Category Archives: Random Thoughts

Oh, the Weather Outside –

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Headlines on the national news and weather channels are all about the weather. “Major storm coming! Are you prepared?”

Chuck’s Texas cousins are ready. One of them posted a picture of her stockpile of toilet paper and firewood. Oh, wait, that was a meme. Never mind. I’m sure they have a few bottles of wine and cozy blankets.

We, on the other hand, did nothing to prepare. In the interest of clarity, our forecast wasn’t for snow, ice, or sleet. Our forecast was for bitter, bitter cold. How cold is it? Every area district closed their schools, and I didn’t even have to check all the channels to find that out. Many churches and businesses closed as well, and some cut their hours. The vintage mall that we like closed early yesterday after their “slowest day ever” and decided to stay closed today – a wise decision on their part.

But preparations? Well, we did make sure all of our windows were closed completely and locked, but we did that weeks ago. All the shades and curtains are closed to provide an extra layer of insulation – something we do almost every night. A humidifier is running in the den, the room we live in the most. I haven’t turned on the gas fireplace (yet), but I may use it tonight. In summary, nothing unusual. And we stayed home. Not.

I wish we could have stayed home. Chuck considered calling in “cold” for his volunteer shift at the local history museum, but since his car started (almost) willingly, he did the shift. On my part, cancer took charge. I had an appointment for a radiation simulation; a scan to set up for radiation treatments. Those treatments will start in a few weeks. Hopefully, by then the weather will be better.

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The Garden Will Come – Later

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The nurse was going through the post-op instructions for my upcoming lumpectomy. Most is common sense, of course. And then she pointed out the list of restrictions, or What Not To Do.

  • No lifting: nothing more than 10 pounds, approximately equal to a gallon of milk.
  • No repetitive motion: Avoid vacuuming, rowing, raking, gardening with affected arm.

Raking? Gardening? I told her I was lucky to be having this surgery in the bleak midwinter. If this were happening in June or July, I’d be upset that I couldn’t garden, or (as my kids used to say), playing in the dirt.

By the time spring comes, I hope to be gaining enough strength to get out in the backyard and till the soil for the raised bed plot. Beans, zucchini, carrots – we’ll see what else has potential. The raspberry patch needs weeding, too.

The other project will require lifting and repetitive motion. My table full of buckets, the ultimate raised bed, will need a lot of work. The potting soil from last year needs straining. Amigo and Chuck bought me a nice soil strainer for Christmas! Woot! Each bucket needs the holes enlarged and a stack of pine cones or wine corks to help the soil drain. When the buckets are ready, they’ll go in the table so I can plant tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, and much, much more.

The challenge this year will be starting seeds. I hope to bring my small tabletop greenhouses up from the basement before my surgery. I’ll bring potting soil and seed starter in the house, too. That way, the heavy lifting will be done and I can start tomato and pepper seeds in February or March, all depending on the level of pain and weakness at that point.

All in all, folks, I plan to grow food when spring arrives, cancer or no cancer.

 

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In Which Cancer fills the Calendar

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“What fresh hell is this?” –attributed to Dorothy Parker

Cancer has filled our calendar, and at the same time, too much is still unknown. My surgery date is set, two pre-op procedures are scheduled, and the follow-up appointment is on the chart.

And yet, it’s not enough. Chuck volunteers at the local history museum. He’s a docent, and a darn good one. He needs to give the museum director his availability for January, and he can’t. There’s too much pending. I expect radiation therapy to follow the surgery, but that’s too far out to call.

On the positive side, we don’t have to reschedule Christmas. That may not sound like a big deal to some, but when there’s a person with autism in the household, it matters.

I’m the prep in advance type, and this year I’ve been even more busy than ever with shopping and wrapping. Now that I know my surgery is a few days post-Christmas, I can relax a little. A little, mind you. I expect at least one package on my doorstep in the next few days, and I need to pick up chocolate for Christmas Eve. I already have books.

So, readers, on we go. There’s more anxiety around the corner, but at least the gifts are wrapped. Mostly. Wish me luck, folks.

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Upright and Not Crying

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According to social media, there’s a Norwegian saying that works like “Not unwell, thank you” or “I’m okay, I guess.”

When asked, “How are you? How ya doing?” a Norwegian might respond, “Upright and not crying.”

According to family genealogy research, Ancestry, and the now defunct 21 and Me, I have a fair amount of Norwegian in my background. I could adopt this as my new script. For example, I walked into my audiologist’s office for new hearing aids – in my world, that’s exciting! He greeted me with “Welcome back! How are you today?” Upright and Not Crying would have worked perfectly. The new technology is always fun to learn and enjoyable to start putting to use. I told him that despite my breast cancer diagnosis, I was happy to get the new amplifiers in my ears. The new hearing aids provided a positive moment in a world that right now has me surrounded by negatives.

So far today, I’ve experienced a drive home from Milwaukee in bitter cold weather with coffee and a Denver omelet on a croissant to keep me warm and make an effort to eat the opponent: Broncos. See what I did there? Go! Pack! Go!

I’m unpacked, sipping cappuccino, and nibbling on cookies. Now it’s time to remain upright and watch the Packers.

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Still Eating Chicago!

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From a Local Bakery

Bear Claws! We ordered these ahead and picked them up this morning. They’re cherry with almonds and delicious. If it looks like one is already cut in half and eaten, you’re right. I didn’t get in with the camera quickly enough; Chuck had already grabbed one.

On another topic, we have our Christmas tree! The tree farmers named their trees this year. Ours is Grayson. 🙂

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Cancer Craziness

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My phone’s recent calls list Cancer Center, the Cancer Coordinator, the Surgeon’s Office, my primary care doc, and even the Genetics Department. It’s been quite a  roller coaster ride.

Two weeks ago, I had my annual mammogram. I get one annually rather than every two years because of my family history. This mammogram showed a new growth on the right.

One week ago, I had a biopsy of the right breast.

By the list of calls, you can infer that the biopsy showed the new growth is, indeed, cancerous. Invasive ductile carcinoma, to be specific. Go ahead and do an Internet search on it. I’m not planning on it. That’s a bit too much at this point in the game.

Timing is either great or awful – not that I had a choice in the matter. December is a big month for the barbershop chorus. They have three shows: the Barbershop Bistro dinner, the main Christmas show, and a show at a local senior living home. I have no idea how my surgeries and appointments will interfere with getting Amigo to his shows and seeing the shows myself. That’s the bad side.

On the good side, it’s not prime canning and preserving season. I have a pantry and freezer full of foodstuffs for the family. If money gets tight during treatment, grocery shopping won’t be too much worse than usual.

Also on the positive side, I’m one of Those People: I shop early for holiday gifts. With a number of birthdays in November, December, and January, I plan ahead. I could stop shopping right now and everyone would have gifts. Nothing is wrapped, but I can cope with that. I don’t buy wrapping paper; haven’t in years, but that’s another post altogether.

At this point, I’m impatient and nervous. I meet with the surgeon on Monday to make a plan for treatment. Readers, I’ll keep you up to date as to what’s happening and how I’m feeling about it. Cancer, basically, sucks.

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Oh, Those Eagles

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My Packers didn’t play well last weekend. They just weren’t quite on the ball (no pun intended). And here they go, coming up on a Monday Night Game against the defending Super Bowl champions. Oh, my.

I’m sure Coach LeFleur is preparing the team as he does best. The receiving corps will work on filling the hole left by Tucker Kraft’s injury (sob), and Jordan Love will be perfecting his pass precision.

The ordinary fans at my house ate the opponent with a classic: Philly cheese steak on a sub bun. Here’s a look at it:

Yum!

We stopped at the deli to pick up thin sliced beef and cheese. The white cheddar was out, so we chose provolone. It worked. Onions and green peppers we already had in our pantry, and the neighborhood sub shop sells their day old bread for next to nothing. Pile them all together (well, it’s not quite that simple, but almost) and Chuck presented the family with his version of a Philly cheese steak sandwich. And yes, it was delicious.

He served it with a side dish of roasted potatoes from the air fryer and my homemade applesauce with peach added. A great combination! We’re ready for Monday night. Are the Packers ready? We can only hope.

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Eating the Opponent and the Halloween Candy

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Chuck made Bog Rice with chicken and sausage for Eating the Opponent: Carolina Panthers. It’s a recipe we found that fits the region and incorporates ingredients we already have in the house. Oh, and it’s delicious, too. Go! Pack! Go!

I had a brief moment of panic thinking we’d have to devour all the Halloween candy ourselves. The front porch light and the doorbell both gave out tonight within minutes of each other. Is the front porch haunted? Well, Chuck found a suitable battery for the doorbell – not the exact size needed, but close enough that it worked. He replaced the light bulb on the porch and then announced that we were out, completely out, of light bulbs now. I sense a trip to Home Depot or Ace Hardware coming up soon.

On a more positive note, all three of us received our Covid19 boosters today at the pharmacy. The pharmacist was quick and she was good. We hardly felt a thing. We’re all up to date with flu and Covid vaccines. (Take that, conspiracy theorists. We’re vaccinated.)

So there you have it, folks. Bog Rice, Halloween candy, a new light bulb and doorbell battery. That’s all the news from the O.K. Chorale.

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Guerrilla Gardening or Scavenging Squirrels

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Ah, guerrilla gardening. Not gorilla, the animal, but planting and growing in a surprising and sneaky manner. Guerrilla gardening takes a name from guerrilla warfare, also surprising and sneaky.

I was pulling out weeds, mostly burdock, when I yanked on one that wouldn’t come out from the ground next to a walkway board.

It’s not burdock.

Burdock? Nope. Kale? Nope. Either way, I did not plant anything here. The board is old and rotting, so if I’d dropped a random seed in it, something may have come up. But this? This is more than an accidentally dropped seed.

Surprise! It’s turnips.

I definitely didn’t plant turnips here. I blame the squirrels or chipmunks, those tricky little furballs. Some tiny critter moved seeds or ate seeds and pooped them into this cozy little spot. And they grew. Grew and grew and grew.

I enlisted Chuck’s help with a crowbar and harvested the surprising batch of turnips. They became part of a stew later on.

Despite the weeds taking over most of the garden (courtesy of our late June early July vacation), we didn’t get to harvest much this season. But turnips? Turnips are tough. I pulled up quite a few, including the random guerrilla-planted turnips under the board.

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Taking Action in our World

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Sometimes, and this is one of those times, the world seems impossible. Scary. Up to No Good. Frightening. Hopeless, even.

I feel less hopeless (yeah, I know, that’s a double negative) if I can take action. Individual actions, no matter how small, add up to a larger total. That drop in a bucket? Add enough drops and the bucket will fill.

I signed up for our local No Kings demonstration on October 18. I have a plan. Chuck will drop me off, or I’ll park in a downtown parking structure. I don’t mind paying for parking; it’s a contribution to our vibrant downtown.

I’ll wear one of my activist tee shirts, weather permitting. I’m leaning toward “Stars and Stripes and Reproductive Rights.” If the weather is cooler, my “Teach Peace” hoodie will be appropriate. If it snows (I know, I know, it’s October, but Wisconsin…) I will put my new jacket from Denali National Park to good use. It’s Denali, you idiot, not McKinley.

There’s a sign-making workshop ahead of the demonstration. I may or may not go. My attire will make a statement.

Meanwhile, I keep focusing on basics like canning and preserving goodies from the farm stands, and preparing the garden for next season while picking the last of the cherry tomatoes and jalapeno peppers.

Readers, how do you stay sane in an insane world?

 

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