Spring is coming soon

Never takes long for these to show up

The wonderful spring flowers are coming along, some even showing their blooms. Not many, but it's only mid-March and we are still a few days away from the spring equinox. Timeanddate.com, one of my favorite sites to visit, tells me:

When is the first day of spring 2025? Thursday, March 20, the date of the spring equinox, marks the first day of spring in the United States. The spring equinox lands at 5:01 a.m., the precise moment the sun's rays shine directly on the equator.

We did, however, already go through the rite of spring that is known as Daylight 
Saving Time this past Sunday. It was the first time I needed to use my sleep mask that blocks the light and is also very comfortable to wear. By the middle of summer, I will be using it every night, but for now it's only needed when I decide to go to bed earlier than most people would imagine. But I really like going to bed early and getting up early. I seem to be needing more rest these days. I don't know whether it's permanently going to be like that or not. I almost always am in bed before my night owl partner, but there have been a few times lately when he's falling asleep before I have headed to bed. He's just now finishing his first month with his chemo treatment for low grade b-cell lymphoma. 

I didn't realize how many forms of lymphoma there are. He was diagnosed with it a few years ago, and having been fortunate not to grow any tumors, he hasn't needed any treatment for it at all, just frequent monitoring of his blood levels. A few months ago his oncologist said he would need to start some sort of treatment, as some of his blood levels had fallen low enough that he would be required to do something to keep him healthy. After lots of discussion about what is available, he decided to start taking a once-a-day regimen of pills. We both read about all the side effects, and although there are some scary things that can be expected, he didn't develop any of them. He is still the same guy, with the same sense of humor.

What's growing out of my ears?

He didn't want to eat these bananas unless he knew they were safe. After ascertaining that they were not toxic, we shared these guys and found them to be fine. (smile) There are many different things he needs to do to keep me from being exposed to the toxicity of the chemo: for one thing, he needs to put down the toilet seat before flushing to keep the fumes from becoming airborne and possibly affecting me. And I have to say that the packaging is scary enough, with warnings about the hazardous contents. But if these pills do the trick, he won't need to have infusions, which are the next best treatment, according to his doctor.

I wish there was some fancy drugs I could take that would clear up my eye problems, but there isn't. Nothing is going to keep me from going blind, but at least the injections I get every eight weeks are slowing the geographic atrophy of my degenerating macula. This getting old business is certainly challenging, but it sure helps to have a partner who is going through these days, weeks, and years of old age progression with me. 

I am also incredibly grateful for my virtual family, those of you who follow my life through my posts, and who share your own journeys with those of us who feel like family. I have been following some of you for decades and have gone through your ups and downs in life, just as you have been doing with me. Having grown familiar with the internet that connects us, I can hardly remember what life was like in the Before Times. 

I hope you will have a wonderful week before we meet here again next Tuesday. I also will be writing something on my other blog on Sunday, but it's a much smaller electronic world for me these days, and it suits me fine. Sending virtual hugs to everyone!

A new beginning

Lily and me at Evolve Restaurant

It seemed like ages since I had spent any time with my dear friend Lily, so we made plans to visit on Sunday. She is having some back issues, and I am still dealing with my own recalcitrant body, so instead of a walk, we ended up eating at the Evolve Restaurant and each having a beer. I like IPAs, and she likes lagers, so we were both very happy with our choices, along with our meals. I had avocado toast and she had a salad. Those two poached eggs on top of the toast were quite tasty and felt almost like an indulgence. It doesn't really matter where you eat out these days; it's getting pricey everywhere.

Today marks the beginning of a new era for me. I'm thinking it's time to stop hiking every week with the Senior Trailblazers. My eyesight is deteriorating and now, so is my body. After the fall a month ago, it has been like I've moved into another place, and it's becoming more of a challenge to go on anything very long or steep. I might be better after more time passes, but it feels really different. I'm going to find other activities that make me feel whole again. I know that it's possible, with some experimentation and by surrounding myself with good people whom I love.

It's also wonderful to have a community of people like me to hang out with. My time at the Senior Center is always gratifying, and I think I'll find new ways to volunteer, since I find it fulfilling and worthwhile. If my eyes were better, I'd again take up reading books, but I can always listen to them instead. I've been learning how to get  more information via the spoken word rather than reading. I'm ready for a new beginning!

Well, that was embarrassing

Foursome at the trailhead

Boy, did I ever make a mistake today. On a rainy and windy day, our leader Persis (in the blue above) took the four of us out to Stimpson Nature Reserve for a gentle almost five-mile walk around the Reserve. I've done this hike many times before, but today will be one I will never forget.

As you might remember, just three weeks ago, I took a bad spill on the ice and have  been recovering ever since. I did my first yoga class yesterday without any hiccups, so today I figured I would be able to do this rather gentle (and not too long) hike today. I was so wrong. Although there was a little initial discomfort in my back, it was miniscule and gave me false hope that I would be able to do it. 

Geneva Pond

I'm pretty sure that those of you reading this might know what occurred by the time we got to the pond, a little less than halfway around the shorter loop. (There are two loops, one harder and longer and one easier. We did them both.) Not long after I took this picture, I began to feel quite a bit of discomfort in my back, and I took some Advil. One of the women suggested that she and I return without making the longer loop, but I said I would be just fine. One of my least attractive qualities is denial. I wanted to be better so bad that I made these three women suffer along with me.

Corrine and Sue on the trail

Other than continuing to be drippy, the wind had died down and the only sound as we made our way back to the starting point was me, yelling in pain and downing lots of pills, hoping for some respite. They slowed down with me, but eventually I was lying in the wet moss on the side of the trail and crying, wanting the pain to let up. Somehow I managed to make it back to the trailhead, with the help of all these women. We took twice to three times longer than we should have, but what could they do? They couldn't very well carry me (though I pleaded for them to try), and now I am home, sitting in my recliner and feeling little pain, but it still hurts when I try to stand.

I know that many of you might have predicted this outcome, but I didn't want to believe I was still on the injured list. I am embarrassed that I ruined a perfectly good outing for them, and that I continue to make these unfortunate decisions. You can bet that I will be making some different choices in the future. Kudos to my dear helpers who didn't leave me behind, although I'll bet they did think about it.

:-)

Two weeks already

Samish Overlook, February 2024

Yes I am getting better, but I am not a good patient, because I have very little patience! Okay, I tell myself, I did the injury bit, but for heaven's sake, can I get back to visiting these places again soon? I love the clouds in this picture, and went back in my archives to remind myself what I was doing a year ago. And I am hoping that a year from today, I will have more wonderful scenes like this, taken with my trusty phone and plastered on my blog. It makes me happy to see this today, even if it's a memory and not current. Today there are two groups of Senior Trailblazers in the mountains somewhere, enjoying mild weather and hopefully having a good time. I would be, if I could go back in time and do something different two weeks ago than traumatize my back.

Yesterday, for the first time since the injury, I walked to the bus stop and back, about a mile and a half. It was fairly easy, but I sure didn't walk as fast as I usually do, and I am unwilling to give my morning exercises another try just yet. It hurts terribly when I sneeze, but every day there are fewer instances of painful moments.

I should remind myself that I am once again ambulatory and could get in the car and drive to the grocery store, or somewhere else that I travel often. That means I am no longer confined to my bed, which should make me happy, but I am so spoiled, being usually able to do whatever I want during the day. But I am trying hard to look for the bright spots, working to keep my spirits up and keeping myself moving as best I can. Baby steps, still, but coming along. Hope you are staying safe, warm, and dry!

:-) 

Laid up on injured list

Joe the leader posted this shot today

Not much to say today, just slowly getting better after taking a hard fall on the ice last week. I am finally able to get up out of bed, but I still cannot do my usual morning exercises without serious pain, and I don't know what I would have done without my sweet support staff (you know, my hubby), who has been helping me out of bed each night to take a visit to the bathroom, and then covering me up again and tucking me back in bed afterwards. I fell on the ice last Wednesday morning, so it's almost been a week, and each day has seen some progress. I've weaned myself off the drugs of everything except an occasional Advil. The trip to the ER was my outing for the week.

Eight people went up today Lookout Mountain and captured this lovely picture of our snowy and extremely cold weather. Last night we were in the teens and even after a full day of sunshine (as you can see from Joe's picture), it has barely reached the freezing level. Hard to remember another time like this.

But I am getting better every day and hope to return to activity soon. I think if I had to, I could walk to the bus stop by now, but I am not tempted to go out in this extreme weather and possibly hurt myself again. I tell myself to take baby steps and most of the time, I listen.

:-)

No hike today

Hoypus Hill 2017

I've done the hike we were scheduled to do today many times. It's in the Anacortes area, and has many wonderful old growth trees and a good visit to a local spit of land that is a great place for lunch, if the weather is good. Today it would have been cold but sunny. However, getting to the Senior Center this morning was NOT a good idea. Yesterday, the Senior Center was closed, and today it opened two hours late. The temperature was 21°F with wind chill making it seem like 10 below! And since it snowed overnight, getting out on the road seemed rather treacherous. Both of our hikes were canceled, this one, and the one for a local walk-around town. They were both bitingly cold and looking to be less than fun.

I, however, bundled myself up in the dark and headed for the bus, a half-mile walk. At that time, I didn't know whether we would be hiking in the Anacortes area or not, but by the time I got the notice about the delayed opening, our leader had sent around an email canceling the hike. 

I thought perhaps if the hike was canceled, I might take a trip to Fairhaven on the Boulevard Park path, but by the time I reached the co-op, I realized I didn't want to try to walk any farther, as the streets were slippery, even for walking, so I turned around and went to catch the next bus home.

It was cold, but with long johns, bundled up like a teddy bear, I was comfortable. If the sidewalks had been slippery, it would have been very scary, but it was cold enough that the snow was packed and easy to navigate. But I won't make my usual Tuesday step quota. I'm learning to let go of these milestones as I age, being more concerned with staying accident free and ready to go on the next outing. 

One of the Thursday hikes has been modified to be an around-town jaunt, and I might decide to take off from my usual volunteer work and do that one. I am not sure whether I will or not, but I sure do miss seeing my old friends in the Thursday groups, so it might be a good thing to do. In any event, I will enjoy the day, and tomorrow I get a yoga class that I truly enjoy. Feeling pretty good right now!

:-)

South Hill history hike

Do we look frozen?

Today, we were treated to a cold but fun hike in the South Hill area of Bellingham. One of our members, John, grew up in the area and showed the eighteen of us what the area looked like over the past century or so. We started at Boulevard Park, seen above, with sunny but frigid weather (around 27°F). We were all bundled up and set out from here uphill (which nobody minded, as it warmed us), into the Taylor Dock area. We made several side excursions to see different sites of historical interest. We learned about why the streets in Bellingham are so skewed: the remnants of four cities.

Bellingham was officially incorporated on December 28, 1903, as a result of the incremental consolidation of the four towns initially situated on the east of Bellingham Bay during the final decade of the 19th Century. Whatcom is today's "Old Town" area and was founded with Roeder's Mill in 1852.

John showed us where the home he grew up used to be, which is now condos and apartments. He played in the area and told us that the current beautiful Bellingham Bay was, at one time, a dump. No, really: a place where old dilapidated buildings and homes were just dumped, along with lots of other detritus. He said that it smelled so bad that if he and his friends played near there, they had to bake a bath before they were allowed into the house. And now it's just beautiful. Hard to imagine.

We made our way up the Taylor hill and saw the elementary school where John went, and it's still filled with students, playing outside in the cold, some with short sleeves and sandals! 

Old pictures from the early 20th century

John had some pictures that showed what the area looked like long ago. That's John with some of them, which I captured with my cellphone, but they aren't very good, so I'll skip trying to show you. We did compare them with today's landscape, which chronicles incredible change. We walked up a street where we met a truly interesting person, Brian Griffin, who showed us his garage where he builds ukuleles, and much more. That article gives you a good synopsis of his many talents.

Then when we reached the top of the Taylor Hill, we headed to Western Washington University, which I learned was once simply a teachers' college. His parents and he himself graduated from there. We also saw the town's original hospital, where he was born. I cannot even imagine living one's whole life in one area, since I've done so much moving around, not just growing up, but afterwards as well.

Our lunch spot

After finding and making use of the bathrooms in the main university campus area, we stopped for lunch. It was still bright and sunny, and it had warmed from cold to almost bearable, but nobody was shedding much clothing, as you can see here. For such a cold day, we had a really good time, and I learned so much about the history of my adopted home town. Thank you, John, for everything you shared, making the time we had today a memorable one.

:-)

Teddy Bear Cove

The sign before descending to the Cove

Today a huge number of hikers (22) went off to Teddy Bear Cove, with another ten or so who took the longer trip to Anacortes, to hike the Goose Rock trail. I went with the local group, the biggest group I've hiked with yet. We started out at the Fairhaven Park entrance and headed off via the Hundred Acre Woods trail to finally get to Teddy Bear Cove.

It was cold, especially starting out, well below freezing and a low overcast hanging overhead. (The other Tuesday group went off to better conditions, with more blue skies but still plenty cold.) We made our way along the trail, needing to cross a busy rail line (two fast trains went by while we were there) and finally to our destination, Teddy Bear Cove.

Once upon a time, this was a well-known nude beach, and you didn't show up there without being expected to strip and swim naked That's gone these days, but the subject came up several times. With below freezing weather, nobody was tempted. 

Teddy Bear Cove

We stopped here for a nice break before heading back via a loop trail. We saw a few ducks swimming in the water, but otherwise it was just us. Joe, our leader, climbed the bluff behind us to see if he could capture the large group of hikers.

Whole lotta hikers

I am in there somewhere, as I watched Joe climb up and yell for us to look up and smile. You can see we are all somewhat well dressed as it was still plenty cold. But I must say that today's hike managed to lift my spirits a great deal. I am now home, feeling better than ever for having been out and about, covering more than 5.5 miles and climbing and descending just under a thousand feet of elevation. 

I am finding these Tuesday group hikes to be a lot of fun, and even though they don't challenge me like the Thursday hikes do, they are well worth the effort to get there and put myself into the mix. Today was very well spent and also obviously well attended. I look forward to whatever next week's hike brings!

:-)

Chanterelle 2025

Viewpoint today

  

Now that we are well into the new year, our three Senior Trailblazers are making some big changes. First of all, we will have two separate groups made up from the Happy Wanderers group, which has grown too big. Last week we started the experiment, but because the weather wasn't wonderful, one group that headed to Anacortes was small (two). The other group, which had a nice five-mile hike from the parking lot across the street from Barkley Village to Whatcom Falls Park and back. You can read about it here.

Today we had one hike that I know very well, the first half of the Chanterelle trail. I have probably done this more than a dozen times in recent years, but this was the first time with such a large group. There were seventeen of us who made the trek up a thousand feet of elevation to this familiar spot. 

Joe took the photo

I didn't take many pictures, but the amazing clouds caused me to want to show them off. Our leader today, Bill, posed in front of them for me, as you can see here.

Bill, clouds, and tree

It was cold when we started out, but it didn't stay that way, as we worked our way up the mountainside to the overlook. We had a nice snack, since it wasn't actually lunchtime yet. We headed back down to our cars and were back to the Senior Center by noon! And we had a good workout, too. The pace was faster than I'm used to, but I managed all right, and other than not taking any pictures (which would have slowed me down), I hustled to keep up.

By the way, the other group went to Blaine and the Peace Arch Park and had fourteen hikers. They went about the same distance, but they didn't have any elevation to climb. I'm not sure who took the picture, but here's the other group, just for fun.

The Blaine Happy Wanderers

It didn't matter which group you went with today, since everyone was happy to have the great (if chilly) weather and the wonderful company. I look forward to more like this, please! And I'm glad to be home and well worked out, too. I should sleep well tonight once again.

:-)

Whatcom Falls from Barkley

On the trail

Today marks the first day of our new Senior Trailblazers setup, with two hikes on Tuesdays and two on Thursdays, all of different degrees of difficulty and distance. Since today started with plenty of fog and little visibility, only two people decided to take the longer drive to Whistle Lake in Anacortes, while the rest of us (eighteen!) carpooled to the parking lot across the street from Barkley Village and began our fun five-mile-long+ excursion.

It was cloudy and a little foggy for most of the hike, but we had plenty of wide trails to walk along, giving us a chance to visit with many others, and eventually shed some of our warm gear. Even though it wasn't all that cold, it was quite damp and you can see that many of us were dressed for warmth. We hiked past Derby Pond on our way to the pavilion at Whatcom Falls Park, where we enjoyed a bit more socializing and a bite to eat.

A short visit to the pavilion

As you can see from this picture, even after quite a while outdoors, the fog had not lifted very much. But it was very pleasant, and I have to say that as a Pacific Northwesterner, it was nice not to have any rain today. Just fog. After a bit, we went on to gaze at the very full Whatcom Falls. I've seen this when it's barely a trickle, and when it's even more roaring than it was today.

An impressive sight

It was a little disappointing that we didn't have the brilliant blue sky we saw yesterday, but it didn't really matter. We had fun, got exercise, and some great camaraderie as well. And there's always next week.

On the bridge

That's our leader in the foreground, Cindy, who took us unfailingly along the path to give us a good workout, and many happy faces, showing that we had plenty of reasons to be happy that we decided to come out to play! We then returned to the cars via the way we had come, and made our way back to the Senior Center. Until next week, we'll be watching the weather and hoping for another good day.

:-)