That loud cheering you heard this morning was after Peter swallowed his fifth and final Temodar capsule for the month, meaning that he has 23 days until the next time.  From my observer’s point of view, it went very well this time, even though the dosage was slightly higher.  His activity level has been pretty good and so has his appetite.  If he was nauseated, he didn’t complain about it, only about the metallic taste in his mouth that accompanies every Temodar cycle, I gather.  We’ve started talking about making a trip out to Austin to visit with Hillary and Chris and Margaret, if we can plan it for a time when she has a few days off and can meet us in Austin.   Peter says he’s confident about driving that much, with my help, since he drove for five hours on our return trip from Hilton Head. 

Maybe I can persuade him to send you some photos of our monster lilies, one of which is seven feet tall and has a rigid trunk like that of a small tree so that it can support its head of huge, heavy lilies.  

What a month this has been!  Hillary was with us when June started off, and she occupied the left seat for most of the drive up and back from Duke, giving us moral support at the same time.  Back in Athens, Peter experienced some pain in his abdomen and, thinking that he might have diverticulitis, his doctor sent him for a CT scan, which came back negative.  The pain soon went away on its own.

Peter’s three brothers from Germany had all flown over to visit with us this year, and sister Gerta was the only German sibling who had not, until this month, when she made the trip, accompanied by her 20-year-old granddaughter, Laura.  Gerta’s most recent visit was in ’03, for Hillary and Chris’s wedding and Margaret’s UGa graduation, but Laura hadn’t been to the States yet.  We had a wonderful week with Gerta and Laura, and even managed to drive down to Hilton Head and spend four days at the beach, a real treat for all of us.  Peter was in good form and took a lot of beach walks.  Back in Athens, Gerta took charge of the flower garden and she and Laura worked themselves into a real sweat every day (Gerta:  “I don’t think I could live in this country.  I would have to spend too much time fixing my hair!”) as she tore out heat-blasted pansies and replaced them with other plants she had chosen at the nursery.  Then, yesterday, we all cleaned up and drove out to Marietta for sister Lis’s birthday party, which was also a celebration of her recent engagement to boyfriend Chuck and a going-away party, since Lis and Chuck will relocate out West after they marry.  Peter led off the champagne toast with some well-chosen remarks…a feat which would have seemed impossible just a few months ago.

So, Peter is doing well.  He’s a bit off-schedule with his June chemo session, which has been delayed a couple of weeks; however, he plans to start it up again Tuesday, and if things go as planned, he will take his slightly-higher-than-last-month dose of Temodar for five consecutive days.  The good news is that it will be just one pill instead of the six he had to take in May. 

He will have to have his next MRI in August, but it will be here and not at Duke.  Until then, we are hoping for some quiet time and for the continuation of the beautiful weather and plentiful rain we’ve been having.  Peter’s latest wardrobe addition is a straw Panama hat, which looks good with his Aloha shirts, gives him a jaunty sort of Caribbean panache, and protects his head from the sun. 

I don’t think Peter and I got much sleep last night, but it was because of the horrific storm that parked itself overhead and crashed and boomed at us for hours, leaving four inches of rain in its wake.  Peter was behind the wheel for three hours yesterday and he’s happy to know he can drive that long now.

The news from Duke was encouraging.  The MRI was “stable”, and the blood work didn’t raise any red flags, either.  Dr. Ranjan is going to up his dosage of Temodar slightly, to 250 mg. from 235 mg., but it will all be in one pill this month, not six!  He will need to get an MRI here in Athens in August, but if all goes well, we don’t have to return to Duke until October 1st.  Peter asked Dr. Ranjan how she thinks he’s doing, and she told him that he’s “doing well”, which would seem to indicate that he’s cleared several hurdles.  Peter wants to start thinking about his 70th birthday party in September, so he and I and Hillary talked about that on the way home yesterday.  No one liked my suggestion that we have it at the South Pole.  Peter wants a beach, and I’m sure they have one there, so what’s the problem?  It’s an island with “South” in its name, but No-o-o.  The discussion will have to continue, it seems.

I received numerous comments on my first love is in the air post, consequently i am posing a follow up post.

Hope you enjoy it.

Songwriters: PENNINGTON/LEMAIRE
Love Is In The Air
Love is in the air everywhere I look around
Love is in the air every sight and every sound
And I don't know if I'm being foolish
I don't know if I'm being wise
But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I look in your eyes.
Love is in the air, in the whisper of the trees,
Love is in the air in the thunder of the sea,
And I don't know if I'm just dreaming,
I don't know if I feel safe,
But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I call out your name.
Love is in the air, love is in the air, oh, oh, oh, oh, uh,
Uh, uh, uh.
Love is in the air, in the rising of the sun,
Love is in the air, when the day is nearly done,
And I don't know if you are illusion,
Don't know if I see truth,
But you are something that I must believe in,
And you are there when I reach out for you.
Love is in the air everywhere I look around
Love is in the air every sight and every sound
And I don't know if I'm being foolish
I don't know if I'm being wise
But it's something that I must believe in
And it's there when I look in your eyes.
Love is in the air, love is in the air, oh, oh, oh, oh, uh,
Uh, uh, uh.

We made it to Durham, thanks to Hillary's safe driving. Finished the MRI and will see the oncologist tomorrow. Ed, we missed your driving and were thinking of you, the whole way, especially this afternoon at the Starbuck's.

Love, me

Wishing you the very best on your special day. What would I have done without you the past few months? For that matter the past 41 years!

Love, Peter