CHEMO UPDATE AT THE END OF THE POST. The glorious distractions provided by memories, photos, and my flat screen TV. Thank you, St. Andrews Links and The Open. Thank you, gentlemen and ladies. Thank you, Trafalgar, for including this stop on the England Scotland Heritage Tour.

This view of St. Andrews, Scotland, taken last October 11 from the tour bus is not available on my gigantic flat screen TV at this time. A huge grandstand, in place for the British Open, obliterates it, not that the cameras have been behind it--no, they've been shooting towards the grandstand at the 18th hole, also very near the 1st tee. I'm so happy for the golf enthusiasts seated there. I wonder if they have tickets for Thursday through Sunday? I've got a seat for all four days right here in my studio apartment. I'm thankful for broadcast sports! I'm thankful that when I woke up Thursday morning at 1 a.m., I found ESPN's coverage in all it's multi-cameraed glory, filled with shots of the rolling course and the surrounding city streets, the Clubhouse; wind-blown golfers, so slim that the way their pants and shirts blow in the wind makes me feel it along with them--there's no extra cloth in their garments because no one dresses baggy for the golf course, yet their pants and shirts are flapping like crazy as I type here in Portland, before 10 a.m. our time. And the wind is messing with their putts and their drives. They could do without the distraction of the wind.



The clubhouse of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. I wish that I'd had time to see if it was open to visitors, but I didn't because of a lovely distraction I experienced--serendipity at its pinnacle, especially for a sports' lover like me.



These two men joined me at the 18th hole, riding along to the exact spot where they needed to complete some work. Sean on the Toro Workman, Kenny on the John Deere Pro Gator. A couple of congenial fellows who explained to me that they were there to "change the hole." They agreed that it was OK for me to take lots of photos. Looking at my photos right now, remembering how nice these two guys were, how excited I felt to even be at St. Andrews, much less be allowed to walk onto the course because we just happened to be there on a Sunday--gosh. Right now, remembering standing at St. Andrews' 18th hole while watching my gigantic flat screen TV and enjoying these scenes and this golf--while thoughts of chemotherapy and its side effects flap about in my brain--well, I think distraction works rather well.



Forgive me, but I don't know exact terminology here, so I'm winging it, trying to be descriptive. They've already pulled out green lid and the support from the current hole. Kenny's cleaning up the edges of the current hole so that it will be easier to plug.




Sean's cutting the new hole, cranking the tool into the ground with practiced precision.



It's a beaut, that new 18th hole at St. Andrews Links!



Kenny's putting the white cylinder inside the new hole.



Good ol' muscle power comes into play here, too.



Close inspection is required.



And more, with the trusty pocketknife in hand.



Kenny's not satisfied with something about the new hole, so he's pulling out the white plastic cylinder. Sean's answering a question about the course from someone standing nearby.



The tool goes back into the new hole, for fine-tuning purposes, no doubt.



The process of inserting the white plastic cylinder is repeated. It's twisted in by Kenny, using an metal handle that gripped the green top and allowed him to get some torque into making the cylinder go into the ground.



Success! Replacing the 18th hole flag!



Now, the cylinder of earth inside the tool needs to go into the old hole successfully.



Success is close, but not yet complete.



Kenny's at work with his pocketknife again, pulling the plug out.



He readies the old hole some more--it has to fight properly and tightly.



There it goes, guided by Kenny.



Now, pounded into the hole.



Kenny kept on hitting the plug until he got it where he wanted it.



Barely visible, right? Well, not for Kenny and Sean, they've got more to do to get it right.



Kenny worked with his pocketknife around the edges of the circle.



Kenny pulled this broom out of his vehicle and went to work sweeping the loose dirt so that it disappeared into the grass.



Almost done now.


Complete?



Nope. Kenny grabbed a handful of soil from a vehicle and tossed it onto the ground.



Then he used his shoe to smear it into the grass atop the now plugged old hole. He's finally satisfied with this hole changing.



A close-up of the new 18th green hole. Neat!



Here they are! Sean on the left, Kenny on the right, the 18th green hole in the middle.



If we didn't know that the brown to the left of the flag was freshly applied dirt to help the old hole blend in, we'd never guess what had just happened, would we?



To finish up the post, here's the view of the grounds to the left of the flag. On television, lots of folks are standing on the other side of that fence you can see at the left side of the photo--the cars are not parked there, at least I didn't notice any while I watched today. I saw other folks walking along behind the crowd. I cannot imagine being able to just look through the edge of the crowd as I walked by and possibly spy someone finishing the course for that round. Wow!

There’s a great short video at this link, as well as some interesting facts about The Old Course at St. Andrews.
 
CHEMO UPDATE:

I saw the chemo people Thursday afternoon. Dr. Da Graca said that we're working toward curing me. That's a goal worthy of my best work.

The start date for it is tentatively July 29. I see the radiation people next Tuesday. I won't know for sure about the chemo start date until the radiation people put their two cents into the plan on July 21 when I see Dr. Johnson.

I do know that I will have to have a total of six chemo treatments (which they call rounds), spread out over 18 weeks--the first round you're to be prepared to be there for six hours, the others you'll be there for five hours--it's OK to bring food in a cooler so I won't be subjected to cafeteria food, hooray! Since I needed a concrete image of this for my sort of brain, I got this example out of Dr. Da Graca: if I had started chemo on July 16, the next one would be on August 6, then the next one after that on August 27, and so on until I had finished all six rounds. I will be closely monitored for side effects that might impact the schedule. It will take four and a half months to complete the six rounds.

Not that I'm worried about it, but I have absolutely no real idea how this is going to impact my being able to go back to work. I need to go back to work when I feel like it because I do a good job of my work, and I enjoy the people at work. However, I realize that I must listen to my body and how it reacts to all of this chemical invasion. I promise you that I will not allow myself to do anything stupid which would imperil my recovery.

Of course, I may be going through radiation at the same time or sandwiched in between chemotherapy, with radiation as the sandwich filling and three rounds of chemo as the the two slices of bread on each side of it. I have no idea the number of treatments or how often, so there's no way to know how thick that sandwich filling is, time-wise. Another option: I may finish all of the chemo and then have the radiation, or vice versa. Like I said, I go see those people next Tuesday, July 21.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love and concern.

The Christmas decorations at my work cube, a break from the ESHT 2014 posts about October 9

My Secret Santa gave me this absolutely fabulous picture frame decorated with gobs of googly eyes which are among my favorite craft supplies, ever! And I put that photo of myself in my More Cow Bell T-shirt in it, because I can!



The wide shot of the cube wall, taken prior to the arrival of the googly eye picture frame and the subsequent rearrangement of certain elements of the decorations. The sign reveals the theme I chose for my efforts, but it was the two packages of green, glittery trees which inspired it! I got them at Walgreens this year; in fact, I went back a week and a half later and bought one more package, for back up!



My handcrafted Super Chikan Christmas ornament, purchased from Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc., in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Who wouldn't want to play a guitar decorated as a watermelon? Super Chikan's blues musician and a folk artist--he makes full-sized, playable guitars out of all sorts of everyday items. They are works of art, too. He signed in on top of the guitar neck, neat-o!



The girl and boy who are on their way to Grandmother's house. He remembered his camera! They came from the Side Street Gallery, SE 28th and SE Ash, the camera from Goodwill, and the trees from Walgreens.



Grandmother lives in the two-story house at the top of the hill. The snowy village came from Goodwill. I knew it would go home with me the minutes the sales clerk plugged it in at the counter and all of those lights came on. They change from color to color--another neat-o!



More of the woods around the village where Grandmother lives. I've been collecting these trees for eight years, all found at Goodwill and Walgreens, except for the mini-pinecone ones--those table decorations were given to me after a wedding rehearsal dinner where I took photos, sweet!




The string of party lights, labeled Retro Motorhomes, came from the Side Street Gallery. Just like the snowy village, I knew they'd go home with me. After all, my parents had motorhomes from the 1970s on until Daddy died in 1999. I just might go back and get another string of them, to have at home for year-round!

ESHT 2014 - Back to the coach and out of Llangollen and Wales, towards our next destination, Chester, England

-->



Our Trafalgar coach, right where Tommy parked it in Llangollen. A few minutes after I took this photo, all 52 of us travelers, plus Tommy and Anna, tour director, were underway.



One last photo taken through the coach window of The Corn Mill, across the River Dee. It's a traditional pub restaurant.



As we rode along the A542, thankfully I took enough photos of this ruin through the coach window so that I managed to get a relatively clear one which I could straighten and share with you. Not that I could remember exactly what it was. However, using my search term skills honed by being a high school librarian back in Mississippi, I Googled ruined abbey between llangollen and wrexham--got it on the first hit! Yea, I've still got the touch.

Valle Crucis Abbey (found at the Llangollen in Denbighshire North Wales' Web site:

The evocative ruins of Valle Crucis lie in green fields beneath Llangollen's steep sided mountains. In medieval times, this was a remote spot (ideal for austere Cistercian monks, who deliberately sought out wild and lonely places).

Their Abbey, founded in the 13th century and added to a century later, has fared better than many of its contemporaries against the ravages of time, history and neglect.

Many original features remain, including the glorious west front complete with an elaborate, richly carved doorway, beautiful rose window and 14th century inscription 'Abbot Adams carried out this work; may he rest in peace. Amen.'

Other well preserved features include the east end of the Abbey (which overlooks the monks' original fishpond) and lovely Chapter House with its striking rib-vaulted roof. But Valle Crucis is not just a lesson in medieval ecclesiastical architecture.

A visit to this fascinating site evokes the lives of the Cistercian monks - successful sheep farmers and enthusiastic supporters of Welsh culture as well as devout men of religion .

Interestingly, Valle Crucis also reveals a gradual relaxation in the strict regime of the Cistercians. By the late 15th century, the abbot decided to build for himself a fine new hall with a heated private apartment.

Valle Crucis, the 'Valley of the Cross', is named after Eliseg's Pillar, a 9th century Christian memorial cross which stands nearby.

1998 marked the 900th anniversary of the founding of the Cistercian Order at Citeaux in Burgundy. The white-robed Cistercians were the most successful of all the medieval religious orders. They arrived in Britain in 1128, searching out remote places in which to practice their austere religion. At Valle Crucis and elsewhere, they left a glorious architectural legacy which serves as a remarkable insight into their way of life.

Access: B5103 from the A5, west of Llangollen, or A542 from Ruthin.

Remember that A542 and Ruthin, for later on, OK?