Tree Planting

Here are some pictures from the tree that was planted at Nova High School. In case you are at the school and want to see it, it is located in front of the auditorium building facing the parking lot, closest to the baseball field. The temporary sign I built cost less than $20 and looks pretty good for a cheap and easy solution. The bronze plaque should arrive in about a month to replace my cheap solution. Marianna showed us in a book what the tree will look like when it matures-- it will have beautiful orange/scarlet flowers and is a Florida native. I grabbed these facts from the Florida Gardener web site, I believe this is the right one, the Geiger Tree:
Plant Facts:
Botanical Name: Cordia Sebestena
Plant Type: Evergreen tree
Height: 25', medium growth rate
Soil Requirements: Various, an ideal plant for problem soils.
Water Requirements: High drought tolerance also high flooding tolerance. Holds up very well to salt spray.
Light Requirements: Full sun. Frost sensitive
Leaves: The large, 7" long, stiff, dark green leaves are rough and hairy and feel somewhat like sandpaper
Flowers: Dark orange, two-inch-wide flowers appear in clusters at branch tips most of the year.
Fruit: 1" to 2" long, pear-shaped fruits have a pleasant fragrance
Propagation: Seeds, cuttings.

Memorial Tree

This Thursday (2pm), Trish's friend Marianna and her sister Kath will plant a tree in Trish's honor at Nova High School in Davie. Trish graduated from Nova in 1981 and both our boys will graduate from there as well. I have ordered the plaque below to mark the tree.

Last week was rough, Andy and I had a nasty stomach virus. It took a huge bite out of the progress I expected to make in my new found time to get stuff done. That's ok, I am trying to hit the ground running this week.

It was a rough week for another reason too. Late Thursday night, I received an e-mail from the mother of a patient that we were close to at Hopkins. In April of 2007, Michael had been diagnosed with ALL after a dentist visit and the gums would not heal. I and a mother of another ALL patient re3ached out to Michael's Mom to help her get organized, get help and cope with this devastating diagnosis. She really appreciated the help. The year was rough for Michael. He was in his early 20's and just getting started on his college degree. He wanted to be a math professor. He was often depressed about what was happening to him. Trish and I would try to pump him up everytime we saw them.

Michael passed away Janury 9th. He is the first of the folks we were really close to at Hopkins to pass away. Remember him in your prayers as well please.

Cookbook still coming.....but blog book available

After the first bout of chemo, folks asked for an easy to read print-out of the website and I produced one. I just finished the same thing for this second round. Both are available from Cafe Press. They print as needed and send it directly to you. Neither is a book or novel, just simply a reproduction of the web sites in chronological order. I had some tough moments building it, as I relived the last year. If you want a copy of the story it is there for you to get.

I hope to have the cookbook finished before January is over and who knows maybe a new job, not too much after that.

Matt's eyes are fine. Andy and I had a nasty stomach virus to start this week off, but it appears to be passing quickly. So all is as well as it can be.....
Web-book of February 2007 through December 2007

Web-book of October 2005 through March 2006

Quick update on Matt

Jus thought I'd write a quick update on Matt's eyes. A day or two after the ER/neurologist appointments he started seeing normal again. Today we had our follow-up with the neurologist and other than a normal cyst in his throat the MRI was perfectly normal. The doc had not yet received Matt's blood work report, but Matt passed all the tests today and was declared "normal'>

The doctor scheduled one followup appointment in February, but the assumption is that it was viral and has passed. So no treatment plan needed. Guess that's our first official bit of good luck this year... yeah!