Another quiet day

Dear family and friends,

The highlight of the day was a visit to our dear Dr. K, who was joined by a nurse-practitioner-to-be, Bryan. The whole process takes about 3 hours out of our day, but fortunately there was little else we had to do. Dr. K spoke to Dr. M from Mt Sinai while we were there and clarified a number of issues. We see him next Tues. Before getting into a trial, I have to be off my chemo (HU) for three weeks. That should be interesting. The WBC had gone down drastically, from about 161 to about 96 (normal 11-14, I believe). That's from a 2000 mg dose of HU instead of my usual 500 mg. And the platelets didn't fall below 100. So all is moving in a good direction.

I didn't even have to cook anything. Merwin had a bit of leftover chicken francaise for a sort of lunch, and then for supper what remained of the last turkey thigh with carrots and Lima beans, which he ate with gusto. I had an avocado sandwich for supper. One of his good salads finished off our meal. Then we watched the Olympic skaters till I fell asleep. Of course I woke up a couple of hours later, went to the computer, read emails and wrote some, and watched Bill Maher who was interviewed by Larry King from midnight to 1 a.m. This was straightforwardly outrageous Bill Maher, not playing the comedian, but just telling it as he sees it. And since I agree with just about everything he says, and enjoy the way he says it, I liked that a lot.

And why doesn't Pres. Obama let the Republicans filibuster; let the voters see them actually bringing the government to a halt? Use the power of reconciliation to pass the Senate bill, with one important change: start right away to fund the uninsured. That would be enormously helpful to those who have lost their jobs and their health insurance. So it would help solve both problems. I have signed up with the Dems to spend 2 hours a week on the health care issues.

Other than that, I am going to see Measure for Measure again in a couple of weeks, so I can write a decent essay about it. And of course before then I am working on my essay for the Columbia Shakespeare Seminar. I hope to be finished soon, but I keep on thinking of more information I need to look up at the library--responses to any and all objections (I hope) to my thesis. So that means NYPL work next week.

The sun is shining, the snowballs on the trees are delightful, and it is a happy moment, spending the early day with you.

Love to all,
Bernice