Same song, another verse

Got half of my stitches out on the 14th as well as one of the drains. Coping with the drains has been my biggest challenge. On Monday, the 21st, I get the other stitches and the last drain out. Then all I have to do is wait for my Oncology visit on the 12th (he is out of the country for 3 weeks) and presumably to find out my course of treatment--chemo and/or radiation therapy.

It looks like I have an outbreak of lichen sclerosus on my arm! I understand that can come on any part of the body, but it is usually in the very moist areas such as one's bottom. I did have an outbreak of it there a month or so ago, but with application of an ointment I have on hand and liberal applications of vitamin E oil, I had that under control fairly quickly. On my arm, I am still in the rash/itch phase, and I am hopeful that on Monday I can persuade my surgeon to get me in to see a dermatologist while this is still ongoing so that we can find a better treatment, if there is one. From doing research on the Internet, I haven't found much encouragement there. I would nominate that to be one of the great plagues, and I'm not kiddin'.

On to more pleasant topics, I/we have picked, shelled and canned approximately 2 dozen pints of baby limas, Christmas butterbeans, and cranberry beans. That is just the beginning, I hope. Our other veggies are surviving the heat/drought with copious watering. I canned 3 quarts of tomatoes this weekend. They are just now producing more than we consume, so that will be adding up soon. The eggplants are producing well, but the squash is not. Oh, well. But, we have been very surprised at the cantaloupe hill. We have 5 or more at different stages of development and hope to pick the largest one in a day or so.

I'm sterilizing pint jars to can the shelled beans picked today. Don't know yet what the yield will be, but I probably will add an addendum so that I can brag on that. But, first, it's time to cool off and rest a bit. The temp here today is around 97 or 98 and very humid, making it very uncomfortable to be outside.

ADDENDUM: My yield of shelled beans today was: 2 pints baby limas, 2.5 pints Christmas butterbeans, and 2 pints cranberry beans. And they all sealed! That's more than it sounds like.