December 5, 2009

Three days ago I had Mohs surgery for a recurrent basal cell carcinoma on my nose. The previous surgery had left a rather noticeable dimple across the center of my nose even though it was a relatively small area removed. This surgeon referred me to a plastic reconstructive surgeon for repair of what he planned to be a generous excisement.

The process is fairly involved with pre-operative testing at St. Luke’s, the surgery itself in a lovely office suite with other patients all sitting around with huge white bandages mostly on their noses. Several cuts are sometimes required to ensure complete removal of the lesion; mine was complete with the first cut.

So then I was left to sleep off the Valium and occupy myself until the next morning when the reconstruction was to be done. We decided to stay in the Hilton across the street from the hospital—it was a lovely suite with a wonderful view overlooking Rice Village. Houston now has a train that runs from the Astrodome area through the Medical Center to Downtown. A nice Spanish lady with a small child in tow helped us figure out how to buy tickets and we rode down to the Museum of Fine Arts.

We toured the Moon exhibit—I was surprised at how many German painters had captured the various cycles of the moon—and the wide variety of solar system models—and the number of paintings and studies commissioned by the Church despite the belief that the earth was the center of the universe. And now that I think about it—isn’t that really true? Each of us is indeed the center of our universe and certainly I was quite conspicuous that day.

Reconstruction was on Thursday the next day; Versed is a wonderful drug and so I don’t remember much about that day except that I left with an even larger bandage on my nose. We watched bits and pieces of the weather announcing with great excitement the snow predicted for the following day. I seem to remember a lot of serial TV programs in which the hero/s always solved the case with remarkable ease and in the space of an hour.

I managed to eat some breakfast and lunch the next day amidst the admiring and quizzical looks of other diners. By now I had a black eye obvious even at a distance. The surgeon removed the dressings; told me that I looked great (I did request no Bozo the Clown or Michael Jackson nose). Instead I now look like Karl Malden with two black eyes and long hair—and a long zig-zag line of stitches down the side of my nose.

I’m not supposed to do much—just rest—and since I can’t fit my glasses on my head well enough to see much of anything beyond a blur, I’ve spent the day editing photos from Hawaii—and taking naps.

My husband has taken photos of me each day—in one I’m clutching a Teddy Bear given to me after my last surgery by some dear friends. I think we’ll put all these photos in my medical marvels album on smugmug—along with my knee surgery pics—and maybe my Schwannoma images.

On Tuesday, the stitches come out—and maybe then it will be a better day.

Subsequent note: The stitches are out and I’ve been back for two rechecks. My nose feels like it is huge—the size and shape of Bozo the clown. The black eyes reappeared after the next surgery—to take out the pins and wire in my knee that had come undone and were poking at most inopportune moments. Glen tells me that my nose looks normal—that people have to get very close to see that there is something strange about it. Still, I find myself turning my head and looking down to avoid looking people directly in the eye. From a distance I keep a wary eye out for people who might want to brush up against my face—about three feet away is a comfortable distance. My knee is still quite tender and people have a tendency to reach over and squeeze it. Our middle son’s two rather large dogs indulge in enthusiastic tail-wagging—at just the level of my knee. It has been an interesting month and I am quite ready for an incredibly boring month of regular work and finishing up some projects.

Northern beach

Monday and we prepare to leave.

On Monday we toured around the island, visiting more state parks and beaches. It is odd to see black sand that is not tarballs—our Texas beach contains beige colored sand with bits of tar rolled up into balls. Few shells survive the pounding of the waves in Texas and in that respect, Hawaii was no different. Surprising, also, was the smell. Beaches elsewhere smell of seaweed, and fish—here there was no smell. Crabs scuttled around the rocks

I was impressed with the cleanliness of the state. With the exception of white coral grafitti on black lava—the usual ‘Lucy loves Linus 85” and so forth, there was very little roadside litter. Rental jeeps and convertibles (particularly the Europeans) were the worst drivers; everyone else seemed to be quite polite and courteous. With few exceptions, everyone was smiling and time seemed to be magical and at the bidding of the residents; not the cruel taskmaster urging savings and efficiency.

Of course no trip with Weirs would be totally complete without some sort of vehicle trouble. The alternator on Don’s car died leaving us with no headlights and occasional windshield wiper strokes until midway through Hilo when it came to a complete stop. Pouring down rain hampered the diagnostic efforts—but a friend was called, we were given a ride to pick up the other car; jumper cables, a battery, and some other tools. It didn’t take long to move the one car to a church parking lot and then we were back on schedule.

We ate at Ken’s Pancake House, a local ‘tourist must’, having purchased mementos at Longs DrugStore and Hilo Hatties the previous day. Since it had been raining for most of the previous three days, the parking lot resembled a small lake with water over the parking curbs. We snagged the last good spot and took our places around a well-worn formica topped booth. The menu featured dishes in three sizes; regular, large, and Sumo. Whenever a Sumo sized meal is ordered, a bell is rung so the entire restaurant is alerted. These meals are absolutely gargantuan with enough food to feed a family of four with leftovers. The interior of Ken’s is reminiscent of an old home-grown truck stop or eatery featuring breakfast all day. The food was good—and quite plentiful—even at the ‘regular’ size I left half of my food.

Our flight home was uneventful although the plane was so cold inside complete strangers huddled up next to each other. When we arrived at the airport, we discovered that a golf tournament in Katy meant that there were no rental cars available. Son Jimmy arrived to our rescue; and on to another rental car location outside the airport—and then home.

http://ysr612.smugmug.com/Family/2009-Hawaii/Monday-last-day-in-Hawaii/10548711_aFTuZ#732612536_h7Jrx

 Sunday and Lava

Rain pounded the roof most of the night to the tune of five inches. Breakfast was half a strawberry papaya with a wedge of Meyer’s lemon and homemade bread. Armed with umbrellas we headed off to Lava Tree state Park.

Our first stop, though, was at Longs drugstore. Here we stocked up on local calendars, coffee, dried fish, and macadamia nuts. The Asian influence is clear with signs written in English and Japanese with Chinese fold-up takeout containers in various patterns in the gift bag/wrapping paper aisle.

Lava is an interesting phenomenon; it crawls into the ocean in large ribbons and swirls and heaped up piles looking rather like a cooking experiment gone really bad.  Large cracks appear with ferns sprouting up along with the ohini trees and palm coconuts. The Lava Tree park was very lush with huge vines climbing into the trees;native chickens wandered about—quite tame and quite used to visitors. A group of German bicyclists arrived and the chickens obligingly posed for them. The lava trees resemble huge mounds of lava stuck in the middle of the jungle but they all have a central core with bark patterns—the lava flowed up around the tree and made a cast of the tree.

Further down the coast we saw surfers, the surf pounding the beach, a small hot pool where children were swimming about, and a few parents patiently guiding their babies in the water. What is most remarkable is the smell—there is very little—no seaweed or fish or shells on the shore. I looked for some seaglass but found only a few very small limpet shells.

We had lunch at a small ocean side diner—seafood stew for Glen, a turkey sandwich for Carol and grilled ahi on sourdough for me. It was sprinkling a bit—but I managed to get some photos of papaya trees, and later on a manzana tree and fruit—plus the cast of the fruit in the hot lava.

Our final stop was at the lava flow. This area is actually in private land but the state has cordoned off a pathway, parking lot, and viewing area. It is still active with lava flowing into the ocean with great clouds of steam. One viewer claimed she could see the molten lava but despite our best efforts and patient watching for twenty minutes or so, all we saw was a lot of steam and several tourist helicopters circling the area.

We walked back, reaching the parking lot just as the official attendant arrived and informed us that we needed to read the signs very carefully and obey them—no admittance until 5:30 PM. Vendors were setting up tents in the parking lot—postcards, necklaces, and assorted Hawaiian souvenirs.

I think another piece of wire came unsprung in my knee—and I was happy to head back to the house for an evening of reading and a cup of hot tea.

http://ysr612.smugmug.com/Family/2009-Hawaii/Sunday-at-Lava-Tree-Park-Day/10543987_TuYPV#732317938_j3r84

Saturday at Farmers Market

Rain pounded on the roof through most of the night and continued through breakfast. Don was off to work on the mountain and we planned to go to farmers market and then do a bit of shop-hopping in downtown Hilo. We armed ourselves with umbrellas and shopping bags; Carol rolled up her pants legs—I should have too as we ended up wading through a lot of water in the market and crossing the streets.

Farmers Market occupies a goodly portion of a block with an additional crafts/flowers market across the street. Although tarps covered the area and a few shop-owners had hung shower curtains to keep the rain out, there was still a lot of water –and as it was still raining—very noisey.

The fruits and vegetables were neatly displayed with bunches of green beans bundled with rubber bands; long eggplants, breadfruit, bananas, star-fruit, and a large variety of baked goods and prepared foods. Glen wanted an Aloha shirt—which we got at the local Salvation Army store, dried fish—at a kiosk in the mall, and watched two hula dancers who were performing as part of a fund raiser.

Rain continued to pour—and we paddled our way back to the car—and went home to dry our umbrellas, have a lunch of treats from farmer’s market and a cup of tea.

 Unfortunately the light was not good so I dont’ have a lot of good photos today–much to my great regret. There are a few though here on smugmug:

http://ysr612.smugmug.com/Family/2009-Hawaii/Saturday-at-Farmers-Market-Day/10543762_U959N#732302696_FGkyk

Here I am looking at Rainbow Falls

Friday

Rain pounding on the roof woke us this morning—three inches over night. Rain continued after breakfast and from the look of the weather forecast promised to be an all day affair.

Our first adventure was in a local lava tube cave. It was quite wet and drippy inside; the entrance draped with ferns and long roots. The interior was interesting with a floor of rubble that although uneven was not difficult to walk on. The sides of the cave-tube looked like glaze on a bundt cake; whitish material formed on much of the side walls with rivulets of more concentrated white—almost like a root system. There were no cracks underneath those lines—and due to the darkness—and need for flashlights, I have no photos. However, I was quite soaked when I finally climbed out of the cave.

We spent some time at the Boiling Pots and then Rainbow Falls. With the recent rain there was a lot of water bubbling and boiling over the rocks. Several tour buses were at Rainbow Falls, the rainbow only showing itself in the early morning hours.  Several huge banyan trees were nearby—and the whole area appeared quite tropical.

We drove along the coast northward—I think—the ocean was on our right and the hillsides were green and lush. Macadamia groves, banks of flowering poinsettias, breadfruit trees, and ecualiptis forest—planted as a substitute for cash crop sugar cane were on the road side. When we finally came to the Bishop Wapui park area, four wheel drive was necessary to make our way down a very tiny winding road to sea level. A few wild horses grazed in the groves; the surf was spectacular (for this Texas girl used to one to two feet high waves) and we were treated to a surfer making a run. I picked up a bottle of black sand and a few rocks.

Tomorrow Don has to work and so we made an early evening of it—eating spaghetti and meatballs for supper and turned in early.

 Photos are on smugmug at:

http://ysr612.smugmug.com/Family/2009-Hawaii/Friday-Rainbow-Falls-and/10548934_Zuqxj#732624848_aCR97

Thursday Day Four November 13, 2009

Mynah birds with size sixteen feet thumping about on the roof awakened us. The roof is tin and carries sound quite fervently.

Breakfast was a repeat of the previous day and we headed out equipped with warm jackets and gloves. Our first stop was the lava flow from 1984. This was at the end of a five mile very bumpy run of what might be described as an off-road pathway. The understory was quite dense in parts, feral pigs roaming about in the underbrush. The lava flow was coarse and bumpy but covered with an incredibly soft leathery gray lichen coating. There were patches of ferns here and there; some bright pink smart weed and in the distance I could hear birds in the forest. Lava is quite fertile and with the amount of rain here, new soil is quickly formed.

Our next stop was driving through the sides of Mauna Loa up to the telescope area. Mulleins, a common weed in Wisconsin were spaced along the roadside looking rather like planned sculptures. The lava varied in color from deep rusty red (from it’s iron content) to dark black to gray to brownish. The texture also varied from smooth to very hard to spongy to looking like an experiment making fudge gone wrong with ripples and caked areas. Part of the area underwent an Ice Age and that was still a different texture.

We arrived at the telescope visitor center, bought a sticker admonishing us to be wary of the invisible cows ( free range cattle, dense fog, and unsuspecting tourists are not a good mix), and then proceeded to the actual living quarters/dining area of the telescope workers. As guests of my brother-in-law, we were invited to a lunch of kimshee burgers and spinach soup. Our next stop—the telescopes.

It is hard to imagine snow in Hawaii or being cold or being in the middle of an ice-hail-sleet storm—but there we were. The telescopes are huge and impressive; all the parts being trucked up a 17% grade to 14000 feet.  Day and night crews work the telescopes, the mirrors are resurfaced, counterweights applied to balance new pieces of equipment—-and then after supper we watched a video of time-lapse photography shot of the things seen through the telescopes and the telescopes themselves.

After a significant amount of hail ran down the back of my polar fleece, we climbed back into the car and drove back across the saddle to Kona. The land here is ranch land dotted with cattle pens; the other  side of the island is Kona—home of Kona coffee. Coffee plantations are small, on the hill-sides, and require a great deal of hand labor as each bean must be individually picked and they do not all ripen at the same time. A bit further down there were huge groves of macadamia trees.

It was getting quite dark and so we decided to skip South Point and head home.

Supper was pizza, salad with avocado, and something that looked like strawberries with whiskers—but were like lichees—you peeled off the bright red exterior to reveal the pale white shiny peeled grape like interior around a single seed.

 More photos are here on smugmug at:

http://ysr612.smugmug.com/Family/2009-Hawaii/Day-4-11-12/10418994_J9ahV#732494348_aWtnD

Wednesday Veterans Day

The day started with breakfast—Virginia sausage and eggs and toast. Our first stop was at Walmart to get some bottled water for the day—and I found a hula dancer for my truck dashboard.

We headed up the mountain and stopped at an orchid factory/show-place. There were hundreds of orchids on display and many more in the back greenhouses. Ladies were invited to wear an orchid, over the left ear for ‘taken’ , over the right ear for  ‘available’ and over both for ‘taken but still available and looking’. A packet of papaya seeds captured our fancy.

Next we stopped at the winery, and did a small tasting of several wines and left with a bottle of red plus two jars of mango and passionfruit butters. By this time  it was lunch—the Lava Rock Café was nearby—and we each had a shrimp-crab wrap.  A local favorite is potato/mac salad which is potato salad with macaronis.  We split a passionfruit cheesecake.

Then on to the volcanoes. Steam poured out of various vents; the calderas were huge; tree molds were interesting—it is so desolate—

Supper was salad with fresh avocado.

**Sorry I didn’t write more about this day but I was really tired. I did take a lot of photos though–the orchids were gorgeous and I could have spent all day there. The ranger that did the tour was adorably gauche but incredibly knowledgeable. I kept getting left behind because I was stopping to take photos–it is truly an artist’s wonderland. There is a artisan shop filled with all sorts of local wood carvings and painting and prints. I could have spent all day here too. Then there was the cute little quilt shop next to the Lava Rock Cafe–also filled full of all sorts of fun things. I bought two pieces of batik that were designed by an Hawaiian–made elsewhere–and two patterns–with no intention of making them–I just like to look at them.

 more photos are here on smugmug at

http://ysr612.smugmug.com/Family/2009-Hawaii/Day-2/10409496_68JLT#721174260_DGxaZ

It’s been nearly a month since our trip to Hawaii and I took a lot of pictures. It’s taken me awhile to edit them all but thought I’d post them in order along with my blog entries—I was too busy during the day and too tired at night to spend time on the internet.

November 11, 2009

Monday was a very long day. The flight from Houston to Honolulu is 8 hours long and the seats are even tinier than I remembered. The plane had an inflight GPS which showed the plane’s location. There is a lot of water between Baja California and Hawaii. I took some photos but slept some and then read a book on my Kindle.

We spent about two hours in Honolulu airport before our final flight to Hilo. I wished I had schedule two days in Honolulu but there is always another time. Carol met us at the airport with shell leis in hand; it was now quite dark; the sunset in the tropics lasting all of about two minutes.

Their house is quite lovely and full of curios from their life in Tonga and their art collection. Our room is upstairs with a lovely mango wood floor, lots of windows, and I feel as though I’m living in a wonderful treehouse.

Don got caught in the bad weather on  the mountain but arrived mid-morning yesterday. We drove around some, I got to play in the black sand beaches. The water here is so clear—and a bit chilly. The only wildlife we saw were college students clad in bathing suits and bikinis, with bottles of wine, pens in hands and textbooks on their blankets. We had lunch at an ice cream shop and stopped for a sample of the  local ice cream.

Then we headed back home to rest a bit before our evening event—a sake tasting. The event was held in what looked to be a church basement with the long tables and gray folding chairs labeled on the back and pillars supporting the ceiling. We sat around the tables staring at our score card—with circles and names of the different sakes. It looked a lot like a bingo card. They served some pupus—appetizers—that were as fun to guess what they were as the sake’s names. There are fourteen colors and our task was to find the one that was ours—-I don’t think saki comes in my color.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the volcanoes.

photos are here on smugmug at:

http://ysr612.smugmug.com/Family/2009-Hawaii/Arrival-in-Hawaii-Day-One/10543303_aAAFz#732289965_Mx7iq

I know everyone has  been most envious of me–still at the Quilt Festival–but alas, alack, I have actually been to work and to a couple of doctor’s appointments plus stood at my window watching the rain—-my truck is tearing my sidewalk up; water comes up over my shoes when I walk on the lawn–it’s like walking on a huge soaking wet sponge.

So here is my account of the last day at Festival.

Today is the last day. Sherry poured herself a bowl of pills (er, Cheerios) this morning while I was still half asleep. I drank coffee—and somehow it does not energize me—but makes me want to sit around in my nightgown. I was late to my class that morning—by Susie Monday—on making inspiration cards. With a variety of simple techniques—fabric paper and collage, we each made several cards—which Susie then reduced. It was amazing how gorgeous they all looked after being reduced. Sherry made several spectacular cards using color as her theme—somehow I managed to glue my fingers together.

Since I had parked again in the outward lot, I had walked a bit to get back to the convention center. I took photos of the sunrise and the reflections on the buildings and then followed two officers who were placing fliers about the arrival of the Pink fireTruck. So after class—and before our final shopping, we investigated the Pink Fire Trucks.

 I put on pink bunker gear including helmet and tried to convince their official dog to come out for a photo.

I don’t remember when I took photos of the quilts—but there were several that I remember. Inge and Steen’s work is always spectacular—it is so reserved and serene—they are the nicest people and their work reflects it. A group quilt by a Japanese sewing group featuring their sewing rooms was fabulous in its details—sewing machines and cats in the cupboards, and rolls of fabric, and projects underway. Barbara McKie’s Seals was a favorite with the crowds and then there was the antique quilt of half-square triangles in red and blue that I fell in love with.

Reluctantly we each bought a needlethreader for ourselves—its’ hard to admit that you must have aids—and then some more yarn—and then it was time to go home.

Tomorrow it’s back to work. Sigh.

Can it be almost a week afterwards?

To continue my story: I know everyone is wondering what will happen next?

I had to have been extremely tired yesterday because I awoke to the sound of coffee beans being poured into a grinder—I thought they were pills that Sherry was taking in the middle of the night. It was after seven!

We took our time mostly chatting and drinking coffee so it was nearly eleven before I parked my truck—I can’t do that parking garage even though it is right across the street. Sherry bought her quilting frame while I walked back from the lot near Annunciation. It was a beautiful day and I wished I had time to wander through Discovery Green—a park overlying the parking garage. There is a series of huge globes along the pathways, a small pond where you can rent a remote control sailboat for half an hour, lots of benches and grass and lovely flower beds all in bloom.

Lunch was with Ricky Tims—and it was fabulous. He used a variety of musical instruments but my favorite (and his) was the Canadian Christmas Carol. Sherry had to leave a bit early to pick up her bag and get to her class on Happy Villages taught by Karen Eckmeier. Unfortunately, Karen was ill and Betty Blais from Embellishment Village filled in for her. She told them that if someone called from her booth, she would have to go but that someone from Quilts Inc would come and perform a tap dance for them. (Hmm—wonder who that would have been—and what sort of costume—and what sort of dance)

Colleen Davis and Improvisational knitting class begins

My class was with Colleen Davis on improvisational knitting. She had a suitcase full of jackets and shawls and sweaters and although half of the garments were for a different class, she let us prowl through them all, try them on, and quiz her on the stitches. The garments were a lot of fun—knitted pieces, felted around various objects such as peanuts or Styrofoam balls or wooden beads and then pieced into a garment. For a few minutes I wished I lived in Wisconsin where sweaters can be worn nearly year round.

There were lots more–a whole suitcase full but these were the ones I elbowed my way in to take photos. I’ve done one piece with a knitted background–but wonder what would happen if I tried knitting and then felting???? 

one of many lovely samples

another sample

linear knitting

Here is her website—it was a fun morning—too bad knitting isn’t faster.  http://www.toboldlyknit.com/

After class, we did a little more shopping –some really luscious yarns—cashmere and alpaca and silk– and then my iron that hops up on it’s little feet.

We ate leftovers from the refrigerator that night—both us too weary to do much more than run the microwave.