In Absentia

I'm back! Oh, poor neglected blog, whom I vowed to post to at least once a week. I got sidetracked by Indiana's big celebration initially (as well as a lack of an internet connection), and I even neglected Great Good Heart's Facebook page--gasp! Then, Indiana wasn't feeling well for a while (that's for another post), and then some other depressing things happened (yet another post), but I want to be a better blogger, and therefore have upped my expectations to twice a week. Hah. That'll be punishment for a month-long abandonment. Take that.

Anyway, on July 11, we had a big party for Indiana, to celebrate four years of cancer-free life. This is the fourth party we've had, and I think it may have been the best so far. This year's theme (of course there's a THEME) was a "Bon Voyage, Cancer" cruise ship theme, complete with too much food (Caribbean themed), lots of cruise-appropriate games (scavenger hunt, trivia competition), and of course, the ubiquitous art auction. I have attached them below for your viewing pleasure.

An extra big thanks to the lovely Tammy McLeod for putting these photos together for us. (And a little bit of trivia for the day--Tammy is the reigning U.S. Sudoku Champion)

What is art without dogs playing poker?

Note Indy's cigar--shame on her.

This looks less like she's screaming

and more like she's mocking us.

Renoir, in honor of this being my

Father-in-Law's favorite painting.


Is there a more perfect painting
to mock? Plus, we've seen it live.

This isn't sacrilegious, I swear.

This one is my personal fave. It's like

the chick is wondering what the heck

she's doing with a dog.

Anyway, the party was a big success, and we're immensely grateful to all of our friends and family who love us enough to come out and be good sports about the whole thing. Indiana enjoyed herself a lot, which is really one of the most important things to us. We don't know how much more time we have with her, but we do know that every moment, every day, is a gift. Here's to 5 years!