this was the photo of the day for me. seeing amy and pierce chomping on a couple of gooey, chewy, sticky, sweet caramel apples captured the day. aren't they soooo cute. the string of caramel from pierce's mouth to the apple was great!

what a beautiful view!! lake superiour off in the distance and the apostle islands. you can see the mob of people...barely...in the lower right-hand corner of the photo. the apple fest brings about 60,000 people for the weekend (gutowski, 2005). i'm in school-mode...ha!

i like black and white photos and just decided to take one of andre standing in front of the pillar. i noticed i also captured pierce coming out of the library. the boys are amy's (my closest friend of 24 years) sons.

keep in mind the couple of years i spent in southeast asia and then try to imagine what this sign looks like through my eyes. it's really the snowmobile and the fish that caught me....maybe it's just my sense of humor, but i thought it looked funny!!

here we are...erv, me, andre, pierce, amy and myron. i found it funny how the guys were pooped out while amy and i probably could've gone on for a little while longer!!

the test results are in!!!

first and foremost on my mind...the test results are in and answers all my questions. i've been diagnosed with hypothyroidism...as of today. the normal level for the thyroid is BELOW 4.3 and my level is 39.7. yep...the nurse wanted to get me in right away. I have an appointment to see a doctor this next week. I'll be put on medication and hopefully i won't be on it for too long, but there is the possibility that i could be taking medicine the rest of my life. hypothyroidism accounts for my hair loss, fatigue, mental confusion and indecision, hot flashes, female plumming problems, and dizziness. i'm still concerned about my blood pressure which was only 80/56 for my last appointment. i was concerned that i was going through early menopause or something because of the symptoms, but that's not the case...which is good news of course at my age. i'm just sooooo tired of being tired and more importantly...i'm tired of being dizzy; all day and every day.

on a happier note...i spent this past saturday with the "family" up in bayfield for apple fest. it was a beautiful drive with the fall colors and a lovely location with being right on lake superior. there were lots of vendors; food and crafts...but nothing really caught my eye. of course, i had to sample a caramel apple sundae...that's the least i could do. i bought a couple sets of bear paw mittens for my great babies...they'll look very cute in them. the mittens slip right over the babies hands and they look like paws. i'll post a picture of them wearing 'em sometime soon with cool aunt su.

until next time.

here are the boys hanging out in their play tube. freddie is the brown one in front which erv and i nicknamed him the enforcer. eddie is the white one affectionately called the mob boss. they're very sweet piggies.

pictures rarely capture the true beauty of the moment. if only i could add the sound of the water flowing past...and the birds singing to each other.

kissy, kissy, kissy...amy and myron being cute at the races.

my brother david next to his car up at the races in ashland. it was difficult to get him to stand still...this was the best i could get.

the picture doesn't do the colors justice. driving down the old logging roads was one of the things i missed over in taiwan.

i've been detoxcing...

well...i thought i'd finally get an update out for anyone interested. life isn't as exciting or as interesting now that i'm back in the states. i'm getting into the routine of work, school, spending time with friends and family...and just becoming used to the pace of life here. my stress level is down, my voice isn't as hoarse anymore and i don't cough anymore in the morning.

i was able to get up to ashland to watch my brother race before the season ended. i went over to a rock concert in minneapolis. spent some time down in stevens point with some friends. took my niece shopping for clothes for my great nephew. AND the latest news....i adopted two guinea pigs. the piggies are boys named eddie and freddie. i adopted them from a guinea pig rescue organization. the previous owners were interested in them for the first month, but after they bought horses for the boys....the piggies were left in a basement for a year.

this weekend is apple fest up in bayfield. amy, myron, erv and i are planning on heading up for the day. i'm excited. hopefully, the weather will be good. beyond this...i don't have much planned outside of daily activities here. i will do my best to keep you all updated in a more timely fashion.