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Greetings from Wellesley, MA! It’s taken me three days to get my wireless hooked up, but here I am :)

Here’s where I’m staying:

Mom cleaned out the basement for me, and it’s very nice.

We’ve been hiking, but it turned out to not be so nice … we went to a lake and hiked around it, but there weren’t actually any trails, and we paralleled the freeway for all of it :( In fact, that’s the way I feel out here most of the time; everywhere I go, there seem to be CARS. Everywhere. This wouldn’t be a problem except that the noise bothers me … this seems to be a post-stroke thing.

Anyway, today Mom took me to Michaels and we bought hemp and beads. Then we went to Kohls and I got two new pairs of pants because mine are getting too tight. After that, I was exhausted. WHY DO I GET SO TIRED?!?! I mean, I didn’t want to try on any more pants because it’s too tiring to do so. AAARRGGHH.

Jessica’s wedding was beautiful. We took pictures, but I’ve only edited a couple, so you’ll just have to trust me for now … Mom did a STUPENDOUS job!!! :) (The ceremony was in the front yard and the reception in the back.)

Today was rehearsal day! Whew … goodness, rehearsals are complicated. We spent much of the day getting the house ready; we put out tables and chairs, folded napkins, then moved all the tables and chairs back inside because it was raining. We had BBQ for the rehearsal dinner and mmm, was it GOOD.

Our dogs seem to be doing well in Boston. Bonzo pooed on the carpet today, and Chaco attacked Deke, but Mom assures us that everyone’s happy now. :)

We’re at home in Orangeburg, and it’s good to be here. Mom and Dad have made their yard look beautiful! There are blooming flowers, mowed grass and … a windmill!

Unfortunately, I didn’t sleep very well last night. It’s not for a lack of trying; I made sure that I was really tired (i.e. I didn’t sleep on the plane — it’s not too hard to guarantee tiredness :). Grrr. Anyway, I was REALLY tired today. NOBODY asked me about my stroke — not mom or dad, or Jessica, or Grandma and Grandpa, so I didn’t get to explain WHY I was tired. They seemed understanding, though.

Jake is mad because he didn’t get any bananas.

Ben and I took Jessica’s bridal portraits this morning. She’s easy to take pictures of; she’s gorgeous and photogenic.

Here’s my shot:

And here’s Ben’s, with my edits:

This is post #666 on my blog, in case you’re interested!

Here’s a neat webpage: Cool Tools. There are TONS of neat things listed on there, for snow-balls makers to indestructible cell phones. Enjoy browsing! :)

Things are busy in the Brantley household because we’re leaving for South Carolina tomorrow. Jessica, my sister-in-law, is getting married! Ben and I (mostly Ben) are photographing the wedding, which is on Sunday. The whole affair will be at the Brantley’s house in Orangeburg, so there will be LOTS going on. My goal is “not to get tired”; we’ll see how it goes!

Unfortunately, there’s no remedy that will keep you from getting neurological fatigue. Sometimes it’s because I’ve overdone it, like by going on a long walk with my mom when she came out to visit, and sometimes it’s just random. I’ve got Adderall to take, but since my second stroke it hasn’t worked — I’m not sure exactly why not, but a new part of my brain (my basal ganglia) has been injured. (The thing I’m confused about is that my first stroke was also a “basal ganglia stroke”, so how come I was in Adderall awakefulness bliss then?)

I got my PLACE exam scores via email just a few minutes ago; I passed! :)

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Test: 004 Mathematics
Passing Status: Pass
Your Total Score: 256
Passing Score: 220

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Happy Easter, everybody! :)

Ben and I went to church this morning — a change of pace for me. When I was little, my parents took us to the drive-thru safari instead! We’d take our Easter candy with us and eat it in the back of our station wagon. We saw bears and ostriches, but the best part was the monkeys; my dad broke the rules every year and brought peanuts!

Anyway, we skipped the drive-thru today :) Church was very nice — not too overdone. The kids played “Amazing Grace” on the handbells, and the choir performed “Alleluia,” which I don’t expect you’ve heard of, but Ben sang and it was fun to watch. The sermon was good, too — it was about “Why don’t we have proof?” At one point, Don said something like “If you give your life to God, he’ll hand it back all fixed up.” Why can’t MY life work that way?!? I don’t WANT to have a stroke anymore! I asked Ben about it, and he said that perhaps what it means is that you’ll gain experience that way — that I’ll learn something from my stroke. I’m ready to learn! Hit me! Because all I’ve learned so far is that it STINKS to have a stroke!

We planned to have waffles, whipped cream, and strawberries for brunch after church, but Ben took a nap instead. :) We postponed our healthy smorgashboard until dinner. Around three, we took the pups down to Boulder Creek for a swim. Bonzo swam! Yay! They played for an HOUR AND A HALF in the water! We decided to make them come home when we noticed Chaco shivering uncontrollably. They slept soundly last night!

Now they’re all gone. Bonzo and Chaco are en route to Boston, and Ben is en route to Washington DC.