Wharf to Wharf 2008 (AKA Capitola Weekend)

For the 3rd year in a row I attended the Wharf to Wharf run, which is a six-mile run from Santa Cruz to Capitola. (See: http://www.wharftowharf.com/) I did run in 2006, and had a great time. Last year I had an abdominal surgery a couple of weeks before so to be safe I sat the run out, but still went to Capitola for the weekend. This year I sat it out for obvious reasons, at least to my family and friends. However, we are continuing a tradition started by our friends Jim & Noelle 12 years ago. They have been going to the race for 12 years now and have a great plan: Stay in Capitola Saturday night, head over to Santa Cruz (where the race begins) Sunday morning (transportation is provided by the Inn), run the race back to Capitola, have breakfast at the Inn, and spend the day relaxing in Capitola. We all get together for dinner in the evening, and Ralph and Valerie join us for that.

In 2006, Matt & Laura joined in at the Inn while Dave and I also went to Santa Cruz for the weekend (and I ran). However we stayed at a friend's house in Santa Cruz. Last year (2007) we joined Jim, Noelle, Matt, & Laura at the Inn.

So, now we 6 couples have a yearly tradition that I hope lasts for a very long time.

Here are the details on this weekend:

Dave and I got to Capitola around 5:30 and checked into the very lovely Inn. Then we changed quickly and headed off to dinner at Caruso's. We ordered the scallop special and a gnocchi plate. Both dishes were excellent, most notably the scallops. I don't think I ever had better scallops! We did seem to get lost in the end, though. The owner asked if we'd like more wine and we said we'd like one more glass. It never arrived. The waitress cleared our plates and boxed up the left-over gnocchi. While doing so she asked if we'd like to see the dessert menu. We said yes. Next thing we know, the check was put on our table, rather than the glass of wine & the dessert menu. Oh, well, we were full anyway so we paid and left. We headed next door to the wine bar for a glass of Port.

Afterwards we headed back to the Inn to meet up with Matt, Laura, Jim, and Noelle. We chatted for a while and then all headed in for an early bedtime. Since half of them were running in the morning, they needed their rest, and we all were tired.

Sunday morning Dave and I slept in, then headed to the race end to meet up with the runners. We all headed back for breakfast, then Dave, Noelle, and I hung out outside to listen to the band that had been playing since 8:30, when the race started. They sounded great! After a short nap, Noelle, Dave and I headed out for a walk in Capitola while Jim rested his wounded knee. We bought me a very cool jacket, some salt-water taffy, a necklace for Noelle, some great bath salts. We had Bloody Marys (Noelle and I), beer (Dave), and some snacks on the Pier. Along the way we met a poor pelican looking for handouts. He tried to eat a large fish that was just captured by some local fishermen. Poor thing. Here's a pic: So, after snacking and shopping, we headed back to the Inn for a another nap (!) and then the 6 of us (well, 7, really, if you count Baby Alex) joined Ralph and Valerie at Bella Roma for an excellent meal. We all brought some special wine to share. The meal was wonderful, minus the hair in my food (oops...) But overall we really enjoyed ourselves. Here's a pic of all of us, except for Laura, unfortunately. You can see her chair. She was taking the photo.

Across from Laura's chair is Matt. Next to him is Dave. I am across from Dave. Next to me are Noelle and Jim. The other couple (next to Dave) is Valerie and Ralph.

That pretty much wrapped up our weekend. We gathered in our room for some dessert and everyone called it an early night. Dave and I had to get up WAY too early Monday morning for appointment and work obligations. Next year we'll have to not do that!

Home-Grown Veggies

I just wanted to share with you what it's like to have vegetables growing in our garden. All of these I harvested today:

Rotisserie Chicken and Garden Boxes

Something came over me this week and I decided that I really wanted to try out the rotisserie function of our grill. So, first I set out to get a chicken. Off to Whole Foods... They have 4 different kinds of whole chickens! There's their organic free range chicken, some other pre-packaged organic free range chicken, a "junior" chicken (which had a small notice that the chicken may contain up to 8% retained water from processing. Instant disqualifier for me.) And then there was their new "Air Chilled" chicken. Somehow it's processed in chilled air rather than water which is supposed to help the meat retain its natural juices. A Whole Foods exclusive. I decided to try it.

So, I brought it home, seasoned it, shoved carrots, celery, and onion up its cavity, put pats of butter under its skin, and trussed it. Then figured out how to put it on the spit. Luckily Dave had just arrived home because it was easier to truss it, thread it on the spit, and put the "forks" in place using an extra pair of hands.

How did it taste? Actually, it was wonderful! Full of flavor, very juicy. Here's a photo just before I took it off the grill: By the way, I absolutely LOVE the flat-top part of the grill, on the left. It's so handy for vegetables.

While I was out there with the camera I decided to take photos of my garden boxes to share with the world! This first one is the herb garden. It contains basil, sage, parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, chives. I think that's it.

The next two photos are of the tomato garden (very nice, sweet cherry tomatoes) and Roma tomatoes. The second photo is of the yellow crook-neck squash and the jalapeno plant. Looks like I'll still have jalapenos while the rest of you won't!

House Photo Album Has Been Updated

I just updated the photos in the "House Photos" album. This link will take you directly to the album as well as the link in the "links" list under Theo's photo. I've added photos of some rooms not previously photographed (such as the guest bedrooms) plus added some photos of the basement area, arguably the most peaceful room in the house. Also previous photographs were taken before the pictures and art work were hung so now these fresh views include these. Every photo has a caption, so you shouldn't get lost in our house!

Landscaping Photos Uploaded

Just for grins, I took some photos of our landscaping now that it's more mature (and admittedly overgrown in some areas.)

Follow this link to view all the pics. We need to learn how to manage some of the groundcover but overall it's coming in nicely, I believe.

Dave's Impending Retirement

OK, Dave took slight offense that my words may have suggested that I hope he never retires. For the record, I think he should start working first before he starts thinking about retirement! And anyway, of course I will want him to retire someday. How else are we going to do all the traveling that we want to do!

Dave Has A Job

Well, it finally happened! Dave finally got off his butt... er... got a job! He starts working at Cisco on Monday. His job title is "Product Supportability Engineer".

Yay!

Now we can start seeing what it's like for "normal" married couples. While we get along VERY well for two people who are always together, I predict we will get along even better when we get some breathing room. I know that he lived alone for years before we got married and so did I, so it's actually surprising that we don't aggravate each other more than we do. I do know what my ex-step-mother means when she said she hopes her husband never retires because she wouldn't want him under-foot all the time. I think probably all wives know what she's talking about!

So, whisper a "good-luck" message to Dave. This job came in the nick of time in more than one way! Can you say "health insurance, with no pre-existing condition clause"?

What It's Like For Me To Do Chemo

I thought I would share with you what it's like to do chemo. First of all, it changes the way I eat quite a bit. During "chemo" week my appetite is quite altered. I never get nauseated (they give me some pretty high-powered anti-nausea drugs before my infusion) but I always feel that I could get "tipped." That's to say my stomach feels sensitive and if I eat the wrong thing then I could get sick. And mostly the wrong thing is meat or very sweet things, like cinnamon rolls. But I find that most vegetables are do-able so I become a vegetarian for a week. Not a bad thing, really. I also eat more fruit. This is because it tastes good but I'm also looking for ways to get fluids. It's hard for me to drink cool liquids since it makes my throat hurt. My neighbor gave us some very juicy plums yesterday and these are going down very well.

Another thing that I have noticed related to food is that when it comes to eating, what I want to eat is quite specific at that moment. For instance, some nights I feel like I only want mac & cheese, so we eat mac & cheese. Sometimes what I want we don't have so Dave goes to the store... This does make me somewhat of a picky eater. So, I lose a few pounds during chemo week but then I put them back on the next week. Because during the "good" week my appetite is completely normal and I can eat anything. So, I do!

Other effects: I get very tired, so I take lots of naps. I also get mad at my pump because I'll take it off of my shoulder while eating or napping, and I'll forget about it. Until I start to walk away. Then I curse at it just as the tubing that's attached to my chest gets stretched tight. This happens all the time! You'd think I'd learn. Oh, well, only 4 more cycles to go so I'll only have the pump tomorrow (until about noon) and then 8 more days total. I tote it around with me for 46 hours each treatment cycle.

Overall the side effects could be worse. My surgeon and my oncologist say I am lucky that I have no diarrhea because most people do suffer from it. I don't really get mouth sores which can be common. I had a very small one last cycle that I didn't even know about. The oncologist saw it and told me about it. My hair is still on my head, but that was to be expected. The main things with me are the hand & feet neuropathy, which may take a while to resolve itself even when I'm done with chemo. Also, the throat sensitivity to cold which makes me a bit dehydrated. But that's pretty resolved by the end of each 2-week cycle so I don't expect any lasting issues with that. The other main thing is the tiredness. I am usually pretty out of it Wednesdays and Thursdays, and start to come around on Friday. Saturday I still tire easily but if I take it easy (and this goes for the next few days too) I can usually resume normal activities as long as I stay away from anything cold.

OK, that's it... that's what it's like for me. I'm glad to be counting down small numbers now so it'll be over in a couple of months.