Wind Song Journal

Last night I planned a potluck birthday dinner for one of my best friends, Mark Fletcher. After cooking a steamed chicken dish with Myrna for the party, I had a wave of nausea and couldn’t even keep my pills down. So I sent the food up to Eva’s house with Dave, and stayed home to rest. I had been feeling tired all day so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. Later, I called them and they put me on the speaker phone. It was almost like being there. I got a good night’s rest and today was totally different. I woke up, took a shower and went to Belmont to pick up my car from the other apartment. Driving again is such a pleasure, except for the price of gas. It is now $2.61/gallon here in the Bay Area, about 40 cents more than when I went into the hospital 2 months ago. My other big news of the day is that Meredith and I went for a nature walk at the Stanford Dish trail. It is a paved walk up a fairly steep hill, and I was proud to be able to climb the hill without getting too out of breath. We didn’t go all the way to the satellite dish, but spent 35 minutes walking up the hill and did get pretty far–far enough to enjoy the beautiful view of the Bay Area, Stanford campus, and the surrounding community of Palo Alto. It only took us 25 minutes to walk down, and I felt satisfied because it was my hardest walk since I’ve been out of the hospital the second time. I hadn’t seen Meredith for months and we had a lot to catch up on…she is one of the many women in sheclimbs and we talked about the past trips and her plans for this climbing season. She carried my backpack and patiently stayed beside me as I inched my way up the path at a snail’s pace. The slow pace helped us notice tidbits of nature: the perfect 65 degree weather, the gentle breeze, two squirrels playing, and the sound of grasshoppers hiding in the brush. I also loved the way the sunlight hit different patches of trees in the forest to provide an interesting canvas decorated with several shades of green. This added to the panoramic view, with the water and bridge in the background, and the red clay roofs of the campus off on one side. On the way down, the path went through a dark canopy of trees, curving over the walkway and promising light at the end of the tunnel. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Denise, thanks for your messages. I will be looking forward to your call. You can also try reaching me on my cell phone. No, dog in the picture is not Rupie, Rupie is much cuter! Julie, great to hear that the kids are doing so well in climbing! They must be training hard with their new coach. Lab tests came back, and I am completely over all the CMV, flu, and pneumonia viruses. I am still battling fatigue, but have started climbing stairs again for exercise. I even knock on the doors of other transplant patients and get them to do the flights with me! The doctors recommend at least an hour of exercise per day. This is a lot of activity, for I am still in the stage that cooking, cleaning, and shopping for myself and Dave are major challenges. But it is a good idea to go out and get fresh air on walks anyway. Yesterday, I climbed over the equivalent of one trip up and down the stadium, so I will probably start going to the stadium with Ana, Isa, and Dave pretty soon. I hear that Isa’s dog, Rupie, has started training, too. She can do eight trips! I cannot let Rupie get the better of me for long. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Unfortunately, today I felt some pain and tiredness so I rested on the couch most of the day. I must have walked over a mile total yesterday, and have to save my energy for now. Myrna, my caregiver and I, have been finding some great recipes. Here is a very easy and tasty recipe perhaps you could try if you have time: Sauteed Bell Peppers with Pine Nuts, Garlic + Basil Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 teaspoon crushed garlic 3 large bell peppers (1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow) Cut into thin strips 1/4 cup pine nuts 2 tbsp freshly chopped basil salt to taste Instructions: 1. Heat olive oil in a 10″ inch skillet over medium-low heat. 2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. 3. Add bell pepper strips, pine nuts, salt, pepper, and basil and sautee with olive oil and garlic until peppers become tender, about 4 to 5 min. Nutritional info: Serving size: 1 cup Calories: 63 Total fat: 4g, Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments

Denise, thank you for going to Lourdes and praying for me with your family. Sophia’s prayer was so cute! I have been doing much better, although I still feel very tired most of the time. Felix, thanks so much for fixing the website! I really appreciate your work.I bet with all the extra #$%@ people were thinking, “Oh, no, Stacey has finally gone over the edge. Now that is a BAD ATTITUDE!” Miki, thanks for dropping by! I wrote you an e-mail yesterday. Lately, I have been concentrating on eating nutritious food and keeping it down. Last week, Linda helped the cause by bringing over Japanese take-out MMM of all my favorite foods…sushi, seaweed salad, edamame beans, and rice. We had a great time. I’ve also been privileged to go to the cactus garden with Isa and Rupie yesterday. How nice I am well enough to go on beautiful walks with them again! The cactus garden was in full bloom. Brilliant red, yellow, and purple blossoms filled the garden. I took lots of pictures, and we walked around for about an hour. Rupie was really lively, and had a wonderful time running around, chasing birds, and playing with other dogs in the park. Stacey, from H.O.M.E. apartments