Bear Xing

Friday we ventured up to the Skyline Drive.  It was a beautiful day and about 60 degrees up there.  Once up there for about five minutes, we came across two cars with their caution lights on and a bunch of people taking pictures.  A sure sign that there is something......usually not deer......there's enough up there where you don't have to stop every mile to get fifty shots of them. It was a bear! And her two cubs.  The lady who had been there for about twenty minutes said that at one point the bear did a false charge at her.  But it seemed pretty relaxed when we got there.  The cubs where up in a tree so that is probably why. We kept a door or two open................hmmm.......might be a good idea to have an escape rout planned..............JUST in case!

One of the cubs up in the tree

 

Mountain Laural

Harrier Hawk, Glider

The homeschool co-op that I go to for Chemistry had a visitor there Thursday!! A falconer and his Harrier Hawk.  It was really cool!! Here are are few pictures.

Glider

Glider and his owner, Mr. Straka

Take a look at those talons!

I'm so glad that I took my camera! It was a beautiful, cool, and sunny day.  The weather was perfect.  

  I'm dearly loved

Forgiven beloved

Hidden in Christ

Made in the image of the Giver of Life

Righteous and holy

Reborn and remade

Accepted and worthy this is our new name

Her Highness Olivia Rose, Champion Napper

Yesterday I promised to make another post of K's cat, and here it is.  Livy (the gray kitty) is also known as Her Highness Olivia Rose. Enjoy!

June 2005

Her Highness's repose is guarded by her sister Pansy.

January 2005: cat nap

Livy and Pansy catch forty winks together

September 2005

A basket full of cats

August 2007

October 2007

 June 2011

July 2005

Livy the Cheerleader

Air raids, milk shakes and a country drives

Well, first off, no, its is not WWII and we are not being invaded......................well maybe.  Before you start to panic, its nothing you'll hear about on the news.  So I better start and clear something up before I go on.  K and I happened to be eating our lunch on a mill stone under some trees (minding our own business of course:-) when I seemed to have been the target for an unsuspecting bird in the tree.  Yeah, I know.............I probably said GROSS like a hundred times and washed by hands about fifty (more like five times................in a row:-) Fortunately it landed on my hand and didn't really get on anything else, THANK GOODNESS!! So K and I are going to announce to our family that we survived air raids when they get back:-) LOL

Next, we went and fed da horses carrots!

 Then we saw the Sheep.

 

There was a few in the pack that were total pigs! They LOVED the grass:-)

 After seeing the sheep we headed out and got milkshakes.  Then went on a country drive.  Welcome to the mountains! Enjoy:-)
 

 

 Some old barns.................

 

Now finished our excursion, I'm not sure what we'll do.  Might watch North and South later on.  I think I'll go see Livy. Livy is K's cat.  She is so sweet! Here are some pictures of her...............oh wait. On second thought I'll have a new post of her.  Ya'll see why:-)

Five Days and Counting!

Mom and I start our trip down south in five days to spend a few days visiting friends !!  I also get to hang out with my oldest brother!

Right now its more of trying to get school done and some chores.  As a matter of fact, packing hasn't even begun and probably won't until Saturday.  First a chemistry test, finish a lab report and maybe another test or so.

I didn't go to PT today :( For the past few days my poor heart can't seem to make up its mind to speed up or slow down.  The plan was that if it wasn't better this morning that we wouldn't go to PT.  This morning it was better but just not enough.  We think its just having to do with my body getting use to the new medication and possible being too active Friday with a field trip and picnic and fun.  Huh.  More energy so more fun.  Crash.  POTS is so persnickety!

Finally I think its time for some humor.  How about my favorite character in Hogan Heroes with my favorite saying!

(Google image)

This is actually the back of a T-shirt!  Go here for more information.

(Google image)

Sgt. Schultz
(Google image)

Ten Fingers for God

This book has been on the bookshelf since I could remember.  Mom and dad have told me how good it is but I've never picked it up to read it.  Wednesday night, while I was waiting to go to work, I grabbed it off the shelf and started reading it.  With the first page I was hooked!! Dr. Paul Brand was a son to two missionary doctors in the mountains of India. At the age of five he and his sister were sent to England where they would get a better education. Later on after college he married a doctor and they moved to India. It was here that his passion for leprosy patients grew.  He became a skilled surgeon in this field and his painstaking research and surgical trial and error led to amazing discoverys.  It is one of those books you do not want to put down!!

Here are some other books about him and his family:
Granny Brand, Her story  By Dorothy Clarke Wilson  (the story of his mother)
The Gift of Pain  By Paul Brand and Philip Yancey
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made By Brand and Philip Yancey
In His Image By Brand and Philip Yancey
Vision For God: The Story of Dr. Margaret Brand By Margaret Brand and James L. Jost

Here are a few links to read more about Dr. Paul Brand and his work.
The leprosy mission and about Dr. Paul Brand
John Mark Ministries talks about Dr. Paul Brand who died in 2003
My Hero.com Dr. Paul Brand

A Peek into POTS

Along with EDS, I am dealing with POTS: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.   It is found in approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of those with EDS, hypermobility and classic types.  I just found this great (but long) video from DINET.org on POTS.  No one can see the challenges with EDS unless there is a visual cue.  When I wear my elbow or knee brace, I get questions like "did you hurt yourself playing volleyball?"  ".....basketball?"  Well, no.  Either of those would probably do damage to me!  (But I don't say that.)  POTS is even more "invisible".   There are no braces or ice packs to give anyone a clue that I'm in the midst of a very real challenge during a flare up.  I think this video gives a good glimpse into the hows, whys and the what-it's-like of POTS.

Bad day

Having a really bad day.  I'm not really feeling well.  POTS is giving me a fit :(  Just need to keep drinking fluid and rest in the arms of the One who holds the world in His hands.  Hope ya'll enjoy the song!! Crank it up! :-)

Outdoor fun and horses

Today we went to Montpelier with some friends and had a blast.  Lunch first and then the horses!!

Lookin' kinda long in the tooth!!

Dogwood

What I like about spring and summer.  GREEN grass, SHADE, COLORFUL flowers, BLUE sky and WARM weather!!

This horse did this about five or six times in a span of like ten minutes!!  It was so funny!!

The horses were really friendly and had to sniff and lick everything!

Gone hiking

Bloodroot

The root of Bloodroot!  I just read that Bloodroot has a lot of anti-infective properties. Its been used for gangrene among other things.  Learn something new every day, I guess!

The barn cat

Home now.  I had a lot of fun today!! Achy and a loose shoulder but it was worth it all!! I'm going to sleep well tonight :-)

Gu Brew

My mom heard of a electrolyte tablet called Nunn and after looking around and finding some, we realized it wouldn't have nearly as much sodium as a 32 oz. Powerade and would cost a lot more.  A week or so later someone told us about GU Brew.  Most bike stores should carry it.  We found some at Dicks Sporting Goods.  I can say I definitely like it a LOT better than Powerade. First off, I get more sodium per fluid ounce from it than I would with a Powerade.  And most of all, it tastes better and is more refreshing, probably because it doesn't have all the dye and artificial flavoring.  The kitchen isn't cluttered with 32oz bottles of Powerade.  I just pop a tablet into my water bottle and I'm good to go!

 As far as PT and all that stuff, it’s going well.  I started hurting Monday evening.  I thought it was from sitting in the car all day to go to a doctor’s appointment.  I now think (since I'm still hurting) that it was also due to the weather.  I leave for PT in just a little while.  My hip and ankle are still the two main concerns. The outer part of my knee has gotten really tender again, so I'll talk to him about that.  My physical therapist started doing a new exercise on my shoulders since my left one seemed to have slipped out of place inside the socket two weeks ago. But, all in all, things seem to be ok.

I went to see my POTS doctor and he seemed fairly pleased with things - as far as blood pressure and all goes.  He did put me on another medication and is confident that it will help improve other POTS related issues I have been having.  School has become really hard due to problems with concentration and fatigue.  I'll start the meds in a day or so.