Monday, Monday...

Ok, so I am experiencing the harshness of writers’ block. The cancer news from mom totally threw me off. I was not expecting her tummy ache to develop into a 5 lb. cancerous cyst. Things seemed adventurous and happy until this news. But friends, thank you so much for your prayers and support. They mean so much.

Mom is doing great. She is walking around her block every day with her husband, Dave. Mom will be undergoing intensive chemotherapy in Walla Walla in a few weeks and my friend, Carol, says the doctor there (and his nurse) is wonderful. My mom is a strong woman. Much stronger than me. Because I cry every day thinking I could lose her. But other than that, I’m doing my best to be positive.

So what about cancer and genes? My dad died of a rare form of cancer, aplastic anemia. My mom’s father died of cancer, and mom’s half sister currently has breast cancer. I tried not to consider that cancer could be a part of me and my sisters until the news of mom. That concerns me.

George and I got a leather sewing machine in Enterprise and he’s busily making patterns for leather bags and pouches that we can sell at the upcoming Mountain Man Rendezvous/Muzzle Loaders event. This should be interesting. Everybody dresses up in costumes from the 1800s -- no zippers, buttons or snaps allowed (the better you adhere to this rule, the more points you can accumulate to be eligible for fabulous prizes). They start the shindig with a giant, black cauldron of bear stew you can eat for a mere pittance. All participants (especially the men folk) seem to enjoy bartering and buying stuff including guns, knives, leather bags, sheaths, moccasins, moonshine (I hope) and the like. So we are looking forward to having some decent weather in April, and setting up a little tent where we can sell and trade our newly crafted leather things. Maybe we can trade some wool hats and Perfectly Pure soap while we’re at it...