Flowers arrived from a friend...
Lovely daughter popped the penny in the water and arranged the tulips.
Thanks darling!
My sister mentioned at her Garden Club, when introducing the guest speaker Des Kennedy,
that "Viagra would make tulips stand at attention"
the audience snickered and whispered excitedly amongst themselves...
I wonder if this really works.
(I think some of the audience might have had access to some of those little blue pills!)
Tulips ~ Day 4
still standing...
why not try the penny trick and see if it works for you.
Spring tulips are for sale and right now they are very cheap.
The Bungalow Hostess cannot be without them
as they raise my spirits until my garden flowers can take over.
Did I mention that our cleaning gal has returned?
We really missed her visits.
She's wonderful and I love what she does to help keep our Humble Bungalow looking presentable.
But I digress.
A friend who lives up island and I had lunch together and we were enjoying
our food when she started to weep...
it seemed sudden and I was rather perplexed
what was moving her to tears?
as menopause affects us all so differently I didn't over react
(I can cry at the drop of a hat)
I offered her a tissue and waited...
she caught her breath, visibly shaken
she told me her husband has been diagnosed with leukemia....
BUT
she said if you have to get leukemia get the kind my husband has
(?)
CLL a type of chronic leukemia which has a longer time to develop
but it will get worse eventually and require treatment.
He may have 5 to 20 years before that happens
In the mean time he is scheduled for an MRI, a CAT scan, and various other tests...
they have quite the challenge ahead
and there are lots of friends who will help and be there to support them through this journey.
It's a shock for sure for all of us.
Life can be so fragile
it really shakes things up hearing of a loved one who is diagnosed with this wretched disease
and all I keep thinking is
"it's not fair"
Adele's CD 21
has been getting a lot of play
gorgeous and talented
she's perking things up here
I just cannot get enough of her sound...
in case you haven't heard
I love that YOU come by
and do me the honour of your company...
I'm
an ordinary woman
with a desire to write
about the mundane
the serious
and
the simple things in life
learning to accept my limitations
moving forward
nudging closer to 60
feeling gratitude in every pore of my being
and possibly learning to be comfortable in my own skin one picture at a time.
XO
Hostess
Hug and hold tight someone you love today.
52 comments:
Life is precious and it can change in an instant, as we have learned over the last year. I'm glad to read that your friend has lots of support, as it will be important in the days to come.
Tulips - a wonderful double bunch of yellow and pink Parrot Tulips waits on the table for my parents to arrive for Sunday lunch. I couldn't resist them at Thrifty's yesterday.
Thank you for the reminder that life and good times are precious. I am hoping for the best for your friend's husband. And I will try that trick about the penny in the tulip vase. I'd never heard of that before and keep passing a florist shop with the most gorgeous tulips in buckets out front. The pink and white ones are so lovely. I will buy some this week! XO, Jill
Tulips, gratitude, compassion and hugs. Some of the best things about being human.
Thank you for such a lovely post and for nudging us all to stop and think more deeply.
I saw some lovely tulips at Walmart this morning. I bunch smaller than yours was $10.00 which was much more than I wanted to pay for some flowers that would not last very long. I will just enjoy your pictures.
My friend has that type of leukemia - she has just come through a treatment cycle and is in remission. You're so right life IS fragile, which is why I try to never take anything for granted and be grateful for what I have. That sounds like a good tip for the tulips, I'll try it!
Lovely tulips.
Colonel X, my father-in-law, disclosed the other week that he is showing signs of Parkinson's. He can keep it under control with medication, and I realize that treatment now is much improved from when his father had it. But it reminded me that every family has its illnesses, and that we can't control our health as much as we think. And we are helpless to control what happens to the people we love. A sobering thought. I refuse to let it frighten me, however.
I wish many more good years and as much health as possible for your friend's husband.
As I look at my droopy tulips today, I will do this tomorrow when I buy my new bunch.
I am so sorry to hear of your friends husband. As I learned in my own life.. no one promised us happiness. We can only pray for strength and courage and moments of joy to get us through.
It is the loveliness of you being an ordinary woman that brings me and so many here time and time again!
Thank you.
My dearest friend was diagnosed with the same Leukemia three years ago. We were told the same thing, if you have to have leukemia it is the one to have. They have managed to get it under control and are managing it quite well. I wish your friend's husband well. Oh, thanks for the tulip advice. Bonnie
I'm sorry to hear of your sad news hostess. I wish your friend and her husband well. Your tulips look lovely, I can see why they are a must have in the bungalow. My favourite must have flower is the Oriental Lilly. I usually buy some at the weekend markets, but I can never decide if I prefer the white ones or the pink. I always look forward to reading your blog. Cheers Jan
Still very scary, but I know a number of people with that type of leukemia, and they're all alive and doing well.
Controlled by pills. But, a reminder of how vulnerable we all are. I wish him and your friend the best of luck.
Interesting about the tulips I never buy them anymore as mine flop over within hours. Will try the penny trick.
Lovely post, a lot to think about as always.
i'm so sorry to hear about your friends husband. life is so fragile. your attitude of gratitude will get you through just about anything. at least that is my experience. much love to you leslie. xo
Hugs Hostess. You are a good friend and a tremendous force of light for all of us
Nothing is as important as health. Sorry to hear about your friend, fortunately some types of leukemia are easier to deal with.
Such pretty tulips, thanks for the penny tip.
we all know Illness can strike any of us down at any time, this doesn't reduce the shock and fear we feel when someone close is afflicted. Wouldn't it all be so much better without any illnesses? Hopes and prayers that they get close to the 20 year mark!!
I love the penny idea and will try it on my next bunch of tulips! Gotta have a new bunch and color each week.
Sorry to learn of the husband of your friend. Very kind that you are there for her . . .
I had not known the penny trick previously...or the Viagra! You are right that the course of our lives can change abruptly.
That is terrible news about your friend's husband. I did learn a bit about leukemia when my MIL had it - hers was very aggressive and extremely rare. The "best" kind to have is the chronic rather than acute. Must be devastating news for them even though it's a relief that it's chronic.
Thank you for the penny trick!
xo, A
Thanks for your blog - lots of shared experiences there and as one nudging 50 (sigh) it is a terrific boost to have strong stylish loving women such as yourself to lead the way.
Very sorry to hear the sad news of your friends,and send my best wishes.
Don't care for upright flowers,prefer my tulips to droop...silly me! Ida
I'll be keeping a look out for tulips around here and will try the penny trick.
Sorry to hear of your friend's husband's diagnosis. I have a friend whose mom has (I'm pretty sure) the same type of leukemia and has been living with it for at least 20 years. She's had her ups and downs, but mostly ups and has continued to work and travel all this time.
Life is unfair. Sorry about your friend, but the situation is not totally hopeless..
Adele is great. I don´t " collect " music any more, never actually did, but the radio provides my needs.
Tulips. I only like them ( white or deep red ) the very first hours, after that, I have lost my interest ( ;
Tragic to hear of your friend's husband, we have to cherish the day. I will try the penny trick, sure am getting tired of tulips that flop over.
I hope your friend's husband is ok. A friend of ours went through the same thing and he is all cured and alive and kicking. In fact he just retired not that long ago!
Life is indeed fragile and never to be taken for granted although I fear all of us do occasionally for we are only human after all.
Best wishes for your friend and her husband. A nice lunch shared with you will be a great tonic for her Hostess.
xx
Parrot tulips are my favourite type of tulips I think it's the frills that capture my imagination. Are your parents living in town or visiting?
Massed in buckets does make for a gorgeous image perhaps you'll share it with us.
I hope that penny trick works for you.
Succinct and well said...
I think we need a balance...
and life seems to give us both extremes it's finding the happy medium that's tricky.
I am so happy that you are back!
I missed you.
That does seem expensive
we pay about $4.00 a bunch and often there are sales for 2 bunches for $7.00.
That is encouraging news....I wish your friend continued good health.
It's true that we have very little control...
the only control we have is how we choose to react or behave in any situation.
Parkinson's is usually slow growing and does respond to medication.
We have lots of thyroid disorders and several cancers in my immediate family and cancers on my husband's side. I know of very few families that are immune to disease.
I was relating this trick to a colleague and she swears by taking a pin and pushing it through the very top of the stem just below the bloom as there is a bubble of air trapped inside that stops the flower from getting water all the way up the stem.
Your comment is greatly appreciated Cheryl.
Bonnie just reading your words about your dear friend gives us hope. Fingers crossed it will be the same results for my friend's husband.
Jan I love the heady scent of those lilies too...
once I permanently stained a tablecloth with the stamens of the lilies because I had no idea that they needed to be trimmed when the flowers opened.
Let me know if your tulips respond to the trick.
The weather in California is so much warmer that the temperature might be a factor.
When I visited Pasadena and saw jade plants and datura's growing outside I couldn't believe my eyes!
Our climate and growing zones are quite different.
Janet...
I have come appreciate gratitude the hard way...
by experiencing a lack and wallowing
before learning that embracing the power of positive thinking and being happy with the small and simple joys of every day living.
Love to you right back!
XO
Honestly I am really no different than any of us here...
we all are good people with cherished friends and families.
I just write about what most people keep to themselves...
Our daffodils are blooming now, I think they are about 3 weeks behind yours.
Do you grow tulips in your garden?
When we hear of those we love that have been diagnosed with a serious illness it makes us think about our own mortality.
Hello fellow tulip lover!
I have a friend who mixes her bouquets of tulips with pussy willow branches and greenery and they look like a Dutch Master painting.
Carpe diem!
I wonder if anyone will try the Viagra with their tulips.
One of my girlfriends had the aggressive acute type well over 5 years ago and she was hospitalized immediately upon diagnosis put in isolation and had a bone marrow transplant she was having treatments for months and she fortunately survived and is still with us. She has seen her first born get married and is working, traveling and waiting for the day that her son and DIL produce a grand child.
While not all the people that I know and loved have survived cancer we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to the medical system and the researchers who are toiling to find a cure.
You are in the prime of life...
there are many role models in my life who have opened my eyes...
one in particular is nudging 70 and is spry, wise, wears her hair bobbed and grey, and is on the pulse of what's happening on the local art scene she's light years ahead of me.
Ida you've made me grin from ear to ear!
Catherine that's good to hear about your friend's mother.
My friend's husband has retired from teaching but is very active as an assistant volunteer fire chief and first responder and they love to travel to Hawaii every winter for a month.
I hope he'll be as fortunate.
I have only few CD's and they get a lot of play! The radio is on here in The Humble Bungalow kitchen whenever I am at home. I have only owned the radio for a couple of years and don't know how I managed without it now.
I saw a picture in a decorating magazine this month that had tulips in a tall vase and they were submerged almost up to the blooms...no chance of wilt or droop in sight.
I am liking the comments like yours
most people feel that CLL is not as dire as we originally thought.
Reminders like this keep us on our toes...
Dear Hostess,
I have been a quiet follower of yours for about a year now, and somehow this particular post moved me to write: to tell you how much I enjoy your warm musings and observations, the inclusion of beauty at every opportunity, and your generous spirit in bringing all of us (your readers!) into your circle. Thank you!
I think you are a very artistic, gifted woman, and your blog reveals (in beautiful expressiveness) that part of you in the loveliest way!
With gratitude,
Teresa!
(Ontario, Canada)
Greetings and welcome to a fellow Canadian!
I am very happy that you have found your voice and are commenting here.
Do you have a blog?
I hope that I can live up to your expectations..,
your humble hostess
XO
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