ask the question if you aren't prepared for the answer or here's to the 80-20 rule!

for the coconut krew around the 3.35 point...i couldn't find a shorter version



update:
i'm sorry, sugarpies! the 80/20 rule i was referring to has nothing to do with the pareto principle as it applies to marketing and/or economics. it has to do with chance, as in, there's an 80% chance that things will be fine and only a 20% chance that we're talking about worse case scenarios.

here's the deal, yesterday everything was fine.

and then it wasn't.

and today it isn't.

as cap'n chaos said this morning, i'm holding fast to the 80%. and even if i end up on the 20% dance card, the calcifications were discovered early and they are teeney tiny little itty bitty things and have been discovered early! the biopsy is going to be scheduled for some time next week. it's an outpatient procedure, so i'll be in and out in no time!

so, there it is...what would ya'll like to drink?

i have worried myself over something that turned out to be nothing

i'm fine now.

but it is interesting how we stress ourselves over the unknown. it seemed that suddenly everything in my life was overwhelming. i wrote 6 or 7 entries that i never posted because it just seemed as if i was whining and worrying and self-indulgent. i did my best to not worry and ended up whacked out even more! ask supernana, she'll tell you. simple actions took on monumental importance. oh yeah, there were lots of really sick jokes, but somehow the acceptance of the possibility in a joke made it ok. i think we watched every trailer for 2012, so y'all can guess the level of our humor! and yes, the coconut krewe knew, by email, so i wouldn't cry and make them worry even more. (ok, supernana heard from the MITM, but that was only because she called about something else.) i try not to surprise them with news via the blog. yes, i've been up in the air over a mis-read x-ray and now i know the truth.

i'm fine now.

the MITM was doing his best to stay calm. but dealing with my unknowns and the whimsanddramaqueenspoiledoldladyantics of miss daisy, his dance card has been overflowing and he's been even more stressed than normal! and let's don't even talk about his day job! anyway, he is a most wonderful man and i am most fortunate to have him as friend, companion, lover and husband! and...

he's fine now.

so, i'm taking a deep breath, giving thanks to the universe that i'm ok and unless the world really does end soon, i should be around for a few more years!

after all of that and just so y'all know, many deleted paragraphs, in the words of the best president we ever had except he was only on tv...


what's next?





note to self: never question the universe.

has anyone ever made something like this?

a cable knit throw unlike any i've ever seen before. any ideas how this was done? did they use baseball bats as needles? and is it hard to do?

happy anniversay, leah & sarge!

yes, it's true! all y'all know how much i love celebrations! well, our pal, leah is celebrating her 13th wedding anniversary and 19 years together with the delightful sarge! drop by when y'all get a chance and wish the happy couple mazel tov! mabruk! congratulations! and many, many more glorious years together!

ain't love grand?

wow, it's sunday already?

once again, it seems i've lost track of days. but y'all know that already.

the MITM is still at home which is a good thing. miss daisy is doing well and getting ready for yet another farewell tour that will begin on the west coast this month and end on the east coast in november. this month will also see the coconut krewe minus one heading up to the land that time forgot for a man's week with the MITM. and for a few days, i will get to lounge around the plantation like a singleton minus the cigs, booze and dates of bridget jones fantasies. days of solitude are a rarity now and as with all things that don't happen often wildly anticipated. remind me i said this when i start whining about being alone.

on another note, i've noticed a few bloggers are taking breaks. having done that myself, i totally understand the feeling. this thing that we do has to be a release, not an obligation. when anything becomes a chore...but all y'all know that already. anyway, i'm looking forward to the return of our momentarily absent friends.

i'm supposed to finish some real work, but for the life of me, i can't seem to just sit and do it. procrastination is so much easier and nfl sunday on fox is on and football starts at 1300hrs and then there's the paper to read and did i mention the stack of magazines? and what about the netflixs sitting next to the tv? and oh wow, look at the woodpeckers outside....

so, today's post is about everything and nothing; a small part of the collection of thoughts and information rummaging around inside my head looking for an escape and tapped out by a slightly distracted savannah of the marshes.

for our absent friends: