On the Ferry

We are on the ferry on our way to Bellingham. Our stop in Ketchikan was long so I had a chance to have a nice four mile run. I am looking forward to the half marathon in Las Vegas. The idea that they close down the strip and set up bands at each mile is so much fun. It doesn’t hurt that the course will be fairly flat and full of characters, like loads of folks dressed up like Elvis. Elvis is truly still alive in Las Vegas. That is one of the many reasons I love Vegas…tacky is okay. So much is done with a smile on one’s face for pleasure. People seem to live life very fully…. not always wisely, but fully.

A couple of days ago we processed the two deer that Pat and Dick (Dick pulled the trigger) shot. The meat is so beautiful, clean and low fat. Wear, Spy, Dick, Pat and I made short shift of the work. I started late due to a scheduled long (11mile) run with Mary, Andrea and Marlene. Wear is such a good hostess, providing food and coffee and all the needed equipment. We are lucky to be hunting partners with the Eides.

We are sending venison and halibut down when we get an address. With the duck, goose and canned smoked salmon we are bringing, our diet is going to be very healthy. I hope to use the four and half months in the desert as a time to get really healthy—lots of running, pilates (I need to find a good class) and good eating. Vitamin D will be had at the pool and if we can set up a good sleep pattern, 4am until noon, then I’ll be a happy camper. People don’t realize the advantage you can have at the poker table if you are feeling good. It is very like any competitive sport.

I ran into a glitch in my life plan before I left home. It threw me for a bigger loop than I realized. My oncologist, Dr. Kaplan, was consulted by my new gp, Alice Hulabek, about the continued use of my aromatase inhibitor, anastrozole, beyond the five year mark. I was all set up to quit at yearend and use the end of hormone therapy as the end of me being a cancer patient. The five year mark is a milestone for most cancer survivors…a real sign that a reoccurrence is unlikely to happen. I would also like to avoid the side effects, mostly hot flashes, and the unknown impacts of using a hormone altering drug for a long time. Well quitting is not in the near future because of the good, but incomplete, research going on that indicates it really makes a difference…even after five years. I pouted for a couple of days, refusing to buy the supply I would need in Vegas. It was almost a relief to finally buy the tiny little white pills. Thank goodness the patent expired..each pill cost $12 during the first 4 ½ years of my course ($372 a month, $4,464 a year, over $20,000 for tiny white pills). Now they are reasonable, 4 months for under $200. Another milestone I am going to make this year is that I won’t reach my medical insurance deductible…which is $10,000. Yay.

We just pulled away from the dock at Ketchikan and we are headed south through Dixon Entrance. It is a bit windy here, so we may do some rock and rolling. What better way to get in the Vegas mood.