School is OUT!

Finally! after a long end, school finally ended. Now we can begin to concentrate on our move to Damascus, VA. Jon and Carole have been working nonstop for the last few months getting the house in order. We are trying to rent our place now and that should totally determine how fast we make the move. In the last few weeks, I have been rather cranky - but now much of the stress is off and its time to renew. My thoughts go out to the 5 people at Watauga High that lost their jobs on the last day of school. We lost 16 positions total and I'll be surprised if we don't lose more in the next year. All the talk about "don't worry" was just talk, as usual. I am happy for our choice to go to Damascus - it kind of insulates us from some of the financial world madness. Even if I lose my job, we are not hopeless - we will have a lot less expenses there because we are sharing everything. The experiment begins soon. We will set up a real website to chronicle the journey - I even bought the domain yesterday... nothing is there yet but it will be at sharesteading.com - it pretty much sums up what we are doing.

Adia at Valle Crucis park at Aspen's birthday

Katherine (who I work with) and her brother Keith are great paddlers and I tagged along with them down Wilson's creek. We had a blast - my shoulders are really sunburned in that PFD style. It was Dave's (old student....sold him my old boat - that's not it, however) first real paddle and he did amazing. Ah, time goes by. It was so nice to get thrashed around again:)
This is up on Bobcat hill - we go up there to look for tracks, bobcat scat, and to feed the horses. Adia loooooves horses.
Aspen's birthday party - his parents (not shown) are pretty wonderful people that we are lucky to know.
Adia and a sheep. yep, that says it.

Dave at Wilson's creek - I have some other videos posted at Facebook if you are interested. But no way I am going through the time to repost again. Bye!

Reunion....niiice

I have been gone for a looong time.  But as life tends to do, it teaches lessons all the time - and all I have to do is pay a little bit of attention.  Well, the most recent lesson I have learned is that I have an amazing family and I am a complete moron for losing touch with them for so long.  The past weekend, Zoe and I zoomed down to Atlanta to see my Korean side of the family.  It was all my Dad's sisters and whoever else could make it.  It was a mountain of food, laughs, and love.  It was wonderful.

Here is what every reunion needs... a snake - and it wasn't me!  The real men (brother in law Dave, cousin Caleb, and myself) went down to the river to muck around a bit while the less manly crowd went to get steaks and alcohol:)  But we came upon this black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta, of course) at the trail head and I really got to turn into "Mister Science Teacher" for my 6th grade cousin.  Yes, he's like 12 or 13.  Yes, he could thrash me.  But he's sooo cool.

My Aunts with Liza, Zoe, Mia, Lauren, and Caleb.  It was so much fun to talk to my aunts again.  Its pretty sad, I didn't get a pic of my cousin John (but we did stay at his house the night before), my cousin Keebs, my cousin Jason, or any of my uncles....Igoo, Igoo, Igoo....  They (my aunts) asked if I wanted to take some food home - I said "sure, I'll take a bit".  They worked for 45 minutes and the doggie bag was an actual cooler.  My family ate Korean for lunch and dinner for a week.  It has been a week and I am still eating kimchee....niiiice.

We Koreans do the picture thing right.
I hadn't seen my sister Aimee and Dave for too long.  I absolutely loved hanging out with her again.
John's wife Cindy - I used to go see them all the time when I was in high school - it was wonderful with those guys again.  Zoe was a huge hit.
Zoe with Mia, Hannah, and Lauren.  Hannah is an amazing person and was absolutely wonderful with the kids.  Mia and Lauren (I hadn't seen them since they were babies) were just a joy.
Post reunion stuff - Adia at a petting zoo.
Zoe and Adia adding some amendments to the soil in Damascus this weekend.  Lookey how nice the taters are doin, boy!  I need to get one of those rice paddy hats....

Bye Bye Clot!

Just a quick post.  Ashley got her leg scanned yesterday to see how the clot was doing.  We both just figured that it would be solidified and stable and maybe Ashley could get of coumadin.  We figured that things were going fine, but the scan showed

NO CLOT!!

God, that is such a relief.  Something that caused so much anxiety and pain for so long... to be gone and having blood flowing is wonderful.  Thank you to whatever grace delivered that.  And today she got the news that she could get off coumadin.   And today we got the news that the balance of $800 that we owed the hospital is now zero.  Good couple of days.

LIZA!!!

• It was a long time coming but last weekend was magical.  And I really won't do it justice here but I need to at least report it.  I got to meet my long lost sister. Thats right (technically half sister, but I'm counting her as full).    Her name is Liza and she lives in Atlanta and is married to a super cool guy named Tony.  She is absolutely wonderful - an absolute force of nature - if there was a "beautiful day" equivalent to a hurricane, it would be Liza.  I have always been a bit reserved when it comes to expressing how I feel towards people and it has done me no good in my life.  Liza thankfully has none of that and even better, she spreads it like a breath of fresh air on these wonderful spring days we've been having.  Any person that gets others to say "I love you" easily - is in touch with some greater force.  Thank you Liza.  
  

• (2 things - 1. I did something to mess this up and it linked itself to something so I just changed this link to the album of all the pictures (just click here) and 2.  yes, she's a model) We went to Asheville on Saturday to meet up with Liza, Tony, Mom, and Dad and we were going to go to the WNC Nature museum but never made it off the grass at the little park outside.  We spent all our time at by the river on a blazing spring day - eating, talking, playing, eating, talking...  It was pretty much wonderful.   It was a gift of a day anyway, but they all brought gifts - Liza and Tony gave the girls a little pink castle (oddly perfect because Zoe has been really into Camelot recently) - and Mom had made these wonderful tutu play skirts for the kids - and Aimee sent some amazing dino stuff for Zoe (which I totally forgot to call her about - sorry Aim! - will call today!).  Ash made some great linen bread bags for them and I made Ash's hearth bread - but I messed it up in some way and it wasn't the great loaf it always is.  But that is appropriate - its like me - a useful, tidy package on the outside, but a messed up loaf on the inside!
  

• We then went to downtown Asheville for some wool stuff Ashley needed and the great times continued but now out of the sun and with ice cream and wool spinning lessons.  Pretty sweet.  When we left, Zoe cried for Liza... and I did too, a bit.  In fact, when we got home I actually passed out due to either emotional overload.  Thank you Liza for being such a wonderful person and a healing force.  
  

• I just really couldn't resist.  I told her to look mean:)  But its not all my fault - Liza helped!  (this is great - another sister to blame stuff on!)

• Tony, you had me at hello.... you had me at hello.  Tony was amazing with the kids (I include myself in that group) - I can't wait to get to know this guy better.
• Sunday was still great - there was an Earth Day church service outside and we spent the rest of the day at Russ' house cutting down dead locusts for fence posts.  Niiiice.

• Here is a quick video of everyone doing what we do best - hanging out and eating.  This video is soooooo much more to me than a shot of people sitting around eating.  I can't wait to have a couple of more sisters in a video sitting around eating, too.
• Remember to click the linked paragraph to my pictures - if anyone wants a higher quality image than what's on picassa - let me know and I'll send it

5.2

• So I've been putting off going to Dr. Morgan because 1) I am lazy and 2) Dave had an A1C of 5.5 the last time and I knew that there was no way I'd ever get my A1C down that far.  
• For those who don't know, the A1C is a blood test that looks at glucose attachment to red blood cells - this happens when blood cells are made - and since blood cells live around 120 days, you get basically a 3 month shot at your blood sugar control.  Normal (I guess I should say Non-diabetic) levels are 3.9-6.5.  
• Before Triabetes, I had never broken 7... in 25 years.  Not that 7 isn't pretty good.  Then while training for Ironman, I got down to 6.2.  I thought that would be the low point.  Since the 7 months since Ironman, I haven't swam one time.... I've only run a few times... and there have been very few bike rides.  Everything I gained through training, I have lost:)
  
• Actually, its not everything apparently.  My A1C yesterday was 5.2 - on the lower half of normal!  It looks like I have learned something about being a diabetic over the last year and it seems to have something to do with taking this "disease" seriously - i.e. testing when I need to test, being conscious of the interaction of insulin and food and (lack of) exercise at all times (thank you Diabetes Training Camp), switching to a morning and evening lantus shot, basically (as Dave used to say) being a "professional diabetic"
  
• And I still can't count carbs
• PS - I wasn't low that much in the last few months (like 7 months) - so it was a kind of genuine A1C
• I emailed the Triabetes folks and the Diabetes Training Camp guru Dr. Matt Corcoran and basically thanked them again for saving my life.
• On a related note, the guy who talked me into Triabetes, John Moore - is gearing up to run the Leadville 100 with another Triabetic, Peter Nerothin.   They both are on the board of Insulindependence.  The Leadville 100 is a 100 mile RUNNING race through the Colorado Rockies.  The only other diabetic who has done this is Bill Carlson... the most famous Triabetic.  If you want to help out John, please consider giving $10 - its easy and fast and safe at FIRSTGIVING. He is trying to raise $10,000 for Triabetes and Insulindependence by having 1000 donors of $10 each.  Thanks for considering it.  Please pass it on to anyone who might have an interest in Diabetes - Because inspiring diabetics is as important as any of the medicine or technology out there.

Question for Beekeepers

Ok, its spring and my friend Jon and I have 3 hives... had 3 hives.  Now we have 2 dead hives and 1 strong hive.  I have a couple of questions for beekeepers here.  I am pretty much a novice and I tend toward a hands-off approach to beekeeping.  The yellow hive on the left is dead (bees still there), the top bar hive in the middle is dead (no bees), and the white hive on the right is strong.
Here is the entrance to the yellow hive - it was never strong - captured from a swarm from the white hive.
Inside the super of the yellow hive. There are a bunch of bees still here (dead).  There is very little honey left and that honey is on the outside frames.

• Inside the brood chamber - no bees on the brood frames.  I assume these guys fell from the top.  
• Question #1:  Did this hive starve?
  

• Inside the yellow hive brood frame - small white flakes in the comb.  
• Question #2:  Any ideas on what those are?
  

Top bar hive.  Inside are top bars that had only a small spline coated in wax.  Caught a swarm from the white hive and put them in.  The sides are sloped at such an angle that the bees think the sides are floor and so do not attach the comb to the sides (so you can take out the frames)
They build the hive from the front to the back - so brood is in the front and honey is in the back (instead of top to bottom like conventional hives).  This frame is from the back.  Totally empty.

• This frame is from the front.  Totally empty.  
• Question #3:  Any ideas why this hive might be gone?  There's no honey.  But there's no bees either.  Is it CCD, or is more left behind with CCD?  
  
• Question #4: Why does wax turn dark?  Is that where brood was?
• Question #5: Any opinions on whether we should start a new hive in this and leave the wax, or harvest the wax and start from scratch again?

Thanks!

Spring's a coming

So spring is coming and there is nothing I can do about it.  Zoe and I went to Damascus the other day and planted a bunch of potatoes (German Butterball and Yukon Gold).  I had never planted potatoes before, so we'll see.  Homer (our neighbor) had plowed up the garden plot down by the road (and river) but hadn't tilled it yet - so Zoe and I worked pretty hard to get out the sod - but the soil under it was pretty nice.  Then we planted 30 asparagus crowns.  Getting a bit hungry just thinking about it.  Then the next day we used Jon's idea of folding newspaper seed pots and planted our seed beds.  It was a neat little origami trick to make a plantable pot for free. 
These pictures are all backwards... as usual - you would think I would figure it out someday.  Anyway, this is Easter night - we were invited to Rosa's house for a little impromptu get together.  Easter egg hunt, dinner, bonfire (I think that is Aidan with sparklers)... it was a pretty wonderful time - thank you Rosa.  And that was after Reid and I went for a bike ride to the greenway, where he then ran with Ashley.  I don't do that stuff anymore:)
Easter Egg hunt.  They were master egg dyers.  Art people, how I love basking in their glow.
Adia had a great time as well.  All the kids played so incredibly well together (especially the older kids with the young ones) - thank you Dargan, Marshaun (probably spelling that wrong), and Aidan.