What one learns and Second Chances...

In the past few weeks I have learned a good bit about myself.



With some after thought I guess I have learned more about myself, people in generaland our relationships when I have been injured.



In early September I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Tonsillar Cancer which is HPV P16 driven. If you are going to get Tonsillar cancer, pray it is HPV P16 driven. (more on second chances in a minute)



http://www.komonews.com/news/health/132764463.html?tab=video



Up first was a "radical neck dissection" to remove the tumors. I was pulling 5.10 a week after surgery so how "radical"can it be? Now Radiation and Chemo follow. I'll be fine in the end. A little worse for the wear and tear may be but pounds lighter and seconds faster. It won't hurt my climbing in the long run is my guess at this point.I will come out of this even healthier and more fit than I have been in a long time. But not a fitness and weight loss program I would recommend either.



So I get a second chance. A cancer they can cure. And a new lease on life witha rebuilt body after loosing 25% of my body mass from chemo and rad.



We all make promises. Some you intend to keep and others you know you will unlikely be able to keep. Most of us do what we can and with some effort more than we might have thought possible until pushed.



I had first intendedto keep my health issues quiet. But as I realised there wasn't an easily accessed body of knowledge on how to get through this I started asking for beta from any of myfriends (and their friends) that might have some insight into a this particular cancer and treatment that would eventually strip me of 25% of my body mass. It all seemed pretty damn scary at the beginning. A little less so now even after dropping 20# in the first six days of treatment. And my friends pulled through for me. Thank you, THANK YOU!



To pay back that debt I will eventually start a new blog documenting this entire experience in detail so it will hopefully bea little less scary for the next guy.



Ten days ago I was unsure if I would ever be able to walk again let alone climb. The initial chemo shattered me physically and mentally in a short 6 days. Not something I easily admit to, but there it is.

Water boarding? Shit, try Cysplatinum.



I, like many who ride a bike, often wonder if Lance did drugs to win those Tours. I don'tneed to wonderany more. Lance did weeksof Csyplantium. I'm only required to do a fewdays. Lance has been requiredto suffer more than most can ask to endure. I suspect that is how he won Tours. Chemo drugs may have taughthim the secrets of sufferingbut no one in their right mind wants the education.







My friends, familyand and our extended climbing family have been the BEST. People have reached out to help and support me, someI hardly know. But I "know" them now. It means a lot to me and I am more than grateful. When you can't move and someone offers a helping hand they are a more than human...more than a kind soul. How anyone does this by themselves hopefully I'll never have to know, thankfully.



Like climbing we seldom do anything alone. And there is a time when we are all alone and a required to dig deep and run it out. That comes as well. But we never get their by ourselves. Some one helped us get to that.



I rushed to get the shell review done before all this started. I was happy with the end result. It was one more off the tick list of "to dos". I have a huge assortment of gear review projects currently in the works. But they are going to have to wait tillI can write (without chemo brain) and get outside again. Those sorts of thingswill be on hold for a bit as I get through this. Future plans?Cham and maybe the Kahiltna again this spring.I am antzy to this over and get to THAT future. But for now I am living cancer. It will bemy way of life for a short time. The experience willenhance me, not define me.



I learned (again) to never take a day for granted. Never forget you have friends. Take care of them, even when you don't have the time. And be thankful every day above ground. Use those dayswisely! 2nd chances are a wonderful thing :)

Switzer Family Number 4 :: Jacob G. and Catharina

This previous post was a summary of the Tax Lists, Land Records, and Census Records for each of the Jacob Switzers, and in that post this Jacob was identified as Jacob #4.



The Estate File in Columbiana County, Ohio (Number 4874) gives his name as Jacob G. Switzer while the Columbiana County Cemetery Inscriptions (v1 p6) lists him as Jacob C. Switzer. I'm going with Jacob G.





Jacob G. Switzer died March 25, 1859 at age 70y 4mo 17d (date of birth calculates to November 8, 1788). He is buried in Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio.



His wife Catherine/Catharina died December 17, 1850 at age 62y 3mo 5d (date of birth calculates to September 12, 1788). She is also buried in Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio. The gravestone transcriptions give her name as Catharina. The Ohio Death Record for Anna ( Switzer) Grove gives her mother's name as Catherine Mummert while that of Sophia Sweitzer shows it to be Catherine Murmmouh. A record on Find-a-Grave gives her name as Catharina Murmmoth.



On April 16, 1859 Isaac Switzer of Stark County, and James Crook and Joseph Anglemyer of Columbiana County signed a bond for $.. for Isaac Switzer who was named Administrator of the estate of Jacob G. Switzer.





Above is a portion of the final account that shows there was a balance of $917.63 in the estate of Jacob G. Switzer which Isaac Switzer was ordered to distribute according to law.

“The deceased in his lifetime having made advancements to most of his children of unequal sums, in order to equalize each as near as possible, the above balance was distributed as follows between the six heirs who have received the least by way of advancement, as per receipts filed.”

The above statement implies that there were possibly other heirs that did not receive a part of the final distribution... Census records seem to show that there may have been other children not named as having received a distribution.





The heirs that received a distribution and the amount they received were:

Ann Switzer – 194.60 ½

Sophia Switzer – 194.60 ½

Benj. Switzer 134.60 ½

Lydia Keck – 194.60 ½

Eliza Crook – 94.60 ½

Isaiah Holloway agt for Susan Holloway - 94.60 ½

Probate Judges & Attorneys fees – 10.00

Equal balance in Admr's hands $917.63

In the sale bill for the estate of Jacob G. Switzer, which was very difficult to read, there were several entries for a Tobias Switzer but none for Isaac or Benjamin. Is Tobias a son? Tobias also owed several notes to the estate amounting to $452.07 and it was reported in the final account that T. Switzer had paid $456.28 to the estate.



This Jacob Switzer does not appear in Columbiana County census records until 1830 and then he is listed in Fairfield Township from 1830 through 1850. See the above-mentioned previous post for details on the census records and well as the land ownership information.



From the census records it was determined that the family of Jacob and Catherina Mummert Switzer seems to have consisted of at least:

one male born 1826-1830

two males born 1821-1825

two males born 1816-1820

two females born 1826-1830 [Anna born 1829 + one other]

one female born 1821-1825 [Sophia born 1822 and Lydia born 1824]

one female born 1816-1820 [Eliza born 1818]

one female born 1811-1815 [Susan ?]

Known children of Jacob G. and Catharina Switzer (they received a distribution of his estate):

• Susan (Switzer) Holloway is probably the Susan Switzer who married Charles Holloway on March 10, 1839 in Columbiana County (v3 p208).

• Eliza/Aliza (Switzer) Crook. Aliza was born October 4, 1818 and died April 20, 1903. She is buried in Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio. Eliza married James Crook on September 12, 1844 in Columbiana County (v3 p382). James Crook was born September 17, 1820 (calculated from age at death) and died October 23, 1895 at age 75y 1m 6d. He is buried in Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio.

• Anna (Switzer) Grove was born December 25, 1825 in Fairfield Township, Columbiana County, Ohio and died March 16, 1910 in Columbiana, Columbiana County, Ohio. The Ohio Death Record of Anna Grove gives her parents as Catherine Mummert and Jacob Switzer. Anna was widowed at the time of her death. Since she was named as Ann Switzer in the distribution record or her father, it is likely that she married “Mr. Grove” after 1860. The informant on the death record was Valentine Grove.

• Sophia Switzer was born May13, 1830 in Ohio and died April 27, 1916 in Youngstown, Mahoning County, Ohio. She is buried in Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio. The Ohio death records give her parents names as Catherine Murmmouh and Jacob Sweitzer.

• Benjamin Switzer was not found in a quick search of the marriage records or census records for Columbiana County.

• Lydia Ann (Switzer) Keck was born April 27, 1837 and died March 11, 1870 and is buried in Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio. Lydia married to Peter Rick [Reck/Keck] on 27 April 27, 1858 in Columbiana County (v38 p333). Peter was born October 17, 1834 and died October 6, 1900. They are buried in Columbiana Cemetery, Columbiana County, Ohio.

Other possible children of Jacob G. and Catharina Switzer:

• Isaac Switzer was the Administrator of the Estate of Jacob G. Switzer. He may be the Isaac Switzer who married Christina Zimmerman on January 2, 1840 in Columbiana County (v3 p226). He was found in the 1850 census in Lexington Township, Stark County, Ohio (page 462): Isaac Sweitzer was 37 years old (born about 1813 – doesn't quite “fit” the ages of “sons” in family of Jacob G). He was a farmer and was born in Ohio. In his household were Christina Sweitzer, 40; Silvenus Sweitzer, 8; Henry Sweitzer, 6; and Benjamin Sweitzer, age 3.

• Tobias Switzer was the only Switzer that purchased goods from the estate. He also owed several notes to the estate, which he paid on April 6, 1860.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

I do not plan to pursue this family any further. The information is being presented here because I have it and hopefully it will be of some use to another researcher someday.

Our first Korean Breakfast in Seoul and a glimpse to our Hanok

We arrived yesterday Friday just before 1PM and have been out and about in the city already. So far no jet lag because we quickly adjusted our body clock to Asia by sleeping later.



It’s Saturday morning right now here in Seoul and it’s raining cats and dogs. Weather forecast says it is going to be grey and raining ALL DAY. So we will have to be creative in finding things to do in the city indoors. That will be a challenge I am sure but I have ideas.



So far there is no hurry because we are enjoying our time in the Hanok place that we are staying. We slept the Korean ‘floor mattress and ondol’ (heated floors) way and had breakfast, Korean style as well! Here it is:









I told the owner no fish or anything from the sea for the Dutchman while I gobble up anything she serves.



We had chicken, kimchi, vegetables with courgette and mushrooms, rice, and I had fish soup with tofu, black tea for drinks and persimon for dessert.









Dutchman is trying to get used to the idea that the Korean household is minimalist. He was like, ‘Where are the furnitures?’ and ‘Do we have to do everything on the floor?’ – LOL.



Well, we are moving to the other wing of the Hanok house today and there we will have a normal bed.



Here is a quick glimpse to our Hanok house:







This wing of the Hanok house is exclusive for us. We have lots of space! I took this picture from our bedroom. There is a modern and tastefully designed private bath and toilet behind the white sliding doors to the right. On the right picture is our inner courtyard which is a typical Korean Hanok thing. Our wing looks out to this view and we can also open the sliding doors to the courtyard.







OK, more about our Hanok stay soon.

Baby Elephant

Rozie the elephant that I saw as a baby 16 years ago now has had a baby on last Wed. 09-02-09. I hope to be able to go see this baby girl when she can be seen by the public. This photo came out really small when I posted it. It is someone elses photo and can be seen at this sitehttp://www.cabq.gov/biopark/elephantcalf.htmlt It is always wonderful to hear about the birth of animals and especially those near extention. The Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque is known for the gariffe births that occur frequently. I think there may have been a baby gariffe born earlier this spring and there were snow leopard cubs born in May this spring. Snow leopards are extreamly endangered. The Rio Grande zoo is doing really well at raising endangered animals.

Wordless Wednesday - Not the Yellow Brick Road

Wordless Wednesday - Not the Yellow Brick Road
Terre Haute, Indiana. Summer of 1980. Digitized ...Copyright © 1980/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Critical Mass Chic? -- Austria

I stopped by at the meeting point of the Critical Mass "Bare as You Dare" bike ride in Vienna today. There was a conference at work and I could not get away long enough to take part in the ride -- but I took some photos and said hello to people, then went back after the ride took off.

There was a very friendly, pleasant atmosphere at this event, which I had not been expecting after reading the negative comments about Critical Mass on several weblogs. There were also many lovely cyclists. I have so many photos, that I've decided to split this into a "clothed" post and a "naked" post. The naked will follow shortly : )

First we have our very own lovely Anna, from Cycling Is Good for you! We met briefly and I was charmed by her beautiful socks and sandals.

Here they are up close -- nice! If you don't know it already, Anna's blog is worth visiting.

This delightful woman on a unicycle stood out in her matching green outfit and pirate hat!

A ginger-haired beauty in a green satin dress with red bicycle...

Another lovely red-head, in a pink mini-dress with a vintage orange folding bike. Nice!

1920s film-star looks and a dreamy attitude...

The bicycle is integral in her lady-like, serene posture...

This dashing representative of criticalmass.at looked lovely in black, with contrasting cream lace-ups.

And this stylish young lady relaxed in her orange cargo bike sporting a matching bandana and a happy smile.

A leggy, ethereal beauty was kind enough to pose for me by the fountain...

Of course, some lovely gentlemen graced the event with their stylish presence as well.

Notice that this one is riding one of the Citibikes discussed here.

Of course, the prize for the loveliest bicycle goes to this golden beauty! I would love to see this in the streets of Vienna during the rest of the year.

The Tree Knot

Different view of the odd knot on the juniper tree.

Spring on Hollow Rock Creek

I haven't been spending much time with the camera lately. I guess the main reason is because I spent so much time pursuing images during my month-long southwest trip that I sort of got tired of it for a little while. Plus, the weather lately has been kind of cold and wet, which is more conducive to sitting inside. Today I had to get out for a hike, so I decided to do some exploring on a section of Hollow Rock Creek that I had never been on before. I found some nice rapids and small waterfalls, and had fun creating exposures of the rushing water.



Some sections of the creek only had a few inches of water flowing over the rocks and some of those rocks had some interesting patterns and colored lines in them. Combined with a long exposure to smooth the water, the images that I ended up with were kind of interesting, too.



Spring is a great time to explore your local creeks and rivers. They possess a character in the spring that is unseen the rest of the year. Get out and explore while the water is high!

Our Satchels: a Review of Two

The Co-Habitant and I are often asked about our satchels. And as they are bike related (we use them to transport our laptops while cycling), I thought I'd review them here.

Mine is a brown leather satchel from Scaramanga. His is a black leather satchel from the Cambridge Satchel Co. Both are from the UK and both were purchased last summer.

The bag from the Cambridge Satchel Co. is technically not a satchel, but what they call a "batchel" - a satchel with a handle on top, so that you can carry it like a briefcase in addition to messenger style. The Cambridge Satchel Company offers traditionally made satchels, batchels and music bags in a variety of colours ranging from classic black, dark brown and navy blue, to eye popping red, yellow and purple. Their logo is a very cute bicycle, which is appropriate, as Cambridge is one of the few towns in England where bicycles rule the roads. The bags are handmade by skilled artisans in the North of England using traditional methods. I have to admit that I am biased in favour of this company, because the owner and I have a common alma mater and she generally seems like such a nice person. I wish her all the best, and definitely see a batchel of my own in the future once I have a smaller laptop.

This bag is the 15" size, measured on the outside. They come in a variety of sizes, but this is the largest. It accommodates a laptop that is 13" across (such as the smaller MacBooks) but will not fit a larger laptop. All satchels and batchels are available messenger style or backpack style, which I think is great. And notice the cute bicycle logo at the bottom!

Our favourite thing about this batchel aside from its beauty, is that it is structured. The leather is thick and stiff and retains its shape perfectly when the bag is empty. You can place the batchel down on a flat surface, and it will stand up on its own. This is great for carrying a laptop, because it provides support. The bags are unlined, but given the way they are made, I feel that lining is not necessary.

Closure is via the beautiful chrome coloured buckles you see in the photos. Everything is very sturdy; very well made, with beautiful forms and stitching.

Here is what the batchel looks like from the front, worn messenger-style. If you are male, the 15" size is really the only one that will fit your proportions, unless you are very short. If you are female, the smaller ones can be worn as a purse. And of course for children the smaller sizes are ideal and absolutely adorable in the red, yellow and purple colours.

I do not have any photos of the Co-Habitant wearing this bag while cycling, but he says it's great. The one alteration we had to make (to this and to my Scaramanga satchel as well), was to punch extra holes in the strap to allow us to shorten it - otherwise it is too long for cycling. Everything else was marvelous and perfect out of the box.

Now for my satchel! I do not know as much about Scaramanga Co. as I do about the Cambridge Satchel Co., but they sure make beautiful and comfortable bags. Available in a variety of sizes and styles, they offer purse-sized bags, laptop-sized bags, and enormous travel bags, in a choice of messenger style (the front flap is longer and has no buckles) or satchel style (shown in these photos). The natural, slightly distressed leather of my bag is the only material/colour available. It is a similar colour to Brooks "Honey", but perhaps with more tonal variation.

I love the way this bag is made - from the natural look of the leather to all the beautiful hardware, such as the rivets around the handle and closures. My bag is the "large, wide satchel" model, with handle (which is an optional add-on). It accommodates my 15" MacBookPro with room to spare. This is a very different bag from the Co-Habitant's batchel. The leather is soft and slouchy and the bag does not retain its shape when empty. Also, the leather does not provide enough thickness to support or cushion a laptop. If this is an issue for you, you will need to keep your laptop in a protective sleeve.

The sea green lining is beautiful! Inside, the satchel has two main compartments - each of them large enough to fit a 15"+ laptop or some books. There is an additional, smaller zipped up compartment in the front. However, as with the Co-Habitant's batchel, there are no small inner pockets for a mobile phone or camera, no pen loops, etc. For me that kind of stuff is actually important, but the overall quality of the bag nonetheless won over other bags that did have the small inner compartments. Perhaps some day I will make some pockets in it myself.

View from the front. As I have mentioned, we had to punch extra holes in the straps of both bags in order to make them short enough for cycling. So this is why you see the excessively long folded-over strap here. It is not entirely convenient, but not uncomfortable either. My only problem with this bag is that when I put my laptop and books in it, the overall weight is too much on my shoulder and back for cycling in the summer when I am wearing no extra padding over my skin: I get sores if I cycle with any bag other than Chrome worn over my bare skin. So if I am carrying something heavy, I can only wear satchels like this one once Fall begins and I have a sweater or a jacket on. However, with a smaller and lighter laptop this would not be a problem.

You can see some photos of me cycling with this bag here and here. I keep it either in the front basket or wear it, depending on the bike. Hope these reviews were useful - satchels are such wonderful things!

More on leashless gloves

My Outdoor Research, Verts, after 50+ pitches of water ice and dbl rope rappels. Seams, material and leather palms still intact and still good to go after some literally smoking raps on thin, twin ropes.







I keep being reminded how a really lwt, breathable and not water proof glove like the OR Vert performed this winter on Canadian ice. The longer climb I did where the gloves where soaked through and my boots filled with water while rapping down comes to mind. I was able to literally wring the gloves out twice on route and put them back on. As the sun went down I was prepared for the worse and ready to pull a dry pair of gloves out of the pack when I got a chance but half way down the decent I noticed the Vert gloves were warm and dry again. "Amazed", isn't too strong of word.

So may be being water proof isn't such a big deal in radically changing conditions and may be getting the gloves dried out while still in the field is even more important. For those that can remember back that far the wool Dachsteins come to mind as a mitt that never failed, no matter what the conditions were. They did breath and they were not water proof. They are a hard act to follow actually when I think back on it. Every water proof glove to date I've used just gets wet from my perspiration and have been very difficult to dry out. More food for thought for glove choices.

I have also found out recently that both OR and Mtn Hardware offer "lifetime" guarantees on their gloves. A guarantee I tested this week with Mtn Hardware. Money well spent on any of these gloves imo.

Here are two more models that I am now using and easily fit into my glove selection and my criteria from the previous post on leashless gloves.

"My list of features for a good glove?
Leather palms and fingers, Shoeller material in the glove body, nose wipe, medium to long, well tailored, wrist cuff. Both finger and cuff hangers and preferably a low profile velcro seal on the cuff and wrist. Or at least a better elastic draw cord arrangement than what is common in most everyone's design. Easy to turn inside out to dry....or at least easy to dry. Thin removable liners might even be better if you could minimise the bulk. And most importantly FLAT SEAMS on the bottom of the little finger and hopefully those seams on the side, not the bottom of the finger. Seams there, when climbing leashless, will make your life miserable in the extreme."

Either could easily become a favorite with the other three climbing gloves I am using. Mtn H's Torsion is certainly a best buy money wise if you buy into the non water proof glove idea.

They also fit my personal want list very closely, hitting every point except drying easily. But easy enough.

Mtn Hardware Torsion retails for $60. Little more insulation/bulk than the OR Vert and a much better cuff. More insulation means they are a little harder to dry out. A very nice glove.

Mtn H's spiel:
"Torsion Glove
A snug soft shell glove for alpine climbing. Articulated cut for excellent dexterity, with flatlock seams for a comfortable fit. Durable, water-resistant goatskin palm and fingers stand up to rock or ice.
Alpine Climbing / Mountaineering
Weight 3 oz. / 98 g.
Lining Brushed Tricot
Body Deflection™ Soft Shell
Palm Material Water-resistant Goatskin Leather
"

These are the OR Storm Tracker glove. $69 retail. Thin glove and maybe better dexterity than the Vert. Nice cuff length even with the added hassle of the zipper. A little steep price wise compared to the other lwts but these guys rock as a technical climbing glove. Durability my be a question so we'll see if that O.R. "INFINITE..guaranteed FOREVER works" :)

OR's spiel:
•Intended Usage: Versatile backcountry work glove for ultimate dexterity
Breathable/water-resistant WindStopper Soft Shell fabric; tricot lined
•Full leather palm
•MotionWrap AT construction for added dexterity
•Elasticized wrist chili
•Gusseted entry with locking zipper