My dear Carol

My dear friend, who visited Vlad last December at M.D. Anderson, has been in the hospital herself with a devastating lung infection. She was in ICU for about 3 weeks and had some kind of brain event last weekend that has apparently affected her profoundly. The doctors say it's possible she could improve. Only time will tell.

I'm very sad today. I can't help but think about all the years we've been friends. We go back to 1979, NTSU. 31 years. We were roommates off and on through the years. We had ups and downs. She always has been a delicate flower, not the tough girl everyone knows. She is lovely.




Update: Saw Carol yesterday at the hospital. She appears to have paralysis on her left side. She responded by opening her eyes when I talked to her. She looked at me it seemed. But she struggled to keep her eyes open. It's impossible to make any conclusions. Time will tell.

Vlad, the baby

The fact we haven't updated this blog in some time, as you may suspect, is basically good news. Vlad is, knock on wood, continuing to do well. We try to remember he is still not 100%, but he does his best to let us forget.

I say Vlad, the baby, because last month (June 15 was 6 months) he got his first round of vaccinations, the same, presumably, that 6-month-old babies get. He had 5 shots in one day: 2 in each arm, one in the derrierre. He came home looking like a fish, nearly unable to move his arms from his sides. He became slightly sick, like a mild cold, in the days afterward, but never got to a fever stage. It was undoubtedly a normal response to the vaccinations. Still a little scary.

In Houston, we had one of the coldest winters in at least 25 years. It snowed 3 times. The following spring has been one of the most remarkable. More wildflowers than usual. And more hayfever. One pollen season blends into another and it's still going on. So it's hard to know who's "really sick" and who's just having an allergy attack. Including Vlad.

We're not going to travel because Vlad doesn't have vacation, and he needs to avoid crowds as a rule. He can't really be out in the sun much. He can't swim. So we've kind of decided to just take little mini-trips when the mood strikes us.

Besides, we've been busy getting the house together. We finally got a new couch; we were without one since Alex moved out early this year. We got rid of some furniture. Got some old furniture back from friends who borrowed it.

Vlad plays poker almost every weekend. I play occasionally. We got a new Dutch oven from Le Creuset with our Visa points. We've been having fun cooking in it. We're foodies.

We've had more layoffs at the Chronicle, so my professional life is difficult. There's a word. I work almost exclusively on news, four long days a week. I dont' know how long things will continue this way. What I'll be doing 6 months from now? News? Gardening? Sports? Or will I be laid off too? This roller coaster is all the excitement I can handle; who needs a vacation?

Love to you all; happy summer!