June Book Club Read

June Book Club Read

Eleanore Brown wrote this novel about three sisters meeting up again under the parents' roof now that they are in their 30's and about their learning to live with each other without killing each other! Their mother's breast cancer complicates the already tense situation. The oldest sister is a control freak, the middle sister is facing the fact that she stole from her employer to buy designer clothes and the baby sister is the loveable hippie who has to learn not to run away but face her problems in the home town.

The setting for this weird story of the weird sisters is just east of Columbus, Ohio where the father is a Shakespearen professor at a small private college. What can I say----Ohio never looked so disfunctional as in this novel. LOL!

Learn more about this book by clicking on the left on my other blog: Piedmont Readers.

May Book Club Read

May Book Club Read

I read this over 400 page true story of Louie Zamperini's adventures in World War II in under three days. I couldn't put it down even though parts of it were extremely difficult to read because the detailed adventures were so horrific.

Louie Zamperini today is still alive and going strong skateboarding into his 80's. But during World War II Louie had many near death experiences as a twenty-six year old shot down bombardier in the U.S. army air force. He managed to survive the plane crash, being lost at sea for over 40 days and being held as a pow in a very cruel Japanese prison camp.

This New York Times bestselling book was written by famed writer Laura Hillenbrand who also wrote the true story of Seabiscuit. I highly recommend this book which also includes many photos of Louie's life before and after World War II. This is a five star book read.

Learn more by clicking on the left on my other blog: Piedmont Readers.

My World Tuesday = June Flowers In My Backyard

My World Tuesday = June Flowers In My Backyard

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Three Pics Of My June Garden

Three Pics Of My June Garden

Enjoy

I'm Off For More Chemo

Our Two Little Gem Magnolia Trees Have White Blossoms

Our Two Little Gem Magnolia Trees Now Have White Blossoms

The 90 Degree Days Did The Trick

Wish I Had Smell-A-Blog So You Could Smell The Blossoms

My Madcap 67'th Birthday

My Madcap 67'th Birthday Party

Jeanine arrived with her black lab Barney who was ready for action.

Jennifer and Terry arrived with lunch for everyone from the Olive Garden and a birthday cake from Wegmans.

And my Jack was the man who kept the madcap party rolling.

When Grandma couldn't blow out all the candles with one breath little Jack insisted that we light all the candles again so that he could try. Sure enough he did blow out all the candles at once even if Grandma couldn't help worrying that if Jack's lips got any closer to the candle flames his mouth would be singed. But he did it. He blew out all the candles with one breath so that Grandma's birthday wish would come true.

And then there was the bang bang of a plate hitting the floor. Did little Jack just do that? Grandma yelled to Jack to quick run to the garage to get the broom and dustpan. Little Jack thought Grandma meant him so he made a mad dash to the garage. And who was it who broke the plate? Little Jack was an innocent bystander. It was Aunt Jeanine who knocked the plate against the back of the dining room chair in the breakfast room.

Then there was Barney who kept trying to figure out if he could get all four of his paws in this plastic bucket so he could go swimming like labs like to do. And then there was the moment went he dropped his tennis balls in the water to retrieve them and they got very wet. Sign of more trouble coming down the road. Barney later brought a wet tennis ball into the family room and the tennis ball started leaking black gooey water on the light carpet. So then we had three rug cleaners on hands and knees: Jack, Jeanine and Jennifer!
And when Grandma and little Jack played a game of pulling out the tissues from the gift bags dear Barney decided he would like to eat the paper. This led to Terry rescuing Barney from the tissue paper.
And who was chasing who around the coffee table is yet to be decided. Notice that Jack is sans his summer shorts. My Jack had to dry his shorts and socks in the dryer after he got them very wet refilling Barney's water bowl at least a dozen times.

Needless to say it was a madcap party. When everyone left Grandma said she needed to take a quick nap before she went off to bed. LOL!

Saturday Night Barbecue For The Birthday Kids

Saturday Night Barbecue For The Birthday Kids

My neighbor Scott's Birthday is June 2 and my birthday is June 5 so this past weekend we had a neighborhood gathering for five couples and a couple of drop-ins. The steaks were cooked to perfection after being marinated in garlic, lemon juice and a special low gluten Japanese soy sauce. Above is guest Rob in his Tommy Bahama shirt and hat. Very tropical and cool looking. Meanwhile, the hostess, Scott's wife Dickie, is refreshing the wine bar.

Here's Jack relaxing on the patio. See the yellow dolphin on his shirt. That is to keep away the bugs. I won't tell you where one lady put her two floral bug baits. LOL! I don't want this to become an x-rated blog. I got to take home one of the large floral bouquets that you see on the picnic table.
From the appetizers to the deserts all the food was a hit. Thanks Dickie and Scott for hosting!

Chemo Update

Chemo Update

I have had three chemo sessions this week of the drug Vidaza. I go today and Friday and then go back on Monday and Tuesday. Then I will be finished with chemo for this month. I must note that I can't wait to see what they bill our insurance for this drug Vidaza. All I know is that it is so expensive that the cancer center call each morning to see if I am able to come in for my scheduled appointment around 10:30 before they call the courier to deliver the drug to the center for my treatment. Apparently if I would not show up for treatment after the drug was delivered it would not retain its potency and the center would be out a lot of money. I wonder how much? I do know that the last time I did chemo each Neulasta shot cost $8000. Makes you wonder what is in these chemo drugs. I feel like I'm being infused with liquid gold!

Off To Morning Chemo Session

Off To Morning Chemo Session

I hope to write more later today about the weekend birthday parties and how chemo is going this week when I get back from my chemo outing.

Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Myelodysplastic Syndrome. I can't pronounce it. I can't spell it. I can't define it but I have got it.

Lucky me it has taken me in little over three weeks to go from 163 lbs to 146 lbs. The moral of this story is this: be careful what you wish for. My new years resolution was to lose some weight. LOL!

This condition may have resulted from my previous chemo for chronic lymphcytic leukemia from Nov. 2009 to May 2010. It may be the result of mutations on some of my chromosomes. At any rate it has resulted in all my important blood counts heading south: low level of red blood cells, low level of white blood cells, and low platelet count. And that means my immune system has reached a new low so I need to be around only healthy people. Bummer!

Right now I can't see my cute little grandchild, Jack Aidan, because he might expose me to his current fever which could be the result of another strep infection. Lucky for me my hubby Jack is still healthy so I can hang out this weekend with him. LOL!

I may have my last glass of wine tonight at book club at neighbor Dickie's house because I start a new round of chemo on Monday and I can't drink any alcohol for 48 hours before chemo treatment. Damm! Another bummer.

Final thought: you can google myelodysplastic syndrome to learn more about this crazy blood disorder development. If you understand it completely, I think you are a candidate for medical school.

My Flower Gardens On May 28, 2011

The Gardener Trims Up The Climbing Roses

The Gardener Trims Up The Climbing Roses

I purposely didn't trim back this spring the white climbing roses on this black metal arch in our side yard. Big mistake. When the roses bloomed last week the weight became so heavy that the arch began to lean to the right. So my Gardener Jack had to rescue the leaning arch by cutting back the climbing roses. Lots of white roses ended up in our AAA trash bin. It was hard to do but we had to do it. After the roses finish blooming we will give these roses a second trimming.

Never a dull moment around here. First an arch about to capsize from all the blooming roses and then our beautiful robin eggs disappear. Most likely stolen and eaten by a crow or red shouldered blackbird or grackle. Fiddlesticks!

What Happened? The Eggs Disappeared Overnight!

What Happened?

The Eggs Disappeared Overnight!

Saturday night Jack and I went to bed after looking out the breakfast room window and seeing momma robin sitting on the nest. Sunday morning Jack woke up all excited. He calculated that the eggs were due to hatch either on Saturday or Sunday so he was hoping we would see tiny baby robins in the nest. Instead when he checked the nest momma robin was gone and the two eggs were gone too. Jack hunted but didn't find the eggs lying 0n the ground or on the patio near the nest.

So what happened to the eggs? Did a darn outdoor cat eat them? Did another bird remove them? What a bummer! If anyone has any ideas, please leave a comment here.

The Robin's Nest

The Robin's Nest

I just love the color of these egg!

Robin egg blue!

And it is fun to watch her sitting on the nest keeping the eggs warm.

My Peonies Bloomed This Week!

My Peonies Bloomed This Week!

I made lots of bouquets for the kitchen and breakfast room of the peonies that bloomed this week.

The other day I looked outside my breakfast room window to the far left and saw a hummingbird gulping down hummingbird food from the feeder.

I then looked over to the far right window and discovered momma robin was sitting on two eggs in a nest in my white climbing rose bush near the patio. It has been so much fun to watch her sitting on her nest and guarding her two eggs. I wonder how long it will be till the eggs hatch?

Below is another peonie bouquet on the kitchen island. The blue flowers are catmint.