The Best Gifts Are From The Heart

You may have noticed that we have shipping delays posted in all of our shops and you may have assumed that we are on vacation. That is sort-of right, but not exactly! Here is what all is going on:

1. At the beginning of July, Leah was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a 30 day hike in Alaska with NOLS. She hiked with NOLS 2 years ago on a special hike for 14/15 year olds in Idaho and Wyoming. She LOVED her 2 week adventure and had planned to take another trip with NOLS next year.  I was calling NOLS to find out about the hikes for next year for both Leah and Byron when they offered the LAST slot for any hike THIS summer to Leah! Wow! We all slept on it and in the morning she started to pack.  Two weeks later she was in Anchorage!

Leah and I reviewed her shop offerings and inventory and made the decision to keep the shop open with the items that she had in stock. Some special orders can be filled by Ralph while she is gone. I have been taking care of the communications with customers.

Leah is returning home via a Rail Pass…meaning that she is taking a scenic train ride and stopping to see see friends and relatives along the way in California and Texas. She will be home towards the end of August…we can’t wait to see her!

2. Ralph went to MD Anderson in Houston in May for his annual post-Prostate Cancer check up and was given a clean bill of health. FOUR years now and he feels terrific with no side effects from the cancer or treatment. His Cardiologist, across the street also gave him high marks and neither needs to see him again for a year.

HOWEVER, the dermatologist at MD Anderson found a suspicious spot of Ralph’s nose. I had noticed it about a month prior and scheduled the appointment to coordinate with the oncologist and cardiologist. It was a brownish spot about the size of a pencil eraser with uneven color and jagged edges.  A biopsy came back positive for melanoma in situ…meaning cancer, but very early stages.

We made the hard decision to pack up our shop and go to Houston for treatment. We have a 40 foot Motorhome and a 22 foot cargo trailer, so we can take most everything with us. We don’t have a portable lathe or milling machine, so larger rings that require that equipment will not be available until we return home. We also did not bring our torches, so soldering will also have to wait.

Ralph has had the initial surgery for the skin cancer and we are now camped about an hour North, overlooking a lovely lake, surrounded by both palm trees and hardwoods. Ralph is currently winding rings, Byron is sewing envelopes and I am about to get back to packing up orders.

We are waiting the results of the tissue samples taken from the margins during surgery to determine if more tissue needs to be removed or not. Once an area of 0.5cm is clear, Ralph will have reconstructive surgery and we will head home!

We ALL appreciate our fantastic customers and their patience and understanding. Thanks to all of them! Please contact us with any order questions….or if you would like more information about our cancer treatment experiences.

HUGS!

Karen

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