Well I'll be blowed!!

[tommo47]

First a quick update on the start of the 4th cycle, all went very well. Started the IV 09:45 and finished 16:30, home by 17:50.

I'm back up to 8st 4lb, which I am determined to build upon. While I was in the oncology unit, Chris made her weekly call to the Dietitians who have been monitoring things from day one and also have been very very helpful by getting high protein, enriched items on prescription. They are happy if we can maintain my weight a couple of lbs either side of 8st as a minimum and discharging me from their oversight and see how things go.


Before we went off to the hospital this morning I took some more photos in the garden:-

The next one has an interesting feature. What appears to be a window is false. It is a barn conversion and any external feature that can be seen had to replicate the original as much as possible so the external appearance remains as close as possible to the original barn.

The following are all new plantings we made last year :-

 

[MoodyBlues]

The plants are looking great, @tommo47. Your hard work is definitely paying off.

Do you know the name of the bush with a profusion of dark pink flowers? It's lovely, but I can't place it. At very first glance, its flowers resembled Mexican petunias I grew at my old house [different color flowers], but no, a closer look said no. And petunias aren't bushes.

I'd like to tell you a story. Gardening, of course. It's about the ≈15' fence that used to be covered by grapevines.

As noted, the grape plant died. Once two full years had gone by, and I was convinced that it was well and truly dead, I had my gardener remove what he could. (Some of its branches were so thick, and so wedged into the fencing, they wouldn't come out.) This fence, and its gate, are the only visible chain-link on the property; they're at the top of my rather long driveway, and not seen from the street. But once it was naked...I didn't like it!

So I went on a mission to find something to fill it in. After much research, I chose Purple Splash roses, a vining variety. From my research, one plant, given sufficient time, should do the job. So I bought three!

I spaced them and planted them along the fence. Their conditions--soil, sunlight, temperature--and care--watering, feeding--were identical. But one died. Around the same time I found a volunteer lantana plant, just one 6" shoot, growing near my kitchen stairs. I soaked it, then with my fingers wiggled its roots out of the ground. I transplanted it about where the 3rd rosebush had been. I remember thinking, boy!, if these all take hold, this fence will be bursting with blooms!

I did get to see a few roses bloom, while the plants were still small...and then, you know, life happened.

As I stood at the patio door the other day, while waiting for the dog to potty, guess what I saw? A sea of flowers on the chain-link fence! I asked my helper to take some pics with my phone; I've already posted the avocado tree, but here are some [not great] shots of the roses and lantana, from both sides of the fence:

I'm so happy they're thriving! And the lantana has the exact flower color I would've chosen myself!

 

[tommo47]

Well, I really enjoyed that true story. What an amazing feeling you must have had. I love the colours, so vibrant and kind of 'happy'.

I get excited, and relieved, every time I go out and check the roses for new buds showing, and there are plenty. I read up on pruning, particularly the wisteria and roses because there are so many of them, but I still had a feeling of trepidation as I 'attacked' them with my pruners. To see the wisteria blossoming as it has done has given me a huge emotional uplift.

I will ask Chris about the pink one in the morning. I'm sure she said she knew what it was, she is very good at identifying plants, even she doesn't know where the ability comes from. I on the other hand am hopeless at identifying plants, and birds!!!

I am getting spells of disorientation and have very poor short term memory recall, due I think to a combination of dehydration and chemo side effects. I am trying really hard with the water/liquid intake and am holding the 8st 4lb weight, which, although it's only three days, is encouraging .

 

[MoodyBlues]

I'm happy you liked my story. Yes, it's very gratifying to see those plants thriving, all things considered. Funny thing about the roses: every picture I saw, and every comment I read, online while doing my research showed that it lived up to its name, Purple Splash. But as you can see from the pics, they're beautiful--but they're not purple!

Are your doctors aware of your disorientation and memory issues? If not, they need to be. ASAP. Please promise me you'll talk to them [or the appropriate contact person(s)] immediately, if they're not already aware of what's happening. Frankly, I'm concerned about this.

 

[tommo47]

Hi @MoodyBlues, yes the doctors do know about the memory problems, in fact during my numerous hospital admissions over the last 5-6 months I've had a number of 'altercations' with them because they kept asking questions I couldn't answer and I repeatedly asked them to 'please talk to my wife, she has kept a record of everything from day one when the local GP referred me to the Consultant'. It was so frustrating, and if people don't listen to me I can get quite rude which doesn't help!!!

 

[tommo47]

Unfortunately I was wrong about the dark pink flower, we have two Peony bushes which Chris likes and recognises, they have budded nicely but are not out yet. I will do some searching for the pink one.

Incidentally, I didn't get anything from GardenWeb. It might be me, although you did think it might have changed and I suspect it has, considerably so .

I've done an hour or so picking up leaves this morning all on hands and knees which is not too stressful. I have a petrol engined garden vac but haven't got the strength to start the darn thing, mind you it has never been an easy starter even when I was fit and healthy. It would probably have been a mistake anyway, I would have ended up overdoing it. I will probably get an electric one, much lighter and just switch on an off instead of struggling with a petrol engine pull cord.

 

[MoodyBlues]

There are a few ways to make the 'doctor interaction frustration' better, @tommo47. And you'd benefit from them later, too.

For example, be prepared with pencil and paper before the doctor comes in. As they talk, make notes, both of what they said AND what you said. They don't have to be neat, eloquent sentences! Just words/phrases that will later ring a bell. If you're unfamiliar with a word/drug/treatment they rattle off, hand them the paper and ask them to [legibly] write it down. Ditto for instructions.

Easier would be to simply record the entire conversation with your phone. You can then play it back for yourself, or for Chris, when you're alone and the hustle and bustle of a hospital room, or doctor's office, visit isn't a distraction.

If you don't already have a recording app, I use and recommend Easy Voice Recorder. I have the paid ($3.99) version, but the free version, which has ads, should suffice for this limited use. Just beware that any recording will eat up a good deal of space. Good old-fashioned handwritten notes might be the best choice!

 

[tommo47]

Thank you@MoodyBlues, very good points, particularly the recording of the conversations, much easier than making notes and storage space is not a problem. Between my still working HTC 10 and its replacement Pixel 3a, I have about 50GB available.

I normally only use paid for apps so that isn't a problem either. I would probably keep the app too.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Great!

I forgot to say: before going to an appointment, write down any questions you have, then produce your list when you're with the doctor. You're less likely to overlook something you wanted to ask if it's right there on paper!

 

[MoodyBlues]

Incidentally, I didn't get anything from GardenWeb. It might be me, although you did think it might have changed and I suspect it has, considerably so

Oh my goodness! I hadn't used it since before I got sick, and, yes, it's changed a lot! But its features are still there, and very active--they've just made navigating to and from them quite difficult. [Plus, I don't think I ever used it on a phone until now; maybe the full desktop site isn't as bad.]

Anyway, start here:

See the 'Topics' drop-down menu at the top? Tap it; you'll now see a zillion topics; here are a few:

And here is their famous Name That Plant board!

They're a veritable treasure trove of information and helpful members. You should be able to ID just about any plant, or bird, you're puzzled by. In my front yard, right next to the front porch, there's a tree that's been there forever. I never thought to ask my mom what it was, because there was nothing extraordinary about it...until there was!

One day while sitting in the backyard, I saw something orange over the roof. WTF?!, I said out loud. My orange trees are miniatures, only about 6 feet tall, and nowhere NEAR the front porch. I had one of my Nikons and its 70-300mm lens with me, so I used it to zoom in and snap some pics. Then I went around to the front--and looked UP. Sure enough, way up high, there were clusters of orange fruit, like I'd never seen before. A cursory search led nowhere, so I went to my go-to gardening source, GardenWeb, and posted its pics. Within minutes it was definitively identified as...I can't think of its name right now, but it's an Australian native, not known to be common in SoCal. I wish I could ask Mom how it came to be there!

 

[tommo47]

Thanks for that, I will try again on my laptop tomorrow.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Okay, good. Let me know how it goes!

How are you feeling? Still eating and drinking okay?

 

[tommo47]

Okay, good. Let me know how it goes!

I certainly will .

How are you feeling? Still eating and drinking okay?

Feeling good, apart from my inability to get the garden vac started. I'm still struggling to come to terms with the substantial change in my physical strength and stamina. No further problems with eating and drinking .

 

[tommo47]

Hi @MoodyBlues, how are you today?

I have a true story....

First of all, a big thank you for the link to
GardenWeb/houzz. I'm still finding it not the easiest web site to navigate but am getting there.

Just before my dad passed away in December 1997, he gave us an Azalea shrub which both he and my mum had cherished. We planted it at the farm in Glyn Ceiriog and it continued to do well.

Needless to say, but it went with us to Llangollen in 2002, and again took the transplant well and continued to thrive.

Until the tenants from **** took over in 2012. When we returned in 2015, I was heartbroken to find the Azalea was a victim of their neglect.

Back to GardenWeb, having managed to upload an image of the pretty pink shrub, I got an almost immediate identity that it is, would you believe it, an Azalea, perhaps not identical to my dad's, but close enough .

It has made the garden even more magical and so special .

 

[MoodyBlues]

That's sweet! What a nice thing to happen. I know it can't really replace your parents' azalea, but it's still special.

I still haven't tried GardenWeb on a computer, but it used to have a simple list [just text links, no extraneous crap] of everything, and you could easily navigate back and forth from it. I don't know what Houzz did to it...but on my phone, it's VERY difficult/cumbersome to navigate.

That's the bad news. The good news is their resources are still there!

 

[MoodyBlues]

Yoo-hoo, @tommo47, are you here? As I said in that other thread, I have some gardening news.

Today I ordered four plants: two are camellias, two are gardenias. They're all white flowers. The smaller camellia bush will go where my mom's tea rose once stood. The bigger one will replace the camellia that once was one of three right under the living room window. The deceased bushes were casualties of my illness...and it still stings that they died for lack of water. But I'm trying to look on the bright side...

The gardenias are--I THINK--going in at the top of the flowerbed in the front yard. First I have to confirm how many of the three white rosebushes I'd planted shortly before I got sick survived. I think only one did. Depending on where that lone rose is, my gardeners may have to move things around. I'm thinking gardenia-rose-gardenia.

This is, of course, not my preferred way of adding plants to my yard--I like to be up to my elbows in dirt! But it's the first time I've gotten to the point of actually replacing things that died, so it's a good thing.

Now, how are you doing? What's the latest with your treatment, and how you're feeling? And, naturally!, your gardening adventures.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I love the foliage but this stuff is making my eyes water.
Face masks help.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Allergies, eh, DPB?

 

[tommo47]

Hi there @MoodyBlues, I am certainly here, I spend quite a lot of time here at the moment and am thoroughly enjoying it. I seconded your comments about Rob by the way, totally agree with you!

You sound really excited about your new plants, that's good. I'd like to think of you being 'up to your elbows in dirt', I know exactly how you feel'. You must be itching to get your 'fingers in the soil again'.

I've had a really good day today, Chris took me for my CT Scan. Then we went to Llangollen to pick up some gardening tools and a large stone plant pot we had left at the hotel.

I've had a bit of a rough week leading up to today with dizziness and have spent most of the week in bed. There is a definite pattern to the side effects of the chemo cycles, from day 10 to 15 the dizziness hits me hard. I start cycle 4 next Wednesday, day 21 of the current cycle, and will have the results of the CT Scan and a consultation with the oncology doctor when I'm in for the IV drip.

I will be out in the garden tomorrow , I had a quick tour before we went to the hospital and was amazed at the growth in the last week, the two honeysuckle plants are six to eight feet tall, the roses are budding nicely, in fact one has started to blossom, everything is thriving!!!

I will take some photos tomorrow .

 

[MoodyBlues]

Aw, shit, @tommo47...I'm sorry you're having a rough time. Are they giving you anything for the dizziness? Staying in bed is probably your best bet while you're dizzy--certainly the safest. I don't remember, is this a side effect of the chemo? Are you dehydrated?

Please update us after your consultation and treatment next week, okay?

Yes, I saw your 'I second that' in the other thread. Thanks for that.

As I was reading your description of your honeysuckle and roses...I swear I could practically smell the amazing fragrances emanating from your garden! It just sounds awesome. How are the beautiful wisterias doing?

You're right, I am excited about the plants I ordered. It's kind of hard to explain in words, but even though I can't be the one planting them, just the fact that I'm at a point of buying them, really feels like progress.

The plants are 2- and 3-gallon size, so they're already well-established and should do well once in the ground. I specifically looked for drought- and deer-resistant gardenias. Hopefully they'll fare well with unreliable watering, plus peafowl. NO ONE ever labels plants as peafowl-resistant! Only deer. But it does seem like the peafowl don't attack deer-resistant plants, so we'll see.

Are you familiar with jacaranda trees? They're lovely trees that burst with a profusion of purple flowers, and they're in bloom right now. I had missed them, without even realizing it, while living elsewhere. When I moved back here in 2006, there were zillions of crazy-beautiful purple flowers on trees everywhere. I didn't even know its name--had to look it up. Anyway, they're so pretty, and bloom profusely, and were on my list of things to do when...you know. I still want at least one, but I think I'm going to wait awhile...until maybe I can plant them myself.

 

[tommo47]

@MoodyBlues, apparently dizziness is a known side effect of chemo. I am having plenty of water and the fact that I had no dizziness yesterday puts our minds at rest in that respect plus I feel good today exactly the same as day 15/16 in the previous cycle. There seems to be a definite pattern which does make it more manageable, it will be interesting to see what happens during the next cycle, it's 3 out 3 up to now so 4 out of 4 would be conclusive I reckon.

Positive thinking is crucial and I can sense it in you in regards to gardening, and your last comment about doing some planting, I really look forward to the day you get out there and dig!!!!! .

I'm not familiar with the Jacaranda tree, I'll check it out.

 

[MoodyBlues]

A quick one: here are some pics of jacaranda trees; I took the first three, found the other two online. See what I mean about a PROFUSION of purple flowers?!

 

[MoodyBlues]

Oh, geesh...is this a sign?

This came in today's mail. I've never ordered from this company, but as soon as I saw it, I thought, hmmm...funny [nice] timing... Then I read the name of the tulips shown on the cover: Ballerina

Ballet has been my lifelong passion.

What do you think, @tommo47, coincidence or...?

 

[tommo47]

Dear @MoodyBlues, I'm feeling quite stunned at the moment, I don't know what to say first, yes I do!

That is no coincidence!!! I've seen your references to ballet and your love of it in a number of your posts over the last few months and for this to drop through your letter box out of the blue, or dare I say PURPLE, (what an amazing set of photos, absolutely gorgeous!!!!), is no coincidence. I think it is close to a 'once in a lifetime' thing, something you will never forget. You have to have those tulips, they look stunning, and will have a very special place in your garden. It is a sign!!!!!! .

Perhaps I shouldn't be asking this, but how close are you to being able to 'get your fingers in the soil'? If only to plant one of the tulips!!!

 

[MoodyBlues]

Your reply made me very happy, @tommo47. Kind of like validation or confirmation of what I was thinking.

The ballet connection was just too...too! [Ha, tutu, get it? ]

Perhaps I shouldn't be asking this, but how close are you to being able to 'get your fingers in the soil'? If only to plant one of the tulips!!!

No, you're fine, ask whatever you like. Last week when I installed my new modem, I got down on the floor twice [because I was alone, and wanted it done NOW], crawling under the desk to plug/unplug cables. And I got back up! Reflecting back on when I was too weak to change positions in bed...this was HUGE! [A few days later, installing my new router, I let my much younger helper do the crawling on the floor bit.]

So to answer your question, I think that with my strong, young helper at my side, I might be able to plant something(s) soon. But I don't want to jinx it, so let's pretend I didn't say that out loud!