Spring Has Sprung

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

It is recognised globally, that the British are known for talking about the weather. Maybe it is to do with the fact that our climate is so variable that there is much to talk about. Its never the same from one day to the next and when I used to work in the school playground, I took a waterproof jacket, hat, scarf and gloves, as well as sunglasses and sun hat. That just about covered anything that our climate could throw at me.

I took some of these photos last week when we had a wonderfully warm, sunny day. Then just as I was about to post the photos, it changed back to Winter again and everything seemed very wet and drab and dreary.

However, today we are experiencing warm sunshine again.

The first two pictures were taken on one of my walks and I couldn't resist taking a photo of the cherry blossom flowers and the forsythia.

So far, I haven't been challenged about taking photos of other peoples' plants but I often wonder if that will happen one day.

This is from a corner that I have in my own garden of Pulmonaria. I am very fond of these little flowers that are among the first to appear after snowdrops and crocus. They hang their little heads, making it impossible for someone like me to get down low enough to take a photo of the underneath. I might never get up again if I was to lie down for a better view.

I have several tubs of miniature daffodils quite near to the house and these do bring cheer as I can look at them through the window if the weather isn't good.

The same with primulas that seem to withstand some neglect and come up time and time again.

Some of you might be wondering about my health. All I can say is, that I am still waiting for a CT scan and am not in any real pain.

Similarly, you might be wondering what became of the extended family in Japan. News from the grandparents tells that they are all reported safe but some of them may have lost homes.

In Tokyo and all the surrounding towns, the electricity is now rationed by power cuts and there isn't the usual selection of staple foods in the shops.

There is still much concern about the Nuclear problems but the good news is, that a person has been found alive and well in the debris, after eight days of searching.

That makes the rescue service seem well worthwhile, doesn't it?

The Scent of Violas

Photo Copyright: Maggie May

What could be more heavenly than the scent of violas wafting around me on a warm Spring day?

It now seems well worth the effort of planting them on in containers before the winter started.

The skies continue to be silent and it seems strange not to see any vapour trails slicing through the blue sky.

I ought to be grateful that I have no family trapped in Japan.

We take air travel for granted. It is all part and parcel of our modern life.

All it takes is for a volcano and a cloud of ash to change our whole life pattern and to cause absolute chaos everywhere.

We are having beautiful weather right now. It is just the correct temperature for me, neither too hot nor too cold. I would like it to stay like this all through the year.

My energy levels came back quite quickly after my last chemo and the itching stopped on the 6th day.

I have spent some time chopping shrubs back in the garden and generally tidying up.

There have been a few casualties during the hard winter. I lost my Japanese Maple and a small Cordyline, probably because they were in pots in a draughty place.

My Tamarisk shrub has been severely cut back but is slowly recovering. I thought it was dead until I saw the tiny new shoots springing to life. It is normally full of beautiful pink fronds by now.

Just before Christmas, during a visit to my friend, Squirrel, It was so cold and I was a bit dismayed when she insisted that I took three pots containing earth, but planted with bulbs, back home with me. They were wrapped up with tinsel but they were so heavy. The car was parked a long way off and it seemed a burden to carry them.

I sound so ungrateful, don't I?

Anyway, I am glad that she did give them to me, because..... look at the wonderful bulbs that emerged.

School has gone back and on picking up my granddaughters yesterday, I was asked by the After School Club, "When are you coming back? We need you."

Gulp.......I need more time to recover. To restore my body from the onslaught it has under gone during the last five months.

I want to forget about the hard times, I just want to be free to be me. I don't feel I need any pressure right now. I want to be normal again, between scans, anyway.

Is that too much to ask?

Harbingers Of Spring

Photos copyright: Maggie May

For some reason I awoke feeling really down hearted today. Not sure why.

I miss work and then there is the uncertainty of the different procedures that I will be following these next couple of weeks. Different from my normal chemo three weekly sessions. Sometimes everything catches up.

As I was feeling so much stronger physically, I put on my wig with a knitted beret over the top for extra warmth, scarf, gloves and heavy coat and decided to walk away the blues.

The weather had been so lovely last week when I was too ill to go out during my last bout of chemo but this week it went back to winter again with bitter winds that seemed to cut right through to the bone.

Today I was ready for it and felt quite comfortable as I decided where I was going to go.

I opted for quite a long walk that lasted for a couple of hours and I went right into another area.

I would love to say that the primulas in the photo above, were taken in my garden but unfortunately there is nothing there that is worth snapping at present.

I happened to pass a lovely garden shop so took the photo there.

Similarly, I took the picture of the Garrya Elliptica as I passed a garden en route and the catkins did entice me to capture them forever.

By the end of the walk, I felt in a different frame of mind altogether and came home with tingling face and feeling energised by the effort of the walk and the cold.

Later this afternoon, I went to the city Hospital for my scan on the bus. I had to arrive early and drink a pint of yellow water (that looked like urine) over the period of one hour. I was then taken to the scanner where I had to lie down and have a cannula put into a vein (my poor veins almost collapse with shock when they see a needle now.) I was later injected with dye which made me feel very hot. I had to hold my breath for long stretches of time, several times in succession. I now know to take in a very deep breath as I felt near to suffocation the first time I had it done.

That was it. Over.

There is little point in worrying now, as I will not get the results until the 17th when I have to see my surgeon.

Que sera, sera...... whatever will be, will be..... as the old song goes.

My daughter and grandsons are coming for a few days from the weekend until next Tuesday as it is half term for them. It will be good to see them again while I am feeling well. Lets hope that it doesn't snow or ice up the roads because I know that Deb doesn't like to drive in those conditions and may well cancel if the roads are bad.

Today we had flurries of snow here but it was too warm for it to pitch.

Lets hope it stays that way.