Category Archives: marriage

health, marriage

Wear Sunscreen

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POST CONTAINS A GRAPHIC IMAGE.

In December last year I (Anna) went to my annual skin check with my dermatologist. I have very fair skin and I do not tan (at all), I turn lobster red and I cannot count the times I have had nasty sunburns. A few times I have even had sunburns that would count as second degree burns. As a late teenager, I had several moles removed in Sweden and a few had precancerous changes. In the last few years I keep getting little spots of actinic keratosis especially on my face and hands and they always seem to want to biopsy one or another of my numerous moles. My appointment in December was no different. The dermatologist froze a few ak spots on my face and biopsied a mole on my left cheek. She said, she just didn’t like how it was just a little bit uneven and two different colors. Well, it turned out to be malignant melanoma. And like Rob said when I told him:”That’s not ideal”. Nope, not ideal. And I had not even noticed it myself. Oof!

Rob and I in January

Fast forward a few months, and after a consult with a Moh’s clinic, I had a Slow Moh’s procedure last week removing the melanoma. The margins were clear, thankfully, but the defect on my face measured 3.5 by 2.4 cm. I had been told there would be a sizeable scar that would fade over time. In order to cover the defect (excised hole) they had to make additional cuts and move skin up from next to and below my ear. I have an L shaped wound across my cheekbone and down by my ear. Ouch.

In the past, when I made appointments for skin checks, dermatologists always made me feel silly for going, one even said:”your odds of getting skin cancer are very low”. Well, the truth is that 1 in 5 Americans will have had skin cancer by the age of 70. And if you’re fair skinned, you are 30 times more likely to be in that group. So, get your awkward skin checks, check your skin and ask your partner or friend to check those areas you cannot check yourself. Caught early, you may have an ugly scar, but caught late, it can be fatal. Judging by the “civil war- esque” bandages in the waiting room at the clinic I would say cheek, nose, and ears would be the first places to look.

The photo below is pretty graphic, Rob took it last week when I took my bandage off for the first time. It is less swollen and raised now, and tomorrow I will get my 20 something stitches out.

Anna 2/21/25

There is a graduation speech called “Wear Sunscreen” that I have always loved, and I will include a link to it below. If there is something to be learned here, it is definitely that. WEAR SUNSCREEN!! And cover up and avoid the sun at peak hours.

fitness, health, hiking, hiking, marriage, random observation

Hiking at Old Furnace State Park

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Yesterday Rob and I went hiking at Old Furnace State Park in Danielson CT. I have been making an effort to go hiking more to build some fitness and get off Facebook. Winter is typically the slow season around here, but with the mild weather in the past week, I have been getting some hikes in.

We had plans to go up to Running’s in Killingly, so Old Furnace State Park was an easy detour, being located right off 395. I’ve been there before and the park features a reasonably short hour-ish hike around the pond. Neighboring Ross Pond State Park features some more trails if more mileage is wanted.

Rusty came with us of course, and took advantage of the many water options and got really wet and muddy. Good thing we have a crate in the car for him.

Rob got me a new fitness watch for Christmas, a Garmin Fenix 7S and I used it to navigate around the pond, although the markings are pretty decent. We only took one wrong turn.

The hike was 2.6 miles and took us about an hour. There is a little bit of elevation going up the trail to above the cliffs overlooking the pond. The cliffs are a popular spot for local rock climbing.

So where to go next? Thinking about a longer hike at the Sprague Land Preserve this coming weekend. With Rob also currently running the border patrol challenge courses, Rusty is in exercise heaven. Do you have New Year’s Resolutions that involve more physical activity? Go check out a State Park or nature preserve close to you!

amateur radio, food, hiking, marriage, random observation, Uncategorized

Camping at Mashamoquet Brook State Park

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This past weekend Rob and I went camping at Mashamoquet Brook State Park in Pomfret, CT, a whopping 30 minute drive from home. The campground we stayed at is called the Wolf den. We have a big anniversary coming up and with Rob’s surgery next week, we decided we needed a getaway. The farm is pretty much a constant source of projects and work, and we forget to take time to relax if we are at home.

We left home on Friday afternoon after Rob returned from work and Quinn and I came home from our ride at Arcadia. The park is 10 minutes or so off of 395, but tucked back into the woods. There was a total of 6 out of 35 camp sites occupied, mostly with tent campers, but few RVs. It was very quiet. Only one site (ours) has electric and water (which was leaking and had to get turned off). Rob brought his amateur radio equipment, and set up a portable station and I brought books.

The nearby camp nature trail by the brook had beavers and I saw at least 3 turtles laying eggs in the meadow. The wetland brook area also had great blue herons and tons of red winged black birds. The beavers have dammed up the brook, so no fishing is possible, it is more of a wetland.

The weather was gorgeous. No rain at all. Saturday we slept in, went on a few hikes, took a nap (me), read, and Rob played radio. Our main hike was on a nearby blue trail that was fairly technical with rock covered hills, and boasted an indian chair and a table rock rock formation and supposedly the wolf den of the last wolf to be killed in CT.

Saturday night we grilled steaks, baked potatoes, along with sauteed green beans and mushrooms. Yum! We sat by the fire after dinner and just enjoyed the quiet.

Below are a few pictures from the weekend. We will definitely try to do some other local staycations again.

goats, holidays, horse, hunting, kids, marriage, Uncategorized

God Jul!

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Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! God Jul! Feliz Navidad! We are enjoying a quiet Christmas at home this year.

Due to Anna’s surgery and Rob’s injury, Christmas cards fell to the wayside this year. To those of you who sent cards, thank you! We will likely send out cards again next year.

Rob has had a busy and productive year at Sonalysts. When he was not working there, he was working on the farm, or hunting, running, riding, fishing, and whatever else he could find to not sit still. As many of you know, he had a cart accident with Huey in September that he is still recovering from, but he is back to running, riding and hunting, so that is a good sign.

Anna became a US citizen this year! She voted for the first time as well. Anna spent a lot of time training Fiona and let the kids compete Amira in all but one distance ride. This December Anna had a total right hip replacement, and will be recovering from that into the spring.

Alex finished the nuclear technology program at Three Rivers and spent the summer interning at Millstone Nuclear Plant again. This fall he started at URI to finish a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Nuclear minor. He still enjoys riding Mojo, going trail running, and is the protector of his siblings.

Quinn graduated high school and is attending Eastern CT State University for a double major of computer science and data science. Quinn has claimed Fiona as theirs, and enjoys sewing dresses and other creations, along with showing our dairy goats.

Amanda is in 8th grade, working on making her high school choices. She is currently riding our new horse JJ and it seems to be a great match for her. She is also going hunting with dad, biking and running as time allows. Amanda went to the Big E with our dairy goats this year and enjoyed showing them at fairs and shows throughout the summer.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope to see all our friends out there enjoying life in the New Year.

endurance, marriage

Road trip part 5 – home again

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4 days of driving totalling 38 hrs in the truck and 2245 miles. We are home safe and sound. Gamble and JJ both traveled great. They drank when they got off the trailer and are eating hay. We have been giving them a soupy mash throughout the trip. They don’t seem to know what Lamanchas are, but that will probably only be a temporary scary thing. We will let them settle in and start riding them soon.

Gamble and JJ enjoying some mash
JJ (left) and Gamble (right)
Gamble and JJ looking at Fiona
Fiona running the fence line

We did check their heights and Gamble is 16.0hh while JJ is 15.1hh. Welcome home ponies.

endurance, horse, marriage

Road trip part 4

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We didn’t take many pictures today because we were all about the miles. Over 700 miles covered in 12.5 hours. We generally went 2.5-3 hours at a stretch and then stopped for 30 minutes to let the horses take break. At each stop, they got offered some wet mash and water. JJ liked the sweet water (2 gal of water with a handful of rice bran added). JJ and Gamble both did great all day.

The horses are enjoying a layover at TMR Ranch in Woodland, PA. When we arrived, they had stalls ready to go with hay, water, and bedding. The farm is less than 1.5 miles off I-80 with plenty of parking for your trailer and hotels less than 10 minutes away. If you are crossing PA and need a layover, check them out on horsemotels.com.

endurance, horse, marriage

Road trip part 3 – went shopping

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This morning started before sunrise as we left Ohio and headed into Indiana. As the sun came up, we saw deer everywhere. By the way, it’s REALLY flat in Indiana so you can see a long way. Illinois wins the worst road maintenance award of the 7 states we travelled through. We crossed the Mississippi and arrived at our destination of Dubuque, Iowa mid-afternoon. We checked in to the hotel and took a break before going shopping.

Elkhart, IN has a buck on the water tower
Crossing the Mississippi
Crossing the Mississippi

We found some things we liked and decided to buy.

SA Jack of Hearts (Gamble)
SA Jeeka’s Jessica (JJ)

Joining our herd are SA Jack of Hearts (barn name Gamble) and SA Jeeka’s Jessica (barn name JJ). Gamble and JJ are both originally from Sun Arab Stables in Kentucky where we bought SA Fiona from Daunna Sellers; all three share the same Shagya sire, Bayram. Gamble and JJ are out of the same dam, a Thoroughbred named Oak Island Jeeka, so they are both Anglo-Shagyas. Here are the stats: Gamble is 10yo gelding, 16.1hh (maybe 16.2 – Anna is standing uphill) and JJ is a 14yo mare, 15.1-2hh. JJ has foaled previously and both have 2 Limited Distance endurance rides under the belt, although it’s been a few years.

We went out to get some sushi to celebrate. Early tomorrow morning we will start the drive home.

horse, marriage

Road trip part 2

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After lunch, we continued down the road to another horse trailer dealer. We stopped at Leonard Truck and Trailer in Ohio. With over 60 living quarters trailers in stock, it have us a chance to compare a number of different brands. We left with the trailer we rolled in with and continued on to Toledo, OH where we stopped for the night. Dinner at BWW included trivia and wings. Another full day tomorrow…

horse, marriage

Road trip part 1

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It was dark when we started this morning. The colors are past peak in PA. Made a detour to Treas horse trailers to look at living quarters horse trailers. We stopped at Dennys for lunch and now back on the road. We are on a secret road trip mission. Any guesses where we are headed? Hint: we have a layover tonight before the final destination.