Sabbath, June 29, 2013

John went to bed before 8 tonight because he didn't get to rest all day.  Our head elder at the Waynesville Church is on vacation in Maine so we went down early to pick up soldiers.  That meant we got home from church in Rolla around 1:15, had a quick bite to eat and then headed straight down there.  It made for a long day for John and he was wobbly and weak by the time we left there about 6:30.

Generally, he seems to have sort of plateaued in

his progess, so he seems to be about the same these last few weeks.  His weight has maxxed out at 163 but he keeps dropping back to 160.  Food just does not taste good to him.

My two gardens are doing wonderfully well; they provide wonderful opportunities to unwind in a productive and creative way.  Just today I picked two beautiful heads of escarole.  Not everyone will appreciate escarole because it has quite a bold flavor but it does well in a salad blended with milder lettuces with a good strong dressing.  Anyway, I brought one to Rolla Church and Marilyn was delighted to take one home.  I brought one to Waynesville Church but didn't find anyone who wanted it. 

Scarlet runner beans are blooming beautiful and add some bright color to my mostly green garden.  I planted my unique hyacin beans (see

photo) because they have lovely dark red foliage, lavendar blooms, a bright almost fuscia pod, and then these gorgeous seeds.  It's a vine and climbs nicely on fence or trellis.

Last Sunday I harvested my garlic, so I just must post a picture of it, too....I have lots and will save some large bulbs for my seed garlic to plant in the fall. 

One of my delights is working with the children in the school garden.  I take just a few with me at a time because it is a hard job to keep them from harvesting anything they see, pulling up stuff that isn't weeds, or walking where we have just planted seeds!  They just love being in it.    And just as I imagined, they are willing to try something that they helped to grow!  The other day it was kolrabi,
beets, peppers, pea pods, and cucumbers!  I am so
proud of them when they at least try.                          

Sabbath, June 14, 2013

Six months ago today was the beginning of our medical detour and so much has happened in these months.  John is definitely healing, slowly but surely.  He figured he would be the exception and would heal quickly so he is disappointed that it is taking so long.  He preached twice today and didn't even go to bed until 8:30 pm so that is progress!

Yesterday, he took his morning walk, even taking off his shirt to get some sun; but not too much cause it is not good for the tender skin of his incision scars.  As he walked along, shirt off, binder around his middle, a man approached, stopped, and asked if he had had an aneurism.  This man had had one  8 years ago and recognized John's scars.  Talk about an immediate bond between men!  They could empathize.  It made for a wonderful sermon illustration today as John preached about Jesus being our high priest and well able to sympathize with us because he was here with us!

This morning, John said something about his "grand opening", referring to his initial surgery when his chest was opened for the first time.  I said, "Well, it was nearly your "grand finale"!  We've been laughing about that all day.

At Stepping Stones Child Care Center, I so appreciate my manager, Marilou Medrano, a high-powered nurse manager who essentially volunteers her time.  Her husband, Dom, mostly volunteers, too, as do their children Guilla and EG.  But it is Marilou who works side by side with me in problem-solving, dealing with irritated parents, scheduling appropriate staff, and so many other helpful tasks.  The other day, we just happened to be dressed alike.

 As you can see, she is cheerful, self-possessed, consistently pleasant, and as petite as she can be!  They are also our best neighbors.

Well, our next door neighbors are pretty dear too since they continue to mow our lawn!

But the whole Medrano family are just marvelous friends, neighbors, and helpers.  This is my tribute to them...

Today, we came back from preaching in Salem to a picnic at the park in Rolla.  It's always a risk coming late to a picnic.  There were still some people there and just enough food.  I brought a pasta salad and people were glad to see it, too!

Afterwards, three of us walked around the lake and then I wanted to walk home, too.  Guilla wanted to walk with me.  So, we went on an adventure and found our way home through the woods, following mountain biking trails that are every so close to our house that we hardly knew were there!

 

I've only found one tick on me but just feel creepy crawly all over my body, worried there are others.  The walk was worth it, though! And now I need to take my bike onto those trails and really explore them a bit more...

After the picnic, John came home and got a good nap in before we headed down to our church service on the Fort. 

Now it is Father's Day and how glad we are that our girls still have their Daddy!  Natasha sent him a card with a Taco Bell gift card...right on the money, honey!  John still enjoys four Tostadas when nothing else sounds good to him!

We went on a walk this morning after John looked at the weather radar map and declared there might be a tiny shower but that is all.  On the way back, though, it started to rain and then to pour.  We found shelter under the trees but gave it up and got soaked on our walk back..."This just might be our Waterloo!" he said with a grin.

But my garden is delighted with the shower that has continued, sometimes at a downpour, for over an hour.  So much for a little cloud....how is it that these cells just materialize out of nowhere?!!

Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful dads out there.  John and I are sure missing ours today.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Honeysuckle....ummm....its smell triggers childhood memories, mostly pleasant!  Right now, the sweet fragrance wafts on the air with such a tantalizing aroma.  The "natural" part of our back yard is filled with them; the walking path just down the street from our home is lined with them; seems its scent is everywhere.

One of my first childhood memories was in

Hostas and Honeysuckle

Lexington, Kentucky, where we lived with several other families.  Out back was a rock wall covered with honeysuckle on which my sister Heidi and I were sitting, eating the nectar from the tale end of the honeysuckle.  It was spring and the blooms were everywhere.  So were the bees.  One unhappy bee stung me right in the finger and greatly insulted me.  I know I cried.  Yet, I still love the simple honeysuckle.

Even at Stepping Stones, I will sometimes take a fretful child out for a walk to see and taste the honeysuckle, to see and touch the white petunias, the red and purple salvia, and the brightly colored artificial butterflies in our two big pots out front.

Tonight, I breathed in the honeysuckle fragrance as I peddled the whole length of our trail, down one creek and up another, watched a moment of Rolla vs Salem softball game, then toiled back the other direction and home.

John was working on his sermon.  Tomorrow he presents his story "40 days in the Wilderness" (my title) to our Rolla Church.  Salem and Waynesville heard it several weeks ago.  He was asking me for clarifications once again of those many days when he remembers so little.  Always, somehow, I am able to tell him something new, something he has never heard before.  Today, I told him about Natasha.

Rosie out front by the garden

When I called her late that Monday night after receiving the CT scan report that John's aorta was dissected, she simple said, "I am coming."  I have so treasured that.  She didn't say, "Do you need me?" or "Shall I come?"  Rather, "I am coming."  In fact, both she and Jeremy came, and they arrived at Barnes Hospital by about 5 am Tuesday morning.  I don't think I had ever told John that before.  He may have read it in the blog.  But it made him teary-eyed.

John has been back to work almost a month.  It was this weekend last month when we were at Southern for Karissa's graduation.  He is still at the same weight as then, about 160 pounds, despite his heroic efforts to eat and to work out in order to build muscle, he is still the same.  He has also been pretty tired.  I think he is overdoing the working out but that is just my humble opinion.  Today, he did go and get some blood drawn for lab work which his kidney doctored ordered.  We will see what the results are and then talk to a doctor about it all.

Rosie posing

Sabbath is drawing on and I am grateful for the rest it will afford.  We only go to Rolla tomorrow.  So it might in fact be a restful day.  We have no plans for Sunday.
 ......
Sabbath was wonderful, really, but not too restful!  I invited Naomi and Jonathan and McKenzie and Todd home for lunch.  While John went for his "lay activities", we all walked at a quiet woodland park and thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors.  Such beautiful weather; clear skies, no humidity, temperature just right.

Later, Bev and I went over to see Marlena's garden.  She has three little girls at Stepping Stones, has a flower shop, and a wonderful country home.  It was like a park and such a treat to enjoy it, her daughters, and their little kittens.  Back at our house, Bev shared some supper with us and we had wonderful and meaningful conversation.  We had the mandatory garden tour at our house and then at the church, too. 

Today, Sunday, we had a downpour for hours but not before I had worked outside, gone and gotten a tetanus shot, cleaned my whole car (first time since before January 14!), and grocery-shopped.  Later, it cleared nicely and we got to work in the yard some more.  Now John is getting ready for bed.  Sabbath really tired him out so today has been a slow day for him, though he did some mowing and vacuumed HIS car.  We have so much for which to be thankful!