Not much to report since returning from David’s. I’ve definitely missed being there though. I had chemo two days later, for the first time on a Thursday instead of Tuesday, and will be returning to the original day from here on.  Why?  For some reason, I guess the body adjusts to the routine, and its expectations aren’t easily re-routed!  I have had lingering weakness and lack of energy, lasting up to ten days, compared to other treatments. Nothing to explain it except human expectations! With Tuesday treatments I know to expect the weekend to be a ‘low.’  Such creatures of habit we become!
There have been a number of losses of friends or their spouses recently, or devastating news of others. A challenge when I realize my own fragile situation. However, next week holds an “upper” as I hope to attend a high school class reunion – over in Ellicott City, MD. 62nd! We will all be 80 (or ‘almost’ in my case) and that is worth celebrating as I wasn’t sure I’d make it till then! The following weekend I hope to go to the PA house.  I was there last weekend with my friend Elise for a delightful two days with absolutely perfect weather. We stopped at a nearby farm for some mini pumpkins and unusual gourds.
My body is holding together with some occasional rebellious activity.  The plantar fasciitis is not gone; some minor spinal pain pops up once in a while; tickling coughing spells have returned at unpredictable times; my nose continues to run but no cold! Am dealing with a viral ulcer in my gum but those things go away. So that’s the complaint column for today. I am most grateful that I can do pretty much whatever I like with no restraints or restrictions. Still can’t wait to get back to pickle ball as you might imagine.
Next chemo is October 1.  Then another on the 22nd. I am to have an MRI of the brain and a PET scan on Nov. 1, tests to determine the state of the bad cells that have moved in with me. I will consult with the oncologist on Nov. 5 as to the results…. naturally hoping that the 4mm spot on cerebellum will have been properly zapped and that the lung nodule will have shrunk some more and that the spine will not light up so brightly!
The dear little hummingbirds have gone to their winter home and I do miss them.  But – in cleaning out cartons of books here – yes at least 8 gone now!  – I came across Barbara Kingsolver’s book, SMALL WONDER. There was an essay that began on the hummingbird and it’s enormously long tongue, used to lick its new nest of spider webbing and secure it. Even a small sketch to illustrate it. Amazing thought! Then tonight I opened an e-mail from my friend Jane and – here is a video clip showing how the hummingbird uses its tongue to suck nectar! What a phenomenon! Don’t miss this one!  http://player.vimeo.com/video/68897592
Here is the accompanying explanation: The hummingbird’s tongue (probably all hummingbirds) is forked at the end but the tips remain together as a single point until it enters a liquid.  Each side of the tongue has a stiffening rod along its length that I assume is a forward extension of the hyoid bone.  On the forked portion of the tongue, each fork has a row of curved microscopic lamellae that are hair-like, lined up along the edge of the tongue like sailors along the rail of a ship returning to port.  The result is that a channel is formed – a sort of open tube with the opening along the top.  
When the tongue penetrates some liquid (nectar/sugar water) the right and left sides separate.  Apparently the stiffening rods have a built in torque so that as the tongue is extended, the two halves of the tongue roll in opposite directions and the lamellae twist apart to open the nectar trap.  It must be something like opening a Venus Flytrap, except that the tongue is in rapid motion – up  to 20 times a second.  As the tongue is withdrawn the rods roll back and the tongue closes, trapping the nectar that is then drawn into the bill.   How it gets from the tip of the bill to the back of the oral cavity is an open question, but obviously it does get there. 
The tongue functions, not by capillary action nor is it a biological function.  Moving the tongue is biological of course, but not the trapping of liquid.  That is a purely physical process and it works equally well with tongues taken from window-killed birds.
I have been working on all the loose ends both here and at the Summit House plus some more work on SPIRIT WINDOWS. Hope to finish the editing within the week. Life is full….. and good….and I have such fantastic friends. Some visit, some call, some send cards, and I feel so very close to everyone. We are all really one big family – connected at a deep level of caring for one another.