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Note: Current entries can be found here: A Life on the Konza Prairie |
Note, I am trying some new image hosting in order to keep from buying more space. If you experience difficulty viewing any of the pictures in the newer entries, please email me so that I know what I am trying is not working.
May 16, 2004For the most part, the past two weeks have been very nice. My mom came to visit from California. It's her first visit to our new home so it was a pleasure to take her around and see things through the eyes of a newcomer again. On the way home from the airport, we stopped at Cabela's so she could see just how seriously people take their outdoor activities here. It was quite an experience. Here she is at the polar bear display. If you've never been to Cabela's I'll warn you. They have more dead, stuffed animals than I have ever seen in my entire life. It is not a PETA friendly place...We also stopped at the Waffle House, the place that put the grease in greasy spoon. We had cheesy eggs and bacon and toast.
We did the grand tour of downtown Wamego, dining at the
Friendly Cooker and going in all the little shops. We have a new one, The Flying
Monkey. It's a home decoration shop where you can find all sorts of cool things
to decorate your space with. They have many monkey items as their flying monkey
theme ties in with the recently opened Oz Museum. They had some really cool
racks to display decorator plates on and I have been looking for such since I
gave myself the cat-drawing salad plates as a Christmas gift this past holiday.
The racks looked a little on the large side so I decided to come back with the
plates to see if they would be overwhelmed by the rack. In the meantime, I found
the perfect rack at Duckwall's, of all places! So I finally get to display the
plates I've wanted for over two years and broke down and bought six months ago.
On Mother's Day, we did the tour of Manhattan and happened by K-State Gardens as they were having voting for the best Iris blooms. So mom & I stopped and wandered the flowers and I just might have to go back at the end of July when they sell all the Iris plants. Speaking of which, I discovered that one of my Iris patches is a grape soda. Mom was saying that she liked Iris' but never bothered to grow them because they have no scent. I countered that some varieties do indeed have scent, in fact I had a grape soda in CA that was the bomb. Now this is my third spring here and this is the first time I've bothered to sniff the Iris' in my yard so the discovery that one of the purple varieties had grape soda scent was a thrill. Below are pictures of the K-State flowers.
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We did a circuit of Manhattan. I showed her the parks and the college and the major shopping spots. I took her to some of the houses that had interesting gardens that my friend Bonnie and I toured on last year's Master Gardener Tour. At one house the guy was working in the yard and he graciously invited us in for our own private tour. God I love living in a small town! On our circle of town I happened into a cemetery I've never gone into before. It has the mausoleum for the Wareham family, of local hotel and opera house fame. I had to look inside and found the most beautiful stained glass window. Fortunately the sun was shining in the right direction and I got a pretty good capture of it.
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We also did the old main street section in Manhattan and took a close up look at the Riley County Courthouse. I had taken a picture of the courthouse last month and upon viewing them on the computer, I discovered details in the stonework that I had missed when I was there in person. The large faces are at the base of the two columns that flank the entry of the building and the smaller faces are carved at eye level in the entryway.
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Mom looked and acted great so she is well on the way to a full recovery. It was a nice visit and I'm really glad she came. Dad has sold his house in Bakersfield and is moving to Oregon. He's bought a little place south of Bend that he likes and I am looking forward to going out to see it as soon as I can. DJ, his friend Marshall and I went to a renaissance festival today that was put on by the drama department of Manhattan High School. We had a blast and I have some wonderful pictures of the SPAM troupe performing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged; but those will have to wait for another day. It's late and I want to rest as I must go out early tomorrow and collect my winnings. Oh, did I forget to mention that I won $2,500.00 this weekend having purchased the winning golf ball in the St George Elementary School Golf Ball Drop fundraiser? Yes, first prize. Whoo hoo.
The whore house mirrors are gone!!! Now, I'm sure the mirrors didn't really come from a whore house because they were in the dining room, not the bedroom. However, they were very 1970's so not exactly matching any of our furnishings. They were sort of a minaret/Taj Mahal type thing that occupied one wall. I am sure the intent was to reflect light into a room that lacks windows and proper electric lighting and I am certain it went marvelously with the previous owners possessions. When we decided to paint, paint and more paint, I got the brilliant idea that we should take the mirrors down so that wall could be painted also. So now the dining room is painted a color called Pearl Drops. It is very close to white with a pearly cast to it. The kitchen is painted Pecan Sandie, a mocha like color which goes well the cabinets and the wood floors. Very warm and inviting. Below are pictures. 8 pictures below, click the image to enlarge.
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We now have a new lateral field. The old system has been failing and it doesn't help that we are water wasteful in this household. We had a silent leak in the upstairs toilet that went on for who knows how long. I was used to doing all the laundry in one day (city laundry) which is a septic no-no. You should only do two loads a day, one early, one late to prevent flooding your field. Long, hot showers times three daily; letting water run in the sink longer than necessary; all these things added up to the death of the old lateral field. So along comes Rick Leonard's Backhoe service and out with the old, in with the new. 10 pictures below, click the image to enlarge.
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We are also in the process of staining and sealing the cedar siding, but I don't have enough before and after pictures to bore you with yet so I will save that for another entry.
Mom is doing well. So well in fact that she is coming to visit. When she heard about all our painting and sewage repairs, she told me that when I spring clean, I really spring clean. I of course tried to play the guilt card and said, well you know, my mother is coming to visit. She didn't buy that at all... I am looking forward to her finally getting to see our wonderful home and nifty little town. We've managed to score a bonus by arranging her trip so that she will be here for Mother's Day. There's lots of actual cleaning I need to do before she comes. If I pace myself, I should be ready by July or August.... Of course I'm nervous about her visit, but hopefully we will all survive it just fine. Maybe if I take some Prozac...
Note that I have added something called Notify List in the left column. If you enter your email address there, you can get emails from me telling you when I have added something to this journal. It's not required. You are always welcome to stop in as frequently or infrequently as you might choose, but if you are just dying to know when I've added something, this is the best way to find out. I won't flood you with email. I update anywhere from one to three times a month, but lately mostly on a monthly basis.
Busy, busy, busy. Busy as bees. And now that Spring is here, the bees will be buzzing about the garden. The crocus came and went in the blink of an eye. I only got a couple of pictures of them because they are right where the dogs travel back and forth through the planter so even if they weren't so short-lived, they'd be trampled in no time. The daffodils popped up this week making a cheery ring around the back yard and the curve of the driveway. They come and go so quickly that I forget they are there so every year they are a surprise to me. You can see early pictures of the 'springing of Kansas' here.
Mom and I keep in touch via phone and email. Things are going well although her recovery is slower than she expected. She is not pleased with this development, but there isn't a damn thing she can do about it so she might as well get over it---yes, I know she reads this. As you can see from my header I am at plus seven weeks for no cigs and I can tell you it sucks. I miss it very much. I think the difference is that the last time I quit I wanted to quit, this time I am doing it for everyone but myself. I think that is what makes this time harder. I go out with the intention of bumming a smoke off the first person I walk past that is smoking but I've yet to cross the path of a smoker---is there a conspiracy afoot to keep me smoke free? I just try to keep busy and use my nicotine patches. It's hard to work in the yard because I associate being outside with being able to smoke, but with spring here I have to get out and work the yard or it will become unmanageable very quickly. I chew gum, I chew mints and I eat all the friggin' time. I will gain weight uncontrollably unless I get out and work in the yard to counter-act my constant munching. This is worse that quitting alcohol. But enough about that.
Maverick is back up to speed. She caught another tree rat---ah, squirrel---last week and I was so proud of her. Of course she was mighty proud of herself. You can catch pictures of the kill here. She just pranced around the yard with her trophy for the longest time. I can hear the frogs croaking at night down by the stream. It won't be long before the fireflies come a-calling. Tomorrow I need to get out and plant some more bulbs. The new 'mecca' opened in Manhattan this past week, the WalMart Super Center. Oh...My...Higher-power! Positively orgasmic. Even Judi had to agree that it is the ultimate shopping experience---especially after she saw the bottom line on the grocery bill. I hope it's not just teaser-grand-opening prices. Anyway, my friend Bonnie and I went there last Sunday to scope it out and they have the most wonderful garden section---like I don't have enough to keep up with already!!!! Well, I had to get some star gazer lilies and some calla lilies so now I have to get my butt out in the yard AGAIN to plant bulbs.
The guys from Brinker Tree service came out and cut down the birch tree. It's taken a couple of weeks, but all the debris is finally cleaned up. We have a good start on next years wood pile with all the wood from the birch and there are a few dead oaks here and there on the property that I can cut at my leisure as the season progresses. I wish I felt comfortable enough with fire to burn between the house and the road. The leaves are impossibly deep and there's really no hope of bagging them all. I have to content myself with burning small piles of brush that couldn't possibly get out of control. The people across the road had a farmer and his crew out last year to burn off the undergrowth on their property. I wish we could get them to do the same here, but you-know-who is terrified of flames and would never go for it. I wish she'd realize that it becomes a worse fire hazard every year we let it build up...
The water level in the pond yo-yo's with the weather. The ice and snow storms of last month brought the level up about a foot and a half, but the earth is so parched from drought that it's just sucking it back into the ground as fast as it can. Hopefully we will have a normal rainy season and the land and lakes can get back in balance.
We are in the midst of a building boom in Windmill Run. A guy from Clay Center, KS is building a monster sized house about half way between Duane's house and ours. Duane's son Mark has started building a house across the pond from us to the west. They are clearing space for a pad on the lot on the cul-de-sac below Duane's, and a sold sign has appeared on the lot where the barns sit. We saw a couple with children walking the lot a few weeks ago so perhaps they are our new neighbors.
Cancer Update...It's all good.
Mom had surgery on Monday, February 9th. There was a slight delay in the surgery due to several traumas pushing her surgery time back, but eventually she was in the OR. First they did a biopsy of the mediastinal nodes. This was to determine that the cancer had not spread to these nodes. If it had spread to these nodes, surgical removal of the primary tumor and involved lymph nodes would not prevent further spread of the cancer and the surgery would have been terminated at this point in order to discuss different options for the patient's treatment. HOWEVER, these nodes came back cancer-free. Surgery continued on the lung to remove the primary tumor and to remove additional lymph nodes to be sent out for further testing. She was then transferred to the ICU and within 24 hours was breathing without a respirator and the catheter was removed to make her ambulatory. She is on frequent doses of morphine for pain and as of today will probably remain in the hospital for a few more days until the pain lessens enough to be manageable at home. I spoke with her and she sounded very good, just tired. She also had just had a visit from the Doctor to inform her of the results on the additional nodes and the tumor they had sent for testing. In addition to the nodes coming back cancer-free, it was also determined that the tumor they removed from her had clearly defined edges and they say they have gotten everything, there is no cancer left in her body. Amen.
Mom's surgery is scheduled for Feb. 9th. It's a good thing I'm not going because I can't get there from here. See, we have eight to ten inches of snow on the ground and this California girl has no snow driving skills. Never thought I'd need them and god knows I've never lived anywhere I'd get the experience! For cryin' out loud, Victorville was paralyzed when it got an inch of snow. We didn't drive in the snow, we drove TO the snow. It was nicely segregated to the mountains so we didn't have to deal with all this salt-the-bridges, plow-the-roads stuff. Fer sure! And by sundown tomorrow, we have another storm going to dump four to seven inches MORE ! I'm not the drive the 4-wheel drive, bring home the bacon girl, I'm the keep the stove lit, scrub the floor girl. Yeah, I can hear you all saying, "Get with it girl, you're in Kansas now!" I got cross country skis for Christmas last year, maybe I can ski to the airport...Anyway, pictures of the ungodly amount of snow can be found here:
It really is beautiful to see, but I have to admit, my body is aching today from shoveling snow. The birds still come to all the feeders, in fact the bird activity is higher since most of their natural food is covered in white stuff. The squirrels just seem to stay up in their nests for the first day or two, but the dogs have been able to entertain themselves chasing field mice. It really is comical to see. For one thing they are running around in snow up to their bellies and then they stick their heads all the way down in the snow trying to catch up with the mice they hear running around through the grass under all that snow. I will try to see if I can get some video of that posted. Don't know how they feel about going to the 'bathroom' in snow that high, but they don't have a lot of choice---although I think I saw Dallas eyeing the kitty litter box this morning. Elmo is a riot. He puts his pawn down in the snow and then lifts it back up, shaking it and looking at me as if to say, "Why did you put all this stuff here? It's wet!"
Many thanks to Bob Hetrick, the guy who built the fantastic home we live in. He stopped by the journal and left me a note telling me the species of birch tree that we are losing to the ice and the snow this year. I have it tucked away safe for a trip to the nursery this spring so I can plant some more of this lovely tree out in our little corner of Kansas. He always takes the time to answer any questions about the house that I send his way and for that I am truly grateful. I know he's having a good time in Iowa because I check in with his website. The second pond looks great, Bob! If our natural pond dries up anymore, I'll be writing you for tips and tricks you learned when you built yours!
Ok, here's the update on mom. The diagnosis is Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. It is an aggressive cancer, yet one that responds well to surgery alone when caught in it's early stages. We are hoping that final staging will put us somewhere between stage IA and stage IIB. Beyond IIB surgery alone does not improve the outcome, you need to add in radiation and chemo. I went to California to visit mom since her trip to Kansas got scotched. While I was there she had a PET Scan. We were all under the impression that this would be THE test that would tell us if there is any spread to the cancer and what her staging is. Based on the PET results, her primary physician felt there would be further testing done. Based on the PET results her oncologist said, do not pass go, do not collect $200 go straight to surgery.
This is my understanding of what's happened so far and what's ahead: We go to the surgeon for a consult and it turns out BOTH doctors were correct. The surgeon said that based on the PET results, he will prep her as if they are going to complete the surgery. First stop is the two areas that indicated activity on the PET Scan to decide if the cancer has spread to the lymphatic system or something else is there that is of no concern on the cancer front. They will biopsy the lymph nodes and wait for the almost immediate pathology results. If the nodes are clear or minimally involved (stage IIB or less), they will proceed with the surgery immediately. If pathology indicates a staging of III or above, surgery will be cancelled so that we can further consult with the oncologist and surgeon as to what the best treatment options are. The consult with the surgeon took place this past Tuesday (1/27) and he was under the impression that surgery would be scheduled to take place by Friday, February 6th. So that is where we are now, waiting for mom's medical group to tell her what her surgery date is. I am not planning on going to California for the surgery. It's not that mom doesn't want me there, but that my being there would cause more stress than comfort, yadda-yadda, blah-blah-blah. I understand this and I'm okay with this.
Onto happenings on the home front. We've had an ice storm, mild the locals call it, that has done a fair bit of damage to the woods. The power flickered quite a few times, but never actually went out. Hardest hit was our gorgeous birch tree off the dining room deck. It's lost two huge branches and the uppermost trunk is weighted down and scraping on the roof above the guest room. There is no way to save it, it will have to come down. I am sorry to see it go as it is a beautiful tree with the most unusual bark. I will have to find out exactly what species it is so I can plant another one or two perhaps, although well away from the house so we don't end up with the same problem 20 years down the road. Click the link below to see pictures of:
Well Judi is off to Las Vegas without me so that I can go see Mom when Judi returns on Wednesday. Not that I don't want to see my Mom, but I would rather be going to Vegas for some carefree R & R than going to visit my mother because she has cancer. The tests I mentioned in the last entry, the ones that prevented her from coming here to visit, have returned a diagnosis of lung cancer. We don't know to what extent the disease has progressed, but I have changed my ticket to visit her once Judi returns from Vegas. Further tests will tell us whether this is going to be a hard fight, or an even harder fight. Mom is optimistic and upbeat and we are just going to take this one day at a time. I will still get to see my dad. He was going to meet up with us in Vegas, but he was able to get his train tickets refunded and mom & I will drive up to Bakersfield one day to see him.
Let's get the rest of the downer news out of the way too...My friend Bonnie, the one I cat-sit for when she travels? Well, her old guy, Socks, just couldn't keep going anymore and she had to have him euthanized shortly after New Years day. Then her brother Toby and his wife Leah called. They were at their cabin in Wisconsin for the holiday and while they were asleep, the cabin burned down. When the dogs woke them up, they had only seconds to break a window and escape the flames. Unfortunately the structure was so engulfed in flames that they were unable to rescue the dogs so their two loyal, faithful companions perished in the fire. Both Toby and Leah suffered serious burns but are expected to recover completely from a physical standpoint but I think we all know how they feel emotionally and I share their heartbreak.
So I am kind of down in the dumps. I have to make a concerted effort not to rail against God and ask what other shit he can possibly throw my way---I certainly don't want to tempt fate. I think it's a shitty way to start the year and I must comfort myself by saying it can only go up from here. Oh, and if you don't think the pressure for ME to quit smoking hasn't escalated on the home front, you are living in La La Land...
God grant me...
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Addendum: In the interest of this not being such a total f-ing downer of a journal entry, I must note that the snowstorm of the past 24 hours has sent me two types of snow I had never seen before. We started out with something called Graupel which is snowflakes that run through fine, misty moisture and when they reach the ground they look like little balls of hail, but they are light like styrofoam and blow around in the wind just like styrofoam would. It was really rather comical to see. Then this morning the snow was teeny, tiny crystals that looked like baby powder was being sprinkled from above...
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