Surgery Update/Flower Gardening

Hello Everyone,
I thought I should update those of you who've written concerning my surgery. It was scheduled for tomorrow, the 13th, but they called me on Monday and postponed it until the 18th (next Tuesday.) You know that feeling of being relieved to put off something you're dreading...yet at the same time you're disappointed because you're ready to get it over with? Well, that was me!! I'm okay with it now, because I'm trusting that it's fate and the 18th is the very best date for the surgery and all will be perfect! For those who may have missed my post on what's going on with my health, you can read about it HERE.

Now I want to share a few pics of some of the flowers from my garden. I live in an apartment (townhouse) but have a fairly large area to plant flowers. It's one of my favorite things to do for stress relief and relaxing. I adore flowers!!

These are some red and pink astilbes from my yard. I love the lacy look of them, but wish they bloomed longer. Mine usually bloom only about 3 weeks...maybe four.

 

 

One of my hanging plants. I'm not exactly sure what this is, but was told it was a miniature petunia. It's gorgeous, whatever it is!

 

 

This is one of my planting areas that's in semi-shade. I made the "rock garden" for the impatients just this year. They've actually grown a lot since I took this photo, and it looks prettier. I'll post more photos later when everything is full. I have another area I'm still working on. That's coral bells in front, hostas in the middle.

 

Until next time,

Cindy

Fairy Garden

Hello Everyone,
I have a couple things I want to share with you. First, this adorable fairy garden my niece made for me! I love it!

 

A close-up of some of the detail. Isn't the blue bird a sweet touch?

 

 

...and a back view.

 

 

I'm going to try to make one. In fact, my niece and I are going to take a class together on making them in August. Obviously, she doesn't really need the class! It will be fun to do this together, though!

 

 

The other thing I want to share are a couple photos I took of my sister's peonies. They're so gorgeous. I have one that's the darker burgundy color, but pink and white are really my favorites. They also have such a sweet, delicate fragrance.

 

 

Enjoy your weekend! Take time to smell the peonies...or roses! :)

 

 

Until next time,

Cindy



Big Sur, California - Two Year Anniversary

Today, I've been thinking of when I lived in California. I lived in Sacramento for 17 years, but was lucky to be able to visit the central coast and the Carmel/Monterey/Big Sur area several times a year. To me, it's one of the most beautiful places in the world and certainly one of my all-time favorite places to visit. Since I was thinking about it so much today, I decided to repost my very first blog post, which was something I wrote about the Big Sur area. I looked back in my posts to retrieve it - and was shocked to see I wrote it exactly 2 years ago today!! So, today, is my two-year blogging anniversary and it snuck up on me! Call it coincidence or serendipity, but I think it's so crazy wonderful that I decided to repost this today! So, I hope you enjoy it...and the photos, too (which are mine, unless otherwise noted.)

Photo Courtesy: mikelevin.com

It has been said that "Big Sur is as much a feeling as it is a place.” Along this stretch of Pacific Ocean coastline in central California, steep cliffs plunge into the sea and the surf beats endlessly against the rocks. In secluded coves, the sea gently washes in and out, as sea crabs scuttle across the open beach. The area is almost desolate and the only indication one gets of habitation is the occasional mailbox or rooftop peaking through the lush forest. Few homes or roads disturb the landscape, except for the curving Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) that in itself is a wondrous and breathtaking thing that seems "at one" with the beauty over which it journeys. The cry of seagulls circling overhead and the barking of a sea lion is often the only sound one hears to interrupt the constant roar of the surf. Such power...yet such peace. In the words of e.e. cummings: “for whatever we lose (like a you or a me) / it's always ourselves we find in the sea.”

 

 Photo Courtesy: Henry Miller Memorial Library, henrymiller.org

 

 

Until next time,

Cindy

My Overdue Blog Update

I hope everyone is having a happy Memorial Day weekend filled with picnics, family, fun...or just a relaxing day at home. Some of you, like me, probably still have to work, but let's still make it a great day!

I've been neglecting my blog because I'm having some health issues. I've met such wonderful, creative and truly caring people through blogging, however, I felt I should at least update you on what's going on with me. Some of you have become friends and such faithful followers. I'll try to make it brief : )

For years I had a small "bump" on the back of the lower left side of my head. When I say for years - I mean for as long as I can remember. I know it was there in my teens (and I'm now 59) It was about the size of a pea..maybe a little larger. All of a sudden about a year ago, it started growing larger. My doctor said it was a cyst and was 95 percent sure it was nothing to worry about. He left it up to me, however, what to do because I have no health insurance. It kept growing, so I opted to have it removed. At that point, the surgeon still thought it was a benign pilar cyst, but of course, it was sent to be tested. On Friday, I got the results that it was cancerous - actually called a "malignant pilar cyst." They're very rare (oh, wouldn't you know I'm one of the "rare" ones to have it! ) I'll have another surgery in about 2 or 3 weeks to remove more tissue in the area. If that is "clean" then all is well and that will be the end of it. If more cancer cells are present, then more treatment will be needed. I'm trying to not think beyond that at this point.  I'm positive this is going to all turn out okay - but I'll still take all the prayers you care to send my way! :)  Also, PLEASE everyone - if you have anything unusual on your body, don't rely on the five percent that it's "ok."  Have it checkout out immediately.

I'm not sure how much I'll be posting on my blog, although writing is what I've always turned to in times of trouble or to clear my mind and write out my thoughts. I'll try to keep you updated.

Please understand - I'm not "sick." I feel fine...I actually felt fine before the surgery and have no pain, etc. now. BUT, I admit it's scary. For anyone out there who's been through it - just hearing the word "cancer" is scary. I have my times of fear and panic - but overall I'm trying to stay confident and positive...and even trying to keep a sense of humor about it.

So, that's my update. Happy Memorial Day and have a great week, everyone!

Until next time,

Cindy

 

Book Review: Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story

 

WINNER: 2012 eFestival of Words Best of Independent Book Awards (General Non-Fiction)

 

What would you do if your stepfather pinned you down and tried to cast Satan out of you? For thirteen-year-old Ingrid, the answer is simple: RUN.

Ingrid Ricks grew up in a dysfunctional Mormon family with an absent, freewheeling dad and an intensely religious mother who was desperate to ensure her family's eternal salvation. For years she yearned to escape the suffocating religion and poverty at home by joining her dad on the road as tool-selling vagabond. When her parents divorce and her mother marries Earl--a cruel authoritarian who exploits his Church-ordained priesthood powers to oppress her family--she finally gets her wish. At age thirteen, Ingrid begins spending her summers hustling tools throughout the Midwest with her dad and his slimy, revolving sales crew. He becomes her lifeline and escape from Earl. But when her dad is arrested, she learns the lesson that will change her life: she can't look to others to save her; she has to save herself.

I've been on a reading streak lately. It seems to come and go in spells - and quite honestly, as much as I love reading - a book must grab me at the beginning, or I tend to lose interest. Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story did just that! I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Ingrid Ricks (her first novel!) Described as a "coming-of-age story," it made me think about my own 13-year-old self growing up in a middle-class Midwest family, with our own share of ups and downs and difficult times. There's something about that time of life - in between childhood and young adulthood - that is so full of bittersweet memories, yearning and angst. Ms. Ricks captures it perfectly! Although the main character in this book is a 13-year-old girl, this is a very grown-up story - make no mistake about it. It's about the often complicated relationships between fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters and siblings. It's about a dysfunctional family, yes, but how many among us can say there wasn't some sort of dysfunction in our own family growing up? The older I get, the more I realize that almost every family has their own dysfunction in one form or another - and it doesn't mean they don't love each other and stand strong in their support of each other when the chips are down.

I loved the descriptions in this book of life on the road with Ingrid and her father and the joys and disappointments and heartache that ensues. This is an authentic story and I loved it and could (and probably will) read it again. A great summer read!

About the Author:

Ingrid Ricks started her career as a journalist, spent fifteen years as a marketing/PR consultant and is now embracing her writing/mentoring dream full-time. She is the author of Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story, a coming-of-age memoir; FOCUS, a memoir about her journey with the blinding degenerative eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa; and A Little Book of Mormon (and Not So Mormon) Stories, a collection of short autobiographical stories.

Ingrid lives in Seattle with her husband and two daughters. When not writing, working with students, or leading seminars focused on embracing the moment, she can be found accompanying her family to soccer games, ice hockey games, or the beach. She also enjoys hanging out at her neighborhood jazz club or alternating between her two favorite coffee shops. For more information, visit ingridricks.com.

To order Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story from Amazon.com, click below: