One year ago

I started this blog a year ago. Look back at the archives to October '05 if you have any interest in seeing (sort of) where I was at a year ago today. It feels like a lifetime ago to me. I was looking back through some pictures in Oct. '05 to find something to post here and it amazes me how much has changed. Looking at myself in those pictures feels like I'm looking at someone else's life. This time one year ago I was just getting back from a trip to Flagstaff, AZ with my friend Mike. We went for a quick trip to visit our friends Pam and Steve (and their daughter Ella). What a fun getaway that was!


. . .just outside of the Lava Tubes


. . .around the firepit in Pam and Steve's awsome backyard!


. . .a night on the town











. . . and Ella on a plastic horse just outside The Grand Canyon.


I was still with Erik last October, but he was already set in motion to be moving, which he did in Nov. I was mulling over thoughts of what was next for me beyond Nome and was getting close to the idea of going to massage school, which I later decided was what I wanted to do. Work was going pretty well, as I recall, and I was just meeting a whole new group of people here in Nome. It started with my old roommate Cherie. After she moved in I began meeting some new people through her and a couple have become really good friends. Namely Buford and Kirsten. Both of these people have really become a special part of my life and certainly and integral part of how I have been able to cope these past few months.

Today I'm having a hard time believing that I'm still in Nome, yet, I'm appreciating that reality so much. It really does feel like its just where I'm meant to be and I'm truly grateful for that. I'm happily single and thankful that I have only myself to worry about and take care of right now. I lack some of the zest and energy that I think I may have had last year, but I am hoping that by this time, NEXT year, I will have found that part of me and more. Oh how I'm hoping . . .

On the horizon this year. . . completing cancer treatment, some great trips with family and friends, surgery, moving, job change, growing hair. . . Its going to be an exciting year!

What I wrote when I started this blog still rings true. This space has become such a part of how I am able to stay connected with people I care about and I find it really interesting that I had just gotten it going for a few months when the time came that there seemed to be a REAL use for it. Its been an important part of this cancer process for me. Sharing my thoughts and feelings with all of you and hearing back through comments and emails has been great therapy. So, Dillon, thank you again for setting me up with it!

This picture was taken in Eagle River when I took little hike along the river during my last chemo trip. Although the trees were a little bare and the colors were a bit brown, it was still really beautiful and the fresh air was the best!



The other pictures were last week when my friend Greta was in town. She, Millie, and I got together for a salmon dinner one night and had such a nice visit. These were my girls when I first moved to Nome. The three of us, and Mike, all moved here around the same time in late 2002 and became close friends very quickly. We spent a lot of time together and had so much fun hiking and skiing and drinking wine and cooking good food and so much more. These girls and Mike were a huge part of why I fell in love with Nome. All of our lives have changed a ton, now, 4 years later, but we still have really strong connections with one another. Being together again was simply great! We missed Mike, but had a new addition, Greta's son, Florian, a real sweetheart.


















And last, but not least. . . 3 great joys in my life. . . Henry, Fiona, and Duke :)