"You hold the key in the palm of your hand, use it! Don't blame your life on the master plan, change it!" Lyrics to "Life is a Song Worth Singing" Written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed, sung by various artists including Teddy Pendergrass and Johnny Mathis

Our Alaska geography & history professor

Fish On! was not shouted with glee this past weekend, darn it all.  In fact, I do not think we saw more than 2 fish being caught at the Homer Lagoon the entire 3 days we were there.   Sam and I both wanted to head to the Copper River this week for dipnetting but between my work, his chemo, and the weather, it just is not working out. So instead, we are headed to Ninilchik to fish with our newly adopted family (they do not know this yet, but I think they are getting the idea...) and I am fairly sure we will be jumping up and down hootin' and hollerin' this time around.  

Fishing at the Homer Lagoon

Camping on the Homer Spit in a tent is quite the experience, especially if you are camping next to Sam and Dara.  We are tent campers as most of you know, and although I am slowly trying to talk Sam into a trailer/camper/motorhome, he is not yet completely sold on the idea. So, off we went to Homer with (luckily!) 2 tents, one large and one small, just in case.  The wind is blowing like crazy when we arrive, but that does not deter us from attempting to put up the larger tent at first.  We spend about 30 minutes fighting the wind.  Pieces of firewood are on each corner holding the tent down as we gallantly attempt to put the poles in place all the while fighting the wind which is blowing the tent over flat to the ground.  There is even a point when Sam insists I go inside the tent and try to hold it up from there while he does whatever it is he thinks is needed to hold the tent up from the outside.  Oh boy.  Needless to say, that does not work either.   The people we are camped next to (of course in an RV) come over at that point and, grinning widely, ask if we could use an extra hand or two, actually 3 sets in this case - husband, wife and adult son - all whom kindly attempt to assist.  I take the opportunity to whisper to the wife, "This is actually all working out perfectly for me!"  She laughs and says, "Been there, done that!"  Bless her heart, she immediately starts making comments such as "Perhaps a metal floor might be better" and "Firm walls are sometimes a good thing."  Oh yes, she is a woman after my own heart.  Sam finally relents and agrees that perhaps a trailer would be better at this point.  NO KIDDING!  Too bad we do not have one to jump into; however, we do have the smaller dome tent which we promptly pull out, put up and spend the weekend in all comfy and cozy.  Luckily, we had to use the dome tent because if we would have managed to set up the larger tent we would have been terribly disappointed.  Until we unroll the backpacking mattresses we do not remember that we had thrown out our larger air mattress last summer due to excessive wear and tear!  Another blessing in disguise.  The best part is, I am one step closer to my goal of no more tent camping if I can help it.  What more can a girl ask for?

Campground Guard Eagle

Tonight Sam is recovering from his first chemo treatment (Alimta and carboplatin) this round.  As I am writing, I can hear him struggling with his breathing and I do not think he recognizes that he is.  It is difficult to listen to without saying anything. If I do say something, he will accuse me of panicking and I am far from that at this point.  One of the many lessons I have learned over the past 2-3 years, believe me.  So far his side effects are limited, only sweats and a bit of nausea when he got home this afternoon.  I dropped him off about 9 at the doctor's office where they did the labs, he met with the P.A. and then did the chemo.  Friday will be the telltale 48 hour mark and thankfully I will be at work.  Sam is really good about texting or calling me throughout the day to keep me informed of what is happening, so I trust he will let me know if anything extraordinary is happening at that point.  The 48 hour mark is the moment I dread the most because he is not at all pleasant to be around, so it is definitely another blessing in disguise that I have to be at work.  The addition of the carboplatin makes this round of chemo different from the one last fall, so this is an entirely new situation for us and one which requires us to pay close attention to everything.  The serious side effects for carboplatin include things such as itchy hands.  Sam told the nurse today it is not unusual for him to experience itchy hands normally and she accused him of being a troublemaker.  If she only knew...

One of the best things about Sam being on disability is that I do not have to cook when I get home.  Now, if only I could get the cats to clean house, life would truly be perfect.

Ciao!