Holidays and absences [2]

Best wishes, Sin. Times like this aren't easy, but a strong family is worth more than gold.

Sin, hope all turns out well. Good that you can go see him though.. sure he will appreciate it.

my thought are with you Sin

IL be thinking of you & your father Sin, I believe vehemently in a Guardian angel that is with us always & never leaves us. Best wishes & love

Very sorry to hear to hear your news Sin my thoughts are with you and your family

Was able to get a bit of wifi. .. my dad is doing pretty bad. They have removed his colon and part of his intestines. I have been told all the cancer has been removed, but we were told they got it all before. He is in lots of pain and his spirits are down in the dumps. So at this point I know nothing more than I did before flying up here, but I'm going to spend the next several days trying to cheer him up at least. Thanks for the well wishes everybody

Sorry to hear that Sin, but sounds like at least they got rid of it, better some short term suffering now than the alternative.
I dont do prayers but I certainly give all my best wishes and hopes to you and your Dad. Chin up.

Things are looking better hopefully dad can go home in about a week so long as there are no complications. But right now he varies from day to day. Time will tell. Thanks for all the positive vibes.

Glad to hear that, Sin. I hope that there aren't any complications and that he continues to improve.

Thanks for keeping us updated, Sin. Sounds like your dad is a real fighter. Cancer fucking sucks.

Thats encouraging Sin, but, dolly steps eh ? Best wishes !

glad to hear things are more positive Sin.

well dad is still in the hospital but I had to come home. i go back to work on Tuesday next week so that sucks. Not sure when they are gonna release him, it's still up and down. Mostly getting his pain meds adjusted correctly, he gets to hallucinating and thinking about things not happening at the current moment. Still back and forth on his condition but it appears he is slowly improving. I was told today he might go home as early as next Monday but we were told that last week. Time will tell. Thanks again everyone for the positive energy

Hope your Dad is out and back home soon Sin.

Be strong Sin, this is a tough & uncertain time in your life & so it is for your father. Knowing you are there will lift his spirits even if you think he may not know. Love & best wishes !

More of a notification of return here, but I'm back to having full Internet access (as opposed to spotty mobile Internet online) now that I'm back from the Blue Ridge Mountains, where I spent the last few days.  My mom and I stayed in a cabin in the mountains about 3600 feet over the valley below, although it was part of a resort within the national park.  So the resort was isolated, but there were plenty of other people and resources on hand.  We did a bit of hiking and stargazing and also went down into the valley to visit Luray Caverns and the New Market Battlefield from the Civil War.  My mom took a ton of photos, although this one was taken by someone else in the cave tour group.



That's an underground lake behind us; it's only about 20 inches deep but it gave that perfect reflection of the ceiling.

cool. caves gives me a bit of claustrophobia, but they're really awesome. i visited the salt mines in Krakow in 2010, that was really cool. and when i went to spain (i was 8 ) we visited some caves where there had lived humans. can't remember the name, but that was awesome.

These caves were only discovered in 1878, though apparently some bone fragments were discovered in it that are thought to have washed down from a Native American burial on the surface. There are some really amazing formations down there. Back in the '50s some dude built what he called a "stalacpipe organ" that has these little rubber hammers attached to electric motors that tap on various stalactites to create musical notes, and it's all hooked up to an organ that is actually located in one of the chambers of the cave. Some of the rooms within the cave have ceilings that are like 60 feet high, though most of it isn't quite so spacious.

Those caves look stunning Eldo (as does your mum, nice smile, tell her a friendly Scotshobbit in a kilt said her so, and I'm hardly even drunk Best tell her out of ear shot of your Dad mind you ).
Those caves look the sort Gimli could spend a happy few months in just looking at them.

Sounds a great trip, Eldo. There's always seem to be something special about going up in the mountains.

"stalacpipe organ" (I want one now.)

And the Blue Ridge Mountains.

That really is a lovely photo Eldo  The happiness vibe really bursts out from it    Its fun looking at photo's & seeing how a person changes in looks over time, even if its only subtle  Great looking caves ! I like the eerie "other worldly" feel they give

Thanks guys. It was a fun trip, and the scenery both above ground and below was really something else.  I really like that song btw; my first girlfriend was really into Fleet Foxes but I'd never heard that before.

It's the song that got me into Fleet Foxes. This version in particular.

oh its a lake I thought it was stalagmites on the bottom