Around Here . . .

I guess when I am not talking about hiking, I have nothing to blog about!

Around here, things have been roller-coastery for me. Last week, I was feeling a tad depressed. We were suppose to take Brycen to Asheville, but my stoma was showing signs of light bleeding. I want to travel so bad, but even a place 2-3 hours away seems too far.

So Friday I MADE myself get out of the house for something other than playing with Brycen outside. My mom and I went to Cheesecake Factory with a gift card I received from my birthday, and then to one of my favorite independent stores, Paper Skyscraper.

Outside, spring had sprung a little early:

On Saturday, Brycen started T-ball. What a difference between playing a sport at 3 years of age versus 4. The three year olds were adorable, but also provided the comedy! One little guy ran straight to second and kept going until he reached another field, where soccer practice was taking place. Brycen was much more content and relaxed with T-ball than he ever was with indoor soccer. In fact, I think he might have even been bored at times waiting for all the kids to have a chance to bat!

We celebrated his and his cousin's first practice by taking them to breakfast, where I had my first chicken and waffle experience. So good.

After we all went home and had a nap, it was off to my brother's house for a cookout, and for lego fun. I was doing great! So much energy.

On Sunday we decided to to do a little giving. We brought flowers to a close friend of mine who was recently diagnosed with cancer. We then crossed Charlotte's midsection, getting every single red light. I hardly recognized my old neighborhood! Brycen whined the whole time. There needs to be a faster way to get from East Charlotte to West, but B loved handing out a birthday present for another dear friend. And peeing on her sidewalk. Boys.

Random sky picture, because I LOVE hazy skies. I often can't stand hot days without a cloud in the sky to provide relief. 

I was still going strong Monday. I had CT scans done at a new place, not the hospital - and they offered CHOICES in contrast beverages. So instead of 32 ounces of odd tasting water, I got 2 16 ounce cups of Cran-Raspberry juice. Yummmm. I had never been to an office where people were so pleasant on a Monday morning, even though I was 15 minutes late for my appointment. (Again, Charlotte traffic).

We stopped for donuts on the way home, and then I got to work on another drawing. I had been completing a drawing every day or two . . .

. . . but it all ended on Tuesday. Chemo day. My CT scans from Monday morning showed growth in some areas but stability in my liver, which prompted my oncologist to continue my current every other week schedule - which is basically keeping me alive these days. On top of that, my stoma was enlarged and sore. Luckily a good friend of mine sat with me, and kept me entertained for the 2 or so hours. I rarely get to see her, so I was basically "throwing up" news after news about me and questions as to catch up. You know the stream of conversation when you have no idea how you got onto the topic? That was us! After I was hooked up to my 46 hour pump, she drove me home.

Tuesday night my stoma was still greatly enlarged, and I could see veins were ready to pop. I quickly put a cold compress on it, and it shrunk to normal size. All day Wednesday I slept or worked on a puzzle, and things seemed to be quiet in the ostomy bag.

t wasn't until after 9pm when I checked my stoma I realized it was heavily bleeding. Fortunately we got the bleeding under control, so no ER trip. But it means I will need a few days of laying as still as possible to not agitate it. This afternoon (Thursday) I went downstairs, propped myself on the couch as to not disturb the site, and realized I was bleeding AGAIN. Just from walking down the stairs! This time it was just lightly, but it sent me into a tizzy of a bad mood. Why do I have to deal with this damn thing when I feel so good otherwise? It is really scary because 99% of the time I don't know it's bleeding. It doesn't hurt. I'm scared I will bleed out while sleeping. I am scared I will pass out during a baseball game. And the worst part, is doctors really are baffled by it, except to say "just take it as easy as possible -it only bleeds when irritated." So I have to spend 3-4 days on my back playing games on my phone until I am cross eyed? Because it is really hard to sit up to draw, eat, even type this right now, without pissing off Ornery Mona the Stoma.

Guess who is more irritated?

But let's end on some happy pictures, from TWO weeks ago, when spring was just started to drift in. You can see by our hats it was still chilly:

I hope all is better with you!!

One more thing: Next month I am renting a place on the beach. Ocean front. I don't care the weather, people who know me know I love a rainy day as much as a sunny one. Brycen will be with us for at least half the trip, if not all (except I don't want him to miss T-ball). A friend from NYC might be here, she might not. All I know is, this damn stoma will NOT ruin this trip. Will. NOT.

More Hiking

I rated my top 10 favorite hikes, but I left a few out that could have been in there too, and I thought would mention them, mostly through pictures. 

The Appalachian trail at Roan Mountain is one of my favorite spots, especially since I don't have to hike very far to get the complete experience. Of course, the trail being the AT, I could hike as long as I want. Parking at Carver Gap is very difficult though, especially on weekends. June is a popular month there because the rhododendron are in full bloom. 

Roan Mountain in the Fall

The early autumn view from Roan Mountain

After a summer thunderstorm

 

Crossing the road very early in the morning.

Roan Mountain in the summertime.

I left my home in Charlotte at 5am to try to be there for the sunrise, but I was too late. 

Early Morning.

Reflections.

How many times have I been to Crowders Mountain? How many times did I compare trails to it? And yet, it did not make my top 10. 

On top of Crowders Mt. in the summer.

Crowders Mountain is a rock climber's favorite. 

In addition to many trails, there is a truck route to the top, where a cell tower resides. 

These stairs. I think there are 133 of them. Every time I went hiking there, someone was repeatedly going up and down the stairs. OR - they were going all the way down the mountain to the parking lot, and going back up the whole thing. 

Crowders in the wintertime is less crowded, but still popular. 

I also spent a day in Joshua Tree National Park once. It was only April, but it was already so damn hot. The wildflowers were pretty though:

And last, but certainly not least, the few hikes I got in with this little dude were awesome:

Brycen, at age 2. 

Another failed forecast

Growing up in upstate NY (Near Binghamton, but a little out in the sticks) makes me yearn for snow in Charlotte every year. Living in Charlotte however, has taught me most forecasts for snow will be incorrect. One time last February I went to bed with a 100% guarantee to wake up to at least 10 inches. When daylight came though, Mother Nature had only given us a dusting. 

This year the forecast seemed to be 1-3 inches of snow, a huge ice storm that would bring state wide power outages and then on Saturday another 2-4 inches. 

We did get that first 3 inches. We did get a little bit of ice on top. And that was all. But that was enough to make roads a glazy mess, shutting down Charlotte on Friday and part of Saturday morning - until the sun came out. 

For me, Thursday was spent being detached from the chemo pump, coming out of the complete fog that is chemotherapy, receiving amazing deliveries of flowers, fruit, biscuits and jam, etc, and sleeping. I was even serenaded by Bonnie's lovely triplets!

The snow and sleet had not started Thursday evening, and my family and Brycen's father's family went to dinner for my birthday. We should have brought Brycen home that night, but I was exhausted from chemotherapy. We kept our fingers crossed there would be a window of safeness Friday morning for Brycen's dad to bring Brycen over. 

Early Friday morning. Doesn't look like much but it was mostly all ice. 

No such luck. We know a layer of snowy ice is way worse than 5 inches of trackable snow. So here is how I spent Friday and early Saturday:

Yes, 2 puzzles. To be fair, I think I started the smaller 500 piece jigsaw on Thursday. 

Finally, after his nap, Brycen made it over to my house Saturday. The first thing we did was head outside:

We did not ask Brycen to do this. He insisted. 

Then we went inside, where Brycen insisted on helping Granny with "dinter."

Brycen was allowed two times to push his stuffed animal population down the stairs. Then he used the sled to make a ramp for his hot wheels.  This also happened at some point:

Goggling best ways to fly a sled?

We had fun playing outdoors and I loved breathing some winter fresh air. I always feel like snow cleans the air and earth, the sky always seems so much more clean and blue after a storm. 

Brycen did get to make a snowman too. That picture is from his dad's house on Saturday.

On Saturday night and Sunday morning we did two more recipes with Brycen to add to his cookbook. More about that later. The main roads were dry and it was nearly 50 degrees out, so we drove to the other side of Charlotte to have dinner with my brother. On the way there we found out school was cancelled again for Monday (today). When we pulled into my brother's neighborhood we knew why. Side roads were not plowed (they never are), and shady spots were a slushy mess. Slushy mess plus re-freezing at night equals slippery roads. 

I feel like I have babbled on and on about snow and ice in this post. Enough!

Back at home I did not watch the Panthers win the NFC conference game. I did not watch Downton Abbey or the return of The X-Files. I tried to read or write . . . and next thing I knew it was after midnight. And now I am up at 4am writing blog posts.

How was your weekend? Were you effected by Winter Storm Jonas?