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It's a Sabatino's day!

12/3/2017

9 Comments

 
Sunday, December 3rd, 2017
Venice, Florida

Health update

PictureClick to enlarge
When we last left off, Timmy was trapped in a well, Lassie had gone for help, I was officially in remission from my non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and the plan was to...

...monitor my blood work every two weeks and visit the oncologist every four weeks, in the hope of catching any relapse sooner rather than later.

​Since then, I have had my blood work checked as indicated and visited the oncologist twice, most recently on Thursday. When he came into the room and took a look at me, he said that (A) I was "radiating health," (B) my blood work agreed and (C) I didn't need to come back until mid-January. All in all, it was a Sabatino's day!

You might also recall that...

No matter how short or long the remission period might be, and what treatment we pursue once it does, one thing is clear: odds are strong that I will not be walking this planet at a ripe old age. To that end, Alison and I have chosen to slip into what I refer to as our early, temporary semi-retirement:
  • Early, as I wasn't expecting retirement, semi- or otherwise, at 52
  • Temporary, as we won't be riding this out until that ripe old age
  • Semi, as we are each working a little bit each week, as health and interest permits

"A little bit" has turned out to be around 15 hours per week (a.k.a. three hours per day) for me and one day per week for Alison. That generates enough money for us to live our newly simplified life and gives us enough time to enjoy it as much as possible.

Long live the Volt

The first step in our simplification was to sell my tried and trusty Chevy Volt. As much as I loved my electric car, it had spent the vast majority of the last 18 months (since I moved my office back home) sitting in the driveway collecting leaves, pollen and the odd bird dropping. The only time that I ever used it was to meet friends for an occasional lunch. All in all, that wasn't a sufficient excuse to keep the car and absorb the associated expenses for it. So, we sold the Volt and used the proceeds to both pay off and enhance our Subaru Forester a bit. More on those enhancements later...
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Click to enlarge

Halloween

Alison and I have never been the type to dress up for Halloween. Instead, we dutifully hand out candy and secretly hope that it will start to rain so that the crowds dwindle and we're left with a hoard of chocolate to gorge on by ourselves. This year, it didn't rain but the crowds dwindled nonetheless, leaving us with enough gorge-worthy chocolate to eat our selves sick. And that we did!

Our friends and family, however, do enjoy dressing up. Here are a few photos of them.

Indianapolis

The week after Halloween, Alison and I headed west with my dad and brother. Our destination was downtown Indianapolis, where Nathan has lived since January of this year. This was our first trip out there since he moved and our first chance to really explore the city. I had driven and flown through Indianapolis previously, but never stopped to look around. It is an impressive place: spacious, well-planned and with urban renewal sprouting in all of the right places.

​Click the More Pictures button for all of the pictures from our trip.
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More Pictures

Camping

The week before Halloween, Alison and I headed to the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains for our first camping experience as a couple (we've been together 15 years) and my first camping experience that I wasn't sporting braces and pimples. We camped at the Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area, carved out of the wilderness during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Our hosts, our brother-in-law Will and his wife Stacey did every shred of the work. I lounged in my nifty new camping recliner and Alison collected kindling for the fire.

​Click the More Pictures button for all of the pictures from our trip.
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More Pictures

The Brooklyn Golubs

Since we last blogged, we were also treated to a visit in Lexington by the Brooklyn Golubs: my dad's brother (and only sibling) Phil and his wife Ann. Life-long residents of the New York metro area, they were finally lured into the wilds of Virginia by the promise of fall foliage, home-cooked meals and a healthy dose of NYT Crossword puzzles.

​​Click the More Pictures button for all of the pictures from their visit.
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More Pictures

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, of course, has elapsed since last we spoke. We hosted an informal, Thanksgiving-like event for Alison's side of the family on Wednesday night, then attended a slightly-more-formal Thanksgiving hosted by my sister Liesl on Thursday. In the span of 24 short hours, we visited and broke bread (with an occasional toss) with the vast majority of our combined family — parents, siblings, nieces and nephews.

​Click the More Pictures buttons for all of the pictures from these two events. I apologize in advance for the overly-photographed backyard football game.
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Droppleman Thanksgiving
More Pictures
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Delisio Thanksgiving
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Music

Rachael Price is the lead singer for Lake Street Dive, a favorite band of mine of late. Like many of my favorite musicians, she popped up on A Prairie Home Companion recently. This time, she arrived without Lake Street Dive in tow and instead teamed up on stage with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Here are some highlights of their performance.
Rachael and PHJB
Just PHJB
Just Rachael

Pictures

​Here are some photos that we've either taken or collected recently.

Who is this Sabatino?

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Sabatino's — a what, not a who — is an Italian restaurant in the Little Italy neighborhood of Baltimore. Just a stone's throw from Johns Hopkins, it was our go-to destination to celebrate our many "good news" visits to the oncologist as far back as 2004, when I began my care at Hopkins. They long ago perfected the staples of an Italian meal in mouthwatering fashion: salad, pasta, meatballs and bread.

Sadly, we haven't been back to Sabatino's since 2010, when I began my gluten-free adventures. For the most part, gluten-free and Italian are words that rarely sit comfortably in the same sentence.

So, to come full circle back to the title of this post, a Sabatino's day is any day that overflows with very good news and (hopefully) equally good food to match.

9 Comments
John Chappell
12/4/2017 03:25:15 pm

Wonderful updates, and wonderful pictures. Looking forward to hearing more about all the shenanigans this week.

Reply
Janet
12/4/2017 04:16:58 pm

So thankful for the wonderful news! Photos are great! Let’s plan for a gluten free, but delicious dinner at our place in the New Year.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Reply
bestessays com link
8/7/2018 01:12:42 am

It makes me happy seeing all your photos. Though there are several challenges that seem to block the way towards a happy and perfect life, I love the idea that you're still pushing through. That's the spirit! Problems are part of the journey and we wouldn't find the stronger version of ourselves without these. So, kudos to how positive outlook in life! Life is tough, and I guess you are tougher! How I wish all people have the same outlook as yours!

Reply
Kathy Knollmann
12/4/2017 04:31:43 pm

Love the pics, what a wonderful family y'all have!! Thank you for sharing these slices of your life.

Reply
Bev Bley
12/4/2017 05:29:09 pm

Thank you, Josh, for sharing what you and Alison have been up to and all the great pictures. It is so good to hear from you and so thankful you are feeling well. Enjoy Florida and I wish I was there to see Cam graduate and be with you all.

Reply
Mom
12/4/2017 07:25:59 pm

Thank you Ali and Josh🐢🐢

Reply
Ronda Ingersoll
12/4/2017 08:09:10 pm

Be still my heart! Happy news all the way around. Hope to see you soon.

Reply
Suzanne
12/4/2017 09:27:37 pm

Wonderfully written. Thank you for sharing!

Reply
Rachel
12/4/2017 10:53:29 pm

I love you and miss you - wish I could visit more often if my kids didn’t drive me completely insane 🤪

Reply



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    Joshua Golub

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  • Home
  • Family
    • The Coles >
      • Cole Rehearsal Dinner
      • Cole Wedding
      • Delisio Thanksgiving 2017
      • Coles in Lexington 2018
    • The Delisios >
      • Delisio Orlando 2001
      • JP's College Graduation
      • Becca's 21st
      • Liesl's 50th
    • The Dropplemans >
      • 2011 Droppleman Reunion
      • 2005 Droppleman Reunion
      • 2010 Droppleman Reunion
      • Nanny's 70th Birthday
      • Random Collection
      • David's Camera
      • Droppleman Thanksgiving 2017
      • Dave's 80th Birthday
      • Corrotoman 2020
    • The Golubs >
      • Holiday Letters >
        • 2020
        • 2012
      • 2021 >
        • Josh's 56th
      • 2020 >
        • Bethlehem 2020
        • Circle Quilts 2020
        • Ginger's Shower 2020
        • Josh's 55th
        • Reservoir Hollow Trail 2020
      • 2019 >
        • Christmas 2019
        • Eli's Sendoff 2019
        • July 4th 2019
        • Madagascar 2019
        • NYC 2019
        • San Diego 2019
        • Santa 2019
        • Thanksgiving 2019
        • Tucson 2019
      • 2018 >
        • Alison's 56th
        • Botanical Garden
        • Christmas 2018
        • Cincinnati 2018
        • Dad's 75th
        • Easter
        • Eli's College Graduation 2018
        • Rachel 2018
      • 2017 >
        • Alison's 55th
        • Brooklyn Golubs in Lexington
        • Indianapolis
      • 2016 >
        • Matt's Graduation
        • Nathan's Pets
      • 2010 >
        • Rachel's Wedding
    • The Immigs >
      • Aunt Eileen's Memorial
      • Uncle Bill
      • Chaz's Wedding
    • The Normans >
      • Dave's 65th
      • Nancy's Bridal Shower
      • Nancy's 27th 2017
    • The Roberts >
      • Mom's 75th
      • PopPop
      • PopPop's 60th
      • PopPop's 75th
      • The Roberts Random Collection
    • The Scarpellos >
      • Lucia's First Birthday
      • Baby Joshua Joseph Kenneth Scarpello
      • Josh's 3rd Birthday
      • Josh's 5th Birthday
    • The Simmons >
      • John and Alan's Wedding
      • Camping with Will and Stacey
      • Cam and Nancy's Wedding
      • Panama City 2004
      • Ian Fall 2020
      • Maggie 2021
      • Ian Summer 2021
    • The Zbars >
      • 2006 Zbar Reunion
      • Uncle Bert's 80th
  • Friends
    • Otters
    • 2021 >
      • The Johnsons 2021
      • The Walkers 2021
    • 2020 >
      • Carson Trexler 2020
      • Girls Walk 2020
    • 2019 >
      • Edenton 2019
    • 2018 >
      • Ingersolls in Richmond 2018
      • With Beth at River 2018
    • 2017 >
      • The Steps of Church Hill
    • 2016 >
      • Michael Zacharias Wedding
    • 2011 >
      • Marie's 50th Birthday
    • 2010 >
      • Edenton 2010
  • Blue Dove
  • Blog