It was January 2013 when mom called to tell me she had found a lump in her right breast while taking a shower. She went to the doctor, they did a biopsy, and it came back as malignant.
That was almost 2 years ago.
It's been a hurricane of life events since then. Most of the time I try to push back in my mind that mom has cancer. Most of the time these days, it's hard to be hopeful. Most nights I wake up dreaming of her death. Or thinking of her funeral. It's not a place I thought I would be at in this time of life. I just never thought she would be dying so young.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Day 6, and 7: London
This kids have started school this week, and as it turns out, that has taken away from my hanging on to the last moments of my holiday. I guess it's time to wrap up the journal of my trip.
Day 6 in London started with us greeting the last of our party, my friend Shona, from Belfast. We all got around and headed out for a day of shopping. Yes, that was the entire plan for the day.
We went to Covent Garden and hit a tea shop, and a toy store. Then stopped for lunch. The pictures from this day are seriously lacking...but that's because I was so busy visiting. I wanted to squeeze every last ounce out of my visit with friends who I don't know when I'll see again.
A couple of times, though, Kris or Gwen grabbed my phone to get a photo for me. I think they must have known I would want pictures to remember.
After lunch, we hit Paperchase, which used to sell their products in Border's Bookstores in the States, but don't sell anywhere that I know of now. It's one of my favorite shops in the UK! But the store I was most looking forward to in Covent Garden was Cath Kidston. Shona, Rachel and I have been planning a trip to Cath Kidston for a while, and this was our chance. I'm glad I had them there to talk me into buying a new bag!
We stopped in a clothing store, and then on to Harrod's. And FINALLY it started raining.
It's just not a visit to London without the rain.
In Harrod's, we had a drink of lemonade, and then looked around at the audacious prices on everything!
We found our way back towards the apartment after Harrod's and stopped for dinner at a Jamie Oliver restaurant. I had a chicken and tomato dish, but the best bit was dessert, lemon pie.
( I snagged this photo from Kris)
Day 6 in London started with us greeting the last of our party, my friend Shona, from Belfast. We all got around and headed out for a day of shopping. Yes, that was the entire plan for the day.
We went to Covent Garden and hit a tea shop, and a toy store. Then stopped for lunch. The pictures from this day are seriously lacking...but that's because I was so busy visiting. I wanted to squeeze every last ounce out of my visit with friends who I don't know when I'll see again.
A couple of times, though, Kris or Gwen grabbed my phone to get a photo for me. I think they must have known I would want pictures to remember.
After lunch, we hit Paperchase, which used to sell their products in Border's Bookstores in the States, but don't sell anywhere that I know of now. It's one of my favorite shops in the UK! But the store I was most looking forward to in Covent Garden was Cath Kidston. Shona, Rachel and I have been planning a trip to Cath Kidston for a while, and this was our chance. I'm glad I had them there to talk me into buying a new bag!
We stopped in a clothing store, and then on to Harrod's. And FINALLY it started raining.
It's just not a visit to London without the rain.
In Harrod's, we had a drink of lemonade, and then looked around at the audacious prices on everything!
We found our way back towards the apartment after Harrod's and stopped for dinner at a Jamie Oliver restaurant. I had a chicken and tomato dish, but the best bit was dessert, lemon pie.
( I snagged this photo from Kris)
We ended the evening watching some telly, packing our bags, then one by one dropped off to bed.
I can't believe I've already been home two weeks. It seems like we were just all together visiting!
The next morning we all said goodbye, and headed to the airport to our different terminals to leave. I was there the longest, and first found myself in a stall in the bathrooms crying my eyes out about leaving. Ridiculous? maybe...but I just love it there. It's hard to say goodbye each time. I am so thankful for the opportunity to go, every time I get to go. But I do so dislike saying goodbye. The flight was overbooked, and they offered me a ticket for the next day, and a hotel to stay on one more day. I was terribly tempted...but I had a few people at home who were very anxiously awaiting my arrival. So, I pulled myself together and wandered around the new terminal in Heathrow, shopping for my final gifts.
I hopped in to get a picture of the Doctor's booth for my brother in law...
And found myself at another Cath Kidston, with items that weren't in Covent Garden!
I ate lunch at Wagamama before making my way to my gate.
Then endured another long flight home. I got through customs quickly, and was greeted by the three who mean the most. We got home and I handed out gifts all around, then found my own bed, and slept hard for the first time in a week, surrounded by my people, and dreamt of London.
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Day 5: London
Day five was a beautiful Sunday in London. It really was just the most beautiful weather day we had. Warm enough to not need a jacket, but cool enough to not feel exhausted!
We found our way easily to the tube station, and away we went to church.
I have been to St. Paul's Cathedral before, to see it from the outside, and just to peek inside, because I haven't wanted to pay the fee to see it all. On Sunday, however, you can see the inside as a place of worship. That was more my speed anyway. There were no photos allowed, so I don't have a lot to show you, but, I'll try to paint a picture with my words.
We went in and there were seats lined up for visitors to sit quietly. Service was not going on, but the organist was preparing for the evening concert. We found three seats together and sat and listened to the pipe organ fill the huge cathedral. It's not as big as it looks on tv, once you're inside. But, it is still a grand building. I was glad to have had a rare treat like that to sit and listen to the music in such a historical place of worship.
We decided to go downstairs, as there were more monuments to Earls, and Lords, and other tombs there. But, they were closed up...I suppose for the paying crowd to see on Monday. We looked through the gift shop, and sat to listen to the organ play a bit more. You could hear it through the ceiling vents, which were the sanctuary floor.
It was around lunch time when we left St. Paul's, so we started looking for something to eat. People were standing outside their restaurants offering little samples. We turned a few corners, and stumbled upon The Happenstance. We saw there were plenty of gluten free options, so we agreed on to try it out. And we were all happy we did!
The Happenstance A Happy Coincidence
I had a gluten free flat-bread with butternut squash, pecans, spinach, onions, and a pesto.
I think everyone really enjoyed their lunch. I thought more than once I wished we had a similar restaurant at home! This is just my kind of place!
From lunch, we moseyed our way around some streets and alleys to the Millennium Bridge over The Thames.
(A pub we passed by...what a name.)
You can see the Tower Bridge in the distance, and the tall building is The Shard.
I've been reading a series of books about a woman private investigator set in the early 1900's called, Maisie Dobbs, which has it's setting mostly in London. The book I was reading while on my vacation, was set mostly in this part of London, so it was fun picturing the sites first hand as I read.
Once across the bridge, we saw Shakespeare's Globe. Well, just the outside, as it turned out to be one of the busiest areas we had seen so far. We continued on along the bankside of the Thames, which led us to this excavated palace.
We saw a lot of old and new side by side.
We got a closer view of Tower Bridge, from London Bridge.
A couple of tube rides later, we made our way to Trafalgar Square. We saw Nelson's Column, and the large lions surrounding it.
And then there was this guy.
The latest art installment on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Having seen as much as we wanted on that end of London, we made our way back towards "our end of town" to see Kensignton Gardens.
We walked through a beautiful residential area, where photographs were not allowed. My guess is because of all the embassies around, including the heavily machine gunned out Israel Embassy. It was still a beautiful walk, and one I would like to do again.
Since the Whole Foods was closed once we got to it, we decided to make another plan for dinner, one of my favorite restaurants in London, Masala Zone! I love to get the thali plate and try all the different dishes!
Steve called the restaurant and asked for one of his many names for me while we were eating. The manager came over and asked if one of us was the person in question and it didn't click with me then, so I said no. A few minutes later, I knew it was him. And once I got home, he told me it was. Just a little way for us to enjoy the memories together.
The evening ended rather uneventfully, as we went to the grocery store to pick up a few snacky and breakfast things before heading back to the apartment. My friend Rachel was joining up with us that evening, and I was anxiously awaiting her arrival, and my other friend Shona the next morning. Rachel got in late, but that didn't stop us from staying up even later catching up on everything we've missed out on in the past three years of visiting in the same room! Rachel and I will often message each other and say we wish we could just pop around for tea to visit. This evening visiting will be another thing I will often wish for.
We found our way easily to the tube station, and away we went to church.
I have been to St. Paul's Cathedral before, to see it from the outside, and just to peek inside, because I haven't wanted to pay the fee to see it all. On Sunday, however, you can see the inside as a place of worship. That was more my speed anyway. There were no photos allowed, so I don't have a lot to show you, but, I'll try to paint a picture with my words.
We went in and there were seats lined up for visitors to sit quietly. Service was not going on, but the organist was preparing for the evening concert. We found three seats together and sat and listened to the pipe organ fill the huge cathedral. It's not as big as it looks on tv, once you're inside. But, it is still a grand building. I was glad to have had a rare treat like that to sit and listen to the music in such a historical place of worship.
We decided to go downstairs, as there were more monuments to Earls, and Lords, and other tombs there. But, they were closed up...I suppose for the paying crowd to see on Monday. We looked through the gift shop, and sat to listen to the organ play a bit more. You could hear it through the ceiling vents, which were the sanctuary floor.
It was around lunch time when we left St. Paul's, so we started looking for something to eat. People were standing outside their restaurants offering little samples. We turned a few corners, and stumbled upon The Happenstance. We saw there were plenty of gluten free options, so we agreed on to try it out. And we were all happy we did!
The Happenstance A Happy Coincidence
I had a gluten free flat-bread with butternut squash, pecans, spinach, onions, and a pesto.
I think everyone really enjoyed their lunch. I thought more than once I wished we had a similar restaurant at home! This is just my kind of place!
From lunch, we moseyed our way around some streets and alleys to the Millennium Bridge over The Thames.
(A pub we passed by...what a name.)
You can see the Tower Bridge in the distance, and the tall building is The Shard.
I've been reading a series of books about a woman private investigator set in the early 1900's called, Maisie Dobbs, which has it's setting mostly in London. The book I was reading while on my vacation, was set mostly in this part of London, so it was fun picturing the sites first hand as I read.
Once across the bridge, we saw Shakespeare's Globe. Well, just the outside, as it turned out to be one of the busiest areas we had seen so far. We continued on along the bankside of the Thames, which led us to this excavated palace.
We saw a lot of old and new side by side.
A couple of tube rides later, we made our way to Trafalgar Square. We saw Nelson's Column, and the large lions surrounding it.
And then there was this guy.
The latest art installment on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
Having seen as much as we wanted on that end of London, we made our way back towards "our end of town" to see Kensignton Gardens.
We walked through a beautiful residential area, where photographs were not allowed. My guess is because of all the embassies around, including the heavily machine gunned out Israel Embassy. It was still a beautiful walk, and one I would like to do again.
Since the Whole Foods was closed once we got to it, we decided to make another plan for dinner, one of my favorite restaurants in London, Masala Zone! I love to get the thali plate and try all the different dishes!
Steve called the restaurant and asked for one of his many names for me while we were eating. The manager came over and asked if one of us was the person in question and it didn't click with me then, so I said no. A few minutes later, I knew it was him. And once I got home, he told me it was. Just a little way for us to enjoy the memories together.
The evening ended rather uneventfully, as we went to the grocery store to pick up a few snacky and breakfast things before heading back to the apartment. My friend Rachel was joining up with us that evening, and I was anxiously awaiting her arrival, and my other friend Shona the next morning. Rachel got in late, but that didn't stop us from staying up even later catching up on everything we've missed out on in the past three years of visiting in the same room! Rachel and I will often message each other and say we wish we could just pop around for tea to visit. This evening visiting will be another thing I will often wish for.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Paris and London Day 4...
Day four in Paris was very short, as it was time for us to catch the Eurostar through the Chunnel Tunnel to London's St. Pancras Station.
I had packed the night before, so had some moments to stand out on the balcony, to take in the view one last time in Paris. It was finally pleasant weather...go figure!
It really was a great apartment. I recommend staying in an apartment rather than a hotel if you have more than two people. Just the space allowed at the end of the day, and as you get ready in the morning is worth it. We were happy campers on our ride to London.
We chatted non-stop, and had a fancy schmancy meal...which I didn't eat much of. It was cold roast beef, and cold potatoes, and cold green beans. Not the finest option for first class rail travel. But, the strong English tea at the end was perfect! And I wanted to pinch the silverware...I really liked the shape and size. But, I left it because I don't need international thief added to my name anytime soon.
Our last view of France...
It's totally black while in the Chunnel, so I snapped a reflection photo.
And then, hello England!
Arriving in London, no matter by plane at Heathrow, or by train, is like being reunited with an old friend.
We took a black cab to our apartment, which was perfect!
Even a spot for Harry!
After our (dis)orientation to the Shepherd's Bush tube station, we made our way to lunch/dinner at Wagamama. (Hey, searching that, I've found they have restaurants in the Boston area in the States!) I had a tasty Pad Thai, and a cucumber, apple, mint juice.
Feeling full, we decided to get over to Buckingham Palace and see the major sights as the sun was getting lower in the sky.
To our surprise, due to a huge cycling event in the city center, the streets surrounding the palace, all the way down the mall were closed to vehicle traffic, so we got to walk all around areas that weren't usually open to foot traffic!
The sun was setting, and putting a glow on a lot of the buildings and statues.
I always try to capture my first view of Big Ben, it's always different.
We took a walk through St. James Park Lake, to get to Westminster Abbey, and Parliament.
I'd never been in there, and found it like a wonderland! Who knew there was all of this right in the bustle of the city?!
(That's the London Eye in the background)
The trees were MASSIVE!
We made it to Westminster Abbey, and back to the traffic, although, it was still strangely empty. I've been to London in the spring, winter, and late summer, and really would have expected to see far more crowds, but it seems all of London was on holiday.
Here we are...we never did perfect the skill of taking self-portraits.
Crummy photo, but I love it. I was happy, happy, happy to be right there at that moment.
We stood a few minutes to listen to Big Ben sing his song, before heading back to the apartment.
Once we got back to our area of the apartment, we simply couldn't find our way back. It was frustrating, because the directions seemed so easy, but we were clearly missing something. We finally decided to get a taxi to the apartment, and once we saw that, knew what needed to be done to get back easily. That would be the one down-side to staying in a residential area, I think. It's not immediately clear with landmarks where you are if you get turned around. But, seeing it once, we had no trouble getting around after that.
We stayed up a bit, and got a visit from a neighborhood kitty who walks the ledges of the windows, popping in when it finds open windows. "There's a cat in here, there's a cat in here, there's a cat in here" was my response. Thankfully, it scooted out and we got back to our talking, and thinking/planning for the next day. Once we were all tucked into our beds, I stayed awake long enough to hear Kris and Gwen fall asleep. I chatted with Steve for a while over messages, and finally let myself drift off to sleep watching the clouds drift through the London sky.
It really was a great apartment. I recommend staying in an apartment rather than a hotel if you have more than two people. Just the space allowed at the end of the day, and as you get ready in the morning is worth it. We were happy campers on our ride to London.
We chatted non-stop, and had a fancy schmancy meal...which I didn't eat much of. It was cold roast beef, and cold potatoes, and cold green beans. Not the finest option for first class rail travel. But, the strong English tea at the end was perfect! And I wanted to pinch the silverware...I really liked the shape and size. But, I left it because I don't need international thief added to my name anytime soon.
Our last view of France...
It's totally black while in the Chunnel, so I snapped a reflection photo.
And then, hello England!
Arriving in London, no matter by plane at Heathrow, or by train, is like being reunited with an old friend.
We took a black cab to our apartment, which was perfect!
Even a spot for Harry!
After our (dis)orientation to the Shepherd's Bush tube station, we made our way to lunch/dinner at Wagamama. (Hey, searching that, I've found they have restaurants in the Boston area in the States!) I had a tasty Pad Thai, and a cucumber, apple, mint juice.
Feeling full, we decided to get over to Buckingham Palace and see the major sights as the sun was getting lower in the sky.
To our surprise, due to a huge cycling event in the city center, the streets surrounding the palace, all the way down the mall were closed to vehicle traffic, so we got to walk all around areas that weren't usually open to foot traffic!
The sun was setting, and putting a glow on a lot of the buildings and statues.
I always try to capture my first view of Big Ben, it's always different.
We took a walk through St. James Park Lake, to get to Westminster Abbey, and Parliament.
I'd never been in there, and found it like a wonderland! Who knew there was all of this right in the bustle of the city?!
(That's the London Eye in the background)
The trees were MASSIVE!
We made it to Westminster Abbey, and back to the traffic, although, it was still strangely empty. I've been to London in the spring, winter, and late summer, and really would have expected to see far more crowds, but it seems all of London was on holiday.
Here we are...we never did perfect the skill of taking self-portraits.
Crummy photo, but I love it. I was happy, happy, happy to be right there at that moment.
We stood a few minutes to listen to Big Ben sing his song, before heading back to the apartment.
Once we got back to our area of the apartment, we simply couldn't find our way back. It was frustrating, because the directions seemed so easy, but we were clearly missing something. We finally decided to get a taxi to the apartment, and once we saw that, knew what needed to be done to get back easily. That would be the one down-side to staying in a residential area, I think. It's not immediately clear with landmarks where you are if you get turned around. But, seeing it once, we had no trouble getting around after that.
We stayed up a bit, and got a visit from a neighborhood kitty who walks the ledges of the windows, popping in when it finds open windows. "There's a cat in here, there's a cat in here, there's a cat in here" was my response. Thankfully, it scooted out and we got back to our talking, and thinking/planning for the next day. Once we were all tucked into our beds, I stayed awake long enough to hear Kris and Gwen fall asleep. I chatted with Steve for a while over messages, and finally let myself drift off to sleep watching the clouds drift through the London sky.
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