Odd Day

For quite a bit of the day, I felt really tired, and every time I tried to get up and walk around my house, I got dizzy.  I think it's because I have some sinus issues and I might have screwed up my inner ear.  The tired is more than likely because I didn't sleep well last night; waking every hour or so.


Once I had some dinner, I felt quite a bit better.  We just made Mufulettas, although I couldn't have any fresh veggies on mine due to the risk of bacteria.  OH the things you learn when you have cancer and are doing chemo.  And instead of the tapenade, we used the Mexican Pesto I had made earlier in the week.  We froze what we didn't use in those Chicken Packets. :)  Of course, the bread was whole, multi-grain and very delicious.


Funny, I've been to New Orleans twice, and never had a Mufuletta there.  Got sick from the high humidity and its effect on my lungs, though, and ended up coming back to Arizona and going to the ER both times.  But, I ADORE New Orleans, and if you EVER get the opportunity to visit, please do; you won't regret it.  Ignore those folks from "Top Gear." :D


I need to buy stock in the Kleenex company; I'm running through tissues like crazy.  Drat that fire, and for everyone affected, I keep you in my prayers.  It's so sad to see so much beauty burning away via an act of human destruction.  One can become so distressed at the capacity of humans to be evil, but we can't let ourselves only see that evil, despite how we're constantly inundated with the media's evidence of it.


I think I'll head to bed early... like right now. :D


Be well, be safe and appreciate the amazing world around you and the wonderful people who grace your lives.

Squash Pictures

Well, I got home to an enormous amount of work completed on the 'farmland.'  Now we have tomatoes, onions, artichokes, brussels sprouts, collard greens and spinach.  A couple more chili plants have been added, and a beautiful black opal basil.  Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks. :)

Here is one row of the squash.  Looks pretty sandy and dry, I know, but it was 89 degrees when I got home.  We don't water until the sun is heading down, otherwise half of it would evaporate before it did its job.


This is the black opal basil, below.  He just got planted today.

Here is a further out shot of the entire 'farmland.'  Don't worry, it'll get a good watering soon.  The wind is blowing like crazy out there right now!

And here is a picture of another part of the back garden.  My mom's sundial is there, surrounded by petunias.  That's where I will be too, someday... but not anytime soon!

Finally, here is a photo of my sweet baby dwarf lemon, Fred.  Yes, I name my trees.  

If all this grows, we're going to eat like kings.. or rabbits, says Jane. :)


Peace to all!

Spring; it's a Killer

With our pollen counts sky-high, and the winds blowing like crazy, it's not surprising that my asthma is being very problematic.  And for some reason, I've been dizzy and a bit nauseated, almost as if I've got vertigo, or something of that ilk.  But, yes, I did just have my Herceptin infusion on Thursday, so it's probably just an off-shoot of that.


The chilies are planted, and the last of the squash, which was butternut, I think.  We still have the spinach and the herbs to go.  I think we'll put the spinach in its own bed.  As for the Dahlias, we have to prepare the old veggie beds.  For instance, I still have mint growing there, and I want to keep that.  Hope the Dahlias like the company. ;)


I just finished watching the first episode of "Game of Thrones" on HBO.  I adore Sean Bean, but I don't think I can watch any more of this.  And I won't say why, in case any of you want to watch, but haven't yet.  Suffice to say, I was perturbed quite a bit by the last five minutes.  That's not to say I wasn't glued to my TV for the whole thing.  It was good, if a bit crude at times.  Perhaps I'll try one more episode and see how it goes.  

This is the lovely hunter, Basmati, flying across Howling Fjord on a flaming harpoon.  Yes, Basmati, and all her pets are named after types of rice:  Arborio the crab, Jasmine the wind serpent, Risotto the Blue and Gold Macaw, and um... Uncle Ben the bear.  :)


Have a safe and happy week, all!

Cultivation Begins

Since we have decided to increase the size of our vegetable garden this year, we have a LOT of soil to prepare.  The two original vegetable patches will, this year, become flower beds.  I adore color in my garden, and that's plenty of room for a plethora of flowers.


I found an electric cultivator at Amazon; Home Depot didn't have any in stock, and I get free shipping from Amazon, so it all evens out.  It's been working like a champ!  We have two sections of the garden ready for planting, but we haven't got the drippers laid out yet.  Sisters have opted to add some moisture control soil to our native soil to help mitigate the loss of said moisture due to our hot desert climate.


I actually did a little of the work; I raked the decomposed granite away from the planting beds.  For about 20 minutes and I was done.  But it felt good to participate  in the readying of our garden.  And it's a glorious day!  There's a nice breeze, puffy little white clouds sailing by, intermittent aircraft heading in to Sky Harbor Airport, birds and butterflies!


Now we have to figure out what kinds of flowers we can actually grow besides Lantana and Verbena, hibiscus and bougainvillea. :)  Maybe we'll take a trip over to Moon Valley Nursery.  They have very high quality plants.  That's where my dwarf lemon tree, Fred, was born.  I had a talk yesterday with Fred.  I told him he'd better get a move on and flower soon.  I'd like to have his lemons before I have to tell him adios. ;)  Since the area where we will plant flowers is relatively shady, we should be able to get something pretty.  I hope. :)


So, I'm very, very excited about what we're planting this year:  

• Basil -- needs watching.. don't let it flower!
• Mexican Grey Squash
• Early White Bush Scallop squash
• Burgess Buttercup squash
• Zucchini!
• Straightneck Early Yellow squash
• Waltham Butternut squash
• Table Queen Acorn squash
• Poblano peppers
• Anaheim Chili
• California Wonder Bell Peppers
• Jalapenos
• Cubanelles
• Serranos
• Thyme
• Tarragon
• Italian Flat-leaf Parsley
• Brussels Sprouts 
• AND... SPINACH!!!!!

So, you see, we'll be in vegetable heaven!

On the agenda for this week; I had better get that damned PET Scan rescheduled before I see Dr. Fastenberg, or he'll yell at me. :D  Car's getting the lift put on it on Tuesday, Nancy will be 54 that day.... old bat...I'll go into the plant on Wednesday, using the new lift for my scooter, and then this week, it's Herceptin Thursday.  A full week ahead.  :)

Live long and prosper, all!

Spring!

My sisters have headed off to Home Depot to begin our Spring ritual of seed procurement.  We have two 6'x11' planter beds for our vegetable garden.  In the past, we've grown several types of chili peppers, squashes, carrots, radishes and peas.


We have no luck with tomatoes, unfortunately.  I could tell you our Topsy Turvy tomato horror story, but I'll spare you that.  Suffice to say, the human injuries were non-life-threatening.  Sadly, though, all the tomato plants perished.


So, I am excited to find out which seeds will be coming home with my sisters.  It's early enough that the selection should be wide open.  And somehow, it's just more spiritual to consume something you have nurtured from soil you've enriched, and pampered and frankly, loved.  Of course, we use no pesticides.  We like to get lady bugs and let them have a feast.  Then again, I'm happy to share with native bugs, as long as they leave me plenty of veggies in the end.


Last night, we had chicken vegetable soup with Orzo.  We had asparagus, red peppers, spring onions, baby portabellas, and green and yellow squashes and a poblano.  We're so lucky that the variety of available vegetables is just wonderful here in Arizona.


For dinner tonight, we're just going to grill up a steak and have salads.  Obviously, I'm trying hard to keep my nutrition levels up, so that I can be strong enough to weather my treatments and any complications that will arise.


Life is amazing; give someone you love a HUGE hug today.

You can only play so many games of Spider Solitaire...

...before you begin to hate playing cards.  We seem to have MANY new chemo patients today.  And I did not see Dr. Fastenberg today; I suppose last week's consult screwed up our nifty schedule.  But, hey, that saved me 15 dollars and if I don't get paid today, I'll need all the help I can get.  I'd go check my BofA account, but not while I am on Ironwood's hot spot.

I see Amazon  has pulled that "how to be a pedophile" or whatever the name was, book from their store.  I was going to remove the Amazon ads from my blog if they did not.  Not that I expect anyone will ever buy anything by clicking through there, but what the heck, it fills up my side space :D

I'm so excited for next week to come.  My friends, Jon and Michelle are coming in from Chicago for a visit.  I hope it's cold enough for them.  It was definitely cold enough for me this morning! 

Cathy is going to make us Ziti with home made meatballs and a florentine sauce.  I love spinach so much.  Frankly, I love most vegetables, but I do have a few I can live without.  Lima beans, canned peas, .... they will never set foot in my house.

Mom was an iffy cook, as I think I have mentioned.  But every supper consisted of a meat product, a starch and a veggie.  Someone told her that was the way to feed a family.  I would never eat the meat.  Never.  And I always got in trouble.  I remember many a day sitting at the kitchen table with a plate devoid of spinach and rice, but a hunk of nasty WELL DONE meat staring at me.  My father liked his meat well done.  And so when we had steak or any beef product, it was like gnawing on shoe leather. 

They say eating lots of red meat can lead to esophageal cancer.  Um, but most of my life I didn't TOUCH red meat.  They say drinking red wine can help prevent esophageal cancer, and I had red wine with my dinner on most nights.  Who are these THEY people?  I want to punch one.

Today's chemo inmates are a pretty quiet bunch.  There is some sporadic chatting, but it's not the party-like atmosphere of last week. Donna brought me my schedule for next week, and I don't have to be here until 10AM and I will see Dr. F then.  But, if we then start chemo at 10:30ish, I won't finish until just before radiation, so long day, but hopefully, no waiting around.

More later..