Sunday, June 16, 2013

Weekend Update

Team Miner:

All in all, it was a good weekend.  There were tantrums, there were some somewhat sleepless nights, but  - thanks in very large part to Manou - we succeeded in enjoying our "family days" together.  After dance class on Saturday, we went to an awesome art supply store (Flax) and got materials to make glitter "mind jars."  Stella has succeeded in using the jar once for its intended purpose already.  She took a couple of deep breaths and actually settled down for a nap on Saturday afternoon quite quickly.  I hope the concept takes off with her.  Stella and Manou made some tasty lemonade yesterday as well.


Jeff is not feeling too shabby.  He is tired, and sore, but at the moment he has no metallic taste in his mouth, no nausea, and no shingles.  In fact, we are increasingly certain that the rash he had after the last round of chemo was due to a reaction to the adhesive used to keep his PICC line in place.  To think that kept him locked up in one room for five straight days is infuriating, but still, good thing it wasn't shingles.  

Today, for Father's Day breakfast I made Smitten Kitchen's peach "upside down" pancakes (mine were delicious but not as beautiful as the ones depicted in the link) and we ate sausage.  We (well, the adults) also drank juice (in my case, lemonade) out of wine glasses - the three remaining IKEA wine glasses that we have which have not yet broken.  We also have one large plastic "wine goblet" from my law school days of drinking two buck chuck with Rortina and Rup-dog.  In the interest of classiness, I kept the goblet in the cabinet this time.

To compliment the ever-so-fancy victuals, Stella bestowed a handmade, tie-dye "handkerchip" on Papa.  (Translation:  "handkerchip" is, to other English speakers, "handkerchief."  But if you tell Stella that, she will correct you and tell you that the word is actually, "handkerchip.")  I gave Jeff some woolen clogs - recommended by Uncle Tom, and the same brand that I sported in high school.  My old pair later became my thrifty sister's "house shoes."  I hope Jeff's new pair will keep him cozy when he walks laps at the hospital this summer and shows lymphoma who's boss.  To say the least, Jeff is a brave and amazing father who deserves the very, very best in clogs, handkerchips, and life.

I have more to say about thankfulness and communities of people and what makes each of us so special and so ordinary all at the same time, but I will save that for another day.  

Katina

5 comments:

Buck said...

Ugh I should have piped in sooner though it likely wouldn't have mattered. I will add an uneducated, anecdotal vote for adhesive rash. I have no skin allergies and no latex allergies and I ended up with a very itchy red rash from steri-strips after my first c-section. It took a couple docs to decide it was the strips and not an infection. No idea why adhesive would do that but it did and was lame.

Here's hoping the next round of adhesives are more gentle.

dirteens said...

Ugh! Dealing with that post c-section sounds "delightful..." Based on my non-scientific research online, I think a lot more people than you'd suspect have these adhesive reactions. No good, but if that's the case for Jeff, at least he's in good company.

Buck said...

As long as I'm over doing the comments. Look up Smitten Kitchen's Strawberry Summer Cake. It's amazing. We probably make one once a week. Maybe more. And by we I mean my husband makes it for me because my kitchen skills end at steaming broccoli. But I digress. It's great. Yummy warm. Yummy out of the fridge. Make it. That is all.

dirteens said...

Strawberry Summer Cake sounds amazing. I will give it a shot! Also, I want to meet your husband. And have him cook for me. You can make the broccoli :)

Melissa said...

Ugh. I just love you Kastinka, lovin' from afar. I'm so glad you all got to spend Father's Day together as a family. It sounds like it was a good day. Tantrums & all.

Love & hugs from Minne.