Garden Blogger's Bloom Day—February 2015

Mid-February means outdoor blooms are nowhere near in my garden. Despite relatively warm temperatures over the last couple weeks (until another recent Arctic blast), we're still under a blanket of snow, and I don't bother with snowdrops anyway. However, I do have my orchid still blooming strong:

I've been following the directions that came with it...water every 10 days or so, avoid getting the leaves wet, and that's pretty much it. Some petals are looking a bit ragged but overall it's doing OK, even though it's exposed to a cold window and hot blasts from a nearby vent. Hopefully this trend continues, and I may branch out to some more of these beauties.

Speaking of orchids, the annual Orchid Show just opened at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I'm hoping that I can find some time to stop by this year! I've always wanted to learn more about orchids, plus this seems like an obvious opportunity to add a few to my houseplant collection. It runs through March 15th. If you have a chance to make it there, please let me know what you think!

Also blooming today is this great bouquet that I received from my mother-, father- and grandmother-in-law, in celebration of finishing chemotherapy! It's even Breast Cancer Awareness pink...a nice touch in the dreary February doldrums.

But no Valentine's Day roses to show?? I imagine there's plenty out there in the blogosphere on this Bloom Day. My husband and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day because both our birthdays are in January and our wedding anniversary was earlier this month. That means we've celebrated Christmas, New Year's, both birthdays, and our anniversary within the last six weeks. By Valentine's Day, we're all holiday-ed out. (Although there was a great bouquet of red roses for our anniversary but it didn't make it to Bloom Day.)

So check out May Dreams Gardens to see more of what's in bloom in warmer climates and in vases across the nation!

Chemotherapy: DONE

Here is me telling my final dose of chemo what I really think of it:

Yesterday was my last chemo treatment! I'm about to slip into the depths of the side effects by tomorrow, but I hardly even care because it's the last one! I'd like to say thanks to everyone who has sent me good wishes and support through this crappy phase...I appreciate it more than you know!

Next it will be on to radiation, which will take about 7 weeks in all. That won't even get started until early March because they want all the chemo out of my system before zapping me with a laser beam 33 times. So I'm not out of the woods yet but at least Phase 1 (surgery) and Phase 2 (chemo) are now complete! There is less in front of me than there is behind me, in terms of treatment. As Homer Simpson would say...

Another gratuitous Simpsons reference