Applesauce

Sorry I can't post scents!

before

during, phase one

during, phase two

after, mmm

Black Friday

Funny how things work out.  I thought I would have a nice swim (I did), have a short line before having my blood after a 14-hour fast (only one person in front of me), and then meet A. and friends at the mom and pop soccer store in time to pay for his item.  Two out of three isn't good enough!

It was a twenty minute wait just to get into the store.

Finally I stood in line while A. continued to evaluate the options.
Over an hour later we were out of there!
On the plus side it was a nice social event with other parents from the team
and A. enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.

After lunch (leftovers) we headed for Oak Glen, home of the post-Thanksgiving Apple Butter Festival.

View from the backseat.

First stop was archery, hatchet throwing, and knife throwing.

They helped make apple butter and then shared a hoecake.

a beautiful chestnut tree

Can't skip the apple cider donuts!

Bye, autumn.  See you next year.

Thanksgiving

Before the day arrived people were busy in the kitchen.

Pie made by A. and friend.
not shown - mushroom pate, spinach dip, cornbread, cranberry sauce,
and mashed potatoes made by R.

The big day arrived with running of the seventh annual Turkey Trot.picture taken from Claremont Courier website

It was a typical run, but marked the first time that A. ran faster than I did.  I am very proud that he showed good sportsmanship and did not gloat.

No time to stick around and chitchat because we were having a midday meal.  Time to set the table for twelve, stuff the pumpkins, and squeeze everything in the oven.

I don't have a picture of us all gathered at the table with the windows open to let in the warm air or a picture of us going for a walk in the neighborhood after the meal (A. on skateboard).

Mmm - I did remember to take a picture of the pecan pie,
chocolate cream pie, apple pie, and ice cream.

It was a great meal and great company.  What a great holiday!  Afterward family pitched in to clean up and there was time to relax and pore over the Black Friday advertisements.  Or not.

Details

These days it is easy to tell when Thanksgiving is approaching because all the Black Friday ads are out.  Some other clues?

Barriers are ready for the Turkey Trot.

The grocery store has new stickers.

A director has been hired to control traffic in the parking lot.

This picture was taken the day before Thanksgiving,
but I would not call it a useful clue. 

Best wishes for a peaceful and healthy holiday!

Mini adventure

It is only 2.5 miles away, but we had never been to Palomares Park,

which includes Pomona Skate Park, reviewed here.

A. took his trick scooter and also had a turn on his friend's skateboard.
I know it looks empty, but there were about six other people there,
which made it empty enough to enjoy and full enough to watch other people's tricks.

I am not super excited about driving far for skate parks and worrying about the location of the nearest emergency room, but I did like being outside doing something different.

Swim for Distance

Most swim races have a set distance and the person who completes the distance fastest is considered the winner.  Sometimes my informal Friday group sets a finish time and we stagger our starts in order to finish right at the set time (slow people get a head start).  The team switched things around yesterday and set a time and we each swam as far as we could.

I found a form from 2001 (spring in Ithaca?  fall in Claremont?) and D. recorded my distance - just six seconds shy of 3600 yards.

Last year I ditched the swim and went on a short tour of California Missions.  Two years ago the event was swum long course (50m), but if I ignore the fact that it has fewer turns I would convert my 3200m swim (with 15 seconds to spare - I could watch the clock as I swam) to 3500 yards.

This year we swam 25y and I could not see the clock.  I asked a friend to ring the cowbell at 15 minute intervals, which he did.  I was too far away to hear the bell, I couldn't see the clock, and I couldn't keep count for that long.  I just swam.

I was amazed that I swam 3710 yards!  I felt like I had been picking up the pace at the end, but the times show otherwise.  I suppose it was just more effort.

So no records, no medals, just the satisfaction of a good swim.  Now to prepare for the Turkey Trot!

Gala event

 At this time of year the colleges' International Place usually holds a banquet, which I have never attended.  This year's gala event was free (tickets were required) and it sounded entertaining.

Plus it was in a beautiful setting.

The evening started with members of the Ballroom Dance Company
performing the foxtrot and cha cha,
followed Mariachi Serranno de Claremont.

Among my favorite performances were the K Pop Dance Club, Groove Nation Dance Crew, and Claremont Tamasha Bollywood dancers (hard to capture with a photograph).

I was surprised that I liked the Psyko Taiko drummers,
which included drums they had made themselves.

My favorite was a performance from a first year student who has started a circus club on campus.

I was so captivated by the performance that I forgot to take a picture,
so this is a still from a video that you can watch by clicking here.

It was an entertaining evening that I hope it becomes an annual event.

Filling time

When I was offered an appointment on November 11, Veterans Day, I immediately accepted because I wasn't working.  I was also hoping traffic would be lighter, which was a factor since the specialists' office is 115 miles from our house.

The day before the appointment I needed to take the car the mechanic (yuck - the awful smell of burning clutch), so we rented a car for the drive.  Before plugging in my device so we could listen to podcasts we found the news station, which gave the following traffic report.  "All the roads are clear.  If you have to be out driving this is the time to do it."  A good omen!

It did mean we arrived well before the appointment and even though there was a library very close to the hospital, it was closed for Veterans Day!  IKEA was open so we took a tour, probably my eighth or ninth time and maybe D.'s second or third.  We had a short list and were able to get two of the three things.

We chose duvet covers for the very-cozy-but-not-so-beautiful
wool blankets that had been on the bed.

some of the patterns we didn't pick

I also replaced the $0.49 candle holder that had broken
because I had allowed to taper to burn down.
The new candle holders have a warning saying not to do that.

We were going to buy a new neon green/yellow safety vest
to replace one purchased in Denmark,
but we missed it initially and wisely chose not to go back and get it.  Next time.

One of my favorite things in the store were real books.  I could read a few words.

The only impulse purchase was a set of five cards for $0.99, which I can't show you because I have written and mailed all of the already!

We'll need to return for pre-op and post-op visits so I hope we will have good traffic and that we'll get  a chance to visit the library and the section that sells the vest.

Vocabulary

When a new event occurs there is a whole new vocabulary that goes with it.  When I had a kid I learned words like meconium and colostrum.  With car shopping these days there are words like CCID (charge circuit interrupting device) and Li-ion, or Lithium-ion polymer battery.

Now with a new health issue I have learned a lot.  It started with a hearing test and discussion of unilateral or asymmetrical hearing loss, which is a considered unusual, especially in someone my age.  The head and neck doctor (formerly known as ear, nose, and throat doctor) asked if I had tinnitus (ringing in the ear) or vertigo.  Nope.  He recommended an MRI, which seemed unnecessary since I had one symptom.  I said I would get back to him.

I looked into and decided the test was not invasive and would conclusively show whether there was something to be concerned with.  I wrote about my experience here.

I got a call right away saying an acoustic neuroma was found.  They call it a benign tumor, but I would call it non-malignant.  It is causing the hearing loss, looks like it is pressing on the brain stem, and is now pressing on a facial nerve causing some numbness on my lip and tongue.  At first I thought I had burned my mouth but knew I hadn't had anything hot.  Then I thought it might be an allergic reaction to ground nuts, like my mom and sister have, but I hadn't had any ground nuts.  I kept being puzzled by this until I read that this is a common symptom.

So now I have two symptoms and both are mild.  I could easily go on like this forever.  That isn't an option.  If the tumor continues to grow the symptoms become more severe.  But doing something about the tumor is not so pleasant either.

One option is ignore it, but since mine is about 2.5 x 2.5cm it is on the border between medium and large the watching and waiting option has been eliminated.  Another option is to radiate it and there are a few modern ways of doing this so that the focus is right on the tumor without causing damage to surrounding things, like the brain.  Another option is surgery, of which there are a few kinds.  All treatments are described here.

The Kaiser specialists are based in San Diego.  They are surgeons and didn't explicitly recommend surgery, but almost.  They did point out that if we met with radiologists they would probably recommend radiology.  D. and I had a lot of questions and the doctors spent over an hour answering them.  We left feeling unsure of the right course, but decided to sleep on it.

I awoke the next morning and the answer was clear.  I would have retrosigmoid surgery that would remove the tumor, attempt to preserve hearing, and attempt to preserve the facial nerve.  I understand there are risks, but I am hopeful.  I have passed through most of the denial and anger phase and have arrived incompletely at the acceptance phase.

The good news is that the surgery will be between semesters and Nurse D. will be at my side.  People have already offered to cook meals and send healing thoughts my way.  I will probably be out of the pool for at least a month, but I am looking forward to returning to the things I love, even if it takes time.

Pilgrim Place Festival

Last year I wrote a lot about this festival, but it is such a big event in town that it deserves another post.

After arriving close to opening I headed first to kitchen goods (nothing I needed that my mom doesn't own that she would probably give to me if I asked), then a quick look at children's books (didn't find any I wanted that I didn't already own, plus I am working hard to stop buying things just because I want to give them to someone so they'll have a good home).

I stopped in the plates and glasses and bought one little plate, but I am not sure I'll keep it because it doesn't stack well with our other little plates.  I finally made it into my favorite room, but they were out of clipboards, which is something I do buy to give away, but I give to A.'s teacher, so that doesn't count.

from 1979 - I hope the paper is still sensitive

I did buy some sun sensitive paper that I didn't need, but it is fun to choose things and let the sun make a picture.  The only other purchase I made was fruit - satsuma tangerines, persimmons, and guava (which are all gone or I would post a picture).

I shared with a friend how much I liked persimmons and she invited me over to take from the remains of her harvest.  She said she would remember me for next year and she gave me two recipes!

What made this year different was that I sat on the other side of the table for two hours.  I was assigned fabrications, which means aprons, coasters, purses, capes, and anything that can be made with fabric.

Working allowed me to interact more with the residents and with people who stopped by.

Our booth was across from the stage.  I enjoyed the music,
but couldn't quite hear all of the story being told,
which was at least partially about an American soldier
arriving at a concentration camp.

Henry Hayden original

I couldn't resist going back the next day to buy a little art made by a resident.  I resisted other temptations (including more guavas because someone had just bought all the remains ones!).  

I stopped by a small art show in hopes of buying a batik tablecloth, but someone had been there early and bought a stack of large tablecloths.

I resisted the temptation to buy a batik scarf.

After crossing paths with a friend who had come from another art gallery I made one more stop.  Lucky for me the one piece I loved was not for sale because I am already wondering where to put the art I bought earlier.

Exploring

My to-do list was limited to seeing the ocean and visiting the library that my sister visits most often.  Wish granted.

We started by walking to the N-Judah

What a great place to wait for a train
(which turned out to be a bus because they were working on the tracks,
but I still thought it was great). 

After the bus we got to ride a tram like this

and it had these cool handles for opening the windows.

We wandered around the Ferry Building,
which was hosting a farmers' market and small craft market.

Afterward we headed to the library, stopping for lunch at Fort Baker and of course stopping to take pictures of The Bridge.

My sister and nephew are trying to visit each library in the San Francisco system, which is why the Belvedere-Tiburon Library in Marin County, where her housemate works, is the one they visit most often.

In addition to the friendly staff and great collection, they kindly let me log in on their computers and print my boarding pass.

On the way home we stopped at Battery Godfrey to run around and to see another angle of The Bridge.

Bonus - amazing ninja nephew and The Bridge in the same picture!

What a great day!  I can see why people love living in San Francisco!  Finish up with a morning wandering around Fort Mason's farmers' market and the Renegade Craft Fair and it made it hard to go home!  Thanks, everyone, for an ideal vacation!  Can't wait to host you here!