Hey, girl, good to hear from you! I admire your bravery on the orchid. With the great advice I know is available on GW, the actual caring for it is no longer intimidating to me, but I have yet to see one that looks like it could make the trip home. They just look SOOOO fragile and delicate. I'd say the hard part's over for you, especially since you were already NOT killing the one you had before. Good luck!

Kristi, this time will pass, and the pain will become more barable as it becomes more distant from the hearing of it. IN the meantime, spend as much time with the growing plants as you can. They are the antithesis of untimely and unfortunate death. And remember how much that is alive and good you have around you...your beautiful household companions, your "date", your friends. Spring is probably here for you though it seems on hold for many of us (Likely snow tonight and blossoms a month late from the usual here!) Spring is all about renewal and new chances...grow into it, let go of the past sadness and revel in the spring and sunshine and new growth. It is hard to be sad when seeds are sprouting all around and flowers are budding! My glorious show of winter blossoms is almost over too. I think I am down to 15 buds at various stages, but I did have atleast one flower from almost everything. I seem to have a lot of non descript pale red and white ones that I can not identify.They look like Minerva's anemic country cousins! I finally figured out that they were the ones that were in the Jackson and Perkins basket of Amaryllis I had sent to my Mom the last year she was with us (2002. She had had a stroke but she still enjoyed watching those amaryllis grow and after Dad moved to a nursing home he sent the basket home with me. For 3 years they would pop into bloom just when I most missed Mom and I got to feeling that they were messages from her. They look so subdued though, I think they must have had more light before. They had multiplied in the basket over the 3 yrs and I ended up with 5 of them blooming over the past few weeks. One of these days I will get their pic into photobucket. (That seems to be one of my least favorite ways to spend my time.)

Thanks for the bump, rcvt! Well, I've made it through the initial round of chemo and radiation. Surgery is next, in August. I'm soooo glad to be done with phase 1, and I'm starting to actually perk up a bit and get a little energy back. So much so that we got the kitchen painted last weekend--two coats of Sherwin Williams Duration in Hubbard Squash and Ruskin Room Green. I love the colors--when the sun shines on the green, it's the color of the sun shining through leaves in the woods. That kind of color is just good for my soul. :-) I'm going for a Craftsman type feel, and these colors just spoke to me as soon as I saw them. The cabinet bases will be arriving, hopefully, at the end of the week! Yippee! I'm that much closer to having a kitchen again, and I'm absolutely looking forward to it. I'm going to make some chicken broth to freeze for the "Phase III" chemo piece. And I'm gonna learn to make matzoh balls, too--thanks for the tip, rcvt. Doraville, I think your advice was also very much spot on. I might make it for the next 5 years, or I may not--only God knows and I'm content to leave it in His hands. None of us knows how long we have on this earth, so I'm living for right now and will continue to be grateful for each and every day with my wonderful husband and lovely family. And all of my "Imaginary Friends", too!! Thank you all so much for your concern and prayers. It really does mean a lot to me. I'll see if I can post some pictures when the bases go in--I'm soooo excited to see them! Cj

Jgopp, been waiting for yours, too! Thanks all, and yes, the paint for the beadboard and walls, plus installling the "tile rug" is all that is left in the kitchen! Decided togo withcab color on the beadboard, got ithalf repainted and had to refocus elsewhere so it is still half painted, ha ha. Texas Gal, will absolutely let you know via email when the reveal finally gets posted. After all this time it will seem anticlimactic, but my GW peeps have been so faithful in standing by me through my agony I would not dream of skipping a reveal! I will try to keep up in the weekly thread, that tends to be difficult for me. I always feel like I leave out recognizing someone! But I do miss you folks, so will check it out right now...