Tuesday's Unsettling News

It's about time for me to update you a little on what's been happening here the last few days.  On Tuesday we went to see my opthamologist for what we thought was a maturing cateract.  It used to make the vision in my right eye blurry or misty.  About three weeks ago that changed to a big black spot in the middle leaving only peripheral vision in my right eye. 

The doctor looked at my eyes and said, "I think I'm going to send you up the hall for an angiogram." So they took lots of pictures of both of my eyes, resulting in a few computer screens full of eyeballs. 

Back in the opthamologist's office he showed us the pictures; first the left eye, which looked normal, he said.  Then the right eye, which looked very different.  "This is not a cateract we're seeing here.  This looks like lymphoma." Lymphoma?!  I was totally shocked and started crying.  I never expected to hear that! Not now, when I am feeling so well.

Up until now I have been feeling better and better since my chemo and radiation treatments in 2011.  My brain has progressively been functioning more efficiently and effectively.  It feels like it continues to re-wire itself.  I have no major lingering side effects of the treatment and have been doing particularly well lately.  But now the cancer seems to be back!  We were totally shocked!  Nothing changed between Monday and Tuesday; I was feeling exactly the same as the day before.  Yet when we got this news on Tuesday, all of a sudden our perspective on everything changed in an instant.

What do you do when you receive news like that?  I had planned to attend our Bible Reading Group after our appointment, but called the church office saying I didn't feel up to coming today - please tell the ladies why.  We ran a few errands, including bringing a some things to the church office.  The pastor happened to be there.  We talked and he prayed with us, and encouraged us to go see the ladies in the Bible Reading Group.  They would want to see me, he said.  So down another hall - we were welcomed with love and tears and hugs.  They had already been praying for us! The ministry coordinator welcomed us with a big hug.  Everyone assured us of their support and prayers. And I believed them, because we've experienced this before. 

What a rich blessing it is to be so lovingly embraced by our church family! Again!

When we got home the message light on the phone was flashing.  Our daughter, Alida, and DIL Melanie with baby Oscar said they were on their way to keep us company for the rest of the day.  What a wonderfully loving distraction!  While we made phone calls and sent e-mails to share the news and ask for prayer support, they prepared dinner for all of us.  Our son Henry joined us.  Later we talked with Mark and Rosemary. So blessed by our family!

playing with little Oscar - a welcome distraction

We have been blessed with encouraging phone calls, e-mails, and even cards in the mail already!  We've continued with the plans we had for this week: visiting my dad and brother on Wednesday, babysitting our grandson on Thursday, attending a yoga class with my daughter at her fitness centre today... We are doing fine (most of the time) so far.  Every once in a while stress and worry and fear over what we might be dealing with gets the best of me, but never for long. Mostly we are trusting and resting in God and living in the moment and that gives us amazing peace. 

So now the plans are to go for an MRI on Monday morning to see what exactly is going on; is it confined to my eye or has the cancer spread beyond?  Then the pictures taken at the opthomologist's and the MRI results will be forwarded to our oncologist.  We have an appointment with him on Friday, December 7, when we hope to find out what exactly we are dealing with and a proposed plan of treatment. 

We ask that you would pray for the Spirit to take away worry and fear, and for wisdom for the medical staff to come to an accurate diagnosis.  Thanks so much for your support!

Here are a few encouraging Scripture passages that we have received in e-mails:

Psalm 62: 4,5  Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 
Lamentations 3: 21-24:  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, " The Lord is my portion;  therefore I will wait for him."
Lamentations 3: 55-57:  I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit.  You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief."  You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."

 

Sunday's family "Chinese Hot Pot" dinner at Alida & Ivanna's

Swiss Chard Sandwich Idea

Our swiss chard just keeps growing! I wish spinach grew that well here in our climate! I still harvest a colander full of chard almost every day and am finally catching up with the growth.  I've tried adding it to our green smoothies, but don't like the way it changes the taste. So the abundant supply of chard has forced me to find new ways of eating it.  I've come up with a healthy sandwich that has become my favourite. I now have it almost every other day for lunch.

 

Here's how I prepare it.  Wash the fresh swiss chard, strip the leaves from the stems and put leaves into a medium-sized pan (and the waste into the compost bucket).  Cover the bottom of the pan with a tiny bit of water to prevent the chard from burning.  Heat until the chard "shrinks" or is just barely done.  Drain off the water and cut up the leaves. 

 

Shred some extra old cheddar cheese (or other cheese of your choice) onto a slice of whole grain bread. Top with cooked swiss chard, which will melt the cheese and also defrost your bread if you just took it out of the freezer. That's it!  Enjoy!  I love the combination of chard and cheese. My neighbour tells me that swiss chard is very good for your blood pressure and your heart. So there you go. A healthy sandwich! Good way to get some more greens into your diet. 

Phaleanopsis Roots and Shoots

Thanks for your help with my orchids!  Since my post on November 6th I've learned a few things from some of  you and also from the Internet. 

phaleanopsis orchid 

 

The two main things I learned are:

-  the shoots that grow sideways, as mine were all doing up until a few weeks ago, are the roots.  And the ones that grow up (or mostly up) are the new shoots. About a week after I posed my questions one of our orchids sent out a shoot going UP!  You can also tell that new growth is a shoot (growing up into a new flower stalk) if the very end is shaped like a tiny mitten compared to the new roots that are just rounded at the end.

-  when the flowers are finished, dry up, and drop off, you can cut the empty stalk off just above the top node (little bump on the stem) OR you can cut it right back to the base.  One or the other method is fine.  If you wait long enough new growth will come eventually.

the new roots grow DOWN and the new shoots grow UP

 

So there you go.  I learned something new again and I'm glad because I received two of these plants as gifts last year, but had no idea how to care for them.  Now I'm learning.  The Internet is a great source of information!

Isn't This Fun?

Just had to get a picture when we drove by here this morning!

This Afternoon's Mini Vacation

This afternoon I could not resist the desire to go wandering around downtown for a while, so I got on the subway and headed south with no particular destination in mind.  It's fun to be out in the flow of the city. And for the very first time ever I saw a TTC employee sweeping up garbage in the subway car at the end of the line!  Yay TTC!  They're really cleaning up their act.  The washrooms are so much cleaner too.

I wasn't sure whether to start at Dundas Square or down at the waterfront.  At the very last moment I hopped off at Queen Station.  A quick peek at the Christmas windows at The Bay, which are identical to what they were the last three years, and then on to Nathan Philips Square where there was a lot of hype in connection with this coming weekend's Grey Cup football match.

I ended up with two cans of Pepsi and three bags of chips for Gerard - all promotions that mascots shoved at me from all directions.  The skating rink was now a football field.  The military had fitness stations you could try out, and a very loud concert was in progress.  It was exciting, but time to look for a more peaceful spot. I was amazed at the increase in parked bicycles all over the place, both rental and personal bikes.

 

Wandering down York Street towards the lake I noticed that the area between Front Street and Queen's Quay is one massive construction site.  So much new development!  I discovered a new spot today - Harbour Square!  It's an area that runs along the water front between the foot of York and Yonge, with a board walk and treed and grass parkland.  So peaceful!

I found a bench near the water and just sat and relaxed soaking in the afternoon sun. 

You're bound to run across something interesting and unexpected downtown, and this afternoon was no exception.  Walking back to the subway, because the streetcars are not running due to the construction, I wandered through Union Station to check on the renovations there.  The Traveller's Aid kiosk that I used to LOVE volunteering at was advertising for more volunteers ... hmmmm....

 

Whenever we're down at the lake we say, "Why don't we come here more often?"  It's so close to home. In just a few hours' time you can have a mini vacation.  And so that's exactly what I did this afternoon.  I was only away from home for four hours in total and it feels like I've been on vacation!

 

Walking and "Talking"

Our little man has been walking for a few weeks now. He's stilll a bit wobbly, but he manages to get where he wants to go. I've been taking pictures to show you, but most of them didn't turn out.  It's hard to get a clear picture of a moving target - and he moves, usually straight for my camera. 

 

 

Now that he has walking figured out, he has moved on to "talking".   We really noticed a big difference between last week and this week, in the sounds he makes and in the amount he "talks".  He jabbers awaywith his tongue rolling around in his mouth and he's experimenting with different tones. And sometimes it sounds like he's carrying on a conversation, back and forth, with one of us. 

 

He's also learning to understand what we're saying.  When I ask him, "Where's Opa?" then he turns around and looks straight at Gerard and gives him a big smile.  "Where's the balloon?" and he points to the ceiling at his helium-filled birthday balloon. 

 there's a very special relationship between Oscar and Opa

 

And he's starting to follow instruction too, like "Go get your book" and then he goes to his shelf, gets a book, and brings it to Opa to read it to him. I can't wait until he starts speaking real words so we can get to hear what's all going around in that little head of his. Watching his development is absolutely amazing! 

Looking Forward to Line Dancing!

I just got back from the local community centre and am feeling really happy.  I think I've found an activity that's going to be fun!

 

a cheery banner behind a window in the community centre

 

Today I went to watch a line dancing class to see what it's  all about, who comes, what to wear, and what the difference is between the introductory and intermediate class.  It was a happy experience. The room is large, bright and sunny.  The music was happy and people seemed to be enjoying themselves.  It looked like fun.  So I signed up for the new session that starts in the new year!

 

My life has been feeling too serious lately, so to provide some balance in my life I've been looking for something fun and casual that provides an opportunity to meet new people in our community and involves some physical activity.  This line dancing seems to meet all the criteria!  I'm looking forward to January!

Revealing Our New Deck!

My big steroid-inspired dreams for a new deck have just become reality!  In March of 2011 I was higher than a kite on steroids and coming up with all kinds of grandiose plans, but Gerard had enough to deal with at that time, including his wife who was high on drugs.  Now that things have been calm around here for quite some time, we were readyfor some excitement.  Enter the deck project!

For the last few weeks we've seen the new deck come into existence.  And now it's all done!

TA-DA!  Here it is! 

 

The patio stones that used to cover a septic tank that's under this deck always shifted from the frost making it difficult to find a level spot for our chairs.  Last year when I was rather unsteady on my feet I felt very unsafe out there.  This new deck is so nice and solid and level and safe and it appears so much bigger than the original patio, even though the footprint of the new deck is exactly the same.   

 

Looking forward to breakfast out on the deck next spring!

 

Thank You, Canada!

We are so blessed to live in peace and freedom here in Canada!  I've been very busy with this  thought ever since a phone conversation I had with my dad last week. He told me he'd been invited to lead the Remembrance Day ceremony at his retirement home.  And what really intrigued me was that he was thinking of using the songs, Scripture passages and readings from the 1945 memorial service that is included in his memoirs.

So as soon as I hung up the phone I ran straight for my dad's book to see what he was referring to. And there it was - the liturgy of a memorial service for which my dad translated, held in Amsterdam in 1945, in memory of the Canadian soldiers who died while liberating The Netherlands from the occupying forces! 

double click to enlarge

 

I'll just back up the story a little... During the Second World War some German troops occupied part of my grandparents' house and lived there.  Then at the time of the liberation the Canadian troops moved in instead.  Since the schools were closed, my dad had time on his hands, so he interacted with them a fair bit and used to translate between the Dutch and the Germans, and later for the Canadians.

 

When it was time for these Canadian troops (the Seaforth Highlanders) to move on to Amsterdam, my dad, who was 20 at the time, was invited to come along and be their volunteer translator. He was provided with a uniform and food and a place to stay - and an amazing experience!  He was able to experience first-hand some of the liberation and the liberation celebrations. 

 

my dad at 20 year of age

as translator with the Canadian Seaforth Highlanders

 

So reading through my dad's first-hand accounts of these events in The Netherlands and now thinking about him leading the Remembrance Day service here in Canada, based on that 1945 memorial service in Amsterdam, has suddenly brought these historical events so much closer to home.  Our parents and grandparents actually experienced this!

 

For some people Remembrance Day brings back painful memories; memories of family members who gave their lives for the war effort.  They sacrificed to give our family freedom and peace!  For our family we remember and thank the Canadian troops who liberated our family from the occupation and to whom we owe our peace and freedom! 

 

Thank you, Canada! 

 



First page of  a liturgy for a

Prayer and Thanksgiving for Victory service 

Beautiful Swiss Chard

For lunch I often prepare swiss chard from the garden.  Just love the brilliantly coloured veins in the leaves! 

 

The gardening season is almost over, but every day we still get the last little bits of fresh produce.  Yesterday and today I've picked kale, swiss chard, green onions and parsley and are also still enjoying tomatoes that have ripened in the window sill.

Orchids and Other Growing Things

I'm looking for some help and am hoping you might be able to give me some advice.  Last year we received two phalaenopsis orchids as gifts (the orchids you see in grocery stores a lot these days). They were beautiful and flowered for months on end.  One plant even sent out a second set of flowers as the first set was falling off.

Since I've never had these plants before, I just did what I would do for most other plants, cut off the long empty stems at their base, put the plants in the basement window sill, and hope for new shoots to grow more flowers some day.  But then I learned from the radio gardening show that you are not supposed to cut the stems right off.  Instead, you should cut them just above the next node down the stem.  Too late for that!

Despite my mistake, I found new shots coming out of the base of the plants the other day. And it looks like there has been earlier new growth that I missed and that dried up already, even though I watered the plants a little every week.   

see the dried up shoots?

So now I have two questions:  How do you prevent these new shoots from drying up?  And... They all grow out horizontally.  How do you get them to grow up vertically?   

I haven't been all that inspired to blog or take pictures  lately, so I went out for a walk to run an errand.  Fresh air and exercise usually help bring me back to life.  And I found a few signs of growth to share with you.  Love the growth rings in this tree stump and this tiny little plant growing in the opening of an old tree trunk! 

And look at the growth in progress on our new patio (there, managed to sneek this patio update into today's theme of "growth").

Around the House

We've been staying close to home for most of this week, which is great for getting things done around the house, but not quite as exciting as going out almost every day like last week.
 

transplanted some perennials

 

checked out what's happening at our local community centre

 

stayed close to home because we had this fireplace insert installed

(another of our "on-the-back-burner projects" completed!)

 

 one cooked jack-o-lantern pumpkin = 22 cups of pumpkin puree

for pumpkin soup and pumpkin muffins

 

We spent a day babysitting little Oscar.

He's walking now! 

Leaves, Beautiful Leaves