Long time, no blog.
Life has been super busy lately. Mostly normal stuff--physical therapy, art classes, neighborhood potlucks every Friday evening at the pool/clubhouse, church on Sundays, afternoons at the pool when it's hot and sunny, time out with friends. Mom and Dad took a quick trip to Westcliffe last weekend for a bluegrass music festival and Maddie and I stayed home. I went to that festival with them two years ago and learned that bluegrass isn't really my thing! We all need some time alone, so they got to hike and hang out with friends and so did I ( well, not the hiking, but I did spend lots of time with friends!)
I have been walking as much as possible each day, and I walk on the Alter-G treadmill (such a cool thing that was developed by NASA on Thursday afternoons. My stamina has increased and I can walk more than two miles in about 45 minutes without too many breaks. It feels great and I love having some regular exercise that gets my heart rate up. So much of life after my stroke is sedentary, so it feels good to work hard and sweat even if the machine says I've not burned very many calories in the process!
I still love my art group on Mondays so much. I have said many times that they are my support group. We talk while we paint and have all become good friends. I finish a painting every couple of weeks and had a bunch displayed in our annual art show this past Friday. This year, the sow was at the stroke center so it was fun for friends to come and see the art at the reception and to see where I spend so much time each week too. Most of my paintings sold at the show and all of the proceeds go to the center, which is such a fantastic place for me and so many other stroke survivors. The stroke center will be posting event pictures on Facebook and I'll share them on my Facebook as much as possible!
On Tuesday, Mom and Dad are picking me up from PT and we are heading up to Rocky Mountain National Park to camp until Saturday. This camping trip is one we did for many years--usually with my family and Kristen's family too, plus her in-laws. I have so many great memories and tons of pictures fro the last time we did the trip in 2010 after my family moved back from Arizona.
I am excited for this trip and know it will be a bit bittersweet because of all of those memories that make me glad and sad all at the same time. My kindle is full of books to read and I will take alongside some art supplies too. Mom and Dad will do some hiking and I may try the short and mostly level trail around Bear Lake. No internet there, so I won't be posting much while we are gone.
Driving is still in the works, but not complete yet. I went to the DMV last week to take the written test to get a permit, but there was a mix-up with all the paperwork required, so it'll be a couple more weeks... I'm excited about the process and think I'll have my license before the year is through!
We are planning a big trip to the northwest in the fall and will camp down the Oregon coast in late August/early September, which will be great fun!
