Good News For Seattle’s Dendreon and Us!

Whoohoo!  The FDA has approved Provenge which was developed by the company my husband now works for. I know some of you are thinking huh? Your husband is working? We thought he was retired. Well his retirement was very short lived and yes he now has a different full-time job right here in Seattle. Good thing the FDA approved this treatment today or else Dear would have been out on the street with no job!! So the company is all a buzz. Lots of laughter and celebration going on in Downtown Seattle over this major announcement. Congratulations to Dendreon and 10 years of hanging in there over the development of Provenge and the approval process!! Congratulations to all the men with Advanced Prostate Cancer that can finally be treated with Provenge…

FDA Approves a Cellular Immunotherapy for Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Provenge (sipuleucel-T), a new therapy for certain men with advanced prostate cancer that uses their own immune system to fight the disease.

Provenge is indicated for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body and is resistant to standard hormone treatment.

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer among men in the United States, behind skin cancer, and usually occurs in older men. In 2009, an estimated 192,000 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed and about 27,000 men died from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“The availability of Provenge provides a new treatment option for men with advanced prostate cancer, who currently have limited effective therapies available,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., acting director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

I’ve Got Yard Art!

I’ve been threatening my family for years about adding some yard art to our landscape…and I use landscape loosely here because our yard is in no way landscaped. It’s kind of like the inside of my house which is in no way professionally decorated! Hodge Podge is a better way to describe it…eclectic. Working with what you have and adding something here and there.

I saw these little guys at Fred Meyer and they were on sale so I bought them and stuck them in the planter along our front walkway. So my family has Yard Art Thursday and Mary to thank for finally pushing me over the edge with a purchase of my own Gnomes!!

Hmmm…upon close inspection of these Gnomes I’m struck with how they resemble my paternal grandfather except for his beard was redish…

Thanks for hosting Yard Art on Thursday Mary!

 

22 Years Ago…

When we were at Descanso Gardens on Saturday I told Melissa, Michelle and Katie that I had a photo of them with their cousin Timothy at Descanso Gardens from 1988. I thought I kind of knew the backdrop of the photo. We found the spot and they posed for a photo 22 years later. We were with Timothy earlier that day and told him he was going to miss out on the new photo op! What a blessing that these cousins still enjoy being around each other!!

 

World Concern 5K Fun Run/Walk

Free Them 5k Fun Run

On Saturday I’m participating in a 5K Run/Walk to raise money in an effort to stop Human trafficking and to raise awareness for women and children in grave danger. This walk is in the Seattle Area. The start is at the Christa Ministries Campus at 19303 Fremont Ave. N. , Seattle. Registration is at 8:30 and the Race/Walk begins at 9:30. If you can’t walk you can still send in your donation. Click here or on the badge to find out more from the website.

Outdoor Wednesday ~ Descanso Gardens

Last Saturday my daughter and I were in the Los Angeles area and we met some family members at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. It was a beautiful day in Southern California and not too hot. Please visit Susan at a Southern DayDreamer to see more of the great outdoors.

 

Our Daughter Katie

My niece Melissa, Katie and my sister Kathy

Niece Melissa and daughter Katie

My niece Michelle with her husband Ryan

Their son Jackson

 

Their daughter Avery

My sister Kathy and me

Kathy with her granddaughter Avery

Hope you enjoyed Descanso Gardens and I recommend a visit when you are in the Los Angeles area. I think March is one of the prettiest months there or early April.

Meeting For the First Time…

 

Katie met her cousin once removed for the first time this past Saturday at Descanso Gardens. After Avery gave Katie the initial critical look she decided this cousin was OK to be around.

Avery thought Great Aunt Ellen was OK, too, for short periods of time, if I kept moving, and there was something for her to grab, and if her mom or dad weren’t too far away…or her brother…or Nana.

We had so much fun. Isn’t that a cute skirt Avery is wearing? :0)

Brunch at Mom & Pops

My mother went all out for us again. Katie and I were in the greater L.A. area on Saturday and Sunday and told my mom we’d pop in for breakfast. We weren’t surprised to be greeted with a morning feast. I’ve said before that my Mother’s Love Language is preparing food for people. I missed photographing the cantaloupe and strawberry plate that looked like a flower. She made Vareniki stuffed with potato this time and served them with asparagus with zest of orange and topped with grapefruit. My sister Vera and nephew Tim and his wife Jessica joined us. It was nice to enjoy a smaller group for a change.

Katie, Jessica and Tim

Katie with my mom and dad

From brunch Katie and I traveled north to the La Canada/Flintridge area of Los Angeles to meet up with other family members at Descanso Gardens. I’ll be sharing those photos soon. We packed so much into two days my head is still spinning.

Ruby Tuesday ~ Descanso Gardens

On Saturday my daughter and I were in the Los Angeles area and we met some family members at Descanso Gardens. What a beautiful garden to stroll through. The roses were beginning to open up nicely…

To see more Ruby Tuesday please visit Mary at Work of the Poet.

I decided to add this photo so you could get an idea of what part of the Rose Garden at Descanso looks like…

Mosaic Monday ~ Lilacs!

I’ll be linking up late with Mary at The Little Red House with my mosaic this week. I’ve been in Southern California and am flying home on Sunday evening. On Saturday my daughter Katie and I joined some family members for a stroll around Descanso Gardens in the La Canada/Flintridge area of Los Angeles. It was a beautiful day for the gardens.

Early Monday I’m headed for my Jury Duty. Hope to get around later in the day. Have a wonderful Monday everone!

O Blessed Home Where Man and Wife ~ Hymn

O Blessed Home Where Man and Wife

O blessèd home where man and wife
Together lead a godly life
By deeds their faith confessing!
There many a happy day is spent,
There Jesus gladly will consent
To tarry with His blessing.

If they have given Him their heart,
The place of honor set apart
For Him each night and morrow,
Then He the storms of life will calm,
Will bring for every wound a balm,
And change to joy their sorrow.

And if their home be dark and drear,
The cruse be empty, hunger near,
All hope within them dying,
Let them despair not in distress;
Lo, Christ is there the bread to bless,
The fragments multiplying.

O Lord, we come before Thy face;
In every home bestow Thy grace
On children, father, mother,
Relieve their wants, their burdens ease,
Let them together dwell in peace
And love to one another.

Words: Magnus B. Landstad, 1861; translated from Norwegian to English by Ole T. Arneson, 1908