Our first daffodill and other things...

G'day. Well, it's been a while (again) since I last wrote something. So much has been happening.

Our very first daffy bloomed some weeks ago and it is always a welcome sight. I really must plant more bulbs next year. I have been saying this for some time and am yet to do it....

My son recently turned 40 and two weeks before that event he moved into his beautiful new home. His birthday was on a Wednesday, so on the Saturday before, he had about 40 friends and family gather to help him celebrate and to oh and ah at the fancy new digs.


 

My hubby on left and daughters significant other on right.

Beautiful daughter and wonderful Stuart

Son and I


 

I am doing ok. Hair is slowly growing back. I start radiation in the next few weeks. 6 weeks @ 5 days a week. I will commute to the city by train everyday, this is an hour and a half each way. It will be no joy doing this, but, hey, it could be worse.

My contribution to the party. I made 60 of these mini quiches and they were yum, even if I do say so myself...


Take care. Liz...




It's been a while.

G'day. Well, it's been a while hasn't it? I think it's been over a month or more since my last post. But, I am still here and doing ok. This gorgeous boy on the glass mosaic ball is our newest addition to the garden, it no doubt will be the last statue we get as we are running out of room. This one originally belonged to my son and his partner, but a few months ago they sold their home and purchased another one with a smaller back yard and said that they would most likely leave this behind, hoping that the new owners would like it.

They also didn't want to take it because of the weight
of it. It is solid concrete and massively
heavy. I said I would give it a good home, much to hubby's disgust. "Where will it go, we have nowhere for it, we have too much now" was the first thing I heard. Not to be out done, I said I would find somewhere in the yard. On the day my son and partner moved, hubby and I were there bright and early (a 2hr drive) so that the furniture removal guys could help with the shifting of this beauty. The boy went on the back seat and the base went in the boot. That was well and good, there were no extra guys at our home to help get it out of the car and then to set it up, were there, just poor hubby and I. But as you can see, it's found it's spot. Mind you there was much swearing, cursing, dirty looks (at me) blood, sweat and nearly tears in the long and very hard process. I am thinking of planting a very small garden of a few roses and some lavender around it, but haven't told hubby this yet, so maybe I will give it a bit of thought for a while, don't want to give dear sweet hubby a coronary.

My first daffodil is out in bloom. Always a pleasure to see these beautiful flowers. I must plant a lot more for next year.

My last chemo is this Friday. Yippee !!! Will still be on another cancer drug every 3 weeks till April next year and also a cancer tablet every day for 5 years. I look forward to having some hair again soon...

I was fiddling with this computer some weeks ago and this nice little box came up on the screen recommending I refresh the computer, telling me that nothing would be lost and all would be good. Ha, what a load of crock. Wish I hadn't done it. My anti virus disappeared and McAfee took it's place, but guess what, that runs out next week, was only a trial one. My blogger page has totally gone and I had to go through the main Google page to get to this one. Can't read any blogs, it's all disappeared along with a lot of other things. Have tried reloading my antivirus disk, won't work. What a jolly nuisance and that's putting it mildly..... I will keep trying to retrieve my blog, so that I can read your wonderful stories.

Take care. Liz...

Still here and doing ok.

G'day. It's been some time since I have written a post and also since I have checked any of the great blogs that I follow. I have been very remiss.

This photo is of myself and my beautiful daughter, take some weeks ago. I am still undergoing chemo and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 I did spend 6 days in the local hospital here in my country town with a bad case of pneumonia. I had a very high temperature (quite serious they told me) and a lung infection. My hospital was really good and managed to get all the antibiotics that I needed sent up by courier. This made things so much easier for hubby and myself. I did have a serious setback one day and it looked like an ambulance trip to the big city hospital where I have all my treatments, but it settled down before the ambulance was called.

My workmates have been just wonderful. One of them made me a gorgeous patchwork bag and it was filled with goodies and all the staff signed the inside of it with waterproof pen. I will show photo's at a later date. The small quilting club that I sometimes ( I use that word loosely) attend of a Wednesday night all got together and did a block each of a quilt for me. That too will be a photo for another time.

It's an ongoing battle, but I am still of the opinion of "Suck it up Princess"

Sadly I haven't done any sewing or used my beautiful embroidery machine for some time. I just don't feel like it at this stage. I have been trying to continue with my working career on my good days, but on the bad ones, I sit in my lovely red leather recliner, usually with our gorgeous little dog on my lap, watching DVD"s or reading. I do make sure the house work is done first and hubby has been just the best. I don't know how I would have got this far without him. Friends have made us some of the most tastiest soup and casseroles. A good friend got up early this morning and made us two large containers of pea and ham soup and also a delicious chow mien. This was all done before her and her hubby had to catch a train to Melbourne then a bus to the airport and a flight to Brisbane. She was on my doorstep at 9.30 am. How lucky are we to have friends like this?

Take care.
Liz...

More holiday snaps.

G'day. On our recent getaway, we stopped at a little country town called Trentham. It's only a small town, but the tourists just love it. It does have a nice mix of different shops, hotels and bakeries, but I have never quite understood the popularity of this place. It could be that you go through Trentham to reach other larger towns, but who knows. I am sure the shop owners here aren't interested in my opinion anyway. Now in saying all of that, we did stop here.

My son had seen something about this store on the web and he wanted me to have a look at an Egyptian statue they have for sale. All the statues are made of fibreglass and some of them do look really good. Inside the store were life size figures of Elvis, the Blues Brothers, large dinosaurs and flying reptiles, just to name a few. The Egyptian statue that I had come to see was 8' tall and extremely expensive, needless to say my son has gone off the idea of owning it.

The only thing I liked was the two fat Wombats on the roof and a Gnome that stood about 4' high and was really quite lovely. He too was not cheap, but I did say to hubby that he would look just wonderful in our garden. Hubby was not overly impressed.

Not too sure about the large brown bear with a doll in between it's teeth. I think they could have done without that.

Next stop was to have a refreshing drink at a The Little Hard Hills Hotel. So named by the Chinese who lived and mined for gold in this area way back when. They walked into the nearest town about once a month for their groceries. This was a few hours walk and the hills were steep, but little, hence the name Little Hard Hills.

More photos next time.

Once again I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who leaves a comment and wishes me well on my chemotherapy journey. I really do appreciate it. Yesterday was the first time accessing the Infusaport that I had put in. I was a bit nervous about it, but it worked well. I had to have a blood test done before the chemo, just to check how the red and white cells are going and the good news was they have held up pretty good this time. That may change as the treatment progresses, but we will worry about that if and when it happens. Most likely by next Tuesday, the affects of this cycle will hit me and that will last a few days, not pleasant days, but hey, as I say "Suck it up Princess". All will be just peachy. It was a long day yesterday, almost 9 hours, but that included the blood test and waiting for the results of that before the drugs can be individually made up for me. I am on three different drugs that are given separately. It all takes time. Hubby goes through this journey with me. He watches them accessing the port and hooking up the drugs. It's important that he knows what is happening. We are on this journey together and I am ever so grateful for that. He had been a Godsend. He sits there patiently and reads, as do I. We bring our own lunch and snacks etc. The hospital also have a volunteer that comes around a few times and serves sandwiches, juice, tea and coffee. Yesterday they even has chicken noodle soup and it was yummy.

Take care. Liz...

Hairs gone, but hey, all's just peachy...

G'day. Last Thursday my hair started falling out, we knew it was coming, but it is confronting nonetheless when it happens. I guess in some ways it brings home the reality of what's really happening, not that we didn't know this already!! That morning, hubby and I decided to go away for a few days, a short break for both of us. We headed down toward the Great Ocean Road, a six or so hour drive, a favourite spot we both love.

On our travels we saw a lot of cars parked on the side of the road and people looking up into the gum trees, of course, there were Koala's in the trees and that was what everyone was looking at. Mainly a lot of tourists from overseas, but even this good Aussie girl and guy love looking at our native animals. They are so cute and furry, but don't be fooled, they can bite and scratch and wouldn't hesitate to do so if needed.

After spending a night at Apollo Bay, we headed to Port Campbell. One of my very favourite towns. I have always loved it here. Can't stop here without having fish and chips for lunch, but sadly, the fish was the worst I have ever had. I asked for it to be grilled and it was like a bit of old leather, so disappointed. Maybe new owners from the last time we were here perhaps !!! Oh well, it wasn't the end of the world.

We had a great time, always nice to escape the house and garden for a while. I will show more pics of our adventures another time.

Next chemo cycle for me tomorrow. I have been reasonably well, only really had three or four super bad days. Had an appointment on Tuesday just gone at the hospital to ask how I was and they couldn't believe how good I looked. Almost made me feel bad for looking so well. Most people I have seen, including friends and family comment on how well I look. That's got to be good, doesn't it?

I am not bothered at all by the lack of hair, the head will be totally bald in a day or so, just a bit of stubble left. Hubby even shaved his head to join me, though I did notice last night that already he has a good growth happening again. I am amazed at the contours on my scalp, the dents and ridges that I never knew I had. I do have lots of fabulous hats to wear and that's a bonus as we are coming into our winter here in beautiful Australia and already a few of the days have been cool.
Time to go, I have a date cake cooking because a friend is coming for afternoon tea. I am going out for morning tea shortly with a good friend from work. I have turned into a real social butterfly... Good on me..


Until next time. Take care. Liz...

The seasons are changing.

G'day. I can truthfully say I love the winter. I am not a summer girl by any stretch of the imagination. Today, where I live, in my beautiful part of Australia, the day has been cool. Sun has been out, but there was no warmth in it. Wind was chilly and I was delighted. Our seasons are changing and about jolly time too, as far as I am concerned. We have had one extremely hot and very long summer and it's time for it to take a hike.

Our garden is coming along nicely. The photo shows a small portion of the backyard. The old "gate" is actually an old single bedhead. Hubby rescued it from being thrown down the tip on the farm where he works. He has attached it to the arch and it looks fabulous. Clever and thoughtful man this hubby of mine. He knows something good when he sees it.

Once again I would like to thank those who have left lovely messages on my blog about my breast cancer. I have now started my chemotherapy and the first dose is over and done with. It hasn't been a walk in the park. I have had a few very bad days, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we will get there. I went out for lunch today with some very good friends and that has been just what I needed. The next two weeks should be ok for me, before the next cycle starts.

My son's partner is back in hospital. All was looking so good, the operation to remove the brain tumour went very well. No real side affects and no complications and that was a relief. But, this morning there was extremely bad weeping from the wound and after a visit to the ER this morning, it's back into surgery as I write this. There is a hole that shouldn't be there and 4 of the staples holding the wound together were doing nothing whatsoever. Clearly something was not right. My son will ring me when he knows more. Hopefully it will be something they can rectify quickly. But it does look like a stay in hospital for a few days will be on the cards.

Take care.
Liz...

Hello again.

G'day. It's been some time since my last post and I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has sent me wonderful messages of encouragement. I do appreciate it.

I did spend a week in hospital recently, due to more fluid build up in the breast and having a serious infection, not to mention a very high temperature. This fluid then needed a drain inserted to get rid of it, but not one drain mind you. I had two drains put in over the course of the week. It's fair to say that I am rather tired of the hospital by now.

The port that was suppose to be in, was cancelled. Can't put a port in where there is any chance of it getting infected and also they won't do it with a high temperature. Bottom line is that now, on Friday the 12th of April, I get the port put in that morning and then in the afternoon, the first dose of chemo starts. A double whammy so to speak. Oh well, my theory is, lets get it started, get on with it and get it over with. In other words, "Suck it up Princess"

I have now had my waist length hair cut very short (on advice from a number of people) and I must add that I will be rather annoyed (putting it nicely) if my hair doesn't fall out, now that I've had it all chopped off. I will try to laugh about that, if it happens (or doesn't!!), but I was quite partial to my hair. A trivial point, I know, but nevertheless, hair is hair.

My son's partner has the brain tumour removed tomorrow. I will be spending a few days down there with him. An  anxious time, a very worrying time, but the neurosurgeon assures us that they do these operations all the time.

The beautiful sunflowers were a gift from one of the nurses at work, she is also a very best friend. These are from her gorgeous cottage garden.

Take care.
Liz...