Dull and Boring

Being on Virtual Vacation has gotten us a bit behind. I've been delinquent in responding to the comments from past posts, and there are too many to check back on, so I'm going to do it here so you won't have to remember where you commented:

Katie and Lauren, thanks for taking time to post here from CFV!

Thanks, Cranium Man, for the book! Sorry I wasn't awake to receive it and thank you in person. I seem to be going to bed earlier and earlier every night...

NancyTurtle, I, too, first hear Auntie 'Rie when I hear, "Diana Gay!" We think many of us associate hearing our first and middle names together with our parents' being upset about something we did.

Fortunately, I've had others in my life call me that, so I don't wince anymore when I hear it. Early on it was cousins who weened me from the wincing. The past few years it's been our sister Sara. Most recently it was Cousin Carol and seeing it here.

Did you ever get the information you wanted from Kevin about emailing a video?

I also think the daylily we dedicated to Oregon Connie should be up for sale. We're still working on getting that account set up...

Thank you for books two and three in the Potter...septology?? I'm still feeling like there are other things that I need to be doing. *shrugs*

I'm doing what I can to avoid the heavy duty meds. So far, we've been able to manage the pain with OTC meds and the tramadol. The ducosate seems to be effective so far; we have milk of magnesia if that doesn't continue to be enough.

The dull ache has been ever present for a couple weeks now. The meds cut the edge off the pain and allow me to take pain-free deep breaths. However, lateral movement of my right arm, or bending over can trigger a sharper pain which also seems to exacerbate the dull ache. It's painful to cough or clear my throat.

I spent the first six to eight weeks after surgery babying that side, even after the three incision wounds had healed. I don't sit the straightest on our couch...or anywhere, for that matter. *sighs*

About a month ago, I started gardening and doing some heavier work in the yard. During our massages, we worked to loosen those muscles up. I think the culmination of all that is the muscle soreness I've been experiencing. It just seems odd that I was relatively pain free and a couple weeks ago this new trauma started...

It's not a new tumor; the CT scan last Friday demonstrated that. It's not pneumonia, since I'm told that would show in blood work. Would pleurisy also show there? What else could it be? Is this just the residual of surgery, and I should just get used to it?

What I don't like is the lethargic feeling I've had since last week. I think the meds dull me to some extent. I think inactivity dulls me some, as well.

In between, I manage to get chores done and keep body and soul together. And, it serves to remind me of what I can't do anymore and all that needs doing. Pretty much like everyone else, nicht?

Dull and boring, that about sums us up. Today, I'm thankful for that.

The drawing was done a few years ago by a colleague.


"How's by you?" is what Uncle Shorty would want to know. *grins*

Our Virtual Vacation

As we mentioned, the CFV concluded this weekend. Traditionally, when a family member couldn't attend, they were represented in the family photo by someone wearing a bag. Now that we're living in the 21st century, we're sending a virtual Kevin and Diana to this year's crafter of the vacation album. (Hopefully someone will let us know who that is...)

To demonstrate, we'd like to share our satellite CFV, aka a brief virtual vacation. Let's begin, shall we?





We opened with sunrise over New Mexico, not far from NancyTurtle's house. So, we stopped to pose for a quick shot in front of her lilac bush.








While we were in the neighborhood, we popped up to the Grand Canyon, and had look around before heading east.




Trooley needed a rest stop, so we took quick walk on the Capitol mall. We looked around for the Vice-President, but we really didn't see Dick...




Next, we were off to Europe. We got our afternoon's exercise by water-skiing on the Thames and free-climbing the Eiffel Tower.























As night fell over Paris, we posed for one more shot.*














*Trooley took most of these shots. He focuses well, but he's lacking some in originality in posing his subjects...


We enjoyed our vacation and are glad you are there!

C Family Vacation

This is one of the many beautiful views from the front yard of the grounds where this year's CFV was held:


Today is the last day of CFV.

By now, the CFV Lottery has taken place, and all of the leftovers from the week have been divided up and won by the family groups. By now, the cabins have been cleaned of any CFV traces from the previous week.


By now, the Families Portraits have been taken.

This is the photo of the Family Tree in the making; I can't help thinking what a wonderful Bottle Tree it would make:



And, as tired as I am today -- from both lack of sleep and new drugs, and as tired as Kevin is from said same, we miss being there.

Make nice!

Status Report

Got to the hospital today at 7:30, for bloodwork and a CT. Everything seemed to take a little longer today -- maybe it's the time of year. By the time we got to Dr. C, it was a little after 10. We spent awhile talking about pain meds -- dp's been feeling more pain in the muscles on her right side for the last couple of weeks. The general consensus is that it's residual pain from the second surgery, and the treatment is more painkillers.

Then we got to the CT results: the good news is that the tumor isn't any larger, but the bad news is it isn't any smaller, either. That, combined with an inability to do chemo two weeks in a row (I gather that he's afraid to add to her pain by doing Nulasta) prompts Dr. C to send us back to radiology. We meet with Dr. B again next Thursday, to talk about using radiation instead of chemo.

The change in direction is taking a little getting used to. On the pain side, dp can do anti-inflammatories again, and that seems to be helping. We won't have to deal with all of the anti-infection prohibitions, at least for awhile.
Hospital visits will be Monday through Friday, but quick, painless, and non-invasive. Anyway, we'll know more after Thursday.

Meanwhile, the annual gathering of the clan is going on in Sturgeon Bay. We're there in spirit, so here's a photo to demonstrate that...

On the Sunnier Side

...we get very different kinds of gardens -- gardens in which we can plant roses.

This is our first year of roses. We lost the white miniature over winter, the yellow miniature produced nice insect-eaten flowers earlier this summer, but the red miniature did just fine:


















As did the Pink Knockout:




















...the day before Chemotherapy is difficult to describe...

...these photos aren't so much for anyone but me...

Be well.

Daylilies More

The above daylilies (an Asian Hybrid) and the ones that follow all grow in our WI garden (back yard of da Green House, where things bloom more than two weeks later than in the front yard).



The following photos are of our Tiger Lilies, the lily that Mom constantly asks if we have. They apparently filled an alley near the house where she grew up and we've been planting them here since they moved here ten years ago.





I'm amazed they are still blooming given that the canopy is filling in so quickly overhead. They're also planted among some blue spruces, which provide what I think is an interesting color and texture background to the vibrant orange blooms.






This last one is dedicated to Oregon Connie, who is celebrating her birthday today!




Let us know if you think any of the photos you've seen here might sell if we put them up on the website. And that goes for any future photos, as well.

Overall, we're well. What's been going on in your lives??

Ready For My Closeup...

...starting with the ditch daylily.














...moving to Mears hybrid red,



















...then to the hybrid, Solar Glow.












Lastly, the hybrid, Bella Lugosi:












This is the beginning of our Daylily Series. We'll post more of them later this week.

Let us know if you have any particular favorites! (If you click on the photo, you should see an enlargement.)

In the meantime, Kevin has today off...

Make nice!

In Search...

...of my mother's garden, I found my own.

...and I found the perfect photographer to capture the flowers in them! *grins* The Garden Sprite on the right was done by Kevin's Mom some years ago; sure has weathered well! The Sprite and the sundial sit atop our septic tank which was the base of our first garden in the round. There are wild geranium in the foreground and hosta blooms in the background.

Today was one of those perfect warm, but breezy, summer days.

We took Mom for a walk up da Lane after doing our morning mile. Kevin cleaned the gutters at da Red House, and I moved some of the hostas in our WI gardens. We cleaned and filled bird feeders and then spent the afternoon enjoying the fruits of our labors.

We're looking for photos that might sell at www.CafePress.com/daWoods. We'll try to put a few up for consideration each day. The following are of some of the different echinacea (cone flowers) that grow out by the mailbox. Let us know if any strike your fancy:



...the yellow-orange.




...the stair stepping purple.



...and the lone purple among the yellow.

Make nice!

*exits to smell the flowers*

A Pair of Foxes

...is something we don't have (yet) in our photo file.

So, instead, we have yet another pair of squirrels caught by Kevin's artful eye.

We certainly enjoyed being able to spend time with Carol and Fred this past week. I'm hoping they'll start commenting on this blog, as Carol writes very well (and got to work with her first Macintosh laptop while here)...

But, in the meantime, I think they enjoyed the food, their massages, the pool table, birdwatching, the 'oldies but goodies' (thanks, again, Carl) and just hanging out. Oh, yeah, and the sheets. Thanks again to our sister, Katie, for having such high standards for a Bed and Breakfast! *grins*

Mom didn't remember Fred right away, but as they chatted, the memories returned. It was good for Mom to have a chance to connect with some different people with different histories, memories, etc.

Wednesday evening we had dinner at da Green House, but just before dessert was served, the tornado sirens went off. We pushed Mom back to her house just before the torrential rains came down (which Kevin ran through with cream puffs and lemon pie).

There went our poker game, as well...

We visited Uncle Shorty's grave, but since it rained every day that Fred and Carol were here, we were unable to take Auntie 'Rie with us. And, because of said rain, a couple of planned side trips were postponed until their next visit, which we started looking forward to as soon as they left. *waves in a north-easterly direction*

Today I felt I had returned from vacation -- in true form, with an additional five pounds. *sighs* But, it was good eating, and I keep hearing that I can't afford to lose weight during chemotherapy... *shrugs*

So a quick mile was in order and then I meandered in the yards to see what will need to be done in the next week and found some things to think about for our fall clean-up. (The more gardens we make, the farther we need to trek with autumn's leaf-fall.)

And here I am catching up:

Other than muscle ache surrounding my right lung (residual from surgery/healing for which an analgesic was prescribed), I've been feeling pretty strong. This extra five pounds and the 'vacation' I took from my walking will give me plenty to work on...

I'm hoping the right lung muscle pain will diminish sooner than the 2-months-to-2-years that I was told I could expect residual symptoms from the surgery in May... *crosses fingers* So far, massage has been helpful and we'll keep working on it.

Nurse Nancy, thanks so much for your call on Monday. The weather this week looks perfect for walking in da Woods, so I probably won't see you for another week or so. My next infusion is a week from today and I have another CT scheduled that day, as well, so I'll see if we can poke our heads in for a minute while we're at the hospital. Thanks, again, for letting us know that you're still reading here.

Cranium Man, if you've got photographs that you'd like to put up for sale, let's talk... And yes, we still have the microphone stand, but it's starting to look like an interesting possibility for a birdhouse stand...

Mom is doing as well as can be expected. We believe she's begun having mini-strokes and will be watching their frequency. She starts slurring her words and her upper lip stops moving, but she's otherwise cogent and coherent and doesn't seem to notice it's happening...

Most of her brothers and sisters are no longer traveling, so she looks forward to hearing that friends and other family are traveling in this direction. The most recent is NancyTurtle! (Yes, we got your itinerary.) *looks forward to late August*

Kevin has been busy with new web design clients in addition to today's technological traumas (which inevitably happen to the staff on Fridays)... We're excited about a potential new client and will keep you posted as things evolve. Otherwise he's trying to get on top of water leaks and the resulting damage at da Red House in addition to that persistent leak in da Crick... And, of course, there's a fair amount of tree fall from this past week's storms.

Kevin's family leaves today for the annual (started in 1990) CFV (C Family Vacation) so we may not see much of them here for the next week. Sturgeon Bay is this year's destination again, and it looks like there will be 30 + attending. From what we've seen of the food lists, event schedules, and banter among them in the family email, it looks like another great gathering. We'll certainly be there in spirit!

And, as per DonnaMarie's request, a photo of da pair of us; we'll work on others:




How was your week?

A New View

Spent the weekend getting ready for guests and enjoying da Woods, despite the heat. I promised the Crawley women that I'd post pictures of the new view from the front of our home and our kitchen window.

It's taken me a bit longer to gather and prepare the pics; I thought I'd have them up late this weekend. ...ahhhhhhhh, another paver in the proverbial road to hell.

But, here they are: photos of the Japanese Maple that the Crawley women moved the last time they were here:











The recent rains have helped a lot!

In the next couple days we'll post some of the photos that we're considering selling as part of our "cottage industry."

In the meantime, with our cousins here, I'm kind of feeling like I, too, am on vacation. *grins*

What's been happening in your worlds??

Friday: Infusion Day

There were noticeably fewer cars in the hospital parking lot this morning; fewer people in the waiting room preparing for treatment. *wonders what it might have to do with its being Friday the Thirteenth today. *shrugs*

My overall white cell count was low and one component was low enough that it prohibited my getting an infusion this morning, so we turned around and came home much earlier than expected.

Our next appointment is two weeks from today, July 27, at which time we'll re-examine the protocol and probably add a Nulasta type hormone to help increase white cell production. We will also have another CT Scan to see if the growth of the tumor has been affected by the current therapies.

I'm over-reacting to mosquito/spider/insect bites (intense itching for a much longer period of time), so I'll not be going out so early in the morning, nor staying out so late in the evening any more. That should still give me some time to get some work done *crosses fingers*

We think I've lost about 20% of my hair. If it keeps up at this rate, I'll be removing it soon...that, or I'll have a comb-over that will put Donald Trump to shame. *heh*

Other than that, there shouldn't be any health updates for a couple weeks. *crosses fingers*

We're looking forward to cousins from Michigan visiting next week, Mon - Thur. *yeah*



So...what shall we do here on the blog for the next couple weeks?
...humor is a healer; have you heard any good jokes recently???
Do feel free to post what's happening in your part of the world!


In the meantime, make nice!

Wednesday: Words and Whimsy Day

...while Kevin did do some sewing yesterday...

...my Wednesday was aimed to be a bit more esoteric and whimsical -- Wednesday's being Humpday notwithstanding.

For the former, I looked up a poem that dd recently shared with me which I've intending to share with all of you. Enjoy:

My Symphony by William Ellery Charning

To live content with small means,
to seek comfort rather than luxury,
and refinement rather than fashion,
to be worthy and respectable,
to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly,
to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart,
to bear all cheerfully,
do all bravely,
await occasions
hurry never,
in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious,
grow up thru the common, this is to be our symphony.....


With regard to the whimsy:
I've been taking advantage of the recent rains to weed the gardens early in the morning. While out, I also finished the second bottle tree:



There is now speculation as to just what happens to the spirits caught by the bottles. Can they self release? If released by someone or something, would it imbue powers? Are only 'evil' spirits enticed...trapped? Is it material for the likes of Steven King? A springboard for something in the Twilight Zone? ...hrmmmm...

FWIW, I prefer to see all spirits engaged by the beauty of the Bottle Tree. I'm not sure that segregation of various spirits is necessarily a good idea, any more than it appears to be for many forms... *shrugs*

I hope the Bottle Trees to provide light, beauty and haven. I guess my tale will be one of congregations and celebrations -- to add tumor 'c' words...

Wednesday: Waxing Whimsically Wordy Day *whaps self*


HealthWatch:

I continue to control the nausea with meds; headaches are less frequent. I still have muscle ache from the pruning I did this past weekend, but it's one of those good kinds of aches. We'll continue to focus massage there.

While I move more slowly, I'm up and around...

We have another look at blood counts and an infusion Friday morning...

Kevin has some standard tests scheduled in August and is otherwise taking very good care of himself and reaping the benefits, both physically and mentally. This is no easy dance that we're learning to do.

Mom is now on constant medication for her back pain (compression fractures) which, along with massage, is providing her relief. She went to bed early Monday evening saying that she didn't feel well, but by Tuesday morning she seemed to be back to her old self.



CritterWatch:

It's clear that we have a family of barred owls, Bardo, Barda and Bardy. They're now here daily, sometimes twice, perched in the trees just off the back deck. We're learning the other animal and bird behaviors that precede and alert us to the owls' arrival -- of late there are two of them at a time.

The chipmunks are plentiful and a bit more skittish when the owls are around... *hehe* Otherwise they accidentally run up over our feet and then run along beside us to see whether we're heading to a new food source.

A pair of black squirrels and a family of greys are a continual source of amusement.

We think we've identified a Bewick's Wren as one of the three wren families.

There is also a family of sparrows in our most precarious-to-reach eave... *sighs*



Here's wishing you a Symphony of Whimsy! *raises her glass bottle*

Make nice!

Tuesday: Rewritten

It appears that few follow the weekday chorelist posted yesterday. Others don't perform some of the chores that were listed, at all...imagine that!

Perhaps the posted list is now the schedule of the housekeepers and caretakers, and the rest of the world has gone on to chores like shopping (not to be confused with the posted Market Day), shopping, and shopping...

I must confess that we, too, are guilty of altering the list some. While we did rest Sunday afternoon and evening, and did do the laundry yesterday, today had no irons or ironing on either of our agendas. I have no sewing planned for tomorrow; if I cleaned only on Friday, I'd never have a Friday to call my own; baking is best done in the spring, fall and winter in Iowa; the best markets here are Wednesday and Saturday...

And, I seem to fit some yardening into every day as Kevin does creeking.

But, for the most part, in our neck of da Woods, Tuesday is:



Billiards Day!


...and:




Massage Day!



Hope your day had some time for you in it.

Make nice!

Monday: Wash Day

...that's what I remember:

Monday: Wash Day
Tuesday: Ironing Day
Wednesday: Sewing Day
Thursday: Market Day
Friday: Cleaning Day
Saturday: Baking Day
Sunday: Day of Rest

Anyone else remember that from childhood? ...and I read that 'Gardening Day' has been appended to Tuesday. *heh*

Well, true to the above instructions, we rested yesterday afternoon and evening. We did a bit more clean-up in the ravines in the early morning, when it was cool enough that we could still breath outdoors. I think I may have overdone it the past couple days as the muscles surrounding my right lung were breathing a life of their own. So, we watched a couple movies, played Scrabble and laid pretty much back. *aaahhhhh*

And, today we did the wash.

Also got a start on a second bottle tree. Trimmed one of the overgrown sumacs; it has a frame built for bottles. Am hoping it doesn't be come target practice for passing mail box smashers *crosses fingers* We found one of the boxes in the middle of the road this spring... *sighs*

Chest pain is diminishing. Only took nausea medicine once today. The muscles around my right lung have settled back down.

I told Katie I'd post my favorite photo from this past weekend:



...dunno that I'll get any ironing done tomorrow. Is that something people still do...beside B&B bed linens, that is???

I know there's a rhyme for being born on each day of the week...I have far to go.
How about you?

Yesterday's Visitors

Yesterday morning began with confirmation of our suspicion that we had more than one barred owl, and I was able to get a picture for the bird pair collection.

We're not sure if Barda is a female or immature (or both), but he/she posed for photos even after I came out onto the veranda. Bardo is a bit more people-shy -- all of his photos have been taken through the window.

I got the 'front' yard mowed before it got too hot, and then Katie, Sara, Ann and Mom arrived to help with a yardwork extravaganza which included moving four hollies, more than two dozen hostas and a japanese maple, removing the black walnut branch that had decided to fall on the horseshoe driveway Friday evening, mowing the east lawn, repairing the screen on Marie's front porch - the mosquitos are pretty plentiful this summer, and filling a dozen bird feeders.


We still had time to get in a game of five-handed Sheepshead before they headed back north. It was really nice to see all of them.

Healthwise, dp is doing okay -- keeping the nausea and headaches at bay with drugs, and pacing herself pretty well to make allowances for the reduced energy.

This morning, she's done her daily mile and was able to remove some of the overgrown sumac, locust, and wild black cherry trees that were blocking our planted border oak and sugar maple. She says there are some distinct new bottle tree sites.

I think I've finished Marie's wheelchair repair -- the front wheel broke for the fourth time in less than a year, so I'm trying to Shorty-rig a solution that will cost less and last longer than the $57 a pop we pay now.

That's done, we've got the day to relax, kick back and enjoy da woods; maybe Bardo and Barda will visit us again today.

Tumor Birds, Tumor Tales

This would be the second in our 'Bird Pair' series; two house finches on the feeder called, the Yankee Flipper. Supposedly squirrel-proof, but I saw a squirrel hang on for over forty-five rotations before letting go. (The ring on the bottom starts spinning with the weight of anything heavier than a squirrel.) Granted, if flipped him, but a couple more rides like the last one, and that squirrel would have the battery dead and the feeder to call his own. *grins*

Tumors were doused with another chemotheraputic cocktail this morning. Blood draw at 7:15 looked good except for the red cell distribution width being a bit high and the red blood cell count was a tad low. Overall, it indicated that the infusion was a go.

My initial bp, after walking from the parking lot and through the hospital was 123/75. By the time I walked, 75 ft., straight down the hall, my bp had risen to 145/85. ...amazing what our minds can do over our best intentions *sighs*

dd arrived before the infusion began and was most helpful in getting me settled, comfortable, relaxed, and quasi-asleep as the infusion progressed. *healing hugs* Kevin had music and headphone sets for both dd and me to share *grins*

The infusion started late since the clinic was sorely understaffed. Our Suite had four chairs this time; they filled up quickly. I was the newest kid on the block... This was the roughest IV stick that I've had -- uncomfortable but bearable. Also had no blood pressure cup attached...maybe because dd was keeping my bp low???

Otherwise, things went as smoothly as they could.

Kevin caught lunch on his way back to work and I had reheatables available.

Spent some time posting to other blogs, some of which I will probably grab and repost here rather than trying to rewrite.

I spent most of the afternoon quietly enjoying da Woods; what a blessing!

How was your day??


Make nice!!

No Bottle Rockets...

...but a Bottle Tree!

Wishing you the best this 4th of July!!

This is our first; it's a tree that needed to come down as it was too close to da Lane.

We'd seen the comeback of bottle trees a few months ago and decided it was something we might do, not only as yard kitsch, but perhaps as a 'cottage industry.' This bottle tree is permanent...well until the tree falls over...and seemed a natural place to start. We're working on portable options, as well.

No Eldercare today, so Kevin and I took care of Mom this morning and afternoon. C and D came over, had lunch, and helped entertain Mom, and us, as well. We walked da Lane watched birds for a while and had a leisurely lunch.

How was your day??

Happy July!

Cool Flashes: our wishes for the hot daze of summer!!

It's actually a fan that Kevin found; I've gone through a couple hand fans in the past five years, but none had the ability to program messages into the fan blades. Just another of the many bennies of living with a techxpert. *grins bigly* And, yes, we've already discussed the dangers of using it on the road...we should be seeing them in passing vehicles soon. *shudders*




We spent the weekend catching up on chores that we've been letting slide for a couple months now, both inside and out. There appear to be leaks in both of our ponds, so we'll begin leak-seeking activities this week. Also did some tree-felling along the entry lane to uncover some newer plantings that had become overgrown. Did some mowing and continue to plan plantings to replace the grass...




The fish appreciated Kevin's labors in the above photo; five came out to play.
Can you find all five?


Overall, we're doing well and hope to hear that you are, too.




The Bugaboo