Chasing sunrises

Tufa and more

To Yosemite

Most of these photos were taken as the sun set between Merced and Mariposa.  We ended up driving after dark in the mountains after a very long day. now we are sitting near a river waiting for breakfast as our bodies are on Michigan time. we are staying at a winery outside of Oakhurst about 15 miles south of Yosemite.  I hear hummers fighting but can't see them. They should have many kinds here. the roads I've shown look empty but we were in traffic jams for almost 2.5 hours. I thought once we left San Francisco, it would be fine but the mess just got worse. thanks Delta and Alamo for the late start!

Free falling....

this is my step niece, the step daughter of my BIL who is staying with us, on some tower in Auckland. She jumped down though it didn't look as if she was going very fast. Still I would get sick if I had to do this

Happy hour yesterday at a Mexican restaurant. Yummy sangria

we've been getting great sunsets

my only purchase this week but I do love it. I found it on my bicycle route so it was fun strapping it to my body on the way home

we've had this cactus for years. Hard to tell if it's alive but it's still green and maybe has grown a little

love toad lilies

On the health questionnaire I filled out the other day  for my annual physical, I was asked how many times I have fallen this past year. I assume this is the old lady version though it did ask if I could be pregnant. Well I fell just once in he past three years but it was a doozy. The bills are still coming in and amount to $15K so far, of which the insurance is covering most though balking at the dental part. Aside from my fatness, which he didn't even mention, I am healthy so yay for that. I do try not to look at the scale fearing it would put me in a funk. Easy not to look at the scale but it was written down which I read later. Yep it did put me n a funk. I think last year at this time I was at my lowest since the whole cancerfest. I though since I was exercising even more and had a pound of the mega boob removed, I should be lower. No such luck. Now I feel bloated and fat and hating myself.

My friend did show up at the cancer cooking class and enjoyed it and even ate quite a bit. It was good to see her optimistic. She thinks she will enroll in a clinic trial that will address the GVHD of the lungs. The class is for people who have survived cancer or people who support those going through cancer. We each get time in the beginning to tell our story. Finally this woman, who has been there for the past few months, admitted she does not have cancer nor does she have any friends or family going through cancer though there is a chance she does have cancer but she is too afraid to have it checked out lest they find out she really has cancer. She said she will leave if people want her to. Of course no one would tell her to go away. she is a sweet woman. I did encourage to check out her symptoms which could be explained by several benign conditions so at least she would have peace of mind.

This has been a slow week. My BIL likes to take it easy though we did persuade him to sit outside and watch the sun set the other evening. Now the kids are over to watch college football. We've spent lots of time listening to classical music full blast. And yesterday was the perfect day for a bike ride though I kept being interrupted by numerous texts by warring ex-spouses.

The pit of corn

Took Steve's brother and Maya to the local farm last night

she loved playing in the corn pit

my feet in the corn. Yep I need a pedicure

feeding the pygmy goats

milking the fake cow

me showing her how to do it

riding the pig

BIL unperturbed by fake crows. Maya would not go near them

Allie with butterfly wings

Zingermans's for the BIL yesterday

While we ate Korean

rainbow cookies fresh from Brooklyn

Northville the other day

Maya and her mom showing off their flexibility

from the internet

Cool, sunny days..the best. Steve's brother will stay with us until we leave dropping us off at the airport. The kids come with their kids to visit him. Monday, we went to Northville for lunch and yesterday, Kerrytown in Ann Arbor. We stopped at the wrapping paper store for my BIL to buy some old Brooklyn maps (which are sold as wrapping paper).

They also sold lots of greeting cards including a whole section for those who have cancer. Some examples:

I promise  never  to refer to your cancer as a journey unless you are actually taking a cruise.

I am so sorry I am ignoring you in your time of need but I don't know what to say.

WTF(for the second one)? I have heard of people neglecting their friends with cancer just because dealing with them makes them uncomfortable. A friend was told by a former friend that seeing her bald was just too depressing for her. But to make a card for this is unbelievable.

My friend after a very long absence, will try to come to the cooking class tonight for survivors.

We had Ms. Maya last night. As she had such a hard afternoon, we tried to do something special for her, thus the farm trip. Still too scared to take the train by herself. It was a beautiful night.

Somewhere NW of Hell is heaven

I do look awful here as I just took off my helmet without combing my hair but being in this all around massage chair felt so good. I did take one of my arms out of the massager to drink my wine as no one would give me the bottle with a long straw

And after the bike ride and after the massage, on to the pool. Hair still uncombed but wine glass still in hand. Then with great difficulty, I hoisted myself up onto a floating lounge chair. Ahhhhhh

hibiscus in early morning light. Tree now covered with ten blossoms

rose with beetle damage

dahlia

first of the toad lilies. I see buds for about 20 of them this year

Back when I was running races, several of them went through Hell (Hell of a run; when Hell  freezes over,etc). There was also the Ride through Hell on a bike that I've done numerous times.

Hell itself is very small, home of the Dam(n) site Inn, a convenience store and a post office that gets more business than a town that size usually gets. Yesterday, our bike posse, minus one, explored the roads by bike NW of Hell. Usually I approached from the SE. Riding to Hell and back from our old house was a 50 mile commitment.

We went almost 20 miles on sandy roads. Some looked familiar from the Hell half-marathon (much hillier than the Dexter-Ann Arbor one). Went by newborn twin fawns (at this time of year?) and pumpkin patches. It was a beautiful, calm day. Usually I like to bike in the morning to avoid traffic and wind but on the backroads, little of that despite it being midday.

Our friend has a massage chair that felt good after the ride. I actually was more sore from moving furniture around earlier in the day. Then we went for a swim (a very loose term) I sat in a floating lounge chair sipping wine and cooling off by dangling my legs in the water when I got too hot. Very nice. And we all contributed to a tasty dinner.

Late last night, my BIL arrived from NYC. Usually he takes two days but decided to keep on driving. If he ever gets ready, we'll go for lunch.

I've had a good last few days plotting and planning our trip and having friends come over. Bonus, highs are in the 70s now.