Mirrordrum listens slowly but exceeding fine in 2014

the brilliant Saul Leiter--one of my favorite photographers.

briefly, good friends, i have large B-cell lymphoma.have had all the work-up madness and 1st round of chemo, 2nd next week. two tx a day apart w/ diff sets of drugs then 21 days of grace. will finish 6 rounds (the max they can give) mid June. :)

since biologic i was taking for RA, SLE, etc. etc. can be causal and is certainly exacerbating, i'm off that so autoimmune things ramping up. one side effect of R-CHOP (chemo protocol) is also severe dryness and visual problems, e.g. blurriness. of course anything i don't want to see or look at or do involving vision, i can just blame on chemo. *chuckle* also using eyes hurts more than heretofore. here i place back of hand to forehead, look limp and sigh deeply yet bravely. *snort*

my reading is a thing of naught thus far. can't concentrate so mostly rereading stuff.

more important things: daffodils. never so many or so glorious. our yellow-rumped warblers are donning spring gear. their heads look like they've been sprayed with tiny little styling mousses and then woollered to within an inch of their lives. headsawreck, rumpsawonder. chickadees and titmice are taking casey fur by the fluffy beakload

glorious spring. a threat to life focuses the mind wonderfully and i'm taking an almost indecent joy in the quotidian, which, imo, gets a bad rap.

wanted finally to do this so i'll feel free to post whenever i can about books, cats, birds, anything i want.

i would ask that visitors not feel compelled to make soothing noises. what can be said? if you post, i know you give a damn. i've missed you all awfully. i'll back as and when i can. must certainly drop by Joe's for some '55 sierra nevada h2o and by RD's to give a smooch. watcher folks, watcher.

whew! i'm knackered and soooo happy to be back.

Ellie!!!!

Was so hoping your absence would be curtailed. Not curtailed in quite the manner and with quite the information any of us would have wished for. Note your plea for no soothing messages but cannot at the very least avoid to wish you godspeed back to full fitness and express my otherwise joy that your are back amongst us again. xxx

Damn it! That's not too soothing, is it? I hate that you are having the RA crap as well as the other crap. I'm working on some different biologics for my RA, and the issue of the side effects of course comes up.

I am grateful you can listen to books when visually reading them is not a good choice! We will be happy to read what ever you have to share with us. You are in my heart, darling

Welcome back! Nothing soothing here, just good ol' glad you're back.

Well, crap! I'm sorry, Ellie. I was wondering where you were and missing your lively presence on the threads. Your posts always make me smile and often have me laughing out loud. So thrilled to see you back with us, and so impressed by your attitude - but not surprised by it, as it speaks to who you are. Let's just say that I give a damn, and leave it at that.

I love watching the birds as Spring arrives, too. We have a lovely mockingbird that visits us every day and sits on the deck railing to regale us with song. I had not seen one before we moved to Georgia, but it was the very first bird that I saw at this house, and it seemed like a sign as To Kill a Mockingbird is a favorite of mine. It reminds me daily of Atticus and Scout and of the lessons that book holds. Taking the time to speak what matters to us. Remembering that kindness costs us nothing. And that it's the little things in life that make the biggest difference. Hoping that your day is filled with lots of little delights.

Yuck. Fuck lymphoma. Hard, no grease.

See ya on the flipside of chemo. *smooch*

So good to see you back, Ellie! In a non-soothing way I will say that I'm anti- all the crap you're having to experience, but admiring of your usual aplomb in dealing with it. I agree that the quotidian gets a bad rap, and will use your example as an inspiration to try to be more appreciative of it.

Glad you approved of the Sierra Nevada H20 we found for you at the cafe. We're stocking up so we'll have it on hand whenever you're able to stop by.

headsawreck, rumpsawonder Love it! I think you should be put in global charge of bird names.

So you're the one who's got the chickadees!!! Don't you know they're the Mass. state bird? Send 'em on up!

Actually, no self respecting bird would touch this place with its foot of snow STILL on the ground and more to come this week they say. Don't you wish you were here?

So glad that you've got the birds, the daffodils and the burgeoning spring to appreciate Ellie, great appreciate-er that you are. Hopefully breathing in the soft spring air will enliven your spirit and spirits.

We're all glad to have you back in the mix. Post whatever you can whenever you can. It's great hearing from you!!

Anne

>7 richardderus: Richard's sentiments entirely (but perhaps a little more politely, I am english, after all!).

Have a good weekend Ellie and I am happy at the very least that you are back here amongst your friends and devotees.

Ellie's back! So good to see you here. Your description of the birds you've been watching is just lovely.

Nothing soothing. Just a little Spring greeting from my garden, or the Daffodil Zone as I call it now. Happy weekend!

It's good to hear from you, even if the news itself is not so good to hear. The daffodils sound thrilling. I'm glad spring has made its appearance so buoyantly for you.

thanks to everybody who's dropped by. posting's turning out more difficult than i thought so can't respond individually but surely is good to see everyone. :-)

i'm off for the next trip down the rabbit hole--whoopeeeeee. and it's 23 degrees, forsooth! gnah!

finally finished a book: Howards end. i thought i'd read it before, but not. beautifully done by Edward Petherbridge. also, a Cheever SS, The sorrows of gin streepily performed by Meryl.

on a bright and cheerful note, a dear friend visited Jean Wells' ceramic sculpture showing at the Oceanside Museum of Art (Oceanside, CA) and i'm full of envy. she said it was marvelous.







have a good one folks. see you in a couple of weeks, if not sooner . . . at least i hope so. :-)

Morning Ellie- Good to see you, my friend. I hope you can check in when you can.

Thanks for posting those, Ellie. They are remarkable!

Jean Well's works remind me a bit of "Jeff Koons meets Damien Hirst"....

>17 PersephonesLibrary: Kathy, i didn't even know who Damien Hirst is.

can't believe i've had a visual and manual window of opportunity to play here today. warm weather is a balm.

outside, scents of cattle dung (perfume to me), newly mown grass, Jimbo's oak wood fire across the street as he cleans up debris from some tree work on my fave old oak and warming earth under cooling night. color me happy.

hiya Marky and Karen. :-)

readingwise-speaking, weird times make for strange literary bedfellows. have been nibbling away haphazardly at Complete Works of Tacitus, narrated by a rather pompous Brit, Listening woman by Hillerman narrated by Guidall, Ready Player One, Black Orchids, The light years, and The disappearing spoon. mostly rereads with two new ones and the Hillerman not visited for many years. not very good concentration and a very short attn span. who cares? i love rereading. allers have.

hope to make it back again tomorrow maybe. seems like a miracle to be her at all as i've not been able to be on the computer at all for 5 days. hotcha!

>eta i blame Amber completely for my dip into Tacitus.

I am delighted to see you able and well to be here. We love reading of you when you can share, and we think of you when the thread goes quiet.

That Amber has a lot to answer for, doesn't she. Satanically Book Warbling for Tacitus! Imagine. The noive.

>18 mirrordrum: Blame away - I can take it! Also, I can't think of a better narrator for him than a pompous Brit. *snork!* Love it. The stories are so very juicy, though. Pure entertainment.

>20 richardderus: *blows a raspberry in Richard's general direction*

Edward Petherbridge! He made for a wonderful Lord Peter Wimsey in the BBC series of the Harriet Vane novels. If you haven't seen those and can get your hands on them, Ellie, I heartily recommend them.

I got a kick out of Ready Player One and The Light Years. The latter seems very much your cuppa, and the former may be, too.

RD's got me reading Just One Damned Thing After Another, an irresistible time travel story featuring historians who go back to learn the truth of various critical moments.

>If you haven't seen those and can get your hands on them, Ellie, I heartily recommend them.

*snort* read the books, watched the entire original broadcasts of all LPWs back when i lived in Bezerkeley like 40 years ago, taped them on reruns, wore out the tapes, bought the DVDs, just finished watched them again a few months ago.

RPO and TLY are re-reads (my brain is a thing of naught). have added JODTAA to cart at aubidble (see? naught.). smoochings to you and RD. sounds just the ticket.

Bletchley Park Season 2 is back. oh joy.

but now on to other matters. having a bit of a day yesterday, as we all do from time to time. trying to decide whether feeling sorry for myself would help. decided it wouldn't. still felt decidedly mumchance.

then, what lo! a package arrived from amazon.co. heavy, head-scratchingly so. what had i ordered? my interest was piqued, i ripped open the box and there was a book with a most incredible cover: Logic. i expect i studied just the cover with the leaves morphing to birds and the wonder full design for at least half an hour.

it could not have come at a better time. back down the rabbit hole i go again tomorrow and this felt a bit like a lifeline to remind me of this world, this group of friends, this have.

i suspect i know who sent it. could it be my Nao of Brown benefactor? hmmmm? if not, to whomever i owe this bolt of joy from the blue, my humble and happy thanks. i do miss you all so much and have so much to say and no wherewithal to say it. and i had never heard of Logic. i'm not even lurking. a sorry state.

currently re-reading the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society and enjoying it for the twiceth time.

am also trying the very dystopic Wool but the narrator is too bad so i'll be trading it in for something else. probably JODTAA. YAY!

a wave to everybody up above with extra flapping for Amber's raspberry to RD. *chortle*

probably be about 21 days from now unless some lovely, unforeseen thing happens.

So delighted to hear from you Ellie. What a beautiful surprise.... a book! Is there a better gift in the world?

Your current re-reading of The Guernsey Literary, etc. dovetails with my reading. I think I got this rec. from Joe's Cafe as being the best book you've never heard about: The Book of Ebenezer Le Page. Told in the first person, it's the story of Ebenezer who spends the whole of his eighty some years on Guernsey (1890-1970) and is just inexplicably delightful reading. The only book ever written by G.B. Edwards, it was championed by the author John Fowles who got it published after the author's death.

Naturally, I had to check if this was on audio. Yes it is! And read by the fantastic English actor Roy Dotrice. But wait! It turns out that 90-year old Roy was actually born on Guernsey and left when he was a young man! Could there be a better match in all of book-dom?

So if you want to trade Wool in for something else ...

You guessed it, Ellie. It's from your Nao of Brown benefactor. Hope you have a good time with it! Local is one of the best gns ever, IMO, and a fave of Mark's and mine.

*smoochings* for dearest Ellie and hopes for a lovely unforeseen event to enable you to come back and visit comfortably.

Ditto, Ellie. Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

Ellie, hope you are well and kicking it as you wish!

Ellie- Good to see you checking in. Hope you are enjoying Ready Player One. I also had a great time with that one.

Happy May Day, Ellie!

Hopefully you are getting on top of everything, dear Ellie.

Wishing you a lovely Sunday and Happy Mother's Day from your own Peacock.

Thinking of you, Ellie. Hope all is going well.

Best wishes Ellie and happy spring! We have the same colors as Joe's photo but minus the lake (river?) and bridge. Gorgeous and the birds are back!

HAPPY THINGAVERSARY, ELLIE!!

xoxoxo

I'll add my congratulations to Richard's, Ellie. Happy Thingaversary!

Peony shot taken at local arboretum 3 years ago during about a 3 minute window when the sun back-lit it. HAPPY SPRING!

Oh, Ellie! What a wonderful capture of the sun on that beautiful bloom! Congratulations.

i had no idea it was my thingaversary. how does one know these things? oh, well, anyway, hello all you wonderful everybodies and happy thingaversary to me.

2/3 through chemo. next to last double tx days this week. then if they think they got enough to warrant it, i start radiation. that would be a good thing as it would mean they have hope for a cure. i'd like that. :-)

we've had an incredible spring and i hope everyone else has one as beautiful. JB has done wonders with the front yard. simply breathtaking.

birds and squirrels all over the back yard, our early raccoon comes for tea. the trees loved the cold winter and are going beeeeezerk.

reading my first Iain Banks, The player of games. half way through and liking it.

also another Miss Read, At home in Thrush Green. sometimes the brain needs cozy pabulum.

trying to decide on one other book for variety but haven't gotten very far. goodness knows there ought to be something in the vastness of my TBR space.

gotta go. much love and gratitude to Joe and Karen and my Peacock and to Anne and Marky and RD. love the pics and it's nice to come on and find greetings. they brighten the days.

ellie

Wonderful photo of the peony, Ellie. Spring is in the air, and I'm glad it's been an incredible one in your parts.

Fingers crossed for the rest of chemo and the radiation hopefully to follow.

Kudos to JB for wonderizing the front yard, and lucky you to have a tea-savvy early raccoon.

I liked my two Iain Banks all right, The Crow Road and Use of Weapons, but didn't get hooked.

At Home in Thrush Green looks like one I might like - I've been enjoying D.E. Stevenson lately, and it sounds like there are some similarities.

Hope you and JB are having a great weekend. Much love back atcha.

Your date of starting with LT is on your Profile page, scroll down a ways. Good luck with the rest of the medical incantations and rituals! I am holding you in a vision of complete recovery!

Hello Ellie and happy June!

I'm glad to see that you've chosen the dulcet tones of Gwen Watford, certainly a soothing voice to guide you through your medical rigors. I've read all she's narrated thanks to you, one of the many reading gifts you've given me.

Best wishes to you and JB.

What wonderful news, Ellie! Congrats on getting through the chemo.

Thinking of you and smiling in Chicago.

Chiming in to say Thinking of you and smiling in Wisconsin! :)

I heard the great news, Ellie! I am very happy for you! Big, hearty HUG!!

May I Be Worthy

May I be worthy of this meal, I whispered.
The afternoon light was coming through the window.
The universe did a little waltz.
ONE two three. ONE two three.
I let go.

Bobby Byrd, "Kensho Down on Texas Avenue, El Paso, Texas"

http://www.tricycle.com/blog/kensho-down-texas-avenue-el-paso-texas

i liked this 'n' it's better than nowt.

*smooches to all*

oh, another procedure (colonoscopy) approacheth in mid-December that will be a bit taxing and will add more delay but is necessary.

we have 4 baby squirrels--a late batch--enlivening the back environs. :-)

yesterday, splintery cold light through golden chestnut leaves, bright, blowing paths of light on the long-shadowed leaf-gold yard. my season.

ah, gotta go. nerts!

nice to visit. feels like coming home. :-)

Nice poem, Ellie. Thanks for the lead/link to it.

Most excellent to see you on LT! Good luck with the colonoscopy. I've had that done - our doctor places so much importance on them that she actually acted out a humorous commercial about it she had seen to help persuade me to get it done (three times so far - at least they space them out by a lot of years). One probably saved my sister's life, as they were able to quickly remove an unwelcome presence.

We have lots of squirrels busily scampering around and up and down the trees in our urban area. I sometimes think how odd it is that we take their presence so much for granted. I'm sure you're enjoying watching those baby squirrels learn the ropes. Love that autumn imagery, too.

Home it is. Looking forward to your next visit.

I, too, am delighted to see you presence here! And I was eating a meal in the late afternoon, dark is falling, when I read the poem. Quite a coincidence, eh? I hope you are doing all around well enough and that reading continues to inform and entertain.

Chiming in to agree that it is wonderful to have you popping in, Ellie! Thinking of you...

Ellie, miss you terribly in the group so your recent visitation is reason enough to give my blessings this Thanksgiving.

I hope you are well my dear. xx

So glad to hear from you Ellie. My sister was definitely saved by a colonoscopy and I'm forever grateful. Just finished my second knee replacement and am currently deep into physical therapy.

We have a black squirrel in our yard, glossy like a mink. Plus snow.

Lovely poem, thanks.

Terry Pratchett @terryandrob · 9h 9 hours ago

"Terry took Death’s arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night."

Hope he's having a good time wherever he is, Ellie. And I hope we have an Alzheimer's medical breakthrough asap.

Did you see the well done Guardian "obituary"? http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/12/terry-pratchett