Author Archives: Susan Rink
Paintings and pastries – Day Two in Vienna
After a full night of sleep, and fortified with a GREAT breakfast in the hotel dining room (there is nothing like a European breakfast buffet!), we grabbed an Uber into the center city and spent more than three blissful hours at the Albertina, an often-overlooked art museum about one block from the State Opera House […]
Greetings from Vienna
We made it! No thanks to Austrian Airlines, which gave us quite a few challenges on this trip (including a mix-up with our upgraded seat assignments — upgrades for which I had paid, mind you — and a three-hour delayed departure of our connecting flight from Chicago). But we are here in Vienna and spent […]
Moving forward, fearlessly
In a few weeks, I’ll meet with my radiation oncologist and my GYN oncologist for my six-month post-treatment check-ins. Can’t believe it’s been that long. Some days it seems like just yesterday; other days it seems like a lifetime ago that I was dealing with cancer on a daily basis. I celebrated a major milestone […]
Turning the page on 2018
“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” – Helen Keller Wow, what a difference a year makes. Last New Year’s Eve was filled with uncertainty and fear. This year I am happy, healthy and looking ahead with great confidence that […]
Whoopieee!
Had my first 90-day follow-up with my oncologist yesterday. I won’t keep you in suspense: The news was EXCELLENT! Last week’s blood tests showed that my CA-125 (a screening used to determine whether or not there are cancer cells present) is well, well, well below the acceptable level. In fact, where 33 and below is […]
365
One year ago today, at 5:15 p.m. to be exact, I got the call. That morning I’d gone into the hospital for a D&C to try to determine what had caused sudden and EXCESSIVE post-menopausal bleeding. The original assumption was a large fibroid. The GYN resident who assisted with the procedure called me with the […]
‘This is, after all, Italy.’
Can’t believe that in 72 hours I’ll be back in the U.S. On one hand, it seems as if this month has flown by, and on the other hand, it seems as if it has been six months since the first time I drove down the country road to our rented villa. We have become […]
A visit to Assisi
I can’t believe that I’ve been in Italy 20 days and I have yet to set foot in a church. Mom likes to tease me by noting that, “For a person who never goes to church at home, you sure do like to visit them when we are traveling.” She’s right. And do you know […]
Pasta. Basta!
This week’s highlight had to be our pasta-making class. We returned to Massimo and Cecilia’s lovely restaurant, Osteria La Gramola in the heart of the small town of Tavernelle Val di Pesa on Wednesday to learn to make authentic pasta. My takeaway: I’m never buying dried pasta again. For this class we were joined by two […]
Our afternoon in a Florentine art studio
We said “farewell” to Louise on Saturday, and picked up Deborah from the Florence airport on Sunday. And on Monday we spent an interesting and informative afternoon learning how to make marbled paper. It was actually Deborah’s idea. I had no inkling that this was a thing, and that Florence was known for it. But […]
Everyday Discoveries 