Top Edis Sings to UsNancy and Edis arrived about 4:30 on the first and left at maybe 9 a.m. this morning - Friday. Nancy flew from Port Angeles WA to Bozeman the night before and was able to see Edis perform with her band that night. After having some dinner they went to a Lutheran church and walked around a labyrinth, Nancy told me what that experience was like and I'd like to try it. I had been walking with the dogs and they drove in as I got back to the house. They made good time driving down from Bozeman, about 8 hours with an hour stop for lunch in Jackson. Edis got her car parked in the shop. I had made a grilled salmon dinner and it was just time to eat.
There was so much we did that I can't unsnarl on which day each thing happened so I'll just do a report of their whole visit. I'm not going to begin to even to remember it all, so will just hit the highlights that come to mind.
Background is that both of them worked for me at Big Sandy Lodge and we have kept in touch since. They are very special people to me and I wish you could also know them.
Nancy is one of my favorite people and lives at Seiku with her husband Roy. They are both teachers, which doesn't even begin to let you know about their experiences and professional accomplishments. Nancy has a PhD in teaching related to computers and has been active in alternative schooling. For about 25 years they have operated a charter fishing and hunting business on the rivers and forests of the Olympic Penninsula and live on the shore of the Straights of Juan de Fuca. If you followed the emails, photos and blog you know I visited them there about 2002 and Nancy has also been back here from time to time.
I admire Edis so much mostly for having the vision and determination to do just about anything that she has wanted to. She is also a teacher and is at the University of Montana in Bozeman. She is a professional musician, writing a lot of her own songs and music. She has also followed a major interest of doing outdoor things. She met her husband George when both of them were working in Yellowstone. George is a back country horseback ranger in the summers in Yellowstone Park. In 2004 when my family and I went to Glacier we visited Edis and George at their home.
They had a load of stuff from the car, and said there were reasons for all of it. Kind of mysterious. The fun thing which highlighted the days is that they brought gifts and surprises and spread them out throughout the whole time they were here, even to this morning. Everything they brought was consumable in one way or another so they honored my wish not to be given any more things. This had to have taken a lot of thought ahead of time. The first thing was toilet paper and we all laughed about that. Of course the whole time was filled with non-stop visiting and catching up on many years when we had not seen each other. Joe also enjoyed seeing them.They came with the agreement that they would do the cooking and give lots of help while they were here, and they certainly did that. They shopped for groceries on the way and brought baked things for us to enjoy. Actually Edis' husband George baked and sent several kinds of goodies that were delicious, so he was also a part of our days. For lunch the second day we had some yummy vegetable soup George had made. He made us cookies, homemade applesauce and banana bread. Nancy brought truffles and biscotti, cedar boughs from the northwest woods for fragrance, three perfect sand dollars from her beach, pretty notepads and list pads, and lavendar body mist that is grown and made in a nearby town, which were brought out at intervals too.
While they were here they bundled up and took several walks, which the dogs loved of course. We had nice sunny but cold days. Shortly after lunch Wednesday Edis drove into Pinedale to see her friend Kay who owns the Stockman where Edis used to work. Kay so very generously sent us back meals times four, prime rib, pork roast, vegetables, shrimp cocktail etc. Meals were easy with all the food we had. We are still eating that. While Edis was gone Nancy got a few kinks out of my laptop, but was unable to unkink a few more. That was certainly a help. We visited a lot, and I dozed off for a nap. That night Nancy and I stayed up until almost midnight talking.
Thursday we barely got through breakfast when the power went off. It came on a time or two. I unusually neglected getting us some good drinking water into pitchers ahead which I always make a point of doing. We didn't know the outage was going to last all day long. 3700 customers were affected, actually all of Sublette County and it was a very cold day. (Read about that at http://www.pinedaleonline.com/#power - start at the bottom of the article, newest is on top.) Joe brought in buckets of water hand pumped from the well for flushing the toilet, washing up and such, and we had the wood stove going as usual for keeping warm. Meals were easy and we did o.k. with getting something prepared. It was a mistake not to start the wood cook stove in the kitchen, but we also did fine without it. If we had, we could have had a nicer hot dinner.
Edis gave the dogs a badly needed brushing. I hadn't been up to brushing them since I'd gotten sick. There was a whole garbage basket full of Sparky hair. During the afternoon Edis took one of my hands and Nancy the other and did a wonderful relaxing hand forearm massage with aromatherapy oil. Then later we had the most special treat of Edis playing her guitar and singing for all of us. It was a special time, with lots of memories included. She just gets better and better.
When evening came we broke out the candles and the few battery powered lights I have in order to get the dinner together. It was dinner by candlelight. And after that was cleared away we played scrabble by candlelight. The lights came back on about 7:30 after several fits and starts. That evening Edis came out of her room with a bubble machine for soaking feet, and they each worked on a foot with all kinds of products, exfoliating, moisturizing and massaging. By then I just sort of melted into the chair. Such special thoughtful gifts and caring. We had tea and more visiting before bedtime then everyone turned in. Each time I woke in the night, my feet felt so wonderful.
Friday morning the plan was that they would wash the sheets and remake the beds, although I said it would be good for me to have something to do. It was soon all done and everything cleaned up. Joe went in to the Pinedale Clinic this morning and his blood test was better this time. He doesn't have to go back for a month. He had lunch in town.
Their car started right up, and everything was loaded in again and off they went. Nancy called about 5:30 and they'd made it back to Bozeman in very good time. She will fly home to Washington tomorrow morning.
As for how I've felt since my chemo treatment, ...... not good. Those high falutin' nausea pills really made me super constipated which didn't get better until today. I'm still having stomach pain from that. It made me pretty mad to go through days of that when I've continued to tell "them" this is such an issue, and especially not to be feeling as good as I might when we have company. The hospital has called to say my surgery to insert the port in my chest is scheduled for Monday and I have to be there at 9:30.
There may be a pretty big storm coming in, to be seen whether it does reach us. But it is predicted to have high wind and dump a bunch of snow here in the next several days.
