Sunday: Robert's studio with Kerry and Robert, jewelry-maker Catherine

December 31, 2023

Ok, I'll write the rest of this tomorrow, but to give a brief summary of my day, I woke up and Kerry made me two eggs with a bit of cheese for my meds a bit past 8am. Then we went over to Robert's house to have coffee, listen to some more stories and tour his house. 

There, I also met two girls who I'd never met before, one of whom I think was hired to clean the house, and the other of whom was using the basement as a workshop to make jewelry. She gave me a ring, which I did not ask for, and earrings, which I did ask about. I think she said that she'd first gotten interested in jewelry through earrings too. I was able to show her a picture of one of my earring hangers too (the ones that are currently in my Facebook cover photo). I also told her a ton about my life and my story, and she was a recipient of both of my business cards. I don't quite remember, but I feel like she must have taken one of Heidi's wedding because I definitely remember telling her about shooting that wedding recently. I've included the posed photo we took together in the workshop, and also a candid of me talking to her that my mom shot. 

Speaking of photos, I'm starting off with one of me, Kerry and Robert when we first got to his house. I've barely got the photos lined up and straightened, and I'm gonna go to sleep now. Next day! When we left Robert's house, that is when I asked Catherine about whether she made earrings, and then she gave me the pair too! I'm wearing them right now, and I'm already getting used to the amethyst ring, which is purple. 

Anyways, we went back to Kerry and Ross' house and at night, I purposely had my meds early in the night so I could eat dinner freely. It had them at 6:45pm with some pieces of cheese and pretzels. Kerry and I also went over to a bonfire in a field by their house. That was also decent. I talked to a lady named Dora Lee and told her a lot of my story, and then we went back home for a late dinner. It was a steak filet and asparagus, and I felt very, very free to not have to track the exact quantity of fat in what I was eating. I know I even commented on that. It felt great to know I didn't have to finish everything on the plate to get enough fat in there. It's funny how you appreciate the strangest things after having been forced to live your life in certain way. 

Then, we decided to finally watch the Barbie movie, which they have been wanting to see. This was at least my sixth time seeing it, maybe more. During this viewing, I wrote down a couple quotes that spoke to me a bit, like "I don't think things should go back to just the way they were."  This is one of the first times I've watched the movie with an open notebook in front of me, which feels important. In a way, the way that Barbie never wanted anything to change when she was living in the fake Barbie world, is EXACTLY how I felt at Fogo. Coming out of my horrific cancer trauma and feeling like I was living a "normal" life for the first time... that WAS my "barbie world," which was always fake and didn't really exist.