A Perspective

As I sat on our back deck last weekend in the northwoods I closed my eyes and thought about my journey and what I have learned while traveling this journey.

Everyone needs to find and walk their own path. I was fortunate to have not only been allowed to do this(thank you David and Lenny) but supported in the decisions I/we made in regards to my journey. I am certain that some things friends and family may not have agreed with and that is OK because it was my journey and I needed to find my way.

Having said that I have realized now so more than ever that everyone needs to find their own path. I may not like it or agree with it but I need to respect it.

If there is anything that I learned from my very wise Mother it was to never make people feel badly for the decisions that they make. I made some pretty dumb decisions and she never made me feel guilty for them no matter what they were and she was always there for me.

I also found faith. It is not an organized 'religion' that I found nor did I find it in a church or a building. It came from within me and I cannot explain it but I feel it. I know that one cannot control everything and sometimes you just need to sit back and allow whatever is going to be to be.

My hope for all of those that I love and care about is that they too find some sort of 'faith' or serenity....maybe that is a better descriptive word...serenity.

The Cabin

The old pantry that we had in the garage forever. I painted it and we put glass doors on it so that we can display our Moose Country dishes and country etched glasses.Dinning room. This drop leaf table used to sit in our computer room. I painted and distressed it and the chairs. Looks pretty good we think.
Living room. The chair used to be in our living room at home, the futon in our old house...tons of windows.
The kitchen with the handmade cabinets. I even have a dishwasher!
The 'master' bedroom with the home made nightstands.
The laundry area which is in a closet in our bedroom.
Our home made TV stand and clothes closet.
The very small closet that David put shelves in making tons of storage.

The bathroom. The window is an old window pane out of the original cabin. Jess took it to a person who does stained glass and it was redone and given to me by her, David, Lenny and Chrissy and Brent a few years ago for Christmas. We do have a shower.....it is to the left.

The spare bedroom.

And the back deck where we can enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning while watching the sun come over the top of the trees. Or a tea at night waiting for deer to come to the pond. It seems that we do have a buck and a doe living in our woods as they graced us with their presence in the mornings and evenings last weekend. Jessica cover your eyes......this will be my deer hunting spot this fall!

A Beautiful Tribute

I have posted this link before but the website has been updated with 'real stories'. Please click on it and listen as it is a beautiful tribute.

http://www.craigmorgan.com/index.php?

Sharing A Story

When my mom passed her body was cremated and we chose to bury her ashes on our northern property. She is nourishing a newly planted red maple (red was her favorite color and she loved being outdoors) as we put her ashes in the hole when we planted the tree.

Every year my home town's fire department has a fishermen's getaway and this year it was at a resort near our little slice of heaven. My uncle and mom's brother who is 80 something AND rides a Harley, with 20 of his motorcycle riding friends, drove their bikes to the getaway. Wanting to see our northern property......and where his sister is buried I suspect......he and those friends ventured up to have a look (we were not there at the time). Another fella in the party knew where our property-and where Mom's Tree is- as he and a crew were up awhile back putting up our shed. My uncle said that he was standing by Mom's Tree saying a little prayer when his friend tapped him on the shoulder and handed him a rock that he had found on the property (we had put a few small rocks by Mom's Tree previously). My uncle placed the rock with the other rocks and you know what, I think a new tradition was born.

To whoever may visit us in the northwoods feel free to find a rock and place it, in honor of mom, by her tree. I miss her every day but know she is with us.

A Very Happy Anniversary

To Rachel and Melvin who were married in a very nice ceremony 2 years ago today.

And today their family is larger with Dezbah Daisy who is now four weeks old.

Happy anniversary you guys and a very happy first Father's day to Melvin.

Dad and Bobbi

Cabin Update

We are officially moved into the cabin and it is so wonderful! I took pictures but that was before the curtains were hung and we do not yet have the bedroom nightstands in...will do it next week and will provide pictures then.

We both just sat there this weekend (after we were done doing whatever work it is we thought we just HAD to do) and said how pleased we are with the turn out. All of the work has been worth it and then some. Every time I think of working on the cabin I think of being on that roof last summer in the middle of chemo-90 plus degrees out with 110% percent humidity and shingling! I had no business being on that roof-hell I can barely stand on a roof in good health! But it was fun and makes for great memories.

Both mornings that we woke up we had a deer standing in our yard. It doesnt get much nicer than that! The lawn is longer than it has ever been and we have found that it is full of wild daisies. David has decided to leave it grow natural and only mow next to the cabin so we (and the butterflies) can enjoy the natural wildflowers.

There is still more work to be done but we can now do it at our leisure (and yes perhaps get a little fishing in this summer) while enjoying our little slice of heaven!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and to my wonderful husband who I so enjoy making memories with.

Wooooo Whoooo

The real fake boobs are in as of yesterday (nipples as well!) It certainly is an interesting process especially when it comes to me as I don't do anything the easy way. They found that my left chest wall sits crooked (probably due to my heart surgery when I was 5....that side didn't grow as well as the other side). So the doc attempted to center my left implant opening up a pocket on the inside and stitching the heck out of the outer side. However, short of removing the chest muscle (of which they say mine is very firm!) I will probably have things a bit off center. But hey, I have boobs!
The nipples are done with a 'twist and stitch' technique. They pull up the skin, give it a twist and then stitch it.
So I am a tad sore and am trussed up (in hopes of keeping the left side where it belongs) for about a month. And I'm damned tired! Recovering from anesthesia gets more difficult as I grow more mature!
No lawn mowing, no vacuuming, no lifting more than 10 pounds and no raising my arms above my head except to wash my hair. So JESSICA will you please feed the birdies as David refuses. I will be spending the next month knitting away!
In four months I go in for a tattoo party. Yup they tattoo areolas on. Man I about passed out with the dressing change today how in the world will I be able to stand getting tattooed!

Last Weekend's Project

Along with attending a family graduation and the wedding reception of some very dear friend's granddaughter David and I spent our time in the garage completing two nightstands and an armour for our bedroom up north.

We spied these pieces at an antique/gift shop one day and decided we could make them. We have less money into all three pieces than what they wanted for one piece at the shop. David (of course) put them together and I painted and distressed them.



The tall piece will hold some hanging clothes (wont need much once we retire!) and the TV will sit on top.


Next week Monday I have my exchange surgery in Rochester and will get my port pulled out (port was used for my infusions). I wasn't sure how I would feel once done with treatments but ya know, I am anxious to be really done with it all as this has consumed so much of our lives for almost two years! I was once really wanting to participate in the 3-day race (for breast cancer) and the Race for the Cure but had not ever been able to get there. Now I don't feel the pull to do that in fact am not sure that I want to attend....right now I just really want to walk the next leg of our life. So on we trudge my husband and I.



And ending with the latest pictures of Dezbah Daisy taken on 6-4-07.

Dezbah Daisy and her namesake-Melvin's mom.

Rachel says she is growing fast! Is a very good baby but she keeps momma up most of the night. But the family is doing very well.