Hello out there, all you lovely people! You rock! All of you! No matter where you are or what you are going through. And remember: You are in my thoughts and prayers daily.

So what’s up with my beating cancer journey?

I have a little peace at the moment. Two weeks ago, I had my last chemotherapy, and I have to admit that I am delighted. Yes, the skin on my soles and some of my fingernails come off, I am on and off exhausted, and my brain still doesn’t work entirely, but chemo is over.

It makes me happy, you know. But I am also a little apprehensive when it comes to Radiotherapy, which starts at the beginning of October. I am worried I get burned. I am afraid that we get another lock-down and the virus will be more threatening. I am concerned that I’ll again be so exhausted that I can’t do a thing.

But I live in the here and now and not in October, so I enjoy the relief I feel at the moment and of course got a little ahead of myself. I signed up to do some fundraising for McMillan Cancer Support who have been a source of information. They are supporting so many of the UK cancer sufferer and have lost so much income because of the pandemic that I felt I could help a little. That is why

I want to raise 200£ for McMillan Cancer Support with two online events:

On Friday the 25th, September at 8AM, I am going to post a blog share post for all those who want to take part.

Recipe Blog Share

Please create a post with your favourite cake or cookie recipe. If you are affected by cancer, then feel free to share anything you feel you can share about it too. But the recipe only is absolutely fine.

I am putting a linky up at the post so you can share your contribution. Please make a donation, no matter how little if you want to take part. It also does not matter if you are from the UK or not. It works from everywhere. Or share the link to my fundraising page on your social media instead. There is going to be a little surprise on my post. And I am going to share your blog every day for a week on all my social media.

Skype Coffee Hour with Bee

I will also host the “Skype Coffee Hour with Bee” on Friday 25th September at 14GMT (find a link to a time converter here). We are going to share a cuppa and have a lovely chat, and I’ll give you a little virtual tour of where we live. Please make a donation no matter how little if you want to take part. It also does not matter if you are not from the UK. It works from everywhere. Or share the link to my fundraising page on your social media. Please let me know in this form if you want to take part so I can send you the Skype link:

And you can, of course, also just donate and not take part in any of the events here.

You can find related posts here.

Come Away with me to Italy

Ah, good old Italy. Germany, where I was born, and Italy have many connections. Of course, the more recent and very dark connection is that both countries have experienced fascism. Mussolini and Hitler worked together at least for a little while. And far right-wing political groups are gaining power in both of them.

But there is a lot more that connects us. Germany has a considerable minority of Italian immigrants from the 1960s and ’70s who started Italian restaurants and ice cream parlours. Oh, I so miss a proper Italian ice cream parlour. You have no idea how delicious their ice cream is. Well, I decided not to eat refined sugar anymore, so the ice cream parlour is probably a no-go for me if I ever get back. But hey maybe they have ice cream for people who suffer from diabetes. That might do.

Ah, I digress. Sorry, my dears.

I’ve been to Italy. Well, to the North of Italy with school many many moons ago. One of my main subjects for my A-levels was biology. Our biology course did a visit to Italy for a week to San Remo. We stayed at a holiday park in wooden huts, mastered the art of making coffee in those funny Italian coffee things on the hob and swam in the Mediterranean. We hiked the mountains and visited Monte Carlo. It was great.

One thing I remember vividly was a visit to a little Italian village in the mountains. Some of us were not particularly fast when we were hiking in the mountains. While most of us already were back down in San Remo, the rest ambled as a classmate had trouble with her hips. Our biology teacher stayed with us too. When we came to the village, we felt we needed a break and our teacher invited us to a little cafe. It was full of men sipping their coffee and playing chess.

He was alone with three or four young women. You can imagine the looks we got LOL. But let me tell you the hot chocolate I had there was the best I ever drank. It was proper chocolate simply melted with a little milk in it. Delicious.

But now some “proper” information about Italy 🙂

When I looked up Italian musicians, I was surprised by how many I knew from my time in Germany. Regularly in summer, we had a typical happy song on the charts which usually came from Italy. And of course, the Eurovision Song Contest was still the Grand Prix D’Eurovision, and musicians had to sing in their native tongue. My choice is a bit random, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

And where are we going next week?

Come Away With Me 2020 Musical Challenge Country for Monday, September 28th, 2020

I am taking a rather random route around the world, but sometimes it makes sense. Next week we venture into Austria. Please find musicians from Austria on MetalUnderground: Austrian Metal Bands

As for the suggestions to take part:

1. Join in! No matter where, when and with what. No matter if you have cancer or not! You missed the first week? Don’t worry. Just jump in when it suits you.
2. Send us the link! The ping-back option does not always work so please leave a link in the comments of the post on the day you take part. Or leave it at the “Come Away With Me 2020 FB page“
3. Tag your post either with ” Come Away With Me Musical Challenge”/ #CoAwWiMeMuCh” / “Come Away with Me 2020 Musical Challenge” o/“CoAwWiMe2020MuCh” / . You can also use these as hashtags for Twitter and other Social Networks to give your post more exposure. If you add #blog and #music with your hashtags it will get you more readers.
4. No matter which music or country the prompt favours you create with it whatever you please. This is supposed to be a fun challenge and no chore.
5. I post a prompt for the next week with every “Come Away With Me 2020 post” I write.
6. If you like, use this picture for your readers to find the posts.

Just one more thing before you go: The hospital that is treating me is fundraising for a dedicated breast cancer unit which would allow same-day diagnosis and better premises for patients and staff.

Please, if you can spare a little money hop over to their Just Giving Page and give as little or much as you can. Or share the page on your social media. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much.

Thanks my dears, for staying with me until the end. I appreciate your presence. Please stay safe, stay kind and remember that you rock!