Weekend at Old Songs

Video: Caitlin contra dancing. Sorry you have to tilt your head. I don't know how to rotate it.
Pictures: Old Songs stage
Mung bean explosion in my absence.
The weekend was an all round success with singing, dancing, fiddling and lots of other types of music.
My buddy, Bob, and I drove up Thursday morning to Altamont, NY (near Albany). We unloaded our stuff (and we had a lot), then I drove to the airport to pick up Caitlin while Bob and our friend Phil set up the campsite.
Bob made us gourmet meals and all we had to do was the dishes, which is the best deal I've had in a long time.
We had a lot of rain Friday morning, but since we were camping with guys, they were serious about keeping the campsite dry and every thing battened down. We had rain varying from drizzle to downpours every day. We stayed dry so it wasn't bad at all. The rain cleared off Friday afternoon in time for Caitlin to go to her fiddling workshop and me to my mountain dulcimer workshop. I started learning 4 tunes and I am motivated to practice them at home now. Caitlin and I went to the after concert contradance which starts at midnight and goes to 1:30 AM. We slept well.
Saturday and Sunday started off with shape note singing and the rest of each day was filled with wandering around the different stages listening to musical groups. We went to the after concert contradance on Saturday night too, but I didn't last past 1:00 AM. I slept well that night also on my comfy air mattress in my dry tent.
We packed everything up in record time on Sunday and dropped Caitlin at the airport on our way home.
Medical stuff:
1. My hair fell out on Saturday. All of it. It's depressing.
2. My skin is blotchy from the radiation. I have cream to put on it.
3. Radiation is over on 7/2.
4. The insurance company is paying for the Tarciva and the pharmacy is sending it Wednesday.
Side effects: diarrhea and an acne-like rash. yeah.
5. I have an appointment for a CT scan on July 7.

Well that's all the news from the 17 acre wood, where the women are still bald, the men are patient and the cat is in worse shape than the owner.

A trip to the doctor

I had a busy day at the hospital yesterday. I rode my bike from my office to the hospital for radiation. It was the first day that it didn't look like I would be poured upon since I started radiation. It is actually faster to take the trail from downtown Reading to the hospital then to drive!
I met the the radiation doctor after the radiation. He asked if I had any problems with balance. I told him I rode my bike. He said I guess not. I am starting to get some pink skin at my temples. They sent me to the Image shop to buy some cream. The nurse said it works better than prescription cream.
I met with my oncologist before radiation. He had just came back from a conference and wanted to talk to me about taking an oral chemotherapy pill. Marty had also looked into this medication and wanted me to talk to him about it. The plan before was just to wait until the tumors started to grow then try something (or not). This pill is Tarceva. It works really well if the tumor has a certain mutation. But it also has some benefit if it doesn't. We talked about having the tumor tested to see if I have the mutation, but since it supposedly has a benefit in either case and I really don't have many alternatives, I decided to try it. I am waiting for a call back to come in for the teaching. They had to get approved by the insurance because it is very expensive. I hope it works and doesn't give the side effects of diarrhea and acne.
I have been tired ,working a lot. and trying to get ready for my trip. I tested the air mattresses this morning and it seems the pump is shot. I am going to have to take a trip to the camping store. I still have some flowers to plant, but other wise in good shape.

I planted my squares with vegetable plants and seeds and herbs. Unfortunately, I forgot what I planted before I wrote it down. I'll have to wait until things start coming up and hopefully not double plant. We need some sunshine to get these golden raspberries to ripen and help the seeds sprout. The heart shaped is mostly tomatoes. The purple flower is a wild flower which I have never see in my yard before.
I didn't have a high power weekend but I am tired today. Friday night we went out for dinner to GO FISH with Kathy and Mike for Mike's Birthday. Saturday, I worked around the house while the girls cleaned. Later I went to hear my friend, Jean,'s group, Little Sister, sing at Arts on the Ave. Unfortunately, the festival was a bust because of torrential downpours, but when Little Sister started singing and the skies cleared.
Later, I met with my buddy Bob to make our plans to go to Old Songs music festival. Bob has most of the food under control. My contribution is using my talent for spacial relationships to pack all his cool camping stuff and yummy food into the SUV. (That and my penchant for chatting on road trips.) We will be heading out Thursday morning after radiation. I'll pick up Caitlin at the Albany airport around 4:00 PM. We will set up camp and kick back and relax for the rest of the weekend with old friends.
http://www.oldsongs.org/festival/
Caitlin and I will be competing for most participatory camper award, so I'll have to pace myself. There are shape note and gospel singing, contra dancing, fiddle and dulcimer workshops.

Penny. Mary and I had a great time at Mary's cabin. We took a leisurely drive , stopping at Wegman's, and a quaint bakery to provision our overnight. The weather was still nice when we arrived so we took a little hike around the park. We mostly sat outside until it rained then went inside and drank wine, chatted a lot and played games. We had a lot of fun playing the Mother Game, which Caitlin got me a few years ago for Christmas. Mary also turned us on to Bananagrams, which I see as a posible addiction in my future. It got chilly and damp with all the rain, so we lit a great fire in the beautiful stone fireplace.
In the morening, after a leisurely pancake breakfast, we went to the lake to try to spot the bald eagles, but we didn't have much luck.
I was hoping to see a bear. We didn't, but as we were arriving, a doe and tiny fawn crossed the road in front of us.
It would have been nice to stay longer, but I was glad we could do something with my radiology schedule.

Taking off

I had the fourth dose of radiation today. I was tired and sort of depressed. It was gloomy and I didn't want to get out of bed. When I showed up at Radiology for some reason they were having a luau at 8:45 in the morning. They had food out, and ceramic hula dancers, Don Ho on the boom box and all the staff had on Hawaiian shirts and grass shirts. Maybe it was my mood , but I found it incredibly bizarre to be faced with that much cheerfulness so early on a dreary morning. I couldn't even bring myself to ask, "What's up with the Luau?"
I called up Penny and we went for pedicures. That did cheer me up. I worked the rest of the day. I took the new nurse, Gloria, out on visits with me and had to show her some of the detective skills that are required of NFP nurses. (We found our client and got our paper work done!)
I just packed my overnight bag. Penny, Mary and I will head out for the Promised Land (State Park) tomorrow after radiation. I am really looking forward to just chilling with my BBFs without any distractions of home, husbands or work.
Pictures are a self portrait with my new hanging basket and the torso with newly planted stone planters.

More gardening

After my busy weekend I feel like I need a day off to recover. I had radiation bright and early this morning, got caught up on my paper work, did my visits this afternoon, then planted flowers with my friend Susan. I was surprised to see this turtle on the back porch. He disappeared when I went to look for the camera, but I found him in the yard. I don't know what kind he is but he has beautiful markings. I took pictures of the new plantings, but it was too dark. I will try again tomorrow.
Working 8 hours just seemed like a lot today.
The pictures are from the sing this weekend. Jason, our son-in-law, brought me back this skirt and scarf from India.

Gardening

My former co-worker, Kathy, her husband, John, and our friend Amy came over to help me make my new square foot beds. We hauled rocks to make the borders, then dug out 6 inches of rock and dirt and replaced it with mix of peat, vermiculite and cowmanure/humus mix. They knocked out two new beds in 2 hours and we had a pleasant dinner together.

Before they came I took the convertible to the garden centers. And you thought it was just a sports car. It is really easy to load things in the back seat with no doors or roof to worry about.
I visited the "infirmary" rack at Home Depot. They had half flats of marigolds, geranium and inpatiens for $2.67! They really don't look that bad. They just need to get them into the ground and nursed back to health. I also used my birthday money from my mom to buy some big hanging baskets, some red geraniums, herbs and tomatoes. My botanist friend, Susan, is coming to help me plant tomorrow night.

I have been so late getting a garden in and all this help is such a wonderful gift.