CANCER CATCH-UP

Mr. FOG was graciously given the weekend off by the Laird, and is only just getting back to his duties. The needs of the household come first and a weekend off a close second.  Given these priorities, the blog had to wait.   This edition of the blog will get you up to speed on all that has happened in the lives of Lord, Nurse and Butler during the weekend. 

On Saturday, Lord, Nurse and Butler each did their own things.  Togetherness is a wonderful thing, but a little time apart helps us to appreciate our loved ones even more. 

Nurse Sherry was first out the door, a woman on a mission.  Not that she needs beauty treatments, but she got a deep tissue massage at Spa Sydell and her nails done.   Mr. FOG remembers that Lady Jane, the Laird’s mother, also has gone to this spa, which offers, wellness, relaxation, and pampering. Mr. FOG's favorite is Spa Jack Daniels also offering  relaxation and pampering, but perhaps not wellness, at a fraction of the price..

Nurse Sherry also ran various errands, including ordering an armoire. The Laird’s Valentine’s Day gift of the television prompted the need to have something to put it on.  While Vinings Mountain Castle does not have a true dressing room or boudoir  for the new piece of furniture, space was created in the bedroom.    It is funny how one gift can lead to another.  A special thanks to Tom D. the younger, for meeeting the deliver people.

 Nurse Sherry and Lord were lucky to find that their bedroom suite was still available, and the Laird was especially lucky to get two nice Valentine's gifts, or perhaps the armoire is really for both.  Nurse Sherry-Vanna shows our Television Armoire ensemble in the photo.. 

The Laird spent his day off with a long-time friend Jay B. The men went to see a new movie, Safe House, which was only OK.  As an aside, Shelter, seen by Lord, Nurse and Butler was  not liked by the trio.  

The men returned to Vinings Mountain Castle to watch Florida take on Arkansas.

Jay added his signature to the Gator Hope Chest, while Mario looks on. 


There is still room on the chest top for a couple more small signatures, but we may soon have to use the sides. 

Not to be outdone, Mr. FOG had a nice gourmet dinner club evening with long-time friends from a prior life. 

Suzanne, Mr. FOG’s culinary partner, and he were the hosts and the festivities were held at Suzanne’s place.  Suzanne and Mr. FOG  prepared a rack of lamb encrusted with mustard and bread crumbs, and served with a ratatouille and grilled vegetables.  Lois and Dave’ s appetizer was a most excellent mushroom tart with goat cheese. Martha prepared a great salad, with tart Granny Smith apples.The dessert, a Baba au Rhum, was brought by Kate and Dick.Mr. FOG, not a sweets' person but one who enjoys rum, had two servings of the Baba. A proud chef shows his creation which has a 16 ounces of rum.

Mr. FOG made it home well after his curfew, but Lord and Nurse were already asleep.  What they don’t know, won’t hurt FOG.

For the Sabbath, we tried the upscale Roman Catholic Holy Spirit which is close to Vinings Mountain Castle.  It is a Romanesque style church with cream colored plaster walls, carved wood highlights and nice stained glass windows.  We arrived early and partook of the beverages and doughnuts in the parish hall. It was a nice church community with many  families with children, elderly, and normal people.   It seemed like a by-gone piece of Americana.

St. Alphonsus

For those Catholics who like to leave church right after communion to beat the traffic, this strategy would not work well at Holy Spirit Church.  There were so many cars in the parking lot, that double parking was acceptable.  Holy Spirit also had policemen in the parking lot to help things along.  One police woman had the keys to move a double parked Mercedes, allowing a blocked car to leave.  It seemed to Mr. FOG that this church catering to well-heeled Catholics, offers police valet parking. 


Mr. FOG liked the Holy Spirit more because it was a more traditional service, with a good organ, choir and altar boys in red cassocks and surpluses.  It reminded him of the Lithuanian parish, St. Alphonsus, in Baltimore, Maryland where he was an altar boy for many years.  Mr. FOG's church in Asheville is St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville, pictured on the left.


 

After church, Mr. FOG left the Lord and Nurse alone so that they could enjoy their Sunday with more privacy. They are newlyweds after all and should have their alone time.  Mr. FOG ran some errands, and had dinner with Tom the lawyer.  Mr. FOG made it home much  earlier than the night before, well ahead of his curfew, and the newlyweds were still up.

Monday was back to the cancer grind.  While we hoped to avoid it, Mario needed a blood transfusion to help build his strength back up.  He got two units (pints) of type “O” positive.  This was done at Piedmont West and had a nice view of the Atlanta skyline during the three hours it takes to get this amount of blood. The Laird was able to work from a comfortable reclining chair.  We also got a nice surprise.  Tom and Judi, who are also battling cancer, were at Piedmont West receiving treatment.  The four got a chance to visit a bit.  The Laird treated Mr. FOG to lunch and both went home.

The upcoming week should be a better one for Mario as his energy levels go up.  Mario may start to drive this week, with Mr. FOG riding shotgun.  Mr. FOG has been playing chauffeur since late December.  Certainly after his surgery, Mario could not drive.  Mario’s leg has healed from the surgery, but his motor skills in his right leg and foot are not yet near normal.  Mr. FOG wants to be sure Mario can drive safely given his impaired leg and foot.  Also, given the chemotherapy, some days are not as good as others.  While Mr. FOG  is protective of his son; it is also important for Mario to get back to his normal life.  Mr. FOG riding shotgun will be reminiscent of when Mario was a teenager learning to drive and Mr. Fog or Lady Jane had to ride with him.  Hopefully it will better this time around.  Hopefully the Laird has not gotten too used to having a chauffeur.  

On Tuesday morning Mario had low grade fever, possibly a reaction to the transfusion, and he is taking oral anti-biotics and will work from home to reduce the risk of infection.