We Just Don't Know What to Say to You, 2020.

 Brain cancer is...

 

...saying goodbye to 2020.

We undecorated for Christmas today.  Am I the only person who relishes putting away the tree ornaments?  There they are above, just waiting for me to organize and box them safely away.  No one is allowed to help.  It's weird.

While I sang softly to our ornaments, Darrell took care of the three-tree aftermath.  At one point today, he used the leaf blower in the house, blowing all the dried and fallen Noble Fir needles right on out the front door.

Somehow that seemed very fitting for the last day of 2020:  Just blow it all right out using the largest piece of yard equipment available.

But 2020 didn't go down without a fight at our house.  Today we Covid-cancelled our first two trips of 2021:  Carlsbad and Colorado.  

Just to be two more people to say it:  2020 was so tough on the whole planet:  Its people, its environmental systems, its social systems, its economic systems, its political systems...everyone and everything.  And we hurt for all the people who suffered life-changing losses.

We'll also be two more people to say that we personally did come out of the year a little wiser than when it started.  

Our word of the year for 2020 was "Explore." (Here.)  We suppose if we choose a word like "explore" to direct our annual focus, we'd better be ready for whatever comes next.  We did use the year to explore our country's history and institutions and our role in them, our values, and our priorities. We learned a lot.  We smiled plenty.  We appreciated so many happy events.

And even though we wish the year brought a whole lot less pain, if our choice was between 2020 and no year at all, we'd give a "yes" to 2020.  Also, of all the people in the world, we were privileged to spend it with you. 

Happy New Year, Team D.  We made it.

Today's Bloom

To the promise of tomorrow

New Stuff! New Stuff! New Stuff!

Brain cancer is...

...on a novelty quest.

For reasons unknown to us, we had no toast tongs--until this morning's Amazon delivery that is.  

 

Toast tongs make breakfast feel like a board game.  You know, like the game Operation?  Darrell wishes the tongs were metal. 

New toast tongs pretty much set our quest for the day:  Seeing and doing new things.  Walking 10 miles in a 3-mile park definitely fueled our need for novelty.

We saw a new-to-us bird as soon as we pulled into the park.  

 Hello little green heron!

 

 And we did things like photograph the mountains from the middle of State College Boulevard. 

Risky?  Maybe.  But it felt safer than, say, metal toast tongs.

The walk also became a flower photo safari, which made our trek loooong in more than one sense of the word.

Novelty craving satisfied.

Here's to new stuff...and to patient partners!

Today's Blooms

Here are a few reasons Darrell sat and waited.

(PS.  Also a new experience?  Close-up photography wearing new single-focus distance lenses.)

 

Cali Christmas and Kale just keep coming.

 Brain cancer is...

 

...STILL celebrating.

How do we know it's Christmas in Cali?  Post-storm blue skies and...more gifts!  Andi's sunglasses, above, are brand new prescription lenses.  

For those in the crowd who either correct their vision or are concerned about their macula--or do both, like Andi--you know what a gift prescription sunglasses are. 

 

(Sunglasses show up on lists like this one for protecting eyes against macular degeneration. That list has the added benefit of confirming my optometrist's advice that we eat more kale.  You can imagine Darrell's excitement level:  Low.  He's willing nonetheless.  Kale salad?  Yussss! Come on, kale!)

 

Chris caught these post-storm blue skies and powdered sugar So Cal mountains today:

She also caught Santa Skelly and friend, hard at work.

Ho Ho Happy Tuesday!

Today's Bloom

Back to Delivery in the Dining Room

Brain cancer is...

...going to need to think inventively this winter.

We have been able to continue seeing Gordon and LuAnn outdoors because our Southern California weather has been mild.

Here's the view of the snow-covered foothills on the way to Gordon's this morning.

Gorgeous!  The storm that is dropping snow on our mountains is dropping rain here on us down below.  

We made it through breakfast on the front porch with Gordon.  Both the guys were good sports.

But the 46-degree temperatures accompanying the rain drove us back home instead of to LuAnn's patio for lunch.

Don't worry, Mom.  We took one for the team and found that our favorite taco place here delivers.  And sunshine is predicted for next week.

Team D, we hold you all close in our hearts as we continue to weather this pandemic apart--and together.

Super Bowl Stroll Training

Today's training walk went really well, particularly because we weren't the ones walking.  The Wisconsin contingent--Meridyth, Eva, and Nolan--trained on!

Today's Bloom

Another rose in Gordon's garden

More Gifts!

Brain cancer is...

 ...still celebrating.

Today was our two-person Christmas.  We opened the gifts under to the tree from friends (as in our awesome Big Bear masks and earrings, above).  

 

We also opened gifts from us to ourselves (as in Darrell put bows on our replacement tiny Corelle bowls).  Who knew we needed so many tiny bowls?

But our Christmas-for-two wasn't the first celebration of the day.  Here was the first:

These birds on our heads are for you, Alex!  Happy Birthday!  (And thanks for launching this new celebratory tradition:  Head birds!)

Here's Alex in 1989 on his first birthday, before head birds were a thing:

(In this pic, Darrell is 29 and Andi is 27.  Too young to make better hair choices, mayhaps.)

Alex is the focus of the title of this post. 

In considering the gifts granted to those in our family, here's what we think:

• Some gifts we have been born into (our privileges).
• Some gifts we are born with but need careful cultivation to make them useful to the world.
• Some gifts we are born with are rare and precious gems that shine for the world with the same intensity as on the day we are born.

Alex's rare and and precious gift is his love of life and of every human on earth.  From the beginning of his life Alex has been smiling and appreciating the best in people.  We can't remember him ever saying an angry word. 

And strangers are merely friends he hasn't met yet.  When he was five Alex walked down the beach at LuAnn's place in Baja California, counting in Spanish.  Why?  Because he wanted to make friends with the kids in the sand, and the numbers 1 though 10 were all the Spanish he had then.

On the night before he registered for high school classes, with me being a cool mom and all, I asked him whether he'd like me to just drop him off.  He looked at me aghast and said, "Why wouldn't I want you to come with me?  You're my peeps!"

Later in high school, his teachers would shake their heads in wonder and remark that Alex had friends in every social group. No sticking with a single clique, regardless of status.

Alex, the sunshine you spread is a gift to every person you meet.  We love you and are so very grateful for the gift of you.

Here's to the gifts of each other!

Today's Bloom

Snowflake or Thai Basil?

 (PS:  We're posting early today to give you enough time to eat your game-day cheese before the Packers play.)

Christmas After Glow

Brain cancer is...

...considering the benefits of long walks.

It was back to the park with us today.  We decided that long walks have many benefits.  Here are three:

 

1.  More time to spot changes in bird activity.  The wigeons are back!

 2.  Double lunching.  We ate one high energy lunch on the walk, and tasty tacos upon return.

3.  Reliving the joys of Christmas day.  We had plenty of time to replay our sparkly sweet memories from yesterday.  Here's the 3:44 video.  

Christmas 2020 Smiles

Happy Smiling Saturday!

Today's Bloom

Loving Life on Christmas

 Brain cancer is...

 ...grateful for the gift of life today on Christmas.

Our day was wonderful, spent for the first time in a very long time with a toddler (and her parents, whose coolness level isn't too far below hers). What they say about seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child is true.  Children embody life, promise, and optimism, don't they?

We also wished each other Merry Christmas #5 (five post diagnosis Christmases for Darrell).  He has seen so many more Christmas wonders than we dared hope for.

We took maybe a hundred photos today, and we experienced joy in viewing many others.  But we appreciated no holiday photo more than this one of the Case/Corrigan family.

Kim is on the left; her mom on the right.  That's her dad beating a hasty exit from the hospital after recovering from COVID.  He was hospitalized for four weeks, with the doctors suggesting ventilation three times, as he fought off the virus.  His wife (Kim's mom) also was hospitalized (albeit briefly) and has recovered from COVID.

Case/Corrigan family, your good news was the highlight of our Christmas.

Here's to life!

Today's Bloom

Five-Year Throwback:  We spent Christmas 2016 (10 months after diagnosis) in Kauai.  Here's a bloom from that Christmas.

Happy Christmas Eve!

Brain cancer is...

...enjoying our 24th day of Christmas.

Serial holidays are working well for us!  Today we celebrated the holiday with LuAnn.

The heavier winds and rain held up long enough for us to enjoy our roast duck and kale salad on the patio.

We appreciated others’ preparations too.

Nova opened Book #24 on her advent calendar.

Come on, Santa! 

Roene found a perfect ornament hanging on a forlorn tree; just a cow, hanging from a pine. 

That’s right, she tells us.  It’s a cow pine.

We're all smiles, all for you!

Today’s Blooms

More of All Good Things Today

 Brain cancer is...

...taking in every bit!

Today is another day when we are thankful for all the goodness in our lives.  More of all good things.

Above is more Christmas with Gordon and his new little Christmas gnome friend.

Back home, we received an oddly large and flat package.  Surprise!

It was the last installment of the patio lanterns.  How big is two feet in the lantern world?

Really big, it turns out.  We need to show you a picture now because Darrell predicts that the giant lanterns will either age prematurely or blow away quickly.

In that picture, you see one more Christmas tree.  This one is Nova's tree.  Our friend at Sonshine Christmas Trees was really happy to see us again.

We also exchanged holiday gifts (in the COVID manner) with our neighbors.  The neighbors across the street just moved in recently, and now we're friends.  You know it's a good day when you make a new friend!

All we neighbors remarked on how thankful we felt to have each other this year. 

More good news:  Melanie got the vaccine today.

Brother-in-law Matt did too.  Two more medical personnel (and cherished family members) safer!

The pup in Melanie's picture is Rampart.  Ask for him by name.

Thanks for being such a big part of all that is good in our lives, loved ones.

Today's Bloom

This is the rose that appears near Gordon's right foot in the top picture.

Bakers Emeriti

 Brain cancer is...

...wrapping up successful careers as sourdough bread bakers.

The little monster (sourdough starter) came through for us.  The loaf smelled so good as it baked last night that we stayed up while it cooled just to have a slice with butter.  One slice turned into two, so we gave full approval.

Our loaf did have some brick-like qualities, but back in our bread baking days (yesterday), we just called that "a tight crumb."

Kristine was right that it's hard to ruin.  And that's why, friends, we go out on top today.  We throw in our sourdough bread making towels, happy.

 

(And to the avid bread bakers in the crowd who say we'd get better with practice, we say, "We're good.  There's only so much bread we can eat.")

In other baking news:  Darrell moved in front of the cookie baking camera today.

We ran out of cookies!  Here he is, hard at work.

 

And look what a thorough sprinkler he is!

 (PS:  Do you remember Gary Larson's cartoon, envisioning what God thought when he created snakes?  [Here it is.]  Look closely at Darrell's finished tray to find the Christmas sugar cookie snake he made for Nova.)

 

Team D Photos of the Great Conjunction

You came through!  We knew you would!  Here are the shots of some team members.  Zoom in.

Nancy

Chris

Ginger

Ginger's art, inspired by the event

Kim

Beth

Melanie

Christine

Thanks for sharing in amazing events with us, Friends!  It feels great to experience wonder...together.

Today's Blooms

Yellow roses for Grandma Eva.  Merry Christmas, Grandma B.

The Little Monster

Brain cancer is...

...joining the craze.

Better late than never?  This week we joined the lock down sourdough bread baking club.  Above you see our dough in its current phase.

Here's how the starter looked, after just 24 hours:

In case you're late to the bread baking party too, starter is just flour and water.  You mix it up, cover it with plastic wrap, and in our case, put it in the warm pantry cupboard. 

Why does it bubble?  Because at some point in the aforementioned process, the mixture catches the wild yeast that is floating around in the air, and the yeast feeds on the sugar in the flour.

Let's just agree that the fact that wild yeast floats reliably into bowls in our kitchen--despite plastic wrap and a cupboard door--seems to be a good argument for hand washing.

Darrell and I named our starter "the little monster" and have fed it daily.  

We are about to bake the dough made with the little monster.  We trust Kristine on this; it's going to be okay.  Maybe we'll make the first sourdough brick in history, but it'll be okay.

Did you see the Great Convergence tonight?  We did.  We're waiting for your amazing photos.  Share!

Happy Winter!  Happy Winter Solstice!

Today's Blooms

Front yard camellias

Backyard strawberry tree blossoms

They remind us of our lanterns.  A little?