Charlie's Bird
living the dream with Charlie and Thandi and chirping all the way back to the nest.Archive for February, 2023
Do you like
…pina coladas and getting caught in the rain? Well, not so sure about the Pina coladas, but I got properly caught in the rain this morning. We set off on our morning run, the streets were dry, sky overcast. Next thing, with a flash of light and a clap of thunder, the rain came, and boy, it poured down! Yoh! I made the call, pretty smartly, to head back to the car – there is a reason they pull people off golf courses and out of pools when there is lightening. But, man it was very very wet! #DrownedRatClub
All about a show
…wow the weekend was full! And all with Peter Pan! The girl is dancing and dancing and dancing! Wow!
Friday was our school’s Interhouse gala, Thandi swam well, but had swum our city’s Top 8 gala the day before, so, as expected, she was tired and her times were a little off her best; nevertheless, a great showing from her, and her (our) house won the gala! Go Gittins! Friday night, we had a quiet night at home, because we knew the ‘storm’ was approaching, with all the complications of production week looming.
Saturday was photo day – the girls were at the venue for so many hours while they waited for their turn. It was a good opportunity to get into their completed costumes for the first time, with hair (in this case a wig) and make up. but that really filled the day. In the evening I was feeding some friends who were in town to run the Buffs Marathon on Sunday morning. Fortunately this made it an early night, because they needed to get to bed too!
This year I worked a water point at the marathon. We did the 3km point – so it was a fast and furious one! The race kicked off at 6, and the first runners were arriving at our station from about 6:09, and by 6:30, we had practically finished our clean up! Fast and furious. And at least I didn’t have any FOMO!
After a quick breakfast, it was time for Thandi to head to rehearsals, I decided to pop into the theatre to see if they needed any help, and before I knew it, it was 6 hours later and I had paint all over me, we had painted props and things, and continued to mull over our foam constructed crocodile, which is not behaving as it should. Argh! The foam keeps pulling apart… Anyway, we have a few strategies we will try today, and I am sure we will have a successful croc in the end! Can I just say how much I love a can of spray paint! Yoh, it is fun to work with that stuff!
And so far, my streak continues! #LentRun
Afternoon naps
…are just the most indulgent thing. Morning naps might be more so though. But whichever, I am longing for one today. Yawn!
The early morning exercise is back on track. I was going well until I had my PET scan, and I have taken a while to get going again. But, this week has (so far) been better. I think I am going to need to aim for a streak again, just so that I learn to re prioritise my exercise again, but I am aware of my ankle and that it is not 100%. Last week, even though I didn’t run, I spent many many hours on my feet and my ankle was talking to me loudly by Sunday afternoon. So, I think for the month of March I am going to make the commitment to myself to run/walk every day. If my ankle allows, but I will only know that if I try.
Ok, next wednesday I will kick off. Anyone joining me?
Valentining
..so, as you should know by now, I host an annual Valentine’s dinner… SO, for the last week I have been cooking and baking, icing and making, decorating and testing, in preparation for the Dinner which happened on Saturday evening.
So, we started with corn dogs, fish taco and pork dumplings; then we moved onto the starter of a pizza slice and an egg cream; mains was a medley of pastrami on rye, cheeseburger mac cheese and fried chicken and waffles, with hot maple syrup and dessert another medley of New York style cheesecake, cannolis, Reeses peanut butter macarons, cookies and cream macaron and cherry coke fudge. Finally I served a ‘charcuterie’ platter of cookies and candy. Everyone ate well, and I had lots of compliments! It was delicious!
The last few months have worn me down and my spirits are quite low. Actually, I should say, my spirit feels quite psychotic – some days I am on top of the world, and then for days after I am quite miserable and unhappy. I am tired of feeling this way, tired of being negative and feeling duty bound to do things, things that I do actually love, like hosting this party, so I have been making a conscious effort to smile a bit more. And, in all honesty, it does lift the spirit, and changes my whole demeanour. Here’s to smiling more and the run off from that.
Meet the fish
…the girl did it! She has, at the ripe age of 11 qualified for the South African Junior national gala, happening in Durban in March!
It’s been touch and go for a while on this qualification, and 2 weeks ago she swam a new distance – 400m freestyle, and then swam it again this weekend, and finally she dipped below the SAJN qualifying time! The kid was on cloud 9! She had done it! So off we go to Durban by the sea!
Good news
…my PET scan was normal, and showed no residual melanoma cells! What a huge relief!
my journey
…so, I think it might be time to share what has been going on with me over the last few months.
In December I was diagnosed with a melanoma. I noticed a mark on my back and took myself off to the plastic surgeon next door. He really didn’t think it was something too serious and after a bit of to and fro-ing eventually decided to excise it. Well, 2 days later he was shocked to see the results from the lab, somehow though, I wasn’t. He needed to do a further excision, and then we headed off to NYC. I came back to the news that the re-excision was entirely clear, and I made an appointment to see the dermatologist and the oncologist.
(even typing those words makes me uncomfortable – I have an oncologist now)
My appointment with both of those specialists went off really well with everyone very positive and encouraging. And then there were some bloods to be done. And this is where things get a bit more complicated. So one of the tests was a marker for melanoma. And that test should have been negative.
Except it wasn’t.
Next up now is a PET scan – it’s scheduled for Wednesday ( I was going to have one anyway, but it was initially scheduled for end March) And only then will I know what is actually going on, and what the next steps are.
The ‘what if’s’ are driving me crazy.
Charlie's Bird 