Yee haw..another week!!

Erygium!

Despite yesterday’s yucky weather, Rob and I managed to get outside and get some things done! At first, we were sitting around grumbling that there was nothing we could do outside because it was still nasty and gray and cold but I decided that it was the perfect time to get out there and start pulling weeds.  The compost we get comes from the landfill and has all kinds of weed seeds in it and the recent moisture had made everything sprout. What better time to weed the flower garden than right after the rain/snow?  So, for hours, I was out there, lost in thought, pulling tiny weeds and really having quite a good time. 

Around late afternoon, the sun finally decided to come out and so did Rob.  We got all of our dahlias re-planted as well as our eryngium and a few other bulbs.  Last year, the darn dahlias put out so many babies, we still have a few bulbs left over, despite putting them everywhere we can possibly think of!  I even put them in pots as one of my girlfriends raises all of her dahlias that way.  These dinnerplate dahlias we have get 3-4 feet tall so you can’t just plop them anywhere.  It’s going to look fabulous when they all bloom, though!  The flower garden is sure looking awesome.  My euphorbia, which is usually a dinky little plant, although beautiful, is just massive this year with the mild winter!

I know, I’m such a plant geek, but both Rob and I just love flowers so much.  There’s nothing better than walking up and seeing all those pretty smiling flowers to put you in a great mood, no matter where you’ve spent your day! I like my front yard to look really inviting and full of color.  I’m also one of those people who pinch dead flowerheads off plants when I walk by, even if they aren’t mine.  I’ve been known to spend quite a bit of time downtown, going up to storekeepers flowerpots on the sidewalk and deadheading their arrangements. It’s a compulsion I don’t have a lot of control over.

Euphorbia!

I have no idea what I’m going to do today and I’m really liking that! I was so productive over the weekend, I have all my chores done pretty much.  I do have a few phone calls to make but that won’t take me too long.  Thistle and I really need to get out for a nice long walk and I think I’ll make that a priority today.  I do have to get the oil changed in the Freestyle at some point this week, I guess I could also take Thistle along and we could kill two birds with one stone, right?

This is medical procedure week, too.  Tomorrow is Rob’s knee surgery and I’m hoping he flies through his as well as I did mine.  On Friday, I’m scheduled for a biopsy myself.  I had a bad smear at my last “well woman” visit and I’ll be getting that taken care of then.  I’m trying not to get too nervous about it as I’ve had cancer there before.  The nurse I spoke with said that the smear showed “diffuse abnormal cells” so we’ll see.

Unlike other people, cancer just doesn’t scare me much these days.  After my last big scare with the retroperitoneal liposarcoma, it takes a lot to make me nervous.  Those were huge 6 centimeter tumors and I managed to get them under control without chemotherapy, just by modifying my diet and exercise and a lot of positive thinking.  Just so you don't think I'm crazy, this was all under the supervision of a oncologist, though. After all, cancer cells are nothing but fast growing cells, there’s nothing inherently evil about the little buggers.  They just cause trouble when they start crowding out healthy stuff.  I have managed my health for so many years by having a positive outlook that I have really come to believe that’s 99% of the battle.  The other 1% is actually following orders when someone tells you to do something.  So many of us think of the minor inconvenience the doctors place on us to get better and blow it so out of proportion! My job these days has been to stay alive and I think if everyone looked at life that way, we’d all be a lot healthier.  A cheeseburger just isn’t worth my health, ya know?  After living with all this stuff for so long, and doing so much research, I know that sugar and animal fat seem to feed cancer cells so I don’t eat them anymore, simple as that! I have several friends who have pretty major problems, healthwise, but they refuse to do anything about them, continuing to “party”, whether it be with booze or food, and then they can’t figure out why they never get better.  To me, it just seems so simple.  Especially the alcohol part!  Alcohol changes your absorption of food and nutrients, don’t you think it changes other things in your body?  Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s good for you.  That’s why I only drink once a week and I’m really adamant about it, no matter how much my friends try to get me to imbibe more frequently.

Oops, I got on my soapbox, didn’t I?  Anyway, so this week is a bunch of medical crap and we will do just fine. As soon as this stuff is over, I have to call my family doc again, too, as I’ve been having a bunch of stomach problems, too.  I guess it’s time for a bunch of testing again.  Such a bummer to be a sicko all the time but it sure keeps me busy!

Well, folks, get out there and make this one heck of a week!  Show the world how great you are and if you get a chance, make someone smile today!

sloppy Sunday....

South rim of Grand Canyon

A lovely Sunday morning hello to all of you!  Hope everyone has been having a wonderful, fun-filled weekend!  Rob and I had a really nice time in Thermopolis.  This year’s conference was well attended and as I told you, I had fun because Breean was along!

We stopped at Rob’s favorite restaurant on our way over there on Thursday for lunch so he could load up on all the things I refuse to fix him at home.  By that I mean, he had a bacon cheeseburger, fries AND onion rings!  I stuck with a simple turkey Sammie and some split pea soup, myself.  Regardless of what’s going on in my life, I no longer “reward” myself with bad food like Rob does.  I’ve finally come to learn that eating healthy is now a way of life for me, I don’t even like that greasy stuff anymore.  Poor Rob has not gotten there yet.

We got to Thermopolis before we could actually check in so we headed over to the Buffalo park.  It was hilarious watching Thistle “meet” her first live Buffalo through the car window.  There was a great big bull grazing right beside the car and she gave him a piece of her mind.  He didn’t think anything of it, of course, and continued his grazing.  We got some lovely photos that day, of the big guy, as well as two new calves that were having loads of fun running around, kicking up their heels and running back and forth to their huge mothers, just appearing to have a blast.

The big bull Buffalo Thistle met!

Once we got checked in we headed straight for the mineral pool at the hotel.  Boy, that’s some wonderful, healing water!  The pool was already filled with several other planners so we had a nice conversation for quite some time.  Rob doesn’t usually like to stay in the water very long because it’s very hot but thanks to the other planners, I was able to get in a nice long soak.  They are all a great bunch of people, from all over the state.  Since Wyoming is so big, some of them have to travel as long as 8 hours to get to the conference.  This spring conference is always held here while the fall conference moves around to various cities around the state. It was really nice seeing everyone again.

We had a nice cocktail hour with everyone, too, at which time Jim and Breean finally got there.  They had to drop their kids off with Grandma in Worland on their way so they were a little behind schedule…we all know what it’s like to have little kids, right?  Anyway, after a couple of cocktails, the four of us took off for dinner at the Stone’s Throw Restaurant.  It’s up at the airport/golf course and has a great view from up there.  It has changed hands in the last few years and the food isn’t near as good as it used to be but it was okay.  The company made up for it, though and the four of us has a great time.  I felt sorry for the restaurant staff as I don’t think they’d been informed there was a conference in town and just about the whole conference of planners was also there eating and they were slammed!

We awoke Friday morning to much cooler weather so Bree and I decided to just shop in town instead of spend anymore time in the water.  There’s a little natural food store in town that she and I both adore so we spent a lot of time in there replenishing our essential oil larders and I picked up a few groceries that I can’t find elsewhere.  We had a nice lunch at Pumpernick’s and by the time we were done, it was time to rejoin the boys.

It started snowing as we were coming back over the mountain.  As usual, I was totally unprepared as we’ve had such nice weather all week and I was in shorts.  It wasn’t any big deal but as we got up high on the mountain, it was about 30 degrees and I was surely cold in my flip flops and shorts!  It wasn’t much better when we hit Buffalo, either but since it was right at happy hour when we hit town, we went straight there.  Thistle got to come into the Moose and visit with everyone for a little bit.  She was actually quite well behaved!  Our table was full, as usual and we had a great time.  That’s the first happy hour we’ve hit since returning from vacation, so there was lots to talk about. 

Saturday, we woke up to big fat flakes of snow falling and it was about 31 degrees.  Luckily, Rob had covered the few flowers we’ve already planted the night before.  We were really hoping to get some more planting done yesterday but the snow decided to stick around and spit all day.  It was cold enough that we actually lit the wood stove.  This morning, it appears to have all melted away and I think our high is supposed to get back up into the 60’s.  We really needed the moisture but I’d have preferred if it were rain as opposed to snow this time of year!

So, we’re hoping to get a few dahlias planted today.  We had dug up all the bulbs last fall and boy, do they multiply!  They are my favorite flowers in the garden, the flowers themselves get as big as dinner plates.  If we don’t get them into the ground today, I’ll have to do it all myself as Rob has his knee surgery on Tuesday and won’t be kneeling again any time too soon. We had hoped to get the garden tilled up one last time to get the manure worked in but I think it’s too messy out there today and that’s just going to have to wait.  At least I was able to get the lawn mowed before we left for the conference or we’d be walking in a jungle!

Anyway, things are back to normal for a little bit.  We don’t have anymore traveling until May 23^rd when we go to Alabama to visit my relatives for my birthday and a small memorial for my Aunt Becky.  That’s going to be so awesome as I haven’t seen some of my cousins and my uncle Kip in probably 30 years.  It looks like my two cousins whose mother is it that died, however, are mad at my aunt and my mother and may not be joining us.  I think that’s just such a shame.  I don’t think Aunt Becky would be very happy that there are people fighting, I think she’d want us all to get together and be happy.  She was such a loving, kind nurse.  Families are so funny and not always in a ha-ha way. Anyway, I can’t wait to see all the folks I haven’t seen in years.  But I’m also glad I have a few weeks to stay home and be normal for a bit!

Well, I’m off to wake up Rob and see if I can talk him into taking me out to breakfast!  Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend!  Hold everyone you love tightly and let them know how much you care!

Thermopolis bound, baby!

Thermopolis Springs "source", water is boiling coming out of ground

Morning, all!  Hope everyone is ready to have a fantastic Thursday!  I know I sure am. Anytime I get to go to Thermopolis is a good day in my book!  Yesterday was just a whirlwind of activity and I felt like I was passing myself several times as I went about trying to clean up from vacation and prepare for this morning’s trip.  There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in a day, I swear.

We managed to get everything done in Sheridan in record time yesterday.  Our first stop was Sheridan Seed to pick up all our veggie seeds so we can plant the garden the second week in May.  Then, we had to stop by the Verizon store because Rob’s cell battery was on its last legs. I think the drain it got from constantly searching for signals on vacation just finally overwhelmed the poor bugger.

That got us right up to the time to go for Rob’s pre-op appointment at the hospital.  It was all going smoothly until the phlebotomist showed up.  After exclaiming what nice veins Rob had, she proceeded to dig and root around, unable to get enough blood.  Rob is used to the great gals at the VA, who are real pros, and started getting mouthy with this girl.  Finally, she gave up and got it from another vein.  I always feel guilty when I see a bad stick, must be a nurse thing.  Rob grumbled for at least half an hour after we left the hospital!

We then had to stop at Shipton’s and pick up our onion sets.  Don’t ask me why Sheridan Seed doesn’t carry those, weird eh?  Anyway, the rest of the morning was just Walmart and lunch.  We screeched back into Buffalo by 12:15, which was a record, I think.

Rob and I traded vehicles for the afternoon so I could go take his truck to the car wash and get all the red dust off it from Moab.  It was everywhere!  It took me forever to do the inside, it was a red dusty mess!  I took Thistle along and you should have seen her inside the automatic carwash!! She was a hoot, chasing the water sprayer back and forth from inside! The funniest part was when the purple soap splatted all over, though, she was actually trying to bite it off the windshield.  Ah, never a dull moment in the life of a dog!

One of the Mineral Springs, in winter, frozen water showing

So, we’re headed off to Thermopolis in about an hour.  I’m almost packed back up and ready.  Thistle will really enjoy this trip.  I just found out that Jim and Breean are dropping their kids off in Worland to spend the night with their grandmother.  That means Breean and I will be able to have a peaceful time soaking!  We’ll be back to Buffalo just in time for Happy hour on Friday.

Hope you all have a fantabulous day. Count your blessings, one by one, see all the beauty around you!

whirlwind Wednesday!

Arches National Park in the morning

Howwdy! (Did that sound like Minnie Pearl in your head?)  Hope you are ready for a wonderful Wednesday, folks!  I’m trying like heck to get back into the habit of writing but I’m still in the middle of these darn trips and as usual, things are a little rough when you return from vacation. I think I did more laundry than my girlfriend up the street with her four kids in the last day, I swear. 

We discovered Monday evening that we forget to turn off and remove the outside faucet on one side of the house last fall and much to our dismay that water pipe evidently froze and burst over the winter! Somehow, it really didn’t lose much water out of there, thank goodness and it is over the dirt part of our basement (parts of our house are 100 yrs old).  The plumber yesterday said it was thanks to the fact that there’s a good slope going to the outside.  Anyway, any thought I had about having extra money left over from vacation probably went flying out the window when I called the plumber yesterday!  Rob is walking around with his head down, it’s his job to make sure the water is taken care of in the fall.  So, I am behind today, even more, as I had to wait around for the plumber all day yesterday.

Today, I’m taking him for his pre-op in Sheridan for his knee surgery.  I think it’s just hilarious that he has to have the same exact surgery I just did.  His knee doesn’t seem to be giving him near as much trouble as mine did before surgery, so I’m hoping he bounces back even better than I did.  He never complained while we were on vacation and I didn’t notice him limping at all. Of course, when he has his camera in his hand, the world could be on fire, and he wouldn’t notice.  Anyway, his surgery is Monday and we’ll see how that goes!  He doesn’t have any arthritis in his knee, which is good, so I really do think he’ll recover very quickly.

Of course, while we’re in Sheridan, we’ll have to get groceries, the house cupboards are bare after vacation.  I made the mistake yesterday of thinking the milk might have survived…..not!

Tomorrow, we have to go to Thermopolis for Rob’s yearly spring conference with the WY Plannners Association.  I just love this conference because it’s in Thermop!  If you are ever out this way, it’s one of the stops you really need to make.  They have the world’s largest mineral hot springs.  There are several private places you can go to that have 5 or 6 pools each with slides and vapor caves and then there’s the free pools at the park.  The Days Inn, where we stay and the conference is held, has its own hot mineral pools, too.  You get used to the sulphur smell real fast because the water is just so wonderful.  The Native American tribe that runs the pools, the Arapahoe, have lots of stories of their healing powers.  Many a time, I’ve gone there with skin problems, only to have them disappear almost immediately in the water.  Just be sure to remove any silver jewelry as it will turn black as night in the water from all the minerals.  It cleans back up but boy can it scare you when you see a favorite piece of jewelry turn all those funky colors!

This time will be even more fun because Jim and Breean will be joining us.  Remember, Jim is Rob’s new co-planner at work and Bree’s his wife.  She and her two kids are coming along so I’ll have some people to pal around with while Rob’s in his meetings.  Of course, I also get to bring Thistle because the Days Inn allows pets. I can’t wait to see what she thinks of the sulphur smells, too. 

Speaking of Miss Thistle, we’ve been working on her manners since getting her back from Barb. Yesterday, I had the plumber and another friend come over and we worked on Thistle not jumping on people when they first get into the house.  She is just so excited when she sees new people, she just wants to love all over them!  Well, now that’s she’s 60 pounds, she can knock people over easily.  So, yesterday, we practiced what Barb taught us and she did really well!  It only took her a minute or two to calm down for both of them and I was really proud of her.  I’ve been calling all my friends and telling them that we’re training now and that things will be a little different until she learns her manners.  I’ll be calling Barb today to set up lessons so we can meet twice a week to get her nice and mannered before we go to Alabama at the end of the month. Thistle doesn’t mind her training, of course, because she gets treats! 

Thistle is back to her "spot" with Rob in the mornings

My friend that came over was here because I’m going to be performing her wedding!  Yes, you heard me right!  Some time ago, I got ordained as a minister and my friend Beckie and her fiance will be my first wedding!  I’m really excited and so is Beckie.  I think it’s very appropriate that the first ceremony I do is for one of the people in Buffalo I’ve known almost since I moved here.  Yesterday, I gave her several samples of wedding vows and now I’m just waiting to see which she chose.  The wedding will be in a couple of weeks.

Well, I’ve rambled on enough today.  Just to let you know, I seemed to have finally kicked my 4 a.m. waking problem with the help of vacation, so my writings may not all come in the early morning anymore but I will still be writing as regularly as I can.  I hope you all have a fantastic day and find something wonderful to sustain you!!

The Yingling circus returns...

Jeeps outside Moab, Utah

Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve written, hasn’t it?  We had an absolute blast on our vacation to the Southwest, let me tell you!  I hope I can remember enough to tell you a few things here but if I can’t remember it all, I’ll throw stuff out again later in other posts, okay?

We left on Thursday, the 12^th, and stopped first for a delicious breakfast at our favorite restaurant in Kaycee, the Invasion.  No matter what we are doing, if we pass Kaycee, we must stop there, according to Rob.  They have the best burgers in the state and their breakfast is pretty darn good, too.  I like it because it’s one of the few places you can get Basque lukanka sausage.  If you are ever over this way, I highly recommend this garlicky treat!

We had a pretty easy drive the first day, for us.  We arrived in Moab by 3 in the afternoon and were able to go get a nice peek at Arches National Park after we checked into our hotel.  We spent three days in Moab, it’s such an awesome town.  There had just been a huge Jeep conflagration there and the streets were still teeming with red dusted jeeps of every size and year, clear back to the Willy’s! Canyonlands Park is also nearby and we got to see both Upper and lower Canyonlands and Dead Horse Cliff State Park.  Rob got some absolutely stunning pictures that I’ll try to share once he gets them down to a manageable size.  Did you know the photos come out of his camera 6 ft by 4 ft?

We left Moab on Saturday and stopped next at Monument Valley.  I had gotten us reservations at Gouldings Resort, which sits right on the edge of the mittens.  Way back in the 30’s a guy moved there (Goulding) and wanted to make the area into something, so he went to Hollywood and started trying to convince John Ford to do western films on his property.  Well, John Wayne heard about it and the two of them followed Goulding back to the Valley and fell in love. Goulding built the Resort especially for John Wayne and John Ford and their cast so they’d have a comfortable place to stay.  Most of the westerns with John Wayne were filmed right where we stayed!!  It is just magical, let me tell you!  I had reserved us a suite that had a wide balcony that looked out over the valley.  We got to watch the sunrise coming up over the formations while lying in bed!  Rob took lots of photos out at the reservation of all the gorgeous monoliths that grace the landscape.  The next morning, we had breakfast at a cute little spot on an Indian reservation and stopped in to take in the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was really gorgeous but as usual, teeming with people.  One of the things we do on vacation is try to avoid crowds, so we didn’t stay there long.  Both Rob and I feel…you see one canyon, you’ve seen them all, anyway. We have some pretty spectacular ones right here in WY so we weren’t missing much.

Our next big stop was Sedona, AZ.  Wow, what a beautiful place and what fabulous rock formations!  Again, it was a little more crowded than we like but the place where we stayed was just beautiful.  We had a private patio that looked out on the rock formations.  We got to visit with my friends, Wing and Laurie while we were there, too.  Wing’s band was there practicing at the house so we even got serenaded while we were visiting!  The next morning, Wing, Laurie, Rob and I went to breakfast at a really cool place that served 101 omelets.  I wish we’d had more time to spend with them, they are such nice people!  Maybe next time, eh?

Not far from Sedona is Jerome, AZ, a really funky little town that is perched precariously on a cliff.  We stopped and looked around there and then headed to Wickenburg, where our friends Don and Judy live.  Don used to live here in Buffalo and it was so good to see the old fart again.  His wife, Odie, who died, used to be my best friend. I like Judy, though.  Don did himself well, picking someone with very similar traits! We had a blast visiting with them and then headed off to Tucson.

Ocotillo at sunset

The Saguaro National Park was more than I think I ever could have imagined! Everything was blooming when we were there, it was just amazing.  I hadn’t seen an ocotillio cactus blooming since I went to school at Radford and it was just as breathtaking as I remember! Rob got some awesome photos, both during the day and at sunset.

On Thursday, the 19^th, though….Rob starting getting sick. At the same time, we are heading back to the hotel and the steering is making a racket!  Turns out, we got a hole in our power steering hose, probably in the desert.  Ford told us they would need 5 days to get a new one.  Thankfully, the mechanic we had it towed to was able to make us a new one from scratch and get us outta there in less than 5 hours.  In the meantime, Rob was so sick, I had to go pick up the truck alone.  We ended up having to stay at that particular hotel for an extra day because Rob had things too fierce to mention shooting out both ends, poor baby.  People at the hotel were telling me that there was a stomach bug going around Tucson and not to worry, it was only a 24 hour bug.

Not for my husband, it wasn’t! So, I had to high tail it back to Moab with a still sick hubby where we got another two nights so Rob could continue to rest.  It was a difficult 12 hour drive for both of us. The folks at the hotel in Moab must have “felt” me coming because when I asked for a room for two nights they told me they only had a king suite but would be willing to discount it.  We got a really nice place with our own patio and a kitchen. He started feeling better, finally, while we were there. Poor baby, his tummy was still pretty rocky but he managed to enjoy a little more of the street life of Moab once last time. 

We made the final leg home on Sunday from Moab to Buffalo, arriving home around 4 pm, not too shabby!

Of course, picking up Miss Thistle from the boarding kennel was a lot of fun!  Barb did the first of her training for us while we were gone and showed us all the new manners she’d been learning. We still have a long way to go and will be seeing Barb twice a week for a bit as I pretty much need as much training as Thistle does! It’s been way too long since I had a puppy, me thinks!

Well, I’m sure I’ve forgotten things but they’ll hold for another day.  I hope you are all doing well and happy!  There’s no place like home!!

And....away we go!

Monument Valley!

We made it to the day before vacation! Whoo hoo!  I swear, yesterday I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, trying to make sure I had everything ready to go.  I think I may have actually done it, though.  I’ve been to the bank, the post office is stopping our mail as of tomorrow, the neighbors are watching our property and watering the plants. I even stopped at Wahoo Toppings and got a bunch of stuff for gifts for people we’ll be staying with on the trip.

I just have some last minute vacuuming of dog hair to do today, that’s a never ending chore, anyway.  We have a Chamber luncheon today at the Occidental so I don’t even have to make lunch! Rob has already asked for spaghetti for dinner tonight so that’s even already decided. We’ll be taking off at 5 am tomorrow with our first stop at the Invasion for breakfast in Kaycee.

Rob has a really nice itinerary planned for us so we don’t hit any major cities in Colorado, thank goodness. We’re staying completely away from Denver. I always thought the Baltimore area was ridiculous with its drivers, but Denver really takes the cake. For those of you back east, think of the traffic jams on the Baltimore beltway with everyone bumper to bumper, only they are going 75-85 mph.  It’s no picnic.  We are going a back way that will have us spending our first night in Grand Junction, instead.  That should be fun, as I’ve never been there before.

Our second and third nights we should be in Moab, Utah for lots of great scenery and photographing of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.   Sunday, we’ll leave Moab and travel on to Monument Valley, Utah, where we have reservations at Gouldings Lodge. It’s one of those resorts where your room actually faces right at the wall of the valley. It was pretty darn expensive but we decided this was a once in a lifetime trip and we may as well do it up right.

On Monday, we’ll leave Monument Valley and arrive at the Grand Canyon around noon.  I’ve only been there once and it was dark and it was many years ago when my mom and I were moving from California to Maryland.  So, we’re going to spend all Monday afternoon photographing that, staying long enough to get some nice sunset photos, hopefully.  Then, we’ll overnight in Williams, Arizona.  Tuesday, we’ll head into Sedona, AZ and stay with my friends, Wing and Laurie.  I just can’t wait to finally meet them.  We’ve been emailing back and forth for about a year on facebook, I can’t even remember how we first got introduced.  They own a health spa in Sedona called The Eye of the Vortex and Wing is the drummer in a spiritual band called Amitabha.  I know we are going to have a blast with them showing us around that magical place.  Rob has already decided, without even having stepped foot in Sedona, that he wants a retirement place there.  The pictures we’ve seen of the area are amazing! Wish we had a big pile of money right now because the properties are going for a song there right now!

After we leave Sedona on April 18^th, we’ll hit Wickenburg, AZ to visit our friends Don and Judy.  I’ve mentioned Don before, he used to run his brother’s motel here in Buffalo and his wife was my best friend before she died in 2006.  We’ll spend the night there and have dinner and cocktails with them. 

Saguaro National Park at Sunset!

On the 19^th, we hit the grand part of the trip, Cortaro, AZ, which is on the western side of the Saguaro National Park.  We’ll be staying in and around the national park for the next several days as it’s a huge park and probably switching hotels depending upon which area of the park we want to photograph.  We shouldn’t have any trouble finding places to stay as this is all around the Tucson area.  I haven’t been to Tucson since I was a little kid, I bet it’s a lot bigger now!

On the 22^nd, we’ll be back in Sedona for another overnight there.  We decided to just retrace our steps on the way back instead of taking another route.  You just never know what the weather is going to do, so this way, if we hit any rain, we have a second chance at pictures on the way back.

Whew, and we’ll be back home on the 24^th!  Sounds like a great trip, doesn’t it?  As soon as we get back, we only have two days before we have to leave again to go to Thermopolis for a WYOPASS conference.  That’s always a great time.  Every spring Rob’s planning group has their spring conference there. Thermopolis is the world’s largest mineral hot springs and it’s only about 2 ½ hours from Buffalo.  I like it because while Rob’s in conferences for the two days, I’ll be soaking in the hot springs.  The hotel where they have the conference is right on the river and it’s just beautiful this time of year.

Anyway, I’ll try to write here on my blog while we’re on vacation but I can’t make any promises.  Rob gets pretty antsy when we’re traveling and likes to get moving early and I’m not sure what kind of internet connection we’ll have at the various hotels.  I’ll have my laptop, of course, so hopefully, I’ll at least get to write something in the evenings when we’re laying around, exhausted. 

Well, have a great next two weeks, my friends!  Keep up those smiles and remember that life is nothing but a series of magnificent adventures, if you let it be!

keep me away from knives!

Outside Sedona, AZ

Another whirlwind day in the tiny metropolis of Buffalo! Gosh, it’s only Tuesday and already the days are starting to meld together. I just had to stop and think what day it was!  I really do need a vacation, I think.

We managed to get everything done in Sheridan yesterday morning and get back in plenty of time to also get things done here.  On the way over there yesterday, the mountains were just so gorgeous with that new little blanket of snow we got Friday.  The sun was hitting them and really making it reflect nicely on the ragged peaks.  Of course, all the snow is long gone from our elevation down here.  After Rob’s VA appointment, we stopped and had a nice breakfast over in Sheridan at the Country Kitchen before wading through the throngs at Walmart for the last of our necessities for the trip. We also had to stop at Shipton’s Big R and pick up a bag of dog food to take over to the kennel for Miss Thistle.  While we were there, we got her a big ole kong football looking thing to play with. It’s got a really loud squeaker that I can tell is really going to drive me crazy.  She’s being super hard on her toys right now so we’ve had to forgo the cute fuzzy toys for awhile as she’s gutting out all the stuffing and leaving then all over the house.  So, it’s hard toys for the little lady for the moment until she calms down a bit.

I also had to pick up some more vet tape while we were there.  That stuff is great. I am allergic to adhesive tape and can’t wear bandaids so I use vet tape when I cut myself, instead.  It just sticks to itself. I had cut a really nasty spot on my thumb last week, right into my thumb nail and will have to keep it covered for quite some time. Unfortunately, they were out of the smaller tape and I had to get the size that’s designed for horses.  I love that stuff, did I say that? It comes in all kinds of cool colors. I got lavender this time.  When we got home, I took out one of my sharp kitchen knives to cut the tape into four pieces of more manageable proportions and guess what I did?  I sliced right through my index finger!  So, now I look like a total dummy!  I have both my finger and thumb wrapped in purple tape on the same hand!  Rob got home and saw what I did and was just shaking his head and laughing.  He knows what a darn walking accident I am. At least it’s my left hand and won’t get in the way of me taking photos later in the week. Geez, what a dork!

Man, this allergy season is really turning into something else.  I’m sitting here right now just sneezing and blowing my nose like crazy.  This seems to be turning into a regular morning ritual lately.  They aren’t kidding when they say allergy meds lasts 24 hours, I guess. I think it’s more like 22 hours.  I’m pretty much fine all day except my eyes are itchy most of the day but in the morning, it’s an all out assault on my nasal passages until that next pill starts working. I was watching the news last night and they were once again saying that this has been the warmest March in the country since they’ve been keeping records.  The powers that be are very concerned about what’s in store for us weather wise for the summer.  I sure hope we get some more moisture here in the Bighorns.  Otherwise, our fire season is going to be really scary.  We have already had a few days where there were several fires out on the prairie.  If the forest service has any brains, they won’t be doing any more controlled burns this year.  That huge fire that got out of control outside Denver a few weeks ago was a controlled burn that got out of hand.  I have a funny feeling they are going to have campfire restrictions this summer.  That would be a bummer because who wants to go camping without a fire? I know I don’t. Of course, I’m not much of a camper these days, anyway.  I used to love it but I’m getting too used to my creature comforts now. We have a pop-up tent camper but for the last few years, we’ve only managed to get out camping once or twice a year.  For one thing, there’s always too much gardening to be done around here.  Since Rob almost always goes on a pack trip with one of his outfitter clients, he gets his fill of camping that way, too.  He usually goes on a week long horseback pack trip at some point in the summer. I love it when he does that because I get a week to myself to entertain my girlfriends and watch chick flicks! Of course, this year, Bob Sundeen has told him to put in for his hunting area for elk over near Meeteetsee for the fall and that may be his only pack trip this year.  If he draws a tag for that, he’ll be gone for a week in October on horseback in the snow.

Well, I’ve rambled on long enough and I do have a lot of things yet to do this morning.  I have one last tan before vacation scheduled for today.  Hopefully, that will be the last box tan I have to do for the summer. I’m hoping by the time we get back from vacation, I’ll be able to sun myself on the deck instead or catch my required rays while walking Thistle.

The town of  Sedona!

Today, I’ll be calling and visiting all my girlfriends to say farewell before we leave as tomorrow I have to take Thistle to her “spa” over in Sheridan and get things downstairs in anticipation of our 5 am departure on Thursday!  Poor Rob has a mountain of Planning and Zoning Commission meetings all day today. I’ll take my day over his, thank you.

Have yourself a wonderful Tuesday, folks!

The countdown begins!

Cool wagon out by Banner, WY

It’s vacation week!!  I think I’m gonna bust open like a watermelon with excitement! We had a very busy weekend getting everything all packed up and ready. I think Rob has half the house going with us. No, I’m only kidding, but he really isn’t the most efficient traveler I know. He’s one of those that has stuff for absolutely every contingency, remember I told you he was a planner?  Every time we go on a trip, we have a little scuffle over what we’re taking because he wants to pretty much take the kitchen sink, just in case we need to do dishes, and I just want to take the clothes on my back and a vehicle.  He always wins the scuffle and we end up taking a lot of stuff we don’t use, but who knows, one of these days we just might, right? You’d think after all these years, I’d learn to keep my mouth shut and just go along with it.

Rob and I also got the rest of the yard duties done this weekend. We took a bunch of stuff out to the landfill and Rob actually mowed the lawn for the first time this year.  I can’t believe we needed to do that already! What a wonderfully bizarre spring we’re having around here. That snow dump we had a few days ago did not seem to damage any of the tender young plants that were coming up and for that I am so grateful!  Even the cherry blossoms on the bushes seems to fare okay and are still attached and flowering. The lilac hedge seems no worse for the snow, either. I was really worried that we wouldn’t be seeing any lilacs this year after that cold and snow. It got down to 26 that morning and I thought for sure it froze the little buds on the hedge.

I have done all the deep cleaning in the house and all the laundry’s done, as well.  Today, we have to make one more trip to Sheridan for Rob’s VA appointment and while we are there we’ll get the last of the stuff for the cooler.  Since we’ll be spending a lot of time in state and national parks,  I want to make sure I have lunch makings to take along as I can never find things to eat in those places.  It’s always just high priced junk food and my diet doesn’t allow me to eat that crap. 

I hope everyone had a nice Easter and beginning of Passover, whichever one you celebrate.  We called all of our relatives back east and had nice conversations.  One of Rob’s sisters, Debby, unfortunately, is battling a really bad case of shingles right now.  It is all over her neck and on her eyelid. Gosh, how awful that must be.  I used to get shingles on a regular basis starting back in 1998, right before we moved here. I got it on my hip that first year and ended up in the hospital as it turned into cellulitis that year.  That’s a staph infection in the dermal layer of your skin.  For 7 years after that, I got shingles every spring, it was just awful.  One year, I got it on my face, like Debby.  Of course, that was the year our daughter got married and I was in the wedding with my face covered in blisters. Luckily, that case wasn’t too bad.  The virus itself is bad enough but then, you have to deal with the residual nerve pain for anywhere from six months to a year afterward.  I now take medication every day for the rest of my life to try to keep from getting it back.  Poor Debby just sounded miserable.

Well, it’s an early morning today to get Rob to the VA. His appointment is at 8 am so we need to get moving already.  I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

surprise snowy Saturday...

Pretty sky!

Someone forgot and turned winter on last night here in Buffalo! I got up this morning and it’s 26 degrees outside! It was really weird yesterday, the sun kept trying real hard to come out and be nice but the clouds kept gathering over the mountain.  We had only been at Happy hour about 30 minutes when it started to lightly snow.  We had a really great table of folks last night and weren’t really paying attention to what was going on outside until it was time to leave and by the time we did, we had to actually scrape ice and snow off the truck to see out the windshield to get home.  I’m almost dreading going out to look at all my budding hedges and blossoms this morning, I hope they made it through this little storm okay!  The moon sure is pretty out there, though.  It’s a beautiful, clear morning now. The inch of fluffy snow lying on the green grass and lightly settled on the cherry blossoms really is quite pretty. I just hope nothing's damaged. Hopefully, the snow actually protected all the young plants from the cold last night!

I spent most of yesterday afternoon making goodies for the cocktail hour and jarring up my Red Wine Syrup that I want to take along as little gifts for the people we are going to be staying with on our vacation. Gosh, that stuff is awesome and so easy to make!  I used to make it the old fashioned way, which required a gallon of wine and hours and hours of stirring.  I now have a recipe that uses xantham gum as a thickener and requires only 3 cups of wine. It only takes about 45 minutes to make.  The house really smelled wonderful while I was making it yesterday! If you’ve never tried the syrup, you are really missing out.  It’s good on just about everything. I toasted and seasoned up some sourdough bread cubes as one of the things for dipping as well as a bunch of nice hard cheeses and some ham (because it’s Easter weekend).  The sauce is even good on ice cream and pound cake. It’s a great way to use up those half empty bottles of wine, if you have any leftovers.  My friends all joke that they never have any leftovers, though.

We had a great time at the Moose last night. Our friends, Beth and Bobby, have finally returned from their snowbirding trip down south and it was so great to see them!  They left back before Christmas and have been hanging out down in Florida and Mississippi for the winter.  Beth and I used to work together years ago as bartenders and we always had so much fun together. Bobby helped Jason, our general contractor, build the addition on our house. Beth and Bobby also used to own the Cowboy Saloon here in town and I worked for them for a while there, too. It’s really great to have them back in town for the summer.

Today, we really have to buckle under and get everything ready to leave for vacation.  Rob has about 15 bags of yard waste we have to get out to the landfill this morning, from all the leaves and cutting we’ve raked up around the property.  I’ve got to get some serious packing done, as well. We aren’t going to have any time next week to get a whole lot done before we leave. All of Monday morning is going to be taken up because Rob has an appointment at the VA in Sheridan. That will be a good opportunity to get the rest of his traveling junk food.  I have to wait for mine until the day before we leave because it’s all fruits and veggies, unlike his. I’m getting so excited about the trip, I can hardly stand it! It’s been a long time since we had a real vacation. Usually, our vacation time is spent going back east to visit family.  We’ve taken a few small trips but not a nice long one like this one in ages and ages!

The turkeys are everywhere again!

Well, have a great Saturday and a wonderful Easter and Passover!  I hope that you get to spend it with the people you love most and that you are grateful to have them in your life! Remember, every day you are making memories, so make them good ones!

Easter, Passover and a full moon!

Cute deer from Red Grade Road a few summers ago

Yay!! It’s Friday! Not only that, it’s Good Friday and a full moon!  And for my Jewish friends, it’s the beginning of Passover at sundown tonight.  For me, it’s the last Friday happy hour we go to before we leave on vacation, too!  What an incredible day, eh?  Rob has half a day off today, as well, so that’s really great.  The only thing that could make this better is if it was a really warm, gorgeous day out to top it off!

Boy, yesterday, something lit a fire under my butt and I finally really started getting excited about vacation, in earnest.  Maybe it was going to the store to start stocking up on all of Rob’s junk food goodies for the trip that did it, I don’t know.   I also started all the deep cleaning I like to do before we go away on trips. I just hate coming home to a less than spotless house when we’ve been away for any length of time. Of course, it’s a losing battle with Thistle in the house with all her dog hair.  With this early spring, she’s shedding like no one’s business right now, despite me brushing her every day.

We also went for a nice walk at Mtn Plains Park yesterday morning, but that was a bit of a mistake.  You see, we live in town, and are protected by the prairie winds by all the buildings.  Well, yesterday, I was dressed in just shorts and a long sleeved shirt when I decided to take Thistle out for a walk. Like I said, it was really nice at the house.  Well, we got out to the park and there was a pretty chilly breeze where I parked the car at the lower end of the park. I figured it wasn’t too bad, though and off we went.  The first part wasn’t too bad because it was all uphill and I was working up a sweat to keep up with Thistle.  By the time we got to the top of the park, though, the wind felt like it had icicles in it! I ran into a couple of other ladies walking their dogs and they were astonished I was in shorts. I laughed and told them as long as I kept moving I was okay for the moment. One of them told me she was wearing long underwear and she couldn’t imagine being out dressed like me.  Well, the return trip to the car was awful!  The wind was blowing so hard in my face, I thought I was gonna get frostbite. I made Thistle run the entire way! Of course, since I was trying to get her to run, she decided she’d rather stop and smell every pile of interesting stuff she could. That was one long run down the hill, let me tell you. The good part was that I totally exhausted her and she slept most of the afternoon so I could get my housework and errands done.

I’m really missing not being back with all the family for Passover.  It’s my favorite holiday and my dad’s family really knows how to do it up right. My grandmother is an excellent cook or at least she was when we last celebrated 14 years ago back in Baltimore.  I keep forgetting people get older and she’s 84 now, so who knows if she’s even doing all the cooking any more.  My Aunt Desiree makes the best chopped liver in the world, in my opinion, and every year she puts it in flower pots and decorates the pots with a daffodil.  The last Passover we made it to, there were about 26 relatives in attendance and we had such fun hiding the matzoh and singing songs. Gosh, just writing about it, I can smell my grandmother’s brisket! I'll certainly be thinking about everyone back in Baltimore this evening. And for all my Jewish friends...I know One..one Light of the world! I'm also hoping that my Jewish cousins in Israel have a safe Passover this year.

Easter and Passover are always very confusing to me. I don’t understand why everyone doesn’t celebrate both, honestly. One is in the New Testament and one’s the Old.  Rob has never celebrated Easter, either, as his mother’s Christian church felt there was too much taken over by the pagans regarding bunnies and eggs and fertility.  So, his family also celebrated Passover, even though they are Christian. Personally, I just love our Creator and I don’t pay much attention to any holiday, as they are all made up by us, anyway.  I subscribe to the belief that you should live your life EVERY day as a holy day, not just certain days on a calendar.  Nothing irks me more than people who pretend to be pious once a week and wreak havoc on their fellow humans the other six days of the week.

Anyway, I have no idea what I’m going to be doing today as Rob has most of the day off, like I said.  If I plan anything on my own, he’s sure to come home and change it.  If the wind isn’t blowing too darn much this morning, I will take Thistle for another walk but I think I’ll stick to a town trail.  I haven’t been walking on the Clear Creek path part that winds through town in a while.  Did you know we have over 12 miles of trails here in town?  Pretty awesome for such a small place. You can actually walk on the trail system from I-90 all the way to the Bighorns, if you want.

Puffed up Sagegrouse - they should be out strutting about now!

Okay, time to get my butt in gear.  I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great celebration this weekend, whatever it is that you celebrate!  I’ll be celebrating being alive and happy!

New neighbors!

Albino Pronghorn Antelope 

Good morning all you wonderful people! Wow, can you believe it’s Thursday, already? Another week is flying by and I’m getting really excited because we’re leaving for vacation a week from today! If I’m not careful it’s going to creep up on me and I’m not going to be ready!

Yesterday, I had to get moving earlier than usual to take Rob to get his windshield fixed.  I dropped him off at the office after we delivered his truck to Ed’s Auto Body and stopped in to see my girlfriend, Gin.  I had told her the night before at the Moose that I would be dropping by and that I’d take her out to breakfast and we’d go for a walk. It was a beautiful day yesterday and we decided after a small breakfast to walk by Clear Creek.  It was really nice because that’s the first time I’ve walked anywhere without Ms Thistle. So, we were actually able to talk without a million interruptions of me reprimanding the puppy. 

It’s just amazing to me how much foliage and little flowers are already coming up along the trail out along the river.  So far, the water level in the river seems to be nice and high, as well.  It was so nice out there, we sat for quite some time on the benches and just talked. The birds were chirping and the wind was hardly blowing.  Gin has a real fear of snakes and is already worried that they are coming out so, of course, at some point on our walk, I had to tease her and pretend I saw a snake. When I had a little garter snake in my flower garden last summer, she went totally ballistic and would not go near my flowers for the rest of the summer.  I kept trying to tell her yesterday that there weren’t any snakes in town that were anything to worry about but she is convinced otherwise.

Glad she’s not going down to Arizona with us next week because my other friend, Sanna, who’s been down there all winter, has been posting photos on facebook of snake tracks she’s seeing on her hikes.  She just posted pictures the other day of Sidewinder tracks she came across on her horseback ride down there.  Having grown up with all kinds of snakes in Texas myself, I have a healthy respect for them, but they don’t scare me.  I’ve got a nice hiking stick I carry that has a pretty deadly point on the end of it, just for scaring off snakes. Sanna also recounted a story of getting off her horse to try to get a rattler off the trail down there last week, said rattler did not want to back down and was actually chasing her until she got back on her horse!

Tensleep Creek

Anyway,  Gin and I had a great time and my arm’s not too bruised from her punching me for scaring the bejesus out of her.  I had a nice lunch out with Rob and then I was feeling really bad about Thistle not getting to go on a walk so after lunch I took her for one, as well.  We had a nice walk around our neighborhood and visited once again with some of the retired folks that were out working in their flower beds.  We also visited with our new neighbors a couple of doors up who just moved in to the rental house on the block.  I had heard that the new tenants included Jesse B., a young woman I’ve known since she was a teenager.  Jesse had moved to Georgia with her husband about 5 years ago and they are now back in town.  She now has two beautiful little daughters and is expecting another in June.  It’s going to be awesome having her as a neighbor! I’ve known her since she was about 17 years old.

We also have new neighbors settling on the house next door today. Jesse was telling me all about them, as she’s friends with them.  They, too, have a little daughter, I think about a year old.  It’s going to be nice to have some little girls running around the neighborhood again. Jesse and I are already planning backyard bbq’s and playdates for the dogs.  She has two really adorable chocolate labs that Thistle was dying to meet.  It’s funny how the neighborhood dynamics change over the years.  When we first moved in, we were surrounded by neighbors with young teens and they’ve all grown and moved away and it’s been pretty quiet for about 8 years around here and now all of a sudden we’ve had about six families move in within the last two years with young children and the cycle is starting all over! I just love it, myself, as I adore children.  Jesse’s oldest daughter already wants to come help me in my garden this summer. I was telling her where all the little kids are in the neighborhood and promised to introduce her to all the parents so her girls will have playmates. 

Well, today is tanning day and I’ve got to get my butt in gear and start packing for the trip. Time to haul out all the suitcases and pull out Rob’s marvelous lists so I don’t miss anything.

Hope you have a wonderful day today, too!!

Needlestick anniversary...

The horses that live by the Moose lodge

Today is the 21^st anniversary of my needlestick. I’m always a little confused about whether I should mourn or celebrate this day. The reason I say that is that I’m pretty sure my life would be completely different if I hadn’t gotten stuck and I really like my life for the most part as it is now. Having a terminal illness has certainly changed me for the better in a lot of ways. I have a lot more compassion for people than I think I would have otherwise.  I laugh harder, I forgive quicker and I’m more open.  I was just thinking this morning before I got out of bed that if my virus was a real person, today it would be allowed to go into bars and drink! I know, nutty thinking, right?

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows.  My massage with Carmen was awesome.  She really worked on my legs and got my quads nice and stretched out.  I thought I was having problems with my knee and it turned out it was just that my quads and hamstrings were really tight.  I left her feeling fantastic. 

After lunch, I called the lady in charge of the clinical trial in Seattle and the first thing she asked me to do was to send my lab work containing my resistance panel, viral loads and a year’s worth of progress notes from my ID doctor in Billings.  So, off I went to the Office to fax everything to her. She called me back about an hour later and said she had looked over everything and that I don’t qualify for the trial.  She was real apologetic but said that it was because I went off meds almost a year ago. I explained to her that I did that because they were not working and I saw no reason to continue to take something that wasn’t working, causing bad side effects and that was costing my insurance over $5000 a month!  We had a long discussion about the whole thing but there’s nothing she can do as the trial must follow strict protocol.  Then, she told me the most bizarre thing.  She said that unfortunately, my best bet would be that I fall ill with some kind of major cancer. If that were to happen, she’d like to hear from me again and they would be more than happy to try the stem cell transplant on me. I was flabbergasted!  So, I guess I’m supposed to hope for more cancer? 

So, I’m back to square one on what to do next.  Rob and I had a long talk last night and we’re just not sure what the heck to do.  Well, really there’s not a whole lot I CAN do at this point. I’ll just have to keep doing what I’ve been doing for the past year, taking care of myself as best I can, eating a fresh diet and staying away from sick people.  I’m going to keep checking the clinical trial boards, of course, to see if they start any up I might qualify for.  I’m also thinking about writing some letters to a few of the more prominent AIDS docs to see if any will respond with some ideas.  There have got to be others out there like me, wouldn’t you think?

Yikes, it makes my head hurt thinking about this stuff.  I am so glad that I’m a nurse, because at least I do know how to take care of myself and I’ve kept up my license so that I can get on all the various internet sites that are only accessible by licensed professionals to get good information. I really am doing quite well right now, too.  To look at me, you’d never know what was wrong with me.

This morning, I have to take Rob to get his windshield fixed on his new truck. Because they use dirt here instead of salt for snow mitigation, everyone is always getting big cracks in their windshields around here.  I guess it’s better than the rusting you get with salt, but sometimes I wonder. Afterwards, I’m going to go pick up my girlfriend, Gin, and take her out to breakfast.  I think this will be a day of visiting with friends. I need to bounce all this information I just got off some people so I can get it all straight in my own head.  Now that I know I’m on my own with everything once again, I need to formulate some new plans on how to stay healthy and there’s nothing like friends to help you figure things out, right? As long as no one tries to talk me into any of those stupid vitamin drinks that are all the rage, we’ll be good.  My oncologist in Billings, who is also a naturopath says that all those things are just a rip off and the best way to get any nutrition is to eat things in their primary form.

Anyway, hope you have a spectacular day!  I’m planning on it, despite a little bad news. 

more surgery....

Sheep Mtn Lookout Fire Station in Bighorns

Wow, I actually slept until 5:45 this morning! I think the world may come to an end on that note! Holy mackerel, what happened? Sure felt good, I gotta tell you.  I did a few double takes when I woke up and saw the clock this morning. Especially since I have been waking up closer to 3:00  just about every morning for the past week, this was a really wonderful treat this morning!

Yesterday was a really busy day in Sheridan.  First thing was Rob’s appointment about his wonky knee.  It was fun having him go to Dr Quinn, medicine boy, for the first time as a patient.  I have been telling him for years that Quinn is really good but has no sense of humor or evidence of personality but I think, secretly, Rob thought he was the one who could change all that, if only given a chance.  So, he trots…okay, he limps in there, armed with his humor and the fact that they both play racquetball, thinking he’s going to get a conversation going with the doc while he gets examined.  He came back out with the same weird expression the rest of us do.  Rob said he mentioned how he injured his knee playing and Quinn just let it slide. Now, I know for a fact that Quinn plays racquetball three times a week with two other docs!  Anyway, Rob also came out with orders for an MRI and a very large bruise on his right thumb where he had a cortisone injection.  He’s had a problem with “trigger thumb” for some time now and remembered to mention that.  That’s where your tendon in your thumb gets wonky and starts slipping back and forth across the bone.  I sure hope that shot helps him because it looks like the shot was very painful! He has a big purple bruise surrounding his whole thumb from the shot! He said Quinn had to move the needle around a lot to get it where it was needed....yuck!  

So, we had an hour to kill before Rob got his MRI and we headed off to do a little shopping. We had to get a new camera bag for Rob as his old one is falling apart and he’s having trouble getting all his equipment in it since I got him his new camera and lenses for xmas.  Man, those things are not cheap, let me tell you!  I guess they charge you by the compartment.  I let Rob go in the camera store by himself while I took Thistle for a walk.  We brought her along on the trip because we weren’t sure how long we were going to be in Sheridan and it’s a good thing we did because we spent almost the entire day there. Thistle was being a wild woman in the field behind the camera store.  It was a pretty chilly day and the wind was whipping around pretty hard.  That girl just loves the wind!  The time flew by while Rob was in the store as I felt like I was herding ten dogs instead of just one. I usually bring her harness to walk her as it’s easier to control her but I just had her lead yesterday and she was pulling me just about everywhere!

At 11:30, we headed back to Quinn’s office for Rob’s MRI.  The results showed that Rob has a torn medial meniscus, just like mine was a month ago.  I swear, that boy is such a copycat!  Because we have three trips scheduled, there’s a small window that he can get it fixed and still be okay to travel so he’s getting it fixed on May 1^st.  We’ll be gone til April 24^th on our vacation and then we have a WYOPASS conference in Thermopolis on the 26-28.  We’re also planning to go see my family in Alabama  for my birthday in May and will be leaving for that on the 22^nd of May.  So, that gives him a good three weeks to recover.  I don’t think he’ll need that long, if my recovery is any indication.  His MRI was much better than mine, no evidence of arthritis in the knee, so I think he’ll recover quickly and be back to normal in no time.

By the time we got to lunch, we were famished as we are used to eating early and it was almost 1 p.m. by the time we hit the Dragon Wall.  Of course, any time we go to Sheridan, I have to stop and get whatever groceries we need at Albertson’s and Walmart, so we didn’t get back to Buffalo until almost 3:30.  I had forgotten it was the first of the month and that’s the worst time to hit Walmart because all of the geezers have just gotten their social security checks and they clog the aisles like snails on a rotten root. I usually try to avoid the stores until after the 5^th of the month, if I can. Walmart evidently never catches on to this first of the month phenomenon since they never have enough cashiers working, either.  The old folks are chatty, though, and make the time pass quickly in line by starting up conversations with me.

Pronghorns in spring flowers

Today is going to be a nice leisurely day for me in comparison.  I have my bi-weekly massage with Carmen this morning.  Thanks to Joey, my PT guy, my shoulders and neck are doing much better so I’m looking forward to a great massage.  This will be the last one before vacation, luckily, I’ll only miss one while we’re gone and get right back on schedule. 

This afternoon, I’ll be calling that clinical trial in Seattle to get things rolling.  I am dreading that phone call as I just know they are going to ask for all kinds of paperwork I’m going to have to track down.  I’ve been trying to think of all the stuff they need and have it up front, but I’m sure I’ve missed something. Maybe I’ll get lucky and all they’ll want is for me to sign some forms and they’ll be able to get most of the stuff themselves, but I doubt it.  Things are rarely that easy!

Hope you al have a fantastic day!  I know I am since I’ve actually had enough sleep for once! Amazing what a couple of extra hours can do for you!  I’m really hoping that I get out of that horrible sleep pattern while we’re on vacation.  I’m planning on hiking myself ragged so that I have no choice but to sleep later!

Now go out there and show the world who’s boss today!