Can I beat Myeloma?

Perhaps waving goodbye to flights from the top of Queenstown Hill was a daft thing to do as Marti and Robbie could not see us, despite the frantic arm movements and the bright orange I wore.  It was a glorious walk; it always is a good work out but Saturday was particularly sunny, clear and crisp day.  The frost cloaked the hill and dusted the paths; a mixture of white crystals and brown dirt, as boot marks scrubbed it all away leaving a slushy, slippy goo behind. Where it could, the sun torched the rest away. The sun is much weaker in mid-winter but still warming enough to notice it; definitely colder when you are not in it. Marti and Robbie popped down from Auckland for a few days to give us both some moral support and good cheer.  We dragged them out on a walk around the lake and river before brunch on their first day with us. Marti was not a well bunny, sporting a black eye from a previo...

Small things matter. After several months of being ill, it has been wonderful to have a week without chemo and to feel “normal” again. I wake up and think “what should we do today?’ instead of “how do I get through today?” I’ve managed 2 lunches, an evening drinks party and a game of a golf. Sarah said I had turned green (after my first 18 holes for 5 months) and I had to have a lie down after the golf but it was worth it. Just to get out, to breathe the fresh air, to walk at a reasonable pace instead of like an invalid and do the social chit chat with golf ladies; life is almost back to normal. Well, apart from the rest of the drugs. Needless to say, Sarah thinks in terms of what exercise shall we do now. Today, we went to Moke Lake for a fabulous still, sunny 0C walk  around the Lake with many of the surrounding peaks covered in brown grass having lost their snow to the sunshine. We started off driving through a winter wonderland of iced valleys and r...

More freezing mornings and the rare snowy icy days. In between periods of sunshine and thawing. No snow settling at Lake level unlike the rest of NZ north from here which currently have blizzards or tornado like winds (currently experienced in the Cook Straits) So far it has been a calm and peaceful winter with very little wind but with lots of ice. Sarah returned from her whirlwind HK visit with a bad dose of flu. She felt so sick that she could not taste food nor walk quite so fast up and down hills. We still wrapped up on a couple of days (Sarah in her seal skin hat and mittens- which shocked the supermarket checkout staff who though it was a bear in a bag) . Honestly if we stay inside for longer than 1 day the two of us get stir crazy so have to get outside to walk. Sarah has conditioned me well after 12 years together. But shock horror, we had to stop to sit on a bench half way down the hill. Those of you who know Sarah will know this is a very rare occ...