It's been WAY too long since my last post!  My life is more and more complicated by the day (seems like...)   I have more energy than I did a couple years ago, but because so much "stuff" has been put off for so long, it's overwhelming to dive in and get things done.  I managed to get the downstairs bathroom and laundry room painted.  It turned into a fiasco because I got impatient and let some amateurs do it and it turned out awful, so then I had to hire other people to make it right. Some years ago, I would have just done it myself, but I don't think I could stand on a step stool for any significant amount of time, so it would have been a very extended project...Anyway, it's done (or close to so, as I'm still putting up the decor...) and it's looking good!  I'll post pics when I'm done.

This is my first post for 2021... Where do I begin?  I went to the doc for a routine visit in late December and mentioned that I was experiencing "post-menopausal spotting", something I had NO intention of mentioning because I thought that kind of thing just happened.  It had been going on "now and then" for a few months.  Nothing significant, mind you.  The only reason I brought it up is because in either late November or early December, an old friend from my teen years (Greg) sent me one of what he calls his "Newzines".  Now here's the weird part... Greg has apparently been doing these for years - email newsletters he sends to friends and family to keep them up-to-date on what's going on in his and his wife's lives.  I have probably been in contact with him for at least a dozen years and I'd been getting them regularly.  Now, when I got this one, I had not seen one for probably a year or two, and hadn't really even given it much thought until this one came in.  "Huh!" I thought.  "When was the last time I saw one of THOSE?!"  Then I read it.  From the content, it was obvious that his wife was on her death bed... the statement was something like, "I'm amazed she made it through the night"...  So as sensitively as possible, I told him I had not been receiving his Newzines for some time so I was not "in the loop" about why Bonnie was sick and of course gave him as much moral support as I could being in the dark... He expressed surprise that I had not been receiving his Newzines - said he didn't take me off the list and wondered why I had been excluded, then explained that Bonnie was dying of cervical cancer.  So the point of me relaying this is to explain WHY I decided...maybe it's a good idea just to MENTION it to the doc.  I fully expected the doc to ask a few questions and say something like, "Well, as long as it's just occasional and there's no heavy bleeding like a real period, no worries."  And then give me some things to watch for that could be a more serious problem.

Well, she said "Post-menopausal spotting or bleeding is never normal.  Let's investigate."  And she sent me on to have an ultrasound done.  They did that and said I had "a thickening of my uterus lining and perhaps a polyp", so they sent me on to a gynecologist to do a "D&C", which I refer to as a "dusting and cleaning."  LOL... I'll point out here that the gyn said something like "Polyps are rarely ever cancerous in the uterus."  Hate it when the use the "C" word even with the word NOT in front of it!  But at least it was in there.  Well, a few days after the D&C, the doc called me to say that I DO have uterine cancer, albeit stage 1 which, as she put it to quell my angst, is almost always cured simply by doing a hysterectomy... Of course, my head is saying, "Yeah, but you said polyps are almost never cancerous, so this whole 'almost' thing isn't a SURE thing."

So she sent me on to a gynecology oncologist who set me straight on the whole stage one thing...  "We can not determine what STAGE it is until we take it out because STAGE is about how far it has spread, and we won't know that until after surgery.  What you have is Level 1 cancer, which means it is very slow growing." So I had to wait a month, with that knowledge, and they did a hysterectomy.  Another 8 or 9 days later, the lab work comes back and...THEY GOT IT ALL, no need for any further treatment!

Of course, I thank my lucky stars that the Universe gave me a big NUDGE with my friend's Newzine just before a routine visit to the doctor.  Let's recount all the coincidences... first, the Universe stopped the incoming Newzines a year or more ago.  This is significant because most of them were a bit mundane and though I would usually open them and take a quick look to see if there was anything interesting, I might let them sit for a month or more before I did so.  So because one suddenly appeared after so long, I opened it immediately to see "what's going on" with Greg... Second, the coincidence that his wife was dying at that moment of something that would evoke the response that made me ask the question.  This is a case of something positive coming out of a terrible tragedy...  Third, it came at a time when I already had an appointment with the doc - I doubt, even knowing of his wife's death, that I would have made a special appointment over the issue, and if it had been months later, I might not have even thought of mentioning it.  And here's another little side coincidence... that appointment had actually been for late August, and I put it off because it's so damn expensive to see the doc.  I made it for the end of December just so it got in under the wire for my insurance.  I thing this is a case of the Universe is always looking out for me!

So it's been a nerve wracking year so far.  Now, on top of that, a few months ago, Mark apparently had a stroke, or at least that's what they think.  His left hand quit working, and when I say that I mean it it utterly useless.  No grip, can't open it, it just hangs there like a club.  He finally talked to the doc about it and they checked his carotid arteries and found they're both "narrowed", the right one pretty significantly, so they went in and cleaned it out.  Not that will bring his hand back, but it will hopefully prevent another stroke.  Well, this hand thing is a real deal changer.  It's almost impossible for him to button his shirts (got him a tool that helps somewhat), can't tie his shoes (I have to do that), hard to impossible to put on a jacket or coat (he's learning some techniques)...  But I think his balance is affected as well, but he denies it.  He scares the crap out of me when he gets up from his chair because he almost always loses his balance and all but goes down.  Well, yesterday he fell TWICE.  First time outside and I had a hell of a time getting him up.  Second time was about 10 p.m., when he got up out of his dining chair (they're on wheels, think I need to get him a stationary chair...)  I couldn't get him up no matter what we did and I ended up calling 911 and they sent firemen over to get him up.  This is not going well...

And now it's time to talk about fun things.  I'm tired of thinking about this other stuff...

I got three new little plants last week.  I ordered them from Etsy.  Hoyas are not on my radar this year for purchase, only for trade, because they've gotten so expensive!  So I got a new Haworthia...

I was very impressed with the size and quality for $15.99!  Look at those beautiful leaves!  You can see why they call them "window-pane plants".  In habitat, those translucent leaves sit at ground level with the rest of the plant buried, and the leaves allow sun into the plant for photosynthesis.  Very cool!

Next we have a little sweet Opuntia...

 

I had to do some research to confirm the name of this one.  It's pretty cute - that's a 2" pot it's in, so it's very small.  From photos online, it looks like it will develop some spines as it grows - I was hoping it would be spineless, but I guess that was too much to hope for.

And last, a little Sansevieria...

So sweet!  This seller has great healthy plants.

I've sold 6 Hoyas so far, made about $300 or so with some added cuttings.  I haven't listed anymore yet just because I'm waiting for things to grow out a bit.  I can get more if they are actively growing, so I'd rather just wait it out.  I've decided not to send out my cutting list or offer cuttings except to a select few.  People are so insane and hungry for them right now that I know if I send it out, I'll end up turning most of them away because I refuse to "over harvest" my large plants...  But I did find someone who has a few that I've had and lost who I'm trading with.  She bought around $100 worth of cuttings and I knocked $40 off and she will send me 3 cuttings.  H. tsangii, H. Dee's Big One, and one more I can't recall right now - she sent them this morning, so I'll have them soon.

I've been working on the landscape a little this year.  I put in some Sedums last year in front of the sunroom that came back nicely, so I decided to put out some more to fill it in.  I have one of those "smart pots" made out of fabric, a big one, in the corner.  Last year I put in a Euphorbia that came back:

Not  a succulent one at all, but pretty.  I had planted a Clematis behind it with a trellis, but it didn't come back.  So this year, I put something called a Cardinal Climber behind it and Merry says it will probably come back because they're very hardy and grow FAST!  

I love the frilly leaves on this one!  Can't wait for it to really take off - I imagine the cool weather (cold nights) is holding it back right now...  And here is a more succulent winter hardy Euphorbia I planted last year:

 

Yes, that is a REAL old wagon wheel - still has a piece of the wood axel on the other side!  It's no replica - weighs about 100 lbs or more, I'd guess!  Anyway, the Euphorbia is called Donkey Tail Spurge and when it's not blooming, it looks like this:

 

This pic is from the web.  It's a cool plant and I hope it thickens up nice as I think it will look neat growing from behind the wheel.  Next to the wheel are some other cute and small Sedums:

 

This last one is Lewisia and wow, don't you love the flowers!  All those beautiful flowers from a little 4" rosette!  I read that it will produce offsets.  It's supposed to be winter hardy to zone 5, and we're considered 4.5 to 5.  So I may be tempted to put it in a pot and bring it inside in the fall.  If I get offsets, I may try to leave the mama plant out and see if it will overwinter, but bring in some offsets so I have a start if it doesn't.

Then I have two pots out front.  I put my rooted Plumeria in the middle of one then put some... is it Rose Moss?? around it...

 In spite of our cool weather, I see a new leaf sprouting on the Plumeria.  Will it bloom this year??  Who knows!  And the second pot:

I can't remember what the little succulents are called but they get pretty little flowers on them.  I don't think they're winter hardy - I'll have to see if I can find out.  I put some vinca in the pot as well.  (For some reason, this picture is upside down - must have been holding the camera wrong!)

Well, I have things to get done so that's all for now.  I want to get back to blogging so I can see the progress of my plants.  So more soon!