Thursday 13: A Chemo and Senior Angels Update

It looks like it has been over a year since I did any kind of Chemo and Senior Angels update, so it’s time for one.  The Thursday 13 format seems to work well.

If you’re not familiar with Chemo Angels and Senior Angels, you can read my long post about them here.  (Other updates are here and here if you’re interested.)  The short version is that they’re programs that match patients undergoing therapy and seniors (both known as buddies) with volunteers (known as card angels or chemo angels) who send them a card or letter at least once a week.  It’s strictly mail-based, and volunteers are matched with buddies based on interests.  I started volunteering with both programs as a card angel in 2019, and I absolutely love doing it.

As usual, with this kind of post, the photos are just a random assortment.

Now, on to the update.

1.     Unfortunately, this update includes sad news, so I’ll get that out of the way first.  The buddy I was matched with in April of last year (I called her Jane for blogging purposes) died in early December.  I certainly didn’t expect not to care, but I didn’t think the death of someone I hadn’t met would be so sad to me.  I cried when I got the email.  Cancer is just so unfair.  Jane was relatively young and seemed like she was full of life based on her hobbies and interests.  She also had three children, as well as other family. 

2.     I also learned that another former buddy passed away last year.  I started off as her substitute in the summer of 2021, and then became her regular card angel.  Her time with the program ended, but we stayed in touch with the occasional email and exchanged Christmas cards.  She passed away in the fall of last year.  Again, she was only in her 30s and seemed so full of life.  Cancer really sucks. 

3.    I knew when I first volunteered that this was likely to happen at some point.  I also know that I don’t want to stop volunteering as a card angel, so I immediately got back on the list for another buddy. 

4.    I was also able to do some substituting (volunteers can request that another volunteer fill in for them if they’re unable to keep up with writing every week for a short period of time) during the holidays. 

5.    I currently have four buddies instead of the usual three. 

6.    I was matched with another chemo buddy in February.  We’ll call her Deidre for blogging purposes.  She didn’t provide a ton of information on her application and doesn’t share much in her monthly check-ins, but overall, it seems like her treatments are going well.

7.    I’m still writing to the same senior buddy that I’ve had since November of 2019.  I’ll call her Agnes for blogging purposes.  She’s in her 90s and in assisted living but seems to be very active.  Her daughter manages her checkins and is great about sharing information about things she especially enjoys, so it has become easier and easier to write to her.  In December, she sent me a sweet card thanking me for writing to her and being her friend.  It came a few days after I learned that Jane had passed away, so the timing was perfect for me.  And it really does feel like she’s my friend, even though I’ve never met her in person.  Sometimes, I’ll see something and think, “Oh, I need to tell Agnes about this.” 

8.    Some volunteers prefer not to take on a senior buddy because the commitment is so much longer, but that’s actually one of the things I like about having a senior buddy.  It feels like you do establish a friendship, and I enjoy that.

9.    I was assigned to another teenage buddy for about six months last year.  She was 14 and turned 15 during her treatment.  Fortunately, she finished her treatment during the fall and is now cancer-free.  Those are very happy emails to get! 

10. Earlier this year, there was a shortage of volunteers for senior buddies, so I got on the list for one more.  I was matched in March to a senior lady I’ll call Callie for blogging purposes.  She enjoys reading and growing flowers, so I have plenty of things to write to her about.

11. I also got back on the list for another teenage buddy when there was a shortage of volunteers, particularly for male buddies.  I was recently assigned to a 15-year-old boy I’ll call Sam for blogging purposes.  Cats are his favorite animal, so I have plenty of pictures and cat stories to share with him.

12. Chemo Angels and Senior Angels are currently experiencing a shortage of volunteers for both programs, so if you’ve been thinking about giving it a try, this is a great time to volunteer.

13.  I’m still so glad that Bijoux and Betty shared their experiences with Chemo Angels on their blogs.  I really enjoy volunteering with them.  I truly believe that we all can and should, do something for others.  Sometimes, it’s hard to find the right volunteer fit, though, especially with a busy schedule, but Chemo/Senior Angels is a great fit for me.  

Thursday 13: Around the Yard

Between flowers and the backyard animals, there’s a lot going on in the yard right now, so this week’s Thursday 13 is a little look around the yard.

1.     We’ll start with some zinnias.  I don’t think I’ve ever had zinnias before, but this year, they’re one of my favorites.

2.    Here’s a closeup of one of them.

3.    And here’s the yellow one. 

4.    These are all in pots on the front porch, along with a pink geranium. 

5.    There’s also basil, that looked like this on Wednesday morning.

6.    The basil looked like this by Wednesday evening.  I have no proof, but I suspect the groundhogs feasted on the basil. 

7.    We also have a shepherd’s hook with two hanging baskets of petunias and a suet feeder in the front yard.  

Here’s a closeup of the flowers.  

The suet feeder is very popular.  It was eaten down this much in just a little over twelve hours.

8.    A friend gave us these beautiful hydrangeas.  We have a white hydrangea, but I’ve wanted pink and blue ones for a while, so I was very excited to get these.  We’re still deciding where we’re going to plant them.

9.    Here’s a closeup of the blooms.

10. I put mums in the pots on the porch during the fall and two of them came back.  I think of them as more of a fall flower, so I moved both of them to this big pot.  I’m planning to tuck it in a corner of the backyard and hope that the mums are big and blooming by the fall.

11. In the backyard, the blackberry bush has lots of berries that aren’t quite ripe yet. 

12. There’s also a second blackberry bush now.  I suspect the birds are responsible for planting this one, which I appreciate. 

13.   And no yard tour would be complete without a groundhog video, so here’s a video of one of our groundhogs enjoying a peanut butter cracker.

What’s going on in your yard now?  

Catching Up

I didn’t mean to go so long between posts, but work has been incredibly busy lately.  I just haven’t wanted to sit down at the computer again after staring at a screen for twelve-plus hours.  But I’m trying to get back to blogging now.

Even Caroline, who loves “helping” on my work-from-home days, is a little tired of the long days. 

 There hasn’t been much outside of work lately, but here are a few highlights.

Of course, the flowers are blooming.

A local yarn shop donated the materials for crocheted Pride pins to our local Pride group.  They asked for volunteers to make the pins.  I only took one kit because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to figure out the pattern.  Fortunately, I was able to do it.  

The most exciting news is that we now have groundhogs living in our backyard.  They are so cute!  I’m aware that a lot of people consider them to be pests and work to get rid of them.  However, they’re not doing any damage, so we’ve decided to peacefully coexist with them.  There has been a lot of new construction here recently, so it only makes sense that the groundhogs have had to relocate closer to humans.  If our yard is a safe place for them, we’re perfectly happy with that. 

At one point, I saw seven small groundhogs and two large ones, but lately, I haven’t seen more than four small ones and one large one at once.  So, I’m not entirely sure how many are currently living in our backyard. 

Here’s a video of some of them eating corn.

I’m working on catching up with your blogs, but feel free to let me know what you’ve been up to in the comments.  

How About A Sunday Sixteen?

I meant to do a Thursday Thirteen, but my day got away from me.  So, how about a Sunday Sixteen?  I have lots of little things that aren’t enough for their own post.

1.    The azaleas are blooming! 

2.    Here’s a close-up of one of these.

3.    The white azaleas are blooming, too.

4.    Here’s a close-up of the white ones.  I love the pink stripe.

5.    And here’s the bright pink azalea bush.

6.    And a close-up.  These are smaller flowers that are almost in little clusters.

7.    We’ve had a lot of rain (fortunately, the crawl space has stayed dry), so here’s a picture of some water droplets.

8.    And one more picture of water droplets.

9.    One of the peonies is blooming.

10.   I thought this moss was pretty.  I love all of the different shapes and shades of green.

11. The azalea on the side near the neighbor’s chicken coop is also blooming.

12. Speaking of chickens, here’s a video of the free-range chickens enjoying some cornbread.  They’re all about the carbs. 

13.  The lilac bush is just starting to bloom. 

14. I have finally learned to crochet butterflies.

15. Here are two more butterflies.

16.   I crocheted purses for the neighbor girls.  One of them likes pink and teal and the other likes purple.  I see a lot of mistakes, but they seemed happy with their purses. 

 

What have you been up to lately?