It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter, it feels like years since it’s been here, here comes the sun. -song Here’ Comes the Sun, Beatles

Summer is just around the corner and here is proof, the bears are starting to come out of their dens.  This past week the big excitement (besides the election issues) has been the sighting of a black bear in Bicentennial Park.  The crazy thing is, the snow is still rather deep, as the bear is almost standing on top of the interpretive sign.  http://www.adn.com/2012/04/13/2421834/spring-bear-in-bicentennial-park.html#id=2421828&view=large_view  The bear is on the same trail Sam and I go snowshoeing on in the winter and hiking/biking on in the summer.  Just makes life a little bit more exciting.

Our first snowshoe trip into Byers Lake Cabin #3.

Sam enjoyed a day out on Friday with a friend of ours from home.  Thank you, Lee, for taking Sam out snowshoeing!  He was quite talkative when I finally got home and, I must confess, I was not the best audience for all he had to tell me.  That is one of the things I really need to work on, especially since there will come a time when I will not have the pleasure of coming home to find Sam excited and full of energy about his day.  We had a long talk about that today, as a matter of fact, and we both need to adjust a bit - he needs to give me a few minutes when I get home and I need to be more willing to sit and listen.  My promotion at work means a higher level of responsibility and activity, so my brain is usually fried by the time I get home.  We will figure it out, though, so we just need to keep moving forward.

He still seems to be having issues with pain in his upper thigh and pelvic area. This next week when he sees the doctor, he is really hoping the doctor will say, ok, let's try the Alimta again, even though Sam and the doctor both said no more last December.  The nausea seems to be doing better since the doctor put him on an anti-nausea medication.  Thank goodness!  We never knew when it was going to hit, so every meal was a race against time to get things fixed and ready to go before the nausea set in.

As for me, 4 weeks from today is the 2012 Alaska Clean Air Challenge.  Today I picked up new tires, pedals and shoes at REI and I am hoping tomorrow Sam will have the energy to put them on for me.  My fundraising has been very successful, thank you to all who have contributed.  Because it has been so successful, I have increased my goal and I am hoping there are still others out there who want to donate.  http://action.lung.org/goto/daraglass will tell you all about it.  The Glass Half Full team is training hard!

Ciao!