December: All Bundled Up

Welcome December!

With such a late Thanksgiving, December took us by surprise.

Well.  Me at least! heh.

December

by John Updike

First snow! The flakes,

So few, so light,

Remake the world

In solid white.

All bundled up,

We feel as if

We were fat penguins,

Warm and stiff.

The toy-packed shops

Half split their sides,

And Mother brings home

things she hides.

Old carols peal.

The dusk is dense

There is a mood

Of sweet suspense.

The shepherds wait,

The kings, the tree

All wait for something

Yet to be.

Some miracle.

And then it's here,

Wrapped up in hope-

Another year!

******

December memories....

Last year Katie and Karen decorated for me.  I think I really liked that tradition!!!

I am slowly switching the decorations over from fall to winter.  Slowly.

Yoohoo.  Katie and Karen!!!

Encourage One Another,

Donna

Constants

Happy one year anniversary!

Lumpectomy done. check.

As you can see I was loved and supported by my lovely family.

Cindy came to the hospital and was there for me and Patrick.

The above picture is from the day after my surgery.  You can see I was feeling just fine.

For me surgery is no big deal. 

Wound care (bad care)

Chemo side effects.

ER visits.

Big deal.

I did have great results from my surgery so for that I am very grateful.

(Clear margins and no cancer in lymph nodes)

But most of all I think of all my loved ones.

My constants.

And I feel so very thankful and blessed.

Love you. Mean it.

Donna Elsie

*******

Still Here

been scared and battered.

My hopes the wind done scattered.

Snow has friz me,

Sun has baked me,

Looks like between 'em they done

Tried to make me

Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin'--

But I don't care!

I'm still here! 

~Langston Hughes

 

hair growth after chemo. month eight

 

I once ran a brush through my hair and I couldn't believe it!

This is what my hair looked like. And while I love Prue and think she looks great...

she is 84 after all.

I'm not ready to look 20 years older than I am.

Chemo curls are VERY common.

They go every which way.

I bought a product called Love ur Curls.

This helps my hair not be so bouffant.

Just making a record here.

I imagine next month to be about the same.

We shall see.

My son Patrick said,

"How often do you get to grow a totally new hair style?"

My son, who is not an encourager in general, really encouraged me.

So there you have month eight, chemo grow out.

A few more days and I will celebrate the lumpectomy anniversary.

What a year.  What a year.

Encourage one another,

Donna

November comes

 November

The stripped and shapely

Maple grieves

The ghosts of her

Departed leaves.

The ground is hard,

As hard as stone.

The year is old,

The birds have flown.

And yet the world,

In its distress,

Displays a certain 

Loveiness--

The beauty of 

The bone.  Tall God

Must see our souls

This way, and nod.

Give thanks: we do,

Each in his place

Around the table

During grace.

 by John Updike

I find this poem to be so beautiful and surprisingly profound for a children's poem.

Don't You?

***

Indian Summer came and went. 

The gusty winds finally blew the leaves from the trees.  

The Spring training, that had begun so long ago had ended, and summer ball had taken its place,

and a fall, and Shohei Ohtani had won a World Series.

Congrats Dodgers

Congrats Shohei.

Thanks for a wonderful season!

Encourage one another,

Donna

HT:Harper Lee

Mommy loves you, Ginny.

Our dear girl.

10-31-2011

10-20-2024

She really had a gentle spirit.

Except when people stopped by...then she lost her mind, she was so happy!!!

What great smiles!

The holding hands is just too sweet!

Ginny especially loved her big sisters.

She especially loved begging for food. She never snatched it.

But was there for the long stare down.

We should have walked her more.

My favorite place in all of Chicago is the dog park.

Her most pretty pose.

She had a wonky eye but it was not noticable when she got older.

Welcome home.

Ginny was breed with love by a bird hunting family.

When we named Ginny, Ginny my sister Janice was delighted because she loved the Harry Potter books.

(Mary also! )

My sister Janice had the most beautiful and perfect line...every stick will be a wand....

and I can't remember all of it and I have spent over and hour trying to find it. I'm afraid the quote is in the long deleted comments.  Too bad.

Do you remember what you said Janice.  It was poetic and delightful.

 

Final photo of our honey.  We had a comfort room.  Candles and Hershey Kisses.  Ginny got to eat kisses and cheese and Chocolate cake before she went to sleep.  She could not eat easily but managed. Ginny was confused and did not recognize us.  It was so hard.  The staff at the emergency Vet was incredible.  Kind and gentle and sweet and reassuring. 

We cried and cried. And I cry even now.

We sure were lucky to have such a good girl come live with us.  She gave us lots of love and comfort and joy.

Mommy loves you Ginny.

Chicago Tribune Fall Tradition

This cartoon is about the only thing I remember from my childhood newspaper reading!

(Except, of course, the sports section, Chicago Blackhawks articles.)

But, truly, I watched for this cartoon each fall and loved to study the landscape change from haystacks to teepees....smoke to the Indians.

It just fascinated me.  

It's older than I realized, 1907, and it is not run in the paper any more.

You can read all about it if you're interested in the link below.

 

Learn the history behind the famous cartoon:Injun Summer

Reminiscing,

Donna

Holy Ground

"No matter where life takes you... the place where you stand at any moment is holy ground.  Love hard and love wide and love long, and you will find the goodness in it."

~Susan Vreeland

Love of place.

Love of other.

Love of God.

Holy Ground.

When I thought of love....

I thought of this picture.

It took me over an hour to find it...but it was fun to see hundreds of other pictures that spoke

love.

love hard, love wide, love long.

amen

Donna Elsie

“If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with.”

~Noel Langley, Wizard of Oz Screenplay