With the Russian madman causing mayhem in the world, I am really trying to maintain a positive outlook.
The war news is dominating and it’s difficult to avoid. But am very aware of how my mental health can affect my physical health, so I am attempting (and so far succeeding) to limit my news watching/viewing. I look at just enough to get a very superficial overview but even that is more than I want. I feel so sad for all the people affected by this megalomaniac!
Time flies by, even the chemo treatments. Yesterday was #5 of the planned 6. The results of my blood tests continue to be good. The cancer marker went from 301 to 187 this week. But not low enough to move on to the next stage. Dr. McCleave said they want to see it at around 30 which is quite a long way yet.
When I came back to South Africa in 2019, I naturally gravitated to where I was born and grew up. And actually ended up in the what we used to call the village of Kloof. (It’s no longer a village!) Kloof is about 18 miles/29km from Durban and just on 1600ft/500km above sea level, giving the area a more moderate climate than Durban, usually being a good 10F less which was the case when I took Rodney to the park this afternoon. Plus less humid.
The fourth treatment went as planned. Mick came with me so he was able to meet my doctor. It’s always good to have another set of ears in a consultation but this one was very straightforward because everything is going so well.
November 16 last year is the fateful day I got the definitive news that changed my life.
By then I ‘d been in hospital for 8 days going through tests and everything else that goes along with a cancer diagnosis. I’d just had laparoscopic surgery for a biopsy and the GYN/surgeon came to visit me after I had very gently been given the diagnosis. He’s a lovely man and from reading his bio, a pretty religious one as well. He said to me as he sat at my bedside, “Have you considered end of life?”
I've been lazy, just posting instagram pix and not writing posts! And it has been such a busy time, too. So I will break this down into several posts over the next few days.
With winter coming on strong in the PNW, I was extremely happy to be heading south to Southern California for the holidays. It's always a mission to get there - a lift to the shuttle, an hour and half bumping along with numerous stops, schlep to the ticketing to check in the expensive one bag carrying the gifts, security (yay Pre- check!) waiting... three hours on the flight... makes for a long day.
But being picked up at Burbank airport in a BMW convertible by Ryan, my darling son, made up for the tiring day.
The following day, we fulfilled one of the many items on my wish list!
Many, many years ago, there was a Bob's Big Boy hamburger joint in Costa Mesa, right up the street from where we (Ryan and Cody's dad and I) used to live. We used to go fairly often, and then progress (?) took it away. But in Burbank, Bob's has survived and flourished, and is a great example of the old diner. It was built in 1949 (so have a great affinity with it) and is considered a classic example of that era's architecture. I've wanted to go there for ages, so we did!
There is actually a bit of story about me wanting to go there. Last Christmas Eve, as there were just the two of us, Rye an and me, we thought it would be a good chance to go to Bob's for a Christmas Eve dinner - by the time we got there around 6pm, they were closed, and we ended up at a Thai restaurant - which we went to again this Christmas!
The enormous, neon sign is visible all the way down the street, the red glow glinting off the cars in the parking lot. The street lights lit the Jetson-styled sun-shades (I can't call them umbrellas) that hovered over the outdoor seating, lining the pavement. On this evening, everyone was inside, hiding from the cold and drizzle. Under the portico, there stood a life-sized Bob, checkered outfit and all. Obviously it was picture time before heading in to the classic diner. The curving counter, the leatherette booths and many of the waitresses who looked like they might have been there since the place opened!
Everything is basic - basic menu, basic condiments, just like it used to be before it became so cool to be cool.
I ordered the Original Bobs Big Boy combo with fries, the works! I didn't do the milkshake part, but we did have onion rings!
So in this time of "plated" food and weird pairing combinations, it was refreshing to see a hamburger in a bun, with simple lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise plonked on a plate alongside a mound of real French fries. Nothing pretentious, nothing fancy, just plain old Bob's!
[box type="info"]BOB's BIG BOY
4211 W Riverside Dr
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 843-9334[/box]
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