Finally getting around to reading my old emails. > From: http://www.gmail.com/~catherine > Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:29:41 +0000 > > Hi, Robert! I was just thinking the other day that I'd be hearing from you, > soon! You know how I look forward to the Solstice! > > Sounds like you guys are doing pretty well. Your house looks fantastic - > love the colours you chose for you walls! Actually, the walls came that way. But, they are very appealing, yes. > Not too much to report, here. Let's see... I have not had any more children > this year, so I am still at three. I probably oughta have one more, just to > take up Noelle's slack. (KIDDING!) > > Anyway, the three of them are thriving and doing age-appropriate things, so > that's good. > > We haven't gone on any exciting trips this year, although I did start > camping. It's the only way we'll ever be able to afford any sort of family > holidays. Camping in the UK is very different from the US. Campsites are > usually in farm fields, very civilized... you're usually not allowed to have > a camp fire, as they don't want their grass scorched. You can have one in a > BBQ with legs, though. I got a really big tepee style tent... it was cheaper > than most tents of that size, it's very easy to put up, and it's friggin' > huge. So far, I've only done a couple of one-nighters within an easy drive > from our house, but I'm taking Becket (my oldest) down to London next summer > and we'll camp on the outskirts, within a very easy train commute to all the > sites. My inlaws live in Northern England, so there will probably be some > weekends in that area, as well. > > My knitting has been improving a lot since last year. I go to a weekly > knitting group in Glasgow, A lot of people are into knitting, especially in the high-tech field, for some reason. My boss from 1997 was into knitting back then. He always made his own sweaters. > and I've made a lot of really good friends. I > like that very few of them have children. I go to get away from kids and > talk of kids. I'm sure you can relate. Yep. > David and I spent my birthday at a friend's cottage up in the Highlands. We > just sat around and read and watched movies and napped. The kids stayed at > home with their grandparents... it was bliss. > > The biggest thing to happen to me in 2010 was undergoing a six-months > treatment of chemotherapy to treat my Hepatitis C. I will find out in > January if it worked (if the virus is undetectable at six months out from > the end of treatment, you're cured.) I am very optimistic, as the viral load > test 12 weeks in showed me as having cleared the virus, and that puts my > odds of being cured at about 85%. At any rate, I feel very well. We have a friend (Roger) who also has Hepatitis C. Strangely, he still drinks some alcohol, but he has a range of painkillers in-hand to get through the day. He hasn't said whether he was going to try to get chemo to eliminate it. > In September, the Pope came to Glasgow. David and I went to the open air > Mass at Bellahouston Park with David's father. It was a really wonderful day > - good weather, everybody in a good mood, and I was actually able to see the > Holy Father from where we were seated. > > Here's something that may surprise you: I was Googling something totally > non-related when I chanced upon the words "Ben Weasel is > a practising Catholic." Further investigation turned up that he had > converted from Buddhism to Catholicism a few years ago. I found him on > Twitter, and we've been in touch. He's still doing Screeching Weasel (about > to release a new album and doing some sort of 25th anniversary thing next > year.) That is strange. And, I guess, coincidental for you! > It was really cool to renew contact with him! He became Catholic a > few years ago, and teaches RCIA at his parish (the class for people > converting). His wife also converted, and she teaches Sunday school or > something. They have very young twin daughters, and he's quite the suburban > house dad. I believe his wife has some nice government job, and he stays > home with the girls writing songs while they nap, then plays shows around > the midwest on weekends. He was on some late night TV show a couple of > months back talking about dealing with his agoraphobia. He has agoraphobia? Wow, weird. I guess I can definitely with that aspect of his personality. > Oh, yeah: Twitter. I registered an account there but didn't "get it" for a > while. Then, I started following some friends and now I actually really like > it a lot. So, that makes me one of the masses. Yeah, Noelle actually signed up about one month ago. I don't have an account. And we're still Facebook refuseniks. > Hmmmm.... not too much else going on. > > Anyway, so good to hear from you. BTW, in your Linked In photo, you look > like John Stewart. > > That's a compliment. Everyone says that. Thanks. > xoxoKaty