a slow comeback

I first want to say thank you to everyone for the well wishes & messages you sent my daughter.  They are so uplifting and comforting to read.  I think it's going to be a slow road back to "normal" but after one week at home I'm feeling more confident that we'll get there.  The biggest thing seems to be exhaustion at this point.  It's been a long time since she's napped twice a day so I hover and get nothing done!  If only I'd had a crystal ball in June, I wouldn't have ordered all those bulbs.  and then there's the garden ~ it's waiting patiently for me to put it to "bed."  It will happen, just at a different pace this year.  Remember that snow photo I showed you two posts ago??  The next morning (same day my daughter was admitted to the hospital) it looked like this outside my kitchen window:

Does that look like a fall scene to you??  Well, maybe ~ because there's still green foliage on the rose bushes BUT not anymore.  We set a new record low that night ~ 16 degrees.  Whew.  Pretty frigid, right?  As you can imagine everything is brown as a result.  So many trees and shrubs never even changed color ~ they went straight to brown (from green).  I've never seen that happen before.  Also, my poor fish ~ I didn't have a chance to "winterize" the pond or get the stock tank heater installed.  All the water plants froze which makes me wonder if they'll come back next year or not??

I did manage to get outside last week long enough to trim back the foliage and sink the pots to the bottom of the pond.  (I'm trying to be optimistic that they'll pull thru the freeze because they were expensive!)  I also cleaned out the water hyacinths and decaying oak leaves.  The heater still needs to be connected and I need to construct a screen to keep out the remaining oak leaves.  Another reason I needed that crystal ball I guess ~ maybe this wasn't the year to learn about ponds??  If I weren't so distracted, I know I'd be putting more effort into figuring out what I really need to do to keep the pond going over the winter.  Oh well.  That's a curve ball of life, isn't it?  I was also worried that I was holding up the "Gardening by Letter" project I signed up for ~ organized by Anna (flowergardengirl blog).  Our cards are usually due to her by the 20th of each month.  I missed that date but had fun making up for it one cold afternoon.  I thought you might like to see the results (hopefully that's okay to share?):

You probably remember the fall wheelbarrow arrangement??  Good thing I took pictures right after I fixed it because the only spot of color left now is the pumpkin (which is a bit mushy).  Here are a few close-ups of the card just for fun:

and one more with the cute butterfly button:

 

Some of the supplies are older (like the button) but it's fun to pull them out and breathe new life in them.  I enjoyed myself so much that day that I even created a special packet for the hollyhock seeds I'm sending along with the card:

I hope Ann likes the color pink?!

I know it did me good to get my mind off the serious situation my daughter has endured.  I also hope your fall garden has a lot more color in it then mine?  It was an abrupt end to the season for us.  Darn it.  In some ways it doesn't surprise me since we've had a strange weather year all the way around ~  why stop now, right?!!!  Here's hoping next season will be a little more "normal."

Comments

[Joy]

Kathleen .. I'm so sorry I missed what happened to your daughter .. I hope all will go smoothly now with her recovery ? and with your stress levels .. remember you need rest too ?
My husband has had surgery so I was preoccupied with that myself .. seems like so many things have happened this Autumn we sort of missed the actual month ? ..
Don't stress over your garden .. it will survive and thrive for next year .. I must say that was a record low !! We have been getting frost but nothing like that.
My best wishes for you with your daughter .. I hope things will get back to normal for you and you can breath a sigh of relief : )
Joy

[Janet]

Your cards are so great. What a nice activity to keep your mind off the worries of the day. So glad she is on the mend. What a scare.
If things in the garden don't make it, look at it as a chance to get new plants.
Glad your epi cuttings made it to you!

[tina]

So glad your daughter is getting better. This is a scary thing and hearing from someone like you that has personally been affected by the H1N1 really brings it home. Take care.

[Marnie]

Sorry to hear the recover is dragging on so slowly.

I've been doing a little scrapbooking but don't have the eye for design you do. The card and seed envelope are great.
Marnie

[Tatyana]

Hi dear Kathleen. First, I am so glad that your girl is home and feels better! I just read your previous post, and my blood pressure went up. Both my boys have H1N1. They had flu shots, but vaccine needs 10-20 days to get effective. We took them to see a doctor early, within 48 hours, and this helped. Anyway, they look OK now, but your story scares me, especially since one of them is a cardiac patient. Again, I am happy that your daughter is home now. Don't worry about the garden(it's easy to say!) Sometimes plants do better on their own. Hugging you and will go check on my boys.
Tatyana

[Catherine]

Glad to hear she's home and getting better. It's so stressful as a parent watching your kids sick like that.
I'm sure your pond will be fine. The fish will be okay as long as the ice doesn't freeze solid all the way through and even then they are pretty tough.
I'm a big planner and like routine but as you know life does "throw curveballs". My new motto since having kids is "Life is what happens while your busy making plans". Take care of yourself as well as everything else. And your cards are beautiful!

[Gail]

Kathleen, Hugs to you...I am so glad your sweetie pie daughter is recovering. I can't think of anything scarier then sitting in the hospital with a sick child. Your beautiful pond had a surprise~~If I know anything about you, you'll have the yard picked up and the pond looking better as soon as you can! But take your time...you need to coddle yourself and your daughter. Your cards are fabulous...even though we are just getting those teasers. gail

[Sweet Bay]

Pneumonia takes a long time even for a young person to recover from, so her being tired is entirely normal. I'm sorry she (and your family) had to go through this. I'm sure everyone in your house is happy that she's back home!

[erin terrell clarkson]

I hope J. (and you) get your energy back soon so life can get back to normal. Sending good thoughts your way.
I love the snow photos and that October card is fantastic. Hugs e

[Racquel]

Hope things settle down soon for you Kathleen. I'm sure it's been quite an ordeal for your family. It's hard when someone you love gets so ill. Can't believe you have snow already! It's feeling like fall is here finally in VA.

[Tatyana]

It's me again. After reading your post I asked our Dr. a hundred of ????,and I've been told that what our boys have might not be H1N1, but one of the other strains of influenza A. Isn't it confusing? So, they don't know themselves what we have. You can remove my comments, Kathleen.Thanks for your posts, they let people know what to expect if it happens.

[Beckie]

Dear Kathleen, I missed your post about your daughter and missed saying a prayer for her. But I will make up for it now by keeping all of you in my prayers for a long time.

I feel for you and the ordeal you have all gone through. To have a sick child is so frustrating and scary. If only we could change palces with them! Thank goodness for all the wonderful advances in medicine.

Your garden and your pond will forgive your absence and will be just fine. I'm sure they understand your need to be with your daughter. And if Indian summer does come, a nice afternoon of bulb planting for you and some warm sunshine for your daughter might be just the thing for both of you.

Warm thoughts and my prayers go your way.

[Robin]

I've done very little gardening this year, between my dad's cancer and my mother-in-law's health issues. Sometimes life definitely throws us curve-balls.

I'm glad your daughter is getting better.

[Anna/Flowergardengirl]

And I love you to pieces! No worries here as you are not the last to get your card in--it's here. I'ts beautiful as usual. You are mega talented. The most important thing is that your sweet baby is healing and sweet hugs to her and you.

I hope your plants make it. Everything is stressing right now isn't it? So much worry. Makes me tired for you. Here's big hug and you rest up. I'll worry a bit for you.

[RainGardener]

Kathleen, I'm so sorry I missed what you've been going through with your daughter. Tatyana just told me while telling me about her sons having the flu too.
I'm thrilled to hear she is past the worst part and doing good. How terribly scary that must have been for you. I can remember just going through an ear infection with little ones and how frightening that is not to mention something this serious along with being in the hospital. I'm so glad she's ok now.
I missed this because I've been in the hospital with a lung infection myself for the last week. Happily I'm home and on the mend myself.
Again we're in the same prediciment with our gardens aren't we? I came home to a real mess!!!
Take care of your little girl and our thoughts will be with all of you.