Peg's wiggin' out!

In a good way. She went with our friend Mary to get her chemo wig trimmed up and styled and wore the durn thing for the second time since we bade her hair farewell.

They saw "It's Complicated" at the theater and went to Trader Joe's (cool specialty grocery store, for those reading this outside of California). Peg said it was really different to be in public and not getting second glances, especially from kids who can tell when something's a bit off.

Just the opposite for Zoë and I. We're so used to seeing her sans hair that the wig threw us for a loop when she came home. Costume party moment.

It's all relative. Peg has a really nicely shaped head. Seriously. Looks perfectly fine bald or with her new downy bird feathers. But you've got to have the right head for the bald look. I've seen a lot of fellow male customers at the supermarket or a gas station who look like Manson wannabees or nazi skinheads, with lots o' moles, folds, ditsels and bumps... totally creeps me out. They may be fine upstanding citizens, but the look says, "Priors... Arrest warrant...Restraining order... Tweaker... Aryan Brotherhood... ewwwwwwwwwwwww.

Peg's hair growth seems to be exponential. Every day brings another fresh crop. Fun to watch.

A "welcome back" for Peg

One of the many ways we've been blessed is becoming friends with the parents of Zoë's kindergarten and soccer classmates. We've all watched our kids grow up together. I can't imagine not knowing them... a lot of great memories.

Today they threw a "welcome back" luncheon for Peggy. Thought y'all would get a kick out of this-- Peg's mouse pad. The photo was taken during a volunteer day around Halloween when our girls were in the second grade. Geneva (possible mouse pad perpetrator) and Jade (willing participant/teutonic warrior and possible mouse pad perpetrator) accompany Bad Teeth Peg. Peggy's got a really nasty set of fake joke teeth that look pretty real. And she's not afraid to use them.

Growing up in a small Nebraska town, I really appreciate that we have a lot of the same experiences in a metro area bigger than Denver. Zoë will graduate with a lot of the kids she went to kindergarten with. And Peg and I have a rich history with them and their parents.

We don't really need a mouse pad, the optical mouse works with or without one. But we keep using this one because it makes us smile.

Farewell to Christmas... in late January

Seemed like a good idea at the time... whack the tree into small chunks in the living room to avoid dragging the carcass through the house with the accompanying trail of needles.

Turns out the moment it knows it's a goner, the thing spews needles like you wouldn't believe. My look of triumph was short-lived-- spent a lot of time extracting tree remnants from the carpet.

Note to self: next year, wrap the thing in plastic tarp and muscle it out to the driveway before dismembering it.

Had two fun family walks today. The first when it was raining like hell and blowing gale-force winds this morning. Amazing how many times an umbrella can turn inside out and still function. The second when all had calmed down and we were digging the cool orange ethereal sunset.

Zoë and I went for the puddles, she in flip-flops, me in Vibram Five-Fingers (foot gloves). Peg, not so much.

Tomorrow is Peg's first visit to the oncology infusion center for "non-treatment." Just flushing out her sternum port. No chemo, no drugs, no big deal.

Putting the wheelchair up on Craig's List. Only had to use it once, in August, to get her from the car to the infusion center. So thankful to put the thing up for sale without a second thought.