Update on my Face

Just a quick update on my surgery: Results came back that all growths were benign. Phew! I got my stiches out last Friday and the doc says all is healing well. Swelling is down, feeling is slowly coming back. The worst part is that now it hurts more..but that's technically a good thing. I'm getting more strength back in my face too, still can't pull the corner of my mouth down, but when I smile it doesn't tug that corner up quite as high. And I can almost drink from a straw from the middle of my mouth!!

Thanks for everyone's well wishes, I appreciate the positive vibes!

Quick Update on Scar Face..I mean, Me!

So, for those that weren't aware, I had surgery last Friday. There was a reoccurance of a tumor in my parotid (aka salivary) gland below my right ear, sort of tucked behind my jaw. The surgeons found a series of small growths along my facial nerve, and had to carefully hack around my nerve for the better part of 4 hours. Not ideal. I'm doing pretty well all considered. The facial nerve is weak, put expected to recover over the next 2-3 weeks. Above you see me trying to smile. The right half of my mouth just doesn't want to cooperate. I can feel it, I just can't move it!! But the eye closes (thank God!!) and no one can tell that my right nostril won't flare with the same enthusiasm as my left... so overall I'm not complaining. I just wish I'd stop biting my lip while eating my toast!

Warning: Graphic image below, not for the weak of stomach.....

Here's what the sutures look like, and my drain. That bloody looking tube really is coming from inside my neck! it has a small plastic bulb on the other end that sucks out all the liquid my body is trying to throw at the site of the surgery. It's out now..only had that attractive accessory in over the weekend thankfully! The stitches get taken out tomorrow, and then it's back to the gym.. Well, I've already been back, but no one is supposed to know..

That's it for now..later skaters..

Ok, so what have I done in the last 2 months? Sit down, get comfortable, and let me catch you up. First, London. Clara & I spent our last evening dining with friends of Andrew & Katherine on a sail boat moored in a small marina next to Tower Bridge. Magical doesn't do it justice! It happened to also be a send-off for their friend Katherine...so there were 7 or 8 of us crowded in the boat (yes it was raining) drinking wine, eating great food, and sharing some laughs not always appropriate for children. Lucky Clara's a great sport!

Coming home from our trip was a shock to both of us. Clara spent several days sleeping in late...i just stumbled around at work in a fog, trying to get caught up, readjust to Seattle time, and get back in the groove of "normal" life.


So what's normal for me? I took a trip up to Bellingham to visit my parents. The kids LOVE my parents bathtub, so bathtime was an event in itself! I highly recommend a jetted tub to anyone that likes a lot of bubbles...the kids discovered how effective the jets are at frothing the suds!!

O - H - I - O!

This is the cheer my kids were taught by Makayla, and now will randomly start shouting when they're feeling fired up about Buckeye football. :) One of them will yell out "O-H!" and the others will respond "I-O!". It's hilarious! (I think I've actually seen Makayla tear up when they do this...) Saturdays have taken on a whole new meaning now.

Speaking of Buckeyes.... So, technically speaking a buckeye is a tree...the Ohio Buckeye, state tree of Ohio. According to wikipedia (buckeyes), it's also a chicken, an aircraft, a butterfly, and, oh yeah, a nationally ranked college football team. The last item that wikipedia calls out is the candy: "a peanut butter and chocolate candy made to resemble the nut of an Ohio Buckeye tree and enjoyed commonly in that state". Above is a picture of Clara, Bennet, and Makayla making said candy, and they are delicious! We stuffed ourselves with them..our friend Hannah had them on her birthday cake after sampling ours..and the kids still talk about them!

So there's the first chapter in the last 60 days of my life...England recovery, catching up with family, learning about college football, and generally having fun. Stay tuned for more...

I know..I know...

I've been getting it from all sides..my blog has become dusty. There are cobwebs in all the corners. People are tired of checking and seeing the damn London Eye..you don't even know what happened on my last day in London, let alone the other 60-odd days between now and my last post. So..this weekend is the weekend. No kids, no bike race (doctor's orders), no big plans, and crummy weather. I'll get the pics off my camera, think of some witty words, and do a post or three.

The very quick update on life: Kids are good, work is in-sane, Seattle is rainy, it will be snowing in the hills tomorrow, I've been doing quite well racing cyclocross, and have fun spending time with Makayla. Check back later for more details on all of the above..

Cheers..

Exploring London, Day 1

First stop Monday morning was the London Eye, a huge ferris wheel that, on a clear day, gives you panoramic views of the city. We lucked out! The skies cleared up 30 minutes before we boarded, and clouded over again about 30 minutes after we disembarked! Clara took lots of photos of the boats below, and the buildings around us.

The view from the Eye

From the Eye we walked back across the Thames, past Big Ben and through St. James Park.

At the other end of the park is Buckingham Palace. We were too late to watch the changing of the guard, but we still had the chance to spend a few minutes watching the guards march back and forth. From there we tubed up to Picadilly Circus for lunch and gift shopping, then to the British Museum.

Clara and I explored Greek and Roman sculptures, American modern art, and Egyptian relics. Above is the famous Rosetta Stone. We also saw several incredible mummies (below)!

We ended the evening recovering at home. Ate dinner with A&K & Midnight.

A Relaxing Day in London

Riding the double-decker! A real highlight of the day for Clara. :-) We were on our way to Oxford St for some shopping. We spent some quality time at Primark, a clothing store know for it's insane deals, like men's dress shirts for $4 GBP, shoes for $3 GBP. Clara spent some of her money and left with an outfit and 2 pairs of shoes.

After shopping, we all met up with Alison, another friend in London, for lunch, and then explored Hyde Park (after discovering the Natural History Museum was closed). Our first stop was a Frank Gehry temporary exhibit in the park. It definitely appealed to my architectural tastes...

From there we meandered along the Serpentine, Clara found some blackberries worth eating (on the wrong side of the fence of course), and we spent some time at the Princess Diana memorial.

In usual Temer fashion, we were not content to call it a day yet! We said goodbye to Alison, hailed a cab, and met up with Andrew, Katherine, and their good friend Catherine in the Marylebone neighborhood. We ate at a place called Giraffe, know for its family friendly dishes from around the world....
....and also know for it's crazy long-necked plastic colored giraffes that usually come in their cocktails, but were provided on request for Clara's entertainment. Which quickly became OUR entertainment as well!

So that was yesterday..today was a bit more relaxing yet..a visit out to Thorpe Bay (an hour outside of London by train) to visit Mum's other cousin, Mary, and her husband Nick. We had a nice time with them, having drinks, catching up, eating a great meal, and then training back home.
It was also Clara's first chance to ride the Tube! The Maida Vale stop is closest to A&K's place. By our return trip Clara was reading the Tube map and counting stops like a pro!
Mary, Clara, Nick, Katherine & Andrew gathered round the table for dinner. It's been 11 years since I'd visited them, and it was really nice to catch up!

More to come..Clara and I have the next two days on our own (alas, everyone else here has to work...) to explore London.

Cheers

Almost Made It!

Windsor Castle

So..the question burning on everyone's mind is, can you see Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the Roman Baths all in a 12 hour day?? And the answer is, if you have a GPS you can! Sadly, Clara and I did NOT have a GPS, and we ended up getting lost on our way back through London...arriving at Andrew & Katherine's house at 8:07 pm, 7 minutes later than our bet!

Our first stop of the day was Windsor Castle. Located in the town of Windsor, it is an active, "working" castle. When the flag is flying it means that the Queen is at the residence. We toured the Queen's Doll's House, which was incredibly intricate, but, we learned, only for show, never actually for play. Then we walked through the state apartments, and finished up touring St. Georges Chapel, where new knights are formally welcomed into knighthood.

After a quick lunch in a cafe near the castle, we hopped back in the car and tried to find our way to the M3. We did..eventually...but it wasn't exactly the direct route!


Yes, we saw Stonehenge. It was very cool to see this famous stack of rocks in person! We spent about a half hour walking around the rocks (from a distance, visitors aren't allowed within a couple hundred feet of them). Then we fed Clara an ice cream and were off to Bath. The drive to Bath was beautiful: narrow windy roads around farmers fields, through small villages.


This is a shot of the Bath Abbey, taken from inside the Baths. The Bath's were fascinating, and we really enjoyed the tour through them. In fairness, there was so much more to see in the town itself than we had time for. It would definitely be worth a trip back!

We sat in the sun and relaxed for a few minutes down by the main bath. Then we climbed back into the car and made our way to the M4 for the 100 mile drive home. We made excellent time, there was very little traffic, and we were on track to be home easily by 730p. But then while trying to navigate the maze of streets from the M4 to Elgin Ave we took a wrong turn..or two.. We ended up having to call Uncle Andrew and getting guided in. The $45 that phone call will cost me would have more than paid for a satnav unit!!!

Today we're off to Oxford St for some shopping, and perhaps a museum or two in the afternoon..