2018 Garden is BOOMING!

The above photo was taken shortly after we planted.

The harvest began with green and wax beans on May 18th.

Banana Peppers on May 19th.

1 Cherry Tomato on the 23rd.

In just TWO WEEKS, we have harvested:

Beans:  5 GALLONS

Banana Peppers:  43 of 'em

Cherry Tomatoes:  48 of 'em

(Dom's 2 hay bales didn't work out, so no big tomatoes this year.)

Pretty impressive for a small garden, huh?

**On a side note:  Since the 23rd of this month, our Blueberry Bushes have produced 10 Quarts already!

Our Patient is Doing Well!

Dom is completely off of chemo.  He's back to blood work every 3 months.  He's getting around well on his rollator, driving, and going to physical therapy twice a week.  (He reached his Medicare cap, so joined their "wellness" program for $40 per month)

Meanwhile, our Mimosa Trees are in bloom and have been having gorgeous sunsets.

All is well with our world!

Gardens May 13, 2018

I cannot get over how wonderful Hay Bale Gardening is!  My tomatoes are planted in 2 hay bales.  I surrounded the bales with green beans and wax beans.  They're very happy.

Dom's banana peppers are flourishing in the soil.

I didn't bother taking a picture of his 2 hay bales.  His tomatoes are pathetic.  They're alive but wimpy.

I bought my 2 bales at a local feed/seed joint.  Cheap.

He procrastinated.  The only bales that he could find were "Premium" hay bales at the Tractor Center.  $$$$$   These things were so dense that we had difficulty planting.  I think that the roots are having problems growing.

So... we'll have plenty of cherry tomatoes, cheese and onion stuffed banana peppers wrapped with bacon and beans!

Dom's AMAZING Week

This week has been full of surprises.

On Monday he complained to his Slidell Cancer Center doctor about his neuropathy acting up again.  It's slowly creeping up his leg.  Also the backs of his hands.

Dr. C. canceled his chemo and asked us to go to see Dr. Safah at the Tulane Cancer Center in NOLA.  (These 2 doctors work hand-in-hand, but Dr. Safah calls the shots.  We've elected to get treatments in Slidell out of convenience)

We happily got an appointment with Dr. Safah on Tuesday morning.

She was puzzled about the neuropathy, saying that Kyprolis RARELY causes neuropathy.  We told her that we didn't want him back in a wheelchair.  She understood that.

I said, "Doc-  his numbers are great.  The radiation shrunk the lesion (Plasmacytoma) to 20% of its original size.  Does he REALLY HAVE to have more chemo?"

She looked at his most recent numbers.  No M-Spike.  And much to our delight gave him the summer off of chemo.  She did another M-Spike test and wants us to have another in 3 months.  Just keeping an eye on it.

(The only reason that he was back on chemo was that solitary plasmacytoma on his left hip)

So, we're hopeful that it'll be another 8 years of remission and that no rogue cancer cells create problems for him.

That was our Christine's last day here.  She had been carting us around in her rental car.  We thought we'd go to one of our favorite joints, Crossroads Seafood and Grill, on the way home.

Dom had gotten a fried pork chop there about a year ago.  He said, oh wouldn't it be great if they had a pork chop lunch special?

We arrive.  We walk in.  LUNCH SPECIAL:  Fried Pork Chops!

We told the owner our wonderful news before being seated.

Had a delicious meal.  When we got the check, it was for ZERO.  The owner picked up the tab.  She's done that now THRICE.  What a doll!

So... it was a VERY GOOD DAY. 

That night, I found out that I had $100+ in unclaimed dividends sitting in Louisiana. WOW!

The stars were aligned!

A Quick Four-Night Visit to PCB

Dealing with Dom's health had kept me from visiting the condo.  It had been over a year.

As his health has improved and he's getting around with his Rollator, Christine and I decided to bust a move to the beach.

The weather and water were both PRISTINE!

Front Beach Road is a mess.  They've torn everything up.  Surprisingly, traffic is moving, though.  This top picture is a rendering of what's planned.  This shows what it's going to look like at our condo when they finish.

Christine and I had our share of fun.  Thanks to generous family and friends who we trust with the condo, we ate out every night using gift cards-  Dee's Hangout, Carraba's, Saltwater Grill and the Firefly.  OINK OINK.

And, of course, happy hour every afternoon at the LIQ across the street.  One afternoon we went to a new brewery across the street for a couple of pints of craft beer with dear pal, Jimmy.  NIVOL BREWERY.  Nice place!  http://www.nivolbrewery.com/

We spent each day on the beach.  Heavenly!

Each night, Christine and I plugged in the "Disco Ball" and rocked out!  Girls just wanna have fun!