June 2021 Catch up thread !

Where is this year going? Despite the carnage going on inside the house - hubby now fitting new bathroom and partitioning off for an en-suite - the garden is full of surprises. As we weren’t here this time last year it’s been lovely to see the plants that are popping up albeit some appear to be taking over a bit! 
Hoping to spend today with my step-daughter and her 3 year old daughter so off to put some cream on

Take care everyone 

Karen x

They look amazing Kareno62 . The colour  is so vibrant. You could sell them ! Quite exciting to see what is going to pop up ! With absolutely no thought or forward planning my garden has colour springing through most of thepring/ summer ! It even has groups of white and a yellow areas  ! Never planned that either . Don’t think I looked at the packaging and a lot came from supermarkets! Just goes to show you really don’teed to know what you are doing !. But I enjoy doing it !

Lost a lot of bushes this year so time to try again in a few areas . 

Hope you enjoyed your day yesterday. What a fantastic age ! I think it’s a great stage in their development. I miss those days for sure !

One son has a flat battery today so it’s off to the garage we go! Good old granny likes to contribute to these calamities! They do her garden in return !

Rain here today but I think it’s to pick up tomorrow!

Have a good day !

Court 

Well I have done some really , really normal things this month . Had friends over for dinner last weekend and been out with other friends for a meal this weekend ! How normal is that . Even when we could do these things I was cautious but no stopping us now ! 
Hope you are all having a good weekend or even just a restful one if possible ! 

Take care ,

Court 

Ps ten years ago this week mum had her extended liver resection ! Not so sure I would be here writing this ten years later ! 

Morning Court, so good to hear your mums positive story! I am morning after 3rd chemo cycle and bit jaded. Steroids kept me up til 2 this morning and just waiting for meds to kick in before attempting breakfast. Last 2 cycles have learnt to just go with the extreme fatigue for first week and write thursdays off as bathroom days if you know what i mean, as it does improve in 2nd week. If all goes well with chemo and there is no further spread there is a chance that I will be offerd liver resection after. cancer being unpredictable as it is I am keeping myself firmly rooted in the here and now and making the most of my good days in the garden which is such good therapy for just switching off.

We are extremely fortunate in Southampton to have not only a Macmillin centre attached to hospital but also a Maggis centre in close proximity to chemo treatment centre. Anybody in area who is not aware I can highly recomend both! Maggis are running online relaxation, yoga and Qigong classes online and I am going to give them a try if not too wiped out. Patients, family, freinds and children all welcome to just drop in, grab a drink and cake. There are books to loan and professional advice available. It is a haven, somewhere quiet to go and just relax and get sound advice and support.

It looks like it is going to be a beautiful weekend, enjoy everyone if you can even if its only to just get outside for a bit and sit.

Morning 

I just had a quick look at your profile and so similar to my mum’s in many ways ! It amazed me the difference a few bags of fluids make when having chemo ! My mum really struggled on chemo and particularly keeping her fluids up ! But it was the only time in her life that she actually stopped and listened to her body as she put it ! She slept loads . Back then we did not know the benefits of even a small walk and I do think exercise when possible might have helped ! She found recovery from surgery much easier !

So glad you highlighted Maggie’s that is an amazing resource ! I did not realise they were running online classes . That makes it even more accessible for people who are maybe needing a bit of encouragement to participate. 

I have spent a few nights in Southampton on route to the Cruise liners !! Instantly I realised you got much better weather than us ( no surprises there ) but I noticed it in the gardens ! Beautiful big heads ! Having some outside space is so important ! I hope you enjoy it . I also hope to come again but spend a few days exploring the area too!

I also noticed in your profile you are able to see the difference between treatment pre pandemic and now ! It’s only as things are starting to return to some normalcy that I think others diagnosed during the pandemic will realise the enormity of what they have been through without the in person support !

It is always a relief to see the surgeons schedule with your liver resection marked down ! I shall keep hoping that’s the pathway for you too but I totally understand where you are coming from . 

Have a lovely day and I will try and remember to take my phone with me today and get a few photos ! During the pandemic we swapped a lot of photos on theses threads and got transported up and down the country!

Take care ,

Court 

Somehow time has run away with me and I missed the start of this thread! 

Anyone noticed how few flies etc there are this year? We've had lots of various bees though. And the tree blossom, in particular the hawthorn and wild service, has been stupendous.

This is our small wild service tree a few weeks back.

Looked better in real life!

So things are being delayed another month. Can't say I am surprised nor very unhappy. So carry on staying safe everyone.

Is that a hawthorn in the photo ? I have seen them out on my new walking routes ! That’s interesting about the flies ? Why is that ! Lots of bees here too and we were covered in bouncing big mayflies ! Not sure if they were but they turned up at the end of May and went away suddenly !

Must keep an eye out for the small flies ! 
Over lockdown I watched a documentary on plastic reduction and have been doing “swaps” . So far so good but I have been trying to pay a little more attention to the world around me ! My washing capses are now sent through the post ! So many changes to adapt to this year !.

Take care ,

Court 

No, it's a wild service tree. The hawthorn was not photogenic. Both were very densely covered, be interested to see how much gets converted to fruit. 

Well we will pay for the heat with thunderstorms due from tomorrow afternoon. Hope there are no floods.

Stay safe all

A lovely thread and lovely trees and flowers. Since my diagnosis I do find myself appreciating each moment more intensely. We spent this week on the Dorset coast and the views of the sea were almost unbearably beautiful, but even ordinary moments in the garden felt special. Yesterday we were looking after my one-year old grandson, and that was even more special. 

Well I must admit Gemmary I’ve never heard of a wild service tree so had to look it up. It was very interesting and quite rare apparently and often found in ancient woodlands? The tree is a hermaphrodite and the fruit is called chequers - Thankyou for introducing me to a new part of nature and now I need to know if you live in a castle or something similar? x