A Perfect Day For Working Outside

It is sunny and only going to reach a high of 24 C. The low today is only 13C....perfect for sleeping at night. There is a slight breeze and it is just a gorgeous day outside. So why am I finding it so difficult to get outdoors to get some work done? Why am I not motivated today? Even if I decided to stay indoors, it is cool enough to get my vacuuming done without me sweating bricks like I did yesterday when it was so hot and muggy before the rains arrived. I went through all of my picture  frames, of which I own a LOT, and I decided to dust them off and wash all the glass plates for the yard sale. I am taking so very few with me when I leave. I will take some paintings that my mother made for me, but I will likely keep most of my photos in Memory Books, and not on the walls or on top of furniture to collect dust. But that is how I decided to spend my day yesterday and it felt like such a waste of time. I received more bad news. As you know, my friend has been helping me out here at home. Yesterday he was going to be admitted to hospital to receive intravenous antibiotic for some infection that was swelling one side of his face and also his brain. Well, he isn't in the hospital. It isn't infection. He is full of brain cancer. Yes, they took a scan after his radiation of head and neck cancer and found no cancer at all, BUT....they only scanned his neck where he was receiving the radiation. The cancer had moved and NOBODY thought to also scan his head??? It is very invasive and he is currently taking steroids to keep the swelling down. Within the next two weeks, he will require brain surgery to remove the largest tumor and to open the skull for the next round of radiation. I think I am still in shock and I am trying to process this new information.

In the meantime, he is STILL planning on coming here tomorrow with his adult son to fill my dumpster. And his wife is in complete agreement. What the....? His wife and I had a lo-o-ong talk last night. The steroids are giving him LOTS of energy and he is feeling really good. This work is important to him and he is feeling valued and productive. This is a way for him and his son to spend time together. "Going to work" at my place gives him something to look forward to. I am in agreement with all the reasons, but it is awfully hard for me to accept, as it seems like I am the benefactor in this case. I have agreed that until his doctors tell him to quit the physical labour, he will be allowed to come here and do what he wants to do, but the van has been paid for already. He doesn't NEED to come any more.

 Yesterday I was greeted by my first poppy blooms. My late step-father always told me you could set your calendar by the poppies, as they came into bloom on June 1st. So naturally I got to thinking about him. I will more than likely remember June 1st for my step father than the actual date of his death in October. Today there are eleven huge blooms and lots of buds waiting to open. They are gorgeous flowers but only last a little while, so I am always happy to see them.

It is 2 PM. I wrote out a monthly recap this morning on my blog and hung out only one load of laundry on the line. I have stripped the bed and the dining room table and could wash two more loads of laundry this afternoon. I desperately need to clean my floors, so I need to give my head a shake and get moving. As my reward for getting things done, I will make a few more encouragement cards to mail out. I hope everyone is having either a productive weekend or a much needed relaxed weekend. Be happy.