J. Lea Greenfield has been writing stories since the age of ten. Always wanting to write a novel, she made many attempts through the years. Work, family and life in general interrupted her bouts of creativity.
Now retired, she has participated in NaNoWriMo 2012 & 2013, starting 2 very different novels, and finishing them. Through the Door was published in the spring of 2015, and soon after she was offered a contract to write a screenplay of the story.
Through the Door won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture (2016).
Since then, J. Lea has written 5 adult fiction novels, 4 children’s books, and 3 screenplays, in addition to writing more books in the Through the Door series for the National Historical Society.
She lives on the western slope of the Sierra with her husband and dog.
~~~ * ~~~ The above is pure fantasy. Except for the last sentence.
Last weekend, my BFF and her hubby flew in from Missouri for a visit. While they were in the neighborhood, and had not seen Lake Tahoe in person, we planned an overnight excursion and booked a suite at the “Rustic Cottages“, in Tahoe Vista. We could not have found a cozier or friendlier place to be.
Emerald Bay
While exploring around Lake Tahoe, we were at a ‘Vista Point’ and saw Emerald Bay with its castle and private island. My BFF and her hubby are hiker’s, bicyclists, and campers. Once we found out that there was a trail you could hike down and tour the castle, those two were practically drooling.
If you know me, and some of you do – you know that mountain climbing is a really bad idea for clumsy and directionally challenged me. But you know how it is. Everyone else wants to go. And they are looking at you with pleading eyes.
Wanting to be spontaneous and fun, I hiked with them on the trail down the mountain to the bay. The trail was not straight down the mountain, so, it took a l o n g time to reach the shore below. The park ranger that took our $10 (?!) parking fee, told us that it was a mile long hike to the castle.
She lied.
The Castle
The mountain or the bay could have been a mile long, but the trail had many switchbacks and you could only see the section you were walking on unless you leaned over the edge. I was fine with that information passed from hubby. I did not have to see it for myself – I’m not from Missouri.
The castle was very cool, but I could not enjoy it fully because I had started to realize the danger I was in.
I knew I used all the carbohydrates in my body. And that was walking downhill. I would not be able to hike back up, unless I had some fast sugar and something to eat.
I won’t go into the details about insulin to carb ratio’s, or use any medical terms here, but the bottom line is that low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is way more dangerous than high blood sugar. At least in the short-term.
That being said – I always carry a little juice box in my purse for when I need to raise my blood sugar in a hurry. However, four ounces of apple juice was not going to get me back up that trail, and our snacks were in the car, along with my bottle of water. After digging through my purse, I found 2 packages of ‘Smarties’ candy. Whew! I sucked on them as we began to climb.
It was embarrassing how often I had to find a place in the shade to rest. The high elevation in Tahoe did not help. It was a struggling and torturous climb for me. After absorbing the Smarties, I felt better and I could pick up my pace, but it was a brief repast.
Half-way into the ascent, I felt the symptoms of low blood sugar – I was nauseous, hot, shaky, weak, and irritable. Luckily, I kept myself from panicking. My BFF came to the rescue – by dumping out her purse and finding little boxes of ‘Nerds’ and a banana ‘Laffy-Taffy’. BTW: They tasted wonderful, even when eaten for medicinal purposes. And they probably saved my life. At the very least they saved me from seizure or coma.
I did make it up to the parking lot, and got home to blog another day. I am still kicking myself for not thinking things through. Diabetics that are ‘brittle‘ like I am, can’t be very spontaneous. It sucks, but that’s how it is.
Every meal, snack and activity has to be planned and prepared for. My daily supplies (insulin, needles, glucose monitor, and juice) must be calculated out for the expected itinerary, and packed with me when I travel. This girl can never ‘pack lightly’ again. I did not have enough juice/food with me, because I did not factor in a long hike that day.
Thank God I was not by myself!
Wait. a. minute…
If I was by myself, I would not have gone hiking in the first place… 😉
Now retired, she has participated in NaNoWriMo 2012 & 2013, starting 2 very different novels, and finishing them. Through the Door was published in the spring of 2015, and soon after she was offered a contract to write a screenplay of the story.
was awarded the Oscar for Best Picture (2016).
purse, I found 2 packages of ‘Smarties’ candy. Whew! I sucked on them as we began to climb.
Jodi Lea's Place 