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.

Time Will Tell --------

If you don't follow me on Instagram, and are wondering where I've been hiding as I've been missing from here, forgive me!

I have several reasons for not writing or sharing photos and life over the past month. One is being totally worn out at the end of the day after of weeks of home projects. How people live in their homes when doing complete restorations is unimaginable to me. Just getting through the days without going insane when all seems to be falling apart around me is taking its toll. Why do I still post on Instagram you may ask. Because it's quick and I can collapse in a chair or my bed and write a few words along with a few photos, usually something snapped that day and from the garden mostly as I haven't gone far lately. Let's be honest, sitting at the computer and composing a neat and tidy, well-written (hopefully) blog post, usually with photos, takes more of an effort and a lot more time. . . . . . . and having strangers working, coming and going, and just being there in your house or garden, disrupts everyday normal living.

That said, when I did get out more recently, the week before this one, it was mostly back and forth to the hospital.  My lovely Bob took a middle of the night ambulance ride when he became very ill. Because of his pain, and a temperature of 105 degrees, the EMS had him down the steps on that gurney in no time and he was gone in the flashing of lights but thankfully no sirens. I won't go into details other than to say a blood infection can be a scary, dangerous thing. . . . . . he had so many tests, scopes, scans and such, and 6 days of IV's and antibiotics. Great care from the doctors, nurses, technicians, and all the workers who help make a hospital run, such as the housekeeping lady from Peru taking care of his linens, to the be-bopping musician with the 'dreads' pushing his bed along the hallways to the MRI's and CT scans etc. So many great people that it's impossible to thank everyone. Our hospital is in the top 20 list of hospitals across the USA. We feel blessed.

Bob is home and still on antibiotics for a few more days. He's feeling better but requires a follow up exploratory procedure very soon. The surgeon was very pleasant when we met this week, explained everything in detail, and said this will all be done ASAP.  In all honesty we are both tired and praying things will go well. So many of you know Bob personally which is why I'm sharing this here. I feel bad that I haven't been leaving comments on your blogs and hope to catch up soon.

Now our new back deck is being built. The guys are two brothers and they are doing perfect work. Reliable, timely, polite, pleasant, and truly interested in pleasing us and doing what we want. . . . . . . . . . .and they call their mom in Honduras every morning!!!  I'll share photos of the deck soon.

The garden has again offered respite lately. I'm behind with a lot of things - such as sewing seeds. This spring seems to be so lush all around when one steps outside. The jasmine vines are massive and perfume the air, especially in the evenings when we've made use of the gazebo prior to the deck work. Pink and purple roses, peonies and clematis are lovely, and now the blue hydrangeas are opening.  But for me it's also the greens, so many shades painted on the shrubs and trees, fresh and clean prior to the oppresive heat and humidity of summer when all will sizzle and call out for water.

A few garden scenes and flowers captured recently - enjoy!

......and a special surprise the day I brought Bob home from the hospital,

Mrs. Cardinal had built a nest in the candolier on the front porch!

This is a first - usually we have finches in the hanging Boston ferns but

they've stayed away this spring.

This weekend I plan to get a ladder and look in the nest - I know she

must have eggs as she stays constantly, only leaving for a minute or

 two when we go out the front door.

Happy weekend. . . . . . a wet one forecast here but I hope to catch

 up with gardening, need to plant seeds and do some serious weeding.

We English grew up gardening in the rain so it will be like the 

good old days!