I'm Goin For It. A blog for body, mind & spirit. Real hope for real recovery. All original content is Copyright 2012 by SkipTreaster, and all other copyrighted materials are duly noted and appreciated.
My Thoughts Exactly... February 2012 blog.
Do justice. Love mercy.
Walk humbly. Be peace.
A 27 word prayer: God our Father, walk through my house and take away all my worries and illnesses and please watch over and heal my family in Jesus name, Amen.
Peace.
Love.
Unity.
Respect.
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-- Skip & Zenda
But, first, a great big "congratulations" for first-time parents, Travis and Morgan, and the arrival of Lucille Ann!
Welcome, Lucy!
TEACH PEACE
“Praise the Earth… and all that lives upon it…”
~ Bob Waldmire
“One touch of Nature makes the whole world kin.”
~ Shakespeare
Uh, zowie… here it is, 2012 already! How did THAT happen?! Is time just flying by, or what! (Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed the incredible acceleration of time over these past few years?) Not only is it 2012… it’s February, even… and SuperBowl XLVI has come and gone. (Way to go, Giants!) Is everything, like the Kansas song -- and, long before that -- Genesis, Native Peoples, and other ancestors, have suggested: "dust in the wind?" Maybe so, huh? For now, I will brush off the dust and publish yet another "blog." Hope you'll enjoy!
Well, hello, again! The weather here in Arizona in early February 2012 has been Spring-like – warm and beautiful. Zenda and I recently headed out to one of our favorite Arizona spots, Boyce-Thompson Arboretum for some long-overdue hiking. It’s such a lovely garden, from bulging clusters of barrel cactus to blooming desert plants and very strange Dr. Seuss-style landscapes. We love our getaways, from hikes and exploring, to local travels and to longer road trips. (We’re anxious for a couple of those longer trips! Been a while!)
Well, my original purpose for this blog was to be able to share news of Zenda’s treatments and progress in her now-more-than-seven-year “journey” with cancer. (She prefers not to call it a “battle.”) This was a way to keep our friends and family updated. The blog quickly grew, with more readers, to include my own journey — my goals of "fighting" clutter, weight gain, and mood disorders, among other things, like peace, love and harmony. Mostly, I am so happy to report that Zenda and I are both making progress! She's doing so well!
First, the update on Zenda. She has just now completed thirty hyperbaric oxygen “dives” – a therapeutic treatment to assist the healing of the osteo-radio-necrosis of her right jaw.
A condition exacerbated by the effects of radiation therapy back in 2005. Her jaw, and problems related to the titanium plate in her chin continue to pose problems (the “not-so-good news” part of this report). She is seeing a team of surgeons over the next couple weeks, so... there may be yet another major surgery in her future. (Keep on praying!)
But the good news that we've hoped for is that the results of Zenda’s recent Pet Scan shows that her cancer is “in remission and under containment.” That’s really great news for us, considering that her prognosis just a few short years ago was that her cancer was both “incurable and untreatable.” So maybe we can get back out on the trail soon, with some more of that hiking, camping, and road trip activity we've been missing. Yay Zenda! Go Girl!
(Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber. Zenda's had 30 days of treatments in a tube like this one.)
The poppies are blooming in Arizona! Spring can't be far off. Back to the garden!
Enjoying a lovely fountain during our recent hike at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.
Previous blog links
Zenda out hiking, January 2012. Tough and determined!
Oh, and if you were interested in my own progress, yes, I am continuing to get the clutter in my studio and garage “contained;” I am losing weight (14-15 pounds or so in the past two months); I am feeling and doing well, and I continue to make progress on my writing. But enough about me. Let’s talk about road trips! Not nearly as frequent as they were back when gas was affordable, huh? Time for more hikes and fewer drives, I guess.
Anyway, we're anxious to get back "on the road again," as Willy puts it. (But... easy on the gas!)
MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods
(I've found this site
helpful in my recent
exercise and weight-
loss efforts. Mostly,
though, just eating
less & working out.)
A rightfully proud first-time Grandpa admiring his little sweetheart of a grand-daughter.
So, now, let's talk some more "road trips...!"
Hoping to travel to the NW (and see our brand new great niece Lucy!), to the NE and points in between. Get some serious hiking in. (Who says you can’t go hiking with a feeding tube? Zenda’s got it down to a science!) When I think about our past travels – and we’ve been truly blessed by a lot of great adventures – I can’t help but think of one of our favorite stretches of America. Route 66. The “Mother Road.” We’ve seen a lot of that old highway. In fact, this past year, we made a brief “escape” from all the doctors and treatments and headed west… to Santa Monica… the “End”… or the beginning… of Route 66. (Depending on which way yer’ facin’, huh?) Had a great time!
Of course, I can’t think about Route 66
without thinking about the legendary
“Mother Road” hippie/ vegan/ artist,
Bob Waldmire.* I’d like to offer a
brief tribute to him here. No doubt
you’ve heard of him, or seen his
artwork. Or if nothing else, maybe
you’ve seen “Cars” with your kids
or grandkids… and remember the
“Cars” character “Fillmore” – a happy
hippie VW Van that was based closely on Waldmire’s ’72 VW Van. In fact, they originally intended to call the "Cars" character "Waldmire."It was his home and studio on the road. *(Although we never met him personally, we’ve “crossed paths” with Bob in many ways.)
(Above) A "slight ways off" Route 66, in Northern Arizona, is an incredible stretch of red rock country and The Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. The first time we drove through the area, we wondered out loud to each other what it must be like to live in an area like that. And then we ended up moving there and living on the edge of that incredible wilderness for a year and a half!
(Left.) Me "horsing around" with a large python while on Santa Monica Pier, at the "end" of Route 66. (And, at far left) Bob's decked out yellow '72 VW Van is now part of a travelling museum exhibit.)
(Above) A trip on Old Route 66 through Seligman, Arizona is quite a hoot, and a real blast from the past!
(Left.) Offering a fitting tribute to Robert Waldmire, "The Last Stop Shop" is a literally the last little souvenir shop on the Santa Monica Pier, at the very "end" of Route 66.
Bob became famous for his drawings of scenes all along the old historic highway. (Below): Bob's "calling card."
Sadly, Bob Waldmire, the beloved Route 66 artist and self-avowed hippie (and unofficial inspiration for Fillmore in the movie “Cars”), passed away at 8:30 a.m., December 16, 2009, at age 64. He had been battling cancer. Bob, and his inspired artwork, will be dearly missed. Much of his art, however, will live on as his legacy. (See more of his artwork here.)
Bob Waldmire, Old Route 66 hippie artist.
I hope you'll enjoy this short tribute video to Bob, at right. And, if you'd like to see more, you can hear an interview with him (that was video-recorded just a short time before he died) ...by clicking HERE.
Sometimes thinking about death helps to change the way we live, am I right?
To quote John Sebastion at Woodstock in 1969, "Just love everyone around ya, and clean up a little on your way out."
And speakin' of trips down memory lane...
This gnarly old photo, circa 1965, showed up on FB just a few weeks ago. A bit hard
to make out, but that's me in the skin-tight white jeans
wearing an Amish vest and a weird madras hat, with a blank look on my face 'cuz I'm playing a borrowed bass guitar, filling in for another band member. And I didn't know nuthin' 'bout playin no basses, Ms. Scarlet! I was able to identify the time, as I can tell this wasn't my own guitar I'm holdin'. But, gosh
what a trip it was seein' this.
Don Kline Butch Treaster (me) Neal Demskie
And get this! Neal is still rockin' out with a band back in Central Pennsylvania!
That's him on the far right. (Haven't heard them... but I hear they're really cool!
And, continuing on the subject of "trips" . . .
A lot of people think we're headed straight for some kind of apocalyptic doomsday event, right around the corner, on December 21, 2012. Now that would be a real "trip," wouldn't it? (Really, how DID it get to be 2012 already?!) Anyway, I personally don't think the world ends on the coming Winter Solstice. I prefer to think the Mayan Calendar is actually predicting the beginning of a new era of Peace & Harmony. Can't hurt to hope for that, in any case. So I've created my own "TEACH PEACE" 12/21/2012 web page
CLICK HERE... or click the Mayan Calendar at left to enter this new site.
So, speaking of December 21, 2012... will there be a "doomsday" event?
I've heard from a lot of concerned people who definitely think so. People who are making serious preparation and stocking up on survival supplies. But I really don't anticipate an apocalyptic event in the sense of a major dramatic doomsday sort of end of the world scenario. Mayan Calendar experts say this date will mark the beginning of a new world era of Global Peace. Not as if it all suddenly happens on the date, but a beginning.
NASA assures us their are no cataclysmic rogue planets heading our way. No asteroid impacts. Right. "No doomsday." Even more assuring to me, despite its title, is a book, "Death From The Skies," by Ph. D. astronomer and founder of badastronomy.com Philip Plait. Philip takes us through all the exploding-star and collliding galaxy possibilities and the odds of those things happening. In the "end," I am comforted to know that the most likely world-ending events (aside from nuclear conflict) would be the impact from an asteroid... it happens from time to time... or, perhaps more in the realm of possibilities, a blackout or collapse of our power grid caused by solar flares (CME's -- Coronal Mass Ejections) which have recently increased in activity. The best way to prepare for such an event would be to reinforce our power grid / infrastructure.But, in my mind, for what it's worth, we might want to be prepared, if at all, for being "in the dark" -- with-out power or Internet for a few days. That's the worst-case scenario, as I see it. And the odds of it happening, according to Dr. Plait, are probably one in several millions. (But don't take my word for it, read his book!)
Some recent reads, including "Death From The Skies..."
Huge coronal mass ejection depiction.
Mount Kailis, in Tibet... one of the world's most sacred places. (Great book!)
"Peace" -- in Braille. Still wanting to learn Braille...
I hear it's good for the brain to learn new things at my age. Doing my best to keep "awake" and active!
(... when I'm not watchin' football... go, Giants!! Yay!)
Okay, while I'm still on the subject of February 2012... and SuperBowl XLVI... and the Mayan 2012 calendar predictions... did you see the 2012 Chevy "Mayan Apocalypse" TV spot during the big game? ("Dave didn't make it... ") Here it is again. Enjoy!
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."
~ Genesis 8:22Was that not one of the weirdest endings to a SuperBowl game you ever saw?!
Oh, and February, of course, means Valentines Day. We wish you all Love and Peace, with this rose, surrounded by buds, at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, blooming in early February!
And another road trip photo from our archives... this one near the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest areas of Northern Arizona. We're standing at what was once the path of old Route 66, with a few old power lines remaining behind us... and, in the distance, trucks rolling down Interstae 40, which has since replaced much of 66.
I recently received this old photo in an email;
I believe was my Great Grandfather Samuel Treaster. (Reminds me of my Dad.)
It's been another "bumper crop" of grapefruit this year, plus I've got new seedlings up and growing for both more grapefruit plus some tasty oranges. I love my citrus! And, yes, I've grown some of my biggest grapefruit ever... "as big as my head!"
If you're a citrus lover, too, you might want to check out my web page on How to Grow Your Own Citrus... Read More...
Well, there you have it... another long and winding blog, from Zenda's tough journey (here she is in her "Rosie the Riveter" We Can Do It! shirt) to a journey along Route 66,
a brand new baby girl, reflections on the Mayan predictions for 2012, and a little Super Bowl XLVI, some prize-winning huge citrus, and a few books you might enjoy. I hope you've found something to entertain and inspire you along the way!
As always, I love to hear from you, and would love to hear your thoughts on any of these topics or...
well, whatever. So don't be shy. Be in touch. Be happy, be well, be peace and be brilliant!
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive."
~ Howard Thurman, theologian
Oh, and one last thing, here's little laughing baby Micah to brighten your day...
"I believe that we should all make our lives a worthy expression of “leaning into the light” as one of my favorite nature writers Barry Lopez puts it. I try."
~ Zenda Treaster
Photo credit: Getty Images | Quarterback Eli Manning of the New York Giants drops back to pass during the first half. (Feb. 5, 2012)
(NEW pages to explore!)
And, on a more somber note, lest we forget...
Please take a few moments to view and contemplate
this inspiring, uplifting video
and "new/old" concept...
that... "We Are The New Civilization." (Thanks.)
Peace & God Bless.
February is National Cancer Prevention month! What can you do to lower your risk today? One step is increasing your physical activity. Take this activity quiz to see how you can reduce your cancer risk today!
