Things are looking up

What a lovely summer it has been.  We have had a cooler summer than usual, having never even seen a single day where the temperature reached 90 degrees.  We're getting a little warmth and humidity now, but not unbearable.  Living on Maine's coast the way we do, we do not have central air conditioning.  There are so few times that we really wish we did.  Oh yes, it gets hot, and we find ourselves languishing in front of fans, but the worst is usually over in a few  hours.  A couple of weeks ago, it felt like autumn was arriving, with daily highs in the 70s, and nightly lows in the 50s -- heaven!

I have kept myself busy with household and family activities.  My two college boys were home.  All three of the boys came home filthy each day, having worked hard on a landscaping crew that helps keep Kennebunk and Kennebunkport looking immaculately manicured. (Laundry hint here:  1/2 cup of Borax, hot water and a double measure of cheap laundry detergent does the trick for their work clothes -- sometimes I ran an extra rinse cycle too.)  Ian lobstered for Sheldon on the weekends and worked on refurbishing his own lobster boat in every free minute.  Evan surfed at Fortune's Rocks (the beach near our home) every chance he got.  His dear sweet GF Christina came over once or twice a week.  I can't get enough of the happy light she shines around here.  And Sean worked hard, worked out hard in preparation for his senior year football season, and worried hard about his upcoming college applications.

The biggest news of my summer is that my dear brother David is doing really well in his battle with melanoma.  I hardly dare write about it, since I feel almost superstitious about it, like if I say out loud that I think he will win his fight, that I will jinx his odds.  I know it's silly, but there it is.
David was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, which in the past, really has been a death sentence.  As in, 6 months - 2 years survival.  But that was before, and now, I am immeasurably thankful to say that he is getting the best of the best treatment available, and that other people with more dire cases than his(!), are being called cured.  By their oncologists.  You don't hear them utter that word often.  Years and years ago, I removed a melanoma from David's back.  That was a bit scary.  I referred him out to a specialist, who performed a wide excision, and a sentinel node biopsy, both of which confirmed that the melanoma was in situ, meaning no evidence that it had spread, and that it had been cured by the original excision.  Going forward, it meant that he had a higher risk of another melanoma, and that vigilance with limiting sun exposure and regular careful and thorough skin exams were indicated.  And he has done that.
This spring however, he had a black toenail.  Being a builder, he usually has a black fingernail or two, from bruising.  He didn't remember getting an injury, but sure enough the nail shed as he expected it would.  Instead of healing, and new nail appearing, the nail bed was getting worse, bloody, swollen, and he was having trouble wearing shoes, because of the bulky bandaging he was wrapping his toe in.  A biopsy showed melanoma.  This was surprising because we always thought that any new melanomas would occur in a more consistently sun-exposed area (back, shoulders, head). All the information I've ever found about melanoma in the nailbed was that they predominantly occur in dark-skinned individuals.  David and I are both very fair-skinned Caucasians. Further testing showed that he does not have the most common "melanoma gene", and therefore wasn't eligible for the gene-targeted therapies.  He has melanoma tumors in most of his bones, and some in soft tissue.  But none in his brain, or heart.  This spread of tumors distant from the original tumor automatically places him in Stage 4, which is the most serious.  Here's where the story improves.

David was referred to the Melanoma Clinic at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.  He qualified for a clinical trial which is being accelerated due to the success they have had so far.  He has been getting intravenous infusions of a wonder drug every 2 weeks all summer long.  He has felt well enough to work, to play, to live his life, mostly.  His dear wife Paula, has devoted herself to feeding him all the best fresh organic healthy foods, and eliminating stress, seeking tranquility and peace as much as possible.  We want his immune system at the top of its game.  We have all been praying our knees off, and loving on each other overtly, instead of quietly, with New England restraint and dignity.  Oh, the hugging and kissing, the smiles and laughter, the declarations of "I love you" right out loud and everything.
Today, David will get news of his first round of imaging tests, a quantitative measure of how he has responded to his treatment.  I am dying for word, although I am pretty sure the news will be good, based on how well David looks on the whole, and that the tumor on his toe has receded and stopped bleeding.  He has been wearing shoes (instead of sandals with socks).  We joke about how many new pairs of shoes he has been sporting.  His sis-in-law gave him a plaque showing a glass slipper, and a quote from Cinderella:  "The right shoe can change your life."  I call him Imelda.
For now, that's the news from this corner.

Spring WILL Be Here....

Here are some pictures I took on Sunday afternoon.  I walked around my yard to prepare mentally for the yardwork ahead.  Our snow is gone…yea!!  (Okay, except that little bit there....)  Do you remember these pictures?

Well, fortunately, this is all that's left of that big snow bank, created by shoveling the driveway and front walk.  The dogs are also now clipped.  Poor Tucker (the big one) had so much dense fur, that he was panting whenever he was inside, and preferred to spend much of his day lying in the snow to stay cool!  It was probably too soon, but I clipped Tammy too, who depends on her sweater and lying in pools of sun streaming through the windows to keep warm. 

Here is our focal point granite lamp post, looking a little bit pathetic with nothing growing around it at the moment.  There is the remnant of the clematis from last year.  I should have cut it back in the fall.  (There's that word "should" again.)  I'll do it very soon, and let the warmth of the sun stimulate this year's growth.  In the past, I have put daffodil and tulip bulbs around the post, only a little more than half came up, and less than half even had a bloom.  Not very impressive.  That fall, I dug up the bulbs, thinking of trying a different location.  Most had rotted or had been eaten.  I have many perennials die here.  It's really more of a memorial site the more I think about it.  Every time I look at it, I think of all the plants who died there.  I think what it needs is to build up the bed with several inches of loam and fertilizer (the soil is very poor and sandy) and encircle it with some kind of stone or brick border.  I should probably have a soaker hose in there, and keep it heavily mulched, as it gets a lot of afternoon sun, and dries out easily, regardless of how I try to keep it watered.

This is the "island" in our front yard.  Tucker had to follow me around and keep an eye on what I might be up to.  There will be beautiful hosta there later in the summer.   To Tucker's left, you probably can't see it, but there is just one of only three signs of Spring green I found in the whole yard.  It will be a daylily.  I promise.

Between the rhododendron, the lilac is looking a little pathetic... I hope it'll be budding out soon.  It is kind of a weird lilac, blooms later than the common variety, is actually a little ugly-looking when it blooms, smells wonderful, but it's all over in less than a week.  I don't love it, but it is the only way I have for now.

On the corner of the house, the spirea look so scraggly, but they will come back.  The question is whether I want to keep them there where they tend to obscure my roses.

You can't tell that there are 3 David Austin roses behind them.  More decisions about whether they are in the right place.

Can you see the self-appointed Yard Guard checking up on me?  A little territorial testosterone, maybe? (How can that be? He's had those removed...)

Here is the second sign of Spring, found it in the backyard:

Pussy Willows!

I used to clip these and bring them in to display, but in the 17 years we've lived here, this tree has grown to where I can no longer reach them. 

Here is the forsythia, still appearing quite dormant.  I'm not even sure if I can even clip some to bring in to force yet, I didn't see any swelling buds.  Oh, yeah, and that is a little snow there....that was Sunday, though, I think it is gone now.  :)

And here it is:  the final sign of Spring in my yard 

Everybody's favorite -- a dandelion! 

Blizzard

Home Sweet Home

We survived!  And never lost power, even with all that wind.  We got close to 3 feet, but who can tell;  the wind howled and sculpted the snow, drifting into piles here and sweeping the ground bare there.  So where do you measure a reliable depth?

Lady Tamara Underbite

 Yesterday, the warmth of the sun enabled a little melting, and then as the sun set, the top of the snow froze in a little bit of icy crust.  Little Tammie, only a little over 20 lbs, found that she could skitter along the top of the snow, without falling through.
Not so for that big boy below, her brother.  He tips the scales at about 45 lbs, and not particularly overweight, according to the vet!  Just big boned!  (me too)

It is snowing again today.  A nice, gentle snowfall, no wind.  big, fat fluffy flakes.

More pictures soon......

His Massiveness, Duke of Cocker Spanieldom, Lord Biband Tucker
 

Normally, the dogs go out a few times a day, being allowed free run in our yard, which is bordered by an Invisible Fence.  Last week, it stopped working


Too excited to stand still for camera

due to a break in the wire somewhere.  But what can you do about it with all this snow on the ground.  Their range has been restricted to the driveway, quite limiting.  So, I've been walking them on leashes, to run off some x-s NRG.
Our street is a dead end, so there is little traffic, and we can just saunter down the middle like it's just a wide footpath.  The banks are a few feet high, so all they can see is snow!  I let them off the leashes a little so they can run and run.  They have such good traction, and I sure can't keep up.  They stop to catch their breath and eat some snow, getting it all over their furry muzzles.   If you have ever seen a breed description for Cockers, they always describe their dispositions as "merry"  and I can attest to that.  (Although, that is only when they are awake....)  If you need a dog for a cheering companion, this may just be the breed for you.