picking up the pieces

Herbs on the patio!

Garden art has consolidated itself into one spot.

Teresa and Gus enjoy an afternoon on the patio.

This is where we live in the summer.

I think I'm making some progress in my journey to the end of cancer treatment. I have an MRI today, I see the radiation oncologist Monday, and my main dude oncologist on Friday. He will outline the follow-up and long-term care plan for me.

Picking up the pieces means, for me, that I go back to doing normal things normally. Not sleeping all day but trying to be active and resume activities like exercise and cooking and cleaning and gardening.

I've done a little cooking in the past week and enjoyed it. Nothing too fancy...chipotle aioli, Mexican tabbouleh, banana bread. It was nice to be in the kitchen making something tasty, with the radio and a glass of wine.

I'm going to work in my garden for an hour this morning before I have to get ready for the trip to Waseca. Hosta planting, garden art distribution, weed management, and an extreme make-over for the corner that has gotten out of control.

Medical people are calling me this morning to report and remind. My insurance, for which I pay a ton of money, won't pay for one prescription so the doctor had to substitute another. My insurance company says it is too soon to fill the prescription for the burn cream until the 22nd. Apparently they have calculated just how much of that goop I should use per application and measured it out to last ten days. Or some shit.

Yesterday we met with our insurance agent/money manager to figure out the logistics of paying for medical insurance. There's a crack along side the head for you. I said on our way out the door that she is probably used to managing more money than we have. Haha! We were hoping Obamacare might help us out in this situation but now I read that the IRS scandal might mean there is no money for that. What the hell does one have to do with the other?

The bird report for Bruce. We've had a lot of young birds lately. Grackle babies and robin babies, mostly. Both are poop machines. They like to sit on the backs of our lawn chairs and dribble a streak down the cushions. Jeez. Learn some manners. Adult orioles are less apparent than a few weeks ago so they probably have a nest somewhere and they're shopping at the corner tree limb for bugs instead of scarfing grape jelly.

Our wedding anniversary is Saturday, the 22nd. We usually forget the date and I can never remember the year but this year, there is a comedy show that night so we're making it a celebration. It's a good fit. Our friend, Mike Callahan's irreverent comedy to celebrate our wedded bliss.

On to the day.