Monday, May 17, 2021

Sister Tackling Cancer - Starting Spring Gardening

Today, my wonderful sister, Linda, started the radiation treatments for breast cancer. She will be receiving localized radiation treatments twice a day for 5 days in a row. Prayers or kind thoughts or loving feelings towards a healthy outcome and positive healing are appreciated.

With everything else going on in our family, this is the last thing she needs to be facing at this time!



She sent this message after her 2nd treatment was completed today to everyone on Facebook. Letting everybody know that she has her "Schmootie Attitude" in high gear and is meeting this head on.



The prognosis is good for a clear outcome as well as she has something very, very special to look forward to... 

A NEW-TO-THEM CAMPER!!!



Steve helped them locate a wonderful newer camper to replace their aging one.  It's in like-new condition,  it even has that "new camper smell".  The sellers think they maybe only slept in it 3 times while they owned it. It was stored indoors and kept in pristine condition. 

Before leaving town for her radiation treatments, she was able to start loading it up with their gear.  Just look at that happy girl! 

 

She had so much fun finding new places for everything and storing it all away. It is something very positive for her to look forward to during this radiation process.

She just can't wait to get it out to the lake, set it up, start a campfire, and sit down in her woven lawn chair next to her husband. She never asks for much in life, just this. She loves camping and campfires and cooking outdoors and fishing and hunting.  This is her life. She is a true Yooper Woman.  All she wants is to get through this and go camping.  Let's all pray that she is granted her wish.


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Last night we had a crazy biker gang pull up an invade our yard. My goodness, such a radical biker bunch. Please notice the little pink helmet peeking around the corner from behind her daddy's butt.



They hung out on the front porch for while, and we had a nice visit. I brought out a big bowl of freshly cut up watermelon as a treat. The weather here has turned warm and sunny. It felt like summertime!  

They only live a mile away, so they made it back before dark. Just in time to wash up and get them off to bed for school the next morning. 

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Speaking of morning, this morning I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful golden sunlight streaming in our new windows!



We still need to complete the inside wooden trim around the windows and hang the Heritage lace curtain valances again. Then I can also put all of my colorful little blown glass paperweights along the window sills. 

Little Claire, 4 years old, was quite upset last night to see that all of grandma's paperweights are off the sills and stored away in boxes. That just didn't settle right with her. It's her job to wipe them down and dust them for me when she comes over.  When we are done, I think I will have her over to help put them back in place again. 

Today, Steve made himself busy working on the soffit and facia of this little overhang on the kitchen nook.  It had never been covered up before, and was a perfect spot for wasp nests and spider webs and bugs!  ewwwwww



It was kind of a One Man Job, not much for me to help him with. So I made myself busy with potting my precious tomato plants temporarily into individual flower parts. Actually, I had to put 2 plants per pot.  They will reside here for a week or two.  I can bring them in at night, and bring out in the morning to get fresh air and sunshine.  They need to harden off and acclimate to the new weather.



My garden plot for my tomatoes happens to be located right where Steve is working. The space is invaded right now with ladders and tools and pieces of siding and soffit and facia and rain gutter. There's really no room to put any tomatoes in the plot right now. This is the best spot in our yard for growing tomatoes, plus it's within a fenced area to keep the sassy deer out.



The weather crept up into the high seventies and it was very nice working on the shady side of the house in the afternoon. I think my misplaced rain barrel just happened to become a work table?


Once the soffit and facia are done, and getting the rain gutter hung back up, the downspout will start filling my rain barrel. I like using fresh rainwater on my plants as opposed to city water.

I had rooted and grown some ivy indoors over the winter, saved from the last few summers.  I put some of it in the silly hanging baskets on the pergola. Little Claire calls them "birdnest" planters. Lol.     



They came with the pergola when we bought it last spring from facebook marketplace.  The sellers threw them in for free.  I don't think the husband liked them at all.  hahaha



Last summer, I let the ivy grow down and weave itself among the lattice work of the pergola.  So this year I gave it a little head start and helped guide it through some of the lattice already. 



Last year, I had also planted some ivy down at the base of the pergola on each side.  I figured it would die off over the winter, and I could plant some new stuff this spring.  But to my surprise, the ivy that was planted in the ground wintered over in the sub zero temps of Wisconsin!  It is growing and sprouting new shoots and greening up!!!  So this will weave upwards in the pergola trellis and meet up wit the ivy growing from above.  It made a nice covered secret entrance to either side, into the She Shed or into the garage. 
 



This is the backside of the pergola, and looking through it is forward into the front yard and the street. On the front portions of the pergola I have red and white Clematis vines that are just starting to grow. Soon there will be blooms, as I see a lot of buds. 



Steve finished up the soffit and facia right before dinner this evening. What a nice neat job he is doing.  Next up is the window trim and siding.  


The weather man is predicting some rain tomorrow. We are going to take a break from all these siding and window projects. We are going to go up in see Steve's dad, Pops Pfundtner, to spend some time with him in the morning and do a few projects for him around the yard. Also we are working in a visit with my sister on the way back through Green Bay where she is staying at a hotel nearby the hospital.  

I think she needs a hug. 
I think we all do.


3 comments:

  1. Please, pass along some hugs from me to Pops and Linda. And keep some for yourself as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Best wishes to your sister as she travels this path. Enjoy your visit and your hugs too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Prayers for your sister as she travels this cancer journey. Prayers for your entire family.

    ReplyDelete

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