From the Land of Pinot Noir

Checking in from Oregon's Willamette Valley, home of world class pinot noir - and also of my mom and dad! Willie and I have been here since Saturday, enjoying the lovely cool fall weather and the rolling hills of endless vineyards. Of interest to oenophiles - the Dundee Hills in the Willamette Valley grow pinots second only to the great Burgundy region of France. Take that, Napa Valley!

I've been tottering about with my faithful human cane, Willie, and having a wonderful time. Getting weird little headaches which I will discuss with Dr. Roland when I see him on the 6th - for now, I'm just enjoying the vacation!

And because a picture is worth a thousand words, here are some to enjoy!

I did it!

I didn't fall, spit, or slur!! It was a completely successful workshop and I maintained a good energy level for the entire 6+ hours. I even survived the sandwiches for lunch - I desconstructed mine and ate it with a fork! Ha - more than one way to eat a tuna salad. I feel very pleased with myself and have already been asked to hold a date for this group's next event. Wahoo. To celebrate, Willie brought home a veggie pizza - cook's night off. I also had Willie take an update picture of my face. It is still going way too slowly for me, but at least I see improvement. I wonder how much of my smile will come back eventually.

Lorenzo and Kay - thanks so much for your kind words of support! Kay, when does your eye weight come out? And, btw, LOVED the pics on your blog about dancing in the rain!

Next Hurdle

So, tomorrow, I give my first public presentation since losing control of the right side of my face ... and I am nervous! It's a small group, but a long workshop (5 + hours,) and I am concerned about both my face and my energy. Okay, in short, I'm a bundle of nerves! Yesterday, my mouth wasn't working well and I was really having to work not to slur - horrors!

I have decided that I will open the session (which is all about communications and behavioral characteristics) with some amusing antecdote about brain tumors. I have NO idea what that will be, but I have about 18 hours to figure it out...

In addition to worrying about content, crooked smile, slurred words, nap attacks and wonky head, I am also concerned about what shoes I should wear. I know, how Imelda Marcos of me. But, really, I can't wear heels for fear of falling right off of them, so it will need to be flats. sigh.

Assuming I live through tomorrow, Saturday Willie and I leave for Oregon to visit mom and dad for a week. Willammette Valley, here we come! There's some Pinot Noir with my name on it ... or someone's name. Either way, I'll drink it. Dad just got his second eye "done" yesterday (not sure if he was gifted another plant or not?) so he'll be able to keep an eye on us!

More later...

Bury My Heart at Wounded Tail

So, it is clear that I need to have a picture of Phoebe's sprained tail for all to enjoy. Jules, I didn't even correlate the droopy tail with the droopy face - a true sign of feline solidarity! Now, of only Rock-man would calm down. He is still hiding under the arm chair in our sitting room, growling if anyone gets too near. Now does everyone understand why Willie and I don't have kids? Can you imagine?????

MRI and Felines Declare Jihad

Okay, so the boring news first ... my first MRI is CLEAN!!! Yessiree - nothing in my head but some belly fat (well, besides my brain, of course). Ain't that grand??? Dr. Golfinos was quite pleased with the results, as were Willie and I. Well, at least I think I was pleased. Hard to tell with all the valium wafting through my veins. However, thanks to drugs, the trip in the spirit-sucking tunnel of doom wasn't bad at all. So, my next date with the MRI is April 28, 2009.

Meanwhile, on Tallyho Lane ... Phoebe (the calico) cat had to be transported to the vet Monday. During a close encounter on Sunday with an elbow, as she was inching her way ever closer to the chicken on the kitchen counter, Phoebes took a flying leap to the floor and somehow managed to sprain her tail. Instead of sticking up in the air like a proud cat, the tail hung limply from her butt, like a sad cat. Fearing that she might have something major wrong, I wizzed her off to the bet. Several x-rays and a shot later, we were on our way home again, none the worse for the wear.

Rocket sidled up to greet her when we arrived home, giving her a friendly sniff on the butt, in that special way of cats everywhere. Horrors! Vet smells!! Rocket instantly declaired Feline Jihad on Phoebe (and everyone else in the vicinity), by launching into hisses and snarls and other intimidating noises. Finally, in order to get sleep, we had to seperate the former best friends for several nights. The Jihad is still underway, but appears to be losing some steam at last. Meanwhile, our poor collie, Carrie, keeps wandering right into the middle of the hostilities. She got so upset the first night that she threw up (yeah, we all want to do that sometimes, but most of us find the restraint to stop ourselves...!)

Well, at least Phoebe's tail is starting to look more cat-like.

Ah, never a dull moment on Tallyho ...

By the way, for those following the great "gift debate", I've decided that a Smart Car would be an appropriate, and earth-friendly, post brain surgery gift. I'll email the docs to let them know where to deliver it....

All in the Family...

Okay, so to prove that I have inherited my Eye wear Fashionista tendencies, here's a picture of Dad right after his cataract surgery yesterday. Which one of us is funnier looking - him with the pirate patch or me with the onion goggles????

Oh, and the basket is a little "thanks for shopping" gift from the surgeon. Apparently you get a cute basket for cataract surgery, but nada for brain surgery?!

Viewers Choice...

Happy Anniversary!

.. to us! Yep, today is our 8th anniversary! In some respects I feel as if we have always been together, and in others, the time has just flashed by. This has certainly been a year where I have had multiple occasions to realize how lucky I am to have Willie as my partner in life and love.



We decided to spend yesterday doing some fun things to celebrate, so we started off having breakfast at the local diner (something we never make time to do!) After that, we took Carrie to the park and walked up on one of the forest trails. Note to self - don't do this alone! I was teetering and wobbling all over the place and really needed to hang on to Willie. All that uneven ground is quite challenging still!



After that, we decided to take a drive up to Westfall Winery to visit our Malbec! We went into the barrell room and took a sample from our barrell (see Willie preparing at right). Although it is still very young, it has great promise and we look forward to visiting often over the next 8 months!

On our way home from the winery, we stopped at a little restaurant and sat our on their patio, with a view of the lake, and enjoyed a leisurely late lunch.

The day was capped off with me trying a new recipe for eggplant Parmesan which was wonderful!! The eggplant and tomatoes from the local farms are at their peak right now, so it pays to find different ways to incorporate them into our meals.

Tonight, we are heading over to Bula with a bottle of our favorite Willamette Valley Pinto Noir to enjoy an anniversary dinner.

Next on the agenda - first post surgery MRI next week! Yahoo!