Lonely Tomato

Poor, lonely tomato.
We were running a bit late today, so lunch was a little lacking in the colour department.

Today the girls have  raw green beans, between blueberries in a cup and roasted chicken in lettuce.  Mini pitas can be stuffed or eaten separately, as the girls desire.  A lone tomato provides a bit of bright colour.  Carrots were nixed ("Please not again"), and since we were behind schedule, no time to slice yellow pepper, either.

Check out What's For Lunch Wednesday

Lettuce and Peas Experiment

(or, Jade vs Ninja Bunnies of Doom)

Alright, I planted before we are really, truly past the last frost date.  
Don't make that face.  I told you I was weak.

My dear friend Kitch, wife of BFH, has an amazing garden.  Every year she produces lovely veg for her family, including lettuce.  Last year, I asked her for her secret.  She said 'lettuce box'.

Now, I have planted lettuce in the garden a time or two.  And what do you suppose happens?  Rabbits. We live near a pond.  These things happen.

I've hung shiny things.  Rabbits eat lettuce.  I've gathered hair from all our brushes, and wound it between the plants.  Rabbits eat lettuce.  I've visited the homes of friends with cats, and collected cat hair for between plants.  Rabbits eat lettuce.  I've stuck noisy things in garden.  Rabbits destroy the noisy things, eat lettuce.  Decoy food on other side of yard?  Eaten, along with lettuce.   Lettuce in planter at front of house.  Dessication.  But no rabbits.  

They ate the beans in the garden instead.  ALL OF THEM.

Ahem.  Sorry about that.

This year? This year will be different!  This year, I shall plant many numerous containers of lettuce, and also peas and beans.  Some of them will be on the back deck.  One is already planted:

Romaine lettuce at one end, Bibb at the other.  In the back are climbing peas, that will (allegedly) get up to six feet (nearly 2 meters) high.  In the front are shorter peas that may not actually sprout because the seeds are from last year.  In between are dwarf sunflowers, also from last year.  At the ends I've stuck bean seeds.  They are from this year, but I do not expect very much from them.

Climbing peas in a window box?
Yes!
Am I off my nut? 
Quite possibly!  Ninja Bunnies of Doom will do that to you.

See that mesh-stuff?  It's a kind of trellis.  I intend to unroll it as the plants sprout, feeding out more line as required, until it is eventually stapled to the pergola above the deck.  I don't want to put it up too soon, as it almost clear when unrolled, and difficult to see.  It shows up nicely against the cedar post, but disappears against the glass.  We have a lot of birds visiting the yard.  Many of them seem not particularly bright to begin with, and having what seems to me far too much like a nearly-transparent gill net floating in their way is just wrong.

But this year, I want to get at least some lettuce.

Stoopid Ninja Bunnies of doom.

National Cancer Survivor's Day is June 5th

Hey!  Did you hear?  There is a National Cancer Survivor's Day!  And it's coming up!  Mark your calendars!

Why do I care?

When I went in for my most recent checkup, I met a lovely woman who had never met a cancer survivor.  Every one she knew who had cancer died.

And she was scared.

Because she had cancer.

And it's scary.

Now here's the thing; she is not the only person in this boat.

A little while ago, I attended a survivor's group with a friend.  She signed me up, actually.  She didn't want to go to the thing alone.  And, since I was her Sherpa, I went.

My friend (who shall henceforth be known as Madame President) introduces herself to people as the President of the Survivors' Club, and Chair of the Welcoming Committee For Cancer Survivors. She is a 30 year survivor.  Unfortunately, she put herself up for renewed membership 2 years ago.   That darn paperwork ;-)

But guess what?  She is still here!  And she's fine!

We hear the crappy news all the time.  It's easy to find, easy to print.  We need to hear the good sometimes, too.  Recognize that cancer doesn't always win.

So, let's get the word out, shall we?    If one in 4 people will have cancer in their lifetimes, odds are exceptionally good that you already know one person who has, will have, or has had the big CA.

Dates:
Canada's Survivor Day is June 5th.

It looks like this was started in the US, and a few other countries have joined in.  See here for more info. 

I totally understand people not wanting to "Out" themselves as having had cancer.  You face an awful lot of negative attention.  You get blamed for having been sick.  You get accused of lying, because you aren't dead.  You will never be able to get insurance again.  You may not be able to get a job.  You may loose a job.  People treat you like you are contagious.

But honestly?  If we don't stand up, and stand together, then cancer wins.

Again.

And NOBODY wants that.

Love Note

We eat a lot of chicken.  I hadn't noticed before.  Lots of rice, too.  Also lots of fish, but I'm not quite so sure about sending that to school in a lunchbox. 

Today's lunch:
Butter chicken (leftover from last night) and shaped brown rice.  Peanut had an eighth note, Pumpkin had a heart, each outlined in broccoli.  Grapes and sliced red peppers had mixed reviews. Time to change up the fruit and veg, I think.  They liked the shaped rice, though.

Check out What's For Lunch Wednesday



Bonus - Breaking News!
A follow up to the CyberKnife post:
BFH survived the procedure.  Yay!  No adverse effects!  Also Yay!
But the biggest Yay?  Of quite-some-if-not-all-time?



IT WORKED!

The CyberKnife killed the brain tumor!

There has been (and will continue to be) much rejoicing!

Now, BFH is not totally done fighting the war.  He still has lesions in his liver, and the possibility of others lurking, undetected elsewhere.

But Still!

YAY!!!!!!!!eleventy-one!!!!

Gardening Time

We are experiencing summer.  It will probably last 4 days.  I very much want to plant all the lovely little things.  But I know what will happen.

It will be great for 4 days.
We will have a massive cold front, followed closely by thunderstorms and damaging winds.
It will be nice again for 2 days.
We will have a massive frost.
Warm weather will return.  People will get very excited.  Camping will happen.
May 24th will be wet and cold.
There will be another frost.
All planting will have to be completed by June 2, or else!
OK, June 10th at the latest, really.

But I am weak.

Yesterday was Mother's Day.  My Darling Hubby gave me an envelope marked "Angry Mob Supplies".  It's part of a gag from Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.  He and the girls took me to a garden centre.  My favourite garden centre.

I got plants. A lovely false spirea for the shady part of the garden.  Some mint for the patch of ground by the garage where *nothing* grows.  Yes, it may take over.  I don't care.  It's not thistles.

We walked through the annuals section.  They were beautiful.  They called to me.  I had to be strong.  Only hardy-ish things today!  And maybe some herbs.  And some lettuce to put in a planter that I can coddle.  But nothing that can't take the cold I know is coming.

Did I mention I'm weak?

And that is why there is a tomato plant in my kitchen.

We're thinking of calling her Selma.

CyberKnife

(it's a trademarked name)

Nope, not part of a Dr. Who villain’s (or monster’s) arsenal.  Part of the anti-cancer arsenal.

My Best Friend’s Husband (The husband of Kitch; I’ll call him BFH) is having surgery with a CyberKnife today.

We are very excited.  Also a little worried,  but mostly very hopeful.

BFH has been battling cancer for over a year now.  It started in his esophagus and has spread to his liver and now his brain.    BFH is very cool.  And also awesome.  And determined. 

Back to the CyberKnife.

OK, so as you’ve heard before, the three ways to kill cancer are cut, burn and poison.  Cut = surgery, burn = radiation, poison = chemotherapy.

Since the cancer has spread to the brain, chemo isn’t an option.  It won’t cross the blood/brain barrier.  Standard surgery would mean BFH going off his regular chemo for some time before and after, and a whole host of risks.  So, no. 

CyberKnife is…new.  The official site can be found at this link.  

It is robotic, radiation surgery.  It will target the tumor very accurately, leaving the normal, healthy tissue alone.   Which sounds a lot more preferable to someone digging into the little grey cells with a big ol’ scalpel.

As I understand it, BFH will be on the table, or chair, or whatever, and positioned with a mask or strap or something.  But he won’t have a frame screwed into his skull as with other surgical treatments.  And it sounds like he won’t be sedated. 

So, we wish him and his care team the very best today.   

But some of us may possibly make comments about super villain powers later.

edit-May 7/11
Since some visitors come from CinnamonOpus, note that BDH and BFH are not the same person.  Both totally cool, but not the same guy.  And neither one is a BOFH. 

May The Fourth Be With You!

Tomorrow is Star Wars Day!

Peanut and Pumpkin are having lunch provided by the school tomorrow, so we celebrated a little early.

Peanut drew a lovely storm trooper for me free hand. I traced it (kinda) and used it as a template for the mask.

It...um...lost a little in the translation.

But the girls still thought it was cool!

Lunch was:
Ham sandwiches on rye bread, topped with an asiago cheese storm trooper helmet that has nori cut out details. [Sigh.] Badly cut out "details".  I must practice. Today's fruits and veggies are broccoli, carrot sticks, grapes, blueberries and kiwi.


added to What's For Lunch Wednesday!