Chanukat HaBayit

I just returned from Martha's Chanukat HaBayit which is the ceremony one has after affixing mezuzahs (don't know the correct plural- mezuzim?)to the doorposts to a new place of residence. Of course Martha's mom told her that this is how the Nazis know where you live but she ignored that. But it was an interesting ritual. It turns out that her new neighbor is a woman who lived with us many years ago-one who I didn't get along with then- but someone who seemed thrilled to see me nonetheless.

It remains cool and sunny-a nice day to run. I saw a bird that I couldn't identify-orange with black wings. I can't remember what the head looked like. It was just slightly larger than a finch but too small to be a Baltimore Oriole. Possibly an orangish looking scarlet tanger? I try to remember as many features as possible when I see an unusual bird but forget them as soon as I have access to a field guide. In my yard, I have two pairs of cardinals and the males always seem to be dueling with their loud songs. I have at least 3 robin families. I haven't heard the chimney swifts in my chimney but they definitely circle around the house. Plenty of food for them this year with all the bugs.
Naomi is at her friend's baby shower. How quickly do they grow up! We went shopping for her yesterday. From her registry, it seems that she is planning to nurse, a rarity among very young mothers. Good for her.

In cancer news, they seem to have found some new drugs that target an enzyme particular to BRAC1 cancers that may work for other TNBC too-PARP inhibitors. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN3044166420090531?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
In Quebec, they just discovered that there is a greater than 10% error rate in testing hormone receptors in breast cancer so many women there did not get the proper treatment. Hopefully this is not true for the rest of the provinces (I have readers from Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta)!!! Also a new study shows that antidepressants interfere with Tamoxifen increasing the recurrence rates in women taking both drugs. No Tamoxifen for me though.

A website I found useful is from a TNBC survivor Pat who currently is writing a book on TNBC. She provided many links to studies-http://hormonenegative.blogspot.com/2009/02/surviving-triple-negative-breast-cancer.html that some might find useful.