Halloween Already!

Yes, it's me at long last..........here for a brief post after far too long. 

Bob is post surgery and now receiving chemotherapy, two weeks on one week off, through early next year. Living without a kidney, going back into the hospital yet again - following the surgery hospitalization - due to an infection, and then so many doctor and hospital visits have definitely taken a toll on us.........but we are managing and doing quite well at present.

It's Autumn and we're almost into November. Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend, the clocks go back and the dark evenings arrive earlier.  Another year is quickly coming to an end. Where did it go? How could it pass so quickly? How come I haven't been anywhere new and exciting? Our lives, this year, have revolved around all those health and medical issues. We haven't traveled anywhere!

Today is Halloween. It's almost hot here - 79F will be the high in another hour. We've had no rain for so long that our lawn areas, back and front, are more like scenes from the days of the 'dust bowl' years on the Great Plains in the 1930's. When rain does come we pray it won't be like the storms of Hurricane Helene and Milton when we were almost washed away.

Today our lawn service is reseeding - hopefully we'll see green again come next Spring. Our tree removal people have done a great job this past week pruning, taking down one small tree, and then removing a gigantic 125 foot tall, 200 year old oak threatening to fall on the house due to a rotting base! Sad to see it go but necesssary..........our next door neighbors are happy too.

The kiddies won't require bundling up this evening as they go trick or treating. Hoping they all have fun and stay safe. My decorating for the season has been minimal this time around. Here you get the idea, my plans were bigger, the end result lesser, but I think OK.

In between all the upheaval I recently had a birthday. I really try to stay young in thought and action but have to admit I've struggled somewhat recently. My favorite times have been small, quiet moments where I managed to sit alone away from noise and commotion. These come to mind. . . . . . . . the koi pond in the peaceful hospital garden; knitting in waiting rooms - especially the ones in the Cancer Center that have no television sets; the front porch late afternoon with a cup of tea or a glass of rosé; the gazebo in the back garden, writing little thank you notes to all the dear people who have sent Bob cards and get well greetings, and me gorgeous birthday cards.

Enjoy your Autumn days. Stay well and be happy. 

Too hot to bake.....and more about Bob!

I have mixed feelings about coming here so infrequently.  Guilt?  Definitely!

I'm having feelings that blogging is just too much like hard work compared to Instagram. Speed and ease of posting a photo or photos, typing just about anywhere when you have a phone and a few spare minutes. One and done kind of communication. My IG account is Private so I don't have to deal with strangers and the unknown. That said, I feel sad not spending more time here on the blog but, in all honesty, I just haven't had that time this first half of the year for many, and varied, reasons.

Just as the late Queen Elizabeth stated in 1992 regarding her 'annus horribilis' year - I think 2024 is turning out to be mine.

 

Truthfully, it really is too hot to bake this summer. Independence Day holiday in Raleigh brought the highest temperature ever recorded here, 117F. Nobody in their right mind would turn the oven on in that heat. Thankfully there are bakeries - this beautiful loaf was baked at our favorite in downtown, Boulted Bread. Their pastries are also great, the plain croissant being top of my list, one of the best ever. We're now a little cooler and having long awaited rain. I am back baking and roasting, and we are enjoying frequent al fresco dining in the screened gazebo most evenings.

A couple of posts back in May I shared Bob's emergency hospitalization. During that upsetting time, following so many tests and scans, two tumors were visible on an MRI. Going forward with a visit to a urologist after leaving hospital, an exploratory surgical procedure was ordered and Bob went under general anesthesia in hospital. Sadly the diagnosis is cancer. Last week, while awaiting major surgery, he was given one dose of chemo and has managed well, no pain, no side effects. The blood infection, in case you're wondering, had nothing to do with the cancer, however helped in discovering it in time to prevent spread hopefully!

Bob's surgery will be a robotic-assisted Nephroureterectomy which includes losing a kidney (but thankfully he has a healthy looking one remaining). Other bits will also be taken but hopefully he will not require chemo/radiation afterward if there is no metastases. Fingers are tightly crossed, prayers are being said by family and wonderful friends - many thanks to you all.

I'm sad and sorry that I haven't been able to visit/comment on blogs for far too long. I will return here soon, probably once we get the surgery date. As the cancer is a rare and aggressive type we expect to get the go ahead as soon as he can be worked into the surgeon/hospital schedules. 

Please keep Bob in your thoughts - some of you have met him and know what a great man he is, the rest of you please take my word for it.............he is very special, has beaten cancer before, and is sure he can do it again.

Growing up in Devon -

 

This beautiful scene depicts part of my English childhood. Created in pastels after a visit to my home town, a dear friend now long gone, gave this to me so I would always remember where I came from and what I loved about the countryside where I spent so much time.  The tall oak tree in the center of the fields was one I often climbed in with my best friend. She and I would balance astride a sturdy lower branch, talk about our dreams and the future. These fields were where my mother and I would gather mushrooms early mornings . . . . . . before the dairy cows came out and trampled them. 

Much changed over the years before I decided to come to America. We grew up and my best friend became a hair stylist. I went to college and trained to be a secretary, remember them? We had boyfriends and danced in clubs. My mother worked several jobs and we gave up tramping through the damp fields, preferring to sleep a little later before going to work. My dad worked hard too, and my brother became a great tennis player whilst still in school, trained and played mixed doubles with Sue Barker as his partner - Brits reading this know who she is of course!

Growing up in another country, across a wide expanse of water, means your children and grandchildren may not spend a lot of time in your homeland. We took our children to England several times when they were young. Travel was much easier in so many ways. . . . . .or perhaps it seemed that way because we were younger, healthier, and the world was a much different place! They spent time with their grandparents and other family members. They met my school friends, neighbors and their families. We enjoyed English summer days at the beach, some sandy others pebbly, Devon has a selection of both. Outdoor afternoon tea, watching brilliant colored peacocks strut through the orchard gardens was fun. Viewing wild ponies run across the golden gorse smothered ancient landscape of Dartmoor was exciting to city children. 

One of my own favorite childhood memories is of summer Sunday afternoon picnics on the banks of the River Dart. The surrounding moor was always a special place. . . . . .and the weather was usually pleasant and cool compared to here in the US southeast. Writing this today in much too hot, close to 100 degrees, and in a severe drought, I have a deep yearning to be back home across the pond.

For me, there really is no place like home. Mine is still across the ocean despite having lived here many more years than there.  Off to grab a cold drink and then pull a salad together - too hot to cook, too hot for anything much. Hope your summer days are pleasant.  

Devon thatched cottages in Shiphay village where I grew up.