Wow. I wish I had time to sit here and compose something witty. But I'm outside in the garden sifting the rocks out of the dirt in the raised beds. All day. I'll see you in a week or so with pictures.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
So, I'm Officially NED for One Year!
Hi all,
I just want to share my good news. Long story short (to update any new readers)... February 2008 I was diagnosed with colon cancer (at the ripe old age of 37.) I had surgery and 6 months of chemo. Then it was also found in my liver in December 2008. January 2009 (just over a year ago) I had surgery to remove the new tumors and did another 6 months of chemo, which was completed last August. I have had alternating MRIs and PET scans every 2 months since then, the latest being yesterday. The MRI that was done yesterday confirmed that there are no tumors at the moment.
Do you know what a milestone it is to be confirmed disease-free after an entire year? It is something to shout from the rooftops!
(Oh, by the way, NED = "No Evidence of Disease")
I just want to share my good news. Long story short (to update any new readers)... February 2008 I was diagnosed with colon cancer (at the ripe old age of 37.) I had surgery and 6 months of chemo. Then it was also found in my liver in December 2008. January 2009 (just over a year ago) I had surgery to remove the new tumors and did another 6 months of chemo, which was completed last August. I have had alternating MRIs and PET scans every 2 months since then, the latest being yesterday. The MRI that was done yesterday confirmed that there are no tumors at the moment.
Do you know what a milestone it is to be confirmed disease-free after an entire year? It is something to shout from the rooftops!
(Oh, by the way, NED = "No Evidence of Disease")
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Not Much to Update...
...which is a good thing!
Well, I do have an MRI next week so I'll post those results when I get them.
I have been keeping very busy not getting much done. At least it seems that way, but I know I'm busy every day because my feet tell me so, and I haven't been doing anything leisurely during the days. My foot still hasn't healed from my November 6th surgery so the doctor prescribed a bone growth stimulator machine, for which insurance is paying 90%. Thankfully. It's an ultrasound machine that I use every day for 20 minutes and it's supposed to stimulate the bone to heal using voodoo magic. At least that's what the doctor said.
I never did get the greenhouse, so I have found ways to accomplish what I want inside the house, in my kitchen. Luckily I have a large expanse of counter space behind our sink in a bay window. And I have learned that maybe it's a good thing to start the seedlings in the kitchen where I see them every day. They are coming along wonderfully and I haven't lost any of them. Out in the garden, "out of sight, out of mind" perhaps could have played a role in the demise of some seedlings so it's probably for the best that I can see them every day and tend to them. That window does not let in enough light so I had to put in a grow light to keep things moving along. It looks kind of funny but will be taken out when seed starting is completed.
Here it is:
That's actually a garment hanger that the lights are hanging from. You know, the kind you'd put in your closet or laundry room to hang clothes on. I looked all over for one of those stands that you hang grow lights on. Even the place that sold me the grow light did not sell stands. And anyway they probably would have been pricier than this garment rack. It was only $20.00 or so. I have it on its shortest setting and it works. As the plants grow taller I can raise the lights bit by bit by moving the s-hooks up the chain. We had an extra shelf in the shed that is the exact stain and color of our kitchen cabinetry, and it actually happened to be the right size, so we added it to make a nice little platform for the plants. Otherwise I would have had to deal with the 2 cross bars on the bottom. It looks nice with the cherry shelf.
My knitting is coming along too. At the moment I'm not working on any project, so to speak. I am attending a knitting boot camp and the assignments are to make little swatches using different techniques, and the goal is to expose me to the experience of doing all of the techniques so that when I do make something more complicated than a stockinette scarf I'll have experienced pretty much everything at least a little bit and I won't be intimidated by it.
Speaking of the knitting assignments, I'd better work on some of that today. Our next class is next Tuesday and I have some things to complete. It's a rainy day today so I should be able to get some of it done.
Off I go...!
Well, I do have an MRI next week so I'll post those results when I get them.
I have been keeping very busy not getting much done. At least it seems that way, but I know I'm busy every day because my feet tell me so, and I haven't been doing anything leisurely during the days. My foot still hasn't healed from my November 6th surgery so the doctor prescribed a bone growth stimulator machine, for which insurance is paying 90%. Thankfully. It's an ultrasound machine that I use every day for 20 minutes and it's supposed to stimulate the bone to heal using voodoo magic. At least that's what the doctor said.
I never did get the greenhouse, so I have found ways to accomplish what I want inside the house, in my kitchen. Luckily I have a large expanse of counter space behind our sink in a bay window. And I have learned that maybe it's a good thing to start the seedlings in the kitchen where I see them every day. They are coming along wonderfully and I haven't lost any of them. Out in the garden, "out of sight, out of mind" perhaps could have played a role in the demise of some seedlings so it's probably for the best that I can see them every day and tend to them. That window does not let in enough light so I had to put in a grow light to keep things moving along. It looks kind of funny but will be taken out when seed starting is completed.
Here it is:
That's actually a garment hanger that the lights are hanging from. You know, the kind you'd put in your closet or laundry room to hang clothes on. I looked all over for one of those stands that you hang grow lights on. Even the place that sold me the grow light did not sell stands. And anyway they probably would have been pricier than this garment rack. It was only $20.00 or so. I have it on its shortest setting and it works. As the plants grow taller I can raise the lights bit by bit by moving the s-hooks up the chain. We had an extra shelf in the shed that is the exact stain and color of our kitchen cabinetry, and it actually happened to be the right size, so we added it to make a nice little platform for the plants. Otherwise I would have had to deal with the 2 cross bars on the bottom. It looks nice with the cherry shelf.My knitting is coming along too. At the moment I'm not working on any project, so to speak. I am attending a knitting boot camp and the assignments are to make little swatches using different techniques, and the goal is to expose me to the experience of doing all of the techniques so that when I do make something more complicated than a stockinette scarf I'll have experienced pretty much everything at least a little bit and I won't be intimidated by it.
Speaking of the knitting assignments, I'd better work on some of that today. Our next class is next Tuesday and I have some things to complete. It's a rainy day today so I should be able to get some of it done.
Off I go...!
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