Apologies for not writing last night. I continue to make progress, but still have low hemoglobin levels. So my energy during the day is not what it normally is and I run out of it earlier in the day than usual. The low hemoglobin has also brought about several other issues, the only other serious one is really bad Restless Leg Syndrome. So bad that many nights I only get 2-3 hours of sleep and there has been one in the past 8 days where I only got 45 minutes and last Thursday I could not fall asleep at all!
After last Thursday night’s ordeal, I broke down and called my Dr and he gave me a medicine that seems to work quite well, as long as I do not under-dose! It is not a sleep medicine, it actually treats the RLS, so I do not wake up groggy. So I am very hopeful that regular sleep will become a common thing. Even with the iron supplements I am taking, it will likely take another 3-4 weeks before my hemoglobin level gets to where it should be.
So enough of my health issues. I only bring it up because I do know that many of you have said that you really appreciate knowing how I am doing.
Last week was another trying week in the weather department. Temps only topped out in the 40’s most days and we even had a few days when we stayed in the 30’s. On Wednesday, May 1, we were even treated to 4-5″ of fresh snow! We woke to snow falling and it fell at varying intensity all day and even into the overnight hours. Here is a shot I took not long after sunrise Wednesday.
Temps were cold enough the next day to keep much of the snow around and then it finally melted by Friday, with temps finding their way into the low 50’s. Saturday was like a dream! After a crisp start around 32, the sun shone brightly all day and we managed to get all the way to 70 degrees! I think the airport officially came in with a 69, but I am certain some other areas up here got into the low 70’s.
Warm enough that before noon even came along, we were all outside enjoying the beautiful weather, including a jacket-less Grace riding her bike around on the driveway while Bleau chased her. In the afternoon we headed down to Jacobsville to pay a visit to our new found friends that we are purchasing the home from and to walk around the property. Nora and Grace got to do that the weekend before, but I was not feeling up to speed, so stayed home. Needless to say I was quite envious and was hoping last weekend I would be felling well enough to take the tour.
It was fun to walk the entire property and it ended up being more than I had imagined it. I knew the acreage, but by the time we were done walking, it sure seemed more than the number on the plat book! A bonus is a beautiful back yard full of grass and a few fruit trees. I know that means grass to cut, but it will also justify a riding mower. Right now we cut all of our lawn with a push mower.
We still have a while before we have to worry about using that push mower up here. The snow is melting, crystal by crystal. It is only considerably deep where it was piled by Big Red, or where it piled up after sliding off the roof. The rest of the yard is pretty much clear, but the grass has not begun to even green up yet. In the woods, there are still some patches left to melt, but they should be gone by the end of the week.
Looking ahead, we don’t have any more 70’s in the forecast for the next week to possibly ten days, but seeing as though in 10 days we will be into the second half of May, it’s going to be getting more difficult to have temps in the 50’s than 70’s and that puts a smile on everyone’s face up here!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
