Act of Kindness

A couple of weeks ago, as EZ was recuperating from bronchitis, and I was battling one of the worst cold/sinus infections I can remember, we awoke to the sound of leaf blowers. Lo and behold, some amazing friends from our church, ranging in age from about 12 to 85, were in our yard blowing and raking an acre's worth of leaves on a chilly Saturday morning! 

Let me tell you, we have ALOT of trees and there is simply no way we can keep up with the leaves as they continually fall this time of year. As more and more grass and ground became visible, the walls of leaves began to grow! EZ insisted on joining them...that is him in the right foreground with the backpack blower on. They all spent 2 1/2 hours, raking, blowing, and hauling leaves. We hardly recognized the yard when they were finished, and were deeply touched by this act of kindness. During the course of EZ's battle with Multiple Myeloma, we have experienced the very best in people ...generosity, self sacrifice, unconditional love, tenderness, understanding and compassion. We feel undeserving and truly blessed.

Update on Paula

Thank you for your prayers for Paula. It is with a heavy heart that I share a note below from her friend in the UK who is letting everyone know, via a comment on Paula's blog, that she passed away peacefully this morning. He expresses beautifully how so many who knew Paula feel about her. I can only imagine the number of people she touched in her 42 years. Through tears, I can say that she certainly made an impact on my life and I will miss her terribly. These words from 2 Corinthians 5:1 bring comfort:

"Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands."  
 

Heaven is a wonderful place, full of glory and grace...Deepest sympathy to Paula's husband, B, and to her family. I would love to make a memorial collage online, full of photos showing people/children with the Myeloma Buddies she made for them. If you could, please email any photos you might have to baker.linda54@gmail.com so I can include them, and please pass the word to others in your circle for pictures. Thank you and stay strong, never losing hope for a cure.
 

Chris T | June 10, 2012 at 14:16 | Reply Hi Everyone – I hope nobody minds me posting this message, but I’m sure you would all want to know that, sadly, Paula lost her fight today at around 12.05p.m. Apparently she went peacefully. Bernard has done a sterling job keeping all of us in the loop, when I’m sure he has much better things to do. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how very brave Paula was throughout this whole process. She may have only been small, but she had the courage of a colossus. She could make humour out of the most dire circumstances. Don’t know how she did it, but she had the admiration of everyone who knew her. I am sure she even amazed the staff at the Royal, who all seemed extremely fond of her. She probably caused some consternation among the consultants, as she seemed to know as much as them at times. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see her one last time, as we (Pat & I) were intending to go in tomorrow, but not to be, but it was obviously the time for her to leave us. She leaves behind many many people whose lives she has touched for the better and I can only say, “Thanks, Paula” it was great knowing you. Just sorry it was for such a short time. Sorry, will have to go now, as can’t see to type through the tears.

Prayers for Paula

One of the first blogs we found when EZ was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, over two years ago, was Feresaknit's Blog. Author Paula Kilgallon, is a young woman in the UK whose quick wit and talent with knitting needles, a crochet hook, and a sewing machine can hardly be surpassed. Though we wish our paths had crossed for reasons other than MM, we are so thankful for Paula's blog, and for her friendship as she and EZ battle MM. Though we have never met face to face, we, like so many others in blogosphere, consider Paula our dear friend, and she is heavy on our hearts right now.

This is Paula's Facebook profile picture and though it isn't the clearest shot, I think it's beautiful for so many reasons. Her smile, her eyes, her honesty and the Prayer Shawl she has wrapped around her shoulders. My mother lovingly, and with much prayer, crocheted it and asked that we send it to Paula for Christmas last year.

Here is one Prayer of Blessing for a completed shawl, written by Janet Bristow of the Shawl Ministry website:

May God's grace be upon this shawl...

warming, comforting, enfolding and embracing.

May this mantle be a safe haven...a sacred place of security and well-being...

May the one who receives this shawl be cradled in hope, kept in joy, graced with peace, and wrapped in love. Blessed be!

Spunky, feisty, funny, huge-hearted, smart, generous and talented are just a few adjectives I would use to describe Paula, and now she needs our prayers. (Some may remember this request for prayer back in October of 2011 for she and Sean.) Following a failed autologous stem cell transplant, Paula has experienced numerous bad reactions and side effects, and has been in and out of "The Royal" hospital. Her last post was on May 31st, as she, with her usual humor, proceeded to describe her sore "sausage hands" along with other difficulties. Her condition has deteriorated and now, according to her sister-in-law, Gill, her medical team has chosen to stop further treatment and have Palliative Care do everything they can to make Paula comfortable; last we heard, she was.

Once again, we are in a state of shock after what has been described by Gill as a "horrendous" past few weeks for Paula. Please join EZ and I in praying for this amazing lady, that she would remain at peace, not in pain. Also keep her husband Bernard, his sister Gill, Auntie Ann, and other close friends and family members in the UK in your prayers as they stand by in love and support of dear Paula.

"Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

In the meantime we are holding on tight to reminders of Paula and her amazing talent, and asking God to hold her in the palm of His hand.

Paula's Myeloma Buddies. Profits go to Myeloma UK and International Myeloma Foundation (IMF)
 

Merry Christmas Buddies for our youngest grandchildren: Samuel, Samantha and Emery (days old in these pictures!)

 Custom Abby and Milo (our Springers) for our oldest grandchildren, Natalie and Nathan

 Even great nephew Jaxon got some Buddy love at one day old!

We love you Paula...

The Blessing of Friendships that Stand the Test of Time

EZ and I first met Shelley and Butch when we both lived in Florida, attended the same church, and our husbands worked for IBM. Eventually we were both transferred to Raleigh and once again became members of the same church, and picked up where we left off. Our lives have been intertwined through the years in many different ways, from bible studies, to weddings, to work, to kids at ASU, to funerals for parents, to the births of grandchildren, and even cancer survivorship. We love and appreciate their friendship so very much and are thrilled that not only do we both live in the Raleigh area, but we also both have places in Boone and are now retired! Seems like we were rarely ever here at the same time until this week, so we made the most of it and got together multiple times to walk our dogs and share a meal. 

First they had us over for dinner at their place. Butch grilled a delicious marinated "Tri-Tip" roast, and paired with Silver Queen corn on the cob and some fresh cantaloupe...YUM! Their view of Grandfather Mountain is spectacular, so of course we had to snap some pics. 

Next, we ladies took a break from cooking and all went out to a small local restaurant here in Boone, right down by the college. It is known for certain signature dishes such as macaroni and cheese, fried catfish, waffles with fried chicken and a peach/turkey bacon compote (say what?), and peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream...so of course we had to give them a try. Everything was delicious!

Last night we had them over for dinner and a campfire. I made Pioneer Woman's Pasta Carbonara for the first time and we all loved it. Will have to use her pictures...we gobbled ours up before I snapped a single photo...oops! Dessert was PW Apple Dumplings, and of course, S'mores by the campfire!

 

The guys got a blazing fire going and we relaxed and talked about life together over the past 25+ years.  Note EZ  is SITTING by the campfire for the first time (and the guys look much more pensive than the girls)!

Thanks to Shelley and Butch for a fun three days! Looking forward to making many more great memories in the years to come.

 

Our Cinderella Evening in NYC!

Well, this is my last post about NYC, and what an evening we had! When my father was stationed in Naples, Italy, he befriended a young Captain by the name of George. He was single and was often invited to our home for a home cooked meal. I think he has been trying to re-pay the hospitality my parents showed him ever since! George met his wife Carol in Italy, and has done very well as an attorney in New Jersey. He and Carol generously treat us to amazing "nights on the town" whenever we are in the area. This was no exception!

We were told to be ready by 3:00, that we would be having dinner in the city, and then be treated to a Broadway show. Well, low and behold, a limo pulled up to my aunt's house at 3:00. We pinched ourselves to be sure we weren't dreaming, then got into the limo and headed for New York City!

We were treated to an amazing dinner at Del Frisco's. My filet was cooked perfectly and I could cut it with a table knife. The desserts were out of this world! The service was top notch.

 

 

 Soon it was time to head to the show. The limo picked us up right outside the restaurant where he had dropped us off and away we went.

It was amazing to see veteran actors and actresses, still active and using their talents at the ages of 86 and 82. We really enjoyed the show, but before we knew it we were being picked up by the limo and driven back to New Jersey. I loved seeing the city at night!

Many thanks to our friends George and Carol for blessing us with a Cinderella evening in NYC.