Dear family, friends, and fellow travelers,
I'll put the good news right up top for those who haven't seen it already! Hanna and I met with my oncologist yesterday to review the results of the first four rounds of chemotherapy. They were very good. The CT scans showed a 50-60% reduction in size of the largest cancerous areas in my liver, and many of the smaller troubling spots had disappeared altogether. This means the current chemotherapy regimen is doing its job and I will continue for another four rounds before rescans in early August to, once again, determine progress and consider whether any changes in treatment are warranted.
Image: Christopher napping on my lap with one eye open above his tail fluff.
In other positive medical news, Hanna continues to heal from her hysterectomy and returned to work on June 2nd she is still working 80% from home and 20% (2 days every other week) onsite until August so we have a lot of flexibility around my medical appointments and her own continued recovery. Christopher is also doing very well lately! He had a sorely-needed dental appointment on June 1st and had eighteen (!!!) teeth extracted which will address some of his ongoing risk for infection. He was on strong pain medication for about a week but now seems fully able to eat (wet food for now) and is much more sociable -- even continuing to try out laps as quality napping spots! We are hoping he is much more comfortable.
Image: Our bespoke tea shelf holding a few initial jars of tea!
The two-week chemotherapy treatment cycles have obviously dominated my life in the past month but we did have a lovely three-week visit with my parents. Our landlady offered them the use of her attic guest bedroom (with a separate bath) at no charge for their visit and it eased things so much to have them so close by but with their own space. They pitched in doing errands and laundry and meals, and my father even built us a bespoke shelf for our tea collection! And we mostly hung out watching stuff on BritBox and knitting and catching up; it was the first visit we've been able to have since October 2019 and it was good. As a bonus, we also got to Zoom in to my brother's wedding (held in Portland, Oregon) on June 5th and celebrate with cake after.
Image: The #QueerJoyGiveaway graphic for 12 June 2021 featuring Blind Tiger by Jordan Hawk.
I've been easing back into a few pleasurable voluntary activities in addition to work this month. On Saturday I started the #QueerJoyGiveaway project back up (what better day for a reboot than the day of Boston Pride?). I have lots of queer romance ready to give away to readers if something on the current list strikes your fancy! The only rule is one title per week per reader (a slight tweak from the previous parameters). I've also been reading more fiction and nonfiction through NetGalley, which is a librarian-oriented site for requesting advance review copies of forthcoming works. It does mean I need to review the books I read on the site, but feedback there is less formal than writing for professional publications and I'm not on deadline. Right now I'm reading The Calyx Charm by May Peterson (m/f queer fantasy romance), The Hellion's Waltz by Olivia Waite (f/f historical romance), and Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America by Adam Cohen. I also recently read Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender by stef m. shuster (highly recommend for anyone with interests in this area) and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall (f/m queer contemporary; don't worry the asshole gets what's coming to him).
Image: Our latest book order from local Trident Booksellers included Mutual Aid by Dean Spade (to be read) along with Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (m/m contemporary) and Proper English by KJ Charles (f/f historical) both for my hard copy shelf of favorite romance reads.
I've also been doing a lot of knitting during low-energy periods and finished my first slipstitch colorwork shawl! Below are a few photos of that shawl and my other works in progress or planning stages.
Image: The center of my finished Forest Mosaic colorwork shawl (pattern by Knit for the Soul). Red background with ivory-pink-grey variagated yarn for the pattern. Yarn from Dirty Water Dyeworks (red) and Fiber Optics Yarn (variagated).
Image: Next colorwork shawl in progress, Smuggler's Cove pattern, also by Knit for the Soul. Yarn from Dirty Water Dyeworks.
Image: Another shawl in progess with two skeins from Hedgehog Fibres. Pattern is Wicked Practical Shawl for New England from Frabjous Fibers and Wonderland Yarns.
Image: Composite image showing the pattern (Rogue River Cowl by Knit for the Soul) and yarn (one skein of Rainbow Brite sparkle by THREADS by Megan Nicole and one skein of orange by Dirty Water Dyeworks).
The next couple of months for us look to be pretty routine. We'll be working and living through the ups and downs of two week chemotherapy cycles with some long holiday weekends (e.g. a four-day break over the 4th of July) to look forward to. I hope all of you are taking care, have been vaccinated as you are able, and feel a little more at ease in the wider world as a result. We're definitely still wearing masks at indoor public places, though have moved to just carrying our masks outdoors in most instances because social distancing is possible. Even that switch feels like an opening up of sorts over this time last year. It's good to breath unmediated outdoor air again.
In persistence and hope,
Anna
Image: A close up of grass and buttercups in an open field (Taken in the Arnold Arboretum).
I'll put the good news right up top for those who haven't seen it already! Hanna and I met with my oncologist yesterday to review the results of the first four rounds of chemotherapy. They were very good. The CT scans showed a 50-60% reduction in size of the largest cancerous areas in my liver, and many of the smaller troubling spots had disappeared altogether. This means the current chemotherapy regimen is doing its job and I will continue for another four rounds before rescans in early August to, once again, determine progress and consider whether any changes in treatment are warranted.
Image: Christopher napping on my lap with one eye open above his tail fluff.
In other positive medical news, Hanna continues to heal from her hysterectomy and returned to work on June 2nd she is still working 80% from home and 20% (2 days every other week) onsite until August so we have a lot of flexibility around my medical appointments and her own continued recovery. Christopher is also doing very well lately! He had a sorely-needed dental appointment on June 1st and had eighteen (!!!) teeth extracted which will address some of his ongoing risk for infection. He was on strong pain medication for about a week but now seems fully able to eat (wet food for now) and is much more sociable -- even continuing to try out laps as quality napping spots! We are hoping he is much more comfortable.
Image: Our bespoke tea shelf holding a few initial jars of tea!
The two-week chemotherapy treatment cycles have obviously dominated my life in the past month but we did have a lovely three-week visit with my parents. Our landlady offered them the use of her attic guest bedroom (with a separate bath) at no charge for their visit and it eased things so much to have them so close by but with their own space. They pitched in doing errands and laundry and meals, and my father even built us a bespoke shelf for our tea collection! And we mostly hung out watching stuff on BritBox and knitting and catching up; it was the first visit we've been able to have since October 2019 and it was good. As a bonus, we also got to Zoom in to my brother's wedding (held in Portland, Oregon) on June 5th and celebrate with cake after.
Image: The #QueerJoyGiveaway graphic for 12 June 2021 featuring Blind Tiger by Jordan Hawk.
I've been easing back into a few pleasurable voluntary activities in addition to work this month. On Saturday I started the #QueerJoyGiveaway project back up (what better day for a reboot than the day of Boston Pride?). I have lots of queer romance ready to give away to readers if something on the current list strikes your fancy! The only rule is one title per week per reader (a slight tweak from the previous parameters). I've also been reading more fiction and nonfiction through NetGalley, which is a librarian-oriented site for requesting advance review copies of forthcoming works. It does mean I need to review the books I read on the site, but feedback there is less formal than writing for professional publications and I'm not on deadline. Right now I'm reading The Calyx Charm by May Peterson (m/f queer fantasy romance), The Hellion's Waltz by Olivia Waite (f/f historical romance), and Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America by Adam Cohen. I also recently read Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender by stef m. shuster (highly recommend for anyone with interests in this area) and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall (f/m queer contemporary; don't worry the asshole gets what's coming to him).
Image: Our latest book order from local Trident Booksellers included Mutual Aid by Dean Spade (to be read) along with Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall (m/m contemporary) and Proper English by KJ Charles (f/f historical) both for my hard copy shelf of favorite romance reads.
I've also been doing a lot of knitting during low-energy periods and finished my first slipstitch colorwork shawl! Below are a few photos of that shawl and my other works in progress or planning stages.
Image: The center of my finished Forest Mosaic colorwork shawl (pattern by Knit for the Soul). Red background with ivory-pink-grey variagated yarn for the pattern. Yarn from Dirty Water Dyeworks (red) and Fiber Optics Yarn (variagated).
Image: Next colorwork shawl in progress, Smuggler's Cove pattern, also by Knit for the Soul. Yarn from Dirty Water Dyeworks.
Image: Another shawl in progess with two skeins from Hedgehog Fibres. Pattern is Wicked Practical Shawl for New England from Frabjous Fibers and Wonderland Yarns.
Image: Composite image showing the pattern (Rogue River Cowl by Knit for the Soul) and yarn (one skein of Rainbow Brite sparkle by THREADS by Megan Nicole and one skein of orange by Dirty Water Dyeworks).
The next couple of months for us look to be pretty routine. We'll be working and living through the ups and downs of two week chemotherapy cycles with some long holiday weekends (e.g. a four-day break over the 4th of July) to look forward to. I hope all of you are taking care, have been vaccinated as you are able, and feel a little more at ease in the wider world as a result. We're definitely still wearing masks at indoor public places, though have moved to just carrying our masks outdoors in most instances because social distancing is possible. Even that switch feels like an opening up of sorts over this time last year. It's good to breath unmediated outdoor air again.
In persistence and hope,
Anna
Image: A close up of grass and buttercups in an open field (Taken in the Arnold Arboretum).