I'm back?

Just saying. Or at least. I hope to be. Or else I will forget where we have travelled!!

Quick update:

• Christmas 2018: Paris, London
• Christmas 2017: New Orleans
• Christmas 2016: Delaware
• Christmas 2015: Edinburgh
• Christmas 2014: Destin, Florida (I think, and Thanks, Jay)

Go-to pieces of advice

I keep coming back to these ideas, picked up from wise people over the course of my life.

1. It is truly impossible for a humble man to ever feel despair (Circa 1985, From a man whose family took him back after he kicked a drug habit).

2. Intentions don't mean squat (Circa 1981, from a wise college friend).

3. It is impossible to have the mindset of a victim and a leader (2012, from a talk given by gay rights activist Dan Choi).

4. You have somebody else's dream job. When you no longer enjoy anything about your job, it might be time for you to let that somebody else have it. (From a 2009 keynote address at a conference.)

Each worthy of much thought -- they have been my touchstones.

-mmm

What Commencement looks like from my perspective

Commencement was Saturday and after leading faculty to their seats I stood by the ramp leading to the stage and reminded graduates to have their card in their hand. I see strange shoes go by. 

What? Mid-December already?

I am imagining this as a headline:

Las Cruces High School Football Team Wins State Championship, Following Soccer Team Example!

This is the big news in town, but I missed the game. It is cold today and I spent the day reading and making a batch of toffee. First batch I have ever made that cracked when it was supposed to.

Stu and I ushered for the Santa Fe Opera Holiday Concert tonight and I stepped in as a last minute page turner for the pianist. Made the concert much more interesting to see the structure of the music as it went by. Kirt Pavitt was the accompanist, and a talented musician.

Enrosadira

If you google enrosadira and click images, the Dolomites of Italy appear.  Apparently there is a story about a heartbroken lover who turned his garden to stone, but the colors of the garden can still be viewed on warm summer evenings.  The documentation I saw said it is the only place in the words where that happens.  

Nay, not so! Enrosadira is becoming a favorite word of mine.

Jacob & Janelle

Jacob and Janelle, before the 5K Huffing for Stuffing race, Bozeman, Montana.  Apparently one runs in snow there.  

This is Gus

This is Gus. Quincy brought him home last summer because he is orange and he has a basso profundo purr and he has a tuft.  He is living with us until he can live with her. I have been told that he is my grand kitty.

He is a big boy (14+ pounds) and he gallumps all over the house.  He sleeps under the covers, frequently in the zone of little air exchange with the outside. He falls off chairs.  

Book recommendations from October

Sex lives of Cannibals
Snake Lake



-mmm

Sent from my iPad

Milestone for miles (and miles, and miles...)

The first week in July I started my sixth year of biking. Last year I biked about 5,400 miles (it was a good year). I think I can estimate my miles since I started in 2008 as somewhere around 25,000. As soon as they build the bike path, I do plan to circumnavigate the globe.

And it's off! or, Day 2 of Donation

Day 2 of donation went  pretty well, at least for me. I was a few moments late (this turned out to be relevant) and my veins behaved relatively well. 4 hours is a long time to be hooked up to an apheresis machine, but in the end, they got what they needed from me.

And almost in time, too! The courier arrived who would be transporting the cells to "International" (all they would tell me about where my stem cells were needed, but his luggage tag said Lufthansa), but I wasn't quite done yet. They needed 1200 mg, and I wasn't there yet. So the dude waited, I hurried (really, there is no way to do this), and he waited more. The minute I was finished, they kicked into high gear processing the cells for travel.

The courier raced away from the donation center before we did, toting behind him a bright blue wheeled tote with HUMAN PRODUCTS on the side. I have seen these totes in airports, and now I will look at them differently.

It is a strange thing to think of your cells racing across the ocean to go do their stuff in another human. My understanding is that if this works, he will forever make blood according to my genetic information.    If I ever need such a transplant, can my cells from him be returned to me?

Stu says I look pale and about to fall down, but I am about ready to go wander through the heatscape that is Fort Worth in late June.

Day one of donation

Travel to Fort Worth was uneventful -- it has been YEARS since either Stu or I left DFW through the front doors.

Last night Stu and I walked around this part of Fort Worth. It is actually a pretty nice area. We had dinner on the Trinity River then strolled the long way back to the hotel. Along the way, we found mergansers, snowy and great egrets, a great blue and yellow-crowned night heron, a bunch of mallards, and two scissor-tailed flycatchers. Those were awesome. I have only seen them once or twice before.

The hotel is nice and obviously serves the health care places in the area, of which there are about a gazillion. We were at the blood collection center about 8 this morning, but we were late getting started (I think the RN just forgot she was supposed to be collecting cells today). It took a lot longer than we had anticipated because of the slow start. I had the usual problems donating (my veins roll) but the nurse and the tech made it work. In the end, I pumped out 60% of what the patient needs so I will go back for a shorter session tomorrow. I feel a bit like a pincushion, but there are no more injectionse and I am almost done.

Stu was so bored he donated blood.

Our walk last night included a stroll through an older section of town past lovely homes. With luck, we can make it back before we leave Wednesday.

Working hard...

Sunday Stu and I head to Fort Worth so I can donate peripheral blood stem cells to some unknown human. He is from outside the US, and we share about a dozen genetic markers that makes my bone marrow compatible with his. He is sick, and I might be able to help. It will take three days of my life and costs some discomfort.

To do this, I am getting 5 days of injections that are boosting my white blood cell production. The nurse giving me these injections, Mercedes, says my body is working hard to make these cells. Mercedes is a great cheerleader.

Be the Match. Google them. Think about signing up.

Home critters

Some photos from this week.

Stu found the bat, snoozing on the porch.


The spiny lizard has been hanging around all summer. He climbs walls and seems to be not at all camera shy.

The cnemidopherous at the bottom showed up later today and posed briefly before running off. I felt like paparazzi.

Final Catch-up

So in an effort to not drag out a year's worth of living, I will summarize.

Stu finished his year as Faculty Senate Chair and returned to regular professorhood. Only to go back only rejoin Faculty Senate this spring.

We've traveled this past year: we took Jake to Bozeman and helped him move into his new place. We took Quincy to Ashland and helped her move into her first apartment. Christmas saw us all in DC, with friends and family. In March we traveled again to Oregon. May we went back to Oregon then to visit Jake in Montana.

Sadly, when we were in Oregon in March, my brother's wife Kathy passed away. Her absence has been deeply mourned by so many.

Of course, lots of other things events: Our sixth Bataan, lots of Sunday breakfasts with friends, and mostly good times. We are all well.

I am trying to get this back on track. I have missed blogging into the ether.

The picture below was taken at a pretty special time. We took it in DC at Christmas, in the house we rented. We had good times with friends and family.  The weather was cold and rainy, but evenings at the house we rented were filled with good food and conversation: the stuff which lives and memories are made.

Catching up, Part II

Mother's Day, 2012, Salem, Oregon.

Jake graduated from Willamette University with one degree in Biology and another in and Rhetoric Mass Communication. Quincy flew up for the ceremony and it was an excellent culmination of Jake's college career. The legendary Willamette Weather Machine worked its magic and the day was beautiful.

I flew up early to see Quincy's show in Ashland at Southern Oregon University, and both the set and the show were excellent. Jacob and I drove from Ashland to Salem, and we picked up Stu at the Portland Airport.

The rest of the weekend was also excellent. We had a last visit to the amazing Salem Farmer's Market with Jacob's friend Janelle and her sister. We found, in our last trip to Salem, one more wonderful restaurant, and also finally found a comfortable hotel. Here's hoping it wasn't really our last trip. Salem is a great town.

On Saturday, we had a surprise -- Jake needed help moving out of the dorms so we spent most of the rest of the reliving the ritual of moving out of an apartment. Lots of grime can accumulate in a couple of semesters, but he got mostly packed and cleaned and moved lots of stuff over to the Kappa Sigma house.

Graduation wasn't until Sunday afternoon, so on Sunday morning, Stu and I had a chance to visit Silver Falls, in the Cascades. Willamette hosted a trip to the Falls every year on Family Weekend. Despite attending 3 of the 4 weekends, Stu and I never made it there so we decided it was about time. Oregon has a pretty amazing system of state parks. The woods were beautiful, and the falls were too. These falls (below) might look familiar. Last time I was at the accupunture doc, I noticed that the poster on ceiling was of Silver Falls. I suspect similar photos appear in a lot of motivational-inspirational-beauty-etc. posters.

Before we went to Oregon, I got a new camera. Hence all the photographic playing. I will see if I can find a slideshow plug-in for blogspot.

So the rest of the morning  -- we got Quincy at the airport, headed back to Salem for Willamette's graduation brunch, then went off to the ceremony. We rounded out the day with dinner with Janelle's family.

So what was next for Jake?

He spent a week or so at the Kappa Sigma house doing some home improvement before driving back to Cruces for the summer. He spent a week in Hawaii with Janelle, then, in early August, headed up to Montana State University to work on a doctorate as a member of the Molecular Bioscience Program. Bozeman is a great town and Jake has some good time ahead of him.

The sun was setting as we took our last group shot on the Willamette Campus, in front of the famed Chicken Statue.

Congratulations to all the Willamette Class of 2012.

Catching up, part I

Last big post (not about a dirty bike) was the Christmas update, and the world did not stop at that point. So here's part 1 of catching up.

Kids went back to school in January, Jake for his last semester at Willamette and Quincy to Southern Oregon. Stu and I made our first trip to Oregon of the year to see Quincy's Winter term play -- Midsummer Night Dream. It is one of her favorite shows, so she was excited to be Assistant Master Carpenter for it.

Oh, yeah. Shortly before our trip to Oregon, Stu had surgery for a torn ligament, torn rotator cuff, and bursitis all on his right shoulder. That was the start of a rather long involvement with physical therapy, doctor checks, and more PT. Looks like I left that out of updates.

Meanwhile, farther north along I-5, Jacob was busy writing away on two theses and visiting graduate schools. During a rather busy week, he visited Washington State University, Montana State University, and Oregon State University. All visits went well, but the program at Montana State in Molecular Biosciences was most to his liking. He got a nice offer, so he committed to become a Bobcat.

At the end of March, kids were back for Spring Break, and we (minus Quincy) completed our 5th Bataan Memorial Death March. Out times were worse than last year, but Stu was barely a month post-op, so finishing was really the goal. The day ended up much hotter than average, and finishing was a bit of an accomplishment. Jacob's friend Janelle marched with us, earning all-around kudos for being willing to walk a marathon on the second day of her spring break. It was a poppy year, so much of the walk was more beautiful than usual.

Kids headed back to school, and things quieted back down. Part 2 will be coming soon.

On a sad note, Annie, our beautiful black mutt who shared our home since December 24, 1999, succumbed to cancer in mid-February. She died in our back yard in the caring hands of our gentle vet. It is always sad when a companion dies, but there is something strangely satisfying knowing that we were with her in the end, and were as loyal to her as she had always been to us. I think maybe Widget misses her the most, and she enjoyed tormenting that dog.

Dirty bike means a good time, right?

Teens no more!

Kids have been home for spring break for a most excellent week of sun, food, conversation, and relaxation. They go back today, and we will miss them. But through a miracle of scheduling, their planes leave within an hour of each other, so we only will take one trip to El Paso!

It was a busy week -- Jacob and Willamette friend Janelle arrived home on Saturday and were up at 3 am the next day for the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon. The weather was warmer than usual, and Janelle, who is from Hawaii, proved plenty tough enough for a 26-mile walk in the desert. Kudos to her.

As usual, the March was a day to remember sacrifice and to march along side current active military.

Quincy celebrated her 20th birthday last night. I was concerned that the strainer we gave her for a present was too prosaic. She considered it to be stylish.

Traveling...

Jake is getting back from a week of traveling to visit grad schools. His travels took him to Washington State University, Montana State, and Oregon State. He really liked all the schools, so now he has a decision to make!

In the meantime, Stu and I are on a plane heading to Medford for a weekend with the Q. More later...

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

December 24, 1999 to February 13, 2012

RIP, Annie.

Our beautiful, feral, orange-eyed puppy died today. We exercised the omnipotent human option, thus sparing her a longer passing from cancer, which she was diagnosed with in early January.

She was probably the worst dog I will ever miss. Before she died today, she menaced the 18 year old cat and snacked on dirty cat litter. That's just the way it is.