Whoops.

So I tried to think of a few excuses as to why it's been so long since I've posted. Almost two months!!! I've been busy... I've been working a lot. I lost my camera cord to upload pictures. I went rafting, kayaking, hiking, attended weddings. I've moved. Been at war with my stomach. Really though, I have no good excuses. Hopefully as I start to feel settled again, I will get back into the swing of blogging. I certainly have plenty to share. Like I said, I've been busy. I don't even know where to start.

The Pizza Creation Station at our Blackberry Bonanza, in which we celebrated the peak of summer with blackberry picking, swimming in the river, making wood fired pizzas, and eating most of our harvest in the form of cobblers. I did make some jam the next day though.

Well, I have a final diagnosis on my stomach. It's paralyzed. Seriously. Post-Viral Gastroparesis to be exact. After several months of no gluten, I was still getting sick. Frustrated, I went back for even more tests. This time I was given a radioactive egg salad sandwich to eat, and then I laid under a whole Geiger counter while they watched the sandwich move. Or, in my case, not move. Basically when I eat food, it doesn't move along like it would in a normal stomach. Rather it sits, and swells, and make me feel perfectly terrible. And it's something I'm learning to live with, as there isn't much they can do. Mostly though, it's nice to know I'm not crazy and something was really wrong. It makes feeling sickish on a regular basis almost bearable. The current experiment for an effective treatment involves me swallowing pills full of HCL with every meal. Never a dull moment in my medical history.

Johannah flying the canoe across Clear Lake.
I'm not about to let it slow me down though. At the end of August I moved, finally. Moving was a drag, but also, a relief. I almost feel like a big kid again. It's nice to be settling in, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming year. I'm just finally starting to feel like I belong in my new home. I moved into an established house, and for a while it just felt like I was visiting friends. After weeks of looking for a 1 bedroom place, I somehow found myself looking at an open room in a house of 5. And for some reason it just felt right. I took it, and haven't regretted it once. Turns out a few of the roommates have climbed with Keith, and have various ties to the Mountain Club. And because of this I've run across more than a few people I have met in previous years. It's certainly nice to be around active people too. Since moving in I've rafted the MacKenzie, and spent a weekend sea kayaking in the San Juan's, and there are plans for Smith Rock trips, and adventures down the Rouge. Now I just need an bottomless bank account.

Sunset on Cyprus Island.
The Sea Kayaking Crew. Me, Keith, Lea, Colleen, and Ian.
My childhood friend Mary married her partner Jaci in an absolutely beautiful ceremony last month.