Sunrise

Sunrise.

I well see you later.

Love, Margie

Grass

Grass and water.

Other news:  if your update information for me comes only from my daily photo, after tomorrow there not be one for quite awhile.  So send a message and we put you on our regular update if you like.

Hi all:
One important thing on Margie's mind she wants you all to know is that there is no physical pain to contend with.  The surgeon, Dr.Parsa, assures us he will remove as much of the tumor as possible without damage to the brain.  Within 2 or 3 weeks, radiation and oral chemotherapy will begin, followed by more oral chemo in a cycle yet to be determined.
She will remain in the UCSF hospital for 3 to 5 days, and radiation and chemo treatments will be continued at Marin General Hospital.
Her pre-op work continued at UCSF today, including anesthesia consultation and lab work, EKG, Brain CT scans, with and without contrast, much review of her medical history, and lots I cannot remember or understand (a strenuous day !)
Of course Dr. Parsa had to warn us of possible undesirable results to speech and memory after surgery, but these should be temporary and respond to rehabilitation.  She has received overwhelming.offerings of prayer and love.  This, and the high reputation of UCSF and its neuro-surgery staff have given us a strong feeling of optimism.
   Yes, we want this healing and recovery process to start, and to continue to a successful return to the lovable Margie we all want to share.
   Since Thursday (surgery day) will be a long and stressful day, I will wait until Friday, when we know more details to share, to write you a status report.  Until then, your prayers, especially on Thursday, are what her family and numerous friends beg of you.  Dick

After the rain

After the rain a few weeks ago.

Safra

Elyse's Safra  - mostly fur!  Sweet! 

Julie

Is Julie wise?  Is she not wise?  Fourteen years and we haven't figured it out yet!

Oasis

Looking from the 8th floor of UCSF we could see many interesting sights.  Here is a green oasis.

Other news: The surgery will be Thursday April 22 at 12:30 pm, and it will be a 4-hour surgery.  We are happy to have it sooner than later!  I will in UCSF hospital 3 to 5 days, probably.

This is the link to Dr. Parsa's UCSF webpage.   All his awards, research papers, fellowships are listed there, plus his education (Yale).

http://neurosurgery.ucsf.edu/index.php/about_us_faculty_parsa.html

Family

This is a little of a departure today. I want to show my wonderful family at our visit at UCSF today. Marc, Celeste, Dick, me and Elyse.

Hi all. We have just returned from our Consultation meeting at UCSF's Neurological Surgery Department, a very impressive organization  Her surgeon will be Dr.Parsa and her surgery date will be either April 21 or April 28.  We will know the date in 24 hours.
     Margie thinks that everything went wonderfully well in this meeting, so do I, and we are very optimistic about all that we learned in this meeting.  Our three children, Celeste, Elyse and Marc were with us and participated very enthusiastically. .  We will share more information with you tomorrow.
     Thanks for your prayers and good wishes.  Dick and Margie too 

Ease

Our cat Julie at ease at the sun - but would you like that pillow?!!

Weeds

There is so much rain this week that we have weeds growing our roof!

Other news: We will meet with a UCSF surgeon Thursday - more news then.

Iris

Here is the glorious first iris from Sandy's garden this spring.

Other news: The next step is to have a consultation with a surgeon at UCSF; it will probable be on Thursday.  We will know for certain tomorrow and let you know.

Out the window

On February 10, I posted a photo a winter tree out our dining window; here it is in its spring greenery.

Other news: The verdict is cancer in the left frontal lobe affecting speech, spelling and my ability to write.  It is a primary site not referred from my previous breast cancer (11 years ago).  It is rather aggressive and we will treat it aggressively.  Our plan is to have surgery at UCSF, followed in 2 or 3 weeks with radiation and chemo to continue to shrink the tumor.  We will know the schedule better next week.  My ball-of-fire Neurologist Dr. Cokgor gets things done fast!

Dick and my family, especially daughter Elyse who came from LA to help, are all optimistic along with me! 

Love, Margie

Sunrise 4-3-10

A serene sunrise a few days ago.

We see my doctor on Wednesday to get my tiny stitches out and maybe we'll find out something then.

Margie

Red squirrel

Red caught me in the act of taking his photo!

My biopsy was done; no word yet.  It will probably be early next week.

Margie

Freesias

Freesias from Jeanne's garden smell so good!

My biopsy will be today at Marin General Hospital at 1 PM. We'll probably know the results Wednesday. We will let you know when we can.

Friend

Susan's garden friend is always ready to lend a smile.

Doorway 2

Here is a doorway in the 1800 block of Union Street of San Francisco.  It's a second story stairway to a house decorator shop, an intriguing entryway!

A personal note about future Daily Photos:
Thursday I was diagnosed with a small mass in my left brain, benign or cancerous unknown.  I will have a biopsy done early next week.  So there be interruptions now and then; I will try let you know when, or there may no warning.  Here's to more interesting photos!  Margie

Doorway

Yesterday I had a little time to kill on Union Street in San Francisco and I noticed how many narrow doorways open up on the sidewalk.  This one leads to several shops in the back.  You may not be able to read the sign that says "Carol Doda's"; I wonder about that one!

Abstract?

Yes, this could be an abstract - or it could be a recently hewn eucalyptus log. Or both.

Tree & clouds

The title says it all. . . .

Black crowned night heron

Herons and egrets spend much of their time fishing, although to the observer it may look mostly like standing around rather than fishing!   Then  - flash - and a tasty morsel goes down the gullet.

Amber drops

Once in a while I search the archives for photos I haven't shown you before.  Here's one from 2007 taken on a trip to Portland, Oregon.

Gone fishin'

The egret looks for its breakfast just as the sun rises.

Fence right-side-up

For those who are at mystery about yesterday's fence - this right-side-up shadow may clear it up for you.

Two of you gave almost identical comments:

Muriel: Poor thing.  It is but a shadow of itself.
Jim:  Poor fence, it's just a shadow of it's self.

You amaze me!

Fence

A nice fence - but wait -- is there something wrong with it?  It doesn't look quite right?

Another tulip

The red tulips at Filoli were so beautiful that I cannot resist showing you another one!

Pink tree

This little tree is on the verge of an pink explosion!

Bee

The honey bee is preparing to land on a red tulip.

Green tree

This tree is green and I don't mean the leaves that will show up later.  At Filoli Gardens.

My next photo will be on Monday.

Red tulips

A group of us visited Filoli Gardens in Woodside yesterday.  Most trees and permanent plants are just budding, but the displays of daffodils and tulips are spectacular.

Filoli Gardens and Mansion are part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
http://www.filoli.org/explore-filoli/history/

No Outlet

Lifers on Alcatraz Island would have recognized the intent of this sign, but to take away the mystery: this traffic advisory in north Oakland merely tells motorists that going down this street will not get them to the next major street, Alcatraz.

Blackbirds

She wears a flock of blackbirds in her hair . . .

B00

At the deli in Scotty's Market the other I took the next number from the machine  - and it isn't even Halloween!!

Lens

A raindrop creates a natural lens and the image is always upside-down.  The image is in sharp focus, but it's hard for the viewer to compare because the background of the photo is out of focus; this is the nature of a raindrop reflection.  Your science lesson for the day.

Employees Only

Does this auto repair shop have trouble keeping customers out of their business office?

Buttermilk Sky

I think this is what Hoagy Carmichael meant when he wrote 'Ole Buttermilk Sky'.  This song was introduced by Carmichael in the film "Canyon Passage" and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1947. "Canyon Passage' starred Dana Andrews, Brian Donlevy, Ward Bond and among others, Hoagy Carmichael.   In case you don't know this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMF9RTdKSCw

Walkway

Someone had better walk through this gate and on this walkway pretty soon - or the bricks will soon be obscured!

Raindrips

Spring blossoms after a dripping rain.

Art on the path

Art on the bike path.  Perhaps you can see a face?

Acacias again

Here are more acacias reflecting in the still waters of Corte Madera Creek.

Only in the spring

This grape hyacinth grows in our yard and shows itself only for a few days in the spring.

Raindrips

It rained a lot here yesterday; sometimes it poured.  Then the sun came out and revealed rain dripping from everything, including the buds of this potato vine (a decorative vine, not the kind that grows potatoes!).

Acacias

Some people dread to see all these yellow blooms popping out in our early spring; they bring on their allergies.  And others consider their many varieties a nuisance.  But for some others (if you don't have them in your yard like the eucalypti I mentioned last week), acacias can be beautiful.  

You may recognize the same scene as in my Foggy Morning photo on February 15.

Mt. Tamalpais

Our 2571-foot Mt. Tamalpais in the fog last week.

Crows

Three crows on a fence.  Crows have extensive symbolism in world culture, but here there is simplicity - just an image of three crows on a fence.

Daffodils

Kent Middle School near the College of Marin campus has bed of several varieties of daffodils.  Wait - are they daffodils, jonquils or narcissus? 

According to The Flower Expert, daffodils, the flowers symbolizing friendship, are one of the
most popular flowers exclusively due to their unmatched beauty. Often the trumpet is in a contrasting color from the background. The name Daffodils includes the cluster-flowered yellow Jonquils and the White Narcissi, as well as the more common trumpet shaped flowers; all are members of the genus Narcissus.

Foggy tree

I cannot resist winter trees in the fog!  This one is beginning to bud and that gives it a lacy look.

EAT

Some of you may have seen this sign in Taylor's Refresher in the Ferry Building in SF.  I think you could say it is their corporate philosophy.

Tall timber

Part of the Corte Madera bike path is lined with some tall timber - eucalyptus trees.

Several eucalypts are among the tallest trees in the world. Eucalyptus regnans, the Australian Mountain Ash, is the tallest of all flowering plants (Angiosperms); today, the tallest measured specimen named Centurion is over 326 feet tall. Only Coast Redwood is taller and Coast Douglas-fir about the same; they are conifers (Gymnosperm). Six other eucalypt species exceed 260 feet in height.

California. In the 1850s, Eucalyptus trees were introduced to California by Australians during the California Gold Rush. Much of California has a similar climate to parts of Australia. By the early 1900s, thousands of acres of eucalypts were planted with the encouragement of the state government. It was hoped that they would provide a renewable source of timber for construction, furniture making and railroad ties. It was soon found that for the latter purpose eucalyptus was particularly unsuitable, as the ties made from eucalyptus had a tendency to twist while drying, and the dried ties were so tough that it was nearly impossible to hammer rail spikes into them.

"They went on to note that the promise of eucalyptus in California was based on the old virgin forests of Australia. This was a mistake as the young trees being harvested in California could not compare in
quality to the centuries-old eucalyptus timber of Australia. It reacted differently to harvest. The older trees didn't split or warp as the infant California crop did. There was a vast difference between the two, and this would doom the California eucalyptus industry."

One way in which the eucalyptus, mainly the blue gum E. globulus, proved valuable in California was in providing windbreaks for highways, orange groves, and other farms in the mostly treeless central part of the state. They are also admired as shade and ornamental trees in many cities and gardens. Eucalyptus forests in California have been criticized because they compete with native plants and do not support native animals. Fire is also a problem. The 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm which destroyed almost 3,000 homes and killed 25 people was partly fueled by large numbers of eucalypts close to the houses. In some parts of California, eucalypt forests are being removed and native trees and plants restored.

Personally, I like them, but then I don't have any to clean up after or to worry about falling on my house or burning!

Who won?

David and Goliath?  Friend Bob T., the owner of the Saturn was not present when the altercation took place and came upon the scene a few minutes later.  Although the Saturn suffered some injury it seems to have stood its ground while the Lexus lost its footing and lies vanquished. In this photo you can see the sleeve of Bob T on the left, and on the right the sleeve of the Lexus driver (who was unhurt).  So who won?

All this took place in the normally peaceful parking lot where we all park our cars on Thursday mornings.