It's All a Blur

Mt Major

Life is like blur these days. I feel like all I'm doing is working and the weeks are just flying by. I can't even remember when was what. I had to read the end of the last blog post just to see where I left off. Thankfully I record all of my walks and kayak trips on Strava or I would never remember when I did what. I don't know why I've picked up so much work, but I just found myself wanting to play an active role at Conway Fire and I overdid it a bit. Last Thursday, I had 5 paychecks from all 4 jobs. Haha. And speaking of 4 jobs, after this Friday, I've dwindled it down to 3. Memorial has asked us "temps" to come back to work 9-5 in the triage tent. It was a no-brainer to quit the boring job at Club Motorsports and commit to Memorial for Fridays. Not only is the pay much better, but Memorial has much better potential for future advancement, and there was no way I was giving that up. So I committed to Fridays there. Plus, I won't be bored out of my mind. We're actually being upgraded to Techs instead of just temporary EMTs so I'll actually get to do stuff all day, while still being outside. Quitting Great Brook EMS (the Club Motorsports job) was the easiest quitting I've ever done. No regrets. I won't miss it. 3 years working at the track was enough for me. I'm all good.

Running has unfortunately taken a backseat to working in that I'm not hitting the miles I'd prefer, but I'm getting out in the mountains as much as possible. I'm stuck running roads or the treadmill a few days a week, but I'm making sure I do mountain or trail stuff 2-3 days. Even though I'm not losing any of this weight I've put on (mainly due to diet), I've actually been running pretty well. Certainly not my fastest times, but not bad. I even crushed the Strava course record for the Tom, Field, Wiley and Avalon route yesterday by 18 minutes. Felt great....

Terrible photo. Haha

Mt Field summit

...And then I almost died. Literally. Well, it was headed that way. I've had brushes with death in the past. Twice on the Pacific Crest Trail when I saw my life flash before my eyes. Haha. But yesterday was different. It was scary. And the worst part was that I didn't know what was happening to me. I thought I was dying. As an EMT, I should have recognized what was happening, but I didn't. I was too messed up and in denial as to what was happening.

Prior to the run, I had slipped off into the bushes across the RR tracks near the Crawford Notch Depot to use the bathroom. It was thick overgrowth of bushes and weeds that had grown in after the land was cleared. I actually had the thought that I hoped none of this brush made me itchy. Luckily, it didn't. I walked out then started my run up the Avalon Trail towards Mt Tom. Strangely enough, I had never done Mt Tom, Mt Field or Mt Wiley. Just never on my list. I had done Mt Avalon carrying John 13 years ago, but that was it for this section (other than Mt Willard). The weather ended up being beautifully perfect. And since this isn't an exciting ridge to hike/run due to no views, it wasn't crowded at all, and that's what I was going for during the 4th of July weekend. The run was great. I felt really good, really strong. Runs like this make me feel good when I'm not super happy with how my body has morphed into a fat blob. It shows that the extra weight isn't affecting me significantly.

I ran up Tom, then out to Field to Willey. I ran back to Field then ran back down Avalon. Took a quick summit of Avalon and ran back down to Crawford Notch. 9.2 miles. 2:36 for time. I got in my car to change clothes. Still felt fine. Took off my shoes, then slid my socks off my feet. Within seconds, my feet started to itch. I thought it was weird and maybe just irritated by the sweaty 9+ year old socks. Actually thought right then I needed to throw them out. Put on my Chaco's and drove down the hill towards Conway. The itching in my feet immediately became intense. So intense that I only made it to the bottom of the hill before I had to pull over. WTF was going on. My next thought was maybe an allergic reaction. But I'm not allergic to anything. I didn't eat anything different. So I brushed it off. But the itching was killing me. I wiped my feet with baby wipes then doused them with hand sanitizer. The itching got worse! I literally took my hair comb and started scratching the soles of my feet with it. Haha. I thought I had some relief and planned to stop at a brook up ahead to put my feet in. I only drove 20 seconds before everything started to go white. I couldn't see!! I knew this was hypotension, but I didn't know why. Cramping in my gut like I had to use the bathroom came on suddenly. What was happening?! I kept trying to drive, but just when I lost the last bit of vision I pulled over, still partially in the road. I'm dying! I'm dying! I had no cell service to call 911. I was just about to pass out then my vision cleared a bit and I saw two bikers go by on the other side. I looked at them. I wanted to ask for help, but I all of a sudden felt like I was going to be ok to keep moving. Just get to Memorial. I made it maybe 30 seconds before my vision started to go again. It was nothing but bright light. I had my sunglasses on and could see the road. I began literally pouring in sweat. My stomach was cramping. I took my sunglasses off and realized I could see nothing but bright light, nothing else. Put them back on. Up ahead I saw an oasis, the Crawford Notch Campground Store. I'd go in, buy a Gatorade. I'd be fine. I just had to get myself to Memorial. Not sure how I remembered to put my mask on, but I did, and the second I walked in the store, I bent over gasping for air. Somehow I made my way over to the cooler of Gatorade. A cashier called me over. I could barely communicate with him. Finally the shortness of breath came back. I felt like I was suffocating. I should have told him to call 911, but instead I told him that something was wrong. That I didn't feel good. He actually thought I had run there due to being drenched in sweat. I told him my car was right out front. I just wanted someone to know that I wasn't feeling good before they found my unconscious body outside. I'm sure I scared them to death. They probably thought I had Covid. I only made it two steps out the door before I had to sit down. I pounded the Gatorade. I wanted to stay outside in case I passed out, but I was so hot and still sweating so I got back in my car where the AC was running. Somehow, I suddenly felt better. Not good, but better. I could see. But I was so scared. I knew something was really wrong. I just had to get myself to Memorial. My right ear had suddenly clogged up and I felt pressure on the right side of my head. Was I having a stroke?! Was it cardiac? Was I going to die and leave John behind?! I didn't feel good, but the sweating stopped and I could see well enough to drive. As soon as I got a cell signal in Bartlett Village, I called John and let him know I was really sick and would be stopping at the hospital. I wondered if I needed food so I stopped at the Cider Co for cider donuts. I know, you're like, "What?!" 2 minutes ago I was dying, and now I'm buying donuts? Haha. I wasn't quite with it, but I thought I was feeling better and that maybe food would help. I was loopy as hell. Felt like I was in a bubble looking at the outside world. I tried to eat a donut, but my mouth was dry and I could barely swallow, like my throat was swollen (probably was!) and it had no taste. But strangely enough, I kept feeling better. By the time I got into North Conway, I decided I felt ok enough to skip the hospital and drove home. As soon as I pulled into the driveway, John came out of the woods from walking the dogs. I felt totally with it, but all of a sudden I had intense itching on my neck. John took one look and said my entire neck was red. Then the intense itching spread all over my body. I took off my shirt to see I had complete broken out in hives all over my entire torso, neck and groin. I had just had an allergic reaction. WTF. I still didn't believe it. I'm not allergic to anything! I went inside and took two Benedryl then hopped in the shower. As soon as I got out of the shower, the Benedryl kicked in and I was knocked out on the couch for 2 hours.

When I finally came to, I texted my paramedic friend, Michelle, to tell her what happened and all the symptoms. She said I had obviously gone into anaphylactic shock. Holy shit! I had! The itching in the feet followed by sudden hypotension, sweating, gastrointestinal cramping, shortness of breath. What in the actual fuck! How did I not recognize this while it was happening?1 Scary to think that if my immune system hadn't been strong enough to fight it off, I could have easily died. I was 19 miles from the hospital when I got to the Campground Store in Crawford Notch. If they had had to call an ambulance, I would have had to wait for ambulance to get there from Glen. I don't know how I lived. I really don't. This was severe anaphylaxis that I somehow came out of without Epinephrine or Benedryl. I had been tanking fast. I can only imagine that my blood pressure was extremely low if it was still only 96/64 two hours later and then 102/70 two hours after that. I still can't believe I didn't recognize the symptoms, though. If I had walked up to a patient who said that it all started with sudden itchiness in the feet, my very first thought would be allergic reaction. So why didn't I see it? Part of it was denial. "I'm not allergic to anything." And the other part was that it fucked me up within minutes to where I couldn't think straight, and I literally just thought I was dying.

So what caused it? Well, the only explanation is that it had to be one of those plants out there near the depot where I used the bathroom. I had high ankle socks on. Never touched my socks or shoes after that until I was taking them off after the run. The oil from the plant on the socks must have scraped along my feet when I took them off which would have caused the immediate itching. Not sure how I didn't get it on my hands, but the way I take dirty socks off usually has me only touching the inside of the opening. I don't know if what I did with the wiping of my feet with baby wipes, hand sanitizer and then scratching them actually contributed to me having anaphylaxis, but it doesn't really matter. (Although, I'm almost certain the scratching probably opened up the skin to allow the oil in and was mostly like the cause of it becoming systemic). Whatever that plant was out there, I'm severely allergic to it. If I had a reaction this bad my first time ever exposed to it, what will next time be like? And especially since I have NO IDEA which plant it was. This scares me. I now have Benedryl in my car, purse and backpack.

On the bright side, remember how I felt strong out there on my run before this happened? Well, I feel even stronger now. This body may be pudgy, but it just fucking fought off anaphylactic shock on its own. Damn straight, girl! (That's me talking to my body. Haha.) My immune system just showed me that it's strong. That I'm more than running mountains strong. If I wasn't healthy, I might have died. Crazy experience, though. And it left me extremely groggy today at work. I'm feeling a little better. My blood pressure was still slightly lower than normal, but in the normal range. I actually felt hungover all morning. Not sure how I managed to get an IV on a patient in a moving ambulance earlier while feeling this way, but I did. Haha.

And just when I assumed this was going to be another boring blog post, I almost die and have something exciting to write about! Yay! Haha! But anyway who wants to see a dog photo?! How about two of them?

He thought I had the tennis ball.

On the paddle board on Chocorua Lake

Let's see. Where was I? I almost died. I quit a job. Oh yeah! I made a new goal! Haha. Gotta have goals in 2020 or else you're left thinking how the world has gone to shit. Did you know that Kobe Bryant died in 2020? And that Trump ordered the death of Solemani in 2020? Those news stories seem like forever ago that it's hard to believe that was in 2020. SO much has happened since then with Covid-19. The world is a different place, and it seems like years ago. I wasn't planning to have any kind of goal, but I ran up Bartlett Mt and over to Mt Kearsarge North a couple of weeks ago. Ran into a local guy up there doing trail maintenance on the Weeks Brook Trail, but taking a break on the summit. He asked me if I was running the 48 4000-footers. I told him no, that it had never been a goal of mine and that I had a hard time getting out to do stuff like that with John at home and all of the driving time. I seriously had never had any desire to do them all. The next night I was working at Conway Fire and playing on my phone before bed when curiosity got the better of me. I wondered how 4000-footers I had already done. So I looked it up. I had done 26! Many of them multiple times. Why I hadn't done others that were right there off the Kanc, I don't know, but all of a sudden, I realized this was doable before the snow flies this year. I made a list of them and put together mountains that were close to enough to run multiple in one day (hence Tom, Field and Willey yesterday). The only one I can't figure out is Zealand Mt. And I'm also kicking myself. It's possible I went to the summit, but I really don't remember if I did. It was .1 miles off the AT during my thru-hikes. I have no memory of taking the side trail to the summit. In fact I'm almost positive that I didn't. So I'm kicking myself because it makes a long day just getting that one in, but whatever, I'll figure it out. You can see on my list how many different places I put Zealand and then scratched it out. Haha.

I have a feeling I'll probably put Zealand either on its own or add it to N. Twin and Galehead. I might do Cabot and Waumbek the same day and Flume, Liberty and Cannon on the same day. I'll move Tecumseh by itself and probably do the Osceola's and Tripyramid's this week. I want to hike up Caps Ridge with John to get Jefferson. Owl's Head and the Bonds are going to be difficult days for me because of the time factor, but I'll figure it out. I'm now at 29. I'm not planning to put in for the 4000-footer completion or anything. I don't even remember the dates I did some of them.

What I've done as of July 6, 2020

So that's my goal this year instead of racing. It doesn't mean I won't race if something late fall pops up, but I'm not counting on any racing for awhile. Speaking of, one race series is happening right now. The Friday Night Vertical races that I've loved so much the last two summers. I was a little put off that they started them secretly at first by only inviting certain people. I know I'm not part of that cool crowd, but I had been a regular the last two years so I kind of expected to be told if they were starting. On the other hand, I really don't want to do the group thing right now. I don't even want to run with anyone. And a third excuse for not going is that I've been working until 5pm in South Tamworth on Fridays and I just don't want to drive all the way up to Jackson after that. Maybe I'll change my mind after I switch to Fridays at Memorial since it's not a long drive from there, but I don't know. My arch enemy showed to last week's Friday night race so if she's making it a habit, I don't really want to go. I just don't like her. She's nothing but a ball of crazy. I'd like to think that maybe she's changed in the last 3.5 years since we stopped talking, but I doubt it. Even her husband left her because she's crazy... (I heard that 3rd party so don't go quoting me on that, but it is believable). It's a risk that she'll go nutso on me there. And I'm just not up for anymore nutso after dealing with Bryan.

Speaking of, Bryan upset John again last week so now John doesn't want to hang out with him again. I don't have the entire story, but apparently Bryan pretended to try to take Chill last week and John stopped him and was really upset over the whole thing and now won't talk to him again. So that didn't last long. I'm a little bummed out since they seemed to be having a good time. Only a few hours together 2-3 days a week, but it sounded like John was enjoying it. Maybe he'll cool off over the incident in a week or two. He's supposed to go to the Cape with Bryan the first week of August. Hopefully, he will still go so he can see the family. I'm annoyed that it's Monday-Thursday since that leaves me with no way to take care of the dogs for two 24 hour shifts so I'm probably going to have to pay someone. Bryan should pay for it since he now pays for absolutely nothing, but I just don't feel like dealing with it. I really should get the whole parenting plan and child support thing updated through the court, but I also don't feel like dealing with that either. I will probably ask Bryan to pay for some of John's health insurance since I'm pretty sure he's going to lose what he has now and will have to go on mine. I think I make too much for him to keep NH Medicaid. But that more than doubles my premium payment. Technically he IS supposed to be paying half of that type of bill, so I'll probably just ask him for it.

It's basically been a month since I wrote the last blog post. I just had to go through all of the photos to figure out where I left off. I bought a paddleboard finally! Best purchase ever. I've been known to buy a few things from Facebook ads. This was one of them. Only $200! How could I pass that up? I read all of the reviews and FB comments before I bought it. It's an inflatable which is what I wanted since they're easy to transport. The best part, though, is that now I can take John out boating with me! It's been so fun. And I LOVE the paddleboard. I can stand, kneel, sit, lie down, hang my legs in the water. It's so awesome. I love my kayak still, but the sitting really starts to hurt me after awhile. John prefers that kayak anyway so that's made that easier. I just need to get us out more on the boats. I've just been SO busy! Here are some pics from Silver Lake, Chocorua Lake and Conway Lake from the last month.

The paddleboard can be carried as a backpack.

Way too many runs to go over them all. I've been stuck running roads Friday mornings and any other day I might not have time for other things, but I'm on trails and mountains otherwise. Given up on the 50 mile weeks. With the mountain stuff it's time on feet. And without the Summer Series and opting out of Friday Night Vertical, I'm not getting in doubles 2 days a week. I'm ok with it. I'm just going to do what I want and fuck the mileage. It means nothing. There's nothing to train for. When there is something to train for next year, then I'll worry about it. Why burn yourself out training for nothing. I'm taking a break, and I'm loving it.

Worked the Kennett High School graduation detail for Conway Ambulance then hit the Conway Rec Path and track for a mile. HFC Striders was participating in the virtual version of the Somerville Road Runners Club Challenge Cup Marathon Relay so I had to do this one last virtual thing. I was extremely unhappy with my time of 6:04 so I took about a two minute break and then did another one. Much better at 6:00, but still just shitty. I'm done with the virtual races for awhile. HFC Striders ended up winning!

Black Cap/Cranmore Loops for 13.2 miles total to hit 50 miles for the week of June 14th. 3,270ft of elevation gain.The last week I ran 50 miles. Just not worth worrying about it. I don't think it's fun to live like that unless I have a goal that motivates me to do it.

Middle Sister/Mt Chocorua Loop early one morning. Actually the morning after I had a blowout with one of my coworkers. There are people here that I like better than others, but this woman (I hesitate to refer to her as a woman because she acts like a teenage girl) is the ONLY person here I absolutely don't like. And I'm among many who feel the same way. Not only is she crude, she's just a drama stirrer. What set me off was her trying to create a problem when there wasn't one. I fucking laid into her. Could I have handled it better? Always. But don't you fucking dare try to act like we did something wrong when no one did anything wrong. Everything worked as it was supposed to. She just didn't like it. She is the cancer of this place and really needs to go.

Why I mentioned that, though, was because I couldn't stop thinking about it the entire run up Carter Ledge to Middle Sister. I expected to get Chocorua to myself, but there was a woman on the summit. She had camped on the summit all night and had been terrified in the crazy wind, but she was kind of on a high after it all. She was very spiritual and believed she was facing her fears from a past life, but her positive energy was just so uplifting. I can't even explain it, but talking to her for like 10 minutes I felt so much better. It was the interaction I needed after the previous night's negativity.

Ran a loop of the Dirty Girl course recently. They redid the rickety bridge!

Ran the "short" Moat Loop backwards for the first time. It was SO hot and I brought no water. That was kind of on purpose since I like to do that when it first gets hot to train my body to get used to not having it, but I was running the fine line between training and stupidity. Should have brought something. Ran from the High School Loop lot, Tent Boulder, up Red Ridge, across Middle and South Moats, then back down South Moat and back the secret trail (which is now a logging area at its base). Haha. 11.4 miles. 3,074ft. 2:31:45- way too long and strenuous to do without water.

After work on a Tuesday, I finally decided to find the old ski cabin on Mt Whittier. The long lost ski trail that led to it has since been completely grown in. It wasn't part of Mt Whittier Ski Area. It was instead a trail without a lift. Hike up, ski down. Mt Whittier Trail. After studying the map over and over, I came up with a plan and I couldn't wait to do it. It was the worst time to bushwhack because of the overgrowth and bugs, but I didn't want to wait. Parked on Gilman Valley Rd and ran up Corridor 15 for a little less than a mile before turning into a pit. Climbed out the back side and ran into another branch of a snowmobile trail I didn't know existed. I had my map up on my phone and realized right away that the "compass" was not working. It was showing me going in the opposite direction. I had to constantly correct this the entire run because it was constantly flipping my direction. It makes me wonder if there's something wonky up there because every single time I use my phone GPS at the track (Club Motorsports is directly below Mt Whittier) it gets completely messed up. Has me going all over the place. My GPS watch will occasionally get really messed up, too. I literally had to close Google Maps every time I used the map to get it back in the right direction. It was extremely easy to follow my planned route. It was 100% a bushwhack once I left the snowmobile trail, but I was following a brook that would lead me right up to the high point between Bald Mt and Mt Whittier. I would end up getting scraped up all over and a huge gash on my left leg that will forever be a scar. It hurt pretty bad and then I continued to scrape it over and over again in the brush on the way down.

I had no problem finding the summit (even though I didn't see the register box that was somewhere up there on a tree). My elevation managed to stay very close to accurate, funny enough, and it ended up being the only reason I found the cabin. I knew the cabin was approximately 200ft below the summit on the northwest side so I dropped down 100ft and hovered there as I searched for the cabin. I realized that I had to be going too far NW so stopped at that 2100ft mark and started circumventing the summit. I figured it would be easiest to see it from above. But it wasn't the cabin I saw first. It was the trash. That's when I knew I was on top of it and finally there it was deep in the trees 100ft below me! I wasn't sure for awhile there that I was going to find it. It isn't obvious at all to someone who's never been there. I was SO excited to find it! Yay! I only stayed for a short time due to the bugs. The place was completely trashed but still cool.

I was actually able to follow the ski trail from the cabin, but only for about 200 yards. It was way too overgrown after that. I know it hugged the outside of the ridge line so I did catch glimpses of it on occasion, but it would just disappear again. I managed to stay mostly on the edge of the ridge, but the second I would stray right, I'd be on a super steep slope. I tried to get a photo of its steepness (below), but it doesn't do it justice. I had a plan to either come down through the lumber company or the top of Summit View Drive. I ended up still too far right on the ridge so Summit View it was. The map led me right to a house. I hugged their driveway in the woods and then came out on the road. Ran down to Rt25 which was hot and scary so I cut through the woods again by running a dry brook bed over to Whittier Rd. Ran the road back to Gilman Valley and back to my car. Scrubbed the hell out of the nasty gash using like 10 baby wipes. Mission complete! 7.4 miles. 1,853ft of elevation. 2:14:53 moving time. Super slow since most of it was just bushwhacking. It wasn't even a run for the most part. Fun adventure.

Steep!

Mt Bartlett/Mt Kearsarge North Loop. I mentioned this already since it was this day that that guy asked me if I was doing the 4000-footers. I parked at the Mt Kearsarge Trailhead and ran the road up Mt Surprise Rd start so I could finish at the base instead of doing the road run last. Plus, there's no parking on Mt Surprise Rd anyway. Complete solitude on Bartlett then quite a lot of people on Kearsarge, as expected. Not a place I'd normally run on the weekend, but I wanted something close to home and hadn't done Bartlett yet this year. Beat my own Strava CR up it. That mountain is surprisingly a tough climb.

Brand new sign

The next day, I had planned to run up Mt Tremont via Rob Brook Rd and the Brunel Trail. I got a late start so it was really warm and humid by the time I got out there. Rob Brook was an easy road. The Brunel has seen very little use and the climb up to Owl Cliff was taxing. Feeling pretty run down at the top, I decided to turn around and go back instead of continuing up Mt Tremont. It's been 13 years since I've up Tremont so I need to try it again... maybe in the fall when it's not so overgrown and cooler. Owl Cliff was pretty neat. I saw zero people for almost the entire run until the last mile when I ran into a family on bikes. 8.8 miles. 1,921ft of elevation gain.

Another humid morning. Literally 100% humidity without rain. I felt like I was breathing in water. Green Mountain x3. Probably my slowest time doing this run, but the humidity made it taxing. Started to dry out just a bit as I made my last pass over the summit. 8.1 miles 3,488ft of elevation gain. 1:58:19.

That's it for the running. No need to go into the daily details. ZZZZzzzzzzzzz!

Other stuff from the last month. Pics from the detail at the Kennett High School graduation at Cranmore. Marissa and me when we traded off the shift at noon. Then Chris and Marissa came by my house after to drop off all of the stuff I left in it earlier. Haha.

Jen's Friends put on a fundraiser at Pirate's Cove. 36 holes of mini-golf for $10 per round. I gave $30 to include John and me, but we only played one round each. You didn't have to do it day of so I chose a nice cool, less crowded day. It was fun.

Weird beer, but still good for a summer beer

John's not into the Conway Lake Beach for the first time ever which makes me sad, but I got him to go once. He did a lot of bridge jumping then wanted to go. Looks like getting him out on the kayak is the way to go now. We spent 3 hours out on Chocorua Lake with the dogs 2 days ago. (next blog post)

I order Domino's for John while I'm at work. I was letting Phoenix "clean" the box for me the next day. I turned around and found this instead. Haha.

Albany Town Forest walk with John and the Dogs

Chill's window bed was made up of really nasty old couch cushions so I finally threw those out and bought new soft dog beds. Chill wasn't a fan at first, but Phoenix loves them. I even ordered a 3rd one for the main room.

Jeff and I stood inside the ambulance bay watching The People of Ossipee. I wish I had gotten it on video. It was hilarious. They were attempting to cut down a small tree but had no idea what they were doing. The thing was about to fall on the powerline. The guy in red was screaming at everyone and finally a kid in the group got mad and started walking away while the guy in red screamed after him to, "get back here, you piece of shit!" Real winners, I tell ya. Great entertainment for us, though. Haha.

At the top of my list for best beers ever... I need to make a another trip over to Ebenezer's Pub soon... but only if they have completely outdoor seating. I'm not touching indoor dining.

Although I won't do indoor dining, I did finally get a haircut. Stephanie is a friend of mine and she did everything right to keep her place clean. Only for of us in there and we were never near the other two. All wearing masks and the place was super clean. Really happy with the cut, just wish the humidity would stop turning it into a poof.

Took the dogs on a short walk at Whitaker Woods while John was at the dentist. Yes, I was hesitant there, but at that time, we hardly had a single case of Covid here. Right now with the onslaught. And I mean ONSLAUGHT of tourists, I wouldn't be surprised if we have a small spike here in two weeks. I do believe that with the number of tourists, someone is going to bring it here and then it will be the ignorant, non-mask-wearing locals who will be the ones to spread it around. I so wanted to avoid the grocery store today, but I had to go. It was the worst ever. Same stupid white trash locals, but x10 the usual number, not wearing masks and purposely going the wrong way down aisles. I was really bothered by it today.

I bought John a new desk from Wayfair. It turned out to be made in Denmark, which was cool since John went to Copenhagen, but not cool because it meant very odd instructions, but damn that desk is SOLID. They have you put it together so well that it literally took about a total of 7 hours. I helped John for the first 2 hours one night. Barely got anything done. The next day, I walked in to find him finishing it up all by himself. Literally took him another 5 hours. He only asked for help twice just to hold something in place while he put another piece on. His room is basically complete now!

Phoenix actually got in her cat cave on her own since I washed her sleeping bag.

Back in a pizza box again, but this time sleeping!

Took John and the dogs on a walk up Piper and Weetamoo to the Chocorua River. I knew it would be mostly people-free which is always my goal on a weekend. It's actually a great place to take the dogs to cool off, and I always forget about it. The first time I ever came here was with Coy, Spot and Chill in 2011, 2 weeks before Coy died. I think about her every time I cross this river.

First of 3 days in a row for me getting caught in the pouring rain. Conway Rec Path walk. It actually got John to run so I call that a win. Haha. The next we ended up in a torrential downpour while on a 911 call that turned into a double overdose. I had to change into my second uniform because I was soaked.

Day 3 of getting soaked in the rain. Haha. I dropped John off at a friend's house in Barnstead so I planned a hike near Mt Major. Rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast and sure enough it stayed that way. Perfect day for a Mt Major hike. It was disgustingly humid, but I hardly saw a single person and we had the summit to ourselves. I'd take the loss of the view to have the place to ourselves. We missed the thunderstorm but got the light rain at the top which felt really good. Poor Chill was still too warm, but he got in the brook after. It was the perfect hike otherwise.

Yes, that IS armpit sweat. Haha.

After hiking Mt Major, I drove all the way to the Moat to snag some of their 20th anniversary beer. It's actually really good. The Moat is hit or miss with their beers. This is definitely a hit. Oh and I also got burger. I was starving.

Fourth of July! I picked up the 6a-6p shift at Conway Fire since John was originally going to do something with his friends. He ended up not making plans so I felt bad for picking it up, but what can you do. We were surprisingly not busy which was good because hardly anyone was left in town to help out if the shit hit the fan. Haha. At one point, there were only two of us left available in town... making me the only ALS provider for Conway and Albany. Josh and Jon got called up to Bartlett for a swift water rescue. I wasn't super worried but really hoped I didn't get a total shit call. Instead, we got toned to the Kanc for a motorcycle accident almost at the height of the land. Nearly a 40 minute drive later, we were met by PD who said no patient was ever found so we headed back. At least we got to take a nice scenic drive. Haha. Josh was on shift after me so I had him take this dorky photo with me holding my Advanced EMT certificate from the National Registry. He was my instructor for me course. I wanted to send it as a thank you to the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation for the $1750 scholarship they gave me towards my AEMT class at SOLO. I couldn't have done it without their help. I look totally disheveled in the pic, but I had just sweat my ass off for 12 hours.

When I got home, I quickly changed clothes and had John and the dogs get in the car. We had to go somewhere for a walk. Foss Mountain was the top of my list. I was trying to hit it after the day hikers had gone to dinner and before the sunset people showed up. We hit it just right. Only two other groups were there heading up with picnics for the sunset. Unfortunately, one group was leaving the lot at the exact same time as us, so I decided to take the old trail up. We got to the summit before one group, but then moved down away to let them all have it. We ended up in a blueberry mecca and the skies were gorgeous. John, Phoenix and I had so many blueberries. I had a beer, too. Chill just sat around and panted. Poor big fluffy dog. It was a great evening. The perfect choice. When we got back to the lot, it was completely full so I'm glad we came and went when we did.

My absolute favorite photo of John right now

And that closes out the previous month. I hope this format was a little better by cutting out all of the boring run data. It's not that I won't do that stuff again, but right now is just doesn't matter. I'll only write about the cool stuff for awhile.

I got invited to a wedding in August! I never get invited to weddings. Yay! Should be nice. Wish I had a date to bring since I'm not sure how many people I will know there, but I'm used to going it alone. John doesn't want to go, but if he doesn't make plans with a friend, he'll have to come with me and be my +1. Haha. I think he would have an ok time, but he would much rather hang out with his friends. He has over a month to plan it! Starting August 1st, I have to get this body in gear. I'll have 3 weeks to lose the sugar fat. I'm not going to a wedding with this fat ass. Giving myself a date and time to prepare will actually make me do it. Summer is a really hard time to cut back on beer and ice cream, but I can do it for 3 weeks. I need to. I'm so gross right now.

Speaking of not being gross, I'm planning to try out Crossfit if the pandemic ever cools off. We have a local place here. I looked into it when they first opened literally right behind my house, but it wasn't even close to affordable. Now, I think I can afford it. Looking at just going 3 days a week. I need something with a schedule and something new. It's the only way I'll ever get back into a strength training routine. I keep failing every time I try lately. No idea when this will happen, though. And I don't want to go to a gym right now anyway. Life is just perpetual limbo right now.