Time To See What is What

Well it has been almost a month and a half since I last posted.  Rest assured that this is because I have been so busy and not because I am sick.  During that time I had my last treatment of Ippy which had to be postponed because I developed a side effect that kept me within sight and reach of the loo for a couple of weeks.  While Helen and I were disappointed that we were delayed we did have an amazing trip to Durham where we stayed at the Arrowhead Inn compliments of my very generous Sister Nancy and her husband John.  We were in the lap of luxury enjoying every comfort the Inn had to offer and truly amazing food.  You can see just how pampered we were at http://www.arrowheadinn.com .

My treatment was rescheduled for a couple of weeks later and I was able to have my fourth and last infusion of Ippy and then had to wait for about a month before imaging to give the drug a chance to do its thing.  I am now scheduled to have a CAT scan at Duke on Thursday the 19th of September.  It has been a really long time since I was diagnosed in May and I will be glad to finally know where I stand with my cancer.  As I mentioned previously I have a plan for whatever the results reveal and I really hope it is the result that ends up with a BIG party :-)  If the CAT leads me down another path then onward I will go with the help and good wishes of all of you.

So enough about cancer.  This last few weeks have been a wonderful time here in Todd with a full schedule of concerts in the park, busy times at the Mercantile and at Heart of the High Country Realty and visits from friends and family.  The Concert Series grand finale was the Doc Watson Tribute Concert which featured long time friends of Doc Watson Charles Welch with Wayne Henderson and the Kruger Brothers. Over 500 people packed into Tod for an amazing day full of sunshine and truly great music.

Remembering Doc Watson are (left to right) Jens Kruger, Wayne Henderson, Joel Landsberg, Charles Welch, and Uwe Kruger.  You will not find better acoustic musicians on any stage anywhere.
  

 Just the other day Jens went out to his mail box to find a letter from Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) telling him that he had just won Steve Martin's foundation's banjo player of the year award.  Enclosed with the letter was a check for $50,000.  Now that is a great way to start the day.

The Krugers were born and raised in Switzerland.  At a young age they found an album by someone named Doc Watson which led them to pursue Appalachian music.  After struggling to find a foothold in Europe for their sound they moved to the North Carolina mountains and have come to be the premier band in this area.  You can hear them sing a song about it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8mOfSayM3k

Helen and I were overjoyed to have Sean, Paige, Tanner and our newest grandchild Grayson Lorelei Rielly visit us in Todd.  We had a wonderful time playing with the children, eating amazing food and evenings playing cards and playing grudge matches of Catch Phrase while sipping adult beverages.

Our Grayson comes to Todd

After their mountain visit the kids were off for the beach and kindly invited us to join them in Topsail Island.  So, with the help of our dear friend Linda Foulsham who offered to look after the Mercantile, we dug our bathing suits out of the closet and headed to the beach.  We were only able to stay one night but the weather was glorious with blue skies and warm air and water.  

Three Generations on the Beach

Well I have been trying to finish this posting for two days now and time has run out because Helen and I have to get in the car and head down to the Duke Cancer for some blood work and the all important CAT scan.  Dr. Hanks said that he would call me sometime on Friday with the preliminary results and I will meet with him next week to discus a go forward plan.  Hopefully the planning will include a big celebration at the Mercantile!  Thanks again to all my friends and family for their prayers and support that have done so much to ease my mind as I dance with Miss C.

J