The Accidental Farmers

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Grand Canyon Village, AZ
The Accidental Farmers

I never started out thinking I wanted to do this "farming" thing. Then I married a man who came with a farm.

02/22/2022

Valentines 2022

Me to The Guy: “-ery or –rey?”
The Guy: “Thirty years and you are still asking me how to spell my full first name?”
Me: “You could either have a chat with TSA when I spell it wrong on your airline ticket, or you could just tell me. And it’s almost 32 years if math is as important as spelling.”

This is how we spent Valentines, getting airline tickets. The Teenager is appalled there were no flowers, fancy dinner, chocolates or hand-holding.

This is us.

Instead we used the day to book a trip. The trip was the following day so it sort of needed to be done, but, by the by.

This is us.

We flew out on the 15th and did life the way we know how; Our Way. After cancer and victories and hardships and stress and overcoming, we aren’t about to let a Hallmark Holiday tell us how to live our life.

And for a total of three minutes, I remembered how to spell The Guy’s first name.

Until the next time I have to ask him.

02/01/2022

First day back to work after covid and I'm pouring my coffee into my mug. I didn't bother turning the lights on. Problem is, I didn't see last night's tea bag still in the mug. Today we see how caffinated coffee and Relaxed Mind tea pairs. Wish me luck!

01/24/2022

Four years ago I was sitting on the couch feeling like crap from my first round of TCHP chemo. Throat hurt, tired, hot-then-cold, achy, so so tired, headache, medicated, did I mention, tired.

Today, four years to the day, I’m on the same couch, feeling the same way, this time with COVID. Throat hurts, tired, hot-then-cold, achy, so so tired, headache, medicated, did I mention, tired.

Prior to actually showing the extra line on the COVID test, I had all the same anxiety that I had before breast cancer scans. What would it show? What if it was something? What if it was nothing?

The whole thing came rushing back in my version of PTSD.

Only this time I know I will not get better just to go back in to get knocked down on Round Two of Chemo. This time, once this subsides, I’m done. I don’t have to drive myself to somewhere where I do it again.

One “benefit” of having had chemo, I do know how to take it easy. I do know how to listen to my body. I do know how to ask for help. I do know it’s okay to stop.

Here’s to being on the mend and still celebrating being four years out of the start of active chemotherapy.

11/28/2021

[Trips over the dog toy] Dammit, Dog!
[Trips over the cat suddenly in my path]
Dammit, Cat!
[Looks around living room for missing water glass]
(Spouse says) Dammit, Brain!

Two posts in one day. There ya go.

11/27/2021

I've been asked a lot where I've been. How I've been. If I've been. The shorts answer is "mnmnh".
What started out as a week-long break turned into living life. Overcoming challenges, miring in some still, creating opportunities, making decisions, celebrating success, watching the tide ebb and flow.
Some stuff is little. Some is huge. Some is stupid. Some are someone else's choice, some are mine. Some change the minute and others change the day or the week, the month, the year.
Family is well. Teenager is back in the US. The Guy still has dinner on the table every night. I still teach, although it's very much different. The cancer is staying gone. The big dog still won't stop chasing birds and the little dog won't come when called.
So there's life in three paragraphs. Thank you for all the messages and concern. I'm still kicking (not always AT someone, either.)

09/13/2021

Our house sits just under the flight path for SeaTac International airport. Annoying as hell, especially when the barks at every. single. plane. Sometimes they go by and we barely notice. Other times it sounds like they are four feet above the evergreens, and I can see the plane’s blue underbelly. With the barking dog and the jet sounds (and the train, but we won’t go there), you’d think we live in the big city, not the country. Peace and quiet, my ass.

Twenty years ago today there were no sounds from the sky. You’d think it would be peace, but it wasn’t. The silence was deafening. Every single plane in the United States was grounded at the airport it landed in, even if that was not its original destination. There was an eerie quiet after all planes were banned from the sky hours after four planes had been hijacked in mid-air. At the time it was still too fresh, too raw, too new to have detailed information.

It would be three days before we would hear the sound of a jet overhead. It sounded as though it were cautious as it made its way across the sky. Like it wasn’t sure. Like it was hesitant, sneaking its way across the blue expanse.

Today, twenty years later, as the dog barks yet again in a time span of 15 minutes, I am thankful there is something for her to bark at.

08/31/2021

Little project. It is finally time to harvest and dry the Hydrangeas. Get them too blue and they shrivel, leave them too long and they lose their color.
Three years ago I was harvesting these beautiful stems between radiation appointments and chemo infusions. They are light as a feather so I figured easy-peasy in the wheelbarrow. I cut them, stripped the leaves and pushed the wheelbarrow back to the drying house/milkhouse.
And stopped halfway there to lay on my back in the grass and catch my breath, wondering what in the ever loving hell was going on.
The weight of an empty wheelbarrow was going to do me in.
Three years out I'm pushing wheelbarrow loads of dirt and bark and rocks and weeds and not collapsing.
And feather light Hydrangea stems are a breeze.

Happy Days.

08/11/2021

I'm back to going to the gym (once a week - easing into this slowly) and I keep forgetting my ipod shuffle (from 2006). I thought I would go Major Tech Geek and get wireless earbuds.

The Guy and The Teenager are more into this Tech stuff than I am, but only The Guy was available to play along (some dumb thing about Finals and being "too busy"). I have him on a four hour research project to the best earbuds.

Little did he know that three minutes into his research, I had already ordered two pairs. Why two? Both ranked well, and why not? Good return policy. Whatever. This got too complicated and I was bored.

They arrive. I unbox them. I sync and install. I push buttons. I try one pair and I like the sound, but they look stupid. I try the others which look way cool, but I think they suck. Only then do I hand both pairs to The Guy.

Three hours later he's adjusted and tweeked and told me I should be downloading loss-less music instead of "that crap" and I smile and nod and plan dinner and a pruning project. He picks the pair he says sounds better (which also look cooler) but tells me they both sound decent (even though it's not loss-less music - whatever that even means).

I am returning one pair. Needless to say, it's the cooler looking pair that apparently sounded better.

Why? Because I can't keep my phone more than six feet away and listen to music with those, and I can with the other ones. So much for research.

At this point I should also note I am deaf in my left ear, tone deaf in both ears and wouldn't know quality sound if it gave me a cookie and a back rub.

So now I'm Techy Geek with weird white boxes in my ears.

08/06/2021

When The Kid is away, mom will play with the Cricut.
No, The Teenager's cat would not move out of the way and off the bed and somewhere far, far away. She had to in my space The. Entire. Time.
Peace out. It's Friday and, after 51 days if no rain, it's finally cooled off and raining!

07/30/2021

It's this kind of day. 95 degrees predicted, which means it should top out at a hundred. Autumn and Quincey went for a walk on the riverbank with me. I have a feeling this was it for the day as far as productivity.
Happy Friday. Peace Out.

07/22/2021

I took the dogs for a walk this morning on the riverbed behind our property. The schnauzer is grey and ditched me about 11 times. He was camouflaged in the rocks. (Actually, he just completely ditched me.) The Aussie stuck around mostly because she hadn't had breakfast yet. The Guy didn't see my note as to where I went, and threatened to send up the drone to find us.
Did I mention it wasn't even 9:00 am yet?
But I did find a whole bucket full of St. John's Wort. And the tansy is coming on.

07/21/2021

My night to cook. The Guy says what are we having?
Buffet. Cheerios, oatmeal or granola.
Isn't this a great restaurant?

Address

8 South Entrance Rd
Grand Canyon Village, AZ
86023

Website

https://the-accidental-farmers.blogspot.com/

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