Storm's aftermath

 Last night storms raged through Oklahoma and NW Arkansas.  This morning we awoke to assess the damages.  First, the locust we trimmed a couple of weeks ago lost one more limb.

 

We lost one trunk of a redbud with two trunks:

 

But the worst was the large old oak next to our driveway:

The trunk must have been rotted down to the base.  It was lopsided anyway, and the winds last night twisted and snapped what was left.

It fell across the driveway and onto our storm shelter:

The roof will have to be repaired, but the structure survived otherwise.  I no longer have any doubts about it being used as a tornado shelter.

Hubby was barely able to get my car out by driving through the space between the gate and the tree.

The tree service came quickly and got right to work.

We lost numerous small branches on other trees, but the oak was the biggest loss.  It was probably 150 years old or more. We are lucky it didn't come down on one of our vehicles.

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Hubby is doing a little better, getting plenty of rest and personal nursing from Copper. His strength is slowly improving, he is able to eat a little better, and as a result his attitude and outlook have  changed for the better. We have hired a third helper for the summer to keep the mowing done, so he shouldn't have to do much physical work anymore. He has lost 20 pounds, two pants sizes, and most of his hair.

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My sister, niece and I went garage sale-ing this morning, then to an Amish restaurant for lunch (YUM!) and to a frozen chicken outlet in Decatur, AR.  I bought enough chicken to fill half my chest freezer, with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fajita chicken meat, and breaded chicken fritters and tenders. My sister and niece assure me that this chicken is delicious and well worth the money; hubby and I both love chicken, and this will keep us well-fed for a long time.

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Work on the house is still stalled until the weather is drier, although the contractor told me he expects to strip brick off the end of the house this weekend and start the foundation work next week.  I'm not going to hold my breath, though.

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Still waiting

We are still waiting for the weather to quiet before we can start on construction. With any luck we can get the septic work done this next week.  Meanwhile the rain has done a wonderful job of getting things to bloom.

This is my hollyhock "Zebrina Zebra." It is covered with blooms, which are smaller than the average hollyhock bloom, but so pretty.

The old roses are also prolific right now. I have no idea what variety this is.

Clematis lanuginosa "Nellie Moser"

and Clematis jackmanii "Niobe." These are climbing an old clothesline pole to which we attached a wooden trellis. The two types are so intertwined I can't separate them.  Eventually I would like to get more clematis varieties, but I want them to remain separate. I may put some along the chain-link fence.

Hubby brought in this bloom of Allium christophii-- "Star of Persia." A wonder of God's creation, isn't it? We have several alliums blooming right now.

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Hubby has lost quite a bit of weight with the chemo, and most of his hair has fallen out.  He got it cut very short because he was shedding it everywhere. He got dehydrated again and had to have IV fluids. He pretty much stopped eating for a few days--he said everything tasted nasty (although he was more descriptive.)  Finally he decided he had had enough, and has cancelled all further treatments.  All this after just one infusion of the chemo, but he says he would rather die of cancer than let the chemo kill him. He will keep the PICC line in as long as possible to use for fluids or iron, etc. So far his lab work is looking pretty good, considering. He is starting to eat again--cousin Stephenie brought us some barbecue, and he was able to enjoy it a little at a time. (Thanks, Steph!)

His disposition is also improving as he starts to feel a little better. He actually rode the mower for a couple of hours yesterday.

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It has been so wet that I have been unable to do any outside gardening.  I had grown some herbs and sunflowers in the garage to set out, but they have all either withered or grown so scraggly they are useless.  We got over 3" of rain this week.  I am planning to pick up a few vegetable plants at the garden center today to put in the garden, and I may plant some seeds as well.  I am not a gardener--that is hubby's thing.  But I did want to try some salsa vegetables, maybe salad veggies as well; and some small watermelons.  We do have onions and garlic that are about ready to harvest.

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Tree Trimming

This week the tree trimmers came out and topped or removed several problem trees on our property.

We have several locust trees, and this one in particular was causing us some concern--it is very near the house as you can see, and if it fell it would have caused major damage.  Locusts aren't very strong trees, and this one has several holes in the trunk from woodpeckers. Otherwise it is in good health, and in full bloom.  I am sorry that we had to remove about a third of its height, the result is not very attractive now; but next year it will have recovered and will look much better.

 

 Before

 During

After

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The closing on the first duplex was on Wednesday, and we received the check that day.  We signed the contract with the builder on Thursday and gave him the first payment of 20% of the estimated cost.  He assures us he will get the septic work started and the foundation underway ASAP. He's a very nice guy, a grad of John Brown University, and sends out monthly newsletters highlighting the activities of his family and providing tips on living with construction, etc.

The closing on the other duplex hit a small snag in the buyer's financing, but is expected to go through next Friday.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.

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 My peonies are about to open up...

More alliums are blooming (these are shorter.)

The heucheras (Coral Bells) are loving it under the Japanese maple.  Hostas are doing better, too.

The irises are out all over the area.  These are some that were here when we moved in.  We have also planted them in other beds in the yard and they are blooming there as well.

And yes, I know-- we need to weed the flowerbeds.  We've been too busy with other things, but our two hired hands will be put to work in the next couple of weeks taking out the worst of the weeds.

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Hubby has been very sick the past two weeks from the chemo.  Earlier this week he went in to see the oncologist and they gave him IV fluids to correct dehydration, but he was still really miserable with uncontrollable diarrhea and mouth sores. We went in for his regular appointment on Thursday, and he was ready to tell them what they could do with their chemo.  The oncologist listened to his complaints and immediately knew what was wrong.  It seems that 5% of the population lack the enzymes necessary to metabolize 5-FU, and hubby is one of those few.  The 5-FU is a toxin, and in those 5% it builds up until it basically poisons them.  That is what was causing his misery.  He felt like he was dying, and basically he was.  They are giving him an extra week off to rid his system of the toxins, then they will go back to the Oxaliplatin and Leucovorin  plus a much smaller dose of 5-FU, but he will no longer have the pump of 5-FU over the following two days. I am really hoping he can tolerate that regimen much better. Needless to say, he has not felt like doing anything, and was becoming really discouraged, but we will see how it goes from here.

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Please feel free to comment or ask questions.  It lets us know someone is reading this and gives a rat's patootie about it.  Thanks!

Good news!

Two weeks ago I had a mammogram, and today I had a bone density study done.  The doctor will let me know the results when he gets them in a week or so.

Yesterday I had a colonoscopy.  The procedure itself was a breeze--rather fun in fact! The drugs I was given had a slightly hallucinogenic effect on me. It was a nice dreamy experience with no pain or discomfort other than having the IV started. 

The bowel prep was another story. Two liters of the nastiest tasting stuff I have ever had to drink--I must confess I only got about 60% of it down before I became so nauseated I had to stop. I told the doctor how bad it was. His response--"We could have given you a pill to take instead, but you would have had to drink a large amount of water."  REALLY? !  Next time I'll know.

At any rate, other than "moderately severe diverticulitis" my report was excellent--no polyps or growths seen, no abnormalities.  A high-fiber diet was prescribed for the diverticulitis.  That's it.

Having watched my husband battling his colon cancers, I really felt it imperative that I have myself checked.  Now I can relax and concentrate on him.

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He is finding chemo to be a miserable experience.  He is battling horrible bouts of diarrhea and mouth sores, as well as severe fatigue that has him resting 90% of the time.  It makes it very hard for him to do the things he would like to be doing. He goes in once a week for the dressing changes to his PICC line. Every other Monday he sits for a few hours while the 5FU goes in, leaves with a pump in a fanny pack attached to the PICC line with Oxaliplatin running, then goes back on Wednesday to have the infusion discontinued.  This will get old quick, I suspect.

I just got a phone call from him--he had gone to the oncology center to tell them about the problems, and they said he is dehydrated and are giving him fluids this afternoon.  I hope it helps him feel better.  They need to do something to get the symptoms under control.

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My oldest son sent me a package for Mother's Day:

A beautiful art piece made by my grandchildren!  I love it!  I have it hanging on the wall by my computer so I can see it every day.

My youngest son sent me this:

 

He knows how much I love puzzles, and this one is just the right combination of size and complexity. Plus, I love ribbon candy!  I will probably be craving some the whole time I am working the puzzle.

They both obviously know of my love for bright colors.   My thanks to both of them, and to my lovely DILs and my grandkids!

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Hubby and I recently made the short trip to Little Rock to attend his grandson's high school graduation. He was home-schooled, and is extremely smart.  He was offered a scholarship to Harding University, but turned it down; instead accepting a full-ride four year scholarship to University of Central Arkansas in Conway.  He will be studying Engineering, I understand--at least that is his plan for now.  We are extremely proud of him.

 

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No further news on the house addition.  We have had so much rain that the septic work has not been done yet.  However the good news is that the sale of our first duplex closes tomorrow, so the financing will then be in place.  We will not need to have a mortgage. I am getting tired of all the waiting, so I hope things can get moving soon.

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My alliums are blooming, and are quite striking.  Many of the iris are blooming, too.  I will try to have more pictures to show next time. We should have some peonies in a week or so--they are only one year old and only have one or two buds on each plant, but it's a start!

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Weather changes

This is what I saw from my office window this morning.  Yep, it's May 3.

 

This variable weather has played havoc with the work on the septic system.  I'm hoping that by the 15th, when we close on the sale of the first of our duplexes, that the weather will be more stable so we can go full-speed ahead on the work.

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Meanwhile, Hubby has his PICC line in, and is coping well with it.  Showering is an adventure involving plastic wrap and lots of tape. Next week the actual chemo starts.

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