Summer Begins!

Today is the first day of summer. Fortunately we didn't have rain like we have had. Tomorrow is to be beautiful with thunder storms Wednesday afternoon. Such unusual weather patterns for this time of year.

I've been very tired today. Took an hour nap with Lucy, but still feels like I weight 20 pounds heavier. The burn in my leg continues. Between the two and the usual Fibromyalgia pain, it's been a rough day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I hadn't thought about the possibility of it being "spine" related until I received a comment about the possibility. I am overdue for my Chiropractic appointment. Guess I better make an appointment.

We have enjoyed the grandchildren of one of the other hosts. Tomorrow we will take the older two fishing and their grandparents will be cleaning campsites for us. Sounds like a good swap to me!!!

Day Off!

Today is my day off from camp duties. Our friend Ray is here until Friday. Dwain and Ray were gone most of the day doing guy stuff. Lucy and I hung out together. We did very little. I needed a day to catch my breath.

The outside of my left thigh has a large area that is numb. When on my feet for a little while, it burns intensely. I've had numb areas on my legs and arms before. Also have had burning sensations, but this is by far the worst combination I've experienced. I get relief by sitting down. I tried a Vicodin, but no success. Also a first time a pain medication did not help. A little scary cause when you need it, you need it, you know ...

My Seth and Steve will be here for a visit in about two weeks. I'm sooo excited. I don't see my kids enough. We will only have four days, but our family will all be together so we will make the most of our time. Then back to Wallowa Lake for the rest of July.

Don't remember if I've mentioned it, but our grandson, Josh was voted on to the Wallowa County All-Star Team. An honor he earned by playing his best.

Way past my bedtime ...

Today we cleaned camp sites after the campers left. Not a difficult job...pick up liter, clean the fire pit and rake the site. Campers were slow in leaving today so the time drug out. It also caused me to be on my feet longer. Had to take a pain pill, which I haven't done for quite awhile. My left thigh cramps and burns beyond my tolerance lately. When I'm not working in the park, I can sit and rest. I switched doctors a couple years ago. This clinic does not prescribe pain medication. They want to control pain through medication, not narcotics. I told them I would be a happy woman if they could. However, it's not happening. I'm thankful I have a few pain pills left. Not sure what I will do when I run out. My plan is to have a serious conversation with my doctor when I see her next.

A classmate from our school days, Ray, came to Wallowa Lake to spend four days with us. Tonight he took us to dinner. We are having a good visit.

Weather has been nice. Cool in the am, averaging 38. Once the sun comes up it warms up quickly.

Lucy has a Vet appointment tomorrow for her second shots. Then I have an appointment for a haircut. I can't keep my arms over my head to blow dry or use a curling iron. So keeping it short helps keep my arm pain down.

Our Joshua made the Major All-Star team for the second year!!

Beautiful Day!

Today was a beautiful day. A few clouds, but mostly sunny, about 75 degrees. We are park hosting at beautiful Wallowa Lake State Park in NE Oregon. We were able to be outside most of the day.

I took a nice nap this afternoon, in between hosting duties. Lucy is getting used to napping with me in the early afternoon. She has such a cute face, that it is nice to wake up to. :D She has not had an accident in the RV for over a week.

Tomorrow we will be doing interpretive work on eagles. The park has spotting scopes and a pair of binoculars for the campers to look at a nesting eagles and their three babies.

My left thigh area has been burning alot. This happens mostly when I've been on my feet too long. I am thankful I'm only having the burning in one leg. :D

"God blesses us...

"God blesses us in spite of our lives, not because of our lives."

Max Lucado

When I read this quote, I agreed. Then I started thinking of my blessings. Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue have allowed me to be more aware of my blessings and to enjoy them. God has blessed me with an amazing family, special friends and a lifestyle that is conducive to my Fibromyalgia pain.

When you are in constant pain and exhausted, you don't always think of your blessings. Usually we are ready to punch someone! When I take a walk, I look at the flowers closely, rather than just passing by. While with my grandsons, I notice the freckles across their noses. My granddaughter has soft curly hair like her Dad, my son. It would be easy to look past these small characteristics. Because my lifestyle has slowed, I am able to appreciate the little things in life. I hope you do too.

This week has been a challenge. I haven't blogged. Sometimes it is one more thing to do. I do enjoy posting as it helps we see my day.

My Fibromyalgia symptoms are still at a higher level, altho better than a week ago. Guess I'm moving forward. My Chronic Fatigue continues to be aggressive. I'm taking two and two and a half hour naps and still ready for bed early.

Saturday I wore my legs out and knew I was close to them giving way. We had wood shed duty (selling wood) for four hours. Dwain was kind and let me sit in a chair to collect the campers' receipt and tally while he loaded the wood. I felt like I was not holding up my end of the job, but he insisted. I was grateful, but had to get to a place of being ok with his generosity. I'm sure others have the same frustration. I want so badly to be normal. Sometimes it's hard to accept my Fibromyalgia. But must move on .....

We are enjoying the other campground hosts. They are friendly and do their work well. Our duties are to clean the camp sites once the camper has left (two days a week), sell wood (two days a week) and on Sunday we will do an interpretive program. Dwain will teach basic photography, taking the campers over a nature trial, ending up on a viewing platform where they can learn about eagles. That's my job...to learn about eagles and provide information. We have an eagle and two fledglings (baby eagles) in a nest. The park provides binoculars and spotting scopes. A couple days ago I walked to the marina area. It was a perfect day...blue sky, warm, adults and children were fishing and/or picnicking. The eagle was flying over head. It was very calming and I soaked it up for awhile.

We are attending grandson Patrick's spring music concert tonight. Always an enjoyable evening. He is an 8th grader and plays with the high school band. After he attended the Seattle Heritage Music Festival, he received a invitation to audition for a band that is traveling to New York, time at Julliard then a concert at Carnige Hall.

Tomorrow our youngest son Adam, daughter-in-law, Carrie and granddaughter, Lyla will arrive for a two day visit. Hard to Lyla is 20 months. I'm grateful they can take the time to visit as it is a 6 hour drive.

It's only about three weeks until our oldest son, Seth and his partner Steve will visit from Chicago. They will spend July 4th with us. That is also Dwain's birthday. Very excited for their visit. I wish we all lived near one another. I miss seeing my kids daily.

Lucy continues to grow, but not by much. She will be three months on Monday and is still potty training. There are moments when I think she's "got it" but not yet! She did take me to the door this morning, but not since. She is due a Vet appointment next week for a checkup and second set of shots. She is a source of great entertainment...a funny puppy. She is a snuggler, which I have enjoyed. We took a nap together yesterday. :D

Hard Day :>(

What a day this has been. Every time I took a step, I want three backwards. It has rained all day. Taking Lucy out for potty calls is an ordeal. Neither one of us wants to get wet, so we battle tugging on the leash.

Dwain isn't much help with Lucy. He has taken the stand that Lucy is my dog and I should take care of her totally. He plays with her and lets her sit in his lap, but when it comes to taking her outside or watching her so she doesn't do her business in the house, he's worthless. Lucy might be closer to him when she is doing something wrong, and he will tell me what is happening, expects me to stop what I'm doing. I'm about to loose my patience. If he would loose the attitude and pitch in once in awhile, that would be nice. HE got two naps today...not I. I'm about to loose my patience.

I'm having a hard time with my Chronic Fatigue and nod off periodically. I had to force myself to stay awake.

We have moved our home to Wallowa Lake State Park. We will be camp hosts for the month of June and maybe July. We had our orientation today. Soon after lunch our friends came to visit. After they left I started dinner preparation. About 6 pm my Aunt came for a visit. I did get one load of towels and a rug washed today, I am so tired I can't think straight. My cognitive is running amuck.

So off to bed to catch a few winks before Lucy wakes up. After two nights of 8 hours straight, she got up twice last night.