Birthday Month, We Salute You!

Brain cancer is...

 ...reflecting on a wholly successful birthday month.

As you see, above, nothing has changed much since yesterday.  Darrell does come inside sometimes, once he's assured that all is well with the ocean.

I taught this morning.

Not a bad commute.  Not a bad view from my classroom.  Also good:  Afterwards, Darrell exclaimed, "I have never seen you teach before!"  He was genuinely proud of me.  That's something, coming from a prof who changed lives for his whole career.  

At lunch, Darrell announced how he'd like to spend Birthday Month Day 31:  Walking zero miles.  Eating more great food. Appreciating our room.  Here are 11 seconds of the day:

And here's dinner:

Mission accomplished.  

 

Birthday Month, We salute you! 

 

Today's Blooms

 

I love Roene's take on these berries:

She calls them the plant's jewels for birds.  What a nice thought.
 

And LuAnn continues to grow orchids like no one else:

 

She said its common name is "baby kisses."  I'll take three please.

Smiles, Surf and Sand

 Brain cancer is...

 ...enjoying it all.

Big D's Big 60 Birthday Splurge is here.

We're at the Surf and Sand in Laguna Beach.  The difficulty I have "staying in the moment" in life while I am working is...somehow diminished with the ocean as a sound track.

Anyone who's been here knows why it would really be best not to go home. 

 

Best to stay at the Surf...

...and Sand.

Here are a couple pictures from the end of our incredible day.

 

From our balcony

A very romantic dinner

Happy Sunday, Team D! We hope you're smiling too.

Today's Blooms

 

On our walk we saw a wild petunia that was pink.

Ours at home are purple.  Novel!

 

On our dinner table:

Birthday Month Grand Finale

Brain cancer is...

...launching the grand finale.

We have never seen four restaurant desserts with candles at once. Never...until today that is.

Let's zoom out:

And further:

And just a little more:

Geoff and Beth invited us to Geoff's birthday dinner at Las Brisas, in Laguna Beach.  What a choice!   Happy Birthday, Geoff!

They also allowed us to use dessert as a kick off for Birthday Month Grand Finale.  

We conclude that we've never had better birthday month celebration stamina than we have this year.  

Thanks for celebrating with us...all month...all day...every day!

Today's Bloom

On our table at dinner

Week One? Done!

Brain Cancer is...

...ready for the weekend!

Week One of the semester is behind us. It was a solid and successful week. I had meetings and did plenty of work today, but you'd never know it from the photos.  From the photos, all we did was eat.  Told in reverse, here was our delicious day.  Above was an impromptu dinner with the Mayfields at Olive Pit.

Lunch was Panera for you know what.

And breakfast?  It goes without saying.

Cheers to embracing new challenges...and eating along the way.

Happy Friday, Team D.

Today's Bloom 

Front yard Bougainvillea, looking a little shocked.  About the eating?  Stop judging, little flower,  We can't all make our food using sunlight!

 

 

College Students Are REAL!

Brain cancer is...

...capturing an elusive species—the college student—on camera.

With the advent of Covid, there have been few verified sightings of the species formerly seen in great numbers:   The college student.

Above you see some members of Block 8.  They are my science methods students.  I got approval to run a materials pick up on campus, following strict rules for safety.  

I was concerned about equity in opportunities that come from learning to teach science from 34 different homes.  I would never expect students to have at home what I collected as an instructor over 30 years. Now we can all study sand dollars and tree cookies and NASA photos for real...in 34 homes.  Also I got to see them in person.  So sweet! 

Even sweeter? They got to see each other.  They are second-semester students and friends who haven’t seen each other since March.

And who was the man folding the books, stuffing the bags, and pulling the wagon? Your own Team Captain, Big D!

We are grateful for opportunities once taken for granted.

Today’s Bloom

Five Is the Magic Number.

 Brain cancer is...

 

...reframing.

"Reframing" is like "looking at the bright side" except it doesn't involve ignoring the "not-bright" side.  It's looking at the same issue in different ways.

Today we reframed like champions.  We had to because we attempted the impossible.  We dared to go where no Optune user has gone before:  On a heat-of-the-day So Cal walk on array change day.

 

My work schedule didn't allow for a morning walk, and our natural break came at midday, not in the evening as the temperature might drop.

 

Because this journey promised to be a difficult one, I asked Darrell, "How many times does Optune need to alarm before we call it done and turn around?"

 

"Five!" was the magic number.  

 

One...

 

Two...

Three...

(Observer's note:  Darrell was still saying, "This one doesn't count!" on Alarm #3.  That's when the reframing began.  We agreed to see any distance as a win, not each alarm as a fail.)

Four...

Five!

By the magic number five, Darrell was ready to agree:  Three miles in the heat of the day is a win!

Here's hoping that you too were, if needed, successful at today's reframes, Team D!

Today's Blooms

Lucky us!  You were about to be treated to more yellow at the park.  Cue Ryan and Charlene and Kristine:

 

Always be yellow.  Unless you can be...

 

...colors I don't even have names for.

And this Concludes August Cancer Course!

 Brain cancer is...

 ...clear!

Above you see Darrell in Dr. Park's waiting room today before his last August appointment.  Dr. Park agrees:  The scan is clear.  Yesss.  This concludes August Cancer Course 2020.

We scheduled a December appointment with Dr. Park, barring any changes to Darrell's health. Dr. Park prefers an in-office visit then.  What do you see when you put on your goggles of the future, Team D?

Will in-office visits be the new thing?

Jammie Bottom Evidence

For those of you who request evidence in order to believe that teachers really wear jammie bottoms to work, thumbs up to YOU (Ryan) for putting your faith in evidence.

Here's how Tuesday's class looked for me:

And it's not just me.  Here's Christine's choice of jammie bottoms for class today:

Another silver lining of this "blended" or "hybrid" approach to wardrobe selection?  It's really easy to get ready to celebrate the end of Cancer Course and Birthday Month Day 25.

You just put on new bottoms and go.  Hey wait a minute, Christine.  Did you just go to Islands in your jammie bottoms?  Thanks for raising the wardrobe bar!

Today's Bloom

Do crickets eat roses?

Thai Basil: It's a Real Thing!

 Readers Note:  Darrell's genius back up and running for you today.

Brain cancer is...

...experimenting with a Thai basil plant.

So, a few days ago we went to Home Depot to buy some basil.  They were out of sweet basil, but they had "Thai basil."  What?  It that a real thing?  One our favorite restaurants in Fullerton is called Thai Basil.  I thought that just a clever name, but I was wrong.  Thai basil is real and it smells fabulous!!

We pondered where to plant the Thai basil.  As shown in the picture above, the mint has taken off against the fence, but the mint is a perennial plant and the basil is an annual plant (its life cycle is one year and it ends with the production of seeds).  I think it makes sense to try growing the basil there.  

The experiment is to let the die basil and grow back next year from the seeds of the same plant.  We will see.

Andi's take on the day: 

• The Thai Basil tastes great too.  Like Thai food.
• Darrell is already accustomed to spending time alone.  Even through I'm working at home, I'm tethered to the computer.  If I come upon him unawares, he jumps, startled.
• Also:  What if your nightmare came true, and it was actually awesome??  Every teacher dreams of showing up to work the first day in jammies.  Today, for the first time in my career, I wore my jammie bottoms to class.  Why have I waited nearly 40 years for this day?  Here's hoping my CSUF people had an equally great jammie first day of school!
  

 Today's Bloom

 

 Jasmine plant, next door to mint

 

 

Welcome to Your New Team, Ransley Family!

Brain cancer is...

 ...welcoming new friends. 

Team D, please welcome new friends, Frank and LuAnn Ransley.  We met through a mutual Wisconsin acquaintance.  Frank and LuAnn, Welcome to Team D, with expanded membership to newly minted Team F!

Frank was diagnosed with GBM recently.  He has had his surgery and radiation, and he's in the midst of chemotherapy.  If things go according to plan, he'll be sporting the Optune look come Labor Day.

The above picture shows Frank and LuAnn on a pre-Covid vacation to Florida...the very state of our cancelled trip.  We aren't sure whether we'd like to meet the Ransleys in person for the first time in Florida, or whether we'll hang out on their dock in Wisconsin:

At least we have some time to decide. Ha ha.

Frank and LuAnn, when Darrell was diagnosed, his physician, Dr. Park, said something very helpful.  He said, "If you were a bettor, you wouldn't put money on those in the GBM game.  But if you're in this game, you play to win."

We are honored to know you and to introduce you to the people who have been cheering Darrell on from those first hours in the emergency room.  We're sorry you're in this game, but we want you to know that  the people who are reading along with you today are people who will be there with you as you play to win.

Which people?  Well, here's a sample from today (which is the day before the semester, a semester for which I am not ready, but--hey--semesters come and semesters go!):

Andi and team member Denise  did a quick, sweaty six miles at Peters Canyon this morning, before the real heat kicked it.  (Side note:  Denise is a BOSS to hike in her mask.  Her tip for us glasses wearers:  Put the glasses over the mask to stop that incessant fogging!)

This is the Guillaume family, spread from California, to Washington DC, to Germany.  We were celebrating summer birthdays.  Great party, hosts Charlene and Ryan, and thanks for the pic.

What?  Who's the infant in my arms, above?  Miss Nova B!  She spent the afternoon with us, joined by her people.

Walking so soon, Baby Girl?

Great people, great day, great team.  

We are glad you're here!

Today's Blooms

Skunks: They're Back

 Readers Note:  Darrell's back blogging.  And someone else is back too.

Brain cancer is...

...continuing the battle against those striped tailed creatures.

Above you see a skunk poop.  Yes, the evidence is clear:  they are back.  We have nothing against skunks except that they smell bad, they are very destructive, and they are ugly.  But, other than that, skunks are fine.  

Yes, they are back and we need to buy more predator pee.  The battle continues!

Since most people are home these days, they are keeping their yards in good shape and doing home projects.  There is an exception to this rule.  People who have let their front yard go to ruin as if they are afraid to go outside.  There are one or two such yards on every block.  We call this a "COVID Lawn."  As you see above, we came dangerously close to having a COVID Lawn. I mowed it just in time today!

More Parents, More Privileges

Mary and Glen Welshon, appreciated on an Arizona road trip by Curt and Barb.

Today's Blooms

On yesterday's water lily theme:  From the Mayfields, at Yellowstone earlier this summer.

 

 

From Melanie today.  Melanie said these blooms remind her of me (Andi):  "Colorful, grounded, and little spots of joy on her journey."  Well, Happy Birthday Month Day 22 to me!

Melanie's journey today was along the Cache la Poudre in...you know it...Greeley Colorado!  She was there for work and just happened to run across another colorful Guillaume spot:

Did I say "Guillaume"?  Lots of Munns/Burghardt shining through in this resemblance!