The Seeds and Weeds of My Life

What color is March?

2007-03-03T18:32:00.000-05:00

During the past week I've been taking a lot of pain medicine, which has been making me sleep a LOT. As a result, I haven't been online much this past week.Today, I intentionally skipped taking a pain pill so I would be awake enough to visit some of my favorite blogs. What a surprise it was to see many of them decorated in greens and pastels, and sporting bunnies, spring bulbs, shamrocks and "Think Spring!" signs.

For me, March is the color of white (AKA: snow). It only took me one glance out the door to remember why.

What color is March in your corner of the world?

Re-Introduced to Tupperware

2007-02-27T16:56:00.000-05:00

Due to recent health problems that I've had, friends and neighbors have been keeping my family supplied with meals lately. As a result, I've become re-familiarized with some traditional Tupperware products, and I've also been introduced to some of their newer products.

After my husband and I spend a long day at the hospital, it's a blessing to be able to come home and take a pre-made meal out of the refrigerator or freezer, and pop it in the microwave. The Tupperware Rock ’N Serve Containers seem to work especially well for this.

Many years ago, when we were first starting our family, I had a large round Tupperware Cake Taker. Now that we're almost empty-nesters though, I don't make layer cakes very often so I think the Tupperware Cake Server will fit our needs better now.

Although I'm not happy about having health problems, I have enjoyed the opportunity to get acquainted with some new Tupperware products.

Valentine's House

2007-02-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

I like making a Gingerbread House at Christmas, but this past year I was too sick to make one. So, I made a Valentine's Day House instead!

Valentine's Day Questionnaire

2007-01-25T06:26:00.000-05:00

I found the following questionnaire at PEA's Corner. Although I won't be joining the Valentine's Day Goody Swap, I thought it would still be fun to share my answers to the questionnaire.

* What is your idea of a romantic Valentine’s Day?

Having my husband give me a HUGE heart shaped box filled with fat free, 0 calorie, chocolates that taste just like Godiva Chocolates.

In the evening, we'd go out for a romantic dinner at my favorite restaurant.

* In reality, what is your Valentine’s Day really like?

It's like any other day, except I usually do get a small heart shaped box of fattening chocolates.

* If you could have a lifetime supply of your favorite sweet indulgence, what would it be?

Chocolate frosted chocolate cake.

* Is there any sweet treat you absolutely do not like?

Sadly, dark chocolate...the one that's good for you.

* If you fell into a pool of chocolate, how would you get out?

If it was milk chocolate, I'd eat my way out. :)

What's New

2007-01-14T13:36:00.000-05:00

Ditch Cabin Fever ~ Catch Croppin Fever!

If you are a scrapbooker, or if you'd like to learn how to scrapbook, I hope you'll join us this coming week-end ( January 19th-21st) in the Forums at Memory Book Inspirations!

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Today, I added a January Calendar page that I did 2 years ago, to Garden Scrapbooking. After you look at the blog, you can read about the challenge I've issued for all gardeners to create a 2007 Garden Calendar. :)

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Although I still have a lot of posts to add to my new blog, Trudi's Lung Cancer Story, I'm slowly getting there. As my strength returns, I'll continue adding notes until it's up-to-date.

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Does anyone know where I might be able to find some clear glass Christmas ornaments? I had planned on buying some during the after Christmas sales, but needless to say, I wasn't able to get to the store. My husband checked our local discount stores, A.C. Moore and Michael's Craft Store the other day, but they're all sold out. I know it's silly to be worrying about Christmas ornaments now, but I was really hoping to get these made soon. I have all the supplies I need, except for the actual glass ornaments. I need about 20 of them.

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Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me!

Some people will do anything!

2007-01-12T23:39:00.000-05:00

Some people will do anything for attention. Or, to get out of having a colonoscopy! LOL

If you don't already know, it turns out that I do not have colon cancer. What I have is Stage 4 Lung Cancer, with mets to the brain and adrenal glands.

I have started a new blog called "Trudi's Lung Cancer Story". That's where I'll post updates about my condition and treatments. THIS blog will return to being primarily about home & gardening subjects.

Update about my Christmas

2006-12-27T18:06:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the late update, but I haven't been on the computer at all lately. I've been in too much pain.

I didn't get all the Christmas decorating, cleaning and baking done, but thanks to our 17 year old, most of it got done. If you're reading this, "Thanks Brittany! I hope you know how much I appreciate all the work you did!".

I was in a lot of pain during the week-end. So much so, that I did a first for me...I spent part of Christmas Day in bed! I'm usually on my feet all day Christmas, but this year I just wanted to cuddle with a hot water bottle and let pain killers do their work. Thankfully, my family pitched in though and between my husband, Brittany and 2 of our grown daughters, our traditional Christmas meal was made without any help from me.

I'm scheduled to have an abdominal CT scan done on Friday. Please pray that it shows whatever is wrong with me. I'm not even worried about what might be wrong with me, I just want to know so the doctor can start treating me and I can get out of pain.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Doctor Appointments

2006-12-22T18:39:00.000-05:00

I finally updated here, about the most recent appointments my husband had with his nephrologist and oncologist. There isn't much news to share, which is a GOOD thing. :)

As for me, I'm going to be busy during the next few weeks, having a bunch of testing done. Apparently, now the doctor thinks there's a chance I might have colon cancer. Some other things will also be tested for.

It's been a month since I lost my voice and it STILL isn't back yet! However, that isn't as discouraging as the pain in my upper abdomen. I'm finding it very difficult to get ready for Christmas, when it hurts to do anything. By some miracle, I did complete my Christmas shopping though. Now, I just have to wrap the gifts, clean the house, finish decorating and do the baking! I still have 2 days left though. Think I'll get everything done in time? LOL

Hot Chocolate Mugs

2006-12-18T18:36:00.000-05:00

I seriously didn't think I was going to have time to send any Christmas cards this year, but I got most of them signed and mailed today. Yeah!

I also made some of these Hot Chocolate Mugs. They're made out of cardstock, scrapbook paper and a couple of mini brads. They're very easy to make, but I think they cute!

In case you can't read it, the writing on the mug says,
"To our special friends so dear,
Wishing you a cup of cheer.
Merry Christmas!"

Snow Themed Tree

2006-12-16T18:38:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in a different post that the ornaments on our porch tree are ones we inherited. They're not heirloom ornaments, just ordinary thread-covered Styrofoam balls that my in-laws didn't want to take to Florida with them when they moved. They've seen better days, so my husband and I had been talking about replacing them next year with snow themed ornaments.

Well, guess what my wonderful husband did!? He bought me some white garland, white lights, a snowflake tree topper, 36 snowflake ornaments, 40 icicle ornaments and several different snowmen ornaments. Today, our 17 year old took the old ornaments, lights and garland off the tree and then she and my husband re-decorated the tree together! What a great family I have!

Here are a few of the snowmen ornaments.

Here you can see some of the snowflakes and icicles.

Here is a long-shot of the tree.

Health Update

2006-12-16T07:11:00.000-05:00

I got the results from my tests and I don't have gall stones, and even better news is that my liver is NOT enlarged. My liver enzymes are also normal. Yeah!

However, the blood tests did show that I'm anemic for some reason, and we still don't know the cause of the pain I'm having. I also still have laryngitis! It's been over 3 weeks since I've been able to talk! I have an appointment with the doctor on Tuesday and he'll be doing some more tests.

Sunday Update

2006-12-10T14:49:00.000-05:00

I apologize for not visiting the rest of the entries in Christmas Tree Ornaments before this. Friday afternoon I had a doctor's appointment, and afterwards I went to my oldest grandson's birthday party. By the time I got home, I was pretty wiped out. Yesterday and this morning, I was in too much pain to sit at the computer.

Although the reason why I saw a doctor was because I've had laryngitis for over 2 weeks, while I was there, I mentioned an intermittent abdominal pain I've been having for awhile now. He seems to think the pain is being caused by a gallbladder problem (probably stones), but he's even more concerned because he thinks my liver is enlarged. I'm going to be having tests tomorrow, to try to find out for sure what's going on. Prayers that it's nothing serious would be appreciated!

Anyway, the abdominal pain isn’t too bad at the moment, so I’m off to visit some more of the blogs right now! :)

"Christmas Tree Treasures" is today!

2006-12-08T08:50:00.000-05:00

Today is the day for the Christmas Tree Treasures event that Morning Glory from Seeds From My Garden is hosting. If you haven't already, post photos of your ornaments in your blog and then add your link at Seeds From My Garden.

Also, make sure you visit all the sites that have been added. I've been making the rounds and I think you'll be blessed by the wonderful ornaments and memories that others are sharing.

A special day

2006-12-05T22:57:00.000-05:00

Today has been a special day, because my husband and I have been celebrating our 36th wedding anniversary. Not only is it special because we've been married for so long, but if you have read his Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Story, you'll know it's special because he's still here to celebrate it!

We didn't go out to a restaurant this evening, the way we normally would to celebrate our anniversary. I have an extremely sore throat and a bad case of laryngitis, so I didn't think I'd be able to fully appreciate dinner out. However, we did go see the movie "Happy Feet" this evening. It's a cute movie!

Bruce, if you are reading this...
Happy anniversary honey! I love you and I'm looking forward to spending the next 36 years with you! :)

Shopping for Window Shades

2006-12-05T07:21:00.000-05:00

We recently gave our bedroom a fresh coat of paint and we rearranged the furniture in there. Now, we're looking for new bedding and new window treatments for the bedroom.

Last night, I was checking out the blinds and shade products at GUARANTEED blinds.com. Since I'm a "Buy USA" advocate, I really like the fact that their products are manufactured in the USA. I also like the fact that they offer free shipping on all blinds and shades that do not exceed 98" for any dimension, and that if they receive my order by Dec. 10th, they'll ship it by Dec. 15th. That means, if I end up ordering them, I will probably have my new shades in time for Christmas!

The pleated shades at GUARANTEED blinds .com are currently on sale, but the ones I'm most attracted to are the double cell room darkening shades. They have an insulating R-value of 5.00, which means they would help to lower our heating bills this winter. They also block 99.99% of UV rays!

I can get up to 12 samples from GUARANTEED blinds .com, so I think I'm going to request samples of the Altamont, Colonial and Teaberry.

My Christmas Tree Treasures

2006-12-04T19:14:00.000-05:00

My favorite Christmas tree ornaments are the ones that no longer hang on my tree. When our children grew up and left home, I allowed them to take all their childhood ornaments with them. That included; the ones they made in school, Sunday school and Girl Scouts every year, the ornaments we made together each Christmas season, and the special ornaments their Dad and I gave them every year on "Christmas tree decorating night". Although I miss seeing the clothes pin reindeers and paper snowflakes hanging from the branches, I don't really mind that my tree doesn't still have my favorite ornaments on it. One of my daughters told me last year that when she decorates her Christmas tree for her own small children, hanging her own childhood ornaments on the tree helps her to remember the wonderful Christmases SHE enjoyed as a child. That means...my yearly Christmas goal was, and continues to be, accomplished! :)

Although my favorite ornaments moved when my children did, I hope you will enjoy looking at some of the other special ornaments that DO still decorate my Christmas tree!

My husband and I got married on Dec. 5th. When we returned home from our honeymoon, my parents had set up a Christmas tree in the living room of our new home and it was decorated with decorations from our wedding reception. Most of the wedding decorations didn't survive for more than a year or two, but this will be the 37th Christmas tree that this little bird from our wedding cake, has helped to decorate.

Since we were young newlyweds, without much money, instead of buying Christmas ornaments for our tree, we hand painted Balsam wood ornaments to hang on the tree alongside the wedding decorations. We still have an abundance of these wooden ornaments.

This red reindeer hung from a plastic garland we used for decorating during the early years of our marriage. When the garland had outlived it's usefulness, I saved the reindeer to hang on our Christmas trees.

When we moved to upstate NY from another state, it was a Thanksgiving week-end. Although we didn't know anyone when we moved here, we learned that neighbors in the Adirondacks are quick to befriend newcomers. One of our new neighbors created this plastic canvas church for us, even though she hadn't known us for long.

Although we lived in a different town the following Christmas, we still lived in the Adirondacks. We learned that neighborliness exists in other Adirondack towns as well! Every year, for the past 24 Christmases, one of our neighbors delivers a plate of home made cookies to us on Christmas Eve, along with an ornament she's made. This is one of the many wreaths she has made for us over the years.

The daughter of a friend of mine, made this for me one Christmas when she was still a little girl. Although she's grown up now, unlike with my own children, I don't feel obligated to give her the ornaments she made when she was young! :)

I collect ducks so, for many years, my husband gave me a duck ornament every year. These are only as couple of the ones he gave me.

This little Eskimo girl was a souvenir from Sitka, Alaska. The gal that sold it to us, made it herself. Not only is it special because it reminds me of an incredible trip, but also because that was the year my husband was diagnosed with an incurable type of cancer. Every year when I hang her on the tree, I'm reminded to be thankful that my husband is here to celebrate another Christmas.

One of my grown daughters gave me this angel a few years ago. I love getting Christmas ornaments as gifts!

One of my other grown daughters gave me this cute snowman last Christmas. Aw! :)

Thank you for looking at some of my special Christmas Tree Treasures! Thanks also to Morning Glory from Seeds From My Garden, for motivating me to do this!

I joined Blogsvertise!

2006-12-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

I'm excited because I just joined Blogsvertise! As a registered member, all I have to do is visit the web sites that Blogsvertise assigns to me, and then talk about their websites products and services here in my blog. I don't have to endorse the products or services, I just have to talk about them. I can praise them, endorse them, or even complain about them. In exchange for talking about the assigned web sites in my blog, Blogsvertise will pay me per task/blog entry!

Since I just joined Blogsvertise, I haven't had a task yet, but it sure sounds like doing assignments for them will be a fun and easy way to earn some extra money! I enjoy surfing the web and looking at new web sites anyway, and I'm often looking for different topics to blog about. Blogsvertise will help me to do what I already enjoy doing, and they'll pay me to do it!

If you have a blog (or if you're thinking about starting one), and you'd like to make some money with it, you might want to check out Blogsvertise!

Santas by Santa Carver

2006-12-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

Before my brother-in-law had a stroke and she had to become his caregiver, my sister used to hand carve Santas out of wood. Although she sold most of her Santas at gift shops and craft fairs, every Christmas she used to carve family members a Santa. Here are some of the Santas she carved for me. They are some of my most treasured Christmas decorations!

This Santa is a candlestick.

Another candlestick, with a close-up of it.

A hanging ornament, with a close-up of it.

Another candlestick.

The following Santa is carved on a wooden thread spool.

Occasionally, she carved subjects other than Santas.

If you enjoyed looking at these Santas, you will want to visit my sister's web site to see many of the larger and more ornate Santas she has carved!

Special Christmas Tree Ornaments

2006-12-01T21:34:00.000-05:00

On Friday, December 8, Morning Glory from Seeds From My Garden will be hosting Christmas Tree Treasures. The idea is to post photos, as many as you want, of the special ornaments that you hang on your tree each year. Share with us why they are special to you. Maybe they are family heirlooms, things your children made you or you had as a child, or special theme collections -- whatever it is that you put on your tree that brings you pleasure each year as you decorate it. Maybe it's the tree topper.

On December 8th Morning Glory will have a Mr. Linky set up so you can add your name and the link to your post that displays your photos.

My New Addiction

2006-11-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the technology of live web cams, my new addiction is watching Impalas, Wilderbeasts, Zebras, Giraffes, Elephants, and more, at the Nkorho Pan watering hole in Africa. If you want to get addicted too, check out Africam!

Sunday Blog Challenge 11.19.06

2006-11-19T20:21:00.000-05:00

Sunday Blog Challenge from Two Peas in Bucket

Challenge:
Holiday Sparkle or Traditional Mistletoe? Share your preferences for Christmas decorating... what kinds of things do you love?

Traditional Mistletoe. I love Christmas and all the traditions surrounding it!

Our main Christmas tree is old-fashioned looking, with a popcorn chain, candy canes and Gingerbread cookies on it. The ornaments are all different and each one has sentimental value. Decorating the Christmas tree is a family affair. We play Christmas music and drink eggnog, while we unwrap the ornaments and relive the memories that surround them. Every year, we give a special gift ornament to each child....one that has been selected especially for them, based on their interests or achievements that year.

My large Christmas village is set up on a table in the living room and, most years, a new house is added to it. I also collect crèche scenes, which I display on our hutch, fireplace mantle, corner cabinet, and elsewhere throughout the house.

We have a small tabletop tree in our dining room, with miniature ornaments on it & a miniature crèche scene under it. In our enclosed porch, we have a large artificial tree, which can be viewed from our dining room through a sliding glass door. A train goes around and around the tree and a small Christmas village is displayed under the tree. The ornaments on that tree are ones we've inherited.

I collect balsam and pine greens, from our woodland, to use for decorating. I have pine cones wreaths, made from pine cones collected in our woods. Some years, I make a Partridge Berry terrarium.

I love the look and feel of an old-fashioned country Christmas! I even hang up mistletoe! :)

Memorial service, movie review & other stuff

2006-11-04T20:20:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I've written anything in this blog, so here's an update.

The week-end of Oct. 21st, we went to Vermont for my Dad's memorial service. No condolences are necessary, as it's been almost three years since he passed away. His urn has been sitting on my fireplace mantle all this time, but recently my Mom decided she wanted the urn to be buried. So, we made the arrangements and we buried him in the cemetery on an island in Lake Champlain, where my parents used to live. My Dad loved the island, so I know he'd be pleased with our cemetery choice.

My Dad's death didn't come as a surprise. Not only was he just a few days shy of being 88 when he passed away, but six months earlier he had coded and been resuscitated 8 times. He shouldn't have lived as long as he did! It's funny how no matter how well prepared you think you are for someone to die though, sometimes you're not really prepared at all. And, it's funny how almost three years after your Dad dies, it can still make you cry when you try to write about it in your blog.

Please excuse my Mom's "back side", but for privacy's sake, I didn't want to show the photos with her face.

My Mom ~ photo taken the day after the Memorial Service

The week-end of Oct. 28th was the Fall Cyber Crop at Memory Book Inspirations. It was awesome!

This past Wednesday, we went to see the movie "Flags of Our Fathers". Our seventeen year old, Brittany, treated us. Wasn't that sweet of her? Although normally I wouldn't consider "Flags of Our Fathers" to be my type of movie, I really enjoyed it! Although there were some very gruesome scenes, overall the movie was extremely powerful and educational. I can't wait until it comes out on DVD, so I can watch it again!

Well, I guess that's about it for the latest news. Most everything else has been status quo.

Grippin' and Gripin'

2006-10-15T11:20:00.000-04:00

There were so many things I had hoped to accomplish this week-end. It's downright chilly out, but the sun has been shining brightly so I figured it'd be a great week-end to get some fall clean-up chores done outdoors. I had also hoped to get some layouts finished for a few of the challenges posted in the forums at Memory Book Inspirations. Instead, I've just been grippin' and gripin' all week-end.

I have pleurisy and if you've ever had pleurisy, you know that when your chest expands (like when you cough, laugh or breathe), it HURTS! I've just been gripping a pillow to my chest all week-end and trying not to move. I've accomplished nothing! :(

End of gripe.

I hope anyone reading this is having a super week-end!

Seeds & Weeds Seal

2006-10-12T12:22:00.000-04:00

On Sarah's blog, Love Letters Illustrated, I found the link to a seal generator. Here is the seal I made. DIXI is Latin for "I have spoken". It's usually used at the end of a speech and the implied meaning is, "I have said all that I had to say and thus the argument is settled". I couldn't resist! LOL

Welcome to The Seeds and Weeds of My Life!

2006-10-10T21:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to The Seeds and Weeds of My Life!

Garden Scrapbooking was my first blog and it was meant to be about "garden scrapbooking". It ended up being mostly mostly about gardening though, so I decided to start some new blogs.

This one (The Seeds and Weeds of My Life) will be my "this, that & the other thing" blog, where I'll be posting about anything & everything! :)

If you're interested in reading my other blogs, there are links to all of them near the top on the right.