February - This and That (and Lucinda B Rabbit)

Over the last 3 days, we received 2 1/2' (76.2 cm) of snow.

Bob was outside moving snow all morning.

my touring skis point toward Red Mountain.

We woke just as dawn was pinking the southern sky.

The Moon was still casting a glow.

We expect more snow over the next couple days.

We depend on winter snowpack during summer wildfire season.

Some of my long-time blog friends remember Lucinda B Rabbit.

She was often featured on my other blog Live and Learn (now private).

She celebrated a birthday recently.

I helped her blow out her candles.

Since she is ageless, she prefers not to reveal which birthday we celebrated.

A 12 year old girl in our neighborhood is raising chickens.

She brought me some eggs recently.

They're almost too pretty to eat. (Almost....)

Snow, Lucinda, and gifted eggs are my One Good Things today.

Lucinda wants to remind all her friends that 

(sometimes)...

"It's good to be bad!"

Thanks for visiting!

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PS In January I celebrated my 15 year anniversary post heart attack. If you're at all interested click on "heart attack" in labels. I mostly posted on the Live and Learn blog but have a few posts on One Good Thing describing my experience.

My Beating Heart - Small Stone - 8

 On January 8, 2010, I woke at 4 AM experiencing classic signs of a heart attack: radiating pain across my shoulders down my left arm into the hand, sweating, nausea, aching jaw, and a disorienting feeling of shock and doom. I was 65 at the time, and a recent physical gave me a clean bill of health. Since I had fallen on skis several times the day before and struggled to right myself, I attributed my symptoms to pulled muscles. I didn't want to believe the obvious.

I thought of myself as a strong, intelligent woman. Instead, I was a fool! I delayed going to the ER for about 10 hours. Luckily, after our son called 3 times and begged me to stop wasting time and get to the hospital, I listened. He probably saved my life.

I was taken by ambulance from Breckenridge to Denver and met the young cardiologist who performed an angiogram and saw the tear in the inner lining of the LAD artery near my heart.  The tear was like a loose shutter, flapping in time to my beating heart. The arteries have no nerve cells so there was no painful warning when the tear occurred. The body started clotting immediately around the arterial injury and in the dark of night, a clot broke loose and traveled to my heart.  The heart is a muscle, and it definitely registers pain. The cardiologist had to stent the area of the tear to lift the flap and keep it out of the way of blood flow. I was put on strong medications to thin my blood and to keep the heart from working too hard. For a year after the attack, I struggled both physically and emotionally. Finally, after months of rehab and a year of doctors carefully monitoring my heart, the cardiologist allowed me to start weaning off the drugs which were causing unwanted side effects. 

I'm now 11 years past the heart attack and counting.

On January 8 each year I celebrate my beating heart.

I'm grateful for the bonus years I was given.

I'm hoping for a few more.

The photo I'm sharing is a summer wildflower field on Peak 8 at Breckenridge Ski Area.

I love the "heart rock" in the midst of the flowers. 

Take care of yourself. Listen to your body. We all have an expiration date. 

I'm glad mine wasn't 11 years ago!

small stone

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Small Stone - Defib

We went to dinner with friends on January 8, the 10th anniversary of my heart attack.

Waiting for the restaurant to open, I looked inside.

Peering beyond the reflected images,  I couldn't believe my eyes.

On the wall hung a defibrillator which gave me a strange feeling.

Glad it was there, I sure hoped I wouldn't have need for it.

My beating heart is my one good thing today and every day.

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Small Stone - My Beating Heart

Ten years ago, on January 8, 2010, I suffered a heart attack.

Today, I celebrate life.

An end became a beginning.

The journey continues.

Find one good thing.

Pass it on.

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Small Stone - My Beating Heart

Each year on January 8, I celebrate.

Nine years ago, when I was 65, I tore an artery near my heart.

I subsequently had a heart attack from the clot that formed.

I went from strong to weak.

Confident to scared.

Well to vulnerable.

Part of my fear was that the tear and attack were so random.

I was healthy, ate well, and exercised.

A heart attack wasn't even on my radar.

I was spared and regained my healthy life, though it took awhile.

We all have an expiration date.

As I age, I'm certainly getting closer to mine.

I'm thankful for the nine extra years I've enjoyed.

between heart beats

silence

until it beats again

Keeping the Beat

Eight years ago, early in the morning of January 8, I had a heart attack.

I was well and then suddenly I was in trouble.

Unknown to me, I tore the inner layer of the LAD artery near my heart skiing the previous day.

A blood clot formed at the tear and finally traveled to my heart.

Each year when January 8 rolls around, I give thanks.

I don't take my beating heart for granted.

I celebrate life on January 8.

I was thankful when I woke this morning.

Throughout the day, I was aware of my heart beating strongly.

So much has happened in the past 8 years.

I'm grateful I'm alive to bear witness.

I walked in warm sunshine this afternoon. 

The sky was a blue porcelain bowl overheard.

Gauzy clouds touched the peaks. 

The snow crunched under my trail shoes.

I passed a decaying pumpkin perched on a stump.

There was a light breeze blowing my hair.

A squirrel scolded me.

Neighbors waved.

"Thank you for this life," I whispered.

My beating heart is my Good Thing today - and every day.

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