Hello friends,

I hope you are all doing well, enjoying these beautiful long summer days.  I have gotten a little discouraged that a whole summer is going by and I'm stuck inside doing cancer therapies, or I'm just tired and don't even feel like driving to the neighborhood park.  I'm grateful for my friend, Robin, who has occasionally made time in her busy life to pick me up and go to Brighton Beach to sit on "our" bench along Lake Superior's shore and drink a glass of wine....oh wait that was prior to cancer diagnosis, now we enjoy a hot thermos of tea.  She made Lilac tea once. I made Moraccan Mint tea with the plethera of mint that is completely invading my flower bed.  I planted the mint in the ground last year - little bit of a mistake. That stuff spreads like wild fire.  I am making the most of it though and using it to make pesto and smoothies.  (Robin also came over to dig up a lot of it.) My flower beds look like they did the year I moved into this house, pathetic.  I have not been able to weed them and there are no flowers....EXCEPT for the beautiful wood flower box on my deck with large bright pink and white flowers with green trellis vines which is bringing a big smile to my face everyday.  The "JJ girls" as my Dad calls them, came over one day with this beautiful box of flowers. Janet built the box, painted the box, stenciled the box ('Bloom where you are planted') and planted the flowers - knowing that I wasn't able to tend to my gardens this year.  The "JJ girls", Jo and Janet, are part of the Eagle Brook Church online viewing group.  I may have mentioned them before....they brought Reggie and I a complete chicken dinner prior to leaving for Hope4Cancer.  There is now another "J" in the picture, Jessica.  She thought I needed a cozy blanket to keep me warm and comforted, so she knit me one.  Amazing.  I had never met any of these ladies before. I just asked this 'stranger' over email if the viewing group (which I haven't been to) could pray for me.  They've been a blessing of prayers and come bearing gifts.  There is one more beautiful bit of color on my deck... the one, large ceramic pot that I stashed behind my garage last fall, snow piled on top of it with record levels of snowflakes, and then things started growing out of the old dirt this spring. I just watched the "weeds" grow.  And then buds formed and flowers started blooming.  the  snapdragons and violets that I planted last year decided they needed to bloom again. so cool.  I'm glad I didn't pull those 'weeds' because the flowers are such amazing splashes of color and cheer - bringing smiles and happiness to my day. They are helping me heal also.  They look very healthy and I am feeling healthy, as best as can be.  I just keep plugging away, day after day, doing what I can to take care of myself, and praising God for the miracle of healing he is providing me.  I believe I am already healed in His plan.  This is an exciting time of transition and I look forward to what God wants me to do next.  I'm still fully immersed in my at-home therapies every day and going to Vitamin C IV infusions and Oxygen therapies every week.  The amount of supplements I'm taking could fill up a large grocery cart.  I had to buy one of those little tackle boxes/craft organizers to organize all of them through the week.   The food thing is getting slightly better.  I eat of lot of raw foods (as everyone should.  Eat that parsley on your plate!), Reggie still makes me a juice everyday with a pound of carrots, beets, beet greens, dandelion greens, garlic, turmeric, apple &/or cantaloupe and whatever else is in the fridge.  I run out of carrots fast, so I end up going to the Whole Foods Co-op often to re-stock produce.  I wish I could just pick the dandelion leaves from my own yard, but a couple of my neighbors spray toxic chemicals on their yards that I not only smell when I'm outside, but their chemicals drift over to my yard and kill my plants.  So, unfortunately I can't eat my own yard plants.  Dandelions are not just beneficial flowers to feed pollinating insects, bees, and butterflies, but they are an important plant to help me kill cancer cells.  It's disturbing that the human population has done so much destruction to this beautiful blue, green planet.  The oxygen we breath, the water we drink, the soil, and the plants we eat.  God gave us these things to use for our health and well-being.  The health of the planet affects the health of the people and animals.  so true.  I've tried walking around the neighborhood a few times earlier this summer, but I end up having to hold my breath past several neighbors as I smell their toxic lawn chemicals.  I'm taking great measures to de-tox my body, so going for a walk around here has been spoiled.  Luckily, I scored a very nice, used rebounder, aka mini trampoline, from Facebook Marketplace.  I've been trying to use the rebounder every day for exercise. I've learned that it is super helpful at moving the lymphatic system.  The way our lymph fluid moves through our body is by moving our body (unlike our blood in the circulatory system which is moved by the beating of our heart).  By moving the lymphatic fluid I'm moving my white blood cells, keeping me healthy, and healing the cancer cells that got all out of balance.  Poor things. I'm helping them get better as best I can.  :)   

I feel so bad that I didn't make it home for Grandma Audrey's funeral.  I just couldn't take on the stress of traveling and packing up my equipment, supplements, special foods, and the fatigue...  It's nice that the funeral home recorded the service and put it on their website.  Wish I could have made it home to visit grandma more over the past few years.  I've missed so many attempts at trying to go home to visit family and friends, and special events because of the symptoms from the past many years.  It's been difficult.   It's coming up on 1 year since Reggie's youngest son, Donovan, passed away.  Instead of going all the way to Black River Falls, Ho-Chunk Nation reservation for a family gathering that is traditionally done 1 year after the death of a family member, Reggie and I are going to ask the other kids if we could just have some gathering in Duluth instead, since we won't be able to drive to BRF. 

I can tell I am feeling better than I did a couple months ago, and that my routine and organizing everything has improved because Reggie and I have made it to our FLUKES ukulele group a few times - they meet twice a month.  AND!  Last Wednesday was Reggie and mine first date anniversary - July 12, 2009 - so I was determined to finish up my therapies, get a nap in, an early dinner, and we made it to the Glensheen Mansion for the free outdoor music concert on their Pier.  It was lovely!  Besides going to ukulele group a few times, that was the first time we've been out doing anything fun since....last Fall I think. 

It's been a lot of monotonous days.  Determination. Some days of disappointment and feeling like I've been forgotten when the day is so quiet. But, I know that this time of transition is not just a time for me to heal my cells, my body, my mind, my spirit.  It's a time for me to learn new things, research and hear about other cancer survivors who have healed holistically, naturally.  This is a time for me to spend more time talking to God, praising his blessings in my life, and thanking him for lifting the toxic stress and anxiety out of my life.  With the heavy weight of toxins off my shoulders, I'm already able to see the cheerful colors and shine brightly after being covered by a heavy load of snow for way toooo long.  I am giddy with excitement for what God wants me to do next....

Every morning at Hope4Cancer, the pharmacist led us in worship and prayer and concluded with all of us announcing..."God, thank you for loving me, thank you for healing me.  Estamos sanos!  We are healed!"

      For several years I've been planning to have a 100th birthday party for my house. It turns 100 years old this year.  I had it on my calendar to have a garden party celebration last Sunday...  It's going to be even better to celebrate 101 years next year, complete with beautiful flowers blooming, a healthy yard, healthy body, healthy mind, family, friends, and lots of raw vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.  

Take care, Carly