|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Sunday, November 30, 2008 A few things from my Thanksgiving list Gary and I packed our snowshoes and camera and set off early yesterday morning for the nearby mountains. The intent was to get a little exercise and maybe snap a photo we could use on a Christmas card.
The Cascade Range is glorious this time of year, even though we have less
On my Thanksgiving list (which I keep year-round): my husband here beside me, being able to get out of bed in the morning, living in this amazing wonderland and the holy Advent season that is upon us ... just to name a few.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 Thanksgiving Eve It’s 32 degrees out. We’ve lit a fire and put on some music in celebration of the lovely thought that we don’t have to go to work tomorrow.
perfect evening because it is the prelude to a 4-day weekend with so much to be thankful for … followed by the advent of the Christmas season.
Wishing you all a warm and toasty holiday!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Exactly three weeks ago I was complaining about things moving at turtle speed. But ... since then, we’ve held our first official board meeting to approve the by-laws for our 501(c)3; we’ve sold 111 books; we’ve addressed a couple more groups of survivors; I’ve done a local radio interview; our book is being featured on the home page of the Tug McGraw Foundation Web site for a month; and we have 3 new bookings for 2009, including a radiation oncology conference in Portland and an interview on the national livestream Stupid Cancer Show.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 How Starbucks saved my life Gary and I are out on a date and it’s not even Friday night. How lucky can a girl get?! We’re at Barnes & Noble – yes, the place that made me invisible last week (Nov 6 blog entry) ... but I’m not one to hold grudges.
Busy things going on. I’ve just finished typing a couple of letters to go with a couple of books we're planning to mail – one to a magazine and one to a Portland television reporter who is a cancer survivor. We did our presentation to a small group of survivors yesterday afternoon and held our first official Cancer Adventures board meeting last night (terrific board members!).
different words?” But it’s still a good read because it reinforces what we ought to already know—that the people in our lives and even those on the periphery of our lives—are incredibly valuable.
Sunday, November 16, 2008 Training for Switzerland A while back, Gary and I set up a “fun” savings account (as opposed to our “no fun” savings account that pays for stuff like unexpected auto repairs and out-of-the-ordinary medical expenses). When we have enough saved in the fun account, we visit faraway family or spend a week on the Oregon coast in celebration of our wedding anniversary ... or self-publish a book.
One of the things on our "fun account list" is hiking in Switzerland. I’ve been there a couple times, but not with Gary … and not hiking.
Yesterday was a gorgeous golden day after a snowfall earlier in the week. We packed a lunch and headed back up to Canyon Creek Meadows. At this time of year the meadow grasses are brown and most of the recent snow had melted due to a couple of sunny days.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Radio interview The most unexpected thing happened to me while I was out running an errand yesterday – I was kidnapped and tied to a stool in front of a huge microphone in a radio studio. Well, maybe not kidnapped … but certainly unexpectedly detained.
I wanted to give them each a book because of what they are going through and to highlight some of the folks in our community who were giving back because of cancer. OK, OK ... and just maybe they would mention our book and Web site on the air (shameless promotion).
So I wrote a note and tucked it into one of the books, and then rubber-banded them together with the intent of dropping them off at the front desk of the radio station. At the last minute, I thought to ask the receptionist if Kathy or Dave were available.
As it turned out, they had time to see me. I told them about Gary’s cancer and our cancer team and why I wrote the book. Kathy turned to Dave and said, “That sounds like our next segment.”
This is the part where they tied me up, set me on a stool, thrust a humongous microphone in my face, and then Dave lied to me: “We’re just going to have a nice little chat here.”
My friend told me afterward, that’s the best way to be interviewed - you're not nervous beforehand; you’re in shock during; and you don’t remember what you said afterward.
And that’s exactly how it was.
You can catch Kathy and Dave live weekday mornings on News/Talk 1110 KBND!
Sunday, November 9, 2008 Super colon While battling Stage 4 colon cancer, Wendy laid out her wishes to her husband, Al, and their closest friends – she wanted a fund established to help pay for cancer education and screenings for low-income and underinsured families.
In the past 2½ years, Al and friends have worked tirelessly to reach the $50,000 mark to become an endowed fund of the St. Charles Foundation. Part of my job is working with this group of incredibly dedicated people.
One of their fundraisers is an annual Christmas craft boutique that Wendy started 27 years ago. This past Friday and Saturday, the boutique was hosted at the hospital along with – get this – the Super Colon, a traveling interactive, inflatable 8’ tall colon that one can walk through.
It was sort of like being in Disneyland – guests entered the hospital's south conference room door, were funneled through the inflatable colon, and then flushed out (sorry) through the east door into the thick of the boutique.
Al and the Wendy’s Wish story is one of the chapters in my book, Cancer Adventures: Turning loss into triumph. A book with the word cancer in the title isn’t exactly a fit for a holiday craft boutique, but over 30 copies sold with proceeds to benefit Wendy’s Wish – and it was my first taste of a book-signing!
I was struck, once again, by the generous spirit of Central Oregonians as they filled shopping bags with beautiful pottery and jewelry, fuzzy hand-knitted scarves and home-baked goodies in support of the mission of Wendy’s Wish.
Thursday, November 6, 2008 Thoughts on being invisible I had the strangest experience at Barnes & Noble the other night. I was second in line at the café and the woman ahead of me was a B&N employee. She was chatting with the girl behind the cash register and taking her time, changing her mind about her order. No big deal – I’m a patient person.
Then two men walked in and stood back several feet perusing the overhead menu. The young man behind the counter asked if he could get a drink started for them. My mouth dropped open. I looked in surprise at the barista and then at the two men, hoping they would be gentlemen enough to say, “I believe she was in line ahead of us.” But none of them seemed to see me.
Afterwards—after the cash register girl charged me for the annual membership renewal fee but I only wanted a Chai tea and so she had to call someone from somewhere else in the store to erase the charge—I was glad I kept my sarcastic remarks to myself.
When we’re in the middle of something that we perceive as unfair, it’s a big deal. But with the passing of time, hopefully we gain a wiser perspective. The incident made me think of how many people in this world feel invisible most of the time – no one sees them, no one cares. Especially the elderly (my kids would probably say I fall into this category).
Being invisible at Barnes & Noble the other night inspired me to take the time to really see people.
Sunday, November 2, 2008 The speed of a turtle November. The month signaling the beginning of the winter holidays and my favorite time of the year. But how can it be here already?!
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
