reflection

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Have a nice trip

Today I get a call from hubby: “I’m at urgent care.” Apparently he tripped coming down off the Pilot Butte trail and tweaked a couple of his fingers. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to him—as we were hiking on some remote wilderness trail and he trips because he’s not watching where he’s going—“Hon, I can’t pack you out of here.”

At least a couple dozen times. Probably more.

It’s because he’s watching for wildlife and he’s not seeing the stump or the rock in the middle of the trail.

I’ve stepped over tree roots and have thought to myself, “I bet he trips on this.” Sure enough – a few seconds behind me, he trips.

But to date I’ve been lucky. No face plants (well, if you don’t count last weekend coming down off the Multnomah Falls trail, for which he still has scabs).

So today’s trip: Turns out he broke two fingers and chipped a knuckle bone in another finger. (Not sure knuckle bone is the correct terminology ... although the term knuckle head does come to mind.)

Hubby says I should entitle this blog, “Have a nice trip.” But that seemed a bit rude. I was thinking more along the lines of, “What more do I have to do to get some attention from my wife.”

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Easily entertained

We’re thinking the park rangers at Multnomah Falls flunked math.

Anticipating 11 switchbacks on the trail past the bridge—after all, that’s what the signposts indicated—we started uphill to the top of Oregon’s tallest waterfall.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon’s tallest waterfall at 621 feet

But eleven came and went and we were still switching back on our way to the top (pant, pant). 

Does this not look like a switchback to you?

All complaining aside, the effort was well worth the reward. From the top, views straight down (the trailhead is the small paved area at upper right) ...

The straight-down view from the top of the falls

... and across to the Columbia River and the state of Washington beyond.

The Columbia River separating Oregon from Washington

If you go, take your own calculator and count on 14 switchbacks to the top.

Speaking of the Columbia River, the gorge is one of the top kiteboarding spots in the country, which provided the perfect invitation to sit in the sunshine watching the surfers and their kites at play.

So you see ... we’re easily entertained. Just shove us outdoors.

Kiteboarding in the Columbia River Gorge

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Turtle and Maple Nut

We’re still on the road, but that didn’t stop hubby from calling home to find out the results of his latest PSA test (a rising number indicates cancer cell activity).

Every three months for the past year, Gary’s PSA has been rising – still low, but going in the wrong direction. His oncologist said the next time it rises, he’d double one of the medications and introduce steroids to counteract the side effects of doubling the meds.

His words: “That would take us to the next level of treatment,” which, I suspect, translates to a lower quality of life.

So hubby gets off the phone with a grin and—are you sitting down?—his PSA number stayed the same as last check-up. As in no upward trend, as in no next level of treatment. Yahoo!

Which calls for a celebration. But of course.

Cell phone self-portrait captures our flavorful celebration

So since we happen to be in the touristy town of Hood River, Oregon, we set off on foot looking for the perfect celebration location – an ice cream shop.

Gary remembers having ice cream maybe 2-3 times in the past 6½ years since his diagnosis.

Today, Turtle and Maple Nut – two scoops to make up for lost moments!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Celebrating Father’s Day (week)

If Mother’s Day week was spent on N. Carolina’s Outer Banks with kids and grandkidlets, how do you top that when Father’s Day rolls around? You don’t.

We’re in Post Falls, Idaho, somewhere between Coeur d’Alene and Spokane. The week ahead includes a couple of speaking engagements, connecting with friends and family, and exploring Idaho, Washington and Oregon trails.

Pretty sure she saw us long before we spotted her

Lacing up hiking boots and watching for wildlife isn’t the same as hanging with our kids and the munchkins, but it’s near the top of hubby’s Things I like to do list.  

Today’s adventure included a hike up Mineral Ridge overlooking Coeur d’Alene Lake …

Mineral Ridge trail overlooking Coeur d’Alene Lake

... followed by a stroll and lunch along the lakefront streets of old downtown.

And for those of you who have ever read the Laura Numeroff books to your kids or grands—the series includes If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie—I think we discovered where the moose and the mouse hang out: on Sherman Avenue just a block or so off the lake in Coeur d’Alene.

See if you can spot where the mouse has settled in

Happy Father’s Day (week) to my best friend and hubby – the man who has been the steady rock in our family, who has weathered some challenging setbacks, who has kept me and the kids laughing all these years. I love you, hon.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Walking the butte

Once upon a time, when our daughter and SIL lived in Bend, Oregon—before they moved 2,776.8 miles away and took our grandkids with them—we came for a weekend visit and brought two of our teen-aged nieces (blonde, both of them, which may or may not have anything to do with this story).

Planted in the middle of Bend is a small mountain called Pilot Butte. “Someday I’d like to climb that mountain,” I mention as we drive past.

“Go ahead,” says Gary, “but you’ll have to find someone else to climb it with you.” Hubby has always been supportive in this way.

Pilot Butte, planted in the middle of Bend, Oregon

Later that weekend, I ask, “Who wants to climb Pilot Butte with me?!” Pause. No show of hands.

“Who wants to go shopping with me?!” asks our daughter. Both blonde nieces’ hands shoot into the air a bit too enthusiastically.

You win some, you lose some.

As it turns out, hubby has had to eat his words. Guess how many times he’s walked the Pilot Butte trail since my failed attempt to put together a scouting party?

Pilot Butte trail = nearly 2 miles round trip with 480' elevation gain

The answer: A conservative estimate of 624 round-trip treks ... and I’m pleased to announce that I’ve managed to keep up with him a few of those times. Including today.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Notorious list maker

Laundry, check. Grocery shopping, check. Mail birthday cards, check. Climb Misery Ridge with hubby – on our way.

Heading up Misery Ridge trail from the Crooked River

I have a tendency to base my worth on the number of items checked off my to-do lists. I’ve even been known to complete a task and add it to my list in order to check it off.

I know ... pathetic.

But at the top of Misery Ridge, while eating lunch, I had an ah-ha moment: “Do you realize, hon, that a year ago I would have been calculating what time we’d be back at the trailhead, and how much I could get done after we got home?”

Hmmm, he replies. (I think that means he’s amazed.)

But now, in no hurry to get home – enjoying the company, the balmy temps, the picnic lunch, and watching the rock climbers edge up Monkey Face.

Climbers on Monkey Face - our lunchtime entertainment

We take the trail down behind Monkey Face and follow the Crooked River the long way around back to our vehicle.

Taking the scenic route

“After we get home,” I announce to hubby, “I’m going to read … and if I fall asleep, oh well.”

Another Hmmm from hubby. This one means, Good idea.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The happiness project

I blogged in December 2010 about a study I came across – how 50 percent of our happiness is biologically driven and 10 percent is based on life circumstances, which leaves 40 percent up to us to shape.

Along those same lines, I just finished reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin whose research and project intrigued me.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Rubin divides the categories of her life over the span of a year—marriage, parenthood, leisure, work, money, etc—and then proceeds to map out resolutions for happiness in each category, writing honestly about her successes and failures.

Wanting to conduct a little research of my own, I poll all the people in my household (who happened to be happily reading a book until interrupted): “Hon, what makes you happy?”

“Right now, an ice cream sundae would make me happy.” He is easy to please.

“What else?” I prod.

“Traveling, seeing our kids, hiking,” he says, “also when you’re not working, and when my PSA count goes down.”

As for my happiness list, how much time do you have? Hanging with hubby and our kids and grandkidlets = high on the list.

And writing; writing makes me happy.

Being outdoors – climbing mountain trails, gliding along blue waters, summer concerts in the park, tramping through softly falling snow.

Outdoor stuff makes me happy

Rubin comments on the Arrival Fallacy, which is: When you arrive at a certain destination, you’ll be happy.

“The Arrival Fallacy,” she notes, “is a fallacy because, though you may anticipate great happiness in arrival, arriving rarely makes you as happy as you anticipate. The challenge, therefore, is to take pleasure in the present. The fun part doesn’t come later; now is the fun part.”

Living in the present and being grateful for all the good that is going on in our lives today, this is part of my happiness.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Well played

My ever-expanding job description now includes sitting in the driver’s seat of pink fire trucks wearing the appropriate pink gear.

In the driver’s seat

This weekend was Bend’s largest sporting event – the Heaven Can Wait 5K Walk/Run for breast cancer, founded by local breast cancer survivor, Charlene Levesque.

Three pink fire trucks and 8 fire fighters from across the country showed up in support of women with cancer.

Painting the town pink

Which reminds me of Jake, the Life is good cartoon dude playing his guitar while his trusty dog, Rocket, looks on happily: “The music is not in the guitar.”

The music is not in the guitar

What we create to bring beauty or joy or a helping hand to others isn’t in the pink fire truck or the 5K race. It’s in the hearts of the event staff, our amazing volunteers, the guest fire fighters, the 4,000+ participants.

The funds raised in this year’s race—the twelfth annual event, if anyone’s counting—will go far to make a difference in the lives of central Oregon women (and men) dealing with breast cancer.

Well played, everyone.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Airport lessons

One of my Facebook friends posted that today is the celebration of his seventh anniversary being cancer free.

I mention this to hubby, whose ears prick up. In his way of thinking, celebration usually means getting to eat contraband. “I think we ought to celebrate every anniversary since my diagnosis,” he announces, “and I think it ought to involve ice cream.”

I roll my eyes at him. (For those of you regular blog readers, we’ve already been over the *rule-writing* guidelines for our marriage.)

Which reminds me of two siblings I observed in the Chicago airport last month.

Chicago airport

They were playing tag and the little girl—probably around 4 years old—could never catch her big brother.

She stops the game and informs her brother that it’s his turn to chase her. Just as she is about to get tagged, she drops to her knees and changes the rules: “You can’t tag me if I fall down.”

But it’s not tag

And then she comes up with a better idea: “If you touch daddy then you win. But it’s not tag.” And so of course her big brother wins.

“No, it’s not a racing game,” she insists, this little rule-writer. “You walk, OK?”

She takes off at full speed – because of course the female doesn’t have to abide by the same rules she dictates to the male. Everyone knows that.

As her brother passes her, she yells, “No, it’s not a racing game!”

How lucky for this boy that he’s learning at a tender age how the game of rule-writing is played when it comes to male/ female relationships.

Obviously hubby didn’t have this same advantage, or he wouldn’t keep pushing the envelope with the whole *rule-writing* thing.

May 2011

Rain or shine

Pink tennis shoes

I am an orphan

Playing it safe is risky

Skid marks on the runway

Nothing could be finer

If it’s Mother’s Day, then we

   must be in Carolina

Idaho wedding

April 2011

Wicked

Quintuplets!

Busted

Tough day at the office

McKay Cottage

Snowy April day

Thai food and amazing grace

March 2011

Silk stockings

Cabin in the woods

Entertainment committee

Any excuse to celebrate

Ultimate cheerleader

Drum roll, please

Ordinary blessed weekend

What’s stopping you?

Nuh-uh

Texas hospitality

Mean guys like Mike

February 2011

Texas = What a country

Just to be on the safe side

Mudpies and lullabies

Christmas Valley

Getting plugged in

Blurring the lines

What goes around, comes

    around

January 2011

Might as well dance

Mexican-Peruvian marriage

Some attitude

For the birds

Glass castle

Friday night date in small town

    America

Family seasonings

Dad’s coat

Off to a great start

December 2010

Sharing your story

The night before Christmas

Christmas movies

Happiness studies

A year’s span

Stormy detours

Another black eye

Snooded

Winter play

November 2010

Adventuring

Feeling healthier already

Heart wide open

More fun than a grandparent

    ought to have

Private marathon tour guide

Choosing quality of life

Geese and GPS units

Thanksgiving month

October 2010

Knitting up a snow storm

Third time’s not a charm

The verdict is in

Resourceful assignment

High school audience

Accidental tart

Pepsi ... or not

Custom cakes

September 2010

Hundreds of quilts later

Wedded bliss

Teach a girl to fish

Rainy day chili

Living fully

Photography 101

No drop in the bucket

Family of elk

Scenic route

Red rocks and blue falcons

Alpine hiking

August 2010

Outdoor town

Perfect weekend

A big little life

Once in a lifetime

Summer weekend

Take five

Twenty years from now

July 2010

Beauty in the high desert

Another shot at life

Happy Hour

Almost perfect

Enjoying the journey

Birthday week kick-off

I’ve become my mother

Bobby McFerrin + OBF

50 things to do – Part II

June 2010

Like what you do

Colorado wildlife

“Life is good” wisdom

Sad day

Rocky Mountain high

Cowboy sing-along

My kind of town

Please don’t feed the bears

Naming buildings

Low expectations

Heaven Can Wait

Because nice matters

May 2010

Don’t get to pick your family

It’s in the bag

Only in Hawaii

Japanese-Hawaiian wedding

Meeting Yoshi

Happy campers

Gearing up for Hawaii

Hitting a rock wall

Love story

Oversized check

Extraordinary ordinary life

April 2010

Technology and pedicures

Idaho ranch hands

Blonde moments

Being in community

Live strong

Cutting edge

Florida in April

Easter blessings

March 2010

Heading east

March Madness

Welcome to spring

Half birthdays

Destinations

Most romantic bridge

Stellar team

Talent

Upgrading into the 21st Century

February 2010

Uncles and nieces

Blue skies in Portland

The subject of heroes

Caliber of our friends

Courage walking

Only in Southern California

Well trained

Diversity

Cream of the crop

January 2010

End of the tunnel

Disturbing the snow

Good things come to an end

American mobile family

Get moving

Any excuse for a date

Much more than a sports flick

December 2009

All the facts are true

No-el, No-whale

Mountain snob

Going to Hawaii

Finding our own way

It's just a number

Seasons of Christmas

Civil War in the CTC

My life in France

November 2009

Empty cafeteria trays

A few of my favorite things

Counting eagles

America’s best and brightest

Thinking about

Large amounts of hope

Memories, milestones

Married to a very patient man

October 2009

Healing reins

Trail to nowhere

Above the fray

Knitting connections

Touching everything

Modern technology

Hot date spot

Red sock day

I got all my sisters with me

September 2009

Tenacious like a bulldog

Best years of my life

Now we should live

Across the high desert

50 things to do before you die

Anticipation

Summer past and random thoughts

Running to win

August 2009

Far cry from canned chili & peas

Knight in shining armor

Berry-Peach Cobbler

Roller coaster rides

Celebrating life

Dan in Real Life

Ridiculous

Gift of life

Grant-writing retreat

July 2009

Heartsore

In the moment

Extended birthday present

River traffic

Munch & Music

Dealing with the paparazzi

Midnight cruise

Behind red doors

June 2009

Happy kind of exhausted

4:30am blog

Fat checkmarks

One of the benefits of cancer

Calm before the storm

Big picture thinking

May 2009

Back to the real world

Quick trip to the EC

Audacious living

Connecticut adventure

April 2009

Flat Stanley in Ory-gun

Baby steps

Four-day weekend

Soaring on wings

Sunbathing C.O. style

Real men wear pink

Fun in the CTC

March 2009

Live like you were dying

Day jobs

Connected

CAN Cancer

The power of one

February 2009

It's official

Fun with the medical professionals

To my valentine

Moments in Jersey

January 2009

Leaving on a jet plane

Scans ordered

Welcome to life

Insane residents

Back in high school

Engaged crowd

Out of the mouths of babes

Divine intervention

December 2008

Christmas via webcam

A merry little Christmas

Somewhere on purpose

Adventure and romance

Celebrate life

Imagine

Men and menopause

November 2008

My Thanksgiving list

Thanksgiving Eve

Roundabouts

How Starbucks saved my life

Training for Switzerland

Radio interview

Super colon

Thoughts on being invisible

The speed of a turtle

October 2008

Obligation of the cured

Cancer Adventures – the book

Blue and orange town

Hope Couture

First snow

Simple pleasures are the best

128 quilts

September 2008

Whale watching and kite flying

The new and relaxed Gary

The scenic route
Packing the essentials

One step at a time

PSA count celebration

August 2008

Frost in August

Reading list

Soaring Spirits

Checking in

9:30am rock band

Lingering

July 2008

Grand for a reason

Mickey Mouse pancakes

Survivorship is all the rage

Follow your dreams

Birthday weekend

Only in America

Unrelated goose incident

June 2008

Geese

Road trip

Friday night date

Tough day on the job

Best dad

Confession

Light bulb moment

Homesick

Amazing volunteers

May 2008

Countdown

Extended family

Testing the limits

Trailblazers

The last lecture

Mother’s Day thoughts

Welcome to our world, Lydia

Personal touch

April 2008

Dispensing goodness

Cancer community – Part II

Cancer community

Barn door analogies

Homemade soup day

Mice and tumors

Waiting room magazines

Weekend date

First entry