Bump. Sorry.

Firstly apologies for being AWOL. I guess I kind of forget that people actually read this and that it isn't just me and my mindless ramblings. Sorry.

My excuses for being absent are firstly having an awesome holiday - more of that in a mo, and secondly being back into treatment and thus (who uses that word?!) being knackered so usually in bed by 9pm which doesn't leave much time for creative writing. Talk about back to reality.

Anyway, so the holiday. O.M.G. Absolutely amazing. We were both very much in need of the break - both emotionally and in my case, physically. When you are living with the evilness - well I say living, I mean putting it in its box, and occasionally giving it a little bit of attention, despite it wanting more; anyway, when living with it, you don't realise how much it takes its toll. So I needed some respite and New York and New England certainly provided that.

We had 2 weeks. So we started in good old NYC. Saw the sights, ate the food and oh yes, did a spot of shopping.

My kind of shopping

We were there for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I found it very emotional being there for that but there was a really positive atmosphere. Real NY positivity. Amazing.

Then off to Niagara we went - in a teeny plane that seated 50. The Falls were incredible. Hard to describe so here is the view from our hotel. I have asked for a refund!

The Falls

Then back to NYC to pick up our very eco-friendly compact car and we drove up the coast to Cape Cod.

Our mini!

A place I have always wanted to visit due to an obsession with Dawson's Creek - many a Sunday morning spent with a very good friend watching it in our PJ's! Good memories. Cape Cod brought a real "back to nature" feel to the trip - beautiful beaches and WHALE WATCHING. Those reading this that know me well, will know that me spending 3 hours on a boat in the Atlantic Ocean in order to see these magnificent creatures was a real personal achievement - helped considerably by the fact that I was dosed up to the eyeballs on a variety of anti-emetics! Totally worth it.

Three Humpback's feeding

Then finally we were off to Boston for the last few days and a real dose of American history. It was a fabulous holiday and just what we needed,

Unfortunately we had to come home! Luckily I had another week of "normality" before treatment number 7. It was lovely to feel normal. I hadn't realised how much the kick-ass drugs affect me until I felt like me again. It was great not to have to wake up every morning and wonder how I would feel, and to get to 9pm and still be awake. It was great to be Claire again - I miss her.

Cheers!

However whilst I may be at the top of the mountain which is great, I still have to go down the other side. And so here I am, treatment 8 was today so nearly 3/4 of the way there. And I still have hair - albeit less of it. So it seems the FFH is worth the pain. Unfortunately my post-last-chemo curls have all fallen out, but amazingly already I have new hair growth - fuzzy stuff on the top of my head. How weird is that? And for those of you that have always wondered but been too afraid to ask - chemo does indeed affect ALL your hair!!!! Thank god there isn't a FFH for that area!

Anyway, I am back and won't leave it so long next time.