New Blood to Yosemite

Oh my gosh, my faithful non-Facebook readers must think I'm still in the hospital.  They never quite figured out what the pain was from, but it got better, thanks to good drugs.  My blood counts were way low, so after much conversation, decided that a transfusion was the perfect thing to do.  After I sucked up two units of blood I could go home.  Unfortunately, they didn't make this decision till after 3 in the afternoon and the first unit didn't start flowing till around six and the second about 10.  I called Glenn and told him to go to sleep because I was spending another night and could get a ride home in the morning.  I didn't find that this transfusion gave me as much pep as the first one, but I did feel better.  I had to cancel my therapist Tuesday morning and my dentist appointment for Wednesday--that chemo and blood count thing again.  I saw my oncology nurse practitioner on Thursday.  She increased my MS Contin and that has helped.
Friday was great fun.  I polished up the silver and had tea for our Pastoral Candidate, our church secretary, and their husbands.  We had tea (of course), crumpets, scones with devonshire cream, and petite fours.  I used the good silver and china and entertained like a grown-up--of maybe like a little kid having a tea party.  It was quite fun.  Saturday we had a luncheon for the congregation to meet our candidate.  The Brawlers played for entertainment.  The hardest part was picking out just a few tunes.
Sunday, our candidate, Kathryn Pike, preached, we had a congregational meeting, and extended a call.  Kathryn will start in August.  I shall miss the PNC.  It was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun.
After the meeting, I picked up my friend, Dory, and we were off to Yosemite.  I decided to show her a different way into the park and took 120.  Things were grand until we was the "Chains required" signs just before we came to Highway 49.  OK, then, took 49 south to Mariposa and went in on 140.  It took longer than I'd planned, but we didn't have a bus to catch.  The Merced River was full and furious.  We finally got to the park, showed my "old fart" card, and headed into the valley.  Just after we passed the turn off to Bridalveil Falls, it started snowing lightly...at first.  The snow wasn't sticking, but it was coming down pretty fast by the time we got to the hotel.  What the heck?  This was my Spring trip to Yosemite.  I'd packed for cold but not for snow.  We were in Yosemite at the Ahwahnee.  Who cared about the weather?  We didn't.
We watched it snow from our room until it stopped--still didn't stick.  We had soup and sandwiches in the bar for dinner.
Monday morning after breakfast, we went out for a little walk down to the river. As per instructions from the oncologists office, I used hiking poles for all my walks. I didn't feel unsteady, but those were my instructions and I followed them. And so the pictures begin:

This is a view of the hotel and the snow from Sunday night.

Dogwood Season

More Dogwood and Yosemite Falls

An obligatory picture of Half Dome

It rained on and off on Monday.  I had soup and hot chocolate with Gretchen and Jim.  They had come up to cross country ski, but the Badger Pass/Glacier Point road was closed.  They did some snow shoeing, but didn't have the trip they'd planned.  Dory and I napped in the afternoon then took the bus to the Lodge for dinner.

Tuesday was rainy off and on, so we napped off and on.  We did some souvenir shopping and a great deal of lounging--our sort of day.  I took Leroy the Lavender Pig with me on this trip.  He usually goes to the hospital with me, so I thought he deserved a pleasure trip.  Housekeeping enjoyed Leroy.

I woke up around 2 on Wednesday morning.  Dory was up and sitting by the window--watching it snow.  We went back to sleep and it went on snowing.  Wednesday was a glorious day.

This is a view from our window Wednesday morning.  Wednesday became walking day.  First stop was Yosemite Falls.  Dory's back and hips were giving her a lot of trouble, but she was a gamer.  We stopped and rested several times on the walk to the Falls, but it gave us time to enjoy the views.


The Royal Arches from the Falls bus stop

Here is a very tiny us in front of the falls.  The lady who took our picture didn't get it that we wanted a picture of US, not so much the view.

Care for a rest on a nice bench?
More Dogwood.  Did I mention that I go to Yosemite in May for the Dogwood?

And water in the Falls--we don't usually get that in October

We went back to the hotel for a rest--and my soap opera.  We thought about napping, but I figured I could nap at home and took the bus to Happy Isles.

We had a late dinner at the Ahwahnee--should have made the reservations on Sunday when we got there instead of Tuesday when we thought about it.  After dinner, we packed and organized for the trip home.  I don't usually stop and take pictures on the way out, but it was just too gorgeous.

The drive home was uneventful.  After four days in the snow, it was interesting to watch the external temperature going up into the 80's as we went through the Central Valley.
Friday morning, I had an echocardiagram and blood work--in the new hospital.  I didn't take time to explore, but I did check out the oncology ward to see how my friends were doing.  I saw Sheri and Dr. Adler.  There isn't a central nurses station, so they are more spread out.  I took a peek at one of the rooms.  I'm not in a rush to spend time there, but I expect I will some day.
We had a lovely trip.  The good thing about the wet weather was that I wasn't tempted to do more than I was capable of doing.  I have more energy after this transfusion, but not as much as I did after the first one--but then, my blood count was lower before the second transfusion than the first.  I have chemo on Monday, so the cycle will start all over again.
xxooxx