Grandfather Mountain, NC

[photo: rain storm approaching in the distance, blue ridge mountain range]

Friday night and all day Saturday we went to Grandfather Mountain with Jessica, her sister Rebecca, and her best friend, Shashi. What a fun hiking/outdoorsy trip! We bought this cool back pack carrier for Ethan for which we got plenty of compliments everywhere we hiked. Long drive back home though, and still we've not caught up on sleep... and so this entry will be short. Check out pictures by clicking link above.

Senior Farewell Dinners

Senior Class Photo, Duke, Internal Medicine & Pediatrics combined residency program, 2007
[Back L-R: Kelly Koay, MD, Jennifer Walker, MD, Krishelle Leong-Grotz, MD; Front L-R: Christian Ramers, MD, Mathew Schwartz, MD, Reilly Coch, MD]

It is that time of the year when graduating seniors bid farewell to mentors, friends and colleagues, and look back on their training here at Duke with fond memories and astonishment at just how quickly 3 years (4 for some) has flown by. A word reiterated through speeches offered by many describing feelings they have during this time of the year was "bittersweet". And I can say, as a spouse to a medical resident, I concur.

It is hard to survive and sacrifice so much to go through a residency training. And I have to say it is probably a lot harder trying to do a combined program like medicine and pediatrics. It is one year longer than most (4 instead of 3) and you find yourself in your second year of the program being called a "senior" to interns who end up, by the end of their first year, actually having more experience (than you - if you did med/peds) in either single discipline.

So much self-doubt you have to overcome because of the nature of the combined program and split schedules, which pushes you to always have to "catch up" and learn quickly to "keep up" with medicine or peds colleagues.

And now it is Kelly's class' year. Their time. They are the ones being celebrated this year. Can you believe it is now their time? The many senior dinners we've attended, and the emotions we saw in the graduating seniors of those years - so palpable. And now Kelly and her class take their rightful place.

It is sad.

We have made a family in Durham. Not just our immediate family with Ethan born here, but with our many friends and colleagues who have truly been there through all the "major" events in my and Kelly's life. They have witnessed our early days as friends, then our days of dating, engagement and attended our wedding and were a witness to our marriage vows. They saw us through our first pregnancy and the eventual birth of our first born. They celebrated the highs, and commiserated with the lows. Many dinners, parties, get-togethers, game nights, movie nights.

And now, the group moves on to the next phase in their lives and professional development. Quite literally, the Duke med/peds class of '07 will be relocating to all four corners of the country - Seattle (Pacific Northwest), San Diego (Southwest/coast), Ithaca, NY (Northeast) and Georgia (Deep South) :-D

Thank you for the memories guys. We look forward to a reunion in the near future and good luck with all your future endeavors, be they professional, personal, or of service.

With two more senior dinners left (the medicine department and med/peds), emotions will be building, and ultimately come pouring when the med/peds class say 'good-bye'.

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alright, reality check, Noomz needs a poopie diaper changed... and oh yea, we still have this thing called a house to sell.. .argh!

Prudential Realty

No, our house is not sold yet. But we've finally just bit the bullet and hired a realtor to sell our house in Durham. Still a popular time for the housing market, we've decided enough is enough, and simply trying to do everything ourselves was not working out and way too much work (especially with a little one) and so hiring a professional to do the job just finally made sense and worth the money.

We hired Micki Stewart from Prudential realty who is supposed to be very good in this area. We'll see. No pressure on her since we could have made everyone's job a little easier by hiring sooner when the market was truly at it's peak (end of April for closing). But I have faith that she will do a good job, and at the very least, I will have more time to focus on Noomz instead of worrying about our listing getting old and not enough interest and buyers etc.. etc..

One recommendation was made, however, and that was to paint some bold colours to neutral. We have a couple accent walls painted a navy blue, when placed adjacent to the creamy warm beige really looks awesome, but not everyone has the same taste and to be as attractive to most peoples' liking we have to tone things down some.

Thankfully, Micki thinks the soft colours of our other rooms can remain the same since they are pleasing and not dark or intense. Ethan's room is yellow with stensil work on one wall (of ferns, leaves) and our study is a desert green and the small hallway joining these rooms a Carolina blue (boo!) -- joking! Duke all the way!

And so I've called on the help of some friends this weekend to paint the house, with pizza dinner provided in the end of course. We'll see who's in town and who's not and who can help us. :-)

Farewell Zaf & Chels!!

GOOD LUCK, Zaf and Chels, and safe travels to New Zealand. May you both find strength in each other as you both develop in your marriage and your life outside the good US of A. Chels, I hope you find your professional interests while down there, and Zaf, it was great getting to know you, and very best of everything with the furthering of your professional goals as well. I have family in Christchurch!! Allah'u'Abha :-)

Our Night --

Angelica picked up Adwoa and brought her to our place this afternoon. It was fun having alone time for Ethan to meet his Auntie Adj. Ethan was a bit nervous even though he had met Adwoa when he was very wee - 2 months old? But with stranger anxiety kicking in even stronger these days, he took some time to warm up to Adj. Still, they look great together don't they?



Actually, Adwoa arrived not long before Zaf and Chels' leaving party, which we all attended together. It was potluck meal and we provided ice cold watermelon, which was a favourite. Songs were sung, including a native pacific island (New Zealand?) jingle with accompanying actions which Larissa and Chelsea demonstrate so well to the group of friends (see vid above).


More and more friends started piling in to the small clubhouse, with more songs and food to be had, though we made an early exit, as come to be expected, since we had no diapers left in Ethan's diaper bag (should have checked before leaving the house - just assumed always have at least one in there).

Now back home, Noomz is bathed and clean and nursing and off to la-la land. Sweet dreams my boy.

Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Here are some pictures we took this morning from the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The blue skies were in full force, and so were the gardeners enthusiasts who were all out it seemed for a plant sale that was going on at the SPDG. There were so many different plant varieties. I wanted to buy so many different plants. But it would not be wise to do so since we are moving very soon. Lots of planters and pots and decorative garden stuff -- I guess you just have to know what I mean -- with local craft artists and horticulturalists and botanists doing their thing. It was especially neat to see the "bog plants" and carnivorous varieties like the Venus Fly Trap (not sure the official name).

The Snow Azaleas were really pretty and we took some photos by them. Ethan kept reaching out to touch them, sporting his new wide-brim summer hat.

One Week 'Til Closing

I am exited, nervous and anxious about our upcoming closing date for our home in Blue Ridge. With less than a week until the big day, we still have a lot to do it seems. Our home in Durham has not sold yet, though we've had a flurry of folks come to see our house ever since it was lilsted on the MLS (multiple listing service). I am hopeful one of these interested people will put in an offer very soon. April and May are usually the two busiest months of the real estate calendar, coinciding with the school year ending for the summer, and also many leases usually end around this time also, and so many relocate during this time.

Now we are just playing the waiting game. We've done about all we can to get our home listed and viewed by as many people as possible and to maintain the house in showing condition with a 7-month old boy is anything but easy, though we've managed now for a couple months to do just this.

It will be sad to move out of this lovely community for sure. But I personally am looking forward to the future, and building a new nest in the Georgia mountains. Keeping Ethan entertained and learning will be a challenge, so hopefully we can have a steady flow of visitors from family and friends to keep us active and upbeat.

Vollmer Farm

Today was a scorcher with temps in the mid 80s. Thankfully, however, there was a good breeze blowing all day which made picking strawberries tolerable. I had Ethan wearing a hat (when he kept it on that is) and used sunscreen for the first time this year. Seems we've jumped straight into summer-like weather after an up and down start to spring.

I almost convinced myself that it was too much trouble to get ready for an outing today. I am glad I persisted though. It is tough being a dad and having to feed an infant outdoors. Having everything Ethan needs for proper diaper changes is one thing, but that's pretty easy and second nature now. But feeding times always require my utmost attention, and to do this outside the comforts of our home?? Well, like I said, almost gave up on this picking strawberries business today.





I had to pack a thermos with boiling hot water and another receptacle to immerse a cold bottle of milk in the hot water to "heat". I use sarcastic quotes since this process is more accurately the cold bottle exerting its effects in cooling the hot water than vice versa. Or at least it seems this way since it takes oh so long to heat a bottle of milk this way and Ethan is ready for his milk as of 20 minutes prior. So not easy, but if you want noomz to experience new things, with mom at work (which is most days), you've got to bear down and just get stuff together.

But it was well worth it. Our play group had a blast, though not all could make it today. The weather was just gorgeous and the cute noomieses darling.











Well enough of my made-up words, here are some pictures!

Happy Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day, and we could not have asked for a better weekend weather-wise :-) (how's that for alliteration) Blue skies are in the forecast for the next four days with temps starting in the mid 70s and increasing to mid 80s by Monday and Tuesday. I actually prefer high 60s to mid 70s best -- 80s being a tad on the toasty side.

Our Monday play group is going on a trip to Vollmer Farm to pick strawberries. I believe this place is about an hour's drive away, and so we'll need to pack our gear for a couple feeds at least. It would be easier if Kelly could be with us, but mama's working hard as always.

Today, several Farms are open for "tours" to celebrate Earth Day. I know this because my neighbor is planning to go to one near Carborro -- maybe Ethan and I will tag along.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Nantahala National Park, NC

Driving back to Durham from Blue Ridge we drove through the smokey mountains (I think?) and through Nantahala National Park. This was my third time passing through the park in the past few months, that I decided we'd better stop and take in some of the awesome scenery and even catch a few kayakers braving the rapids down the (name?) river.




The weather was sunny but a bit windy, but not as cold as Kelly's attire would suggest. Kelly always tends to err on the side of over-dressing.

We stopped at a look-out point and took some pictures besides said river. Ethan was all eyes and ears and was very much interested and attentive to everything around him. We even managed to capture a couple family pics placing our camera on some rocks, though the angle is quite low to the ground.





Many folks were already out doing the hiking, kayaking thing. We passed by a couple "outfitter" shops with bike rentals and kayak rentals, and groups of people on motorbikes -- the summer scenes in this area must be buzzing for sure, if this much action is found in April. And only an hour or so from Blue Ridge, we are sure to make more trips to this area and maybe even explore our adventurous sides and do a bit of kayaking or rafting one day.




We will be certain to make trips here when family and friends are over to visit.

Wintery Blast

Last night was cold. Downright frigid. Kelly and I were lying in bed, having just put our heads on our pillows, when I voiced my concern for our plants and the forthcoming wintery blast of cold air we were expecting. I was not sure if Kelly was listening, if she had fallen asleep quickly, or if she could even be bothered to get up from the very spot she'd been warming in bed all cozy dozy. Just then, Kelly got up, walked over to the closet, started putting on her leg warmers and socks and said, "OK, let's do it. Let's protect the plants (already) as best we can with blankets and plastic bags." Those were my suggestions, as I had read them earlier in the evening on some BBC website on how to protect plants that are not frost resistent. And so we were off, flashlight in hand, garbage bags galore, and all of our not-so-good to our finest linens, all to preserve some plants for one evening weather's harsh treatment. (I wish I took a photo of how our garden looked all wrapped in bags and then covered over in blankets!) The air was so cold (below 24F) last night, that this morning, just before we were expecting an agent to show our home to some clients, I went outside to remove all the bags and blankets covering our garden beds, only to find some completely exposed (wind blew off coverings), and others covered, though the blankets were frozen to the shape of it being draped over some plant. Needless to say, it was a nightmare getting the linens to thaw, even in the sunlight, in order to then fold them, before folks came to see our house! And the effect on the plants, you ask? After all, after going through all this trouble, one would hope at least the plants got the benefit of some less cold air trapped under all the coverings. The truth is, some did ok, while others still "burned" in the frost and chill of the night. Quite literally to, as leaves turned brown and black, as evident in the new growth on this holly (?) bush which all turned black. :-( And tonight is more of the same, though supposedly not as cold, but still below freezing (29F). At least the folks who came to see the house liked what they saw, though who knows really whether they will return with an purchase offer. I'm just impressed (and anyone who knows Kelly would say so as well) at how Kelly full-heartedly (or begrudgingly?) supported my plan (and eased my weary mind) to do our best to protect our plants.

Unfortunate Weather

It's weird seeing blankets on flower beds and yards, no? Well, this is precisely what some of my neighbors are resorting to in order to preserve or trap some warmer air to save their plants. Over the past couple of months, we've had unseasonably warm temperatures, only to be disrupted by unseasonably cold ones. One week, the record high temps 50-years plus standing are on the verge of being broken. Following days, near record lows are expected. It is quite remarkable anything is growing in our garden at all.

I have not taken the same action some of my neighbors have, though I probably should. It just seems unsightly and wrong to blanket your plants! Unfortunately, I don't think this year's garden is going to be as lush and beautiful as last year's. Already, our cannas and elephant ears have come out of the ground, only to be frozen and killed off by a cold snap. And this has already happend twice this spring.

Last night's low temp hovered around freezing (0 C, 32 F) and tonight's low is projected at 29F, Saturday 24F and Sunday 28F. Three straight days of below freezing conditions will surely destroy this year's garden, and any presentation we hoped to have to sell our house.