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Resilience

One of the things that gives us cause to marvel at Sherryl is her resilience.  The disappointing news about her tumor marker upset the day on Friday.  But she was back in the swing of things on Saturday and Sunday busying herself with errands and chores as usual. 

Sherryl is heading to Day Care this week and will have a PET scan on Thursday as scheduled.  Then she's looking forward to a traditional family gathering in celebration of the 4th of July, when we'll also celebrate Auntie Joanie's birthday. 

Go RaRa!

Tumor Marker: 155

Sherryl saw Nancy today as scheduled.  The tumor marker is up to 155, compared to 101 mid-May.  A PET scan has been ordered for next Thursday and the results are projected to be available the following week.  Since Sherryl is right now at the beginning of the three week oral chemotherapy cycle, she's been asked to stop taking it until results of new tests are known to her healthcare team. 

Except for some pain from time to time in her knees, Sherryl has been feeling pretty good.  This news comes as a huge disappointment.   

Please continue to send to Sherryl love, hope, and prayers.  Thank you all so much.  

Poofy Hair and Buffalo Cake

That zany gene pool has a not so funny way of merging features and talents when it creates babies.  Of all the possible combinations from the Bruce Scott Hanna + Anna Mae Savage gene pool, Sherryl and Nadine definitely got great hair.  There is a difference between the two: Sherryl has lots of waves; Nadine has no waves at all. 

 

We all hit the jackpot when it came to cowlicks, much like the one our old friend Alfalfa had (pictured at right).  We each have at least one.  With the help of products ranging from Dippity-do to mousse to schlack hairspray, we’ve successfully managed to tame our manes.  But we digress; the topic is “poofy hair.”

For those of you who have known The Sisters Three since the 1980s, Arleen and Nadine were all about poofy hair back then – the bigger the better.  While we would each spend a significant amount of time nearly every morning styling our hair, Sherryl would shampoo her locks, drag a comb through it, and never think about it again for the rest of the day. 

Today, Nadine sports a contemporary “do" that is stylish and smart.  Arleen hasn’t completely given up big hair (or shoulder pads for that matter; deduce more gene pool results here), and still needs to accommodate her hair styling standards with a block of time each morning and a specific amount of square footage in her luggage whenever she travels.

So, here we are post-chemo and Sherryl’s hair is growing back.  Hurray!  But there's a down side, which surfaces the irony in this story.  At the crown of her head is a healthy little tuft that is causing her hair to be “poofy" in the back.  And it's driving her crazy.  She spends both products and time trying to get the sprig to stay flat, and, for the first time in her life, she’s thinking about her hair during the day.  In time, longer hair will camouflage the sprig and all the world will be good again.  Patience. 

 

Next topic: buffalo cake.  Before anyone starts to think this is a variation of cow paddies, here's the explanation.  When a Day Care child is about to turn 3 years old, RaRa always asks the child what kind of cake they want at their Day Care birthday party.  Responses in 20+ years have included a racetrack, an elephant, Barbie, a jelly bean machine, a dump truck, a fire truck, Buzz Lightyear, a dinosaur, and on and on.

 

Kyle is turning 3 next week, so Sherryl asked him a couple of weeks ago what kind of cake he wants for his birthday party.  His answer: a buffalo.  A buffalo?  This is a first.  And since the moment Kyle answered her question, RaRa has been scouring her imagination, store shelves, and online images to find the perfect shape that will render flour, sugar, eggs, and water into this child's request. 

 

Sherryl has an appointment with Nancy on Friday.  She's scheduled to hear the latest tumor marker and we are optimistic the news will be good.  Until then, as she searches for the perfect buffalo shape for Kyle's birthday cake, she's also making sure her poofy hair is flat.

Another Favorite Song

Sherryl had a good weekend, and her energy and spirits are high.  As soon as errands were completed and chores such as laundry were underway, creative juices flowed once again from RaRa.  She's making a few things at home these days with specific recipients in mind. 

A song came on the radio Sunday that she told us she loves.  She wasn't sure of the name of the song, but whenever she is driving in her car and the song plays on the radio, she turns the volume up really, really high. 

The song is "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, and it's a beautiful song.  Let's just make sure RaRa doesn't start "cruising 4th" again, k?     

Summer Has Arrived!

On this first day of Summer 2008, we're in the middle of a heat wave in Northern California with Marin County's temperatures hovering in the high 80s and 90s.  But Sherryl, who is a winter baby, loves the warm weather!  At Richard's suggestion yesterday, she took her laptop and a beverage outside to soak in the radiance of the sun, and she loved every moment of it.

This weekend, after finishing routine errands, Sherryl is busying herself with fun projects of all types.  This is a signal that life's on the glidepath with the new normal. 

Whenever Sherryl is not with children, crafting has always been one of Sherryl's favorite pastimes.  She especially loves creations that involve lots of paint, a fair amount of paper, scissors, and a dab or two of glue.  She has led the day care children in making many a gift for their parents -- for Mother's Day, for Father's Day, and for the holiday seasons.  And she has created for her own family handmade gifts that are unique treasures.

Some ideas come from her own imagination and some are inspirations from others sources.  For the latter, Sherryl is always thinking of potential crafts when out and about, and she subscribes to any number of magazines and e-newsletters.  For example, a favorite place to shop these days is the Dollar Tree and she just last week subscribed to Martha Stewart's "Craft of the Day" email.  (Credit: Image above from Martha Stewart's website.) 

While each of us (Arleen, Sherryl, and Nadine) has inherited talents from our parents, Sherryl has our mom's innate ability to create magic from almost nothing.  We can't wait to see what she makes next!

Aside from enjoying the warm weather, Sherryl is doing well.  Her physical therapist told her she is definitely getting stronger and that her back is not nearly as frail as it was a few months ago.  And, during a casual conversation yesterday, Nancy told her to continue doing what she's doing as Advil seems to be doing the trick for knee pain.

So, life is good at RaRa's MySpace these days, which pleases us all tremendously.  Happy Summer everyone!   

Slumber Party at RaRa's !

Austin and Haley spent the night at RaRa's house on Thursday night.  This is not the first time they've spent the night with RaRa, but it is the first time they both spent the night at RaRa's ... without their parents.  Woo hoo!

Fun activities included making and drinking together hot chocolate, watching a playful movie, and painting wooden frames.  The highlight for Austin and Haley though was taking a "shower in the backyard."  At the end of a very warm Thursday, buckets of water, washcloths, and some great smelling soap kicked off summer a few days early and translated bath time into a combination of sprinkler water and bubbles. 

Austin, Haley, and their parents head to Spain tonight for a two week vacation with Rachael's family.  Summer hasn't yet officially begun, but RaRa is at her best once again creating magical and indelible memories for the children in her life.

Credit: Image from Google Images.

Appointment with Nancy

Sherryl met with Nancy today and, along with other topics, they discussed the pain in Sherryl's knees.  After exploring possible reasons for the pain, Nancy did not deem it necessary to order any tests.  Instead, Sherryl will take Advil every day, follow up with Nancy on Thursday, and return to see Nancy in 10 days.  Sherryl will stop sitting on her knees, her very favorite seated position at day care as she likes to sit on the floor with the children.

Sherryl planted forget-me-nots in her backyard at home this past weekend.  These are among her favorite flowers, so hopefully the little seedlings will sprout and tiny blossoms will be waving their little petals "Hello!" to her.

Sherryl has felt tired this week, but she, Nadine, and Susan enjoyed a trip to the park today with the day care kids.  The weather has been stunning in the Bay Area for the past few days, and RaRa is enjoying every moment of it.

A Milestone, with Very Special Honors

Sherryl's niece Annie graduated from the 8th grade on Friday night so we all gathered at St. Isabella Church to witness this milestone.  Dressed in a blue graduation gown, Annie Scott Hanna's stunning smile and sweet demeanor made her a standout as she walked up the aisle, and that smile never left her face throughout the ceremony. 

Annie received an award for having achieved "honor roll" status for a minimum number of terms since the 5th grade; several of her classmates received the same award.  She also received a very prestigious award given to only one student in the class, the Sister Jeanne Marie Bendik Service Award.  This award encompasses several criteria and was named for St. Isabella School's first principal.  None of the students or parents know who will receive this award until it is announced during the graduation ceremony.  When the presenter announced Annie Hanna was this year's recipient, tears of pride accompanied our yelps and applause.  Our Auntie Joanie was thrilled to witness this event, too, as she served as St. Isabella School's principal for several years in the 1970s and had presented this award to deserving graduates during those years.

Sherryl had a great time at the ceremony and at the dinner that followed.  Her spirits are high, but she is experiencing pain in both knees.  Sherryl will meet with Nancy this Tuesday and will be sure to tell her about the pain in both knees.  In the meantime, Sherryl continues to busy herself at home and at day care.  And she's really, really enjoying the warm weather.

As is tradition with each graduating class, St. Isabella's Class of 2008 selected and sang at the end of the ceremony a special song reflecting the sentiment they felt during their final moments together as a group.  You'll recognize the song, so, just as we did in the church Friday night, feel free to clap and sing along.

Congratulations, Annie.  We are all so very proud of you!

A Productive Weekend

Sherryl is having a very productive weekend getting much done at home.  Besides routine chores like laundry, she and Richard are getting ready to finish a flooring project.  Purging drawers and shelves of unneeded stuff is a priority in the project room; RaRa has always been good at clearing and re-organizing spaces, big or small!  Overall, she's feeling well and is heading into her week off of oral chemotherapy. 

Here's some fun with Flickr.  Answer a set of 12 questions and create a photo mosaic.  Here's how it works:  (a) Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search. (b) Using only the first page, pick an image. (c) Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker. 

Here are the questions and Sherryl's probable answers:

1. What is your first name?  Sherryl
2. What is your favorite food?  Peach Ice Cream
3. What high school did you go to?  Drake
4. What is your favorite color?  Red, in small amounts
5. Who is your celebrity crush?  Rod Stewart
6. Favorite drink?  Mocha
7. Dream vacation?  Camping
8. Favorite dessert?  Chocolate
9. What you want to be when you grow up?  An art teacher
10. What do you love most in life?  Family and kids
11. One Word to describe you.  Fair
12. Your flickr name.  RaRa

The way Sherryl would answer these questions created the following mosaic.  (Square #8 is blank due to Flickr technical difficulties.  So imagine a sumptuous chocolate dessert there!)