Blue Mountain

Today I hiked to the top of Blue Mountain on the Appalachian Trail (AT). I started at Unicoi Gap and hiked west, toward the southern terminus of the trail. It was muddy at the start, but as the trail wrapped around to the north side of the mountain, the mud turned to slush. Then, with elevation, it turned to compacted snow. I have not been in this much snow in a long time. It was beautiful - and a fun hike too. At the top of the ridge, I came across an old road bed that I had not noticed the previous two times I've hiked this trail. It's interesting how different things look in the snow. I followed it for about 1/2 a mile until it curved away from the ridge line. I'll have to go back and explore it later in the spring.

As evidence that I was really on the AT, I submit the photo below with Michelles hiking stick leaning against a tree with the AT blaze on. This white blaze marks the trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia all the way to Maine.

About Michelle's hiking stick... it was a gift from David Brown, in Alabama (not the relative). I've used it on just about every serious hike I've taken.

From near the top of Blue Mountain you can see the highet point in Georgia to the north, the Brass Town Bald. Getting to the top of Brass Town Bald is somewhat easier than Blue Mountain: it's accesible by wheel chair.

Snow in Suwanee

It snowed this afternoon. This is the most snow we've had in the 10 years we've lived here. Here is the front view of the house, followed by the back view. Inside the house you'll find Michelle keeping warm by the fire.

3 1/2 " is all were going to get.

Do you sometimes feel totally barren...

I do. Like, tonight I do. It's been gray, cold and rainy the past couple of days. Tomorrow the sun should shine - they say.

One bright spot happened today. Michelle's friend, Pui, came to visit her. She brought her some treats, including cherry ice cream - which Michelle is not a big fan of, but I AM. But, since I'm fasting, that's not the bright spot I'm writing about. Pui is a graphic designer. So when she explained how much she liked the plant shelf I made for Michelle's birthday, well... it just really made me feel good. I feel motivated to make another one now and put it up for sale at a consignment shop I pass everyday on the way to work. I dropped in there today and spoke with Pat, the owner, about the idea and she liked it. Maybe I'll see if I can move some of the flower pictures through there too. Thanks Pui!

Chapter 3 of the Vertigo Story

We walked out of the ENT Doctor's office saying to each other "Well that was discouraging." He did not have any good news. (At least there was no BAD news.) The diagnosis was that a virus damaged the inner ear. Her hearing has not been affected, only her sense of balance. That was good to know. (Michelle wanted to ask for a note to show Matt that she can hear just fine.) The doctor prescribed a patch to be placed behind the ear to help with the nausea. But he did not have any idea of how long this would last.

The patch worked fine... for a day or so. It numbed one side of her face. Then she had an allergic reaction to it. Her throat was swollen. Between the swelling and the numbness she could not swallow correctly. So, off came the patch and the vomiting started back again. So she went back to the drugs prescribed at the emergency room. Antivert helps with the vertigo and another two help her sleep. After a few days, the affect of the patch wore off and she was able to swallow. Little by little the nausea and vertigo have gone down. But I must confess: she is getting desperate for this misreable malaise to be overwith, and she's turning to homeopathic treatments that I'm very skeptical about. I've seen some home treatments give good results, but, for me, the border between alternative medecine and the placebo effect is rather nebulous.

Today she was able to walk around - going from one stable object to another. Her eyes aren't working right. They jerk around a lot unless she really concentrates on focusing. She inadvertently keeps her left eye partly closed. The good news is that she has not had to vomit since January 31'st. I think that, at the pace she is improving now, she'll be back to nearly normal in a week and a half.