The word this week for
Sunday Scribblings is
hospital. It reminded me of December of 1977 when I had a time of sickness and surgery, but my strongest memory now of that time is the gifts I received.
When I fell ill that first year of teaching I was thankful I was back teaching in my hometown close to my parents. The doctor discovered I had cysts on both my ovaries which meant the removal of my tubes and ovaries. When I was laying in a hospital bed at twenty-two years old I realized two things. I would not be able to conceive children and I had begun menopause. I
experienced my first hot flashes and let's just say I didn't handle these changes well.
Back then you stayed in the hospital longer than nowadays. Mom's cure for my post-operation blues was to bring me a homemade pork chop dinner from her kitchen. I know hers wouldn't have had the fancy parsley, but when the foil came off one of the dinner plates from home and the aroma of Mom's fried pork chops and gravy rose up from the Corella plate, I found a cure for my blues.
My dad was not usually demonstrative in his feelings and female "stuff" and hospitals were not in his comfort zone. The time around my surgery was hard enough, but a family friend had been killed in a car accident that week also. Dad went to be a pall bearer in the funeral while I was waking up from surgery. Later he arrived at the hospital with a huge
shaggy stuffed dog
which he places right on my bed. That was a gift that touched my heart.
After being in the hospital a few days a guy I had only met a few times stopped by to say hello.
JB was serving on the school board and I had talked to him on the phone about school related issues. He brought me his copy of
Gift From the Sea. I still have this book with his book plate signed inside. I remember how much that book spoke to me at that time in my life and still does. Later after he was elected State Senator he was killed in a helicopter crash while logging. I have always cherished his copy of this book.
That stay in the hospital was life-changing for me. I felt blessed to be surrounded by family, friends, a fine hospital staff and to receive three special gifts: a meal from home, a stuffed dog, and a book of wisdom.
You can find other Sunday Scribblings here.
About seven years ago we knew we wanted a greenhouse. Originally we wanted one that we could use to start seeds, raise vegetables, and grow flowers. JEJ found recycled windows, wood for Mom's old deck and other surplus supplies to build the greenhouse. We attached it to the end of the garage so it would get sun all morning, then also in late afternoon. 
We were ready to grow seeds, propagate plants, and have tomatoes year round.We quickly figured out there are cold greenhouses and warm ones. To raise flowers and tomatoes from seeds we needed a warmer greenhouse. When the heat was up we struggled with white flies, other bugs, and the cost of keeping it warm. We then decided on a cooler greenhouse. This has been easier for us to manage.
In a cooler greenhouse we can bring in as many plants as it will hold before the first frost. We usually keep the temperature at about forty-five degrees. This year we raised our tomatoes outside in five-gallon buckets so we brought them in to see what would happen.
Our house plants can flourish better in here without the drying effect of the wood stove in the house. We can propagate many types of plants so we can have many new small ones the next spring. It is a circle of life each year.
We have experimented around with the location of plants to the heat or the light and found plants like geraniums and begonias always do well. Spider plants grow more little babies that we can take care of each winter. We are always offering free spider plants to willing plant lovers.
After trudging through a gray, dark, cold week in January it is a pleasure to bundle up and visit the greenhouse on a Saturday with a cup of tea, a few cats, and music in the background from the old stereo we hooked up in the garage. The smell of scented geraniums, potting soil,and the last few paper whites from Christmas make it a heavenly place to spend some time. It does help keep summer alive.
Later when the sun did come out so I could catch my favorite tree where I park each day. It is illuminated by the sunshine and the leaves are the kind you want to collect and iron into wax paper to keep forever. 
After it warmed up it was perfect weather for my students to be outside enjoying some fresh air at break. Here was a group doing some ninja thing together.
After a long day another student decided resting in the shade and just observing was a good way to spend break time.
Before I left the parking lot today I stopped and gazed at the leaves that had fallen from this tree again. Sadly, I know soon the tree will be bare and these leaves 
I pulled over at one of my favorite spots on my drive home to snap a few more pictures. This is French Rock where the rocks are shadowed by the mountain in the late afternoon sun.
