You're not going to believe this one.......

My husband runs a hardware store and lumber yard on Lopez Island and has for the past 10+ years...he loves his job...he is very good at what he does and he is a good man, loved by many on that crazy little island.

Five years ago, his then boss offered him an old car that needed work in lieu of a bonus....his heart jumped in his chest, his eyes popped, his palms began to sweat and a resounding "YES" came from somewhere deep within middle earth and out his mouth.

Since then, father and son have spent the last five years...give or take...painstakingly restoring this car to the last detail....the way it was on the showroom floor...no aftermarket trinkets....no fuzzy dice...no outrageous flames painted on the side...she has a simple beauty about her and that's all she needs....that and copious amounts of fuel.

Well...she had her coming out party a few weeks ago on the island from whence she came....there was much "ooooooooo-ing" and "aaaaaahhhhhhhh-ing" from his former boss.

After a few tears and some pictures for posterity he said, "Grandma would be so proud."

As it turns out....this was her car...when she was done driving she sent it to be stored in her grandson's garage and for many years it sat...oh I am sure they let her out every now and again...the car not the Grandma....but her age was beginning to show....again, the car not the Grandma....

Where did Grandma live? Well funny you should ask.....the answer is, and I quote, "Grandma lived in Pasadena"...........

So there she is....the one owner car, owned by the little old lady from Pasadena...

Beauty lies in the true story doesn't it..........

Cancer changes things

We are going through change here at the Hinkley home and I blame me. I don't blame me in a bad way.....but I still think that most of the cause of this change falls on my shoulders.

It's not a heavy burden to bear it is just a very interesting, very exhausting one.

I am sure there is some scientific theorem to back this up but I had Mr. Horch for science and I don't think he really cared so much for science as he did for teaching anything besides science...therefore A+B=C....wait...that's math

Anyway, here is the non scientific version; I got cancer...this in turn brought about changes for me...which in turn put everyone else in a position of change...hence all the changes and the picture of change at the start of this blog.

My changes sort of started the whole thing rolling....Chad was left with no real choice in the matter....his change, since he was the ever present parent in the beginning, brought on changes for the kids and everything looked different in Hinkleydom.

The point being that things will never be the same and I need to be more understanding that these Hinkley's are not the same ones I have spent the last 20 years getting to know....."resistance is fu-tile"

Just breathe

This is what a CT scan of your lungs look like. I don't know what those white specs and lines are...thank goodness I am not this persons Dr because I would just refer to them by saying.."Well Mrs. Smith we found a whole bunch of white specs and lines on your lung CT...seems to me that those couldn't really hurt you so have a nice day."

I had my lungs scanned yesterday and it appears that everything is the same as last month. The Dr seems fine with that....there was some little spec on my liver he said was the size of the head of a pin but he's not concerned with that.

On the upside he said my kidneys were "pristine".

I had some blood test.... cpv...a few more letters followed by some numbers...that will test to see if I am metabolizing the medicine effectively...

I will most likely call tomorrow to see if those results are in but until then I think I will just breathe...............

Special gifts

I received this painting in the mail yesterday. It is from my niece in Illinois who is 10..... her name is Maddy. Little did she know that she is playing a very integral part in my recovery. With just that painting and her sweet note, I counted 1,545,377 cancer cells died. Thank you Maddy! What a special gift.

Cowgirl up

Life is funny isn't it? Well, that's all I have to say...thank you for your time.
Just kidding.... I'm procrastinating because I really don't want to tell anyone what I did. I need to though otherwise the cancer is going to grab on to the stress from the guilt and we don't want that to happen....we are trying to kill those suckers not feed them!

So I did something the other night. I was so frustrated with myself afterward....I can't tell you exactly what it was I did because I am not mature enough yet.... but let's just say....well let's just say that we all have our weak moments....and this one left me feeling guilty and ashamed of myself....it was caused purely by a lack of courage...grit...guts...backbone...nerve...you get the picture. What I needed to do was just "Cowgirl Up"....face it and deal with it and not fear it....THAT'S IT!!
I really shouldn't have been afraid....that's what really screwed me up....thank you so much for helping me figure it out. Phew, I feel better and I will know better next time. Now I realize that my job is to do my part and leave the results up to someone far more capable than I am.

It's like a huge weight just fell off of me.....gotta go....I really want to weigh myself for some reason.

Beauty lies in the true story

I was riding in our truck the other day when I glanced at myself in the rear view mirror. YIKES! All I could see was bags under my eyes large enough to "re-use" at my local grocery store, 3 or 4 chins...I lost count, and the loss of a perfectly good neck that prior to the cancer, was a good 2 inches longer.

When I lost my hair my mom declared "oh you look so much like your great grandpa O'Hair...not the compliment a woman my age is fishing for (and the pun is not lost on me either...o'HAIR)

So in summary I am a no neck, 4 chinned, baggy eyed, bald old man....perfect.

Then I thought about the title of my blog. At first it offered me no comfort whatsoever, but I thought a little longer about it. The beauty really is your story...your heart....your life...

Ladies...feel free now to switch to a less expensive night cream and live, laugh and love instead.

1965 Cinderella

This is it....Leslie Ann Warren and Stuart Damon...dorky now, but loved it then.

You can still find it at Blockbuster