Recycling Day

Brain cancer is...

...$97.72 richer, babies!

Although vacation is better than not vacation, we are really enjoying a couple days at home, just taking care of things.

Our spring was pretty packed with responsibilities, so these days post vacation are reminding us of the simple pleasures of improving our tiny corner of the world by checking items off our home to-do lists. 

We predict this contentment may last for, oh, two more days...?

Back at it.

Brain cancer is...

 ...sweaty.

Today we were back at our more routine, non-vacation life.
Our park walk starts with a big hill.  Above, Darrell is saying, "I'm out of shape!"
That's what we get for not exercising on vacation!

By the end of the walk, though, he was back to his old explorer self.  Here he is tackling the newly reopened Cottonwood Loop:

A magical discovery?  We witnessed the "cotton" in "cottonwood."

We just kept moving throughout the day until--finally!--Darrell sweated off his arrays so that we could slow down, change arrays, and settle in for the evening.

For a day not spent sitting in a vineyard watching the hawks soar, it was a very satisfying day!

Wine-derful

Brain cancer is...

 ...one of several wild things.

Pizza for lunch on our trip back home today was at Woodstock, near UCSB.  Lennie and Christine chose it to recreate a favorite meal in recent history.  Zach said the place--and the wild things, above--were a notable part of his UCSB experience.  How fun to step into other's past worlds.

Today's post title, Wine-derful, is by former Block 21 awesome teachers and Team D members, Brooke and Nicole.  (You captured our trip perfectly in one new word, Nicole and Brooke!)

Here's the trip in a few highlights:

Wine?  Every day.

Dessert?  Every day.

Art?  Every day.

Exercise?  Zero days. (Not sure what happened there.)

Dancing, great conversation, views, and laughs?  Every day.

Wine-derful.

Thanks for holding down the fort in our absence, Team D.  Happy Monday.

A Local Day

Brain cancer is...

...enjoying one more day. 

Today was our last full day on vacation.

Above we enjoyed coffee near our vines again. 

Thumbs up for new arrays!

More fun at Niner and dinner.  What a trip! 

Going Coastal

Brain cancer is...

...heading to the water.

Today was to be triple-digit temperatures in Paso Robles, so we headed south and coastal to Avila Beach.  Here are some shots from the day.  Hope your Saturday was equally enjoyable!

We Heart Paso Robles

Brain cancer is...

...loving Paso Robles.

Don’t hide from Friday, Team D!

“I Love Vacations!”

Brain cancer is...

...happy to start our vacation in Paso Robles.

We scheduled Darrell’s October scan yesterday, and today was the last day of summer work.

By noon, the mantra was “I love vacations.”  All four people in the car love vacations.  By 4:30 pm we checked into the Winemakers Porch:

 

By 5:30 pm we were tasting wine (above).

By 7 pm we were enjoying barbecue at Jeffrey’s Wine Country Barbecue:

By 10 pm, the grocery shopping is done, and we’re tucked in and ready for the next adventure.  “We love vacations!”

Hopscotch

Brain cancer is...

...beating the heat at Hopscotch.

Date lunch with Melanie and Gail was such a great chance to update and connect.

We recommend the salads at Hopscotch.  

Stay cool, Friends!

PS: Sunset alert!

We love that Team D loves a good sunset.
Darrell pulled over and got this shot:

Just as Kim sent us hers:

And Hallie and Ruth shared theirs: 

Here's Lennie's from LAX:

Let's keep looking up together!

Fun New Daily Debrief Game!

Brain cancer is...

 ...appreciating.

Today was all about appreciation.  We discovered the moral of today's story during the daily debrief.  Wait for it.   Here are some of the moments we appreciated first:

1. Curt sent pics of family kids fishing.  We appreciate...building happy memories with kids.
2. We caught up with Nurse Navigator Deborah before Darrell's appointment.  She's been there from the beginning.  We appreciate...Deborah and what she does for humans.
3. Dr. Park gave Darrell the "Curtain!" call for July, 2019 Cancer Course.  No more cancer on the books until October 2019, babies! We appreciate...maybe sleeping at night now?
4. We learned of several  (yes, more than a few) GBM patients who now know of Darrell's longevity.  No new GBM patient expects 41 months.  We appreciate...the new kids' journeys, and Darrell appreciates serving as a signpost for waaaaaay out.
5. We saw so many family members visiting Gordon.  Family?  Planning for a homecoming?  We appreciate!
6. We had lunch with LuAnn.  She made delicious quiche and served us the (above) homegrown, sun warmed tomato. Any person who was born in the Midwest appreciates...real tomatoes.  Also we appreciate...Moms.  They do cool things like make quiche and grow tomatoes.
7. We learned that someone we love and who deserves it greatly...got the job.  We appreciate...when people who deserve the job...get the job.  (Loved One:  This does NOT count as posting!)
8. We appreciate that a new reader/writer we love loved our recent mail and already sent her thank you note to us.  We appreciate...the power of the printed word and authentic communication.

See how much we appreciated?  Even before the Fun New Game?

As you know, we end each day with the Daily Debrief.  Clearly we had much to discuss; you participated, above .

Then Darrell introduced a Fun New Daily Debrief Game.  It's called, "Let Me Tell You How Many Times Today I Appreciated You."

He went first. His list was at least ten items long.  Of course I was crying by Item #2.  Then it was my turn.  What we realized together is that, with this game, everyone wins.  Every time one of us added an item, the other thought of three more. 

Although we were taken aback that it's taken us all our lives to invent this game, we weren't surprised that it would be so fun.  The best parenting advice we ever received was, "What you focus on...will grow."  This game was further evidence in support of that advice;  If we focus on appreciation, appreciation grows. 

Product Endorsement

Hello!  We are Darrell and Andrea, successful inventors of the fun family party emo game, "How Are You Today?," a runaway bestseller in 2016.  Still salient!  Still available for free at (click here)!

It's 8:42, and...we're out!

Brain cancer is...

 ...efficiently declared stable at UCLA.

Darrell's appointment was at 8:30.  By 8:42, he had had his neuro exam, seen Dr. Cloughesy, talked about upcoming news  in the GBM treatment world, and scheduled his next appointment. Dr. Cloughesy runs an efficient practice!

Here are Dr Cloughesy's comparisons of the April scan (left) and the July scan (right).

The light blue loops show the only area of "enhancement" in Darrell's brain:  right at the tumor site.  The areas look the same over time.  Hurrah.  It always feels great to get Dr. Cloughesy's expert proclamation.

Tomorrow's appointment with Dr. Park will conclude Cancer Course, July 2019.

Happy Stable Monday, Team D!

Post script:  California sunset by Curt

Tucked in at Tiverton

Brain cancer is...

 ...tucked in at Tiverton House.

Our room in Westwood Village was ready early; above is our third-floor view.  We are set for Darrell's appointment with Dr. Cloughesy first thing tomorrow morning.

We've been coming here for over three years (Wow!), and today it was fun to look around and see what has changed and what hasn't.

UCLA has been working on the Tiverton House lobby for over a year:

Today the registration clerk told us that the job was estimated at five weeks.  Ain't that the way?  Each time we check in, we wonder, will it be today that the lobby is ready?  Maybe next time!

However, we are staying in one of the recently renovated rooms:

Thumbs up, UCLA, for the use of textures and materials that result in a sleek, urban feel.

Happy Sunday, Team D!  Stay cool wherever you are!

Sweet Saturday

Brain cancer is...

 ...ordering dessert.

What's better than a leisurely lunch out on a Saturday?  Dessert!  Sweet.

Right after we finished the lava cake, above, Darrell found the earring that slipped out when I put on a wrap. 

Even better?  Even if we couldn't find it, he said, "I will buy you earrings forever."

Sweet, sweet Saturday.

Hellllooo Friday

Brain cancer is...

...so happy to see Friday.

Here’s to all good things!

The Essence of Coolness

Brain cancer is...

 ...back to celebrating shade.

We (oops, "I") underestimated the temperature at the park today.  The 82-degree temperature seemed reasonable for Optune.  Not.

Above Darrell absorbed the essence of coolness as we moved from shady patch to shady patch.

Also the essence of coolness?  He smiled and came up with great quotes for the entire three miles.  Here's one example:  "There's plenty of shade this time of day if you know where to look.  Namely, under the trees." 

I know no one who has as much fun on a daily basis--even when Optune is alarming--as Darrell.

One last essence of coolness:

We saw our home girl, Optune Amy, today for a data download.  Darrell's holding strong at 97% daily Optune usage. 

We all LOVE that you fight on, Darrell, with a smile.  The essence of coolness. 

Happy GBM Awareness Day!

Brain cancer is...

...nationally recognized today!

Darrell's first words upon awakening this morning were, "Happy GBM Awareness Day!"

Wow!  That felt inexplicably great.  

Before rising, we spent 30 minutes reading about the history of today's inaugural GBM Awareness Day (for example, at this link), taking a quiz to check out our knowledge (here), and read about the efforts of so many people to change the trajectory of this typically monstrous disease.

When we learned more about the toll GBM takes on people and everyone who loves them, we thought, "Hey Yeah!"

The motto for the day (here) is Honor, Learn, Act, Give.  We picked one of those items:  Honor.  That's our focus for the day.  Most people who are diagnosed with GBM have never heard of the disease (right?).  We all mostly count on our brains to get us places and make choices that contribute to our survival every. single.  minute.  With GBM, that assumption is called abruptly into question.  

So...if you have a brain, or if  you love or appreciate your brain, or if you know people who love and appreciate their brains, we honor you today.

We're posting plenty early today to give ourselves more time to honor all those awesome brains!

(PS...We downloaded the frame we used for our selfie, above, at this link.)

Good News! and: Grace

Brain cancer is...

 ...tentatively unchanged.

One thing we appreciate about the blog is that it helps us think about the story we write with our lives each day.  And it helps us be prepared when the story shifts suddenly...like today.  We saw one story until about 8:30 a.m., and then we saw a different, ultimately more important story.

The more important story is above.  The radiologist's impressions of Darrell's scan from this morning report no evidence that Darrell's cancer is growing (#1, above).  Nor do they report evidence of any other scary brain thing (#2).  You know the drill:  Findings are tentative until Dr. Cloughesy gives the GBM expert thumbs up, but the early report is great.

And so you see:  This story is definitely the story of the day.

Grace

Just because we wrote a draft of it in our heads, here's the story that was eclipsed.
—Stop reading here, as you like.—
Cancer Course seems to heighten our senses and our tendency to reflect.

When we did so today, the word grace seemed to capture our experiences well.

First, when we removed our rings before heading for St. Jude this morning, this image...

...provided a sweet, unexpected moment of beauty for me.

When we arrived for check in, the staff couldn't locate Darrell's paperwork.  "Is there a problem?" Darrell asked.
"Yes."
Due to errors on their part, Darrell was only halfway scheduled.  And because he wasn't fully scheduled, they didn't know to contact us in advance when Darrell's usual machine, the 3T was out of commission.* 

Oh no!

The word grace?  Somewhat atypically perhaps, we both held onto our positive attitudes and asked, "What can we do to get the scan done?"  Because we felt calm and forgiving, we were able to be patient as the medical team worked Darrell into the schedule on the spot for another machine, the 1.5T.

Somehow having Darrell and me both feel calm and open to others and to problem solving felt like a real gift of grace.  Each staff member was supportive and helped the scan experience go well.

Also graceful?

A guy who can keep smiling and make puffy shorts and blue booties look goooood.

Thanks for listening to both stories, Team D.  Onward! 

*Cancer scanning talk:  The machine is relevant because at this point in his treatment, Darrell's medical team is interested in making very precise comparisons of images over time.  That's harder when the machine changes, and the 3T machine has better "image noise reduction.")