Weekend Trip to Bend

Eddie and I went to Bend for the night this past week-end. My friend, B., and her dog, Shika, joined us for the drive over the mountains. Shika spent most of her time hanging out next to Eddie or with her head in her lap while Eddie played on the iPad on Shika's head. It was cute. They seemed to really bond. We stopped at the summit and played in the snow for about 30 min. Well, Eddie and Shika played. I had to rescue his boot from the snow and ended up with snow in my own shoes! : )

We had lunch in Bend on Saturday with B. and B.'s cousin and her husband. B's cousin is a quilter and has the most amazing quilting machine that cost $35,000 used. But it's saved her in this economy as it became her primary source of income in the recession. And, her quilts are beautiful.

Then, we went to my friend's house and got to meet her baby! We relaxed for a couple of hours and visited and then I took Eddie to Sun Mountain Fun Center. We played in the Arcade and then rode the Go-Karts and then the Bumper Cars. Fun fun fun!

My friend and I got to talk shop - we work in the same area in Alaska and have coauthored two papers together. We are working on a grant proposal, too, that's due in a couple of weeks. So, in that sense, it was also productive for work.

On Sunday, we had brunch in downtown Bend and then walked around Drake Park before it was time to pick up B and Shika and head home. Thank you, Bend B., for having us as guests, and thank you Corvallis B. and Shika for keeping us company on the drive over the mountains!

All in all, a good trip! Made even better by the fact that I can go 24 hours or more without changing my dressings! It's no longer leaking through! Also, the wound changes almost daily. It seems more of the satellite lesions are shrinking and have disappeared. The outer layers of skin are collapsing a bit into the cavity made by debriding the dead tissue. I can sleep on my side. I almost don't need to take Ibuprofen or Tylenol anymore for pain. My day at work went well today, too. I think I'm finally getting caught up! : )

Long Week-end Away

Don't worry - nothing bad has happened to me! My family and I went to Bend, in Central Oregon, for the tail end of spring break. My sister and her two kids, my youngest brother, my folks, Eddie, and I (and my folks' dog, Mimzi) all went.

We rented a house near the south end of town. My sis went shopping. One night, my brother and I took the kids to Sun Mountain Fun Center and another night, my sis took them all. The Fun Center was fun - I liked riding the go-karts and the bumper cars. Eddie enjoyed the Arcade.

Eddie tried to ice skate one night, but it was too hard on him because his ankle ligaments are so loose and relatively weak.

We went sledding on Saturday - beautiful gorgeous Central Oregon day! It was sunny and about 50 when we finally found snow. The kiddos spent an hour and a half walking up the hill and sliding down. Earlier that day, my folks, my brother, and I went downtown and looked at antique shops, grabbed lunch, then went up to COCC (Central Oregon Community College) and walked around. Campus was closed for spring break, but it was still fun to walk around in the sun and see the mountains through such cloudy beautiful skies.

So, it was a fun few days, a busy few days. I was tired last night but got a good night's sleep. Later today, I have a Herceptin treatment. I plan to bring my computer and post some pictures and work on a proposal.