Oh yeah, definitely the former!

Met my dad in LI, it was too early for lunch, so we took a hike at Caumset, saw an osprey and pretty little yellow butterflies. Ran into a chatty visitor who, after regaling us with the history of the park/estate, broke out his conspiracy theories and pamphlets. He would have fit right in at Times Square between the naked cowboy and the black dudes in the purple robes.

Had a late lunch in Oyster Bay, where I had to explain to the waitress that even though she told me the bowl of garlic broth was that, it was still a rinsing bowl, because of sand, and give me damn actual butter, and not that oily crud they were calling "drawn butter". Maybe that's what it was supposed to be, but my granddaddy was a LI fisherman, and he taught me how to eat seafood. And putting the garlic on the shells doesn't really count as seasoning. (actually looked it up, yeah, fancy name for melted butter, which this was absolutely not. Dudes, butter isn't that expensive, please to not water it down).

Hiked around Sagamore and managed to catch up with the forest ranger giving a tour. There was tons of Butterfly Weed (orange wins everytime!) in the front meadow, and I got to sell my dad on the awesomeness of Ironweed. The museum where some of the house's artifacts were displayed was disgusting. I think it was the chemical stench of the mounted heads. As awesome as Teddy Roosevelt was, and I still can't reconcile his trophy hunting with his foresight into land preservation.

Had delicious dinner at the Colony Diner in East Meadow, but it was still so soon after a late lunch that I couldn't even bear the thought of stopping at Vito's for pizza to take back with me.

Gramma's house still smells the same, even empty. I harvested her hydrangea to dry. It's amazing how it seems so much smaller without the overstuffed look she had going even when I was a kid.

I miss the north shore, but I definitely don't miss anything south of the Northern State Parkway (except maybe Jones Beach). Old Country Road? ::shudders::

Mark Twain wrote a satirical description of Teddy Roosevelt shooting and stuffing a cow. TR was a mixed bag. One of the great imperialists (and I'm not just name calling. That was the word at the time.) Basically someone who supported the white working class. Never met a war he did not like. Fine with screwing Native Americans. Worried about "special rights" for ethic groups, though apparently did not think white people had "special rights". Anti-corporate. Pro-labor. Pro-environment. (The big game hunting actually fits. The reason to preserve the environment was for lumber, fishing industries, recreational fishing and hunting. "Wise use" rather than preserving nature for its own sake. Which has long historical roots. )

Oh Jesse, many hugs and vibes to you and your family. You didn't need the extra stress AT ALL. I hope everything works out.

I don't think I've updated about my sis for a while (been too deep in it to update) but the latest news is as good as we could expect. The bad news last week was really bad (Warning: serious squick font): She has open wounds that won't heal, which means multiple dressing changes a day and a lot of blood. New tumors are growing. And we still don't have a definitive diagnosis but we do have a likely Dx of sarcoma. She saw the oncologist, who is willing to give her chemo despite the complications, so that should start some time next week. So yay for moving forward! And boo that it's going to be such a hard road.

That does sound hard, Burrell. I hope the chemo does what it is supposed to.

Poor, thing. I'm sorry Burrell. Nobody needs to be suppurating!

Oh Burrell, your poor older sister.

And Jesse! ACK. I'm sorry about your dad and, I agree, 2013 has seriously sucked for you. But you are amazingly resilient about the whole thing.

Today's been an interesting and mostly boring day. It's been extremely humid for LA and hot so the AC has been running. It's humid enough that there's a ton of condensation coming off the unit.

I think tomorrow's big plan is to take Noah to swim lessons and then find something to do during the witching hour.

Oh Burrell. That's so hard, for her and for you. Fingers crossed the treatments help some.

Moving forward with treatment is a good sign in all this. Usually they don't treat in the context of open wounds. And they wouldn't treat if they thought she was too frail.

Another good sign is she's sleeping in her own apartment tonight. It'll be a lot easier for me if she is in her own place.

Oh Burrell!

Wha? Eek!

Theo's reaction was mine, but thanks for explaining Jesse.