Nice dinner

Cooked up a nice little dish tonight - Tamarind stir fry chicken - and everybody enjoyed it.

It's a little thing I'm on at the moment with cooking. Made Pad Thai and Green Chicken Curry last week from stratch. The curry was a hit but only Ali and I liked the Pad Thai (and really liked it).

It's my little secret way of getting them all hooked on chilli, hehe.

That time again!

Scan time has come around yet again and Ali had her scans yesterday. Unfortunately the run of good news has come to an end and these latest results showed some growth in the tumour in the liver and some new growths there as well.

Very disappointing news and we'll be off to see the oncologist on Monday to see what it all means.

Stay tuned until then and I'll post an update next week.

Latest Scan - All good

Ali had another scan today. Results back and there's no new growth so that's great news.

In other news, we have found a new home and should be moving in on 8 June. So we now have just a couple of weeks to pack up the house and move.

Some snaps of the new place are here...see our new home

Kids are well, hockey (Annelise) and soccer (Harry) are now underway so there goes Saturdays for the next few months.

Home :)

Alison made it home yesterday and is glad to escape the hospital.

She is happily (well, more or less happily) recouperating at home now. Still sore and sleepy but home anyway.

Update - scan results and surgery

I can barely believe that it's been two and a half months since the last update. Happy belated new year to you all.

To get straight to the facts...

• Ali had a scan earlier in the year which showed some of the tumours were isodense. We weren't really too sure what that meant but they were changing in some form. Doctors said it wasn't anything to get worked up about but worth watching bit more closely.
• Last week, Ali had another scan. Good news was that it showed the existing tumours weren't growing. The not so good news was that the docs spotted a new 1cm tumour. Not clear yet why old ones aren't growing and a new one pops up but the docs were going to have a chat and think about it and let us know soon. It's just wait and see on this one.
• Yesterday Ali had surgery to remove her ovaries. She had been chemically restricting her production of eostrogen (the cancer likes the hormones) for a while but the time came when the trauma and inconvenience of the surgery were worth the benefits, which in its own way is a positive sign. Operation went well and doctors were satisfied. She is still in hospital but may come home Thursday (4/3) or Friday (5/3). A little sore, a little lighter but hopefully worthwhile.

In other news, Annelise has started her new school and really enjoys it. She seems to be starting to make new friends while still staying in contact with some of her old friends. All up she's pretty happy.

Harrison is on school camp at the moment. He's been away since Tuesday and comes home tomorrow. There have been no emergency phone calls from the school so I'm assuming it's all going OK.

We're still looking for a new house to move into. Having settled on our old property around Australia Day, we are now located in Matt and Bron's house in Wanniassa which is very convenient. Hopefully we find something soon.

That's it for now.

Five sleeps to go!

Kids are starting to get excited. Tree is up, lights are flashing.

My brother arrives from Perth today, will be good to catch up as it has been a while.

We have our first 'Christmas dinner' tonight with Alison's dad.

Both kids are now finished school for the year and I finish up on Wednesday.

:)

Looking for a new home

Hi all

With the house now sold, we are searching for our new abode. We've had a couple of possibilities but nothing that has really grabbed us. It seems the ones that Alison sets her eyes on are ones that are very comfortably out of our price range! I think it will need just a bit of steering and expectation management to get her on the right path to a realistic home.

Still, I think we will be able to find the right place so long as we have some patience and a reasonable attitude to what to expect.

We had last night in Sydney, visiting Colleen, Paul and the kids. It was a great time for adults and kids. The adults went out to the Opera House to watch the Whitlams play with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra while the kids went to a BBQ at the local school and then watched a video (staying up until 9:30pm as Annelise told us this morning!).

Earlier today, Alison and I had a quick trip to buy her a retirement ring from Tiffany & Co.. I must say, it is a very impressive place. She has dreamt of being able to visit and buy a ring from there for many years so I am very happy that we were able to do it. Looking at what they had on offer, it was incredible to see what you can get if you have some real money. Ah well, keep on dreaming.

Section below is just for adults!! Just highlight by selecting text below (no kids allowed).


Christmas just 20 days away now. We have the Christmas tree up and carols ringing through the house anytime Alison gets her way with the stereo. The kids are keen and excited although Harrison has decided that he won't be sitting on Santa's lap this year as he doesn't want to mix it with "some stranger that's not really Santa Claus anyway". Hmmmm, we may be lucky to get through this one with him as a believer but I don't think we'll get another year out of it.

That's all for now. Take care.

PS - I have just discovered Mojitos. Mmmmmm. I picked up a bottle of Havana Club Anejo Blanco this afternoon and it makes a very refreshing drink. You'll all have to come around one day to try it. :)