I was in Montana for Thanksgiving and Rob (my brother) and I decided to record a couple of Winter/Christmas celebration songs! So much fun to play with Rob!
First up, Marshmallow World
Then a beautiful and strange song by Bill Evans – It’s Love, It’s Christmas
Always just a bit late… But I hope you enjoy! And all the best wishes for a healthy and satisfying 2024!
❤️❄❆❄︎🎄
Kate
I have a new quartet! Well, new-ish… We actually formed last fall, before cancer and this crazy year… But it still feels new to me, because we’ve really just gotten started.
In October we got together for a weekend in Las Vegas (yeah, that Las Vegas, but not anywhere near the strip), and rehearsed and bonded and sang our hearts out!
Hopefully you’ll all get to hear us at the end of March when we compete at Sweet Adeline’s Region 11 contest. If not at the contest a video will be uploaded shortly after.
Here we are!
Journal Entry 8/2/23
I am in remission. Officially. Was told by two different doctors that I can say the word remission and mean it. It feels like it’s not real, but it is.
Cancer has changed me in so many ways, I don’t think I can even describe the scope of it. but I’ll try to tell you some of the things.
There are some obvious changes.
If you look at my belly you will see a foot long scar (pubes to boobs). It’s healing nicely and I have unexpected impulses to show it to people.
I am still bald, but my hair will grow back. I’m almost tempted to keep it shaved. It’s my cancer card. My excuse for having groceries delivered (the delivery drivers don’t seem nearly as judge-y when you answer the door with a bald head).
Inside of me there are a whole bunch of parts missing. Thankfully, I don’t seem to miss them at all. Although their absence creates some menopause like discomforts, like hot flashes and heart racing and vaginal dryness, but we don’t need to talk about that.
I think I escaped most of the neuropathy, but I do have some tingles in a couple of fingers on my right hand sometimes.
Less obviously is the tiredness that comes from the treatments. They say that recovery time is 2 months per 1 month of treatment, so I should be back to something like normal in about a year. Although because I’m on a maintenance drug that may take longer. In lessons and socializing with friends, I seem to have enough energy to act “normal”, but then I definitely need a nap that afternoon, or the next day.
My brain doesn’t work as fast as it once did. And I sometimes get words mixed up as they are coming out of my mouth. It could be amusing, I guess, but mostly it’s just a little frustrating and I have to slow down and reset and have compassion for myself and speak slower.
My spirit is struggling to make sense of the cancer still, but more than that, I’m examining my life and the way I spend my time. The things that I want to do with the time I’ve got left.
Because cancer reminds you, that you will die. Hopefully I’ll still get to be an old lady with long white hair, but I don’t know that for sure anymore.
And so, I rest. I play. I love. I write. And I try to create more music, because my voice is most easily expressed in music.
