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happenings

Yesterday evening we received word that a close friend of Bobby's was on his way to the ER. We knew someone from the church would be with his wife (who is on hospice), but since they have no family close by, we decided to go be with him. We left last night and headed back this morning expecting him to be having heart tests and procedures today (he had a heart attack), only to find out everything was on hold until they could get a clearance from his oncologist. About 4 years ago they operated on him to "remove" parts of both lungs due to cancer. It was to take 5-6 hours. They basically opened and closed him, as the tumors were so widespread the dr said there was nothing that could be done. The given diagnosis had a life expectancy of 6 months. That was 4 years ago.  So now the heart dr is waiting to make sure it's okay to fix the heart. As we left late this afternoon that clearance had actually come but there won't be any procedures until tomorrow when they transfer him to Raleigh. Meanwhile his wife is now in a hospice hospital and Raleigh. That situation hinges on everything else and remains a large question. Deep down inside I wonder if this will one day be my future - childless and in need of help but away from family. And regardless of what people say about the church being your family, legally, they are not and cannot make decisions for you without legal documentation, which makes total sense.

And while all this is happening here, miles away a distant family member is facing one of the worst days of her life, with some bad days to come. My heart is grieving for her. Sometimes there's just no words.

On the trivial side of things, the chickens like our new driveway, and have used it as a poop pad a fair amount. So I spent some of this afternoon hosing part of it off. We don't have grass along the edges of it yet, which fuels some of the dirt wash and also left me with some very muddy shoes.

In the creative arena I'm actually starting a new quilt project. Yes. I am very aware my goal last year was to finish 3 projects for every one I started, BUT this project involves using up some of my quilt scraps, so I'm not totally certain it can be counted as a new project. It's just a new quilt top. So far it's moving along fairly quickly, and I'm pleased with how it looks and how quickly it's progressing. And it's simple.

We have a chicken still on her nest, and if I'm remembering correctly she should have chicks sometime next week. Now I just need to figure out how to stop one of our donated birds from roosting and pooping in the garage. Today is one of those love/hate days with my chickens.

I'm behind and out of space in my garden area, though hope to get things rolling tomorrow. Tomato plants are growing well, some already have blooms; corn will need replanting; green beans should go in this week as well as okra. I can't believe how early things are growing this year. Pecan trees already have tassles and my flowers that bloom around mother's day are already about to pop open. I fear we are in for a very hot summer.

And if I ever get around to downloading pictures from my camera, I might actually post some.


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