It's been a busy summer

Hard to believe its the middle of August already and I have only posted once
all summer (shame on me!).

I really do have good reasons. I worked on my yard getting it into shape,
and then I have been making new treasures for the holidays.
(more about that soon).

Mom started her chemo treatment in July and that is going good if you can
call chemo a good thing. It makes her ache all over for days and completely
out of energy. Then she bounces back and has a couple weeks of feeling good
and its time for another chemo treatment. She will be done the first part
of September. We are guessing that by Christmas she will have a teeny bit
of hair back. My mom has been a real trooper through this whole thing.
Truly an inspiration to anyone going through cancer and treatment. Way to
Go Mom!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and enjoying all this nice (hot)
weather in the pacific northwest. It won't be long and we will be sitting inside
by the fire wishing for long warm days again.

Until next time....stay classy
Jan

Tea Anyone? Easy to make project

Garden Tea Cup & Pot

Aren't these the cutest things ever??? I picked up
them up at Michael's for $1.99 each and then bought
plastic covered wire picks in the garden center for 99 cents.
I used a little E-6000 transparent glue and they are ready
to poke into some shrubs. You can use them as small
rain gauges, or put some bird seed in one and water in another.

Happy Gardening Friends!

Pamper yourself in luxury

Here are a few samples

In need of some pampering? You can have
your own spa experience at home! Check
out the all natural bath soaps I make.

Custom orders welcome.

Heavenly Scents Soaps

Mom is home and doing great!

I forgot to up-date last week. Mom was released after only 6 days in
the hospital. She continues to get her strength back each day. She had
her post-op appointment last Friday and he says she is doing good. The
surgeon removed the one stitch where the drain tube was and that made
a world of difference as it was catching on her jammies every time she
moved.
Her voice has been a little raspy but that is improving as well. The doc
said some people have it for a few days and some it lasts longer. I think
she sounds normal now and looks just fab!
She will be seeing her oncologist (cancer doc) this week and we will
find out what the pathology found from the lobe they removed. She
has one microscopic spot left on the lymph node that may require
chemo but the surgeon said it is so tiny and not to worry about it.
Apparently there is a cancer treatment that is a shot she may be
able to get for that little spot. I hate to see her have to go through chemo.
But the oncologist is the captain of this ship and she will do what ever
he recommends.

My Field of Dreams

I've been working hard in my flower beds. The
weather has been outstanding! We had a little
rain storm over night and the flowers all look
so pretty with water drops on them today.

Up-Date on Mom

The surgery went great and she is doing wonderful.
They were able to remove the lobe from the front so
her recovery is going to be much easier. woo-hoo!

She has accomplished all the requirements to be released
but she still has a drain tube attached to her so as soon as
that is taken out and her remaining lung stays inflated
she will be able to come home. She thought the tube would
be coming out today but no one ever came in and did it so
I am thinking tomorrow. I have a feeling she could be
coming home on Sunday.

Thank you again for all your well wishes and prayers.
Jan

Get Outta Here Cancer!!

On May 26th my mom will be having surgery for her lung cancer.
They found the spot on her upper left lobe in January.
It took several months of tests and biopsies to determine
if the cancer had spread and if she would be strong enough
to live through the radical surgery to remove that lobe.
She passed all her tests with flying colors.
She is really is good health (except for the cancer)
and has had no symptoms. Then there was the issue of
her supplemental insurance they had from my dad's retirement.
They would not cover the surgery so she had to
get a new insurance for her supplemental
(she is on medicare now).
That took almost as long as the medical
tests but she has new
insurance and is good to go.

I will be by her side along with my dad next
week at the hospital. We are not sure how
long she will staying as they cannot tell us
which surgery they are doing. The goal is
the small incision in the front but she is a small
woman and the space between the ribs may
not be big enough to pull the deflated lung through.
They will start there and if it is too small they will
have to enter from the back and do a much larger
incision. We are all hoping for the front option as
recovery is easier and quicker. After surgery she
will be cancer free. The oncologist does not think
she will require chemo but we cannot know until
after pathology does their magic.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers these past few months.

I will post up-dates on my precious mom after her surgery.

Jan