What is going on? if anything.

Very early this morning as I was enjoying my first cup of coffee of the day, I heard the sound of a helicopter. We often hear them fly over and don't pay too much attention, but this time the noise grew louder and louder, but did not fade away.

Curiosity got the better of me so I put my coffee aside and went to look out the front window.

I saw that a coast guard helicopter was making passes over the marshland, then circling around to come back to hover over the shoreline in front of the houses.

The coast guard helicopter approaching the shore.

The wind was ferocious this morning, as you can tell by the whitecaps on the water of the bay. I am sure the pilot of the chopper had his hands full keeping the craft stable in the gusting wind.

The helicopter hovered here for some time before turning and circling around again. This happened about three or four times, before it finally turned a final time and flew off over the bluff. Makes a person wonder what on earth was going on down there.

Breathtaking sunset

Winterscapes

So much snow and there is more to come

My New Zealand visit, part one

On December 3rd I left Seatac-Tacoma international airport on the first leg of my journey to visit my family in New Zealand.

I only had a couple of hours to wait before boarding the plane for San Fransisco, so spent my time reading a book and wondering what news I would hear from Mr C when I called him on the following Tuesday. Many of you know he had a biopsy to determine if there was cancer present, and you will now know that the good news on Tuesday was that he did not have cancer, so I was able to settle down and enjoy my time with family.

As the Boeing 737 gained altitude and headed south toward San Fransisco, we had a wonderful view of the snow covered Cascade mountains surrounded by a blanket of clouds.

Arrived in San Fransisco around 3:45pm and thought about how I was going to kill some time before my next flight left at 7pm.

I wandered around the duty free shops but was not interested in buying any thing, so bought a cup of coffee and headed to the departure lounge where I settled in to read for a while, before boarding the Boeing 747-400 for the 13 hour flight to Auckland.
We left San Fransisco about 30 minutes later than scheduled and by this time I was ready to get on board and have my dinner. I knew it would be an hour or two before dinner was served, so I tried to be patient and spent time watching a movie until dinner was served.
After watching all the movie while eating dinner and drinking a couple of glasses of wine, I reclined my seat as far as it would go, pulled my blanket up under my chin closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep. I usually have a difficult time sleeping during a flight, but this time I was surprised to wake up after sleeping for about six hours. I know it was a combination of lack of sleep during the past few weeks, and the two glasses of wine I drank at dinner which allowed me to 'go out like a light' It didn't seem that much longer when the cabin lights came on and an announcement was made that breakfast was going to be served. Evidently I had dozed off again

Auckland at last. I was a weary traveler by this time but not too tired to admire this beautiful Tomokanga. (carved gateway) The magnificent Tomokanga provides a uniquely kiwi welcome for international travelers when they arrive in Auckland. Standing 2.8m high and 6m wide, the carving symbolises a spiritual portal from one realm to another, a journey from the dark (the outside world) into the light (world of the living).

As the traveler approaches the Tomokanga a traditional Maori recorded welcoming message is heard.

I am not shy about asking someone to take my picture to record my journey. I have passed under this gate on a couple of occasions, and this is the first time I stopped for a 'kodak' moment.
Whenever I hear the traditional Maori welcome chant, I feel I have arrived home. Even though I have been living in USA for 30 years, I will always feel, as I am sure others do, that New Zealand is my home, at least in my heart.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The morning after I hope you are not feeling as bad as he looks.

So, go celebrate, be careful, have a designated driver, or take a taxi.

Thank you to all my readers, family, friends, blogger friends, and all you folk who just stop by to take a look. You are all appreciated.

I wish for you all, an outstanding New Year

Whoohoo, yahoo, yippee, backflips and all that!

My honey Mr C does not have cancer. He went on Tuesday to the doctors to hear the results of the biopsy done on the previous Tuesday, and no cancer was found.
You can read more on MR Completely's blog

I am now able to fully enjoy my vacation in New Zealand with out wanting to be in two places at once. I am staying at Amaryllis House ( a home specially for people with Huntington's Disease) with my daughter, and am being treated so well by everyone, it is just like one big happy family.
I have been on two rides when they take three or four of the residents for a ride, checked out the local mall, and will attend a Christmas concert on Monday, and a Christmas party next Thursday. So many fun things to do.
The computer at Amaryllis House is only available for use when the manager is there, and as she is so busy I hate to intrude, so I walk 10 minutes to this little local library to use their computer.
Well that is all for now, I am going to walk in the sunshine back to Amaryllis house.

Notes from my New zealand trip.

It is good to be back on New Zealand soil. It was a long tiring journey to reach here but worth it all the same. My daughter was very excited to see me and I am enjoying being here with her at Amaryllis house. There are several events planned which I will be able to go to with my daughter and some of the other residents. There will be a movie night, a concert, and a Christmas party, plus there is a mall a short bus ride away so I can go get my fill of a mall which does not happen on Whidbey island as there are no malls.
I am eating extremely well, and the food here is absolutely wonderful, so if I am not careful, I will not be able to fit in to any of my clothes.
The weather is warmish, not as warm as I expected, but the forecast is promising warmer conditions by the weekend.
That is about all for now, I will endeavor to keep updates coming as I can get to a computor.

I am one who always looks at my glass being half full

But am having a difficult time doing that now, although I must.
As I posted yesterday, Mike underwent a biopsy, and the doctor says there is an 85% chance it is cancer, I am saying it is a 15% chance it is not.
HERE is the link to Mike's post about the subject.

Blogging will be light as I am taking this opportunity to make a quick trip to visit my family in New Zealand. I leave on Saturday and will return on Christmas day.
Please continue to keep Mike in your prayers.

We need your prayers

Today at 2pm Mike undergoes a biopsy. Please hold him in your thoughts and prayers.
If all goes well, I could be on my way to New Zealand as early as Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I AM SO THANKFUL FOR MANY THINGS.

For my freedom bought with sacrifice by others.
For the man who loves me, and is my best friend.
For all the love and laughter in my life.
For my family.
For good friends
For a job I actually like.
For the sunshine today, after days of fog.
For the beauty on this earth.
Looking out the window, I can see two rabbits, snuggled up against each other at the base of a tree, trying to keep warm. I am thankful for all the wonderful creatures we have on this earth.
For all my blogger friends.
For all the other things too numerous to mention.


Happy Thanksgiving to all and blessings on your day.

I have always had trouble making a pie crust which is tender and flaky. Yesterday I remembered something I had read about using water and vodka, so decided to give it a try. I made a pumpkin pie this afternoon, and I am raving about the crust, as it is everything a crust should be.

The best ever pie crust (with vodka!?)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 1/2 sticks) chilled
1/2 cup chilled vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup vodka, chilled
1/4 cup water chilled

Directions
1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds. (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour) Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around bowl. Add remaining cup of flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4-6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into large bowl.

2. Mix vodka and water together and sprinkle over mixture. With a rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until it is slightly tacky and starts to come together. Divide the dough into two even sized balls and flatten each into about a 4-inch disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes, or up to 2 days.

Update on Mike's condition

Mike is still not out of the woods yet. He went to see the specialist yesterday and has to go back next week for a biopsy to see how far gone is his cancer, then the following week we have to go back for test results. So I cannot rebook my ticket for New Zealand yet, and as it is so close to Christmas, I may possibly not be able to make it until early January.

Udate

Mike has been home two full days and is doing OK so far. We have an appointment with his doctor today to discuss some test results.

Good news, no news

Late yesterday I received a phone call from Mike in Harborview hospital saying they are sending him home can I come and get him. I called a couple of friends, and one of them said yes of course I will drive you to the hospital.
We arrived back home around 8:45pm last night and tucked Mike into bed for a good night's rest.

As for the 'no news' the hospital techs had drawn enough blood from Mike to do all the necessary tests, and as he was stable and able to keep his temperature under control with medication, they said he could come home. Harborview is a very busy hospital and of course they needed the bed and sending him home leaves a bed for another patient.

Our next move is to make an appointment for Mike to see his own doctor this week who will have test results, and we can proceed from there. We do know of one problem which will have to be addressed, but before that happens, the cause of the temperature has to be determined.

Mike and I sincerely thank you, our friends and family, for all the prayers and good wishes you have been sending our way, I can't begin to tell you how much it has meant to us to have your support.

Mike is now in Harborview

I had a very restless night tossing and turning wondering how things were going for Mike. And stewing over the fact that it is not easy to get to the hospital, that is for me anyway. I do not know my way around Seattle, and I am very, very, nervous about driving the freeway. I have also been advised I should not be by myself in the neighborhood of the hospital as there are some very rough characters around. I looked into maybe taking a bus, oh sure, just five bus rides to get there, scratch that idea. Then I thought perhaps there is someone here on the island who works a day shift at Harborview I could catch a ride with, spend the day with Mike and return in the evening or whenever the persons shift was over . I know something will work out, and Mike is in good hands but I really hate not being there with him, "Patience, Jennifer, patience," I am telling myself.

Here is a short email message I found this morning from my honey:

"Big adventure, some highs and some lows. Over the worst I think. Sat in ER for almost 6 hrs before getting to a full sized bed. Just had a sandwich, so I'm not starving. No problem getting Ibuprofen so far, so I feel pretty good. I'll try to call later as it's 1:30am. now. Will try to get some sleep. "

Update on Mike

I love that I can post on blogger and it goes directly to face book. This saves me countless phone calls to our friends and family.
Mike is in an ambulance at this time, 6 :06pm, being transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where they can do more tests than can be done here on the island. I sincerely hope something shows up very soon.

Frustration

Yesterday's MRI shows NOTHING, now the Doctors are talking about transfering Mike to The University of Washington Hospital. Of course besides the worry of not knowing what is wrong, Mike is fretting about his business, if he can't keep on top of things then there is no money coming in to cover bills, and of course that is a real concern. We don't even want to think of the many thousands of dollars it has cost so far, and all that will be in the future.
Well we will just deal with whatever comes up hour by hour and day by day. All I want is for him to get well and come home.
I will keep updates coming as I know more. Please continue to keep Mike in your prayers.

Quick update

Mike went another full body MRI yesterday afternoon and sometime this morning his doctor along with head of radiology and a specialist will be reading the scans. I hope to have good news later on when I get to the hospital.

No definite news yet

We have a great team in this hospital doing all they can to determine what ails Mike. As of today, he in not being given any IV fluids antibiotics and nor pain meds. The doctors are waiting to see what shows up in his body, then they can form opinions as to what could be a potential problem. I have just finished a conversation with his doctor, who pointed out that perhaps there could be something stemming from the surgery and subsequent internal bleeding from last year. This afternoon he is going to have another scan so we will wait and see what that shows, if anything. If nothing is determined at this hospital, it is possible Mike will be transferred to The University of Washing hospital. I sure hope that does not happen as I fear driving through seattle traffic to get there.
Time will tell.

Update on Mr C

Mike remains in the hospital, still no diagnosis on what is causing his illness. I have cancelled my trip to New Zealand. That is all for now, I am too tired to think.