Bonkers

My brother and sister were discussing me the other day. "I think Lisa has gone bonkers", my brother said, "climbing, caving, trail running, biking all over creation and now wrestling?".

These exclamations came from my brother who served four years in the army and feels so quilty that he didn't serve in Iraq, he is thinking of signing up again. Now that's nuts.

Later in the evening, I jokingly told my sister that the children (5 under 7) were so loud, I was going to run away and hide in Guatemala. "It wouldn't surprise me", my sister said. "We are just waiting for your next thing, your next hobby, your next crazy act. Nothing would surprise us, even if you decided to become a camel jockey".

Am I really that wierd? I just don't know anymore.

Tuesday's Wine Post

Secondary Labels are often a good wine buy. What are they? A secondary label reflects two different bottles of wine, two different labels by the same winery. It's common and is a good buy, particlarly in years of good harvest. Here is a good bet:

2002 Hahn cabernet sauvignon at $9.99. Hahn is the second label of Smith & Hook. The Hahn aroma had a pretty floral nose with notes of black cherries and Scotch wood. In the mouth, you can taste lots of new oak, dark fruit, tannins and resins. The finish seems to last forever. This is and inexpensive wine but is a good bang for the buck.

Miscellaneous, the week in review

This past week was really busy but generally good. I am looking forward to OTR, which is Labor Day weekend. This year I want to take advantage of all it has to offer, perhaps the 5K, scavenger hunt, climbing contests. I want to do lots of caving, and maybe the Nelson Rocks via ferrata.



(at left: my helmet's location deep in the underbrush: Above: me, watching Mike climb).

I've decided to do a miscellaneous post to fill in missing pieces and photos. Have been so busy these past few weeks, I suppose my posts are somewhat colorless. When I downloaded photos from the digital cam, I found lots of other cute ones from our trip to Canada. Here are some of them.

(right - the Thorner gang at Grand Bend, painting rocks. left - Camille on the beach at Grand Bend)

The Freedom to Be

Today, I have discovered something. It's been there all along, I just discovered it. I have a husband who lets me be; who lets me be me. It's not easy, I assure you, to be my husband. It's not easy to love me. I'm a pain in the bum.
I'm like a bat. I get in your hair, I nibble on your neck, I fly at you just because of a little pebble in the air. I protect my baby bats fiercely. You might think I am cold blooded because I prefer the cool, dark, damp cave environment. But warm blood flows through my murcielagos veins from my tiny beaded eyes to my black toes.
My husband doesn't cave dwell but he loves me.

Climbing, miscellaneous, etc.

Climbed last night with an energetic young man. He took me to the property in Morehead and we climbed. He climbed first, sat on top of the cliff and then I climbed. He belayed me from up top.
If only I could relax and not worry about falling, I could climb so much better. I know I am capable of it. I think it just requires a whole lot of practice. I was so nervous, I guess, my legs were shaking crazily. My climber buddy said I had "Elvis legs". I tried to calm down and lower my heels but as soon as I began to move again, they resumed shaking. I have never done that before. I didn't like it.
Just before I started my climb, I retrieved something from my pack, knocking it down. Several items rolled free from the pack, down the steep hill and into the underbrush. I finally finished the climb and was glad to get back on the ground. Despite my shaking legs, I am anxious to get back out there again.

Wormfest

All four Batscouters (my hubsand and two children) went to Wormfest this weekend. Wormfest is an efficiently run caving event, sponsored by the Dayton Underground Grotto. Since I had to leave work, go to the bank, go to the beer store, pick up the children, finish packing, return videos, get gas, get groceries, and fill up the cooler with ice, we didn't leave town until well after 8:00 p.m. We arrived at the campground after 11:00 p.m. I immediately began trying to set up the tent, yet discovered hours and 8 male tent assistants later, that my husband had left half the tent back home. A friend donated use of a small tent and we finally got situated. On Saturday, Chloe and I went on a kid's caving trip to John Griffin cave and we both enjoyed it. My ankle performed fairly well and the trip was easy and leisurely. The rest of the weekend was enjoyable too. Chloe and I each won our categories in the coloring contest, Camille and Chloe swam in the creek, a fox tried to steal our food, Camille made me march around the campground while she rode in the kid backpack. As we were returning home, Camille repeatedly slipped her arms and shoulders out of the child seat harness, half standing up. I pulled over several times to repair the harness, warning her to stay put. I looked in the rearview mirror and noticed she had done it again. I told her I was going to pull over again and this time she would get spanked. Very smoothly, she said, "that's ok mommy, I will do it for you". She then said to herself, "Camille, you shouldn't have done that, stay in your seat"; and then she smacked herself on the leg. "Ouch" she exclaimed, "that hurt". "Well you shouldn't have done it, Camille" she lectured. After she was finished, she said, "I took care of it mommy so you won't have to pull over now, you can keep driving". The whole thing was so funny to me, silly, and actually quite clever and efficient on her part that I laughed, forgetting my anger. The most ironic part was that it worked; she stayed properly in her seat after that. Maybe I shall let her do the discipline from now on.

Bone scan or Bone Head

Throw me a bone, bare bones jury instructions, "dem bones dem bones...these are the bones", make no bones about it.... I underwent a bone scan today which revealed a definite stress fracture of the distal tibia and a bone contusion. Yahoo!!! At least I know my ankle pain is not in my head. I watched the bone scan screen and an immediate hot spot appeared each time at my ankle, a pink giant pink blob. So, a week or two more at least of rest and then maybe I can start running, very slowly. I also found out that my bones, well....suck. Apparently I have fairly bad osteopenia, on all xray reports lately, the radiologists feel the need to comment about the general state of my bones. I had a BMD screening test which showed my Z-score at -2.7 which means borderline osteoporosis. Man, I'm only 41. Anyway, those screening tests can be wrong so I am scheduled for a more comprehensive test soon. At any rate, my doctor says I will be taking fosamax or a similar drug soon. Yahoo!! Hey, just fix me up and let me run again.

Tuesday's wine post

I have decided to make Tuesday my usual wine post. Recently, I had a bottle of 2002 Greg Norman Shiraz at a restaurant. The bottle costs about $16.00 retail but ran us about $42.00 at the restaurant. It was a safe restaurant bottle but has great limitations.

I still adore Amerone but it is beyond most drinker's pocketbook. So my pick of the week is
Freemark Abbey's 2001 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. From an unbelievable vintage comes this superb wine. Dark ruby in color, the wine has nuances of dark cherry and nicely integrated oak with a background of black currant and cassis. Very fruitful entry, crisp with a long finish, and it promises a long life of enjoyment. Percentage of each grape variety used: 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot Vineyards: 22% Red Barn Ranch (Rutherford), 19% Wood Ranch (Rutherford), 17% Carpy-Conolly Ranch (Rutherford), 16% Calistoga Vineyard, 11% Sycamore Vineyard (Rutherford), 8% Bosché Vineyard (Rutherford), 4% Ahern Vineyard (St. Helena), 2% Freemark Vineyard (St. Helena), 1% Round Pond Vineyard (Rutherford). Retails for approximately $32.00

This ankle is driving me crazy

I have several tests scheduled at the hospital tomorrow: gall bladder ultrasound, ankle xray, and upper GI. I think I wasn't supposed to eat after 7 p.m., I flubbed that up. I don't care about my heart attack symptoms anymore, I want a new ankle. The thing is stiff and sore, particularly when flexing with impact. No running, even if I wanted to. I can't tolerate the pain and the joint is too stiff to "work".

TGIF

I've fallen and I can't get up. This ankle is so troublesome. Last night I applied heat and ice, trying something new. I called my doctor and requested an appointment today. We'll see what he has to say. Won't somebody put me out of my misery? I know there are several people who would love to shoot me in a pasture, put themselves out of misery.

Running last night and exercising today (I only lasted 20 minutes) was more than I could bear. My doctor would think me crazy if I requested narcotic painkillers so I can keep running.

Time for the sport's medicine clinic.

An expensive hotel

While dealing with the continued ankle problem, I suffered strange symptoms which appeared to be heart related. I had palpitations, chest pain, a feeling of pressure, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, headache, etc. A stress test revealed that I have a rate dependent bundle, on the EKG strip it looked like V-tach. Since I went 17 minutes on the treadmill before my heart rate reached maximum, my cardiologist concluded that the rate dependent bundle, which lasted only a few seconds and righted itself, was not worrisome.

I didn't enjoy my two days in the hospital, got stuck with a needle 22 times. My veins were so big, the nurses said, they rolled when the IV was inserted. I decided that was crap, they just sucked at IV insertion. One nurse stuck the needle in there and went fishing. Eventually they settled for the IV site in the lee of my right elbow and I hated that.

I am back to work and glad to have escaped that awful place. I ended up watching TV! Gunsmoke. I did get all of my knots figured out, I can now tie and untie a dozen knots with my eyes closed. I even tied a figure 8 with my feet! The food sucks there and they think that a vegetarian dish means you prepare the plate and then take the meat off. I existed on zone bars and popcorn.

Willie Wonka sings Thriller, Michael Jackson and the Chocolate Factory

Here are my comparisons:

1. Michael Jackson wore glove(s) at inappropriate times. Willie Wonka wore blue rubber gloves during the whole film.

2. Michael Jackson (MJ) and Willie Wonka (WW) have similar appearance; weird dark hair, pasty skin.

3. MJ had a bizarre father, WW had a bizarre father.

4. MJ had weird, almost nonexistent childhood (deprived of things), WW had weird almost nonexistent childhood, deprived of chocolate.

5. MJ lives like a hermit, so does WW

6. Both MJ and WW haven't the foggiest idea how to relate to kids, because a large part of their psyche is still trapped in childhood.

7. MJ woos kids with a ranch, animals; WW with chocolate, oompah loompahs

8. MJ thinks he can just take kids and own them willy nilly, WW wanted Charlie to come and live at the factory.

9. Both MJ and WW lack the ability to deal with the kid's family.

10. Both are wealthy in a standout unique bizarre sort of way.

11. MJ has the theatre room, WW has the TV chocolate room.

12. MJ has trouble with song copyrights, WW had trouble with chocolate recipe copyrights.

13. WW's factory shut down and then made a come back, MJ has had several "has been" and "come back" phases.

14. MJ had several plastic surgeries, WW wore a headgear orthodontic apparatus.

15. WW has no girlfriend or wife, neither does MJ

16. MJ's Neverland ranch is huge and imposing, so is WW's factory.

17. MJ's Neverland ranch giraffes and zebras are similar in character to WW's oompah loompahs.

18. WW has the boat which floats down the chocolate river, MJ has a merry go round.

19. Both "men" are thin and about same height

20. They both have tiny, mousy little voices.

anybody want to add to this list. I could continue on forever.

Grand Bend, Ontario

Ankle refused to cooperate when I walked on the beach. As I tried to wade out into the water, the slipping sand and stones beneath my feet made it hard. The ankle just doesn't want to flex, it's sore and stiff. It made me so angry. I was hoping to run while up there.

It was a beautiful place though. We rented a cottage on Lake Huron. The beach was fantasic, you could easily fool yourself into believing you were at the ocean. Once, I yelled "shark" at my 7 yr old and she came out of the water faster than a mosquito can bite you and make its getaway.

As soon as she returned to the dry sand and felt the pebbles and stones where shells should have been, the "no shark" reality hit her. She gave me a dirty look and returned to diving and floating. Both kids had an awesome time. Camille played in the sand for hours, Chloe collected stones and swam. We kept many of the stones and painted them in the evenings.

I painted several myself, a cave stone, an egyptian eye, a paisley design, and a man's face. Chloe painted flowers, bugs, moons and stars. Camille, the three year old, painted - well - herself. Many clothes are now ruined.

We deeply enjoyed the sunsets. They were colorful, clear and lengthy every night. Such a sunset could make you think.

Life has a way of resetting the balance of things. It's not always the balance you expect, the same posture you once had, the positioning of the past. Life's balance sometimes catches you off guard, in the end, you will adjust, you will be fine. The sunset always comes and so does tomorrow.