Dear Family and Friends,

I am sitting here at my desk, amid bills and unanswered letters and e-mails, and unused recipes, and stacks of travel brochures—-and amid all of this distraction it is still my A-list to connect with you.

I am in my 7th cycle of chemo, since my recurrence, in Feb. I had a 7 month period of being off of meds.  We have established a pattern of about one completed cycle a month, and then I have a week off to let my body recover, and this round it has often taken 2 weeks to recover my white and red counts enough to have the next treatment. My doctor does seem pleased, and only in the last several months have I had to take a few days after chemo to feel better again. I certainly don’t have my normal energy, but as long as I keep up my exercise, diet and daily naps, I do very well. I can’t get a clear long range plan, because the results of my first treatment cycle left some impt. unknowns. So for now we’re just keeping on, keeping on.

Luke and John were both home for good visits this summer, and are doing well. After taking the CA Bar at the end of July, Luke still had one major exam to take- his ethics exam- did very well on that, and now is working at the Law firm where he worked during Law School. In this day of instant everything, they still do not get the results of the CA Bar Exam until late Nov. John is still in Tokyo and plays for the IBM Big Blue. Last weekend was a national holiday, so it allowed them to have 3 days of a.m. to p.m. practice. John plays on the offense again, blocking and catching touchdown passes. He will also be going in on certain plays as a linebacker, which he played in college and high school, so he says it is fun but just doubles his practice time/ film study etc. The biggest game of the season is this Sun. so he is very excited about that. He works with a company that is putting together various plans for U.S. Japanese football connections at the high school and college level. They also are very interested in a plan for baseball.

Clark and I had a fabulous trip to southwestern France. My doctor just said we would make it work, and so far all is well. Clark’s brother Jim and his wife Jolanne purchased a week at this wonderful “farmhouse”and invited their sons and several other friend couples to join, as the house, a refurbished farmhouse B&B slept 12-14. It was in the country, but not a working farm and had a great pool and tennis courts. We enjoyed figs, blackberries, and peaches growing on the property, and the one thing we didn’t have in the big, well-equipped kitchen was a micro-wave. Our other stroke of luck was that this will be the last season they rent the house publicly. So it was a trip and vacation combined as we did side trips and almost everyone built in some time before or after. We had a group of great cooks, so we spread around cooking, cutting and prep, and of course, clean-up. One of our patterns was to do things early in the day, have a good local lunch out, and then a lighter meals at night. Sometimes we had our big meal out, and then had a more delicious meals at home, at night. Big favorites of course, were the bread, cheese, and wine. Side trips for us were French castles and fortresses, which involved steep long walks up to the top of the mountain. Clark was so good to stay with me, as my biggest challenge was having the oxygen to do it. My anemia is an ongoing chemo side-effect, but it is still fun for us. We visited Roman ruins, and hiked near the Spanish border in the Pyrenees, and saw the
Circ de Gavarnie and its waterfall which is 4 times the height of the Eiffel Tower. We also had a fabulous weather, and when we got home from outings there was always a group to play tennis. All of the other players had not played for a while, and our two athletic 20 somes were the most enthusiastic to learn. I didn’t have my best play, playing with all men, but it was really challenging and fun. We usually would play for 2-3 hrs. When we left the house everyone had side trips going, and Clark and I went to Lourdes. This was esp. significant after John had such a terrific service trip there with Bishop Tom Daly and a Marin Catholic grad group, while he was in college. The one surprise in Lourdes was that it rained while we were there, so we did some ducking in and out in panchos. We both also took the healing baths, did the nightly rosary processions, and were touched by the faith of all the pilgrims there. I guess you see what you want to see, but the touristy schlock seemed about normal for a tourist spot, and the ceremonies and pilgrims at the grounds were phenomenal. Know that special prayers were offered for you at Lourdes.

We are at home for a while, but will going on MN to see the Johnies play. With a new coaching plan this year, they just beat St. Thomas, ranked #2 in the country in D3 football. We also will travel to Japan in the fall, and are working on that, now. With John working, and having practices and games, we have to maximize time with him, and still get out and see new areas. For any SCL’s Nov. group, really anxious to see all of you who can make the get together. Special cudos to Michael Locke, Steve’s son who did the Iron Man Competition at Tahoe last weekend. We didn’t go, but Clark followed all the stages. Congrats Michael!

Sorry I continue to be so erratic in doing the blog. Let’s see if this season will be better. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we do you.

Love Annie/Noel