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.
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