and the beat goes on...

so, as my handful of readers out there already know, this year has been a booger of a medical roller coaster. persistent cough. shortness of breath. discovering lung spots. discovering ruptured implant. replacement surgery. cancelling shows. putting music on hold. monitoring lung spots. thinking cancer is back. praying for stable spots. and trying to keep life as normal as possible in the meantime. and finally it's memorial day... and i get results of latest scan. spots are gone! not just stable. but miraculously gone! celebration!

still, in the back of my mind, i'm thinking, why do i still cough? why do my lungs hurt? why do i get so tired? yes, it's not cancer. but what the frak is it? and then yesterday, i get the actual printed copy of PET scan results in mail. and guess what? report states that i have mild centrilobular emphysema. i must admit, it's a bit scary, but nothing i can't handle. at least it explains my symtoms. and i've caught it early. i don't smoke anymore. i eat great. i get plenty o'exercise on the farm.

i would like to thank everyone who has supported me this year. those who came out to the benefit concert. those who sent cards, food, smiles, jokes. i'd be lost without you. i'd especially like to thank my husband. who always seems to be overshadowed by my health. if you see him, give him a hug. tell him he's the cat's pajamas. and know that he is my rock. my rock & roll.

speaking of rock.... wormwood scrubs has entered the studio. watch out! new album has a song that is over 20minutes long. and look for us returning to the stage later this summer. can't wait any longer!

i leave you with a few pics from the memorial day weekend. sam, kate and ophelia came down to celebrate. ophelia and kate had fun visiting all the critters. sam, had fun recording. and i had fun admiring my hand-decorated commemorative celebratory bottle o'beam.

ta da!

kate and ophelia throwin' rocks in the pond (good ol'fashioned fun)

rock n roll mirror

ophelia got goosed!

the two sams

pure joy!

why you can't leave farm kitchen door open....

who likes duckweed?

penelope, that's who!

i refuse to believe.

i've had this silly superstition regarding posting photos of newly acquired farm animals. it goes like this... if i post a pic shortly after their arrival, something bad will happen. this odd belief was loosely based on a few isolated incidents. mainly, the llamas, leroy, and baby chickens. so, i've given myself the week long rule. wait a week to avoid tragedy. however, my fear grew. and the week extended to months. sometimes more. in fact, i have never shared photos of our sheep. but i have come to realize that bad things just happen sometimes regardless of a digitally captured image. and i really shouldn't look at them as bad or evil events. just nature. just life. sometimes mistakes. and sometimes not always pleasant.

due to my archaic belief system, i have held off introducing our new guinea hog. i have been afraid that if something happened, what would my audience think? i want to protect you. and protect my own ego. but after recently reading my husbands blog, i have a new lease on blog life. i shouldn't censor myself. i want to try and post more often. more photos. less editing. and less worrying about what my non-existent audience is going to think. just tell it like it is. so, here goes.

may i introduce to you ...

penelope, the guinea hog.

since our dear male guinea hog, samson, lost his wife to pneumonia shortly after her arrival. he has been alone. depressed. and very, very needy. we were happy to finally adopt a new little girl hog. penelope. she came all the way from kentucky. where some of the finest whiskey is made. her and sammy have been inseparable ever since.

yes, i did wait over a week to post this. it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. but i'm willing to try.