Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Accentuating the Positive

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!

Accentuating the Positive
Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Chemo is Doing its Thing

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.

Chemo is Doing its Thing
Susan Colby
There’s Hot, and Then There’s HOT

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.

There’s Hot, and Then There’s HOT
Health, South Africa
Susan Colby
Chemo #4 Done, 2 to Go

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.

Chemo #4 Done, 2 to Go
South Africa
Susan Colby
A Massive Immune Booster

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?”

A Massive Immune Booster

Loveland

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SuSu is Back and Went to Loveland, Colorado

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Bronze sculpture in Loveland, CO Time marches on and sort of left me in the dust for a couple of months!

But now I am catching up and over the next few days I plan to add the adventures I had, bringing this all up-to-date.

During my time in Colorado, which was spent mainly in the north-eastern section, or the Front Range as it is called and up close to the Wyoming border, I did manage to make a few day trips to Boulder and Loveland and several other small local towns.

Loveland

Street art is big and Loveland is the art capital of Colorado with some of the most gorgeous sculptures I have seen.

"Molly, Deeter and Susie" is one of my favorites and was created by Loveland's Pat Kennedy, then donated to the city in 2007. It is just one of the many sculptures that appear around just about every corner, in every tiny or large park or public space. It would take days to see them all but I saw enough to know that next time I am there, I will make a point of spending several days exploring. I consider my time there just a taste of what the area holds.

Persistence of Vision by Pat Kennedy

"Persistence of Vision," another sculpture by Pat Kennedy was the first one to catch my eye. Outside the historic Rialto Theatre, it is dedicated to the memory of Phyllis Wallbye who was the Arts editor of the Loveland Reporter-Herald newspaper. And right close to the newspaper office is the charming bike-riding paperboy! Down on the main street, a sleek, stylized cougar rests on the back of a bench and close by, in a tiny park, an apparently controversial, elegant nude woman cuddles her baby. So classically gorgeous, I wonder why anyone would be offended by the sculpture, titled  "Moulding Our Future" by Denny Haskew.

Loveland isn't all bronzes and art. There are also wonderful restaurants and coffee shops that are begging to be visited. From my short time there, I get the laid-back atmosphere and the vibe that to me indicates a lot of gentrification is going on. The lovely old buildings are begging to be restored and it is starting to happen. Some of them have been gutted and converted to very expensive condos.

Loveland is snug up against the base of the Rockies, so ski areas are very close, plus it is not far from Denver so it could possibly become a bedroom community which would be a shame, really, as it has so much charm now.

Next time I am in Colorado, I will make sure I go back to Loveland and take in more of the sites. It most likely won't be in the winter as I am not much of a snow person, so watch for updates next spring.