fannie & millie .: handcrafted goodness

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…  I’m working on a super secret project…  all will be revealed late Friday or early Saturday.  After that, I will resume frequent postings and jewelry-making.  I promise!

Don’t be picky. I know it’s not officially summer; but yesterday evening was enough of a taste of the season to come that Chris played hooky from riding and I played hooky from working and we went up to Alberta to sit outside and have a beer. It was great!

What are you doing to enjoy the weather?

Somebody very special turned 13 today! Woohoo - an actual teenager!

What would your world look like without the threat of cancer?

In April I wrote about my family’s experience with cancer, but have avoided sharing the news we received shortly after that post. At his one-year-anniversary doctor’s appointment, we found out that the Gleevec Chris was taking is no longer working for him.  The good news is, there are some new medications he can try.  So far, it seems that the Sprycel he is taking now is doing what it’s supposed to do. We actually consider ourselves among the lucky ones, we have medical insurance, the Leukemia was diagnosed in time and we have wonderful and supportive friends and family. Even so, the additional support offered by the Lance Armstrong Foundation has been really important to us. They have worked to empower us to feel more in control and to take charge of Chris’ treatment by giving us numerous, invaluable resources and also by helping us to connect with other survivors so that we don’t feel so alone. They also have a broader agenda quoted here from their website:

We must close the gaps between what we know and what we do in the cancer fight.

Nearly 47 million Americans lack health insurance. About 16 million more are underinsured.

Health care coverage and financial concerns should not dictate who lives, who dies and who suffers unnecessarily.

Ethnic populations in the U.S. carry a disproportionate burden of poor quality cancer care, and minorities are much more likely to die and suffer needlessly from the disease.

With screening, we could prevent 1/3 of all cancer deaths.

90% of colorectal cancer deaths, 30% of all breast cancer deaths in women over age 40 and virtually all cervical cancer deaths can be prevented now.

Cancer funding is decreasing and government attention is fragmented.

While 13 different government agencies fund cancer research, no one is in charge of the nation’s cancer program. Hard to believe when 10 million people in our country are living with cancer.

We must be more efficient, more collaborative and more directed about how we use what we know.

We must close the gaps.

We must make cancer a national priority.

Today.

Please join me in supporting the LAF. It’s a matter of life and death.

If you’ve been planning to join Team BFR, tomorrow is the day to do it! Click on the coupon to go directly to the team page.

I’m back online and no longer a Microsoft drone; I’ve got Firefox now and I can’t believe how much better my blog and shop look with it.  It might take a while (as most good relationships do) to really get into the flow of things; but I think I’m in love…

♥ Besides, isn’t that little fox just adorable? ♥

I’m just checking in to let you know that I won’t be online until Monday:(   I was scheduled to be up and running yesterday but there was a problem, so now Monday is the day!  (I’m typing this as quickly as possible on a borrowed computer and connection.)

 See you all soon!

Please don’t feel neglected.  I’m having computer issues that I hope to resolve within the next couple of days.  I promise I’m still here and working and will be back soon with the new treats I promised you. 

So, go on, have your beverage of choice (I think I’ll make mine a double) and talk amongst yourselves.

Here’s a great bike story in the Oregonian - justice prevails!

 

I’ve added three new bird necklaces to the shop today. 

If you are sensing a theme, you would be right.  Spring has me thinking about the birds and the bees and the flowers in the fields and birth and rebirth and growth and…

More to come…