"It's a Whole New World!"

Brain cancer is...

 ...marveling!

Here's the set up:  This morning a friend sent us a funny YouTube video (here), where a woman tried to explain to her past (pre-COVID) self how life would be different in four months.  She tried not to give too many details.  This video made us laugh and it framed our day as we thought about all the things our past selves would struggle to understand.

Fast forward to this afternoon:  We needed a break from doing our daily walks on city streets, so we went back to the park today.  When Darrell saw the above sign on the bathroom door, he exclaimed, "It's a whole new world!"  The bathrooms are open!

Try explaining that to past self:  "Yeah, you might want to start going potty at home before heading to the park."

And how about this one:

"You can stop buying those reusable grocery bags, self.  We're going back to plastic.  No, it's not a choice.  It's mandatory.  Go ahead and throw bags away when you're done.  Or stuff them back up in the closet, like we used to do."

Things that make our current selves say, "hmmm."

The funniest line in the video was, "The walks are going to be clutch!"

True that.

Today's Blooms

Roene's Alabaman magnolia:  Dinner-plate sized!

 And for contrast:

California Dandelion:  A Tiny World

Throwing around Kindness Like Confetti

Brain cancer is...

...making it rain kindness.

When I went to work at Computer Station One this morning, this homegrown bouquet greeted me.  From Darrell.  Just because.  And that was after he laid these gifts at my feet.

And the grand finale:

What a guy.  Kindness:  Thanks for making it rain, Darrell!

Happy...Wednesday?...Friends!

Bathroom Design Update

Curt helped us out by sending a few computerized design options for Darrell's newest project.  We think we'll maybe go with this one.

What could be better than seeing a dashing Curt emoji every time we enter the powder room?

Pot Breakers Unite!

Sure, Gary, it was "an accident."  

Wink.

Today's Blooms

Summer's Orchid.  She grew it herself instead of buying it at Ralphs. Wait.  What?

Passion Flower by Curt

The Project List: An Unexpected Turn

Brain cancer is..

 ...moving things indoors.

It was hot enough today that Darrell was a Shade Seeker, and we still needed to call our walk quits at three miles.

Thus we experience a temporary cessation of the Deep Gardening Project, which, by the way, has been moving along at great speed.  (Pot breaker lover?  Click here for Darrell's recent smash.)  

Driven indoors by the cool of the air conditioning, Darrell went rogue and, it appears, added a project to our Indoor Project List.  Here's the story, in a panel of four: 

    

The Project List plot takes an unexpected twist!  What a cliffhanger!

Cancer Course Completion

Darrell's visit with Dr. Park went fine.  Dr. Park agreed with the other doctors about the MRI being clear.  (Good news never gets old!)  And he also agreed to the August scheduling for the next Cancer Course.

Dr. Park answered a question for us too: Just how compromised should we consider Darrell's immune system, given past treatment?  "Not compromised," said Dr. Park.  Thus, Darrell's precaution level is appropriate.  Yay.  See you later, Cancer Course!

Hope your Tuesday was a good one, Team D!

Today's Blooms

Roene's Trumpet Vine

LuAnn's Epiphyllum

And That's a Wrap for His Fifties!

Brain cancer is...

 ...cleared by Dr. Cloughesy. Phew.

This morning's telehealth appointment with Dr. Cloughesy went very well.  He confirmed the radiologist's impression that there was no evidence of recurrence.  Phew!  (Above is the traditional complimentary breakfast.  Zoom in to see the doughnut.)

Because we were at home, we had the luxury of just sitting and decompressing a bit when the meeting ended.  I watched Darrell think and could see the doors of the future opening one by one in his mind.  June:  Open.  July:  Open.  August:  Open. It didn't really occur to me that those three months were not on Darrell's mental calendar yet.  I teared up a little.

Darrell wants you to know that this scan was the last MRI for his fifties.  Barring changes, the next time he has a scan, he says, he'll be an old man:  60.  I predict that, for me, there won't be anything better than being married to an old guy!

Tomorrow is the final appointment for this Cancer Course:  A telehealth appointment with Dr. Park.  That's when we'll schedule the next scan and round of appointments.

Let's celebrate today, Team D, the gift of growing just a little bit older.

Fun Human Brain Facts

Here's a picture of the scan while Dr. Cloughesy explained it.  Red circles indicate the tumor site.  The current scan (top) looks similar to the previous scan (bottom).  Yay.

Dr. Cloughesy is great at answering questions, so we asked about another finding noted by the radiologist:  Loss in brain volume.  Wondering if shrinkage is a result of normal aging, we asked, "What accounts for the loss in volume?"  Not aging!  Treatment effects!

The black areas in an MRI are voids, or the lack of solid matter.  See the blue arrow above?  It's pointing to Darrell's left ventricle.  (Recall that L and R are reversed in a scan.)  See how that "wing" of the black "butterfly" is larger than the other "wing"?  That "wing," or space, has been enlarged by some part of Darrell's treatment, probably the radiation.  We've seen it every scan, and I never asked.

Just what does a brain ventricle do?  It creates spinal fluid.  Who knew?  We are fascinated by this 3D gif of the brain's ventricular system.  (In case you need encouragement to click that link, just know that you have a system that looks a lot like the Starship Enterprise in your brain.)

Other parts of Darrell's brain, such as the surgical cavity, also might continue to grow (show more black) over time, which results in the loss of total brain volume.  Who knew?

Skunk Wars

Dear Skunks,
Just wanted you to know that Roene recommends coffee grounds.  We're happily pouring you a cup right now.
Cheers,
Darrell

Today's Bloom

Tucked in at Tiverton. Not.

Brain cancer is...

 ...not in Westwood tonight.

Darrell has been seeing UCLA's Dr. Cloughsey after every MRI since shortly post diagnosis (April, 2016).  For every one of those visits, we have stayed at the Tiverton House Sunday night in order to walk over to his appointment first thing Monday morning.  (Here's our first post of us tucked in at Tiverton.)

We have spent so many Sunday afternoons exploring Westwood.  Fortunately Terri told us to eat at Stan's Doughnuts; it recently closed (here).  We've had so many memorable lunches at the Napa Valley Grille and met so many great people with good wishes for Darrell and his story.  We've enjoyed wandering UCLA's campus.  We've loved their arboretum.  We've spent Independence Day at Tiverton.  And Easter.

When we heard that Darrell's UCLA appointment this time would be a telehealth appointment, Darrell said, "I don't like change."  Now that we're sitting at home instead of in Westwood, I fully agree with him.  There are rituals to be maintained.  Maybe it'll help if I boil eggs and find a pastry for tomorrow's complimentary breakfast.

His appointment is at 8:30.  When Darrell hears Dr. Cloughesy's opinion of his MRI, he'll relax for a few months.

We hope your Sunday had some bright spots, Team D!  All our best.

Skunk Wars

Dear Skunks,
We do appreciate the respite you've given our back lawn for the last few weeks.  But did you really need to invite all your skunky friends with you when you returned last night?  There's no way you maintained a six-foot distance from each other to dig that many holes.

It's not that we're that fussy.  We showed the lawn to Curt and Barb (top photo) during our zoom hour, and they were really shocked by what you did to the whole yard.  We have no choice but to double the Predator Pee dosage.  Tell everyone.
Darrell

Today's Bloom

Here's a blossom from our backyard epiphyllum.  We can't recall it ever blooming before.  So there's a square inch of silver lining.

Cats and Cocktails

Brain cancer is...

...enjoying happy hour with Ryan and Charlene.  And Phil.

Finally!  A social activity that cats can get behind:  Zoom cocktail hour.  We've heard so much about you, Phil.  It was nice to finally meet you.

Before the fun of happy hour, we had a full day of projects.  Darrell wants you to know that his grasslets are doing so well that he mowed them today.

Grow, grasslets, grow! Mow, Darrell, Mow!

My favorite project was sorting, organizing, and sharpening a whole collection of colored pencils. 

Just imagine how much art time will be saved by me not needing to paw through a big box to find just the right shade of blue.  Regardless of the timesaving, sorting and organizing projects are among my favorite.  (Maybe that information will come in useful to you someday.)

Hope your Saturday was deserving of you!

Today's Blooms

Taylor found this Indian paintbrush on a hike with his mom.

Hike on, Grays!

Curt says his floral image has a message.

"Life is a struggle, but if you have a strong will..."

Here! Here!

Salads: 2 Sandwiches: 0

Brain cancer is...

...eating salad.

Darrell’s just joking with the sad face.  His words with the first bite were, “Mmm!  This is a really good salad!” 

When sandwich time rolls around again, we're ready though.  We just might find ourselves knocking on Suzie and Gary’s door.  Check out Gary’s tuna melt with tomatoes:

Yum.

Here’s to Friday, Friends, whatever you’re eating!

Today’s Bloom

This lively succulent in our backyard basket self identifies as a bloom.  Who are we to say otherwise?