THE HIDEOUT

posted Wednesday, 17 August 2005

Aptly named, I spent the past few days at "The Hideout" in the Poconos. My Aunt Deb & Uncle Billy own a house on Roamingwood Lake, in a community in the Poconos. For two weeks, Aunt Mary & Uncle Charlie rented a house on the same lake, so I wanted to make sure that I got a chance to visit. With the oppressive heat we've been having, it seemed like just the place!
Of course, the few days that I was there were on the wet/rainy side... but oh well - that wasn't going to stop our fun. We spent a day at the "art center", painting pottery. I taught my cousin's "frickits" (aka "cups"), which worked surprisingly well - even Diana (who is 8 years old) got a 3-pointer (of course, she was throwing from the "ladies tee"). But Alyssa and I took the game, winning 11-8 over Hannah and Diana ( I guess the teams may have been a wee bit lopsided, since it was the two oldest vs the two youngest... but oh well... a good game played by all!). We ate lots of Oreo ice cream (which is so much better than regular cookies n cream) and watched "whose line is it anyway" and "HGTV".... we finally got a good beach day on Wed and I spent some time watching Alyssa, Hannah, Diana, Jessica & Brian build sandcastles and play in the lake. Below is a picture with my cousins Hannah & Alyssa (daughters of Deb & Bill), with whom I stayed.

I'm really pleased that I got to enjoy this week so much. I've been run-down & tired and this cold is still nagging... but I was pleasantly surprised how well I felt. I go back on Monday for my next treatment. My friend, Michael Jackson, is taking me this round... that's right! Michael Jackson is taking me to chemo! (ok- so he is not *the* Michael Jackson, but this one is way better anyways!)
For those of you looking for ways to help, I would love a few low maintenance visitors next week. I will probably not be much of an entertainer, but I do like to have people around to keep me company when I am down. We even offer high-speed internet these days... So far, the only visitor (other than MJ) I have booked is Nancy (bff) for Tuesday afternoon (I need help with my shot!).
Also, I know that folks have offered to bring food... based on my first run through this, I expect that for Monday - Wednesday, I will not have much of an appetite. Cut up melon, juice and toast were about the extent of it... but then from Thursday on, I started to get an appetite back (mild, bland stuff, like chicken & vegetables, mac & cheese, etc). This week, I pretty much ate what I wanted, so I am fairly certain that the Cassels family recipe for mushroom-less veggie lasagna will hit the spot in approximately a week and a half... I can't wait!
Hope you are all well. Thanks again for the cards, messages & emails. I feel like I am starting to play the Kevin Bacon game (6 degrees of separation), as more people hear about my story and venture on to my blog, but I really do appreciate hearing from you... even if our connection is several times removed. I've always been a people person and I feed off of positive energy from others...


Comments:

MOM MADE THIS COMMENT,
You are really getting good at this. I especially like the links to people's pictures when they arte mentioned. I wish I was closer so I could be there to fix you all your feel better foods but I am comfortable knowing that all your wonderful friends will be taking care of you. Stay strong. I love you kid.