Friday's Air

[eric byrne]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Yes here I am again,brief lull in my busy schedule LOL.JudyMI,I am sorry there are so few people posting in daily,you are fighting with a couple of others to keep the flag flying,I so admire your and others efforts,it would be such a shame,if the stalwarts here stopped posting.Please for whatever reason if our usual friends are a bit tardy in posting,do not feel your posts are uninteresting,on the contrary,I so enjoy reading of your daily excapades,yesterdays post is a perfect example.I really must put in a bit more effort in posting,subject you to more frequent portions of my getting about life.

Now where I am?Friday?,did I tell you about last Friday,at the bowling club dinner,one of my little problems with having one or two amber nectars,kinda makes me lose a wee bit of my inhibitions(no dont be silly nothing sexual)no I ended up on the stage singing.Anyway it seems I have volunteered Bill and I as the cabaret at their next "Do" which just happens to be in November sometime,Bill plays keyboard,blooming heck,I am getting the next plane to the USA and staying there for the next few weeks.

Well I set off early yesterday to take the A9 up to Carrbridge,its a journey of approx 140 miles,I left Airdrie in bright sunshine and blue skies,bit of frost on my car-winters coming.By the time I arrived in Carrbridge,I had experienced every type of weather we get in Scotland including snow at the Drumochter Pass in the Cairngorms National Park.I wish you could have been in my passenger seat for this journey,how can I describe the scenery adequately to you?it was just magnificent,the colours of the autumn trees,snow capped mountains,every country I have visited I have been witness to spectacular scenery,each in their own special way,National Glacier Park for example,this Scottish scenery dos'nt have the scale of the peaks of Glacier Park,but the colours and the panorama throughout the entire journey from Airdrie was awsome,I am so priviledged to live here,although we do get more than our fair share of rain,I suppose thats one of the reasons Scotland looks so good.

The hotel the quiz was held in was really old fashioned but really comfortable and homely,nice big log fire in the lounge,I could have sat there for days,the food was just brill,you wont believe the bill for the overnight stay -£30 ($45)the amazing thing was in the morning I ordered a huge breakfast of bacon,eggs sausage etc,when I asked for the bill,mein host replies-oh that was included in the cost of your room,can you believe it?,its cheaper to stay here than my home LOL.The quiz had the hotel packed out the door,the MC bagan the evening by saying-"We have Eric with us to-night-Eric will you come up and tell us all about being a Lung Cancer survivor and Advocate for Roy Castle".Blooming heck I was totally surprised,in fact they had to wrest the mic from my hands,as I do go on a bit when I get started,particularly when I had,had a couple of wee drinkies in me,think I did OK,everyone seemed to appreciate what I said,particularly about the stigma of smoking and lung cancer.No my team did'nt win the quiz but we did put up a good show,the team that won had a 3 times player on the TV quiz here called eggheads in it.I did win though 4 cans of Tennents Lager in the raffle.

Better get moving -Hikers and Bikers Gala Dinner to-night,approx five hundred women in attendance and only a couple of guys,isnt life just wonderful?see you tomorrow,have a great weekend everyone,Bye.

[jaminkw]

Morning All! Didn't see a "Thursday's Air" when I clicked my view unread posts. Sorry I couldn't be here. Too much going on. Cleaning day and I was beside her putzing around most of the time she was here. Also spending time and getting things I need done before Stan leaves on Sunday for S.Dakota. I'm hoping I can find a balance between fun and work. I tend to work too much when he is away.

Have to add we spent time sitting outside on the porch on a finally beautiful fall day! Nice up your way Ann?

Eric, sounds like you are still having fun. Doesn't sound like a lull to me. Have fun at your "ladies" event lol.

On the way to town shortly. Will go to a barbershop where Stan gets his haircuts. I'm going to try one trim and if it doesn't work, I'll have him shave my head tomorrow. It was so much easier to make up my mind to shave it when it all started coming out all at once. Also, that wa 6 infusions and it started growing back. I assume I will stay bald now as long as I am on Taxotere and of course I want to to that if the alternative is progression.

Lots of errands but Stan and I will go together. Means me not having to park at every short stop. Also lunch at Pepe's on Caroline for any of you familiar with KW.

Have a good day all. I plan to.

Judy in KW

[paulette3]

Good morning everyone!

Yesterday we had to go to Charlotte (40 miles away) to see a thyroid specialist. In my last CT scan they 'saw' a nodule on my thyroid that my oncologist wanted me to get checked out. The thyroid dr did an untrasound and said it's a fluid filled cyst and nothing to worry about. No reason to even do a biopsy. Whew! Dodged another bullet. I always say that I must be the healthist I've been in a long time because if anything was wrong they'd find it on my scans.

Woke up this morning to 37 degrees. A bit nippy! But the lows are suppose to go back to the mid to high 40s for a while. The leaves on the trees are such beautiful colors right now. One of the things about winter I don't like is how bare the trees are. We need to get outside and do some yard work. We're thinking about it - lol!

Eric - I get tired just reading about your life. How did you ever have time to work? How is Sally doing? I hope she's doing well.

Judy KW - Don't try to do too much while Stan is away. When my hubby use to travel for work that's when I took it easy! lol

Annette - I sure miss seeing you here. I hope everything is okay with your life, your mom and 'wayward' as Eric calls him.

Katie - sounds like you're more busy than a hive of bees. Try to slow down and smell the roses every now and again girl.

Paulette

[Joppette]

Hi.

Thanks Katie and Paulette for your support in my post. I did finally fall asleep and slept like a log!!!! So the vent helped a lot. It's good to be able to come here and share our hearts, especially when they feel broken.

Judy, I've been to Pepe's on Caroline. It's a great place and I want to join you for lunch! I understand about the hair. The only time I had to deal with it, it came out in clumps, and it was very easy to shave it. But if I ever have to face it again, I'm not sure I'd do it as easily as I did the first time. Sending you a hug of support because you've been through so much, and now this? And yet, like you say, it's better than the word "Progression". Amen to that.

Eric, you are so funny! I love your stories and all of your adventures. You have an amazing life, and you live it to the fullest. Good for you! You are a good example for the rest of us here.

Paulette, it's so good to see you back posting again. I've missed you! Our temps are mimicking yours a lot! I'd say 60% of the leaves are gone now, but we still have some that have not changed yet, so Autumn is not over! Yesterday was a cold one, had a sweater on and another over that one, and then a big scarf just for good measure!

Katie, I understand. The work we do is rewarding, and that's why we keep it up. But sometimes, it just is heavy and rough, and we need to sob in our pillow or write, or do something to lift the burden. I wouldn't change a thing that I do, but there's been so much loss lately, and it's not going to end soon, and that is just tough stuff.

Now, I'm having lunch with one of my best friends at a quaint little joint in Ada. It's called The Gathering Place, and I don't know what they do to make their breakfasts so delish, I think they put Pixie dust on the eggs, they are so good! I'm looking forward to light banter and girl talk.

Judy in MI

[eric byrne]

Hi Paulette,

I am still here,just about to shower and get dressed for this evening out.Thanks for asking about Sally,not so good I am afraid,came home yesterday,she was lying out for the count on the carpet next to her chair in the living room,I just put a cover over her and left her.What follows-by tradition-is a search of all her little planks for money and alcohol, I did have some success,I found £95 in cash ($140)which I hope is the whole nest egg,unfortunately not so successful with the alcohol,she is still on planet Pluto today,she was for the first time going to accompany me at tonights dinner,well thats now out of the question.

I did pm Annette recently,hope she dosnt mind me mentioning, she is putting on a brave face and getting on with life.Thank goodness she has a job the keeps her so engaged,I just wish she lived round the corner and we could share some time to-gether.I do hope it wont be long until she bounces back here and of course to her life generally.

[jaminkw]

Whew, one day off the net and so much work catching up with emails, posts I'm following and Airs. I found out that by not returning in the pm on Wed, I missed a lot. Bud, that includes you. Good to hear from you. I recall my biking days (again no relation to Bud's biking marathons lol), winter brought cooler temps but also the winds. Hated them.

Lily, hope you are feeling better. If I recall, tmj is that jaw clicking thingy. I've only had it once and swear it was brought on by a NY bagel. It was here in KW and so many people were so happy they could get a NY bagel. Never ate one again.

Judy, sounds like your weather has been a bear lol. Couldn't resist that. Hope that bear made himself scarce. An auto-on generator. How cool is that. We have a generator but not auto-on. Would love that since if I needed it when Stan wasn't here, I wouldn't have a clue.

Katie, so sorry about another loss. It just keeps coming doesn't it. Hope you get a real rest this weekend, enough so that you can pick those shoulders up again. The event season will be over soon but, oh no, then come the holidays. No rest for the weary I'm afraid.

Paulette, so glad you got the all clear on that latest scare. 37 hummm, and I was a little chilly on the porch in the sixties yesterday lol. Wish I could see those leave though.

Eric, sorry about Sally missing the dinner. I wish she could reach out and get help. I'll be she is really a lovely lady. After all, you married her. BTW, glad you are checking up on Annette. It helps us to hear how she is doing.

Got to go. Have a good evening everyone.

Judy in KW

[ts]

This afternoon, I (and 3 others) spoke to a clinicians conference on how group has helped in "Living with Cancer". It was not too nerve wracking. We got to the end and I was following up another's comments on 'what don't you want to hear' from others and told a snippet of a essay and what it meant to me. The room went completely silent and still. I had to break the uncomfortable moment and ask someone else on the panel to say something - and luckily, she had a great way to bring everyone back without trivializing what had just happened.

We got some great feedback. It was nice to be heard.