XMAS TURNINGS..

A while back I was at the Tavern with friends and one of them mentioned he just bought a lathe and was turning handles for kitchen and bar tools...I was very interested and remembered wood shop in 8th grade and how much I loved the smell of burning wood on the lathe..A couple of days ago that friend called and asked me if I wanted to come over to learn a little bit about turning wood on the lathe..He showed me his collection of xmas gifts that he had already finished and they were beautiful..I thought I was just there to watch but he took me through each step in the process of turning a handle..and then let me do one myself...complete to finish sanding and tung oil and insertion of the kitchen tool..in my case, a vegetable peeler..I had a great time and now would love to buy a lathe and put it in my newly construction garage/workshop/guesthouse...

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assortment of kitchen and bar tools

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garlic press

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ice cream scoop

 "grasshopper" at work

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my finished veggie peeler in zebra wood

PAU HANA FRIDAY POOL TOURNAMENT

...In the ManCave...started off with Happy Hour at the soon to be defunct Tavern (December 28th last day) and then moved to our place for post Happy Hour festivities...people started dropping off at around 9pm...but die hards played until around 2am...and the two of us left at 2am also finished off a bottle of MakersMark ....

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GARAGE/WORKSHOP CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

We are finally getting very close to being finished with our construction project.  The carport conversion to mancave has been completed for a while now and the garage/workshop is getting there.  We have friends coming to stay with us on December 17th so I am hoping we are done with the daily construction noise and mess by then.  Here's some photos of the "workshop" interior..

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stairs done, hand rail next

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workshop cabinets and farm lighting

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bathroom vanity and vessel sink

 

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looking out bathroom sliding door in to outdoor shower

LAKE COMO...

My friend just finished his remodel of an centuries old house he bought a few years ago on Lake Como.  Since he and his family live in Nashville, it was a long distance construction project that required a bunch of trips to Italy to monitor the work and also deal with all of the historic building restrictions and hurdles to jump over...He just sent me an email with some photos he took from the back lanai and boathouse on the Lake and invited us to stay in the place anytime they weren't using it...really amazing views....

MORE RIDGE PICS FROM OUR BACK LANAI...

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MY BIRTHDAY (SAME DAY AS KENNEDY ASSASSINATION)..

I turned 67 on November 22nd and I keep hearing the Neil Young song "Old Man"...the lyric's keep repeating " old man take a look at me now, I'm a lot like you were"...yikes..scary...good friends celebrated with me..a bottle or two of good whiskey from kauai friends..a box of excellent cigars from Lee and Gin in Florida...and Jane made me my favorite raisin pie...and a chocolate birthday cake..just another brick in the wall :-)

GOOD NEWS...

We went to Jane's oncologist appointment on monday to finally get the results of her oncotype dx test.  She scored in the low category which means that chemotherapy is not warranted...she has a better chance of non-reoccurence with radiation treatment followed by endocrine treatment (drugs) which brings her down to about an 8% chance of reoccurence in ten years..we went to her radiation oncologist yesterday and she is scheduled for 33 treatments that probably won't start until after the holidays..she is doing great..the surgery is healed..and she is as beautiful as ever...

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FALL RIDGE

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SWEET JANE

We have been home now for a couple of weeks and Jane's healing nicely.  Last week we met with her radiation oncologist and yesterday we met with her oncologist.  We liked both doctors and have confidence in them.  Jane had a list of questions for both of them and everything was covered, explained, and explained again.  The incision sites have healed without incident and now we are waiting for the results of the oncotype test to better determine a treatment plan.  Hopefully, radiation followed by drug treatment will be indicated and no need for chemotherapy.  We'll find out next week.  Jane is in good spirits and continues to be in a fighting spirit.  She only weighs 104 pounds but pretty much all of that is grit...stay tuned...

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yesterday at Lihue oncology appointment

(I just told her we were heading for a glass of wine for her and a beer for me)

SURGERY AT KAPIOLANI MEDICAL CENTER

No hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunami's, or lava flows stopped us this time.  We left Kauai on Sunday afternoon and arrived on Oahu and took a cab to the Ala Moana Hotel and checked in.  Jane couldn't eat or drink after midnight so we immediately went to the Mai Tai Lounge and knocked back a few drinks...and had dinner.  The Next morning our wake up call was for 5:30am to be at the hospital by 6:30am and of course we didn't sleep much and were out of bed finally by 4am...It was a long day for Jane who had to have wires inserted in the biopsy sites so the surgeon could follow them to the markers the radiologist left in at the spots he wanted removed...and then she was wheeled over to the mammogram machine to get various dyes shot in her to better distinguish her nodes for the surgeon..that all took a couple of hours and then she was finally ready for the surgery and recovery..All went well and we got back to the hotel room by around 3pm...i bought a loaf or bread and some peanut butter and jane was leaking oil a little but hungry so we ate pbj's and then she slept.  She only took 1/2 a pain pill and that was it...no pain and we had a pretty good night's sleep and she was ready for a lumberjack breakfast when she woke up.  But no shower for 48 hours and she didn't want to go anywhere to eat yet so I went to the little breakfast place in the hotel and brought back hashbrowns, scrambled eggs and sausage, toast, biscuits, and waffles..and she pretty much ate everything..so I knew she was feeling better...Our friends from Kauai, Pete and Rosemary, who are unbelievably going through the same thing at the same time were staying at the same hotel and had a rental car so we hooked up with them and got out for lunch and dinner...The post op meeting with the surgeon on thursday was a mixed bag..good news is no metasis and the nodes are clear...the mixed bag news is that her margins were close...we are waiting to hear from the surgeon and pathologist today about the next step..probably radiation and hopefully that's it...stay tuned...and thanks for everyone's good thoughts and prayers...

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Da plane, Da plane..Kauai to Oahu

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view of Ala Wai marina and the Ala Moana surf break from the hotel room

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at the Mai Tai Lounge the night before surgery

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waiting room info board

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IV prep for surgery p.s. Jane hates me for taking this and the next couple of photos

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Jane getting ready to be wheeled off for the wires and dye

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Jane and her nurse waiting for the cab after surgery

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the day after surgery celebrating with Pete and Rosemary at the Yard House Pub

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farewell Honolulu

HURRICANE ANA...

Hurricane Ana was first predicted to sweep through the island chain ending with a direct hit on Kauai.  By the middle of the week, this prediction changed some but it was still expected to cause wind damage, flooding, and tidal surge damage to all islands.  Jane's surgery was canceled until next monday, October 27th, and the airline waived change fees, etc. due to the storm.  The hotel did the same. All of that took until friday to complete and by then a high pressure area had entered the picture and started to steer Ana to the south of the islands..only 100 miles south, but enough to breathe a little easier.  In the end, all the islands got plenty of rain..some strong wind..and big surf..but not much damage...another bullet missed us...hurricane season ends on November 30th...Jane says that despite rain or shine, hurricane, lava flow, earthquake, or tsunami, she is camping out at the hospital next monday..period !!

 the little blue dot in the upper middle of the picture is Kauai

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iphone photo from the back lanai a couple of days into the Hurricane Ana watch

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iphone photo from the ridge during the watch

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iphone photo from the ridge yesterday

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iphone photo from mark and jb's house on saturday

A FUCKING HURRICANE..NOW..REALLY.....

Jane is scheduled for breast surgery at Kapiolani on Oahu monday morning at 7am..we are supposed to leave Kauai on sunday afternoon at 1pm and spend 4 nights on Oahu until Jane gets the all clear from Dr. Peterson and we can fly home on thursday afternoon..Of course we have made non-refundable, non-changeable hotel reservations and flight tickets....the hospital on Oahu made arrangements with the docs here to do pre-op tests (blood, EKG, etc.) so Jane would be good to go early monday morning for surgery.  The EKG machine in Kilauea was shorted out from being stored under the A/C and water dripping on the unit..so we had to drive to Lihue for the test...got the blood work done yesterday..and out of the clear blue sky, a freak'in tropical depression-tropical storm-hurricane ana forms..and is heading right for all of the islands..ending in a probable direct hit of hanalei...and enough to screw up the surgery on monday and our way to get there on sunday anyway..Jane is not calm about any of this latest development...we are on the phone with the hospital to see if there is a plan B...stay tuned...in the meantime, here is Jane's Starbuck's order:

OLD FRIENDS..

A friend from way back in the day..junior high and high school..college and afterwards..got in touch recently and was going to be in Maui with his wife for vacation.  We haven't seen each other for 42 years !!! Steve agreed to fly over to Kauai with Nancy and spend the night.  The day they flew over happened to be a last minute doctor's appointment with a breast surgeon for Jane at Kapiolani on Oahu..but we flew over in the morning and got back to Kauai for dinner with Steve and Nancy...and then were able to spend the next day with them until their flight back to Maui at 7pm.  Other than the fact that we looked like two old fucks, it was like 42 years never happened.  It was really wonderful catching up..meeting Nancy for the first time...and renewing a friendship that never really ended..just got set aside for four decades...

 old friends...

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Steve then (iphone image from 42 years ago) and now

HONOLULU...AGAIN

The results from the MRI assisted biopsy came back positive for invasive lobular carcinoma..Of the 3 areas probed, one area came back positive but the radiologist advises one of the other areas be removed too.  We met with the breast surgeon on Kauai and she referred Jane to a breast surgeon on Oahu because she thought that plastic surgery might be needed and Kauai doesn't have a resident plastic surgeon.  On tuesday, we went to Oahu to Kapiolani Women's Center to meet with Dr. Laura Peterson.  Jane felt very comfortable with her and also liked what she had to say about the amount of tissue that needed to be removed..so maybe no plastic surgeon needed..we are waiting for Kapiolani to call to let us know when the surgery is scheduled...maybe as soon as monday...we need to stay on Oahu for 4 days even though the procedure is out-patient.  The doctor wants Jane close by to monitor for bleeding and infection and also to be around when the lab results of the tissue removed and lymph nodes removed come back..Jane has a positive attitude and is a fighter.  Our friend, B.C., reminded us of what I told her 17 years ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer: FUCK CANCER !!!!  I had forgotten that sage advice I gave to her, but passed it on to Jane...We have a hell of a next few months....

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waiting for the appointment with Dr. Peterson

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this time it is OK to have a glass of wine with lunch at Jane's favorite restaurant, Mariposa

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leaving Oahu.. Diamond Head below

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arriving back home on Kauai for sunset..long day

HONOLULU..

We have been back and forth to Oahu the last couple of weeks...more specifically, Kapiolani Womens Medical Center for breast MRI and MRI assisted biopsy.  I hate Honolulu and Waikiki.. and going there with Jane for medical tests and so forth made the visit even worse..Oahu is a mess..a big, crowded, dirty. grid locked city that really should just get it over with and somehow be towed to the Mainland..that said, the medical facilities are very good and those of us that live on the neighbor islands pretty much have no place else to go for testing and treatment.  We are hoping that everything tests out ok and we don't have to go back...ever.

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Kauai airport bar waiting for our flight to Oahu

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big city from our hotel room

 the day before the MRI assisted biopsy..no alcohol

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lunch at Mariposa after the procedure..water only

Honolulu Internationa Airport flight back to Kauai

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TAVERN...

....With a view:

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iphone photo from the Tavern

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iphone photo from the Tavern