It has been exactly a month ago that I wrote a blog. Too long, but lots happened.
Of course, the holidays and we went to Hawaii with the whole family (almost). Unfortunately, the girlfriend of my oldest could not come, because her Grandma was very terribly ill. Luckily, it seems she is somewhat better now.
We had a nice time and some of us did some diving; we all snorkeled with the Manta Rays!; we did some deep sea fishing and could a tuna!; we traveled some around the island; had a wonderful Luau dinner and relaxed near the pool and the sea with lots of snorkeling. We saw also dolphins and some turtles! How lucky can you get!

After the New Year I went finally back into my workshop after 3 1/2 months. I tried during and after the radiation period, but somehow I was quite tired. Not that I did not do anything (I did go to Holland), but I got another breast infection and having two antibiotics is tiring your body.
I started first with spraying some small works and checking if it still all worked and that the kiln was working properly. Then I sprayed 2 big plates (17.75″ x 19″ x 1″ or 45cm x 48 cm x 2.5cm) for an order and today they choose one of them and will hang it on their wall. It turned out very well. The plate is called “Schellen” (Shell) plate. Their last name starts with schellen, so, it is a very appropriate plate!!!

A wonderful start!!!!

My life is still planned around my Herceptin treatments. They go all fine and you kind of get in the habit of going to the hospital. They know you by now and it is a welcoming place in the sense that they are there to help you. It feels to me like that. I understand that for others it may and will be completely different. Again, I just feel very lucky and thankful.

Next week, I will go to Israel for a week with Adriaan. Can you believe that? It is just wonderful. It is my birthday next week and he has a boardmeeting there and I don’t want to be by myself, so, we make it a little vacation. We are looking into this already for some time but every time there was something else and the company is about to be sold or they are working on it and the temperature is very nice now. So, it seemed like the right time before the chance is gone.

I will keep you posted!

In the meantime, it is almost a month ago that I wrote a blog. I have been very busy. First of course, I have my radiation every weekday around 11am. I often go on my bicycle and like that a lot. Only 6 times are left. The last 5 times will be “Boost” radiations: not so strong as the former ones, but cover the whole breast from up front. It has now a nice pink color and has some burning sensation underneath my arm. But I think I am doing pretty well and have still quite some energy left.

I sold 2 cars for a friend of ours. We help each other. You place the add, answer emails and telephone calls and show the car to prospective buyers. Not that I know much about cars, but I sold 4 of our cars during the many years we live in California now and it is fun to meet all kinds of people, who are mostly very nice. Then I am socially quite active and meet with lots of friends. We went to our oldest son Roland (still for his birthday) and worked on taxes and finances (which always continues).

I did do a workshop at the De Anza College with the Taiwanese ceramic artist Ah Leon. He is so technical in the making of a teapot! I have lots to learn. He also is very talented in making objects from clay looking like wood like teapots (of course) and a life size wooden bridge or a classroom with wooden desks and chairs.






I saw the wonderful big exhibition of the Ceramic Annual of America in the Festival Hall of Fort Mason in San Francisco. Po Zhou also had his work there as well as Barbara Sebastian. Just beautiful!








And then lots of other little things, especially when Adriaan returns from travels. Of course, he is jet-legged and then a stormy guy as always

Today, (Monday, August the 1st) I had my 3rd chemo. Everything went well. You are there the whole day, but they take good care of you. The medications also keeps you going. So, I quickly want to show you some pictures of the decorations I finished on 3 big plates. They are still green ware, not fired yet. The clay has a red color and on the 3rd plate you see it is still drying. The 1st and 2nd plate I already put the black slip on (a liquid paint able clay which you have to put on before the 1st firing).

19.75″ x 2.5″; 50cm x 6cm

It is already Friday. I didn’t succeed to put on the pictures. The chemo got to me, especially yesterday and today. Tomorrow, may be better.

21.25″ x 2.75″; 53,5cm x 7cm

The engravings on the plates are inspired by the Flower of Life symbol, which dates to at least 400AD, and is possibly much older that that. Throughout human history, philosophers, artists, and architects around the world have known the Flower of Life for its perfect form, proportion, and harmony. It is considered to be a symbol of sacred geometry, depicting the fundamental forms of space and time. It is the form beneath our being and points to a divine order in our reality. It is a visual expression of the connections life weaves through all mankind. A Flower of Life pattern can be constructed with a pen, compass and paper, by creating multiple series of interlinking circles. The Flower of Life can be found in the temples, art, and manuscripts of cultures all over the world.

21″ x 6,5″ ; 53cm x 16,5cm

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All my hair is gone. I looked very old and sick with just some hair and bold patches, so, Adriaan helped me with shaving it off.  It looks much better and young again and Adriaan thinks I am a model now! I get to play with lots of scarfs, hats and wigs and this one is a Dutch farmer’s handkerchief, which I declare as my Kamakura-Red Dutch scarf!! Just make it positive and have fun!
Tomorrow up for my 2nd chemo and then done for 50%!!!!










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This month I would have been on a visiting pottery tour in China organized by Guangzhen “Po” Zhou. Of course, I could not join, but Po Zhou was so wonderful to take pictures of my Kamakura-red Bamboo Teapot, which is permanently displayed in the exhibition hall for international teapots in the Yixing Ceramic Museum. Please, see the blog of July 8, 2010 and May 5, 2010.

Adriaan and I are going for one week to Japan.

I am done with all the examinations. The second biopsy of a different mass, which they discovered in the same breast on the MRI, was negative: a fibroadenoma. But they discovered something one my bones. So, I had a bone scan. First, they inject you with some radioactive particles which circulate for 3 hours and are selectively picked up by the bones, before they scan. I was glowing all the time . Luckily, they also were all negative. They had seen my former fracture of my  right arm. So, no bone cancer.  My surgery will be May the 11^th. They will of course examine all the tissue and cancer and know if and how many lymph nodes are involved. This will direct my treatment. They also test the cancer for molecular markers to determine the prognosis and if my cancer will respond to a certain treatment. My cancer is Her2 positive. This means it is treatable with medication, but it is an aggressive cancer. Before I left for Japan (yesterday) I did all my preoperative exams like X-ray and blood work.

It is strange. It feels like it is happening to somebody else. Of course, I feel it when they draw my blood, but somehow it doesn’t hit me yet. Only it dawned more when I heard that I also need chemo therapy. At the moment, I still feel really good and happy and positive. We always bicycled down the hill for ¾ of an hour to go to Stanford Hospital and the way back home for about an hour up the hill gave a good work-out and building up my physical condition. The weather was also beautiful and not too hot, and the hills with nice young green leaves, grass and lots of wildflowers, smelled so fresh. Then I feel so lucky that I also live here and that I am being treated in one of the best hospitals. I have confidence and faith that everything will be alright.

Now I arrived in Japan. It is somewhat cloudy, but sunny and somewhat humid. Inside the train it is warm, because they don’t turn on the air conditioner yet. People are very welcoming and are glad to see you.

We will of course meet lots of friends. I will bring my “Kamakura-Red” booklet to the stores in Kamakura, the Kogeikan Museum and the Ginnosuzu Gallery. I advertise them in my booklet and they are going to sell it.

Then on Monday we will go to Mashiko with Steve Tootell and meet with Ken Matsuzaki, Tomoo Hamada, Euan Craig and some more people to see how the situation is in Mashiko and to see how we can help. Of course, I also will go to the Toko Gallery and we will sleep in the minshuku for one night at the Togei Arts Center of Furuki-san. There will be the yearly Tokiichi Pottery Fair in Mashiko of about 400 tents and 50 stores and it is Golden Week in Japan. The Golden Week is a collection of 4 national holidays within 7 days. So, many people will be on vacation or have some days of from work.

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