Hydrangeas, iPads and pies

Did you have a nice Easter?  I was feeling a little under the weather last week with what I think was just allergies.  But I was all stuffed up and headache-y so I took it easy for a few days and caught up on some reading.  I've really taken to reading books and magazines on my iPad although nothing can ever replace the feel of holding a real book in my hands.

This wasn't my Easter table setting but just something I was playing around with.  I had baked a lemon meringue pie and indulged in a pot of hydrangeas the same day.   They looked so pretty sitting on the table that I grabbed some plates and glasses and took a few photos. The hydrangeas have faded now but I'm going to plant them in a pot outside just as soon as our temperatures are consistently above freezing at night.  We had a gorgeous Spring day on Monday - 22° celsius!  As tempted as I was to get out there and pull off the garden's winter coverings, I realized that it would be short lived and we'd be back to cold temperatures the next day. 

I'm wondering if any other iPad users have a problem leaving comments on Blogger.  I use my iPad to read blogs but whenever I try to comment, it freezes up.  So frustrating!  I've tried using Chrome instead of Safari but it still happens.  It only seems  to be Blogger blogs that are affected.  So I end up commenting all at once when I turn on my desktop (which is becoming less and less often).  I'd really like to know if anyone else has experienced this and if so, if it can be fixed.  I miss commenting!

I'm enjoying reading and seeing photos of what's blooming on your blogs.  By the time Spring reaches us in earnest, some of you will already be into Summer!  Hopefully, I'll get things fixed up and back to commenting regularly very soon.

"That is one good thing about this world ... there are always sure to be more Springs."

- Lucy Maud Montgomery

What a difference a day makes!

This morning we awoke to a Winter wonderland ... in the middle of April! 

The snow fell in big, heavy flakes but it won't last long.  In fact, it's already melting.  This was just Winter's way of saying good-bye ... and don't forget me.

Yesterday ... and today!

Remember those scilla from yesterday?  Well, this is what they looked like this morning!  I think this is it for the snow and cold.  Warmer days are coming!

Hints of Spring

This morning I took a walk in the garden and was pleasantly surprised to find these scilla blooming!  Surprised because I didn't plant them there ... but I like this kind of surprise.

The lilacs are starting to bud.  A few warm days and a little rain does wonders!  The snow has finally melted from our yard and we've gradually started to clean up.  It feels so good to be outdoors again!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your comments and emails on my last post.  I'm so thankful for friends like *you*.

April showers, pussy willows and a health update

It's raining.  There's something so very welcoming about a Spring rain.  Not only does it wash away the last remnants of snow but it also washes away the dirt and grime Winter has left behind.  The grass becomes greener and life begins to stir in the garden.  April showers bring May flowers ...

Pussy willows have always been a favourite Spring addition to my decor.  I love their soft catkins and usually keep them around well into Summer.  I can't seem to let them go.

I had another CT scan last week and got the results a couple of days ago.  The tumours are larger than they were in December.  In fact, they've pretty much tripled in size since last October.  Not the news I was hoping for.  But there is a bright spot.  My CA125 dropped from 5700 at the beginning of March to 4400.  That's significant.  And hopeful.

After a lot of discussion with my oncologist, nurse and my husband, we're going to delay restarting treatment for a few more weeks.  I'll have another CA125 at the end of this month and another scan next month.  (I swear I'm going to start glowing in the dark!)   I'm feeling well and still not having any symptoms, which is good.  I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before, but I began adding curcumin (turmeric) to my diet last Fall.  One of my neighbours gave me a bottle of it along with the book Anti-Cancer by David Servan-Schreiber.  Among other things, he highly recommends adding curcumin to help destroy tumours.  I added it faithfully to my salad and in cooking on a daily basis and I think it helped a little.  After the 5700 CA125 reading, I decided to switch to capsules to increase my consumption.   My CA125 went down.  It could be a coincidence but my oncologist has other patients taking curcumin that have had good results.  So he told me to double the dose I've been taking and see if it goes down again.  Now I'll take curcumin capsules over chemo any day!  Especially since he told me that second line chemo has a 1 in 5 chance of working.  Yeah.  How's that for sobering?  Thankfully he's a little more optimistic - he says we just need to find the right drug and gave me info for 8 different chemo drugs we could try.  The remaining cancer is referred to as "platinum resistant" which is why the chemo didn't get it all the first time and why they won't use the same chemo again.  (Remember when I posted about those red, white and green jelly beans?)

I've made a lot of lifestyle changes since my diagnosis.  I've increased my intake of fruits and veggies.  I've cut back on refined sugars and flours with the goal to eliminate as many of them as possible.  I pray.  I meditate.  I try to exercise regularly but still need to work on that.  I think the warmer weather will help.

It took me a few hours to digest this latest news but I'm more determined than ever to fight and win.  I know that God has this under control.  He sees the big picture and knows what the next step is.  After all, it was expected that I would resume treatment last August and I still haven't needed it.  He's put healing into my path and all I have to do is trust Him and let go.  That's easier said than done but I'm working on that too.  Every so often I get scared.  And worried.  I have to remind myself to surrender it all to Him.

 

I hesitated whether to share this with you or not.  I haven't gone into much detail about the cancer or treatments, mainly because I want to focus on everything that's beautiful around me.  And believe me, I have a lot to be thankful for!  Having a life threatening illness really makes you appreciate the little things in life.  But every so often I need to share what I'm going through.  Thanks for being there when I need to.