Memorial Day weekend at home this year....

This week has been much better.

It helps that the huge mess is gone, and we don't have to look at it anymore.

We counted the ring patterns in the stumps, and there were actually 18 trunks, some small, some large.

It was not just some branches down like some people might think.  It was a colossal mess.  I still don't think the pictures I posted do it justice.

I tried to plant some prairie plants in the back where the grass is dead and the ground was torn up, but something happened to a couple of the plants to crush them.  I have NO idea why a feral cat would do that...but who else has been in the yard?? No one.

That was aggravating.

I will wait now to try for flowering plants at another time, and maybe just plant some native grasses back there, if I can find any.  I also don't want to spend any more money on the yard right now!!!

It's "late" in the year to be buying plants in Oklahoma.   The garden centers empty out and close up shortly after Memorial day.

Then they re open in fall.

Maybe when we are out and about today, we will find a garden center that's open and has some native grasses.  I am willing to at least take a look at them and see how much they are.

In other news, Dave is doing a LOT better now.  He has seen the free counselor every week, and is responding well to his medication.

I, on the other hand, finally called my doctor to complain about the increase in chemo side effects over this past cycle.

I have been having much more hair loss (it's visibly thinning now, my hands are covered with hair when I shampoo), diarrhea every day of the chemo cycle, and more persistent mouth sores.

Since my last scan was good, and since the pharmacy nurse who interviews me every month keeps asking me if my dosage has been changed, I asked my doc if my dosage can be changed....

The answer was yes!  My next cycle starts next Thursday, and I will be taking a dose that has been reduced by 25 mg.

According to the pharmacy nurse, it can be reduced to half of the original dosage-- eventually.

According to my personal nurse, this is done in 25 mg steps.

My nurse said that this should relieve the daily diarrhea.

She said nothing about the hair loss or mouth sores, but I really hope to see a reduction in those as well.

Trust me, having mouth sores ALL the damn time is pretty miserable.

I can deal with being bald again (if it comes to that), but the mouth gets unbearable at times.

Everything tastes different, too, by the third week, and has barely recovered at the end of my 7 days off every month.

The mouth sores have been pretty much a regular part of this treatment for 7  months, but have gotten worse.  The diarrhea going on for more than the first week is new, and the hair loss is definitely new, over the May cycle.

The last time I saw my doc, I asked how long we would do this treatment, and he said indefinitely... until we reach a point of intolerable toxicity, or progression of the disease.

SO, coincidentally, I guess I reached the first point of toxicity, and we will try reducing the dose.

Dave finally got the full invoices for all of the repairs and tree removal, and put them all together.

JUST the electrical and tree removal was $5340.00

The window was $95.00, and the food loss was hard to calculate, but probably around $300.00 (about two weeks' worth of groceries).

He took that all to our insurance agent's office, and it was passed along to the adjuster.

Wonder of wonders, they are releasing more funds to us.  They already paid $367.00, and will be sending an additional check.

It works out to them paying our deductible.  The rest is on us.

That seems backwards to me, but what are you going to do?  The biggest expense was the removal of the trees, and that wasn't covered at all.

Dave was able to withdraw the funds from his future inheritance.  Without that, we'd be trying another on line fund raiser.

This Memorial Day weekend finds us staying home and trying to relax and regroup.

We need the down time, so I am glad we didn't plan anything in advance.  We would have had to cancel it anyway, to save money.

Wishing my friends and family in the US a good holiday weekend.  We are going to a movie today, and maybe to do a little thrift store shopping.

Gone

The trees were removed and the pile along the front curb was truly epic.

They came and got it, though....even though they did leave a colossal mess.  More work for us. Yay.

There were 10 trees that we lost.  Now the back yard is completely different.

We went out today and got some prairie plants, though, to see if they will "take" in what will be the brutal sun of Oklahoma summers.

The idea is to get some prairie grasses, too, and plant them along the fence line.  We couldn't find any that I could justify the expense of today, though.  We'll have to shop around a bit.

Today, I planted larkspur, blanket flower, echinacea, and coreopsis.   Multiple colors and heights.  It will be very pretty, if the sun doesn't kill them.  I am sure they are hybridized, so they may be weaker than their true native cousins.

Back out into the yard I go!  Have a good Sunday.

Hard work and progress

Last weekend, Dave and I worked really hard to try to clean up the yard as much as we possibly could.

I was able to get out there and mow around the fallen trees, and the enormous brush pile, yesterday.

Coordinating the professional tree service with the electric company and the neighbor took all week, but we are FINALLY scheduled for next Tuesday.

The yard will cost us $2300.00

Dave is taking the money out of his trust, which is supposed to be his inheritance when his dad passes away.  We don't really have any other choice.

This storm is costing us about $5000.00

Dave still intends to fight with the insurance company for an additional pay out, since they underestimated the electrical repair, but more money from them is not going to add up to $5000.00.

During the week last week, Dave made sure that Pop's new care givers are showing up and doing their jobs.

He also saw his temporary counselor, and his PA, and got an increase in his anti-anxiety medication.

He was able to go back to work Thursday.

Yesterday, he cut down the mulberry tree, and I helped drag it out, piece by piece, to the curb.  He worked very hard on that project.

I also vacuumed, mopped, did all the laundry, and balanced the check book.

My stamina for physical labor is definitely being impacted by the chemo pill.  I get fatigued a LOT more quickly than ever before, and I get overheated more easily as well.

Even just 6 months ago, I was capable of a LOT more.  It's frustrating.

Dave will take pictures of the tree work next week, so hopefully, I will be able to post them next weekend.

Happy Mother's Day to any out there who celebrate.

Images of the devastation

The dead branches shattered like glass.  There are sticks EVERYWHERE, making it impossible to mow without cleaning up first.

The only thing that's fixed so far is the electrical service and the cable (for internet).

You can see in that last picture where the riser was attached.  We found it 60 feet away in the back corner of the yard.

The electrical repair invoice is for over $2000.  The insurance will get a copy, and hopefully, they will increase the payment they made to us for all repairs, which was only around $300.

It's been a very rough couple of weeks.

Addendum.... we worked out in the yard all day.... made a lot of progress with our little chain saw.  One trash can is full of sticks, and there's a huge pile that needs to be moved to the curb for pick up, but it looks a LOT better.  We worked so hard, and sweated so much.... but it was worth it to not feel so much despair every time we look outside...