travel

Greetings from NOLA!

I intended to post a string of photo blogs each day of our New Orleans trip, so I brought my little Canon point-and-shoot and set out walking on Saturday while Robert was in meetings of the National Freedom-of-Information Coalition. Since I forgot my card reader and have no way to transfer photos to the computer, I can't show you some of the funky street scenes I saw on my walk to Walmart to buy a cheap water bottle.

Today it was the camera I forgot! I shot some photos with my cell phone during  our  3 1/2 hour walk through the French Quarter and the Treme- not great quality, but here's some of what we saw.

Thanksgiving!

Gabriel at the beachOur Jacobson-Borenstine-Becker family Thanksgiving week in Florida went very smoothly, and we all acknowledged - one way or another - that we had a lot to be thankful for! This is the third year we have celebrated this holiday together, four generations of my family in a rental house big enough for us to spread out in, and spend a few winter days in the sun and relatively warm air on the beach. By the time we left, we all had agreed - we want to do it again in 2013.

Saving the sea turtles

When we first went walking on Ft. Lauderdale beach, coming home from dinner on Wednesday night, we found some areas that were marked off with posts and pink tape to keep people from crossing them. They were scattered up and down the beach, some close to the ocean and others in the dunes. My long beach walk on Thursday morning, while Robert attended the Society of Professional Journalists board meeting, revealed that these were sea turtle nests being watched over by a group called Sea Turtle Oversight Protection.

Gabriel turns 3!

My trip to Asheville for Gabriel’s birthday was wonderful – what a delightful four days! It’s fun to watch how he’s grown and matured, and to be part of thechanges that are taking place in his life. One thing is constant: his focus on vehicles of all sorts. At home and at his new school, trains are a major focus. I’m always blown away by how contemplative he is. If only we could know what’s on his mind ...

Greetings from the Coast of Maine


Chewey at the Lobster PoundSo far Maine has been (almost) all about lobsters. What a treat! After an uneventful trip across New Hampshire, we arrived at the Lodge at Turbat’s Creek in Kennebunkport mid-afternoon Monday and headed for the beach. Robert and I have been to this lodge and this beach before, and things were pretty much as we remembered them. Colony Beach is dog-friendly, and we encountered a few pooches and many dog-hungry people there. Chewey ran a bit but, as we expected, was not happy when the waves chased him …

Thank you for ‘getting it’

A recent post on the Melanoma Research Foundation’s community list made me sad, mad, and – very thankful for you all. The writer, a newcomer to the community, was venting her frustration at her siblings’ lack of understanding that she is facing a very serious situation – newly diagnosed, recurring melanoma. She wrote: “It is so defeating to know that there will always be a 'next time' for surgery, and stitches, and co-pays. And there will always be another social expectation of a sunny beach get together.”

The understanding from our families and friends – the outpouring of concern, favors small and large, visits, cards, and phone calls – has been so important to us!

Liberation!

Good news from Dr. Convit today - we can plan to go on vacation! We need to go back to see him next week, and by then he should be ready to cut us loose. Now all we have to do is figure out where/when to go.

The skin graft is mostly healed now, and the stubborn patch is beginning to close up since we started putting silver sulfadiazine on it (instead of bacitracyn) last week. The graft donor site is healed and just needs to be softened with some skin lotion. As of today Robert is cleared to drive, and after one more week he can get back on his bike.

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