"Come away by yourselves..."

 

BOX SCORE
Element	Current	Std. Range
Hemoglobin	11.5	13-17
Platelets	122	140-375
ANC	2060	1800-8300

 

One of our  current favorites on the Telly is Escape to the Country. You can find it on ROKU Channel. The show is like a combination of HGTV's House Hunters and a UK travelogue. The host shows the guests three homes in the rural parts of England, Scotland and Wales. They are typically older (like 17th to 19th century older) buildings that may have always been homes, or they may be conversions of old stone barns or factory spaces. What we like about the show is that it is not filled with all of the manufactured drama of House Hunters. 

 

Instead, at an hour long, Escape provides breathtaking photography of the rural counties in the UK accompanied by exceptional background music. Each episode includes a segment where the guests visit a place or activity of especial interest to them: might be a clogging club or an artisan, or perhaps a sheep farm that makes cheese, or maybe a reclamation project where they can consider volunteering when they move to the area. In addition, the host will visit such a place that is peculiar to the county that is featured in the episode or, more likely, a historic castle or a geologic feature or a historically significant structure.

 

Our "Escape to the Country" was a cracking success, as the Brits would say, although the scenery was a bit less dramatic. We stayed at a Kampgrounds of America (KOA) park between Corvallis and Albany. It is a pretty park with a lot of mature trees. There is a "nature walk" of about 1/4 mile. That part of the park is in need of a little renovation, but it still is an unusual feature for a private RV park. They have a pool and a basketball court and a mini-golf course, and the owners obviously care about the place. We were given to understand that the park changed hands relatively recently and has undergone some significant upgrades. 

But our visit was "cracking" for other reasons. We had some nice long walks around the park; a pleasant change from walking around our neighborhood, which is pleasant but very familiar. Those we did early, since the weather was in the upper 90s both days we were there. Jill took pains to be sure we had fun meals that mostly required neither grilling outside in the heat, nor lighting the gas stove in the trailer. Thank goodness for a microwave oven. (And we call this camping!)

Most of all we enjoyed being away from home and seeing different things. Did I mention this was our first visit to this park? Some of our rituals remained the same, like lunch with Perry, which we have on a media center server in the trailer,  and our favorite recorded music in the evenings before dinner. It is good to have different surroundings from time to time. We read an exciting Louise Penney mystery to each other and slept in the surprisingly comfortable bed in the trailer. 

I was reminded of the story where the disciples had been out sharing the good news across the land... 

...they returned to Jesus and he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while..."³² And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. (Mark 6:31-32)

Replace "boat" with "travel trailer" and this passage seems like a good fit. By the time we headed home, we both felt refreshed and ready for our busy month of medical mania. That began this morning with a blood draw, which revealed the Box Score above. My numbers are declining a little but not crashing like they used to do after last year's chemotherapy sessions, which involved a different drug regimen. That explains why I am feeling so well this time around. I have recounted the whole hectic schedule for the month in my last post, titled No Dry Bones. 

And so, it is September First. Another summer is drawing to a close, which is OK by me. I'm tired of the heat. As we approach fall, we will do so one day at a time, starting with today. This afternoon, I will have scans and measurements of my eyes in preparation for cataract surgery, followed by a visit with our favorite ophthalmologist, Dr. Osterholzer, whom everyone refers to fondly as Dr. O. She is newly returned from maternity leave. We are hoping to see a picture of her new baby girl!