Jennifer Patton

I'm glad to report Andrew's surgery yesterday went well. We hope that it will provide him relief from some of his symptoms. He's being monitored now and is expected to be released from the hospital on Wednesday.

Yesterday Scott and I went to jen_writes reading at Back Pages Books in Waltham. So I got to support a friend and a local business at the same time; what could be better? I also ran into people there who I had not seen in what? 10 years? It's always a bit odd to explain what's happening in your life after such a long disconnect time. Althought with today's technology it's becoming more common.

Today my brother Andrew has surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his brain. So I'm naturally a bit distracted today. I probably won't know until tonight how everything went.

So here's today's public service announcement published in today's Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/04/07/is_there_a_new_way_to_check_yourself_for_melanoma_how_does_it_work/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed7

I'm happy to report that the apartment is rented starting as of Apr 15, so I officially have my life back. Yippee!!! I think the warm spell we had recently combined with the freshly repainted bedrooms to "linen" from "battleship grey" and "weirdo green" did the trick. After spending $800 on painters, I'm not allowing tenants to paint to personalize the space again. I thought having the caveat that I have to ok the color would work, but 1. they pointed to the light grey at the top of the card and decided to do the dark grey on the bottom instead and 2. one never really knows how it will look on a wall anyway and 3. the color was so dark it took more coats to cover (more time, thus more money) and 4. they did a poor job which meant that the ceiling had to be repainted too. I have a few more bills to pay including the ones that include heating an empty unit, but there is an end in sight. The people seem really nice, too.

So I'm looking for a low key event this weekend to celebrate. Game night Saturday anyone?

2br/1ba Sunny duplex in Waltham: 2 pkg spaces + near bus/rail-No Fee!

1/2 duplex; modern energy-efficient windows and siding.

UPSTAIRS: 2 LARGE carpeted 12x12 bedrooms, both with closets (one walk-in).
DOWNSTAIRS: Living room with hardwood floor, modern kitchen with gas stove, bathroom with tub/shower.
Natural gas baseboard heat, separate upstairs and downstairs zones. Coin-op washer+dryer in basement.

Off street parking for 2 vehicles!
Bus stop at side of house for 556 and 70A to get to Cambridge and Boston.
Walking distance to supermarket and Moody Street.
1.8 miles from Brandeis
1.5 miles from Bentley
0.9 miles from Waltham commuter rail stop

$1100/month, you pay for gas and electricity. Last month's rent (payment plan available), security deposit and credit check fee required. Neutered cats considered. No dogs, please.

Available February 1. Pictures at http://www.waltham-community.org/apartment/
Contact Jennifer at jennifer@patton-shurr.org

I had backdated it and thus I think no one saw it, so I made it today's date. So it's a month old, but I still miss Moe.
>>

It's taken me a while to actually write this, so it is backdated.

We had to put one of our cats, Moe, to sleep on November 8th. He had eleven and a half years of food, warm places to sleep and interesting critters to watch outside. I know his quality of life was irreversably compromised and it was the "right thing to do". It's still hard to play God. It was shocking to us. I've never before been in the same room as something went from living to dead.

The other cats in the household are still a bit spooked. Selene has moved from sleeping with me to sleeping with Scott. Maybe she thinks he needs her more now. I bet when it gets really cold, she'll be back with the warmer body.

I'll post a pic when I can figure out how to do that.

Rest in peace, Moe.

Get your holiday shopping started early. Wonderful crafters and a wide diversity of items. Cafe with affordable, hot and tasty food. Exciting raffle for mostly Waltham-based services, restaurants and entertainment. 1 chance for $1, 6 chances for $5. OK, so I'm helping run the raffle. It's a good cause and you could WIN. :) I'll be there in the morning. Hope to see you there.

Andrew's recovered from surgery nicely. He opted to do no further treatment, so it looks like we will be seeing each other next at Thanksgiving and no emergency travel is required. That makes my life planning easier.

I attended a weekend workshop and ran into a fellow Wellesley '90 grad, Jocelyn O'Connor now vanBokkelen. We both did the "you look really familiar" glance. She now runs an organic farm, which also has organically raised animals. Neat.

I'm still dealing with church start-up tasks. We're scheduled to vote on putting up the "Marriage is a Civil Right" banner in a few weeks. I expect it to pass.

As far as I can see, Moe is healing nicely. He's having trouble with the Elizabethan collar, but managing. It will be gone in a week. Scott's referring to him as Conehead. I think of him as Cyclops. But really he's acting more like himself than before the surgery.

Andrew had more extensive surgery than originally planned as they took out his lymph nodes as well. So his recovery will subsequently be longer I expect. He's still in the hospital. My dad plans to "work from home" at my brother's condo indefinitely. The really good news is the scan revealed no cancer elsewhere in his body. Yay!

Thursday night we spent in the ER as Scott was sweaty, almost fainted, and his pulse was hard to find. The doctors have no idea why. He felt better in the ambulance and at the hospital, so they released him in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Thanks for all the notes of encouragement.

I've had enough excitement for the week. I'm going outside to weed my flowerbeds.

Rental has been leased for September 1st. Hooray!

I'm now nursing one of our cats, Moe, who was diagnosed with glaucoma last week. Turns out he was already blind in that eye. So he had surgery on Saturday to have it removed so it would no longer cause him pain. He's having a little trouble adjusting to the Elizabethan collar, but will be able to get around quite well once it's gone we're assured. It's funny that I know *exactly* what they are making a reference to, thanks to my SCA experience.

My next patient may be my brother Andrew, who is having surgery on Thursday to remove the skin cancer on his thigh. The doctors won't know how bad it is until they are in there. I guess it's like an iceberg, with only a small amount showing on the top. It had ulcerated so it's likely stage II or III. The big question is whether it's gone to his lymph nodes or has otherwise metasticized. My parents are going to be with him at the surgery and immediately thereafter. Whether I'll be needed and for how long depends on the surgery results. He's in Virginia, which is fortunately a relatively short and cheap flight from Boston.

Meanwhile, First Parish in Waltham is gearing up for its September restart. The Board is attending a Mass Bay District training all day on Aug 19th. I'm not ready for summer to be over yet!

OK, first entry... I see that some use LiveJournal as a Public Service Announcement page. So here's mine:

Sunny 2br/1ba apt in Waltham:

1/2 duplex; modern energy-efficient windows and siding. Private yard.
Pictures at http://www.waltham-community.org/apartment/

Upstairs: 2 LARGE carpeted 12x12 bedrooms, both with closets (one walk-in).
Downstairs: Living room with hardwood floor, modern kitchen with gas
stove and fridge, bathroom with whirlpool tub/shower.
Steam heat. Coin-op washer/dryer in basement.

Off street parking for 2 vehicles!
Bus stop at side of the house for 556 and 70A to get to Cambridge and
Boston. Walking distance to supermarket and Moody Street.
1.8 miles from Brandeis
1.5 miles from Bentley
0.9 miles from Waltham commuter rail stop

$1200/month, you pay for utilities.

Available 9/1.

Plympton St. at Bacon St.