Month: May 2021

There will be lots of photos this time around and news on several fronts. Let’s get to it!

I finished my radiation therapy this week. I had to get a selfie of me gowned up, masked up, and ready for treatment.

The Mayo Clinic has a long-running custom that signifies a person’s completion of treatment: Ring the bell. Here I am doing just that. The bell is located just outside the Radiation and Oncology check-in desk and I passed it while going for each treatment. Note that the bell is titled “The Sound of Hope.”

Next up, on June 1st, is a scheduled hormone therapy injection. After that I am clear until my 3-month follow-up in late August or early September. I look forward to regaining some of my energy so I can move ahead on the various projects planned for this summer.

Last week we hit up a couple greenhouses and bought some plants. Pam potted some pansies for the front porch steps and planted geraniums in the east flower bed. Here are the potted pansies.

While trimming back some day lilies under the oak trees, Pam found two columbine plants blooming. One is pink, the other the traditional Colorado blue. Below is the pink plant in bloom.

One of Pam’s ‘Bucket List’ items for the house has been to get bunting on the porches for summer holidays. To this end she ordered bunting online, and has been sewing a casing to the tops, so each panel can accept a 5/8-inch dowel rod. The rods are used to hang the panels while maintaining their shape. (My idea.) Pam installed the bunting this morning, and the results look great.

Painting lengths of the house cement siding was interrupted this week by all of these weather conditions: cold weather, rain, and high humidity. Frost advisory? Really? And one day the humidity was 99% with temps into the high 80’s. I had to put the window A/C unit in my bedroom and we ran the central air a couple of days as well. Crazy weather this spring.

Photo Archive

In July of 1994 we took the kids on a trip to the east coast. We visited Old Sturbridge Village, Kitty Hawk, Shenandoah Park, Mt. Vernon, and other sites along the way.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

The patriotic bunting project is not yet complete (the small buntings on the east porch need some additional ruffles, for instance, for better proportion). But it’s satisfying to see the main porches with bunting swaying in the breeze. I tried to order bunting last year during COVID, but due to manufacturing difficulties none was available. Probably just as well; with the stresses of both the pandemic and the previous administration in 2020, I wasn’t feeling very patriotic last Memorial Day anyway.

Depending on what is flowering in the yard by Monday, I will cut some sprigs of fresh flowers and put a few on the grave stones of Hannah Tierney and daughter Gertrude Stute. You may recall these names of two of the past owners of Heart House — we visited their graves in the Catholic cemetery in Elma last year.

The gardens @ 702 are exploding with plant growth. Except for purchase of petunias for the Mary Lynn bed (hopefully on sale), most of the annual flowers are planted. Now begins the weeding. I’m trying not to be obsessive about weeding, as we have a resident population of toads who enjoy shady areas and undergrowth.

The possibilities of participating in local events closed down by COVID last year is tempting; we are considering which ones to attend. Summer will include continuing renovation projects of course, but I don’t think we’ll keep our noses to the grindstone as we did last year during lockdowns. Hopefully we’ll see some of you in Elma this year to check out our renovations/updates at Heart House.

Happy Trails.

With the arrival of full-on spring, the yard is coming awake with more flowers. It’s hard to believe that just a couple weeks ago we were dealing with frost and freeze warnings.

The daffodils and tulips have run their course for the year, but many other blooms are taking their shot at the sun. Lilacs, blue flax, bleeding hearts, and lilies of the valley are adding their colors to the place. Here are photos of a few of them.

In my last post I mentioned a few repair projects — Pam’s board buddies and a fountain. Here are a couple shots of these completed repair projects.

I have the fountain on the porch for the time being as I like listening to the tinkling sound of the water when I sit near it.

The man had one of his hat brims replaced and the lady received a new foot. Damage had been caused during our move from Colorado. The figures are placed where Pam can see them from the kitchen window.

Spring has also brought a few new birds to the area. One of them is this white breasted nuthatch:

Another bird spotted for the first time, which I have not been able to photograph yet, is the Northern Oriole. His bright colors are easily recognized. Photo below is from the internet.

A recent trip to a couple greenhouses yielded another amur maple, now planted in the east yard, and various flowers that Pam will put in pots or plant in the flower beds. More on these in my next post. I will note that the greenhouses seem to be very low on stock with many empty racks in the facilities. We don’t know if this is because it is still early in the season or if plant stock is abnormally low this year. Major chain stores seem to have their regular allotment of plants for sale.

Helping the grass and plants in their growth period was the arrival of nearly 2 inches of rain this past week. NE Iowa/SE Minnesota had been in a ‘moderate’ drought, according to local weather stations. Pam had been hand-watering plants, particularly the new ones, so the rain was welcome.

Painting of the cement siding got underway this past week. The rain didn’t help that project much, but a number of boards were painted and are being stored in the garage addition. I move the boards and Pam does the painting.

I completed another five sessions of radiation treatments. Eighteen done and four to go. On Thursday, my last treatment day, I will discuss a follow-up plan with the doctor and move into that phase of treatment. I suspect the plan will consist mostly of blood draws to monitor my PSA levels and hormone therapy injections every 3 months. More in my next post.

Photo Archive

More fall color photos. The first one includes Pam, myself, and son Toby enjoying a fall day.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Busy. You too?

Happy Trails.

This week continued with the routine of last week, at least as far as my trips to the Mayo Clinic were concerned. Really nothing new there. I have completed 13 of the 22 treatments so am in the ‘home stretch.’

For those who may be familiar with the Mayo Clinic, you know there are two campuses. One is the St. Mary’s Hospital campus and the other is the Methodist Hospital campus. I am getting my treatments at the Methodist campus. The two are a few blocks apart in the city of Rochester, Minnesota.

My last post mentioned me getting my ‘day pass’ when I arrived at the campus. These are used for COVID-19 screening. Just for hoots I kept a week’s worth of these passes:

The treatments go on. Although I will be done with the radiation treatments by the end of the month, I will be getting my 3-month shot of Eligard (hormone therapy) on June 1st. These shots will happen every 3 months over the next 15 months. It remains to be seen how I react to the rest of the radiation but, to date, the side effects have been fairly subdued.

Pam continues her work in the snug. Painting is nearly done but details need to be completed. Later today we will attempt to remove the rest of the snug’s carpet which will be a real job. Here are some photos of Pam’s work to date.

The snug is looking good!

Ever since we moved in we knew at some point we’d need to replace the kitchen sink faucet as it, believe it or not, made a sound (like a sad sigh) and dripped every time a valve was turned off. (Not to mention the hand sprayer sticking in the “on” position and giving the next person a complementary shower.) Replacement was on the docket. I found a suitable new unit at Menards and set about swapping faucets.

One thing led to another and I ended up replacing several of the drain pipes. Nothing is ever easy, and what should have been a simple project took a trip to the hardware store for more parts and pieces and a couple hours of work. The main culprit was a broken trap and down-pipe that connects the sink drain to the rest of the plumbing, located in the basement.

Additionally, several of the slip rings and gaskets had to be replaced. The job was a real PITA but we now have a new faucet that does not leak or make noises and drains that should last as long as we own the house.

Spring continues to progress. Our lilacs are beginning to bloom. New growth is on all the plants and trees, good to see. Pam harvested a few rhubarb stalks this week and will continue, as growth permits, until there is enough diced rhubarb to make a pie.

A couple other projects are in the works. I sealed the cracks in our decorative water fountain and cut and glued a couple of repair pieces onto Pam’s “farmer and wife’ board buddies lawn ornaments. The fountain is waiting for the sealant to cure and the repaired parts of the buddies need paint. I hope to have photos of these by the next post.

It was a routine week. The time is dominated by my daily 125 mile round trips to Rochester and work on a few small projects after I get home. Pam’s work in the snug is highly detailed and takes up quite a bit of her time. Throw in the routine tasks and occasional animal transport to the vet for maintenance (JoJo just had her teeth cleaned) and the time goes by.

Photo Archive

Family photos from the early and mid ’80s.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

It’s an interesting thing about retirement – after a lifetime of reporting to one workplace or another, a person resists being scheduled in retirement. One of the irritants of the radiation therapy is Himself having to get up at an assigned time every weekday and meet an appointment schedule in Rochester. When the weekend arrives after five radiation appointments, it’s as if a work week has ended (all over again). Not a good memory.

JoJo and I also had to organize our schedules on Wednesday to drive her to Charles City by 8:15 a.m. for a doggie dental. Drove back to Elma quickly so the RAV was available for Himself to drive to Rochester. Himself returns from Rochester and I get back in the RAV to return to Charles City for groceries and doggie pickup. Schedules and timing again. Tiring.

Has anybody else out there been having major issues with the postal service? Ever since the incompetent previous administration replaced the postmaster with Dejoy, and our [regional Waterloo] sorting machine was destroyed [unnecessarily], mail service into/out of NE Iowa has been a mess. There were holiday cards and December bills arriving in mid January, a box shipped from Colorado in April that took four weeks to arrive. Now the USPS appears to have lost our mailed checks to pay for annual supplemental health insurance. Irritating, irritating, irritating.

Be well. Happy Trails.

This week was my first full week of getting radiation treatments. To date I have had eight sessions, leaving 14 more to go.

The routine is pretty simple. Up in the morning, shower and breakfast, leave the house by around 9:45. Arrive in Rochester and find a place to park. (Most days the parking ramp has space available but that is not a sure thing.) Get parked and head into the clinic. Stop at the COVID-19 screening station, answer some questions, get my ‘day pass’ sticker to put on my shirt. Head for the check-in desk.

Arrive at Radiation and Oncology check-in desk, give my name, date of birth, and answer more screening questions such as “do you feel dizzy or nauseous” and complete check-in. Head for a seat and wait for my name to be called.

On my first visit I was assigned a changing room that I would use for each visit. In my case, changing room G. When my name is called I head for that room. Right turn, left turn, down a hallway, left turn, right turn, down the hallway to room G. Grab a hospital gown from the Clean Linen locker and get ready for the treatment.

I am ushered into the treatment room, lie down on the table, get positioned by the two ladies who work that room, and the lights go down as the treatment starts. (The nurses leave the room during the radiation treatment.) Music is playing in the background, usually soft rock or easy listening tunes. After about 8 minutes the lights come up and the nurses return. Treatment is over. They help me off the table and I return to my changing room, get dressed, and head out of the building.

Once I am back at the car it may take a bit of time to leave the ramp. Parking is $2.00 for the first hour and $1.00 for each additional hour and I generally pay the $2.00 charge. There is always a backup of cars waiting in line to pay. Eventually I leave the ramp and head home.

I may or may not stop for small items at Walmart or other stores. For example, none of the local stores carries Lava hand soap (which we use to get paint off our hands, frequently). Walmart stocks this stuff. A trip to the Home Depot resulted in stocking up on house paint and other project supplies. There may be other sundry items on my list as well.

I’ll get home between 1:30 and 2:00 PM, check in to see what Pam is doing and discuss my morning, get some lunch, change clothes, and then take a look at any tasks that I can do during the rest of the afternoon. This does not amount to much as my energy levels are quite low.

I do attempt to keep dandelions eradicated in the dog run and garden areas. I spread some “Weed and Feed” stuff on other parts of the lawn in an attempt to keep the dandelions under control, but Pam doesn’t like to use chemicals in the location where the dogs spend their outside time. Same in the garden, where the chemicals might damage seedlings. Manual weed control is the order of the day in these areas.

And, of course, there are always routine tasks such as mowing the yard, grocery shopping, and doing laundry. I put together a painting station in the garage so we can begin to paint the siding that will be used on the south wall of the house.

How am I doing with the whole cancer thing, you ask? OK, I guess. I have no discomfort from the treatments although that may change as I get deeper into the program. The Flowmax the doctor prescribed has me going to the bathroom more frequently, including at night, so I’m up quite often. I don’t really feel refreshed when I get out of bed in the morning. It is also frustrating that I don’t have the energy I would like to have to tackle more projects. I am counting down the number of treatments left and will be glad when this is over. I try to stay positive but it is an uphill battle at times. Having any form of cancer upsets your mental equilibrium.

Pam has been busy decorating in the snug, adding hand-painted morning glory and [a few more] vines to the walls. More artwork was hung and she began removing the old, and quite worn, carpet in there. Which turned out to be a real job as the old backing is literally sticking to the floor. Removal will require a lot of hand work but the floor under that mess is in better condition than we had hoped. One half done, one half to go.

A few weeks ago I posted a photo of Pam reading “Katy and The Big Snow” to our kids when they were young. Pam found the book [the one actually used in the photo!] in our storage room, framed it, and hung it next to the photo. Pam used this story for first grader activities when she ran an elementary Gifted & Talented program back in the 1990s, and “Katy” also used to be one of my childhood favorites.

We did get some rain last weekend which helped freshen the yard. The bleeding heart plants are flowering and all the other plantings are doing well. The maple tree and oak tree we planted last fall deployed actual leaves. Both of these trees had sprouted from seeds and we are pleased to see they made it though the winter OK. The three rhubarb plants and two blackberry bushes planted earlier this spring are displaying new growth and look to have survived the late frost NE Iowa experienced earlier this month. Spring is a good time here at Heart House.

Photo Archive

I have always taken pictures of flowers; here are a pair from my collection.

Colorado’s fall colors were a frequent target of my camera.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Himself is correct; as anticipated, his energy level is very low these days. Which was totally to be expected with his body taking in all sorts of meds and chemicals. The yard work – mowing, weed whacking, dandelion pulling – lends itself to be broken into small(er) projects and done a little bit at a time. But Himself is used to doing hours of yard tasks at once, and therein lies his frustration.

I’m trying to complete this phase of the two-room refresh indoors, because it’s now time to start painting outdoors. One of the first outdoor tasks will be painting barn red on that cement siding, so it will be ready for Bob the Builder when the window we ordered arrives. (BTW, the painter we talked to at the home show never did show last weekend to give us a quote on painting the second floor of 702. That’s the second no-show painter. I guess painting Victorians is not popular.)

On totally another topic, were you surprised Bill and Melinda Gates filed for divorce? Himself was. Me, not so much. Around married years 27-30, when the kiddos have moved out, and you look across the room at the person you married, I think it’s perfectly normal to think “Is this all there is?” No amount of money changes that dynamic. A phenomenon called “Gray Divorce” is apparently a thing, the Gates’ being the latest example. l think a couple has to develop a different “relationship plan” of some sort then — something that benefits both individuals — so divorce doesn’t have to be the conclusion. But it is NOT easy. And I don’t judge anyone who decides to call it quits.

Be well. Happy Trails.

The title of this post refers to my radiation treatments which started this past week. I’ll expand on this in a bit. Other spring activities continued as well.

This past week saw me starting my radiation treatments after my Brachytherapy last week. While I won’t go into all the details, this is an interesting process. First, the machine the Mayo Clinic uses for these treatments is made by a company called Varian, and the model is a TruBeam.

If anyone is interested in more machine details visit https://www.varian.com/products/radiotherapy/treatment-delivery and click on the TruBeam “Learn More” link.

For me, the biggest advantage this machine offers is very precise application of the radiation treatment which minimizes damage to surrounding tissue. The Brachytherapy used 15 ‘grays’ of radiation, a standard used by the Mayo Clinic. The external radiation delivers about 2 grays per session and I will have 22 sessions in all for a total of 44 grays. Again, this is in the middle of the range for prostate treatments.

Last Monday I drove to Rochester for my orientation session. During this appointment I was placed in a CT scan machine to get an accurate ‘map’ of the location of my prostate in relation to other organs in the area. This scan would be used to focus the radiation beam in future visits. I now have three very small, but permanent, tattoo dots on my pelvic bones and abdomen. These will be used to align and focus the TruBeam machine precisely where needed.

The treatments started on Wednesday and continued on Thursday and Friday. I have the weekend off and will start more daily treatments this coming Monday. The treatment sessions last only about 10 – 15 minutes each, but I have to drive about and hour and a half each way. Adding in time to park and check in, an appointment kills about 4 hours. Once a week I will meet with my medical crew, Dr. Stish and his staff, for a ‘Management’ meeting to go over any questions I have and generally check in with how I am doing. Typically this will happen on Thursdays.

So far, after three treatments, I am not having much in the way of side effects other than low energy levels. That may change as I get more treatments; all I can do is wait and see. So far, after-effects of the Brachytherapy have been pretty mild for which I am thankful.

Domestic life goes on. I recently removed all the inside storm windows I built last fall. With warmer weather on tap (today in the 80s) we will want to open the windows to get air into the house. Last week we were covering plants to protect against frost. It is spring in NE Iowa.

Pam continues to paint in the room we call the snug. This is high-detail work and takes a good hand to get the results she wants. I think it is turning out exceptionally well.

In the yard, tulips and daffodils are blooming, adding color around the house.

We get a kick out of these grape hyacinths which were relocated out of the yard last summer. Pam planted these in the Mary Lynn bed last fall.

We are getting good production out of the daffodil bulbs put in the ground last year.

The only negative has been a very dry spring. April made it into the NE Iowa/SE Minnesota record book as the 4th driest April on record. It is so dry we have been hand-watering plants and shrubs. There promise for some moisture on Sunday, but the chances are 50 – 50 with even lower percentages later in the week.

Later today the painter we had met at the home show may come by and look over the house in order to give us a quote for painting the upper story and gingerbreading. (We had planned to paint the lower portions.) That should be an interesting discussion.

Another task on deck is to set up a painting station in the garage addition. We need to get started on painting the siding we bought for the south wall of the house. With the improving conditions Bob the Builder will soon be here to remove the old siding and put up the new, and it would be helpful to have the siding ready to go.

That about wraps up the past week and preview of the next.

Photo Archive

I’m starting with a couple photos of me with the 1976 Scout II I had in Colorado.

Here are a couple more of the many landscapes I’ve taken over the years.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

It’s time for me to plant the scraggly-looking geraniums I overwintered in the basement. (Won’t be doing that again – the plants at the local Mennonite greenhouses are economical enough to dispense with future overwintering attempts.)

While digging holes for the replanting, I found this little nipper (pictured below) and decided such a fine-looking [potential] oak tree deserves a chance to show us what it’s made of. I’m putting it in the ground near the far southeast corner of the lot, within the confines of the garden fence.

Can it be May? I was thinkin’ I’d be farther along in the two-room refresh project by now. Detailed stencil painting sure does take time.

Be well. Happy Trails.