Yippee!

No chemo for another month. This morning I had a blood test and this afternoon I visited the oncologist who had the results of the test. And.......... the platelet count is far too low for me to have chemo tomorrow, so he's given me a month off. Yeah! For those not-so-medical buffs the platelet count is 66 and the normal range is 150-450.

What does this mean for me? It means I have to take care not to bump into things and not to cut myself as the low platelets will not allow the blood to clot and I'll be bruised and bleed a lot. Sounds easy, you think. If only you knew how many times I bang into things in my hurry to get somewhere and cut my fingers with sharp knives! Anyway, I'll just have to slow down and be more careful. The exciting thing about it is that I have a month when I will have a normal level of energy and probably not have to schedule a nanna nap quite so often. I'm really quite excited. It means my trip down the coast next week will take on a new dimension. I'll have much more energy to do things than I thought I'd have, so I'm going to take my golf clubs with me and see if I can get that swing back with a little bit of practice every day.

I can hear you saying "just take it easy, Terrie, don't do too much". OK. I know, and I will.

For those if you who have been reading for some time, you'll know my friend, Wilna who lives in France at Chateau Lalinde, is doing the amazing Pilgrims' Walk across the top of Spain. She started last Sunday and has been walking every day over mountains on rocky paths and really punishing her body to achieve her set target of kilometres each day. I've been following her progress and exchanging text messages with her daily. She says it's the hardest thing she's ever done, at the same time, the most wonderful experience. She's been writing a blog in the weeks leading up to her departure and there are some amazing photos in the early entries. So, if you're interested, you can see it at http://caminoforterrie.travellerspoint.com/

The other exciting thing that has happened this week is that I've been talking with Tim and Oscar via Skype and webcam. It's so lovely to chat to my son and see him while we're chatting as well as seeing my grandson, little Oscar, and hearing him gurgle and laugh and squeal - and scream! Oh how I continue to love being a grandmother! Soon the Hong Kong family will be doing it with me too.

I visited the Nan Tien Temple, near my home, with a friend during the week. The photo at the top was taken looking across the waterlilies towards the temple. I love the willow tree. Talk again soon