8.11.2006

Front View of Granny K


Front View of Granny K
Originally uploaded by Koggy.
This is the "before" picture, 50 extra pounds and someone else's curly silver hair. It may take a few months but I hope to post an "after" picture with fewer chins and more hair.

The Waaaay After Picture


The Way After Picture
Originally uploaded by Koggy.
At least I have hair now...

Ms N Turns 9


Ms N Turns 9
Originally uploaded by Koggy.
She finally agreed to to get a haircut so she'd be fresh and clean for her birthday.

Rainy Day Fashion Fun


Rainy Day Fashion Fun
Originally uploaded by Koggy.
A few rolls of tape and some old cardboard make for half a day of paper fashion. Note the long hair on the soon to be 9 year old.

Master L Turns 7


Master L Turns 7
Originally uploaded by Koggy.
The final design that we all agreed upon was a simple Devil's Food Cake from the Joy of Cooking with whipped cream and candy decorations.

8.01.2006

The Next Step

My oncologist showed me the recent CT scan and mammogram results and there are no problems in my breasts. The spots detected in my right lung in the March CT scan have decreased in size during the remainder of my chemotherapy sessions (which doesn't necessarily mean they are cancer) and we will continue to monitor them. The next step now is more hormonal therapy to keep the estrogen down. My prescription is for one tablet a day of Fareston brand toremifene, which works like tamoxifen and attaches itself to estrogen hungry cancer cells before they can chow down on estrogen. I got a 35 day supply so I don't have to go back until September unless I have weird reactions to the drug. Hurray, a break!

Tomorrow M leaves for a three day trip to the beach on the other side of Tokyo Bay on the Chiba Peninsula with the entire sixth grade. N will be the new "Ichiban" while the usual ichiban, J, and the previous substitute, M, are away. M will return in time for this weekend's festival near our station and the annual apartment building summer dinner party in the lobby (sushi, tempura, sandwiches, yakitori, green edamame soybeans, watermelon and draft beer).

Today N and L, soon to be 9 and 7 respectively, are designing birthday cakes on our ample supply of recycled paper. N is thinking along the lines of a shaved ice cake with strawberry and Blue Hawaiian syrup shaped into a heart. We'll have to make and eat it very quickly before it turns into Kool-Aid. Her second choice is layers of melon and watermelon on a round cake. Hmmm.

For some reason, L wants a cake decorated to look like an eyeball. His second choice is a chocolate Japanese turd shaped cake (looks like a soft-serve vs. the American oblong images). The first choice may be easier to make; I can probably bake it in the small stainless steel mixing bowl. He's talking about frogs now as I type and we may be able to get away with a watermelon carved out to look like a frog with balls of melon and watermelon in its mouth...