Not as old as I thought I was

Mr W and I saw an exhibit at the museum last weekend on health that had movie on what one's body goes through when you're hiking at altitude. This led me to decide that I'd go hiking on my birthday, on a trail that I had hiked a couple of years ago and liked a lot (i.e. lots of wildflowers).

I used to hike more than I do now. I've also had to have some physical therapy this year on my hip, which I injured when I was in my 20's (playing Capture the Flag, but that's another story). So I guess it wasn't a surprise that I woke up at 3 am and started worrying that I might hurt myself, or have to turn back because my hip hurt, or that the dog would get hurt, or blah blah blah.

I considered going someplace else, but in the end stuck with the plan and just did it. The trail head was about 1.5 hours away, up our local canyon (the Poudre) and it was a beautiful day. The dog was about out of her mind with enthusiasm; it was really fun to watch. There were lots of little rivulets of water, so I bet the smells were amazing. I kept her on a leash, which was great on the uphill (got a little assist here and there) but hard on the downhill because she pulled a bit.

And, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. The parking lot is at 10,000' and the full hike was about 2 miles one way, with only about 1000' of elevation gain. Unfortunately, I only made it about 80% of the way, as there was still snow on the trail and it got deep enough that I was breaking through with almost every step. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm sitting here about 7 hours later and nothing hurts yet. I imagine my knees will be a little sore, but that's to be expected.

I might try again in a month, when the snow will be gone. I could certainly also pick something that wasn't so high up to begin with too, but it's nice to get the cooler air when it's hot in town. It was a good thing indeed to pull out my hiking stuff - pack, first aid kit, boots, etc., and have everything fit and feel good. I love my old boots - no blisters!

I picked up Mr W and we went to Whole Foods. They sell individual pieces of cake, so I got a piece and he got a cupcake. We are all caked up and I'm going to get him to bed so I can have a glass of celebratory wine and go to bed.

It was a good day.

Happy Birthday, Sister Kris

So, it might seem a little odd that I refer to my sister as Sister Kris, as she is most certainly not a nun. However, our family is besieged by people named Kris. My dad's S.O. is Chris, and my sweetie is also named Chris (heretofore known as CB). With three Ch/Kris's floating around, it's hard to keep it all straight sometimes. Thus, my sister is Sister Kris. I also get called Sister Linda because there's another Linda on my brother's wife's side.

Anyway, birthday wishes. She is 45 today. My parents had three kids in 3.5 years and I haven't come close to comprehending what was involved in having three kids under the age of three. I don't think I ever will. Just having Mr. W (as he shall be known) was PLENTY of work. It's funny, we three oldest ones, (Ron is 6 years younger than me) didn't get along especially well, I think because we were so close in age. However, nowadays, we are very close. Something happened when we all hit our late 20's that made us realize we did indeed like each other.

I called her twice today, and just spoke briefly with her each time. She's so tired lately. I called at about 10 am her time and woke her up (oops). She was trying to rest before some friends came over with food and drink for her birthday. And then when I called later, she was wiped out from having them over and whooping it up (a relative term these days). She said her stomach hurt, and she was trying to rest to get rid of it.

She also said the doctors moved up the date of her scan to two days from now, because she's having a significant amount of pain. That can't be good, but she/we need to know. I was telling CB tonight that I'd want to know a timeline at this point. I'd need to know. But I also recognize that not everyone does. I really hope they can manage her pain adequately.

I did send card, it didn't get there yet, but probably tomorrow. It was from some original photos that were made into note cards that I bought. The one I chose had a nice little waterfall on it, and I thought that appropriate, given how time flows, and things are never the same for very long.