Friday, April 27th

The decision has been made.....Peter will be returning to the hospital on Friday, May 4th or Monday, May 7th. Dr. Boyd is trying to get Peter into the room he had the last two times, "the penthouse", since he will be at Maine Med for approximately three weeks again.

Although Peter would have been fine with going in earlier, it is important that the leg and the rash are cleared up first.

Peter's blood will be wiped out again and he won't have any white blood cells left to fight a possible infection. As a precaution he will be given antibiotics along with the chemo.

In the coming week we plan to spend as much time as possible outdoors and of course we will continue to eat well. Peter has to gain some more weight. Hopefully I won't!!!

Since I  have been asked repeatedly to include recipes in the blog, here is one for the risotto we had the other night. It's simple and fast and utterly delicious.




SPRING RISOTTO                                 


Serves 4


2 cups shelled fava beans
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 asparagus spears cut into 1-2" pieces
1 1/2 cups peas, fresh or frozen
2 quarts chicken stock, preferably home made
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup minced shallot
1 3/4 cup Carnaroli rice [Arborio will do]
6 tablespoons white wine
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan plus more for serving


1. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to boil in a saucepan, add the fava beans and salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and refresh in ice water. Slip the beans out of their skins and set aside.

2. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and keep it at a simmer. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the minced shallot and cook covered over low heat until soft but not colored. Add the rice and some salt. Stir until the rice is transparent. Increase the heat, add the wine and stir until evaporated.

3. Add a couple of ladles of stock and stir. Reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring. When the liquid has been almost absorbed, continue adding stock one ladle at the time, stirring continuously. After about 10 minutes add the beans as well as the peas if they are fresh. Continue adding stock as needed stirring all the while. After about another 5 minutes taste the rice, it should be just cooked.  Add the peas if you use frozen ones and the asparagus. Keep stirring, adding a little more stock if needed. Add the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. The risotto should be moist.

4. Serve in hot dishes or bowls and sprinkle with extra grated Parmesan.

Bon appetit.

Wednesday April 25th

Once a year we get a letter from Swiss Social Security demanding proof that we are a] alive and b] still married. In order to receive our monthly payment we complied and went down to City Hall yesterday to get officially certified.

We married in New York in 1960 while Hurricane Edna was raging, but as we walked out of church the sun broke through. Our life together has been like that wedding day in so many ways.

Peter is feeling great today. He went to an osteopath yesterday which got things flowing in the still offending leg. We are both anxious about our visit with Dr. Boyd tomorrow. In all likelihood it'll be back to the hospital next week.

We took a wonderful long walk at Gilsland Farm today over the fields and through the woods. Swallows were dive bombing for insects. Everything is bursting into bloom after 2 days of rain.

Sunday, April 22nd

That's Peter sitting on the banks of the Presumpscot River just below the falls. To the right is one of several eel weirs that one can see along the shore this time of year.

The spot brings up many wonderful memories of family picnics and our dog Zoe swimming in the river, splashing and yapping until the smell of roasting sausages would lure her back to us. 

To get to the river you hike through woods which right now are full of spotted troutlilies. Soon the first Ladyslippers will appear.

Peter and I continue to savor the time he is at home, probably another week.

Unfortunately Peter developed an extremely itchy rash last weekend and we ended up going to see Dr. Rinaldi, a dermatologist, who is quite certain the rash is drug related. He prescribed a wet dressing with Triamcinolone Acetonide. We had never heard of a "wet dressing" and probably neither have you.

Here is how it works: 

We soak a cotton shirt, sweatpants and sock in warm water. Then I apply cream to most of Peter's 6'4" frame. After wringing out as much water as possible, Peter slips into the soppy mess, puts 2 bathrobes over it all and lies on the bed for half an hour.

We repeat this twice a day, but it is so worth it for the comic relief it brings [ see picture of my sumo wrestler]. Plus the stuff works.

As far as the next round is concerned, Peter will be in the hospital for about 3 weeks. He will receive the same chemo as the first time, but only for 5 days instead of 7. His blood will be wiped out again.  Again we will have to wait for it to repopulate Peter's body.

The consensus is that Peter will have to do two more rounds after that to bring about the desired results.

Saturday, April 21st

It has been quite a while since Jutta updated our blog and she thought it would be a good idea for me to give an update this time around.

Well, I have been home for 3 weeks and am enjoying every minute of it. Jutta keeps spoiling me and our days together feel almost like our normal life.

Every day I am getting a little stronger, in body and mind. We are taking walks together, have visited some of our friends and I am even able to do some work in our little garden and around the house. 

Yesterday we sat outside at Joes’ Boathouse, a restaurant right at the water and enjoyed lunch. Jutta and I were reflecting on how “normal” it all felt; at times like this it is very confusing for me to feel as good as I do but also to realize that shortly I will be returning to the hospital for a second round of chemo. Is it really necessary or can my body lick this thing by itself – of course I know better but these thoughts do cross my mind.

Thursday April 12th

Easter brought many surpises. Friday Paris arrived from Syracuse University and Mark flew in from Seattle on Saturday morning. Peter, having been home for one and a half weeks, was strong enough to enjoy the resulting hubbub.

Saturday night we had a welcome home dinner for Mark, adults only. Paris announced she'd join us having after all joined that rank recently. I prepared a veal rack from Rosemont Market with an array of colorful vegetables and wild blueberry tart for dessert.

Easter Sunday everyone came over to search for the Easter Baskets Mark had hidden in the garden and garage. They were filled with candy, little presents and Easter eggs artfully decorated by the girls. Poor Mark found his last. I had hidden it well!

Easter dinner was house smoked ham by Jarrod with an assortment of salads and Rhubarb Raspberry Streusel Tart for dessert.

It was good to be together.

Mark left for Seattle yesterday, Paris for Syracuse and we took a bus to Boston at 10:30 to meet with Dr. Daniel DeAngelo at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He is the clinical director of the Adult Leukemia Program there and Dr. Boyd has collaborated with him for 15 years.

It was a very good visit. We left confident that Peter will stay in remission.

Dr. DeAngelo recommended a different, less invasive strategy from the one Dr. Boyd is considering. Once we meet with Dr. Boyd we will let you know what the next step will be. But for the time being we are grateful that Peter has bounced back amazingly well and that there are no side effects to the liver or kidneys.

In closing I want to say how much we enjoyed all the beautiful art we saw at Farber yesterday. This mobile in the entrance hall of the institute is just one example.

 In spite of it all we carry on with our traditions. Mark arrived this morning by redeye from Seattle and Paris got in for a surprise visit from Syracuse University last night. Though not complete, the family will be together for our traditional Graf Easter Basket Hunt tomorrow.

Peter is doing amazingly well. His blood values are over the top.  On Wednesday we will be going to Dana Farber in Boston to inform ourselves about further treatment possibilities.

I baked a bunny family today for tomorrow's breakfast......here is the big Mama.

Sending you warmest good wishes on this holiday weekend!

 This is not an April Fool's joke, we had lunch on the  deck yesterday!

Jarrod from Rosemont Market had a surprise for me when I came to the store on Saturday....two lamb tenderloins, a favorite cut of Peter's, as a "welcome home from the hospital" present!

I marinated the lamb in olive oil flavored with rosemary, sage, thyme and garlic and then flash fried it in a very hot cast iron skillet.

With it we had freshly shelled fava beans, carrots sauteed with spring garlic and rice with cubed fresh turmeric root.

Peter was in seventh heaven. Thank you Jarrod!

This morning we walked down to the Brighton Clinic for a blood draw and later got the good news that Peter's values climbed to new heights.

We take at least two walks every day, each a little longer every time we venture out. Steady progress......

Over dinner tonight we listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong singing love songs, the songs we listened to when we met.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2GuRW_roMs