Week of March 19: Brokenberry update

Steve and Stephanie took Blackberry to his vet early Monday morning. Blackberry was given a thorough checkup and many tests were performed. The results showed that Blackberry’s injuries were limited to his front right ulna and a small cut on his upper lip. X-rays revealed four fractures, including two spiral complex fractures in his ulna. Blackberry was referred to an orthopedic specialist for further treatment.

On Tuesday, Steve and Stephanie met with the orthopedic specialist. After conducting more tests, including a CAT scan, surgery to the ulna was recommended. Due to the complex nature of the fractures, the surgery was predicted to be difficult but would provide the best chance of recovery. It didn’t take Steve and Stephanie to decide on having the surgery. Blackberry was kept at the vet overnight. I spoke with Steve on the phone Tuesday night and I could tell from his voice that the injury to the ulna was very serious and Steve was very concerned about his best friend, Blackberry. I could sense that Steve was close to tears as he described the details of the injury and the upcoming surgery.

On Wednesday afternoon, Blackberry had his surgery. I believe the surgery took over 2 hours. Due to his age (13+) and the multiple fractures, the surgeon was not able to use metal plates or screws directly onto the ulna. Instead, the broken ulna was secured with three external halos. The surgery was as successful as it could have been and Blackberry made it through very well. Again, he was kept overnight at the vet for observations.

You can see the three halo rings cover by the protective purple bandage around Blackberry's right leg. You can also make out the little cut below his nose.

On Thursday, Blackberry returned home with Steve and Stephanie. I think he was very glad to be back home. However, Blackberry was under lots of pain killers administered through a patch he wore on his hind leg. Andrea and I visited him that night. We left Kodi at home as we didn’t want Blackberry to get excited. Andrea and I were delighted to find Blackberry happy at home limping about. He was in better shape that I had anticipated. Also, Steve and Stephanie were in good spirits. It was amazing to see Blackberry wagging his tail, hoping around so that he would be near us and not miss out on receiving scraps from our dinner. He was hopping around so well that I called him a "Pirate”. Arrr!

On Friday, Andrea stayed with Blackberry during the day while Steve and Stephanie were at work. Blackberry was under heavy medication and slept for the most of the day.

On Saturday night, Andrea and I paid Blackberry another visit along with my brother Brian. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a happy Blackberry, who was full of energy, alert and eating well. Steve and Stephanie were also very happy and upbeat. It was good to see the Glazer family happy together.

I think the worst is behind now. I am hopeful that Blackberry will make a speedy full recovery. Blackberry will be under wraps for a total of 8 weeks to be followed by physical therapy, so there is a lot of care and work still to be had. But with the love from Steve and Stephanie, I am certain that Blackberry is in the best possible hands.

Here's Stephanie hanging out with the Pirate!

Week of March 12: March Madness

Every year around March, I have a group of backpacking friends that join me in venturing into the snowy mountains to a Sierra Club backcountry wilderness hut. And every year, we manage to get ourselves into some sort of trouble/adventure.

Two years ago (we skipped last year), we snowshoed to the Benson Hut… a 5 mile steep uphill climb from hell that took over 8 hours and took the spirit out of everyone (especially Brian, thanks to the previous late night alcohol induced munchies satiated by the impaired judgement to eat a month old Jimmy Dean Velveeta cheese dip). When we arrived at the Benson Hut, we ate our dinner and went straight to bed… fun!

Three years ago, we snowshoed to the Ludlow Hut. This time the conditions were perfect and the 6 mile gentle hike took about 3 hours. We all arrived at the hut in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun, drinking beer and wine and playing games. It was at this occasion that Andrea seduced me and lured me into our first kiss… *blush* (and now I’m married, own a house and am blogging!).

Four years ago (pre-Andrea), we snowshoed into the Ludlow Hut. The conditions were nice as well. However, someone (I believe it was Ron) thought that it was a good idea to tow a “Booze Louge”. In Ron’s defense, everyone thought it was a brilliant idea at the time. The “Booze Louge” consisted of a huge cooler full of mostly beers, which was secured to a flimsy plastic K-Mart sled. Initially, Ron was heralded as a visionary hero and we gathered around the “Booze Louge” with pride and gusto. We took turns pulling the “Booze Louge” in teams towards the Ludlow Hut. As the hike went on, we discovered two major flaws to the “Booze Louge” concept. First, the snow conditions were not ideal for pulling a cheap sled, made top heavy by a cooler full of beers. The icy packed snow rocked and jolted the sled and it took a lot of effort to keep the sled on course without topping over. Second, everyone who knew the route to the Ludlow Hut was occupied with the futile attempt of “making the Louge happen”. Thus, our group was led by then first comers (mostly Austin …sorry dude, but I’m calling you out, out of love of course) who simply followed a trail. This trail led us in circles around Miller Lake… a mistake that cost us a few hours of extra hiking and a lot of frustrations and emotional outcries. We finally ditched the “Louge”, packed the beers in our backpacks (not sure why we didn’t do that to begin with) and removed Austin as our guide.

This year, we decided to head back to our familiar Ludlow Hut (we vowed last year never to do Benson Hut again). And this is the rest of the story…

At the trailhead, all ready to go!

We started the hike around 11 AM on Saturday, the day after St. Patrick’s Day. Luke had a slight headache (thanks to the Wild Turkey 101 Boilermaker) but all in all, everyone was fine (with all of us being over 30 yrs of age, our holy Saint Patrick could only get us to muster up a celebratory drink or two before being overcome with the case of drooping eye lids). The hike to the Ludlow Hut started off great. The day was sunny and warm and the trail was well groomed by snow mobile tracks. Everyone was in good spirits including Kodi and Blackberry (Steve and Stephanie’s 13 yr old Chow-Lab mix). About a mile or two into the hike, the snow packed trail became softer and we began to experience some difficulty sinking into the snow. We were seasoned veterans of backpacking in the snow and we promptly put on our snowshoes (Lia and Piera put on back country skis) and continued our trek towards Ludlow. As we marched forward, the snow became increasingly deeper. Even with our snowshoes on, we began to sink knee deep which slowed down our pace. It took a lot of effort to go a hundred steps. At times, we had to dig out members of our party who had fallen into sink holes waist deep and were trapped. The hike got so difficult that we took turns in front “pulling”. We hiked in a single file line towards Ludlow. The person in front would blaze through the fresh powder for as long as s/he could and then step aside, catch his/her breath, let the second in line assume the pull position, let everyone pass and jump in at the back of the line. Nan called this strategy “Cup Cake”. We all “Cup Caked” and arrived at the Ludlow Hut in 5 hours… about 2 hours more than it would have taken under “normal” conditions. The hike was tiring but not difficult. But we were all glad to have made it to the Hut.

A little rest after a few hours of "Cup Caking".

The Ludlow Hut is a two story A-framed wooden structure. The main door is on the ground level which opens to the kitchen / dining / living area. From the outside, there is also a ladder next to the main door which leads to another exterior door that opens directly to the second floor which houses the sleeping quarters. When we arrived at the Ludlow Hut, there was so much snow that the first story was completely buried. Only the snow covered A-frame roof was visible. I would dare to say that unless you’ve been to the hut before, you would have had a real tough time finding it. With so much snow, the second floor became the main level and we entered through the second floor door without even climbing the ladder. From the inside of the second floor, there is a ladder towards the back leading down to the first floor. The second floor also has collapsible floor boards on the sides that open up directly to the first floor. These floor boards act as vents that allow the heat from the downstairs’ two wood burning stoves to flow up.

As the hut was previously unoccupied, it was cold and dark inside. I quickly gathered my headlamp and climbed downstairs to get the stoves going. I could hear everyone upstairs unpacking and settling in. As I gathered kindling for fire, I heard Jen scream which was immediately followed by a “thud”. ‘Perhaps Jen’s backpack had fallen through an open floor board?’ I thought. I turned around and shined my headlamp at the “thud”. It was then I realized that Blackberry had fallen about 12 feet from the second floor. I rushed over to him. Blackberry was getting back up favoring his front right paw with a look of shock on his face. I quickly held him to prevent him from moving. It was clear to me that Blackberry had hurt his paw but I was not able to assess how bad he had hurt it. As I gently touched his paw, I could feel some swelling. Then Steve dashed down the ladder and took Blackberry from me and began to attend to his paw. Steve carefully inspected Blackberry from head to tail. Blackberry was hurt but it appeared that the injury was limited to his right paw. Blackberry had a hard time putting any weight on it but he didn’t cry or whimper at all. He simply had a look of concern on his face and responded at the attention he was getting by wagging his tail. After we calmed Blackberry down and had him lay down, we decided that we would wait until the next morning to see how Blackberry would respond. We simply could not tell how bad his injury was. We gave Blackberry some water, food and a blanket to lie on. Steve and Stephanie kept a close eye on him while managing to cook dinner. As the night went on, Blackberry was more responsive and began to interact more. We all began to feel a little better.

After the long strenuous hike, we enjoyed the dinner very much. Steve and Stephanie had brought two large home made sheets of lasagna while Austin made a delicious tomato and avocado salad as well as garlic bread. We also had two of the finest boxed red wines to enjoy as we spent the night chatting away by the warm fire.

In the morning, Blackberry was still unable to put any weight on his front right paw. There was no way Blackberry was going to be able to hike down on his own. Being over 80 pounds, there was also no way to carry Blackberry on our packs. Steve attempted to fashion a stretcher/sled to pull Blackberry but because of the snow conditions and the lack of adequate material, it was impossible for the sled to stay above the powder. Just a few steps pulling the empty sled during the test run took a lot of effort and time. Safely transporting the injured dog out seemed impossible and risked jeopardizing the safety of Steve or anyone else trying to attempt the rescue ourselves. And there was no way Steve was leaving behind Blackberry to get help. For the first time, we found ourselves not prepared and in need of rescue. The only other realistic alternative was for Steve to remain with Blackberry at the Hut and for the rest of us to get help from Search and Rescue. So Andrea, Brandon, Stephanie, Austin, Kodi and I hastily ate our breakfast, packed up and headed out for help. Luke, Nan, Jen, Lia and Piera left about an hour later, after cleaning up the Hut and leaving Steve and Blackberry enough food and water behind just in case the Rescue was not possible until the day after. Kodi and I were the first to arrive back at the trailhead (the trek down only took about 2 hours since it was all down hill and the trails were groomed from our trip up). I left my backpack on the side of the trailhead and ran a few blocks up the road with Kodi to retrieve my car. By the time I got back to the trailhead with the car, Andrea, Brandon, Stephanie and Austin had made it down. Andrea and Stephanie took the car and headed into town to get some help, while Brandon, Austin, Kodi and I stayed behind at the trailhead to get the other cars and to pack away our gears. As soon as everyone (minus Steve and Blackberry) was back, Brandon, Kodi and I hit the road to meet up with Andrea and Stephanie. We found them at Obexer's Country Market (we are forever grateful for all their help. they were so nice and caring. if you're ever in Homewood, please stop by and give them your business. they have excellent food as well) in Homewood. Andrea and Stephanie were fortunate enough to find the Sheriff there. The Sheriff was in the process of getting the Search and Rescue party ready.

After about 2 hours, the Search and Rescue team hit the trail to rescue Steve and Blackberry. The rescue party consisted of a team of professional from the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team. They brought with them a mobile command center, 5 snow mobiles and a snow cat. It took the party over 3 hours to get to the Hut. The snow equipment had difficulty moving through 6 miles of heavy snow. In fact, the snow cat was unable to make the final climb up to the hut and waited at the foot of the hill while the snow mobiles retrieved Steve and Blackberry from the Hut. At the bottom of the hill, Steve and Blackberry were transferred from the snow mobiles to the snow cat for their journey back to town. All in all, the actual rescue took over 4 hours and Steve and Blackberry finally arrived at the command center around 6 PM.

We stopped at one of the frozen lakes for a quick picture and some rest. Notice how nice and sunny it was. 2 seconds after this shot, a storm moved in and started to snow hard!

Austin (right) busy at work making his famous garlic bread. After a long day of hiking, everyone was reallying enjoying dinner!


Jen (in blue) and Stephanie (puffy jacket) proudly displaying their box o'wines! And look what's in my hand... Luke's favorite Wild Turkey 101!


The first floor was completely buried under the snow. We used the wall of snow outside the door as our water source and as our fridge. Here Brandon is scooping some snow to melt into water.


Steve (on left) attended to Blackberry while everyone else looked on with concern.


Everyone slept inside except for Piera who braved the winter cold and slept outside under the stars. Brrrr!

The Search and Rescue's mobile command center getting things ready.

Here is the snow cat with Steve and Blackberry inside as they finally arrived back at the trailhead

Week of March 5: Manka's

Inverness is a sleepy little town about an hour and a half drive north of San Francisco. With Tomales Bay at its feet and the Pacific Ocean on its back, Inverness is known for its beautiful luscious forests, green rolling hills, and its vast scenic seashore that juts into the Pacific. Replete with hundreds of miles of walking, biking and riding trails, gentle bay beaches, watering holes and dramatic ocean fronts, Inverness is a mosaic of open expanses and engulfing redwood groves, filled with an amazing array of wildlife and natural wonder. It is the epitome of Northern California. Inverness is the perfect romantic getaway town that movies are made of.

This week, Andrea surprised me with a weekend stay in Inverness at the Manka's Inverness Lodge. After a long week of tedious projects at work and uncharacteristically cold and wet weather, it was the perfect way to end the week on. Andrea had made all the arrangements and kept the destination hidden from me all week. As Friday neared, I got more and more curious as to where Andrea was taking me. I peeked online at our credit card statement to see if there were any recent reservation charges from a hotel. Nothing there. I flipped through our stash of California travel books, looking for any dog-eared pages. Strike two. I started to name-off nearby random weekend locales… Monterey? Santa Cruz? Napa? No, No and No. It seems Andrea has become quite the poker player.

Andrea and Kodi picked me up from work about 2 hours later than we had hoped for on Friday. The cold weather had brought with it a mix of rain and hail which had blanketed the roads causing a lot of accidents and jams. So when Andrea finally arrived at my work, she was in shambles and in need of many adult beverages. Fast forward three hours of crawling traffic, 6 hail storms, and 2 close encounters with road-happy elks, we finally arrived at Manka's Lodge, our emotions at the brink of blowing up. As we entered the lodge, we were greeted by a blazing fire, in a room filled with Old Hickory rockers, vintage fishing gear and old game boards and by the warm smile of the manager at the reception desk. Before long, Andrea, Kodi and I were tucked away in our room and actually began to enjoy our weekend getaway. The Lodge (and by extension our room), followed a simple formula: great beds; blazing fire wherever possible; deep reading chairs; a long wine list and a short simple menu reflective of what is best, local and often wild (Manka's Lodge used to be a hunting lodge); indulgent baths; quiet nights; windows with a view - of the water or the woods. We spent the first rainy night by a cozy fire, reading, drinking a bottle of red wine and listening to Yo-Yo Ma. This is how all weekends should start!

Settling in quite nicely. Kodi is liking the bear skin rug... tastes just like beef jerky!


We (actually I) slept in a little Saturday and woke up to a rainy morning.


After breakfast, the weather cleared up and we headed to Kehoe Beach for a hike. On the way there, we stopped by Johnson's Oyster Farm where Kodi and I enjoyed a dozen raw oysters freshly picked from the water. Andrea had gum.


Kodi had a great time. We never let him freely dig away at home so he was loving the beach. Kodi also made friends with these happy California cows.

The Lodge's sign at the road reads: "Honest Beds, Phenomenal Food." We had an opportunity to experience the "Phenomenal Food" dinner at its restaurant Saturday night. The dinner was a fixed seven course meal served promptly at 7 PM. The large majority of what is served is grown and raised and caught for them within fifteen minutes of the Lodge. Manka's duck egg man lives within fifteen minutes of their organic cheese woman, who is a neighbor of their crabman, who is friends with their organic farmers. The dinner was excellent... one of the best dining experiences I've had so far. It was also a good learning experience for me. I really appreciated how simple dishes prepared with the best ingredients produced wonderful food where you can actually taste and enjoy all of the individual flavors with each bite.

Week of February 26: Big Love

HBO has a new show out that depicts the life of a modern-day Utah polygamist, Bill Henrickson (played by Bill Paxton) who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. I haven’t seen the show and our cable company, finally after 9 months, cut-off our 3 month free promotional HBO service. So chances are, I will never become a regular viewer of Big Love. Right or wrong, this show has been getting a lot of media coverage for the obvious reason. Now, I haven’t really spent any time breaking down the ethical moral dogma of this show but I did have a brief blog-worthy self realization moment of how Big Love relates to me that I would like to share.

In modern America, much of life is all about convenience. You want ice cream at 3 AM in the morning on Sunday… BAM!!! 7-ELEVEN is open down the street (isn’t the name 7-ELEVEN out of date?). Even the most precious thing of our lives, Love, has also become susceptible to the pressures of convenience (in my opinion). Lonely for love? Match.com, speed-dating, Table for Six, Ukrainian chat rooms, etc… all within a click of a mouse or with the opening of your wallet. Ooops, that wasn’t love? “Good luck… See you later… Where do I sign on this divorce paper?” Very convenient indeed. Thus, it is very precious and extremely fortunate when we are able to discover true love and hold on to it. So what if true love is weird or unconventional or even illegal... isn't it still true love to the beholder? So when Bill Henrickson is able to find not one but three Big Loves, I guess he is truly blessed (in an illegal, twisted kind of way).

I too have been blessed with three Big Loves. Unlike Bill Henrickson however, they are all legal. Before this week, I only had two loves but this week, I found my third. My first love is my wife, Andrea… no big surprise there. My second love is my dog, Kodi… also very predictable. My third love? My new shower… Grohe! “I LOVE YOU MAN!!!” After months of construction and delays, our downstairs bathroom remodel project was finally complete. The shower glass door was installed (3rd time getting the glass cut just right) and after the initial 48 hour drying-out period, I stepped in for the first maiden christening of the shower. As I turned on the main shower, the dual heads came to life and warmed me up from the top of my head to tips of my feet. “Ahhh Grohe… you are so gentle!” With just a little bit of adjusting the angles, I was able to get one shower nozzle on my head and the other on my body. “Ahhh Grohe… you are so versatile!” Don’t like water dripping on your head when conditioning your hair (yes, I do use conditioner)? I just flipped the arm down and turned the shower heads over for Grohe to become dual body jets. “Ahhh Grohe… you are so flexible!” Not impressed with two shower heads satisfying your every cleansing need? Turn on the hand shower unit and position it for your back for a real-time 360 degrees of aqua nirvana. “Ahhh Grohe… I Love You!”

Andrea, Kodi and now Grohe. I am indeed a lucky man.

Just imagine yourself being caressed by this 3 shower-head aqua sandwich unit every day. I think we need a bigger water heater! As you can see from the picture on right, the dual head arm flips down to transform into a dual head body jet.

So pretty!