Stay and Ski

It's always great when Ron's days off line up with our son's.  We headed towards his house which means the mountains were in view.  The next morning we all headed to Kananskis.  The roads were a little iffy but we took our time.

The mountains sheltered us from the wind and we put on our skis and hooked up the dogs and off we went down the trail.

Everyone had a dog except me so they quickly passed me by.

And I was left alone with the quiet trees and majestic mountains to keep me company.

It was a beautiful day and the trails were perfect.  We all had a good work out.

We spent the night playing games and then the next morning we got up to do it all over again.  We headed towards the Lake Louise area.  The trail was quite different and the views were spectacular.

  I skied while the guys headed out with the dogs.

We had hills to climb and then slide down.  It will a little more work but it was so beautiful.

At 2.9 km we decided to make it a full 3 km before we turned around.  We headed a little further and started down a hill.  I couldn't stop and when I finally "crashed" we had gone 3.9 km.  

I made my way up the hill and just when we got into the sun again I realized that when I had fallen I had lost my sunglasses.  I took my skis off and walked down to get them.  I got even better exercise by retracing my steps.

It was a great few days...enjoyed by all those with two legs and four legs. 

I heard someone say this week that this has been a long cold winter.  I smiled as I thought that it hadn't been long at all.  We have tried to take advantage of the snow.  I'm even hoping for more to fall this week so we can have another few times out with the skis.

One month from tonight I will be in the hospital post surgery and my skis will be away for the season so I will try and take advantage of every opportunity to enjoy the weather.

Rollar Coaster Week

I hate roller coasters.  I have only been on one real one.  I always wonder why people want to do that.  You stand in line watching people ride and scream along the way.  Some get off the ride holding their stomachs, others stumble to a near by bench to rest and then there are those crazy people who run to the back of the line ready to go again.

I just don't understand why people like that feeling.  I prefer the safe feeling when there aren't so many ups and downs in life.

This past week was one of those roller coaster kind of weeks. 
On Sunday it was about to get very exciting because we knew that the next day our "Alberta kids" were going to make a very big announcement.

Andrew and Brianne are having twins!

And then came Monday when we got the terrible news that our "granddog" had lymphoma.  It sounded like there was very little chance for our Bentley.

I sat in my office and cried on and off most of the day.  I cried for our son, for Bentley and for me.  He's such a fun, sweet dog.

On Tuesday, we got word that our oldest granddaughter, Sarah had been scheduled for dental surgery.  It's hard not to be there for Jenn and Sarah.

Wednesday was a bit of an up day after two very hard days.  Jenn gave me the dates that she could come for my surgery and so I booked her a ticket.  Having to go through the surgery will not be fun but having Jenn here will truly be a blessing.  Bentley also had an appointment with an oncologist and they started chemo.  The prognosis is that after chemo he should go into remission for a while but there is a 25% that he will be completely better.  Praying!!!

On Thursday, we started to climb higher on our roller coaster.  Bentley was feeling good, tickets booked for Jenn....and we were off to Calgary.  After a very long time I was going to have a ring on my finger.  My engagement ring was lost early last year and finally after a lot of headaches and tears we had one designed to go with my bands.

It was an exciting time....you know that kind when you are at the top of the roller coaster and ready to go over that cliff when your heart is in your mouth.

Friday...we were ready to get off this roller coaster and have life tame down for a while.  We are thinking good thoughts for our Bentley....praying for our Sarah who has surgery next week....enjoying looking at my sparkly finger.

Now, back in Ontario there is another roller coaster starting.  Jacob, our grandson is a little concerned about his mom coming to help me.  He wants to know who will be making his supper.

Looking at the Postives

When I first heard and read "suspicious for thyroid papillary carcinoma" I tried to toss it to the back of my mind.  Of course, there were times it would slip to the top and I would ponder the idea of having cancer.  I knew from reading that Thyroid Cancer is very treatable and "the best" kind of cancer to have but still the thought was not welcoming.

The positive was that immediately when my daughter heard, she put things in motion, to be able to come out and help me through the recovery time.  As much as I dislike the idea of surgery, I look forward to this time that Jenn and I will have together.

Yesterday, Ron took the day off to go with me to talk to the surgeon.  First, his assistant explained the report once again indicating that the probability of cancer was 75% or higher.  She then told me that the doctor would want to check my vocal chords.  This, unfortunately, was not done by me trying to sing but rather putting a scope down my nasal passages.  This was rather uncomfortable and left me wondering...."Does this doctor know what he is doing... looking for something in my throat down my nose?"  Actually, he seemed quite thorough in explaining the procedure and recovery.  I shed only a few tears with the high percentage of the likelihood of cancer and a few more with the hunt for my vocal chords.

The positive was that since we were in Calgary, we got to have lunch with our boy.  It is always great to be able to have those moments.

From there, we went to the mall were we were finally putting an end to dealing with the "store" that had lost my engagement ring last year.  I had to sign a waiver that I can't talk negatively about this chain of jewellery stores.  After a year, of them unsuccessfully trying to design a ring that would go with my wedding bands, they paid me out and I got to walk away with the cheque. 

The positive is that next week we will go to pick up a ring that was designed to go with my bands and we only had to wait 5 weeks to get it.

So, even though my emotions seem to be a little whacky with dreading surgery; I have so many positives to consider and so I shall try and dwell on them and hopefully leave those other thoughts hidden.

 

Snowy Mountains

Ron and I went to the mountains.  On our way to Radium, we stopped at Lake Louise to find a good place to ski.

Close by we found lots of snow and the perfect trails through the woods.

It was a wonderful day.  The heavy snow on the trees were gorgeous and then it opened up to a frozen lake.

We finished a nice trek around the loop and then headed to Radium.  It never gets old going into Radium.

We checked into our chalet.  It's a quaint little motel with a wonderful view.

The next morning we headed back to Nipika.  The conditions were perfect this time and the trails were beautiful.

Later that day we went to the hot springs and soaked all our muscles.

That evening Ron returned to do laps in the "cool" pool.

The next morning we left Radium but the locals got the right away.

On our way back we stopped at Johnson Canyon to go for a little walk.  It was cold and the wind was blowing but it was sheltered enough to enjoy the spectacular sights.

There is nothing quite like enjoying the mountains in the winter but of course there was a little reminder that spring is coming even if that reminder is in a plant.