From January 20 – 27 we camped near the Colorado River, in Columbus (Texas, of course), to try out all the bells and whistles on our new rig. We stayed in a Thousand Trails campground, so we didn’t have to pay (we are members). It’s a pretty good deal, really. As long as you use the membership, which we do!
Our GPS took us out of the way so it ended up being a longer drive to get there. But, it was good to finally get to try her out. We’ve been to the storage unit almost daily, and on Amazon nearly as often 🤪😂, getting her prepped, organized, and ready for action. Everything (almost) is reversed here, so I kept going to the wrong side to reach for stuff. But, it’s working out great so far.
The spot we got in was fairly level, but we did raise one side up just a notch. We ate at Joe’s Italian in Columbus the first night. Delicious bread and pizza! They showed a movie at the campground, but we were too tired the first day, so we watched the movie Dog Gone in bed. The TV is on my side in this trailer. It has 3 HDMI inputs, so we can use the iPad to stream (which we did).
Our home for the week, Columbus Texas.
Tim gave a quick ten-minute tour of our trailer the day we got set up. He talked about how it’s different from our other one. You can watch it here. We have almost decided on a name, so you’ll probably see another post about that coming soon!
The temperatures were mostly cold, then rainy, then sunny, then cold again. That’s Texas! It was a good test for all the different A/C and heating units in our trailer! We went for several walks by the River, sat in front of our camper and watched the sunset, and watched the deer frolic and play.
Resident deer. They were all over the park.
Walking by the Colorado River
Hiking through the woods.
Enjoying the sunset.
It was cold and rainy after the first couple of days, with a tornado watch 😳😳 to boot! But our girl did great. She did have a leak on the front door, so we’ll drop it off at the dealer to get that fixed. But, no damage from the storm was noted (Praise God!).
Rain Rain Go Away!
Uh Oh… It’s not supposed to rain on the inside.
This town was a bit of a surprise. A gem, really. Lots of history and interesting sites here!
The skies cleared so we took an auto tour of historic buildings in downtown Columbus. We read a bunch of historic markers, re-telling historic stories. The first Texas Ranger started here.
I loved the courthouse, with a beautiful green stained glass ceiling in the courtroom.
They also have a LOT of big beautiful live oak trees. One of the largest in the world lives here. This one is in the middle of town. It’s a very cool town.
We ended that day with schnitzel at Schobels Restaurant. Delicious!!
Heading home, via the dealership. We left just after sunrise. Our truck was covered in frost! 😳 The deer stopped by to say good-bye on our way out of the park. All in all, a great week, and a successful Maiden Voyage!!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
For some reason, they didn’t do bloodwork today. I’m not complaining, mind you. I prefer not to get poked whenever possible. I’ve been told by the nurses they don’t have any requirements for my treatment so bloodwork isn’t really necessary. I like watching my glucose mostly, with all the diabetes in my family. Herceptin and Perjeta continue every three weeks. Other than that, not really much to report.
Tomorrow we’re leaving for a trip in the Airstream to try out all the bells and whistles on the new rig. Going somewhere close to the dealership, just in case something goes wrong. More on that later.
Short post today…enjoy.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Grab a cuppa…this is going to be a doozy!! Oh, and Happy New Year by the way!
We came home from our Christmas trip and noticed the slow leak in our Airstream tire had turned into a flat.
All along we have been working with Airstream Of Austin on a deal to trade in our 30’ International for a 27’ Globetrotter. There are many reasons we decided to do this, but that story is for another time.
This is a story of many more lessons learned about the Airstream. Like how to change the tire, how not to change the tire (because if you do it wrong, you’ll actually break the rig), how to deal with insurance companies, and the one bright spot in all of this mess: the wonderful people at Airstream of Austin.
Because of the trade, time was of the essence. We were driving to Austin on Friday to do the deal, and we discovered the flat after my infusion appointment on Thursday, the day before.
Our garage looks like we are having a garage sale but in reality we were emptying out our Airstream to trade it in. This happened on Wednesday.
I don’t think our Chrome Home was too happy about our decision to turn her in. She gave us several reasons to reconsider the deal. The flat tire should have been an easy fix. But it turned into a major ordeal.
We called Coachnet, our roadside assistance program through the DFW Airstream dealership, and they sent out a technician to change the tire. It took him nearly three hours to arrive, and by that time it was dark and rainy. Fortunately our trailer was parked in the storage lot, with plenty of space to work around it.
The culprit!
The first thing he did was try to jack up the camper, as expected when changing a tire. He managed to take off the flat. After seeing the screw in our tire, we were grateful we had made the decision to change the tire rather than just air it up. Or we might have suffered further damage. We were surprised it made the trip home from Oklahoma!
Next part gets juicy. This is when the “fun” really started.
The tech was about to put on the spare, but he could not jack up the trailer high enough to put it on. Back down, add blocks to raise the jack. After several attempts, he pressed the floor jack one more time, and that’s when I heard Tim say “oh no oh no OH NO,” in a very loud voice. When the technician added blocks underneath of the jack, he did not properly place it in the correct spot on the rig, where it has to go to raise it up. There’s a very specific square metal piece that has to be used or, well, this happens. When he lifted the jack, the square piece broke off and the jack tore through the bottom of the rig. We now have a nice breezeway on the bottom of the belly.
Fortunately, it did not go all the way through the floor, but the gaping hole said it would require a major fix. In case you’re wondering, since the floor jack didn’t work we used our level under one tire to put the flat tire up in the air. Tim found this on YouTube and it worked! We had to release some air from the spare to fit it on, but he did finally get it on.
At this point we didn’t even know if we could trade it in.
Coach-Net took our claim information. We sent pictures. They were very accommodating.
They called the service provider who blamed Airstream. Bottom line, they probably won’t pay. It would likely become an insurance claim.
The next morning we drove to Austin as planned to start the trade, with the Airstream riding on the spare. After much discussion they were not panicking. In fact, they were super helpful. They agreed to cover the cost of our deductible if our insurance had to pay. That was a blessing! In hindsight, the dealership is probably going to make money off of our insurance claim, so it might have made the deal even sweeter for them.
So, we started a claim with our insurance company. Or at least we tried to! More drama . Their system was down and it took them all day just to give us a claim number. Airstream had to have the claim number before we could sign the paperwork for the trade.
At one point, the insurance agent said she couldn’t find a “cause” for the claim, meaning she didn’t know if they would pay. 🙇♀️
Cra—-zy!!
Rachel was our salesperson. She’s a go-getter! I think we gave her a migraine. Actually, she had one before we arrived, but she stuck it out.
While we were waiting for the insurance company, Josh did our walkthrough. The smart plug that came with our new rig had a fault. (Seriously! You can’t make this stuff up.) They didn’t have one in parts, so he “borrowed” one from another new rig. Well, that’s now our electric chord. He showed us all the features in our new model, and he was very thorough. It was a little easier this time around, as we understood what types of questions we needed to ask. We got a new hitch as well, that seems a bit easier to install.
At the end of the day, and it was a very long day, the insurance company agreed to pay, and the staff at Airstream of Austin made it all work. At this writing, we are driving home pulling our new 27 foot Globetrotter. And it tows beautifully. Tim almost forgets it’s back there.
Another Day, and another lesson learned…Be sure to double check your old Airstream for all your outside tools and gadgets before leaving it at the dealer. Everything was so chaotic while we were there, and moving so fast during the trade, we left some things behind. On the last day of the year, we took yet another trip back to Austin (3 hours one way) to clean out all the outside storage compartments. We didn’t even know what we had left behind until we got there, but it would have cost a few pennies to replace. Our tools, tire chock, leveling blocks, spare keys, and more. Things that would not only cost money to replace, but would also take time and become a hassle while doing so.
Fortunately, everything was still there. I double-triple checked every single locker. Inside and out. I no longer had that “I feel like we’re forgetting something” feeling on the drive home. You know the one.
They told Tim they already had a deal working on our old rig when we got there. 😳
After we got all of our goodies and made the trek back home, we hosted our family for New Year’s Eve. Good-bye (and good riddance) 2022! Here’s to another year in the books! I am thankful for every day of life, as we never know how many breaths we have left.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Christmas is over and we are back to reality. I’m sitting here at MD Anderson getting treatment, after seeing my oncologist for the last time this year. I’m looking forward to what 2023 has in store!
I’m so thrilled to be here, SIX years after my diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. I am so blessed, and I thank my God daily for giving me the strength and life to live. My nurses are always a bit amazed at how many times I have been here for treatment.
Tim and I just returned from our “Hallmark Christmas.” We enjoyed Christmas with four of our grandkids at the beginning of the month since they would not be available on Christmas Day. Our other two have moved out of state, so it was just the two of us this year. To do something different, rather than sitting at home, we decided to go on a trip. It would be our first winter camping trip for this long of a time. It was a blast!
If you are my friend on FaceBook, you’ve seen all the updates. We shared some of our woes and joys in various videos along the way. We demonstrated our “MacGyver” trick to insulating the bottom of the trailer, fixing a flat tire, and other things. The last video has a special message of inspiration from my hubby, also known as “Padre” or “Pastor Tim.” Click here if you want to watch it. You can catch up on all the other videos on my YouTube channel, including a gift to you on my ukulele (I’m still learning).
We knew it was going to be cold, which is what we wanted for Christmas this year, but we couldn’t see the forecast that far into the future. Little did we know a Siberian freeze would be coming to town. 🤪🥶 Temperatures fell to single digits, with wind chills at – 22 (that’s MINUS 22!). Our tanks froze and we crossed our fingers and prayed that nothing was permanently damaged. They thawed out on Christmas Day, and we were able to leave two days later.
Before the miserable freezing weather, we enjoyed small town Christmas as well as Oklahoma City Lights on Broadway. We saw millions of Christmas lights, ate some great food, spent time with friends, watched movies, played games, and even put together a Christmas puzzle. And yes, we got our White Christmas! In spite of the cold, our heater worked well and we slept soundly.
Our Airstream was so pretty all decorated, with snow in the foreground.
We maintained traditions like attending a Christmas Eve candlelight service followed by a Chinese dinner, and opening presents on Christmas morning. We also read a devotional book together daily for the entire Advent season. It was one of the best I’ve read, with lots of historical references and food for thought. The emphasis was on Emmanuel, God with us. The Incarnation. I felt closer to Jesus with each turn of the page.
We left on December 9th and didn’t go home until the 27th; it was quite an adventure! It was a wonderful time camping in our Airstream travel trailer. Along with the normal gear were our Christmas decorations, lights, and of course the presents. It felt so much like Christmas the whole time we were there. The staff at the KOA (just outside of Oklahoma City) were so friendly, encouraging, and knew us by name by the time we were heading out. I gave them one of my children’s books as we were leaving.
We learned a lot of lessons on this trip. We learned a lot about winter camping that we didn’t already know. We learned that we are more resilient than we could have believed. No matter how much life throws our way, we will persevere. Our perspective on our limits has changed. For one, 30 degrees doesn’t sound as cold as it used to! Sometimes we may go through a test to determine how much our bodies (and minds) can handle. I am grateful to have the Lord and my husband beside me, and a body that keeps going in spite of my cancer diagnosis.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
One of our Florida friends has cancer. Not the same kind as me, but his has also metastasized. Many of you know him. We were planning a trip to Florida in December and wanted to spend a few weeks, but when a friend goes home on palliative care, you do what you can to encourage them. NOW.
Tim had some free rental days, so we rented a nice car and drove to Florida. We looked at my oncology schedule, and found about a week when we could go between treatments. We got home late last night.
We might not have recognized him had we run into him on the street. The long beard that matched ZZ Top has been replaced by a clean shaven face, thanks to several rounds of chemo and radiation to the neck and head. I believe this is the first time we have ever seen him without facial hair. His appetite has wained. He is thinner, by about 100 pounds. His voice sounds different. He walks a little slower, but he is not bedridden.
In spite of his many physical changes, we can see he’s still the same person. He loves to play games, and he even sat at the table for several hours while the boys fought battles during Axis and Allies. (I went to dinner with the ladies.) After the game, we all reminisced. We went to church together. Played in a band together. Traveled to other countries and did rock concerts. He was our tour guide because of his impeccable memory regarding historical facts. He told a joke (I was the brunt). We all laughed. It was a great night to see our friends and hopefully provide them with a bit of a distraction from every day concerns, anticipatory grief, doctors’ visits, major life-changing decisions, and so forth.
We’ve been there. We are there. We know what it’s like to be told bad news. I am so fortunate the Lord lead me to MD Anderson and a team of specialists who found treatment to keep my body alive years longer than they expected. Not everyone’s body responds to treatment the way mine has. Not all cancers respond the same way. Sometimes treatment options run out. Many times they do. I’m praying our friends find doctors who are willing to try something else to keep going.
While I was talking to his wife, I was reminded of a song I recently heard by Dolly Parton and four other women. It’s a hope for the future where “pink is just another color.” The fact is, the researchers are closer to a cure than they ever have been. That’s what I’m praying for! If you’d like to watch the music video, here’s the link. Have some tissues handy.
We saw lots of friends on this trip, in spite of the brevity. You know who good friends are when they drop what they are doing to see you while you are in town. I wish we could have seen more! Maybe next time sick friends will be feeling better and we’ll have more time to get around town to see the rest.
I just did bloodwork, and now I’m waiting for my chemo appointment. They will infuse Zometa for my bones today, in addition to the normal Herceptin and Perjeta protocol. My oncologist got the blessing from my bone specialist. We try to plan our trips in the three weeks between visits. Tim and I often sit in a café, sip hot tea or Diet Pepsi, eat lunch together, work on projects (mostly separate ones), and bounce ideas off of each other for our next trip to wherever.
It was a quick trip all the way to Florida and back, and I’m so glad we went. We have decided not to question ourselves when the Holy Spirit leads us in a particular direction. Marker on the dry-erase wall calendar has been erased and replaced multiple times. We have learned to be flexible. Cancer does that to you. The process of going through it teaches you so much about living life to the fullest, being flexible, and spending time with the ones you live.
Now, go give your loved ones a hug. ❤️❤️
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I get that question a LOT. “When will you be done with treatment?” The typical response inside my head is some quip that goes something like, “when I die,” or “I’m in it for life.” But I know the questioner is sincere and typically doesn’t understand all the ins and outs of my disease. So, I smile and explain why I will never be done with treatment. The protocol is every three weeks for terminal breast cancer.
I may have to change that mantra… 🤩🤩
I saw my oncologist today, and he gave me some potentially good news. He checked with the breast team just before my appointment and asked when this “poor patient” can stop treatment, if ever. After all, in December it will be six years since my diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer, and ten years since my original diagnosis of breast cancer. And I’ve been stable since January 2019.
I was encouraged to hear, HE was asking the question. I thought he assumed, like me, that it was for life.
However, at this time the response remains the same. “We don’t know.” The data doesn’t support stopping treatment as of yet. And we likely won’t have any new data for a very long time. After all, who wants to be part of that study? Stop treatment to see if you are cured, but risk a progression that could be even worse than the time before? Nah, I’ll keep plugging away until they have the data that says otherwise, or until it no longer works (if ever).
BUT, it was encouraging to know my oncologist thinks there could come a day when I will no longer need to come in for treatment. 👍👍❤️❤️❤️ THAT, my friends, is HOPE.
A few other things were discussed in our time together, like when I’m due for my scans and such. I also learned that he is now a full professor. That’s the highest rank at MD Anderson. He is such a humble man. I had to hear that from a nurse, as he would never tell me that himself.
After some laughs and chats with the tech, nurse, and physician assistant, I went back up to the third floor for treatment.
They obliged my request to get in earlier than my 2:45 appointment since I had finished my bloodwork and met with the doctor before 10:00. I haven’t been in a room with a bed for a very long time, so that was also a nice surprise.
As soon as my port was accessed, I logged in to my Active Living After Cancer group. This was the last week in a 12-week virtual class. We all “graduated” today, and I will forever remember these ladies. I also found a filter in Zoom I didn’t know existed.👩🎓🤪🤪
We plan to get together for some events and lunches to stay connected. Maybe even a monthly “reunion,” to encourage our activity. The leaders have been so encouraging. I have started a personal friendship with one of them, as she is finishing her doctoral degree and we seem to have a lot in common. Her energy is over the moon!
Also while in treatment I was blessed with a text from our daughter-in-law, containing the cutest video of my two youngest grandkids. She caught Mikayla saying she wants to see “NANANANANANA!” She was yelling it over and over. 😂😂😂 And the baby has his rattle socks I gave them, on his hands, rattling them like crazy. I cracked up watching it. ❤️❤️❤️
Treatment was done by 12:15 and I was ready for lunch. I love my nurses! Even with our chats she worked fast and efficiently. I was happy to eat and get home by 1:00. As I am typing this blog, we are on the road again, heading out for another Airstream Adventure!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
A week on the lake is food for the soul. I could eat like this every day. We’ve taken in a lot on our walks around the park and down by the lake. And for those who may think Tim is all play and no work, here’s the view from our office. He’s in a meeting while I’m typing this. 🤪🤪 We have also been to Panera Bread and McDonald’s, where the WIFI is strong. Nothing is close, as we are way out in the boonies here, so we usually make a day or at least a half-day of it when we go into town.
I’m listening to Contemporary Christian music on Pandora. I just heard a new song by Sara Groves. Have you heard it?
I’m not sure if it’s the environment, or the medicine they have me on for this neuropathy study, but my feeling is coming back in my hands and legs. I still have some tingling in my fingers, but when we walk I don’t feel like my legs are as heavy. My balance is also much better. I have a total of 60 days on the medicine for the study. Once it’s gone, they said the neuropathy shouldn’t come back after that! Fingers crossed and prayers going up for that as well!
We will be here one more night, then we take the rig to DFW Airstream for some warranty work before we head home. And, our awning needs replacing (hence the umbrella), so they will also take care of it when we drop it off. Unfortunately the awning is not under warranty due to user error 🙄. That happened on our very first road trip to Florida. Lesson learned.
We’ll leave the Airstream at the dealership for two weeks as we will be back up this way for an Airstream Rally at the end of September, and the Balloon Fiesta the following week. That will save us pulling it down and back from Houston to Dallas. Bonus!
Sunset on Lake Tawakoni
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
After chemo we hooked up the Airstream and headed north to Lake Tawakoni (Tah-WAH-kuh-nee). It’s near Point Texas, east of Dallas, about 3.5 hours from our house. Looks like a nice, quiet place to sit for a week. Tim will be working from the trailer, or the nearest Panera Bread, and I will be sipping tea while doing whatever it is that I do. 🤪🤪
The hook-up went much smoother than we expected. We timed it, and from start to finish we were ready to leave the storage unit in less than 45 minutes. That included hosing down the rig and putting air in the tires, which we don’t always do. This storage facility has everything from a dump station to air and water.
One tank of gas made it all the way up, but we didn’t get as good of gas mileage as we had hoped. This truck does tow better than the Ram, though, which is why we traded in the first place.
Luckily, a spot was open right on the lake. It’s idyllic. Big trees will block the heat and separate us from other guests. We have a great view of the sunset. Tim backed into the camping spot like a pro. 🤩🤩 We had to use our levelers for the first time in a while.
Just after sunset.
Unhitching the trailer and setting up camp also went pretty smoothly, with only one tiny hiccup. We were getting a little tired by this point as it was already dinnertime, and we had a long day. He hurt his hand when he was taking off the first sway bar. 😳😳🙄 I think he was trying to hurry the process along as we were getting hungry, and he took it off out of order. His hand got caught between the propane tank cover and the tool, and of course this is the one time he wasn’t wearing his gloves. I had to push the tank cover over to get it unstuck. This resulted in some fairly good scrapes on his hand and on the tank cover, but fortunately nothing is broken. There were a few tense moments that nearly cost us our religion. 😳🤪
We had spaghetti for dinner, which is when we discovered one of the propane tanks is empty. (The stove wouldn’t light.) Hopefully the other tank will last the whole week, but we may need to buy more. Also, I forgot to turn on the fridge before we left 🙄, so the cold food will need to stay in the cooler until morning.
We finished just in time to see the sunset and go for a walk around the park. Regardless of the troubles and trials we face, we are still very much in love and enjoy the time we have together. Thirty-seven years of marriage have taught us a thing or two about learning how to communicate, manage conflict, say “I’m sorry,” and forgive each other. This is the value of putting the Lord first in our marriage.
It’s a great day to be alive!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Today is the first day of treatment since my Medicare kicked in. I wasn’t sure how it would work out, so I checked in early with high hopes to manage expectations. They assured me, it’s all taken care of. They assured me. there’s no charge for today’s visits. Whew! I’m still keeping my fingers crossed.
I also saw my oncologist this morning. I had a nice chat with the nurse about our recent motorcycle trip up north, and we talked about my mother-in-law’s passing. I also learned that my doctor recently had covid, so we aren’t the only ones. It’s going around, even amongst those who have been vaccinated. He apparently caught it at a conference. We laughed about how he holed up in a hotel to quarantine from his family. Since he couldn’t go out for food, his wife would bring him meals and leave it on the floor outside the door “like I had leprosy.” The quarantine is worse than the virus, in some cases. My caregivers have been with me for more than five years now. We have developed a good rapport, so it’s always pleasant when I go and see them.
My doc said he has to reload both of my infusions during this treatment, because it’s been more than six weeks since my last treatment (thanks Covid 🙄). Yesterday was exactly six weeks. If I had come in on Tuesday, we could have just reloaded the one. Herceptin has to be reloaded after four weeks, and Perjeta after six weeks. We try not to do that, but times like these it’s hard to avoid.
It’s going to be a long wait. I have 90 minutes of Herceptin and 60 minutes of Perjeta. Usually it is 30 and 30. I’m going to hit The Woodlands during rush hour. Oy vey…
My computer is full of juice, I have my Diet Coke by my side, and a warm blanket is on my legs. I’m ready to go!
I forgot to put on my port cream, but Warren is a good nurse. I didn’t feel a thing. He got good blood return and no problems with the port. Thumbs up…👍.
While sitting here, I received a text from a friend, whose friend was just diagnosed with breast cancer. They found it on her first mammogram. Fortunately they caught it early, and she can have a lumpectomy. It doesn’t matter the stage, it’s still hard to hear.
I am always empathic toward those who are newly diagnosed. The emotions are overwhelming. If ever you have heard a doctor say the “c” word, you know what I’m talking about. I pray for these women, as it’s a tough road. It’s a change in identity. We are part of a club we never wanted to join. Fortunately, there are lots of treatment options and we are living longer than we ever have in the past. God has blessed some amazing people with great knowledge and skills to treat and even cure the worse of cancers.
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
I’ve never seen a bear climb a pole before. Have you? Before you get worried that we were in danger, we were watching this unfold from the viewing deck at the North American Bear Center in Ely Minnesota, one of the intentional stops we made along our motorcycle path. Somewhere in the middle of Superior National Forest is a home to some rescued black bears, and some wild ones as well. We saw a squirrel do this just a few minutes earlier, but much faster 😂😂. It’s worth the 23 seconds to watch…
I learned a lot about black bears. For example, they don’t attack humans. They might chuff and stomp and throatily moan, but they do not growl (wolf sound effects are dubbed in for the movies). And they even have a white coat in some parts, unrelated to the polar bear and, no, they are not albinos. Lots of things to read in this place. The bear in the video is Holly. She is the matriarch of the bears at the Center.
Riding to the HOG rally, Duluth MI, our last day.
For the past decade we have looked forward to a big ride every summer. Some years we have gone on more than one trip. At the end of the ride we immediately began planning our next one. Last year we rode two bikes to Colorado, Lake Michigan, and Tennessee on three separate trips.
In December we sold the bikes.
We didn’t experience any remorse when we sold the bikes. We had ridden in all 48 states on two wheels. We’ve experienced rain, heat, hail, perfect days and not-so-perfect days, break-downs and bumps in the road that nearly fling you off your seat. We’ve seen a lot of sites. After our Tennessee trip, we didn’t immediately start planning another trip like we had in the past. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
After two days of riding home in the cold rain (insert claps of thunder sounds), perhaps we were burned out. Or maybe we just felt like we had accomplished our goal. Our bucket list was complete. In all reality, we aren’t really sure why, but we decided to do something different.
We plan to travel more using our Airstream. And, we will rent a Harley in far away places, where we can’t ride to (or don’t want to take the extra days to ride to). We will likely buy one someday in the near future.
Some people might wonder what this has to do with metastatic breast cancer. After all, that’s the purpose of my blog. It’s about livingwith metastatic breast cancer. We decided a long time ago we would not let life pass us by. We will continue to live life to the fullest as long as I have breath and energy to do so. We are taking John 10:10 literally, embracing the abundant life Jesus has given us.
The Ride. When they announced the national HOG touring rally was going around Lake Superior, we signed up as soon as registration opened. It’s a follow-up to the Lake Michigan tour we went on last year. It’s fun meeting up with other HOG enthusiasts as well as some executives who keep Harley-Davidson in check. We mapped out our route, and found the nearest dealership to rent a bike. We joined Eagle Rider to save on the rental cost.
Coop, meet our ride for the week! I promise she isn’t snubbing you, she’s just sad she can’t go along for the ride. 🤪😂
We rented the gunmetal gray Road Glide Limited pictured above from Harley-Davidson of Madison (Wisconsin). That’s a wonderful dealership. They stored our car for us as well. They are super nice and helpful people there. Alissa helped us with the rental, and another worker also helped connect Tim’s phone to bluetooth.
A sales guy tried real hard to sell Tim the CVO when we came back through. Tempting!! 😁
Because we were renting, we could not take the bike into Canada. That was a bummer, as it was part of the reason we chose this rally. I suppose we could have just tried it, but Eagle Rider wouldn’t cover any costs if there was an accident. Better not to risk it. We met the rally in Marquette Michigan, then went on an adventure of our own. They headed east to circle the lake counter-clockwise. We headed west and planned to meet them in Duluth.
The weather was beautiful from Madison to Marquette. The next day we rode west. Saw another Wisconsin sign, through Duluth, and on to International Falls through the national forest. Got rained on that day, but we did make it all the way to Duluth without getting wet.
Sad News. On the way to International Falls we got a call from Tim’s brother and sister. We were on a back road and had to find a place to pull over. His mom fell asleep with a cigarette in her mouth, while hooked up to her oxygen. She burned her face and tongue pretty badly. We stayed on course as they said Hospice was taking care of her. (She was already on home Hospice and was not given long to live.) We had planned to stop by on the way back through, and they thought she would be okay in a few days.
The next day we were on our way to Grand Portage Minnesota (by the Canadian border) when we got the call that his mom had passed away. I think this was just about the time we stopped at the Bear Center. Apparently, Hospice transported her to a Hospice House where they planned to care for her a few days. They gave her some morphine, and less than an hour later she was gone. It was July 27, 2022. She was 77 years old.
We have since learned the smoke inhalation (combined with her COPD and heart problems) lead to her death. They ruled it an accident. It’s a sad and traumatic way to die. She may have lived a few weeks longer had she not had the accident, but we are comforted by the fact that she was ready to go. She has been ready for a while now.
We were also happy we got to see her and spend some time with her on the way up. We played Yahtzee, had lunch together (she ate a whole meal with dessert), and chatted on the front porch. She talked about meeting Bill in heaven soon. Our last memories of her were positive, and we felt encouraged. She was a wonderful mother-in-law, and I will miss her.
Of course, this news put a bit of a damper on our motorcycle trip. We decided to cancel the last leg and head to his mom’s house from Duluth so Tim could meet with the family regarding arrangements. Canada is a long way up there! We had to return the motorcycle, so it wasn’t exactly a straight path. It would take us three days from the time we left Grand Portage.
We met with his siblings on Ruth Ann’s porch Sunday afternoon (yesterday), and went over the memorial and burial arrangements. It’s always interesting when family gets together 🙄.
Left to Right: Rick, Deidre, Deborah, Tim
Ruth Ann wanted to be cremated, which is probably a good thing given her condition at death. The coroner held her body to do their investigation, and finally released the death certificate this morning. On our way out of town, we met with the probate office, the funeral home, went by the cemetery, and stopped by the house to pick up some paperwork. We said our final good-byes (see you in a couple of weeks) to his siblings, then we headed home. We drove straight through.
Her memorial (celebration of life) will be in two weeks. Peachtree Village in Farmington Arkansas has graciously offered their facility, and they will provide food as well. Ruth Ann worked there for a while, and they loved her. Everyone did! Her memorial will be held on Sunday, August 14 2022 at 2:00 PM. After that we will move to Lincoln Cemetery for the internment of her ashes.
You never know how someone is going to die. I was told 6-9 months when I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2016, and I’m still here. One of my breast friends was deemed cancer free and she died in an accident. Tim’s mom was told 6 months, then she died from an accident. Tim’s dad also died from unexpected, strange circumstances back in 2003. You never know. We just live this little mist called life to the fullest every day, trusting God for the outcome–whatever that may be.
What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears.
James 4:14 (CEV)
Memories. It seems a bit odd to be posting a blog about fun and sadness all at the same time. But that’s the way life is sometimes. It’s filled with ups and downs. The line from Forrest Gump is so true…Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.
If you’re my FaceBook friend, you can see a bunch of photos from our motorcycle ride. It’s hard to pick just a few, as there are so many photos and videos to choose from. Here are some of my favorite moments from our trip.
Paris…Texas that is!
We’ve decided to start visiting all the Airstream Dealers. Most of them have no inventory right now.Finally got to go there. See Tim disappearing into the cornfields?!Loved laying on the soft, northern grass beneath the large shade trees.That was a beautiful day for a ride! Welcome to the Rally. Here’s your swag.No rain to Duluth, then it hit! 😫😭 We stayed in Ranier, which is a quaint port town with an award-winning hotel just outside of International Falls. Another beautiful day for a ride! We did get spit on a few times, but missed the deluge.Six miles from Canada! We took a walk and it was much longer than we anticipated!Windy! See the flags? Enjoy the ride!!We could have gotten a challenge coin here! Totally missed it. 😫This was a beautiful stop. Two lighthouses at one location!
À la prochaine…hasta la próxima vez…until next time!
Oh, and Happy New Year by the way!
The flat tire should have been an easy fix. But it turned into a major ordeal. 
. Their system was down and it took them all day just to give us a claim number. Airstream had to have the claim number before we could sign the paperwork for the trade.
