July 7, 2010

I had a great weekend at the lake. I went up on Wednesday and stayed through Monday. I drove myself and it went well. I arrived in the early afternoon and hung out for the day. I helped unload the car and helped with some grocery shopping. On Thursday I went for a ride on the jet ski. Friday was spent helping with some final shopping and I went for a long jet ski ride. I also read for a long time. Fipp arrived Friday night and we had dinner together at home. I was a bit tired from all the activity so I went to bed early. On Saturday I got up early and picked my friend Geoff and his girlfriend Eunice from the train station. We then got some BBQ at a roadside restaurant that had a wonderful hickory smell. It was ok BBQ. The sauce was a honey and vinegar based sauce. It was very different to say the least. We arrived at the lake about 2pm. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the dock. That night we watched the fireworks and even had a small show of our own. On Sunday we sent he day at the dock and riding the jet ski. We finished off the fireworks in the evening and had homemade BBQ. We did a pork shoulder in the crock pot and I made a vinegar based sauce. He pork came out fork tender and very moist. The sauce was good, but I can’t help but feel like it could have been better. It was a little watery. I’ll have to play around with the recipe. On Monday Geoff and Eunice had to go back to DC, so Fipp and I took them to the train station. We then returned home, packed the car and left. We came back to Durham and went to dinner. After dinner, Fipp continued on to Columbia. It was a great weekend.

I spent all day yesterday running errands and doing laundry. I unpacked my stuff today and then went to the doctor’s for an appointment. My counts are down a bit from where they were a couple of weeks ago. They think that is due to my prednisone taper. Overall the doc thinks I’m doing very well. I have to be back next week for a blood draw, then in 2 weeks for an appointment. I am still on track for leaving Duke at the end of July. As for returning to work, they think that I will need to continue to rest for a while after I leave Duke. I’m still weak and recovering, but have turned a corner and have started down the path to recovery.

The wedding planning is going well. Fipp and I have planned just about everything. We just need to find flowers, a hair and make up person, and I think that’s about it. I’ll update again soon. Also, Time Warner Cable has the most annoying commercials in history.