Well, here I am again - so sorry for the huge gap in entries. Some of you know that Fred was scheduled for an operation at Tufts Medical Center in Boston on January 11. We had to leave on the 9th to get to pre-op appointments, etc., so we loaded up my laptop with what we thought was everything I'd need while in Boston, and off we went. However, something didn't work as planned and I could not access my account on blogger.com on the laptop. I apologize for not at least letting you know we were leaving Joe's Pond and why so you would not be left wondering what happened. We thank all of you who sent emails asking if we were ok and letting me know you weren't finding any new posts. We so much appreciate your concern and that so many follow the blog and miss it! Who knew?
     In addition, for some reason, many of your email messages did not reach me on the laptop, so I wasn't able to explain my absence until today. I think I have covered most of those, but if you didn't get a personal reply to your inquiry, know that it was not intentional - just that there are so many (and lots of junk mail to sort through, as well) I have been somewhat overwhelmed by it all.
     A quick update on Fred. He is doing very well. The operation on January 11 was extensive - he was in the operating room from nine in the morning until about four that afternoon. Major surgery and in Intensive Care Unit for a couple of days, then in hospital until Saturday, January 20th. He was released to Neely House, living quarters for patients and family or care giver within the hospital complex. So he had visiting nursing care for the next three days until we left yesterday. We were fortunate to be able to check into Neely House when we arrived on the 9th and I lived there until Fred was released to come home yesterday - actually a day earlier than we'd expected, but the doctor was able to see him on Wednesday and cleared us to leave. 
     At Neely House, I was less than five minutes away from his hospital room and able to visit whenever I wanted to. I got a pretty good schedule going so that I spent two or three hours with him each morning and afternoon, and could bring him food from restaurants within the hospital complex. He tried using the hospital food service, but food wasn't tasting good so I brought "goodies" to supplement - mac and cheese, oatmeal, beef stew, chocolate cupcakes, Dunkin' Doughnuts - whatever. His appetite is still not up to what it used to be (taste buds were singed by the previous chemo treatments), but we're getting there. I think it will get better quickly now that we're home.
     Long story short, he's doing fine, exercising what he can and trying hard to eat to keep his weight up and hopefully eventually gaining some. We expect to have a visiting nurse come tomorrow to evaluate him and then we'll see what he needs; but we're doing just fine as near as I can tell, so may not require much assistance.
     It was a long but very pleasant experience for both of us in Boston. Fred was never in much distress, and while I was under lots of stress, especially at the beginning, I had the advantage of being able to be close by and lots of very kind people willing to help if I needed it. I spent many hours on my laptop, working on the West Danville history book and keeping family in the loop. Each day I could see progress in Fred's condition, and at no time was he hurting, but he was and is, exhausted. 
     I also read two novels, one "Here's to Us," by Elin Hilderbrand, and the other by author Reed Farrel Colman, "The Devil Wins." This is the second book Colman has written to continue the Jesse Stone stories (Tom Selleck is Jesse Stone in the TV adaptations). I thoroughly enjoyed both books - but confess I chose them at random from the library at Neely House. I had taken some yarn and needles, but knit up the whole ball during the first few days, and had to find something else to take with me when I visited Fred. He did lots of sleeping during my "watch" - so it was a perfect chance to read. I normally don't pick up a book to read because when I get started, I never want to put it down until I've finished reading it, therefore a lot of other things get left undone.
     We are home now, and I'll be posting regularly. There's lots of catching up to do, and I'll attempt that this weekend. I have a wonderful photo from Mary Whitcomb to share, and there some West Danville/Joe's Pond news to catch you up. Again, thank you all for your concerns and for your patience and loyalty to the blog. I will try to make up the long absence as soon as possible. Later.

P.S. - several of you have asked how Woody, our cat, did while we were gone. Jamie and Marie cared for him, so he had company for a little while each day, but apparently he DID miss us! Sometimes when we've been gone only a couple of days, he ignores us completely, giving us lots of attitude. Yesterday when we got home, he followed us everywhere, meowing all the time. He's never been a talkative cat, but he sure was yesterday, and even in the night. He sat outside our bedroom door and bawled long, low, mournful howls several times during the night. We felt sorry for him, but didn't respond, so each time it lasted only a few minutes and then he gave up. He was happy to see us this morning, and is still in fearful mode, following us sometimes if he loses track of where either of us is. I think he really missed us this time!