Jim-bo (pictures censored) & Annie

Well Jim-bo got a Christmas present. He was placed with his girls a week early. He is one happy camper! The cows have eaten down all of the hay fields on this side of the farm and so have been moved to the last of the hay fields. We typically begin feeding hay in the middle of January so we are right on track.

Bill is still busy taking care of his beautiful wife Annie. Her operation went well and she is getting around OK. But I have not seen her on the tractor over the past few weeks! Don and family are doing well with Don in dialysis 3 times a week it is truly a labor of love. Mike and Jan have had family in for the holidays. I met Jan's son Chad and he is OK...knows all the old bluegrass guys. And Santa brought Mike a new HDTV. Peggy and Ray are still volunteering and spending a lot of non-farm time with family. Too bad about Peggy's "skins" this year ... go Ravens!!!!! Smith and Theresa got a new roof for Christmas. And of course the Higgins family is very busy with kids activities while Darcy is overloaded with work at work. Dorothy and Peggy and the boys have become a real part of the farm family ... it's nice to have health care workers right here to bug me :-) And the holiday entrance decorations are GREAT! The dogs still meet daily in the orchard for their daily romp. The garden has been put to sleep for the winter and we all are expecting great things from Irene (she actually knows what she is doing).

So things are looking good for the Farmcolony community for the coming year.

Christmas and Anniversary

After five days in the hospital I came home just in time for our 40Th anniversary on Saturday. We had a quiet day with my brother and his wife. Christmas came this morning and everyone did well. Santa is a good guy!

I go back for the second round of IL-2 on January 3.

The first round: I only could tolerate 4 doses because of my blood pressure dropping so low. I did not really have many of the dreaded side effects but did gain 30 pounds of fluid and have a rash on my head and face. The shivers started exactly two hours after the dose was administered but the nurses were quick with the Demerol which stopped that problem quickly. The biggest problem was sleeping on my back so the blood pressure cuff would work.

The doc plans on a little different protocol on Jan 3 that may allow more doses.

What's Happen'

Well, I went back to the doc yesterday and I am really healthy based upon all the tests that they have done. So looks like I start the Interlukin-2 on Monday. This stuff is so toxic that they will keep me in the hospital infusing it every 8 hours until I can no longer tolerate it. I then come home for a week (40 th anniversary and Christmas) and go back to doc on 3 January for evaluation and then back in hospital for another round of the same. I then wait 3 months for another PET scan and if the tumors are unchanged or smaller I do the above dance again. I am really looking forward to getting this done and moving on! So I guess I can't wait until the last minute to do my holiday shopping this year ;-)

Grapes and Water

Well, instead of building guitars I have been working on the kitchen. I put in tile and a pot filler behind the new range and hood. It's got a tuscan flavor with grapes etc. The lady who built this house was French so we tried to stay with that theme.



The medallion and trim are made of some kind of metalized material



Ahd the pot filler works great. Doesn't everyone NEED one of these. Two valves since there is no drain in the range ;-)

The nasty stuff

Went to the new doc today and the good news is that the "thing" on my spine looks like a ruptured disc. The problem is that there is still melanoma in my lymph system. At this point it is growing so fast that operating would not be a good option. So I gave 10 pounds of blood for tests and will do a brain mri, nuc stress test, bone scan, and pulmonary function test this week to make sure that I can do the chemo(interleukin-2). If all is ok I will go into hospital for a week and get  the infusion and then home for a week and then back in hospital for another week and then wait a few weeks and get scanned again and if it is working go back for another round of the same. This is the only insurance approved treatment for what I have. The success rate is about 10% but the doc says that it tends to be long term solution (when it works). There is another drug that has a higher success rate but they don't know how long it lasts. It is still experimental and the insurance probably won't pay for it. But there are some clinical trials available if the insurance won't pay. So if the interleukin doesn't work we'll try that as well.

The side effects of the interleukin are pretty nasty "like having the worst flu plus". So we will do it and see what happens.

I'll keep you posted. 

FARMCOLONY - the real story

FARMCOLONY is a development alternative to the loss of agricultural land. The introduction of the FARMCOLONY concept 30 years ago gives the private sector a viable alternative to aid in agricultural land conservation. The basic concept of FARMCOLONY is to keep as much of the agricultural land in farming as possible while using the remainder of the non-farmland for residential development.

Panoramic views of the farmland from east to west

FARMCOLONY, in the Blue Ridge foothills, offers an opportunity to enjoy all of the benefits of living on a farm without the usual worries or responsibilities, and at far less cost than buying a farm individually. FARMCOLONY IS THAT SIMPLE.Most fine communities feature an amenity of some sort. A golf course, tennis courts, lake, common green areas or other type of visual or aesthetic enhancer to make the surrounding living area a more pleasant place. Instead of the usual golf course, or tennis courts, the amenity at FARMCOLONY is an incredibility beautiful farm - and your own forests, mountain and streams on its almost 300 acres.

The riding ring and hay field

Ownership of the farm is included with the purchase of your own building site. And cattle, horses, chickens, ducks, pastures, streams, ponds, walking and horse trails, camping shelters, barns, poultry house, workshops, sheds and even a huge farmhouse now used as a meeting place for the owners come with the purchase. And the fertile farm is completely equipped with operating machinery. For over two hundred years FARMCOLONY land has raised abundant crops of vegetables and healthy animals.

The Farm House

The honeymoon cottage :-)

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, FARMCOLONY is such a picturesque environment words cannot describe it.

Looking toward Charlottesville across the valley

The horse barn, riding ring, pastures and hay fields

Perched in the woods on the side of a gently sloping mountain overlooking the farm and valley are forty-eight single family home sites averaging two acres each. Some home sites have streams running through them or boarder on a pond. Most are surrounded by tall dense forest. Some have spectacular 360 degree views of the rolling Virginia countryside. The total investment in your own home site and a share of all the other things ranges from $14,000 to $24,000 (this was 30 years ago).

A pond, some geese and cows wondering what is going on

With ownership of a building site comes joint ownership of the farm, through the FARMCOLONY Homeowners' Association. Only you as a home site owner can belong to this association. The association holds title to the common farm areas, the mountain preserve, twelve buildings, livestock, machinery and equipment. This common ownership is simple and workable. Simpler actually than belonging to a country club. Through an elected five member executive committee all decisions relating to the farm are made. Committees of owners make specific decision on farm activities, such as the garden, cows, horses, pastures, hay making etc. An owner can choose to do as much or as little farm work as they desire. There is no pressure to contribute labor but most farm families choose to be deeply involved. After all, that is why they choose to live here.

Some equipment and the critters winter food



The equipment barn

The egg machines, yes Rose eggs do come from chickens!

Besides the beautiful scenery, healthful environment and enjoyable living environment,there are also many additional benefits such as being able to gather freshly laid eggs, buy fresh beef or harvest your own farm fresh vegetables untouched by harmful chemicals or middlemen – at a fraction of the cost at stores.

The common garden (previous posts have more pictures)

The focal center of social activity on the farm is centered around the farm clubhouse. This restored nineteenth century structure has a huge living room where parties, meetings, lectures and other cultural events take place. In addition, there are private bedrooms where owners and their guests are welcome to stay and there are complete kitchen and laundry facilities. The clubhouse allows property owners to enjoy their purchase in comfort before building a home and is always a warm and friendly gathering spot for everyone. It is not unusual to find several owners spending a weekend at the farmhouse eating fresh farm produced food and really enjoying life.

The meeting room

One of the bedrooms

The kitchen

The location of FARMCOLONY is ideal. Three and one-half miles from Stanardsville, a wonderfully quaint and small town still bound in down-home traditions. Traditions like storekeepers and bankers knowing you by first name and being able to leave your car unlocked; traditions like farmers and mountain men gathering at the general store to talk crops, politics and weather. Close by (20 to25 minutes) is Charlottesville with its wonderful health and education facilities, large regional shopping centers and cultural events of every type. Other facilities are available close by such as golf and tennis (10 minutes), skiing (25 minutes) and of course, the famous Skyline Drive entrance is only 10 minutes away from FARMCOLONY.

Farm living is what people have always dreamed about but have never been able to do. Watching your children and grandchildren ride a pony, or play in a barnful of sweet smelling hay used to be just a dream, or at best an expensive venture. Watching your own food grow, fresh eggs, beef that hasn't been “treated” with additives, and garden fresh vegetables are now a reality. Taking a hayride through crisp fall air is a unique experience and is just a small part of what farm life is all about. FARMCOLONY for the first time makes this a practical reality at a modest cost.

Sarah the farm donkey

Another happy farm resident sunning herself

Jim-bo patiently avaiting 1 January (he gets to visit his girls)

FARMCOLONY, of course, cannot be compared to anything else because there is nothing else like it.

Thanks!

Went back to Dr. yesterday. My "wound" has really healed well. No longer need to pack it two times a day but just put some Neosporum on it and cover. I go next Monday for my next CT/PET scan which will find out if there are any tumors remaining. If all clear I'll go into a clinical trial of immune-therapy. If more lymph nodes are positive then more surgery. If it's gone to other places then we do some kind of chemo or some other ugly thing.

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving. Mom, Allen and Sonnie will be coming up tomorrow. Gotta go get the turkey today and the pies tomorrow. I told Rose that I would do the cooking. She has always done the thanksgiving cooking. The pressure is on!

The farm is doing well. The new garden committee has been busy with prep work. The heifers have gone to market. The chickens are producing again. Michael and Jack have been out riding their horses. Annie has been taking care of her medical problems. Bill has been taking care of Annie. Don has been doing better and Susan has been doing the mother hen thing. Peggy has been taking care of her kids and family while Ray tries to fit in farm activities. Theresa has finally gotten approval to begin work on her PhD Thesis and Smith is very busy with his middle school group. They were here on the farm last weekend learning all kinds of stuff. The Hauss family is very busy with house remodeling. The Neitchie's have finally moved in to their new log house. Jan is doing the hiking thing with a new group of people while Mike makes the two hour one way trek to norther Va. to his teaching job. Bill D. has been out replacing some fence line around the pond where it is always very wet. The Higgins have been busy with kid activities, soccer and band. So basically we all have a hole lot to be thankful for here on the farm.

Dogs

Jenny visited last weekend. This is her faithful dog Jazz. I asked her to go find some firewood!

Boy, Viriginia is so pretty. I wish Ohio looked like this!














I think I hear some Virginia wildlife.














Jenny, thanks for letting me visit Stanardsville.












This is Abbey. Her job is making sure squirrels are not on the ground but in the trees where they belong.















OK, getting ready to make my squirrel run!














I know that someday I'll catch one! If only I could climb!













This round is complete....a success. All of them critters are high in the trees!

The Cruise

Here are the details of our Bluegrass Cruise....
It's on an Italian ship - COSTA MAGICA

Leave Ft. Lauderdale 18 Febuary...to San Juan...St. Thomas...La Romana...Grand Turks/Caicos Islands and back to Ft. Lauderdale on Febuary 25.

We will be traveling with: Cherryholmes, Mark Newton, Audie Blaylock, Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, Wildfire, Michael Cleveland, Marty Raybon, Tim Graves & Cherokee and Chasin' Steel.

It's a bring your instrument and jam kinda cruise... "let's see....Cherryholmes may need a dobro player?"

There is still room for you bluegrass nuts out there!!!!

Tubeless at last!

Since the last post I've had all drain tubes removed including the vacuum. I still need to repack the left side wound two times a day but that seemes to go real well. The doctor says I can do pretty much whatever I want to do but should not overdo anything. I find that sitting for extended periods gets pretty uncomfortable but other than that I feel great. With all the time I have had to think, I have decided that the melanoma on both occasions was brought on by the use of Lamisil. Twenty five years ago when the three freckles grew into the first melanoma I was taking lamisil. Twelve to 18 months ago I took Lamisil. I believe that for me, lamisil equals melanoma. I don't know how it does it but I am pretty sure that it does! Now, how scientific is that conclusion? I actually filled out an online report to the FDA letting them know of my discovery.

I've begun the preliminary work on building a double bass. Because the wood costs so much I'm going to practice on some 2x lumber before I make the commitment. I could buy a nice laminated bass for less than the parts for a carved bass will cost. I have begun making templates and will soon begin construction of the "inner form" which is needed to construct the bass.

Rose, Don, Lenord, Susan and I made a trip over to Graves Mountain Sunday and picked up some peach wine from Rose River Winery (a very small operation).

I also signed myself and Rose up for a 7 day bluegrass cruse (with Cherryholmes). It departs Flordia in the middle of February.

Looking forward to Jenny coming down for a visit this week. It will be the first time that she has visited the farm as Mrs. Ruberto.

The Plan

What I believe....

Puppies are a pain to raise ...
lambs are cute but turn into sheep ...
weeds are impossible to control ...
beef is good to eat ...
my kubota is great ...
people make decisions very early that effects their entire life...
personal responsibility is key to happiness ...
making guitars is difficult but rewarding ...
friends are much better than wealth ...
God has a plan for us ...
if you want to hear God laugh tell him YOUR plans ...
God's plan is strategic not tactical ...
Believing this has made my current medical problems much easier to face ...

Here is what I believe it is:

All through the old testament God tried to deal with his people by letting them earn the right to go to heaven. He set up simple laws that allowed the righteous to earn their way by following the rules. Time after time man proved that he could not, on his own, live up to the challenge. I believe that even the smallest sin disqualifies us from heaven.

The new testament makes it clear that even the thought of the sin is enough. Jimmy Carter admits that he has sinned in his heart. So what are we to do? God, knowing our hearts and our inability to be sin free sent his son to live the sin free life, to be killed for being good, and to defeat death and sit by the side of God in heaven. What I believe that this means for us is: if we believe in Jesus, when we die and face the judgment, that God will see his son standing in our place and will find us faultless. There is nothing we can do, no action we can take, no life on this earth that can achieve this goal. The only way to heaven is belief in Jesus as the son of God. And this is a free guift.

I know there are Christian religions that make all kinds of demands on their members to do this or not do that in order to get to heaven. I'm not buying it! There is only one thing and that is belief in the Christ. I believe we sin every day...it's impossible not to sin. But God has taken that burden away. I think we should try to live a Christ like life, but should also understand that we WILL fall short. That problem has been taken care of for the believer.

Life is good ...
God is good ...

Four Day Vacation

The saga continues ... when I went back to the doctoe on Monday they removed one of the drains from my left side. Everything looked ok. Tuesday morning I woke up and found that the other two drains had lost suction and the drainage was happening out of the incision and down my leg. I tried until Thursday to keep everything dry but was having no luck so I called the doctor and went in for an appointment on Friday morning. The wound had opened and had begun to get infected so back into the hospital (another Four Day Vacation) for massive antibotics and wound care. They decided to put a "wound vac" on me. It's a small vacuum that compresses the opening and removes the drainage. I went back to doctor yesterday for check and he is really happy with the wound progress. Probably another two to three weeks of vacuuming my leg. I'mfeeling pretty good and can get around again.

Mother nature is taking care of the farm ... cows are beginning to have their fall babies. Ray and Peggy just became grandparents again. The trees are just beginning to show signs of changing color. Susan and her three daughters spent the other day eating dim sum and shopping in Leesburg. Bill Dictel's doctor son just had his second heart operation and is doing well. Some dog's attacked and killed some of Malou's sheep. Deiter has cleaned out the chicken coop and it is spic and span and the farm fresh eggs are flowing again. The garden has been cleaned up and awaiting compost to be tilled in. Five new pregnant cows were delivered late last week so we should have a good crop of spring cows. Bill Bohn has been trying to keep up with the fences while his small trailer seems to have disappeared. The sun is out and it is a beautiful day.

It amazes me at how lucky I have been during this health battle. Friends and family have been absolutely fantastic in their support. The food keeps coming and Rose is crying uncle (she is gaining weight). It is not easy for me to be the center of attention and accept all of the help that has been offered. But it means a lot to both Rose and me ... we can feel the love. Calls and e-mails from friends and co-workers have brightened my days. I even got an e-mail from an old friend and co-worker (Paul) and found out two weeks later that he has been in the hospital undergoing pancreatic (sp) cancer surgery. That is some serious stuff. When I commented to my doctor that 9 hours was a long operation he said that the pancreatic surgery lasted 16-18 hours. So, Paul my preyers are with you and hope you have a quick recovery!

I think I may write a brief essay on what I think is important in life and what I believe. That could be the end of this blog!!!! ;-)

Cut the damn thing out!

In one of my previous posts I mentioned that my left leg was swelling. I went to the doctor who suspected a blood clot and sent me to have a sonagram. No blood clot but enlarged lymph nodes so back to the hospital for biopsy. Turned out to be positive for melanoma. I had a melanoma removed from that leg 25 years ago. So we found a really good doctor at UVA that specializes in melanoma treatment and research. He sent me for CT and MRI scans and the for CT/PET scan (just got the bill for that one - $6000). The scans showed that the tumors were active in my lymph nodes in both legs and on the left up into my belly. Everything else was clear.

The biopsy results happened on Friday 28, July. I began bluegrass dobro camp at Davis & Elking college on Sunday the 30th. Needless to say I was a bit distracted during that week. Rose and I visited the new doctor (Slingluff) on the next Monday and got the news about what options were available. None of them were very good. I chose to "cut the damn thing out". There is still a very high risk that pieces of the melanoma are floating around and could lodge and any organ that filters blood or lymph. My post op treatment will consist of close monitoring to determine if there is still some in there. In the mean time Jenny got married in a beautiful ceremony – overall a great weekend. We did not tell her about this until after the wedding. She was under enough stress!

I showed up at UVA at 11 am on Sept 13 th and was in the operating room by 1pm. After a nine hour procedure I got to my room at 11 pm. That must have been the longest night of my life. Coming off the general, with an epidural and with morphine injected into my drip was a real experience. I would fall off to sleep and wake up only to see that 3 minutes had passed. In less than 8 hours I was up and on the way to the bathroom. Then they gave me perkaset (sp). Things really got colorful with voices and all!!! I decided that was enough and stopped taking all drugs except Advil Sunday morning at 2 am. They released me from the hospital at 12 on Sunday. It looks like my stitches are healing well and the drains are still running off whatever liquid they drain.

I can get around and walk, have taken a shower, and watched a lot of TV. I shoot for shows that really boar me and I fall of to sleep. I'm getting real tired of being on my back so much so I tried sleeping on my right side last night. It worked pretty well although I continued to wake up on my back. So, I go back Monday to begin the next phase (whatever that may be) and hopefully to get some of these drains removed. I would post some pictures of my stitches but can't figure out how to block off some parts that are really swollen :-)

Jenny & Lou's Wedding

Beautiful bride and proud dad!



















Grandmother Carrie and Uncle Allen












The cake


















All of the "babes" in one picture


















My baby!


















Grandson Dodge













Mom, doing what mons do.

local farmers

Jenny is getting married next weekend. People from across the country will be converging in Lisbon Ohio to share in that happy day. I'll post some pictures next week.



August was a really dry month. All of the grass went dormant and even the weeds were drooping. Since I did not water the garden the rest of the corn died out, the peppers are stunted and the tomatoes are not doing well. I think the next garden upgrade needs to be a more effective way to get water to the garden. The tropical storm blew through here here late last week and dropped about two and a half inches of water ... within a day everything turned green again. It's really amazing how powerful water is in nature.


The above picture is taken from the back poarch, across the farm. Vineyard on foreground, then garden and orchard, then pastures into the distance. Two days ago it was all brown! And here is a shot of the main hay field. The second cutting was done last week so the field looks really good.









Here are some local farmers that stopped by to celebrate the end of summer.

dog days

Well not much going on lately:

+ lots and lots of tomatoes in the garden
+ went to Grave's Mountain Sunday evening to see Cherryholmes - they were really good. Every time I see them they are better singers and pickers ... and they were good before
+ going to take truck in tomorrow morning for service and inspection
+ I think I'll go on down and talk to Bruce about the tile after the truck stuff
+ James Taylor is going to be at UVA Thursday but the tickets are $65 each plus about $15 for the privlege of buying the ticket ... and he's not really bluegrass

I steamed the neck off the guitar and will finish each separtely ... got the fret board done ... so guess I gotta get a bridge so I can place it and mask of the area before finish

more later

LeRoy and other dobros

Well, we're back from a week at the Augusta Bluegrass camp. The festivities were held at Davis and Elkins college in Elkins WV. Just a three hour drive from here - west on Rt 33 until you run into it. Some really beautiful hill country on that drive! I think we miss a lot on the interstates.

I attended the LeRoy Mack sessions on dobro. LeRoy started out as a teenager in California with a group of other teens including Clarance and Roland White. Their group was called the Kentucky Colonels. They were featured on episode 19 of the Andy Griffith show. LeRoy's mentor was Josh Graves of the Flatt and Skruggs band. So he taught that style of dobro. We learned Houndog Ramble, Amazing Grace, Home Sweet Home, Fireball Mail and Foggy Mountain Rock.

The other instructors were equally fantastic... if you are a guitar flat picker, this was the place to be! Check out the Augusta web site for a list of these talented folks. Pat and Sully were there and made the week even more fun.

Here is LeRoy playing Foggy Mountain Rock. He is playing the LeRoy Mack edition of a Beard Guitar. It has 4 way book matched back and engraving everywhere. I think Paul charges about $4500 for this model.















vvv



This is the class picture. Guess who has the red dobro?
















This is Leah. She is going to be a senior in high school this year and is REALLY talented! She is playing a new Paul Beard ... Mike Auldridge edition guitar. This thing sounds great (when she plays it)














And here is your's truly trying to play Foggy Mountain Rock for Rose. She was not impressed ;-) .... I've got the hard part but need to learn the rest.

Drunkin Peaches & Bend Over

We had a neighbor pick up a bushel of peaches Tuesday. So we made some drunken peaches. Believe it or not there are one whole bushel in those four gallon jars. Pretty easy cut up the peaches, add a lot of sugar and then lots of rum. Then you let it sit in a cool dark place until Christmas. I experimented a little and added pineapple and cherries to one of the jars. Be aware! The only liquid in there is rum!!!!

I noticed last week that my left leg was swollen. So with the advice of Rose ringing in my ears I went to see the doctor on Monday. He immediately decided to eliminate the possibility of a blood clot so sent me across the street to have a sonogram. That proved to be ok, but it did show a slightly enlarged lymph node on my upper leg. I went back yesterday for more exams. He did some blood work and sent me across the street of chest x-ray (long story there). I expect that he will call today and tell me to go get a small needle biopsy done on the node. To the bend over part - as Arlo said in Alice's Restaurant - they didn't leave no part untouched!

Abbie