13-Aug-2023
Long blogging pause. I'll come to the reason in a minute.
But before we get to that, a quick catch-up. I'll kick off with a few "seen while walking" pics:
The Roxy Cat really is the cat's pyjamas
Perhaps the cutest of the cats who roam our neighbourhood
Morning skies
Kuching is always colourful...
Not to mention wacky at times...
We also had a terribly successful Mall Day:
Brunch at Keeper's Ground, during our expedition to The Spring (our nearest mall). Can't go wrong with poached eggs and avos
Haven't had orecchiette since Bari
It's true: It's always fun to visit Daiso
Completely not intending to buy a Daiso thermometer, but who could resist...?
Check out the cool new Daiso desk tidies!
Nice new coffee place in The Spring. Excellent latte
And now to the rest of the food:
First lot of consolation: Back to Madeleine
The pastries here are REALLY something. This one is blueberry-stuffed and crispy
And this was the special for the day: Banana, chocolate, and hazelnut. NOTHING not to like about that combo
A gift from a friend: Kweni, served with santan and pecans. These fruits are mango-reminiscent, but distinctive. Very perfumed. Wrapped in three plastic bags, they are still perceptible in the fridge...
A simple but jolly tasty noodle dish from Sing Fook Seng
This is a great new addition to the Kuching culinary scene. They specialize in low-carb options (including the kind of bread that I painstakingly make myself)
Nice, substantial salad bowl, and you can swap the rice for cauliflower
Grateful to some visiting friends for telling us about this place. Chelum means black in Iban, and what they sell is Sarawakian chocolate!
Not only is it Sarawakian chocolate, but it's made with speciality Sarawakian ingredients, like sago, tebaloi, and terong asam
Truffles! We got to try the dabai ones (on the right) for free (think salted caramel, but with more depth of flavour)
The shopping centre where Chelum lives (next to Kubah Ria market)
Some interesting old photos of the Satok Pedestrian Bridge back in the day
And here is Kuching waterfront, now much changed, of course
So the 10 days since I last posted have been interesting enough. Unfortunately, they have also included several more trips to the hospital for tests and consultations. The upshot of which is that my cancer, supposedly defeated at the end of 2018, might be rearing its head again. "Might" is obviously better than "is". But actually "might" brings its own problems. At the moment the troubling manifestation is too small to biopsy. So my current options are: 1. Undergo preemptive surgery (a highly invasive procedure that could evict the little fiend before it's dug itself in -- but could also turn out to be completely unnecessary); or 2. Wait it out for six months (with THAT possibility never far from my thoughts, no doubt), and review again -- at which point I will have every opportunity to assess the judiciousness of the way I roll the dice now.
So that's all Not Good. It's distressing, I have to say, to be here again, back where I was almost five years ago. I feel angry, afraid, humiliated, vulnerable -- everything except courageous. I'd like to finish the post with something staunch and hopeful, the way wise and strong people do, but that's just not in my power right now. If you need something a bit more cheery, I'd scroll back up to the two cats at the top.
Sometimes, life is a boatload of crap. But the river's pretty, right?
(POSTSCRIPT 14 August: Decided to wait. Head and heart in agreement: Wait. Let's hope they're right...)