2010 State Track Meet

The end of April also brings the GISA State Track Meet.

As most know, Alix somehow contracted mono at the beginning of the school year, and was unable to run cross-country. This is a vital part of her "off track season" training, so she started off this year way behind here finishing point last year. She knew this year would be a difficult one for her, time-wise, but was very proud to lower her times with every track meet, and to be back to where she was this time LAST year--much to the amazement of her coaches.

She qualified for her specialty, the 800 meter run, by finishing second at the region track meet. Her 4x400 relay team also qualified. So off to Albany on Thursday, April 29 we went.

Alix did not have to run any qualifiers on Thursday. As AJ was preparing for exams, she was quite surprised to look up Thursday afternoon see him coming down the stairs.




In a normal track meet, the 800m is the second to last individual race, so it isn't normal to see her run first thing in the morning. In this instance, this was good, because she did not have time to get herself worked up and nervous.

Friday morning, we arrived just in time to see her line up for her 800m race and to yell "Go Alix" before she started, so she knew we made it.





It was a tough race- the times were faster than last years- and so she was MORE than happy with her 5th place finish. And her time of 2:31 was a personal best.



Later that day, her 4x400 team ran their qualifying round.








She ran the anchor, or final, leg of the team.



And they qualified for the final!!!

Back at the hotel, the boys cratered.



AJ is still in college mode, remember?



i think all college students sleep with their mobile phones in their hands...

Alix's relay final was the last thing on the day's calendar, so she had LOTS of time to comtemplate and discuss with big brother.



Alan, of course, always has his two cents ready to throw into the discussion.



AJ thought my Gucci sunglasses made me look like Sailor Moon.



The team rejoiced when Nick Sweat won the 400m. Most excited were his Grandmother Jean and his mom Katie.



Katie just can't contain her excitement...Christy joins in!!



Finally, it was finals time.











Glad it's over!


The Brentwood Girls Track team was State Runnerup for the second straight year- quite an accomplishment.



An for the first time since 1973, the Brentwood Boys were State Champions!




Great year, team!! So proud of ALL of you!!

Alix Prom 2010

I know a few photos of Alix and her friends at Washington County High School's Prom have been seen, but here is a bunch. Enjoy!

Caroline and Alix getting ready.



Caroline's mom and brother came over for a photo shoot.





Friend Emmaline came over to help Alix and Caroline with makeup (and Caroline's gorgeous hair!)



The theme was "Masquerade" so Alix had a special paper mache mask...as Troy is the Junior Class President, she was First Lady that night!







Troy, Alix, Caroline and Eddie





No, your eyes are crazy..this photo is taken in a mirror...the feathers haven't flipped!

Alan's Back Surgery

Some of you know that when I came back from the cruise with CrusieGran, I found that Alan's back pain had increased. He had a fusion of his Lumbar vertebrae L3, L4, and L5 back in 2002. Hey, it comes from jumping out of airplanes, years of soccer abuse, and a congenital predisposition for degenerative spinal problems. We had been told after the initial surgery that in the future, he would probably be looking at another fusion down the road. It's the fulcrum principle of physics. When you fuse something together, the stress point becomes the area directly below or above.

So, in a nutshell, his MRI from a week after I got back showed THIS.




See the white space? That's his spinal canal. Nice and open above and especially below, where his fusion is...but right in the center, his canal is severely compressed, which is causing his pain.

From above, you can also see the narrowing, or stenosis.



The yellow areas show where his spinal canal looks open, then closes dramatically (red arrows), only to reopen below the problem.

His neurosurgeon, Dr. Ellen Shaver, was WONDERFUL, and fit him into her schedule as fast as she could...meaning he only had to wait a week. He had all the preop tests done, including an EKG because he's over 50 now...



Surgery morning, and he's trying not to show his nerves...



Dr.Shaver had access to some brand new technology, and did not have to do as invasive a procedure as she thought. She was able to "tie into" the existing rod hardware from his previous fusion and stabilize the L-2 vertebra into the others.

And four hours later, he's fixed and in recovery!

Bruce, Alan's best friend for more years than any of us care to admit any longer, came from Atlanta with magazines, mirth, and merriment to be my handholder and general do-gooder. He made a MEAN fashion photographer (work it baby) when Grumpy Guy got to have some yummy jello..



Then ran out to get sushi and pino noir for the me and him. My angel!!!

This damn machine is his morphine pump.



I say "damn" machine because Alan has an unusually low breath rate. The morphine pump is not individually calibrated, so it went off ALL NIGHT LONG, every 90 seconds or so, when it assumed Alan wasn't breathing (morphine slows ones breathing down...which is why they monitor it..) And, NO, it can't be overridden. He finally had it disconnected the next day as he couldn't get any rest.

My darling friend Cecilia sent a precious get well card featuring her companion Sea Troll.



He was only in the hospital for 5 days and when his scar looked like it was healing nicely...




They let us come home.

He's still taking things slowly...it takes longer to heal than it did 8 years ago (imagine that!), and he will be wearing a protective back brace for another month or so, but he can walk again and the pain is slowly abating.

But you know Grumpy Guy...we are going to have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he doesn't overdo it on the cruise!!!

WC2010- Home

The return trip to the States always seems to take so much longer. Especially from Mumbai, where most planes leave in the wee hours of the morning to connect with European flight schedules. In our case, we left the Taj at midnight.

Marine Drive is nicknamed the Queen's Necklace. I guess you can see why.



Midway through the flight, over the Caspian Sea.



Halfway home--in the Lufthansa's Business Lounge at 8am.



I was pretty proud that I made it through nearly 24 hours of flying on Lufthansa speaking German (mostly) to the cabin attendants.





Hey, I used to live somewhere down there!





This little guy was quite a trooper. He slept most of the way over the Atlantic. I LOVE how Lufthansa provides these mini-cribs for their tiniest passengers.



Sound asleep--not a peep from him!

WC2010- The Taj Hotel

The Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel, located in Apollo Bunder in Mumbai, is one of the world's greatest hotels. I was lucky enough to spend two nights there in April, 2008. That would have been lucky enough for one lifetime.


Then came November, 2008, and terrorists attacked the Taj and another hotel, the Oberoi. 167 innocent people were killed in 60 hours. Much of the Taj was burned.


My mother and I decided when we left the Crystal Serenity, we would return to the Taj. I was so glad to find her little altered. Now there are security and x-ray scanners, and the center of the lobby is still wrapped (very elegantly) and hidden whilst reconstruction continues....but she still stands.

As does Maharajah's, my very favorite linen clothes store in the WORLD.



























For dinner, we ate at the same wonderful restaurant we visited last time, the Zodiac Grill.

Still with the Camembert Souffle



Still with the sorbet in a whistling tea pot



and, as a delightful fancy, Candy Floss (or Cotton Candy, as we call it in the US) presented before dessert!



Problems and traumas come and go....and it's nice to find things so much the same.