More Good News

It seems my cancer markers are still down, indicating no cancer growth.  To say I am grateful is an understatement.  In fact, I don't need to see my oncologist for three months.  So other than monthly flushes of my infusion port, I won't be traveling to the chemo clinic for a quarter of a year.  We have no idea what the future holds or how long the remaining cancer cells will remain dormant.  But we refuse to focus on that.  We are taking the good news for what it is and no more.  And I still wake up every morning and say aloud, "thank you for another day."  I don't specify to whom it is addressed so that it will cover all to whom it may concern.

We gave the miniature fishing cabinet to my oncologist after the visit and he was delighted.  His face lit up like a little boy with his first electric train (or whatever is the modern-day equivalent).  He kept pointing out tiny little things and said it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.  I offered to help him put it back in the padded gift bag and he refused.  He wanted to carry it to his office in his hands.  All three of us - the doctor, my husband, and I - left the office smiling broadly.

I saw a couple of the nurses as I was leaving and they ran up to me clapping because they already knew about my good counts.  They are absolutely the most caring and wonderful people I have ever met in such horrible times.

I have several things on my schedule for the next month, not the least of which is a visit from our daughter.  So I am going to be pretty busy as I relish my good fortune.  I'll take a break from blogging unless something important comes along.

I will leave you with an early autumn photograph taken right in our community. I took it at the base of one waterfall, pointing at the larger waterfall for whom our community is named.

And the lovely area known as John Rock, now a fish hatchery with a popular hiking trail to the top of the rock.   I took these photographs several years ago when the fall color was truly spectacular.

Today's first quote is from Ingrid Bergman:
"Every day that I challenge this cancer and survive is a victory for me."

I've been a poetry lover since the sing-song rhymes I first heard in early childhood.  One of the best things about Kindle is that I can carry poetry anthologies (or complete works) around with me. 
I will share my favorite autumn poem, "God's World" by Edna St. Vincent Millay.  Think on it as you see the fall colors.

Oh world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
     Thy winds, thy wide gray skies,
     Thy mists that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour!  That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough.

Long have I known the glory in it all,
     But never knew I this;
     Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart,---Lord, I do fear
Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year,
My soul is all but out of me,--let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird calll.

HAVE A WONDERFUL FEW WEEKS

ENJOY THE AUTUMN

NANCE SAYS IT DELAYS THE WINTER

Getting Ready for Autumn

September in the mountains provides a glimpse into the future of autumn color.  The trees have a dusky look as the bright shiny green leaves begin to fade a bit.  And a few trees have some color already.  I must admit I am a bit sorry to say goodbye to summer, but we will have more summer days ahead as the weather will change from day to day.  And you all know my determination to take every day I am given.

This view not far from our house shows some of the leaves already beginning to turn.

In many places, the woods are filled with fallen leaves and the wild mushrooms are thriving with our frequent summer storms.

The following photograph was taken near the same area as the others above.  Notice that it seems so much greener and less like autumn than the others.  In the mountains, it makes a bit difference if you grow on one side of the mountain rather than the other.

We enjoy autumn and are fortunate to have miles and miles of roads with magnificent color right in our own community.  We do take drives through the higher mountains even if we have to share our roads with the leaf peepers.  One perk of mountain living is that driving to different elevations provides different signs of changing seasons.  Indeed life is better in the mountains.

For now, we are enjoying the warm sunny days, even as the hours of daylight are diminishing.  And while we enjoy this lovely weather we are also thinking about those who have been in harm's way from Hurricane Dorian.  And all those across our planet who are suffering weather's devastating effects.

The first quote comes from author George Eliot:
"Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

And one of my favorites is from an anonymous poet:
"The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go."

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, EVERYONE

ENJOY EVERY SINGLE DAY