Eternal Hippies A Year Homemade and Beyond

This has been a very hot summer and our little container garden has shown the effects. The peppers  and sweet potatoes are loving this hot weather. But our heirloom tomatoes and bush beans didn't. In fact, our beans completely died. The tomatoes are coming in slowly, but much smaller than they should. In fact, the tomatoes that should be at least 4 inches across are only about an inch. They look more like grape tomatoes. Our herbs are stressed as well. The dill has gone to seed, the basil and sage are okay, but the mint plants have stopped growing. Below is a small video update on our garden. Peace to you for ready and watching.

Last Monday I went for another ct scan and Wednesday I had a follow up doctor's appointment. She said that I am now considered in remission. My next ct scan and appointment isn't until September. Hey! Everyone at work has been so happy for me. Sally gave me a white rose and my boss gave me chocolate covered strawberries. So nice of them. I'm glad that I am in remission, but I don't feel well yet. I only worked 2 days this week. The ct scan and doctor's appointment wore me out. I know it will take time for me to feel back to normal. Tuesday I stayed home from work and slept all day. Seriously, I didn't wake up until 5:30pm. Then Joe and I ate dinner and I went right back to sleep. The doctor's appointment did show that I have lost 9 pounds in the last month. I have been trying to do my goal of not eating after dinner. Mostly I fall asleep before I think about dessert. Except when Joe makes ice cream. That I do let myself have every once and awhile. It...

This has been a very rough month. My last chemo treatment was on the 15th and that night I starting throwing up. The rest of the month has been a blur of side effects and grieving. A coworker passed away during the month. He was loved by all and had been working there for the past 30+ years. Nothing will make you relieved to only be in pain than the notion of death.  On another note, our garden has seen some success. We harvested enough green beans to enjoy with a meal. We have bell peppers, banana peppers and pepperoncini growing well. Our heirloom tomato plants are not liking the high heat we have been experiencing, but we still have some tomatoes growing. The sweet potato slips are very happy. In fact, we have so many slips growing, we are going to start another container for them. All of our herbs had to be moved because of the heat. Last Saturday we went to a farm market and got some pickling cucumbers and Monday I started them to fermenting using some of the herbs we are gr...

So this is the week my hair is falling out, again. It's been two weeks since my last chemo treatment and I have another one next week. My scalp has been so sore, aching and now itching badly. Now my hair is releasing from my head. The rest of the hats I ordered came in. Actually it turned out that they are not hats, but small infinity head scarves. I'll try them, but I may have to sew them so no one sees my soon to be bald scalp. I'm going to go ahead and shave my head this weekend. I may need a chocolate chip cookie afterwards...Sigh. The garden is coming along nicely. Or we shall see when I get home. We are having some really bad storms today and I am afraid the seedlings might not make it. Peace to you for reading.

I found out Friday that I will be getting 3 more rounds of chemotherapy. I am not looking forward to this, in fact, I am outright dreading it. My hair is coming back nicely, that will go as well as the following side effects: changes in taste, loss of appetite, nausea, extreme pain in joints, digestive issues, possible mouth sores ( I was able to not have that last time because of oil pulling), soft nails, extreme fatigue, neuropathy, and my favorite...chemo brain. Our little garden is all set up and we have started seeds indoors in trays. Bush beans, tomatoes, peppers, lavender, sage, and basil are just some of what we will be growing this year. Our sweet potato slips are coming along nicely. Last Saturday evening we did have a firepit. I did two short videos. Peace to you for reading.

That's right! I have finished my daily radiation treatments. I was given a certificate and I got to ring the bell they have on the wall. I still have 3 more radiation treatments in Wilmington, but yesterday was the last daily treatments. My hair is coming in thick, with the exception of the top...so I am still wearing chem hats to work. Plus, it is still winter and my head gets cold. I am still fatigued by the radiation and I have aches and pains in my bladder. The doctor said it was normal. That knowledge doesn't stop the fact that I have to run to the restroom every half hour.  Some time in March I'll find out if I have to do any more chemo treatments. I am so hoping not. We are now in the planning stages of our garden. Hopefully this weekend I'll feel like getting my hand dirty planting seeds. I took this picture of a flower that was outside work. I laid it on white card stock and used the flash. I love how it almost glows. Not too much is going on. J...

Today makes my 20th radiation treatment. 8 more to go. good thing too because I am worn out and sick of loosing hours at work, fighting traffic, having to scramble to get dinner ready after treatment and putting up with technicians who are clearly on auto-pilot. There is one young man who asks me the same questions, some times three times a day. "How was your day?" "What are your plans after your treatment?" "Any big plans after this?" "What did you do today?" No one is outright rude, but they are clearly tired of seeing my fat face. I've been taking a picture each week showing the progress of my hair growth. The sides are coming in nicely, the top, not so much. I am really hoping that by mid March to be able to show my hair again. I am tired of wearing hats. We are going to have a garden this year!!! Yea! This time we are going to only use 5 gallon buckets. In the past I have used smaller containers and ended up with smaller vegetables. ...

I really wanted to get this blog started on January 1st, but alas, it was not to be. No worries, it has begun. Hello! I am Rowena and my husband/mate Joe, are aka, Eternal Hippies. When I say , "I" I mean what I am thinking/doing and when I say, "We" I am referring to Joe and myself. As I said, we are eternal hippies who long to break free and waltz to our own tune. 4 1/2 years ago we started exploring what it means to live an organic life; getting rid of GMOs, harsh chemicals and toxic habits. For about 2 years things were going well, but stress of life, laziness and general frustration at the lack to forward movement towards our goals got the better of us and we found ourselves back in many of the habits for which we had worked so hard to be rid of. Back in August of 2013 I started "juicing" after watching the video, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead," by Joe Cross. I juice fasted for 45 days and lost 70 pounds. After the first week, I felt great ...