Beginnings

I feel like I've been given a new one...a new beginning.
We meet with my doctor on Wednesday to go over the final pathology results in more detail, and discuss any further care, but we were given the results over the phone and it sounds like good news. It was in fact ovarian cancer, but it was limited to the right ovary. Twenty-one lymph node biopsies have come back negative, as did biopsies on everything else they removed...which was pretty much everything else.

Looking forward to moving ahead again. There is still so much I want to do!

The little mantid is from my garden today -perched on my fingernail.

Comfortable Companionship

This is the couch where I am spending most of my day -recuperating, reading, napping, posting, and thinking. I lean against the pillow at the end. I am kept company by Kanye, who spends most of the day in this position. I love to reach up and pet him. He lets me rub his belly and doesn't even open an eye.

Taking it Slowly

Lychnis flos-cuculi -Ragged robin, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

I'm in recovery and am having a really hard time taking it slowly. I'm not supposed to lift anything over 10 pounds, .45 kilos, for 6-8 weeks. It is hard to bend and my back is trying to compensate for the stomach muscles that I can't use, so it's starting to ache. I can accept help with the laundry, cooking, and dishes...;^). The garden is a bigger task and makes me a little sad. Bindweed is taking over my perennial bed, thistle and silver maples are sprouting up. I have to keep reminding myself -there's next year!

I really miss Etsy and will probably open shop again soon. I've been brainstorming some new pieces, ones that don't require as much tedious physical work. Maybe tomorrow I'll start playing with my ideas.

About all I can do right now is read. I did manage to get into the garden to shoot a few photos, but even that is tiring. It's hard to bend down to get the close shots I like.

Guess this is just going to be a venting post... I'm allowed to have some of those right?

Flickr Favorites -Charm and Attitude

1. A Heart to "forget me not", 2. pygmy marmoset, 3. algae play small, 4. L'envie, l'envol..., 5. buttercups, 6. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Life is What Happens....

Primula veris, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

...while you're making plans. Right? Isn't that how the quote goes?

Well, we had a lot of plans for this year, this summer.

A family vacation to D.C., Maryland, and Baltimore.

A huge vegetable garden, especially for my son who missed out on Mom gardening because of all the upheaval in our lives the last two years. I want my kids to remember me as a gardener, so they might get bit by the gardening bug one day. :^)

Fixing up the house.

Doing fun day trips together as a family.

Rejuvenating the neglected and overgrown perennial beds......

.....Then I woke up with a pain in my side. An ultrasound showed a large cyst. Follow-up tests suggest possible ovarian cancer, but I'm feeling unexpectedly upbeat right now, and the doctors are cautiously optimistic. When it comes out and they give me a definitive outcome, then I'll be upset if I have to be. My husband on the other hand is overloaded and worried...but he is being so strong!

Surgery is scheduled for sometime on Thursday, May 7th. I may be out of touch and commission for some time...or I may be bed-bound with just a laptop to keep me occupied and I'll post like a maniac. :^)

Either way...if you read this, please keep me in your thoughts on Thursday.

'Hillbilly' in a Recycled Newspaper Pot

'Hillbilly' in a Recycled Newspaper Pot, originally uploaded by Lynn_EL/UnaOdd.

So far the recycled newspaper pots are holding up really well. This seedling is the same one shown in my initial post detailing my experiment, and is an heirloom variety known as 'Hillbilly'. Growth is equal to the plastic pot seedlings, the only difference being the necessity to water a little more often -the newspaper wicks water from the soil. Oh, and cute whiskery little roots are starting to work their way through the paper.

One point of potential concern, the pots become a little moldy which may be an issue for someone with allergies to mold.