On Thursday of last week, Mark and I met with Doctor Campbell. My tumor markers were again slightly up, which is now enough of an upward trend to warrant switching meds. So, I am leaving behind Herceptin, Halaven, and Fareston to begin Carboplatin today. I feel fine about this change (was expecting it) and look forward to the neuropathy in my hands and feet clearing up.
Thursday night I headed off to the Veal Retreat 
(my sister’s house) and was rewarded not only by seeing my sister and her wonderful husband Jim, but also by the fabulous people who are my nephew and nieces.
Becki and I quickly settled into doing what we do best: thrifting and being silly. Fortunately, the thrifting gene is highly dominant and Ramona, Josie, and even Ike joined us for most of our adventures. Here is the traditional “sisters with thrifting haul” photo that Becki and I take on sister weekends.
And then, one day, we stumbled across my new performance art. It started innocently enough while we waited for a store to open in the mall so that Ramona and Josie could buy a gift for a party that evening. “Hey, Becki, take my picture in front of these mannequins.”
By the time the store opened (a matter of minutes, I must admit), Ramona had scouted the perfect store window display…
And once you have climbed into a store window display, there is really nothing stopping you from climbing onto tables, joining floor displays, and holding up mannequin heads near your own all in the name of performance art (and in the name of embarrassing some teen nieces who never expected it to go this far).
I am considering taking my art to the next level: actually trying on department store clothes that coordinate with the mannequins. The only rule for the mannequins is that they must have facial features and they must be bald. Other than that, they are all fair game. What, exactly, is the fun of being bald if you can’t climb into store displays, anyway?
It was the perfect weekend–with some kids who are as close to perfect as they come. Thank you, Veals!!
