The Garden in February - After the Rains

Revived Flower Beds

Went out into the front garden this morning to see how the plants are doing.  After last month's rains, the flower beds have been revived and the garden is doing well.

African Daisies

 Lots of flowers and buds on the African Daisies.  I have mostly this white flower, but there are one or two plants with purple flowers, as well.  These are drought tolerant plants that self seed themselves and I have at least two areas where they've naturalized themselves and a third area in the making.

Aloe Plants in the Succulents Area

I have planted one entire bed of succulents along the side wall separating my garden from the neighbor's driveway.  The aloe plants have each sent out a flower stalk after the rains.


 

Aloe Flower

These aloe plants were grown from cuttings my gardener friend M gave me.  He brought me more cuttings, last week, for another bed of succulents for the front garden.  The front garden gets the brunt of the scorching summer sun as it faces south and west.  With our continued water restrictions, the front garden is being transformed.  But drought tolerant gardens can be quite attractive, once established.  And there are flowers to be enjoyed after the rains.
 

Aloe Flower 2

In other areas of my life, my friend's daughter came by this morning to go to the pharmacy for me.  She brought me some food her mother had cooked for me - bulgar wheat and mixed vegetables.  Nice and bland, with no added spices to upset my stomach.

My friend's daughter then went to the pharmacy, but she called me to say that the prescription wasn't covered by insurance, so I told her to leave it, I will talk to the doctor's office about it tomorrow.  Instead, she picked up some other medicines that were also ready and a giant bottle of OTC antacid pills. She had to wait a little for the other medicines to be ready, but she was so sweet about it.  Such a blessing to know such lovely young people.

I had sent in the last batch of completed office work, yesterday, and received another batch of work from the office, today.  So, I'll have plenty of work to keep me busy for the rest of this week, in between medical appointments.

I have an injection scheduled for tomorrow (to boost the immune system and white blood cell count), and I'm scheduled for blood tests on Thursday (and an endoscopy to see if my heartburn is due to an ulcer, but I want to talk to the doctor about it, a bit more, tomorrow, because from what I've read, it's not something I can drive myself home afterwards; so I might have to reschedule it for when daughter can accompany me).  And then, hydration, again, on Friday.

I also spoke with one of my cousins who has been checking on me to see if I've been eating (and what).  I also spoke with another of my cousins who called to let me know that a member of the extended family (her uncle) was in hospital, not expected to recover.  Very sad, but he's in his 80s and has been battling ill health for awhile, now.  

In the meantime, we've been having what are known as Santa Ana winds - they are warm, dry winds that blow over the mountains to the east of us, across the deserts.  They have caused our temperatures to soar to the upper 80s and low 90s, these past few days and into the weekend, according to the forecast.  A welcome warmth in February, and I am not complaining.  But it is another challenge to the garden and the little seedlings that are coming up here and there.  A lot of them are weeds, of course, but some are African daisies in the 3rd area I want them to grow in (along the parkway, between the sidewalk and the curb).   Another shower or two of rain would be welcome, but the Santa Ana winds have pushed any rain away from our forecast for the next week or so.

Today, I received a gift of Valentine's Day chocolates from a company with whom I do business.  :)  This is the 2nd year they've done this and I am so happy to receive them.  I am saving the chocolates to share with daughter (and the reusable coolant pack that came with them and the styrofoam cooler as well - it will join last year's cooler in the trunk of my car for groceries later in the summer). 

Today, I am grateful for:

- The garden looking so well after the rains
- My friend's daughter coming to pick up the medicines for me and being so sweet about it
- My friend sending me some non-spicy bland food
- The gift of chocolates (and coolant pack and cooler)
- Continued work assignments

How was your day?  Have you started plans for your spring garden, yet?

Monday's Productivity

Phone Pouch with Strap

Today, I went for my hydration and injection in the morning.  I brought up the subject of the heartburn I have been experiencing.  My normal food tends to be rather spicy, but I've stopped eating spicy food.  However, even the mild food I've been eating have triggered heartburn.  I've changed my eating patterns, eating the heavier meals in the morning or early afternoon, and lighter meals in the evening, but even so, the heartburn comes on at night.  I prop myself on pillows to the point where I am practically sleeping sitting upright, and still the heartburn has persisted.  I'm taking calcium supplements and that's supposed to help, but I still have heartburn.  So, finally, today, the doctor prescribed medication.  My friend's daughter will run to the pharmacy for me to pick up the medication, tomorrow.

In the afternoon, I dropped daughter off at the airport as she went back to Berkeley.  After I came back, I took a nap.  Later, I took the trash cans to the curb for pick up, tomorrow.

Still later, I took some leftover yarn and crocheted a strap for my phone case, which transformed it into a pouch I could hang from my neck or wear across my body.  Now, as long as I remember to wear it this way, the phone will be available for me to call at anytime, should I need to.   Of course, I'd need to attach my eye glasses to the strap as well, because I need my glasses in order to see to use the phone!  LOL.  I can see myself needing to make a bigger pouch, big enough for both glasses and phone!

And, if I may, I'd like to share a picture of a couple of Christmas gifts that daughter made from polymer clay - two pendents and a pair of earrings:

Pendants and Earrings

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter had a safe flight back
- Friend's daughter will run to the pharmacy for me
- Help for the heartburn
- Feeling better
- Warmer days

How was your Monday?

In Memorium

Mother - One of my favorite pictures of her

Today is the 10th anniversary of my mother's passing.  Ten years is a long time; it feels like yesterday, though.

Her decline in health had begun with a fall in which she broke her hip.  She had hip replacement surgery, during which she had a bad reaction to the anesthesia and had to be kept intubated in ICU for 3 days.  She was just recovering from the fall and surgery, when she had another fall due to a brain hemorrhage and a heart attack.  She needed a pace maker and had to relearn some language skills - the proper words for things, how to write again, how to read.

She continued to suffer a series of falls, and slowly, we noticed that her memory was failing her.  One day in October of 2005, she didn't recognize me and asked me who I was.  I thought she was joking.  She wasn't.  And, increasingly, she used to get disorientated at evening and experience behavior changes.  I had never heard of Sundowners' Syndrome until much later, after Mother had passed away.  I didn't quite realize it at the time, but she was at the beginning stages of dementia.  I was working full time, parenting a very active middle schooler in a high achievement academic program with many extra-curricular activities (dance classes, piano classes, gymnastics, etc.), and taking care of my mother, as well.  This was a very stressful time in my life.

The end came quite gently, as it turned out.  On a Monday, after a recent fall, she didn't feel well and I stayed home from work to look after her.  I had washed her and helped her to bed and was thinking to myself that, if she continued to be this ill, I'd have to either take a leave of absence from my work and stay home to care for her, or find someone to come and care for her even though we tried that one time earlier and Mother protested the whole time.  Putting her into a care facility was only the last possible option, after all other options had been exhausted.  I was cleaning up the bathroom and doing a load of laundry when daughter came to inform me that Grandmother was crying.

When I went to check on Mother, she was, indeed, crying, because she was sorry that I had to take care of her.  She was being a burden to me, she said.  I tried to reassure her that it was OK.  That taking care of her was not a burden, that I would do whatever was needed to look after her.

The next day, Tuesday, February 7, she seemed OK.  She refused to take her tea in bed and insisted on coming to the living room.  She had her tea and ate a banana.  I felt reassured enough to go to the office.  As always, I prepared her meal (I normally left both breakfast and lunch on a table next to her chair, along with her medications and water and so forth).  On this particular morning, she didn't want me to make her breakfast as our gardener M was coming and she liked him to make her French toast - she said he made it better than I did.  :)

It was partly because M was going to be there for two hours that I felt it was OK for me to go to the office.  If I left a little later than usual, Mother would be on her own for 30 minutes before M would check in on her, make her breakfast, etc.  Towards the end of his stay, his aunt who lived a couple of doors down would come over to check on my mother and then, she'd be on her own again for another couple of hours before my daughter would come home from school, as Tuesdays were half days for her.  Her friend would also come home with her and they would sit and do their homework together until it was time for her friend's mother to come from work to pick up her friend and I would be home after that.  In my patched together care system, Tuesdays were good days.

Except, this particular Tuesday didn't go according to script.  I had been at the office for less than an hour, when I got a phone call, saying my mother wasn't well, 911 has been called but I should come home immediately.  I spoke to the paramedics, trying to explain where her medications were, when he gently told me that it was best if I came home immediately, he'll be waiting for me.  That's when I asked if she was already gone and he said he generally doesn't like to break the news over the phone, but, yes.  My supervisor at work and a colleague drove me home - colleague driving me in my car, supervisor following in an office car so he could take colleague back.

I gradually got the whole story from gardener M, his aunt, the paramedics, etc.  Mother had enjoyed her French toast breakfast, but had told M that she couldn't "do this any more" and M had tried to reassure her.  Then, M had gone to plant some bean seeds my daughter had sprouted as part of a science experiment.  Mother had made her bed (I discovered, later), then had gone to the back door to ask M if everything was OK.  He had given her a thumbs up and she had gone back to sit in her chair.  A short while later, M's aunt had come to check on my mother as was her custom and found Mother, on her chair, but unresponsive.  That's when they called the paramedics, who tried to revive her but couldn't.

The rest of the day passed by almost like a dream.  I did what I had to do, notified people, made funeral arrangements, and so forth and made it a point to explain to daughter what had happened when she came home from school.  She was only 12 years old, but over the next few days and weeks, she'd hold me as I'd break down and cry.

I had always planned to hold an almsgiving on a grand scale to observe the 10th anniversary of my mother's passing.  Instead, here I am, unable to do anything about it, since I am dealing with a sickness of my own.  I did call the temple and reminded the monks, who reassured me that they will hold a special evening service during which they will remember her and light candles in her memory and say a prayer for her.  I, too, will keep a candle burning in her memory, today, and maybe, in the afternoon, daughter will drive me to the cemetery to leave a few flowers at her grave.

Rest in peace, Mother.  You are remembered with love and missed, not just today, but every day, by your daughter and granddaughter.

A Fall and a New Perspective

Yesterday, I felt lightheaded (bloodpressure was high) and shaky.  Later in the night, when I went to say my nightly prayers, I felt a bit dizzy.  I tried to walk over to the bed to sit down, but instead, I fell.  Fortunately, I didn't hurt myself or get bruised or anything.  Yet, it was a sobering thing to happen.  Suddenly, I realized that I was alone in the house and should anything serious happen, I didn't have a phone handy (I hadn't taken one in to the bedroom, with me) and, with the security chain on the lock, etc., people wouldn't find it easy to reach me.

Today, I felt well enough to drive myself to get my blood tests done this morning.  I took a bag of freshly picked lemons with me to give to the staff at the lab, as promised.  They were so happy to receive the lemons.

Later, I did a load of laundry and washed the dishes.  Also did some office-related work and sent that off.

But, by afternoon, I realized that I really wanted my daughter to come home this weekend.  Earlier, each time she asked if I wanted her to come home this weekend, I had said no.  After all, she had only left me on Monday evening and she needed a weekend to herself to work on her thesis, etc.  But, this afternoon, I called her and asked her to try and get a flight home today.  Luckily, she was able to do so.  At this point, it doesn't matter how much it is going to cost.  Right now, as I type this, she is waiting at the airport, waiting until it is time to board her flight.

Tomorrow, daughter will drive me to my hydration and we will discuss this latest turn of events with the medical staff.

Today, I am grateful for:
- the fall was relatively minor - I didn't get hurt or bruised, nothing broken, etc.
- finances allow for the occasional splurge of a last minute flight
- daughter was clever enough to organize her classes so she has Fridays and Mondays free to come home for the weekend
- I felt well enough today to do what needed to be done
- Neighbor across the street called to say she was bringing me more of her homemade soup

How was your day, today?

February Goals and Balance Wheel

Spiritual:
-   Focus on prayers and meditations; on gratitude and being thankful; appreciate the blessings. 

Environment:
- Continue cleaning and decluttering and organizing!  
 
Daughter: 
- She needs to complete her thesis by the 12th of this month.  She won't come down until I have my next chemo treatment.

Family:
- Most, if not all, contacts will be on the phone or on-line, this month.  I need to call and wish one cousin for her birthday.
   
Friends:
-  Again, contacts will be mostly on the phone and on-line.   
 
Career:
-  Will continue to work from home on the good days.

Finances:
- I will continue to budget and manage my finances to the best of my abilities. 

Health:
- Once again, the main focus will be on health.  I've a blood test and another hydration scheduled for this week, followed by more of the same, next week, plus immune booster injections as needed.  The 4th chemo session will be scheduled for later this month.

Time Management:
- Procrastinate less!  Go back to making daily to do lists but keep them realistic due to health restrictions.

 Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time: 
- Started to knit another new scarf; continue to sew the hexagon quilt.


The majority of the goals for February remains the same as in January.  But that's OK.

January Goals and Balance Wheel Review

Spiritual:
-   Focus on prayers and meditations; on gratitude and being thankful; appreciate the blessings:  I think I did well with this; I noted the blessings and listed 5 things I was grateful for each day.  

Environment:
- Undecorate from Christmas and start cleaning and decluttering and organizing!  Loads to be done!:  Again, I think I did well in this area;  I undecorated and started cleaning; I cleared the living room and dining area, family room and did part of my bedroom and started on the kitchen.
 
Daughter: 
- She still has 2 weeks of Winter break left, so she'll be home for a bit longer.  Then, she returns to Berkeley to begin her last semester of Grad. school:  As always, the biggest blessing in my life!  We enjoyed her stay over winter break and she's been back this weekend to be with me for the 3rd chemo session. 

Family:
- Most, if not all, contacts will be on the phone or on-line, this month.  I need to call and wish one cousin and one aunt on their birthdays: Called and wished aunt and cousin; another cousin and her daughter took me to one of my medical appointments so we visited in person as well; another cousin and aunt will be visiting me this afternoon.
  
Friends:
-  Again, contacts will be mostly on the phone and on-line: Phone calls and emails, for the most part; but other friends also brought food and showed they cared in many ways.     
 
Career:
-  I plan to continue to work from home on the good days: Did all my assignments and was thanked by my supervisor.

Finances:
- I will continue to budget and manage my finances to the best of my abilities.  The big bill due this month is daughter's tuition and fees:  January was an expensive month, with higher than usual heating and utility bills; but all bills were paid and finances are in a good way.

Health:
- Once again, the main focus will be on health.  I've a hydration session scheduled for Monday, January 4, a blood test on Tuesday, January 5, and the second chemo therapy session on Friday, January 8.  It will be followed by another blood test the following week and a hydration session on the Friday of that week.  And depending on the blood test results, more immunity booster injections, and "lather, rinse, repeat" :  I had both my 2nd and 3rd chemo sessions in January, along with all the hydrations, blood tests, immune booster injections, etc.

Time Management:
- Procrastinate less!  Go back to making daily to do lists and actually do them! I am doing better in this area.  At least, some things are getting done!

 Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time: 
- I plan to finish knitting the scarf I am making and start on the Mountain Climbing quilt: Finished the scarf, last night!  Will start on the quilt today!



I think, on the whole, I did well with achieving my goals and a balanced life in January.  I will do a new Goals/Balance Wheel for February, tomorrow.

Did anyone else try to do a goals/balance wheel for January?  Anyone wants to try one for February?

Saturday: More Kitchen Tidying

Today is a cloudy, overcast day.  Rain in the forecast for tomorrow.

I am feeling fine after yesterday's chemo session.  No nausea.  The only side effect seems to be a dry mouth.  As side effects go, it's very minor.

Today, I have been continuing with kitchen tidying.  This time, I was brave enough to take some "before" pictures, as well!  LOL!

I took a picture of the upper cabinets on either side of and above the stove:

Cabinets Above the Stove

At just under 5-feet in height, I am vertically challenged!  I can barely reach the cabinet above the stove even on tippy toes.  As a result, I tend to store the less used baking pans, the larger juicer, some empty glass jars (used for chutney and jam making, storing spices, etc.), as well as a jar of tiny, dried shrimp (used as a flavoring condiment in some curries).  The stove hood vent takes up the middle of the cabinet.

The cabinet to the left is where I keep the tea/coffee/sugar, etc., which I tidied the other day.  The cabinet to the right is were I keep my jams, chutneys, cooking sauces, corn meal, rolled oats, instant soup noodles, etc.  I cleaned the shelves and tidied it, today.   The picture above was taken before I tidied it.

Immediately to the right of the single upper cabinet shown above (with the chutneys and cooking sauces, etc.), is a double cabinet which is a sort of storage/pantry cabinet:

Storage/Pantry Cabinet

These cabinets take up one of the shorter walls of my kitchen, which measures 8 feet by 10 1/2 feet.

Back to the upper cabinet to the right of the stove:

Upper Right Cabinet: Before

Again, I took everything off each shelf, washed the shelf and replaced the items.   I was able to fit in all the jars of chutney on one shelf; I left the last jar of jam on the uppermost shelf.  I believe I have 2 jars of lemon marmalade in another cabinet, that can go on that shelf with the jar of jam (will retrieve them when I get to that cabinet).  Then, I washed the cabinet door.

Here is the upper cabinet after being sorted through:

Upper Cabinet: After

I am able to reach the items on the lower two shelves; getting a jar of chutney or jam requires the aid of the two-tier step stool.

To the right of the stove (again, my right when standing facing the stove), below this upper cabinet, is another drawer and lower cabinet:

Drawer and Lower Cabinet

The drawer is where I keep mostly baking utensils - spatulas, mixer beaters, measuring cups and spoons, whisks, pastry brush, plus other less used items such as the pizza cutter, ice cream scoop, a melon baller, nut cracker, bottle openers, cork screw, candle stubs, etc.

Drawer: Before

I removed everything from the drawer, damp wiped the inside, washed the drawer organizers (a cutlery tray and a divided tray from a packet of cookies!  I like to reuse whatever is available and on hand.  It's frugal and environmentally friendly.  Then, placed the trays back.

 

Clean Drawer and Organizers

Then, I sorted through and replaced all the utensils back.  I didn't find anything to toss, at this time, although the green spout was a close candidate.  I did put back two cookie cutters in the container where I store the cookie cutters (in another cabinet).

Drawer: After

Not much of a difference between the before and after - it's hard to keep the utensils drawers neat and tidy, and I probably have too many items in there.  I have three sets of measuring spoons, for example, which might be too many, but when both daughter and I are both in the kitchen, making different things, we find it convenient to have duplicates and triplicates.

The cabinet underneath is where I keep the majority of my small appliances: the waffle maker, blender, hand mixer, juicer, pastry sheet and rolling pin, an electric frying pan at the very back, an electric grill that was a gift which is still in the box, etc.  This is the before picture, but I decided not to rearrange it at this time.  I know what's in there and there really isn't a better way to organize it, so it is OK as is.

Small Appliances Cabinet: Current

I washed the drawer front and the door of the small appliances cabinet.

Back to the last upper cabinet - just the pantry shelves, only:

The Pantry Shelves - Current

This includes my earthquake/emergency supplies, as well.  So, it includes some ready-to-eat kits and boxed mixes, as well.  I didn't take out the items off and wash these shelves at this time.  I might do that another time, when the kitchen area comes around on my cleaning cycle.  This cabinet is tidy enough for my needs, at this time.  Again, I can reach the items on the two lower shelves, but the upper shelves require the use of the two-tier step stool (the top most shelf means climbing on the counter!)

Just below this pantry cabinet, and to the right of the small appliances cabinet, is the corner cabinet:

The Corner Cabinet

There is a two tiered turn-table installed in this corner cabinet to make things more accessible.  I store my cooking pots and pans on the upper tier and my baking supplies and kitchen scales, etc. in the bottom tier.  This cabinet is in dire need of being sorted and the shelves relined, but here is the before picture:

Two-Tiered Turn Table

I washed the corner cabinet doors, today, but I didn't sort through and clean the inside of it.  That will be left for another day - maybe next week, or maybe when the kitchen comes up on my cleaning cycle.  This will be a big deep cleaning job.  Best left for another day when it will be my first job of the day to tackle, when I have more energy, etc.

In other kitchen news, my old 4-slice toaster died on me, yesterday, when I tried to toast my last bagel.  I unplugged it and wiped out the crumbs, etc., and tried it again, but it wasn't working.  Oh, well, I've had it for over 20 years, so it gave me good service.  I had daughter get me a new, 2-slice toaster to replace it.  This new one has adjustable slots to accommodate bagels, unlike my old toaster.

Daughter also bought herself a coffee maker as she has got accustomed to brewed coffee and no longer likes instant coffee.  So, she's been missing her morning coffee when she visits me.   It was OK when she visited less than once a month, but now, she's coming home more often and has been dragging in the mornings!  I need to clear up my counter space to accommodate the coffee maker. 

In the morning, my daughter ran some errands for me and I picked some lemons and curry leaves for her to give to one of my friends when she was out and about.

So that was my productivity for today.  The rest of the evening will be spent reading and/or knitting.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Feeling fine after yesterday's chemo treatment
- Minimal side effects
- Getting more kitchen cleaning and organizing done
- Daughter running more errands for me
- Being able to bless a friend with lemons and curry leaves from my garden

How was your Saturday?