Marietta Museum of Art and Whimsy

One week of radiation is past...Charlie is still feeling good.  They switched him to a morning appointment today.  All of the staff got a well-deserved early start to the long holiday weekend.  We went to lunch at Sunnyside Cafe, and then to the Marietta Museum of Art And Whimsy.  

I have been wanting to visit this place since before our first trip to Sarasota.  It was closed for renovations or for the off-season every other time we have been in town.  It closes tomorrow until November, so we took advantage of the longer afternoon to finally tour the museum and gardens.

I can safely say that, next to the beach, this is my favorite place in Sarasota!  There is art everywhere...the walls, the gardens, the parking lot, the restroom, the trees!

Inside, there are some lovely paintings, as well as mobiles, sculptures, and some great wooden benches and tables.

In one of inside galleries, a docent turned off the lights and turned on the laser lights.

More next time!

Getting Started

Charlie and I met with the team at Dattoli Cancer Center yesterday.  There is a whole new medication regimen.  It has not started yet...it reminds me of buying a car.  Paperwork, questions, signatures, approval.  One of the meds is a radium injection once a month at $12,000 a pop.  Yikes!  Here we go with insurance and Big Pharma dominating our lives.  Whatever it takes.

It looks like this time he will have one hour of radiation per day, starting at 1:00 PM and lasting until July 24.  Tomorrow is the "dry run" where they run the computer systems but don't actually radiate. 

Today we enjoyed a day off and went to the beach at Lido Key in Sarasota.  That was just what we needed to de-stress.  How lucky to be having cancer treatment in such a beautiful place.

We also went to Yoders, an Amish restaurant/produce market/deli not far from our rental house.  We got a chicken pie for supper, fresh corn on the cob, Honey Bell oranges, and a Key Lime Pie for dessert.  Then we walked it off at the Arlington Park nature trail right near our place.  Kasey loved seeing the dozens of squirrels, although they are brave here and actually taunted her as we walked along.

And here is a nice feature of downtown Sarasota...these little free libraries!  This one is on the street as you leave the park.

I have not been to the Sarasota Public Library yet, but plan to get my temporary library card soon.

Changes

You have not heard from me since Easter.   Sometimes life overwhelms.

Over a period of a few weeks, we found out that my husband Charlie's cancer is no longer in remission.  This was disappointing news after the very aggressive treatment he has undergone.  The good news is that Dr. Dattoli and his team in Sarasota think they can successfully treat the new areas with seven to eight weeks of additional radiation.

We are leaving for Florida tomorrow.  This time we are renting a house close to the cancer center.  We are taking our dog.  I am taking my sewing machine and watercolors.

We are going to get through this together.

In the meantime, we have moved!  We are no longer Raleigh residents.  This is quite a change after 52 years.  Our children packed us up and moved us to our mountain cabin just last week.  The basement got finished and the new storage shed arrived just in time for the move.  

So...on to Florida after only one week of being mountain residents.  When we get back we will have lots of time to sort things out and decide where to hang quilts and pictures.