Vacation!

We just returned from a lovely two weeks off from work. We had our good days... and our bad.

We started out by driving up 101 N through the Mendocino Lightning Complex to Ferndale, CA. At some point, we had to pull over and don breathing masks. You read reports/watch TV about air quality and the wildfires, but it does not prepare you for how bad it really is. The smoke just hangs in the air. The visibility at times was down to 100ft. Your throat and lungs burn. Given that these fires burned for over three weeks, I simply don't see how people lived through it. My heart goes out to all of those affected.

Because of the smoke, we didn't make any stops for sightseeing until we hit the blissful foggy air of the coast. We stayed at a wonderful B&B in Ferndale, the Collingwood Inn, which allows dogs. We spent a delightful day strolling around town with the pooch, and letting her run on the beach. Of course we lost her only ball deep in the sand within minutes! After a lazy breakfast, we headed up and onward to Crescent City, CA.

The coastal drive is beautiful. It was surprisingly cold and foggy at times, requiring headlights et al. We very thrilled to find that our campsite at Panther Flat Campground was just out of the fog zone and thus a little warmer. It still got rather cold at night. The poor dog was cold. At one point I wake to find that she has headed headfirst down into my mummy bag with me. Not sure if she could breathe, I rearranged her :) We thankfully were just across from the bathrooms too. Camping became a lot less fun when I started getting up 3X/night to pee! Unfortunately, the next morning I came down with a bout of diarrhea. We pushed though and still managed to get a decent hike in. I was very paranoid about all of the poison oak everywhere, but we and the dog were spared. We spent two days here before heading up to Lincoln City, OR.

We made a few stops on beaches along the Oregon coast to stretch our legs, and take some interesting photography of driftwood. We eventually landed at the Looking Glass Inn - like my favorite hotel ever. They allow dogs - and give you sheets to cover the furniture should your pooch wish to join you on the couch. It is just a few steps from the bay and beach. Very warm here, heavenly. The hotel is all suites, with a full size living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Kaylee, after a few very cold nights in the tent, was thrilled. The best thing about this inn was that there was zero evidence of dogs - very very clean and pristine and a great place to stay.

After Oregon, we headed back inland to meet up with I-5 to take us to Rasar State Park north of Seattle. We met up with Greg & Agi here for an awesome night. Hot and humid => heaven! It was much much warmer than our last campground. Rain threats persisted all night but never came to fruition. We had one moment in the middle of the night when Kaylee was sure something was attacking her in the tent. I reach over to touch her (she was kind of still asleep/having a nightmare) and that set her off. Now there really was something attacking her, me! She bit me!! Okay, not really, just grazed me. She settled down quickly at least. Then, in the morning, the rain came. Our old tent had the full to ground rainfly; the new one that has room for Kaylee, does not. We quickly learned our tent does not stand up well to torrential downpours. We hunkered down for a few hours and decided to head out for breakfast with hopes that it would stop, but alas, it was not meant to be. I stopped in for labwork in a local labcorp and then headed back to camp to pack up in the pouring rain. Boy were we all a soggy mess.

We made a relatively quick hop across the border and drove to Greg & Agi's in Vancouver (suburbs that is!). Here we got dry out, take a hot shower and relax. We had some thai takeout (now THAT's camping, eh?) and played games. Great night.

Onward ho! To Summerland, BC. We arrived just in time for dinner with Julian's complete family: his two sisters, his brother-in-law, mom, and even his dad visiting from china. Several friends of the family also joined in. We awoke early and headed into town for a desperate load of laundry. We spent the afternoon visiting the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre and wine tasting. We bought David a nice bottle of wine before heading home. Unfortunately after dinner that night, I got a mild headache....

Which grew.

And grew.

I hardly slept a wink. I woke up and ate a little breakfast and was astonished when it came right back up. Other than the slammin' headache, I didn't feel THAT bad. Unfortunately, I could keep my medication or any fluids down. We waited until it was time for my next dose of meds and headed into the ER. Prior to this fateful trip, we made desperate calls to my best friend C. hoping she could find some info on our healthplan coverage in Canada. While I vaguely remembered coverage, when you are looking at an ER bill, you kind of want to know for sure. She went out of her way to get the info for us, driving into work on a Sunday. It is a shame that you can get 24/7 service from our insurance company if you have a mental health issue, but if you have a medical emergency, there is no way to get a person to take your call!! I got an IV of fluid and zofran and thankfully was able to keep the pills down. Of course, I woke up puking and still miserable the next morning. In the midst of the confusion, we failed to notice that Kaylee was perturbed by our lack of attention and all of the 'stress' in the house. She unfortunately got in a little fight with her cousin and got a gash on her forehead. It's healed into a solid lump by now thankfully. Julian's dad was smart and picked up on her mood right away; I was in another world.

In fear that I'd need more fluids and another ER visit, we sadly left Summerland early to go to Seattle - where there is both a transplant center AND where I have full coverage. Fate was on our side. As we neared the end of our trip, I was starting to feel better. I was still severely dehydrated (not wanting to puke alot in the car) but managed to get some fluids in before bedtime. We stayed in Seattle for two days, just in case.

We took our time heading home. We stayed overnight in Portland, OR where we visited the world famous Powell's Books, took a long stroll along the waterfront and hit a pub (none for my stomach thank you!) with the pooch.

The following day we picked a spot at random on the map about halfway home to stay... Yeah, we are dumb like that. When we got to Redding, it was 114F! Poor kaylee couldn't even touch the ground without wimpering - it was scorching her feet. Once again, it was like driving through a warzone with all of the smoke. We shared our hotel (with blissful AC) with firefighters, Forest Service workers, and evacuees. Again, being in the middle of it is just overwhelming. I don't know how the evacuees deal with the stress frankly. Also, the AWESOME firefighters work long shifts for 14 days straight. Thank god for these men! (and women!).

We finally arrived home at last, all semi-healthy (man my stomach is slow to recover), and pretty darn beat. Yeah, I know my health got in the way, but we still had a good trip. I enjoyed sleeping with the dog while sick (we don't let her upstairs at home), I enjoyed our good nights of camping, I enjoyed some of explorations on both the drive up and down... there were still a lot of good days in there.

To recap:
Lowest temp: 45F at night, dog burrowed into mummy bag with me
Highest temp: 114F in redding, dog scorching paws on pavement
Conditions: dense fog, blazing sun, dense smoke, low visibility, clear skies, heavy heavy rain, dry as a whistle drought conditions
Favorite stop: probably Looking Glass Inn, Lincoln City, OR
Least favorite stop: Redding, CA through no fault of its own

Bliss

I have a story to tell... if you aren't a geek, you may not recognize that the formating of this post follows IMs (or for you total non geeks like my parents, Instant Messages). I find this fitting... for reasons I'll explain later.

Friday day (May 2nd):
**jfong sneaks around house collecting random articles of clothing

Friday evening:
jfong: Do you want to go out to dinner tomorrow? It'll be late.
sfisher: how late?
jfong: like 9 pm
sfisher: why don't we go sunday instead. I can't eat that late, I have to take my pills at 9:30 pm (on an empty stomach). I mean, it's not like this is a proposal dinner right?
jfong: ok

Friday night:
**sfisher dozes blissfully
**jfong stares at ceiling, unable to sleep, how will I get her to dinner?

Saturday morning (May 3rd):
**jfong awakens sfisher before he leaves for a music workshop
sfisher: groan, why are you awakening me?
**jfong hands her a card
**sfisher opens very lovely anniversary card
sfisher: awwwwwwwwwww. I didn't know it was our anniversary
jfong: it is the anniversary of our first kiss! (Nemo wrap party)
**sfisher decides dinner is okay, she will take pills early

Saturday evening:
**jfong sneaks around house while sfisher takes a way too short shower trying to pack overnight things

Saturday night:
We drove into the city (early, given our reservation was at 9pm). When we get out of the car, he heads to the trunk and pops it... and hands me a pair of tennis shoes**. I look baffled.

Turns out he had booked a boutique hotel for the night right by the restaurant. After a glass of wine in the room, we went down to dinner at Masa's, a very nice French restaurant. We ordered wine and tasting menus, mine vegetarian. I suspected something was up, trying not to burst out saying that, but failed.... I had globe artichokes with mini-asparagus, cherry tomatoes; a Hen of the Woods in madras curry; tagliatele in saffron infused cream; a wax and fava been salad with horseraidish cream fraiche with lemon oil; strawberry mint sorbet; apple tart; chocalates; brioches.... very good!

Dinner nears the end and I am sad that nothing has happened.

We go to the hotel. We putter. I wonder if it really is just an anniversary...

Finally he says I have one more thing for you. I flirt back and say, "a massage?" He answered, "Okay I have two more things for you." And got down on one knee and asked, "Will you marry me?"

So why the IM format? Because that my dear is how we fell in love. Yes, we work together. But we worked in different cities. We chatted often about renderman bugs, builds, how to fix something, about a line of code. But sometimes other questions would pop in there too. You'd be waiting for a one minute render to return and you'd ask a non-work question. Then I realized I missed the chatting on weekends. I convinced myself it was a terrible idea to go after a coworker. Then, dateless for the Nemo wrap party... I suggested we go together as friends. Yes, FRIENDS. However that evening ended in a kiss...

..and five years later, to the day, we became engaged.

**And since everyone keeps asking about the shoes, they were for the next day! It just happened to be the moment when I realized something was up.

Diet Coke

So it occurred to me that given that prograf is damaging to my kidneys, perhaps I should cut back even further on colas. Sigh. Diet Pepsi used to be my one and only. Sniff.

My best friend from college has ALS. At random today, I remembered how she used to always taste my sodas for me. I had trouble distinguishing diet from regular when it came out of a fountain (and still do!). It's amazing how much this little thing helped me, and how much it meant to me. After the first time I asked, I never had to ask again.

I think it is hard sometimes for us to figure out a way to help someone who is ill. But remembering this little thing... well, it helps to remind me that we don't have to move mountains to help someone. Sometimes a smile or simple gesture is enough.

Happy Holidays!

This picture evokes the utter comfort of the holidays. Yes, I spoil my dog. If you aren't having kids, pets are your children ;) I gave Kaylee a bath on a very chilly day - she was still damp around dinner time and a bit cold. So what else to do but make a roaring fire, heat her blankets in the dryer and then wrap them around her? Yes, I spoil my dog.

This picture is beyond anything I (Miss Shaky Hands post transplant) or my camera could do. Instead it is due to the expertise and new camera of Julian.

It has been a very long time since I last posted, so it is probably time for a few updates. First, my friend recovered from her coma in the technical sense very quickly. However she unfortunately is still in the midst of a long road of neurological recovery. She is in a skilled nursing facility, but making occasional strides. She still needs your prayers. I am thankful for those moments when she really shines and connects with her husband as she used to.

My friend with ALS continues to live her life fully, albeit with new restrictions. As time goes on, the disease inevitably progresses. I pray she can see as much of her son growing up as possible! She and her husband have created a new non-profit for ALS: http://www.kimkimfoundation.org.

A relative of mine, although he has kept it quiet, has been diagnosed with cancer. Another one to add to my prayers. He, like me, seems to have been dealt a harder medical hand than some. But as I well know, life is still precious no matter what hand you've been dealt. I prayer they find a good treatment plan for him.

It's been a stressful, yet blessed year in my household. We've made so much progress in so many areas. I haven't had insulin since 2/9/2007. My stomach is virtually normal again - I still can't eat a lot of fat or fiber, but that is doable. I feel so lucky. I honestly hate diabetes MORE NOW that I know what it is like to not be diabetic. Although it's not at the front of my mind, I know I could lose this gift. A neverending prayer of mine is to keep it longer than humanly possible :) I love it. Let me keep it!

We got a new dog trainer this year and it has made a huge difference with Kaylee. Don't Kill Your Dog is the trainer's website. While she still has her moments, we have very reliable Downs, Sits, Stays, Up-sits. She Stands, but that one still needs work. At the dog park, she'll Sit and Stay while you throw a ball (her biggest temptation) and now she is getting VERY good about bringing the ball back (with encouragement). Oh, and did I mention she walks on a loose lead?

Julian joined an orchestra and also continues to play with his trio. I get to here him practice much more than last year, and it is a pleasure.

A new nephew was born (and adopted ;)), and my other nephew continues to grow into the Best Pixar Fan EVAR! One down, one to go.

This was an easy house year - the only major expense was adding insulation :) Next year I need a new fence and maybe a few other minor modifications...

Hmm, it's time for church, gotta go!

Coma update

My friend is technically no longer in a coma, but faces a long hard road of recovery. They hope that with time she may actually be able to make a full recovery. Good news all around! She still cannot speak, and only makes limited movements, but it is a start.