Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
I am throwing in a bit of distraction: A Frank Lloyd Wright puzzle. This is about all the color I can find around here. Much of the rest of the country is enjoying extreme winter ice and snow, but here in Fresno we don't go in for such drama.
It has been weeks since I went out with a camera, in large part because this is the flower-free season and because we are doing no travel of late. Besides, my big project to better organize my picture library has proven to be far harder than I anticipated. I understand better why I have avoided it for years.
Much of our activity has been connected with the Kaiser Medical Center. Ten days ago, Marianne had another lump-removal surgery and she's been recovering her energy a bit every day since. She even has been spending time in the Art Hut. Today (22nd), she will see the surgeon for post-op evaluation and we are counting on only good news. After that, the oncologist needs to lay out future treatment so we can get on with our own future plans. It's always a balance between living in the present and still optimistically looking forward.
My distractions have been the normal: puzzles, visits with neighbor Vern, a little football TV (go 49ers!), and hours on YouTube. I find the volcanic eruptions in Iceland to be fascinating. A second round occurred, threatening the thousand-year-old fishing town of Grindavik. The town is evacuated, three homes have been destroyed, and Grindavikings are faced with possibly abandoning their home town forever. Somehow, this gives some context to the current US struggles with a little ice and snow.
Our own near-future will probably remain drama-free. I have a summons for jury duty next week. I have never served on a jury and look forward to learning about the process, but we also have some important baby-sitting duty coming up. Family duty versus civic duty.
Stay tuned,
John and Marianne