Life is at times a shipwreck, but during these times, we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire
"cancer sucks" has played out as a theme on this blog before.
This past spring, it was my dad who lost his battle with colon cancer. In the Fall of ’06, it was Kate’s father-like figure Gord, who succumbed to a brief but valiant fight against a lymphoma. In the spring of ’06, it was my Granddad. Before that, it was Kate’s Grandmother. And that's just the past few years. I could go back further, or talk about other people I know dealing with the disease at the moment, if you like, but I think you get the picture.
In any case, it seems it’s now my moms' turn. Breast Cancer. British Columbia’s current catch phrase is ‘BC… the Best Place on Earth.’ Frankly, this is one BC we’d all like to stay the hell away from.
There is the particular sense about the situation that my mother is being kicked while she’s down; still mourning the loss of her husband, she’s now got to go through this garbage. One can’t help but look heavenward and say—either quietly to one’s self or out loud with fists shaking—ArE yOu SeRIouS?!
Luckily, mom has always taught us kids that though it may feel like it at times, God will never give us more than we can handle.
Listening to and watching mom in the past few weeks, I know she feels this within herself. She is approaching the situation with good humour and strength, determined that this will not bring her down. After all, she’s got a cruise boat to get on in June, and she’s got another grandkid arriving sometime in July, and she’ll be darned if she’s missing either.
And so, on February 19th, she’s going under the knife. She’s got the option of a lumpectomy, but she’s embraced the thought of a mastectomy instead.No sense giving the BC an increased chance to come back, and this way she wont need radiation. After surgery, she’ll have to wait for pathology results to see if any further chemo will be required. Hopefully doing away with the affected breast will take care of the problem, but if not…well, that’s a bridge that will be crossed if need be, but for now, we look to next week with optimism.
Really mom, this is only partly about letting others know so we can increase the prayer network for you. The main point is simply to say that in the face of all that you’ve faced in the past year, I am astounded at your continuing strength, and I am in awe of your ability to smile. You are simultaneously willing to play with the cards being dealt and conversely unwilling to put up with the crap the universe seems to be slinging in your direction. Dad is no doubt proud, as are we all, family and friends alike. You are an inspiration to us, and I only hope we can return the favour as you battle this cancer. Just keep singing in that lifeboat. We love you.
Some facts on breast cancer in Canada:
• One in nine women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, assuming she lives to age 80
• Every year approximately 18,000 Canadian women develop breast cancer (over 2,000/year in B.C.)
• The BC Cancer Agency and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation offer plenty of information and resources if you’re interested in learning more about breast cancer, or would like to donate to research.
February 13, 2008
February 1, 2008
Impending Arrivals
Well, it’s Groundhog Day once more. For those of you in other parts of the world who are scratching your head in question, Groundhog day—February 2nd—is some sort of pagan ritual whereby we divert what little faith we have in meteorological weather studies, and put it in the paws of a furry little creature, who shall predict for us whether or not we have six more weeks of winter, or if an early spring is on its way. If the little bugger sees its shadow, it gets scared and scuttles back into its den, and we’re in for more winter. No shadow? Bring on those daffodils.
Well, we have a groundhog of our own in the making, but it won’t be making an appearance until mid-July sometime, and it certainly won’t have the opportunity to go back to it’s den if it doesn’t like the outside world.
Its old news to some at this point, but if my note above is a bit too cryptic and you haven’t heard about it yet… KATE IS PREGNANT!!!!
We were well enough aware of the pregnancy back at the start of November, but we didn’t start telling people until Christmas time. Now, it’s week 18 and everything is going just fine! We’ve got a few more weeks until we have the detailed ultrasound, but we did get an advanced peek in week nine (Kate shocked herself while we were doing home renos, so we wanted to make sure the lil’ peanut was still alive! It was!) Here’s the image we got from that scan. Not much to look at (really not much.. if you click on it, you'll have a slightly better idea of what's baby and what's not...slightly...), so the next one will certainly be more exciting!
We’re both very excited, and Kate is through that nasty first trimester with all the nausea and low energy and ravenous appetite. As she put it, it hardly seems fair that one has to suffer through all of that before telling people about the pregnancy, when the one thing you want to do most is complain about it!
To answer the usual questions, Yes we have names picked out but won’t tell you what they are, and no, we don’t want to know what sex it is. Nor do we care. We just want it to be healthy! July 13th is the due date. Rest assured I’ll set up an appropriate Facebook group soon enough so everyone can pool the bets about weight / sex / due date / etc.
So there you have it! Not much of a secret these days, but to those of you who hadn’t known about it, we’re thrilled to be able to tell you! Kate is working away at what will be a fine looking baby blanket once completed, and we’ve otherwise started collecting hand-me-downs- from other recent parents.
Will keep this blog choc-a-bloc with updates as they are warranted!
Well, we have a groundhog of our own in the making, but it won’t be making an appearance until mid-July sometime, and it certainly won’t have the opportunity to go back to it’s den if it doesn’t like the outside world.
Its old news to some at this point, but if my note above is a bit too cryptic and you haven’t heard about it yet… KATE IS PREGNANT!!!!
We were well enough aware of the pregnancy back at the start of November, but we didn’t start telling people until Christmas time. Now, it’s week 18 and everything is going just fine! We’ve got a few more weeks until we have the detailed ultrasound, but we did get an advanced peek in week nine (Kate shocked herself while we were doing home renos, so we wanted to make sure the lil’ peanut was still alive! It was!) Here’s the image we got from that scan. Not much to look at (really not much.. if you click on it, you'll have a slightly better idea of what's baby and what's not...slightly...), so the next one will certainly be more exciting!
We’re both very excited, and Kate is through that nasty first trimester with all the nausea and low energy and ravenous appetite. As she put it, it hardly seems fair that one has to suffer through all of that before telling people about the pregnancy, when the one thing you want to do most is complain about it!
To answer the usual questions, Yes we have names picked out but won’t tell you what they are, and no, we don’t want to know what sex it is. Nor do we care. We just want it to be healthy! July 13th is the due date. Rest assured I’ll set up an appropriate Facebook group soon enough so everyone can pool the bets about weight / sex / due date / etc.
So there you have it! Not much of a secret these days, but to those of you who hadn’t known about it, we’re thrilled to be able to tell you! Kate is working away at what will be a fine looking baby blanket once completed, and we’ve otherwise started collecting hand-me-downs- from other recent parents.
Will keep this blog choc-a-bloc with updates as they are warranted!
December 20, 2007
Happy Holidays from Stuart, Kate, and Nellie the family Pooch
Off the top, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Kwazy Kwanza, and happy new year to everyone. We are in awe to the many of you who have managed to get out Christmas cards and photos. Thank you for sending them to us; it's great to hear about how your year has been! We admit our complete and utter failing in this department, and in the same breath thank you for your success! consider this your letter... without a stamp, envelope, or paper... and really, isn't that what we need in this time of environmental consciousness?!
Okay, time to get serious:
One of the obnoxious things about the human condition is that we like to look back on time spent, and try to rate the quality of that time. I say that because the past is full of…well…the past. Stuff you can’t change, can’t give back or can’t take back, no matter what.
“Wow”, you’re thinking right now. “Such a cheery start to the letter. Seems a bit ominous for the ol’ holiday piffle, doesn't it?”
Well to be honest, there is only one thing this year that was a truly negative experience, but it weighs heavily on us right now; that ‘thing’ being dad passing away. Christmas was without a doubt his favourite time of year. Dad was the type who would, on Boxing Day, eagerly pronounce that there were only 364 days left until next Christmas.
And right now, we miss him terribly. Even his musical Christmas tie, spitting out its tinny holiday tunes at each press of the button. We’re a bit scattered to the four winds as a family this year, in part perhaps because we’re old enough to be able to share the time with others than just ourselves, but as much as anything, I think it is an acknowledgement that things ain’t quite right, at least for this year, and we need to do our own thing.
As such, Mum is headed off to England to spend a few weeks with my sister and her boyfriend’s family. My brother is headed to Prince George to celebrate with his in-laws, which will be followed closely by a near month-long trip to Hawaii with Dina and wee Aria. And Kate and I have two weeks off of work, which we plan to split between time here in Vancouver and time up at Whistler. Kate also has her birthday this weekend, and we have our wedding anniversary on the 30th (I save money all year, for the grand week that is the Merry Annibirthday). All in all, we have much to be thankful for in 2007. I started a fantastic job back in February which presents me with ever-changing challenges and is by no means short on interesting issues, and it is a job I look forward to continuing through the coming year.
Kate transitioned out of her speech language pathologist job that she held for a year, opting to focus her attentions on early behavioural intervention for pre-school aged children with autism. Not to be one to start on the ground floor, nor take a break, Kate essentially entered into a partnership role with a private firm, and started it the day after she finished up at the Centre For Ability. This too, is a job that presents her with ever-changing challenges and is by no means short on interesting issues. And like me, she loves what she is doing, so we’re very fortunate in the employment department.
Other highlights of the year are well enough documented on this blog: the wonderful arrival of our first niece, Aria. The beginning and end of many a pocket of renovation on our house. A shift in lifestyle choices as we have endeavoured to eat local. A great week puttering around Vancouver Island in the summer. Jaunting up to Kamloops here and there to hang out with family. And lets not forget the simple things that make every year great, like taking the dog for long walks on Saturdays, dinners out, sleeping in now and again, visiting with friends, staying healthy (save the odd bout of the sniffles here and there), taking time to get to know the neighbours…. And the list could go on.
So, as I said at the start, the past is what it is. Stuff you can’t change, can’t give back and can’t take back, no matter what. But that’s okay.
We can at least learn from it, appreciate the experience for what it was, and never have to do it again.
And when things have really gone well, we can remember those things fondly, be glad for who we are, be glad for who’s with us along the way, and be glad for what we have going forward.
Happy Holidays everyone. All the best for 2008.
P.S.—for those who missed it last year, I’ve elfed the household. It seems everyone is doing this this year, so while it may not be all that novel, if nothing more, Nellie looks funny with a human body .
November 30, 2007
(A renovated) Home for the Holidays
The time of the year has again rolled around where the morning finds drivers must unhappily scrape frost off their windshields, and where puddles underfoot have the ice cracked off the tops of them as walkers trod over them, as though they are servings of nature’s crème brûlée...except they're flavourless, infinitely colder, and considerably more depressing... (PS, I don't like winter...)
While things may be chilly outside the Chase household, it’s certainly warmer inside, thanks to the arrival of our fantastic new fireplace! Yahoo! At long last and by popular demand, it’s time for a little before-and-after of the rooms in the house that we’ve been transforming.
We’ve slacked off a bit in the last while, in that the rooms are now totally liveable, and we have lost the motivation to do the finishing work like mouldings and baseboards… we’ll get there though!
SO!
1. The Study BEFORE, when it was our bedroom:
The Study in progress:
The Study AFTER:
2. The Living room BEFORE, when we didn't even know we had a fireplace:
The Living Room in progress:
The Living Room AFTER:
And last but not least, our happiest renovation, the bathroom.
The “bathroom” BEFORE, a la cramped shower and crappy 70's decor:
The “bathroom” in progress:
The Bathroom AFTER:
We’re most pleased by these developments. And, it’s fitting that this blog post come on the day that it does: we’ve been in this house for one year today, exactly. Happy anniversary to the house!
Time to get it all gussied up for the holidays!
While things may be chilly outside the Chase household, it’s certainly warmer inside, thanks to the arrival of our fantastic new fireplace! Yahoo! At long last and by popular demand, it’s time for a little before-and-after of the rooms in the house that we’ve been transforming.
We’ve slacked off a bit in the last while, in that the rooms are now totally liveable, and we have lost the motivation to do the finishing work like mouldings and baseboards… we’ll get there though!
SO!
1. The Study BEFORE, when it was our bedroom:
The Study in progress:
The Study AFTER:
2. The Living room BEFORE, when we didn't even know we had a fireplace:
The Living Room in progress:
The Living Room AFTER:
And last but not least, our happiest renovation, the bathroom.
The “bathroom” BEFORE, a la cramped shower and crappy 70's decor:
The “bathroom” in progress:
The Bathroom AFTER:
We’re most pleased by these developments. And, it’s fitting that this blog post come on the day that it does: we’ve been in this house for one year today, exactly. Happy anniversary to the house!
Time to get it all gussied up for the holidays!
October 11, 2007
Life is like a bowl of ice cream...
This week is a bit of a mix of ‘what’s been up’. A few scoops of Neapolitan ice cream, if you will. There’s been lots going on in the last bit, and here’s the report. With photos this time, I promise!
Hmmm. First, the vanilla scoop. White, pure, and well-intentioned. Kate and I spent our Thanksgiving weekend up in Kamloops, where we had lots of visiting with family of course,
and eating turkey, but we got lots of work done, too! (this is the well-intentioned part) We raked leaves and pine needles, reorganized a few rooms at my moms house ( A little drilling, a few shelves put up, a bit of dusting, moving some furniture around, you know how it goes), and cleaned out my dad’s old workshop space, which resulted in several runs to the dump. My brother and I both worked at that task. A great man, my father, but a great packrat, too. For the five per cent of useful things he had in his workspace, the other 95 per cent was garbage, or things he thought were of value, dating back thirty years or so. Does anyone need an 8-track player for their car? How about a 15-year-old can of wood stain? How about a pile of extension chords, either male or female socket-less at one end? It was a trip down memory lane though, despite the oddities, like finding his old fishing gear, or the winter gloves he used, year after year, for shovelling the driveway. Even his ancient chorded drill could not help but remind Jamie and me of many years of shoddy home repairs. We miss you dad, but thank goodness your work bench is clean. Now mum can find a screwdriver if she needs one.
Next up, the Strawberry scoop. Sweet and light! Kate and I have had lots of opportunity to visit with our niece, Aria, in past weeks. Jamie and Dina came down to Vancouver recently, and then, as just mentioned, we were in the loops over the long weekend, and we got to hang out with the wee bebe again. Here she is, hanging out with Nanna Chase, and then bouncing around in front o her second cousin--she loooves that jolly jumper!--and then being fed by her father. contrary to the evidence in this photo, she does like her food, and most of it stays in her mouth.
she’s so darned cute, she gets her own scoop of ice cream, not to be lumped in with the rest of the thanksgiving weekend. Well anyway, she’s not so wee, actually. She’s somewhere in the neighbourhood of 22 lbs., and she’s only 6 months old. 
She’s adorable though, and very happy. She makes it sort of a shame to live in Vancouver, because we don’t get to see enough of her! Mind you, my sister lives in England (sorry to rub that in, Kari), so I should consider myself as much a next door neighbour to my niece as anyone else!
And lastly, the chocolate scoop. Rich and indulgent. Kate and I continue to tear apart our house, and soon enough we’ll have a remodelled bathroom, a remodelled study, and our gas fireplace is being installed next week, just in time for the chilly weather.
We know we’re pretty lucky to be able to afford to do such things, hence the indulgence part. It’s also a guilty pleasure being able to take sledge hammers and crowbars to one’s walls. That’s how I spent my birthday this year, actually! No joke! 
I came home from work, put on my grubbies, and we started tearing out the bathroom walls. Forget a nice b-day dinner on the town, we ordered take-away Indian food so that we could get to work!
This should also be considered as a chocolate scoop itemsimply due to the nature of all the stuff we uncovered, as most of the S*@t that we found in behind the walls was, at best, brown. usually black, however. and dusty and musty...hence the masks, need one ask.
In other indulgent news, I won some concert tickets for a David Usher show off of a radio contest recently
and we got to eat some tasty food, see a great show, and meet the man himself, too.
There you have it… hopefully by my next entry, we’ll have some of the reno’s done!
Hmmm. First, the vanilla scoop. White, pure, and well-intentioned. Kate and I spent our Thanksgiving weekend up in Kamloops, where we had lots of visiting with family of course,
and eating turkey, but we got lots of work done, too! (this is the well-intentioned part) We raked leaves and pine needles, reorganized a few rooms at my moms house ( A little drilling, a few shelves put up, a bit of dusting, moving some furniture around, you know how it goes), and cleaned out my dad’s old workshop space, which resulted in several runs to the dump. My brother and I both worked at that task. A great man, my father, but a great packrat, too. For the five per cent of useful things he had in his workspace, the other 95 per cent was garbage, or things he thought were of value, dating back thirty years or so. Does anyone need an 8-track player for their car? How about a 15-year-old can of wood stain? How about a pile of extension chords, either male or female socket-less at one end? It was a trip down memory lane though, despite the oddities, like finding his old fishing gear, or the winter gloves he used, year after year, for shovelling the driveway. Even his ancient chorded drill could not help but remind Jamie and me of many years of shoddy home repairs. We miss you dad, but thank goodness your work bench is clean. Now mum can find a screwdriver if she needs one. Next up, the Strawberry scoop. Sweet and light! Kate and I have had lots of opportunity to visit with our niece, Aria, in past weeks. Jamie and Dina came down to Vancouver recently, and then, as just mentioned, we were in the loops over the long weekend, and we got to hang out with the wee bebe again. Here she is, hanging out with Nanna Chase, and then bouncing around in front o her second cousin--she loooves that jolly jumper!--and then being fed by her father. contrary to the evidence in this photo, she does like her food, and most of it stays in her mouth.
she’s so darned cute, she gets her own scoop of ice cream, not to be lumped in with the rest of the thanksgiving weekend. Well anyway, she’s not so wee, actually. She’s somewhere in the neighbourhood of 22 lbs., and she’s only 6 months old. 
She’s adorable though, and very happy. She makes it sort of a shame to live in Vancouver, because we don’t get to see enough of her! Mind you, my sister lives in England (sorry to rub that in, Kari), so I should consider myself as much a next door neighbour to my niece as anyone else!And lastly, the chocolate scoop. Rich and indulgent. Kate and I continue to tear apart our house, and soon enough we’ll have a remodelled bathroom, a remodelled study, and our gas fireplace is being installed next week, just in time for the chilly weather.
We know we’re pretty lucky to be able to afford to do such things, hence the indulgence part. It’s also a guilty pleasure being able to take sledge hammers and crowbars to one’s walls. That’s how I spent my birthday this year, actually! No joke! 
I came home from work, put on my grubbies, and we started tearing out the bathroom walls. Forget a nice b-day dinner on the town, we ordered take-away Indian food so that we could get to work!
This should also be considered as a chocolate scoop itemsimply due to the nature of all the stuff we uncovered, as most of the S*@t that we found in behind the walls was, at best, brown. usually black, however. and dusty and musty...hence the masks, need one ask.In other indulgent news, I won some concert tickets for a David Usher show off of a radio contest recently
and we got to eat some tasty food, see a great show, and meet the man himself, too.
There you have it… hopefully by my next entry, we’ll have some of the reno’s done!
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