Reply #57: oh, blueberries! [View All]

[Flaxbee]

I spent a summer in Rhode Island and the blueberries were just heavenly. I put them in almost everything I could think of, and then I'd just get lazy and plop a boxful into some cereal and keep eating them. Sigh. Good stuff.

Sister's OK, had chemo before surgery, now going through her 3rd week (of 7 weeks) of radiation. Her husband is back home (he was in the Antarctic when she had her surgery - they're scientists who have to fulfill their contracts in order to get paid, so she told him to go ahead and go b/c I and another sister would be there for her) so she's got some good support. She's strong and positive, but resigned to the fact that she'll probably be dealing with this for the rest of her life - her doctors have told her that for her, cancer will probably just be chronic from now on. Periods when she's healthy, and periods when she's fighting it. So, just something I don't think about too deeply, you know? Otherwise it could be a real bummer.

Anyway - thank you for asking. Didn't mean to write a treatise on it!

Third trip to Russia; St. Petersburg is a spectacular city, and much, much easier to travel to/within than it was when I first went there 8 years ago. Lots of renovation, much more westernized - not that that's necessarily a good thing, but it does make getting around a bit easier.