Not much special to blog about...
We have now seen two does (as in deer, a deer, a female deer), one with a pair of very young fawns and the other one with a solo offspring. So, yeah, in one sense, it is springtime in the Northland. Although today was a nasty, nasty day -- cold would have been enough, but coupled with heavy, steady rain, it was bone-chilling. I won't even bother to mention how bad a hair-day it was. It is hard to realize - except by the calendar on the wall in front of me - that it is indeed nearly the middle of June.
The cardiac rehab sessions continue. I think L has had his eyes opened to just how much crap he has been consuming over all these years. On Wednesdays, the 1-hour session is, first, a half-hour on the various exercise machines, then a half-hour talk and Q-and-A on various topics. Last week the expert was a pharmacist who answered questions about prescription meds as well as mentioning interaction with food and also over-the-counter supplements (such as ginseng). This week's talk was on diet and specifically, sodium and how many places it sneaks in its sometimes well-hidden punch. And there were also some questions and explanations of saturated fat. L has always loved a local chain's pizzas (and they are quite tasty!) and I think his consumption of that product alone contributed to a lot of the blockage of his arteries! But he has been very open to the foods that I have prepared and has been pleasantly surprised at how much taste there is to items prepared with low-salt/no-salt products, such as the marinara sauce I made last week and the pork tenderloin that I baked last weekend with lots and lots of veggies.
On Thursdays, he golfs with several guys he went to high school with, and after the game, they gather at one of the above-mentioned pizza locations. Ordinarily, they will split a pizza between two guys -- a favorite is the pepperoni-sausage combo. He did this the week following the stent-placement. After that, he has refrained from the pizza (a choice that he made himself) and now gets a salad with 3 meatballs. That's progress for this guy!
Our breakfast for most weekdays consists of a good-sized bowl of fresh fruit that I prepare (between a cup and cup-and-a-half total) of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries. That is topped with banana slices (half for each of us). If we have time, we have yogurt with the fruit. And we will tote an apple into the office, since the fruit is good for us, but not as filling as other items would be. Once in a while, we have oatmeal.
We both like lots of veggies, so when we do eat at home for dinner, we both consume probably at least a double-helping, whether it is broccoli, asparagus, or other veggies. The veggies with the tenderloin included carrots, new potatoes, onions and cauliflower. And I doubled the veggies in that recipe, and we consumed most of them! So we have leftover meat and I'll add another fresh round of veggies to that. To L's credit, he has not consumed one french-fry since he had the stents put in.
A national restaurant chain (begins with A) has added some items to its menu that are 550 calories and less. Now that is a lot for me to consume, but for a guy of L's size (about 6' 3" or 4" and over 240), his caloric demands are higher. So we have gone there for lunch, and he consumes what I do not finish of my dish. Aain, we both can taste the salt in some of the dishes... But we usually do not bring anything from home, to have for lunch - so what are ya gonna do?
Hmm... what else has been going on...
L's son and daughter-in-law were at L's place on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. L's son purchased a used pontoon which needed a new deck put on it. So L purchased the plywood and the two guys spent hours removing the old deck and bolting the new surface on the pontoon. L had done the same thing on his pontoon last spring, while he and I were Skype-ing. I know it took him several days to do the task all by himself, so he welcomed his son's offer to help him with the reflooring chore. While they were working on that, I drove into town and picked up some groceries to put on the barbecue -- yes, it WAS a great weather-day that day. L and I had decided we would grill fish, but his son and DIL chose beef. It was a fun and impromptu meal.
The hope is that all of this rain will bring up the lake's water levels. It is down about four feet (!!) and many docks no longer reach the water. So lots of boats and pontoons remain landlocked. L has an expanse of beach that he has never had before, and his floating dock is inadvertently in drydock!
Well, ya'll, that's about it for now. I'll catch up with everyone soon, I promise.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Two years
It is so hard for me to believe that yesterday was the two-year mark of Greg's death. Two years. And I am not the same person who was reeling from the unexpected sudden widowhood... not at all. And I could never have predicted the experiences that I have had since that day.
So many people who were so supportive. Finding other blogs written by other widows, some with young children, some so much younger than I was (at the time Greg died). Finding a network in Houston of widows (okay, some widowers, but mostly widows) so that I had someone to socialize with, someone who got it.
Defining what the new normal was for me. Taking my life into my own hands- no matter what others thought of my actions and oftentimes disregarding their well-meant advice because it did not, would not work for me.
My gratitude for family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers and everything they did for me. How can you say thank you to so many, for so many kind actions?
I know that others will walk in these shoes, are out there and looking for help, support, direction. And I pray that you, too, will heal with time. Believe me, I got so tired of hearing that -- but it is SO true: time will heal you, heal that deep wound that you felt when your spouse died. And if you are blessed enough to find another to love, do not be afraid to open your heart to that possibility. It helps the healing, makes you look forward again. It is not betrayal to your late spouse to love again.
So this is my two-year mark. And I don't know if I will mark the three-year time by musing about it. I hope you'll understand if I don't mention it at this time, next year.
{{Hugs}} to new widows and also to those who have been walking this path longer than I have. That is one of the things I missed for a long time: hugs.
So many people who were so supportive. Finding other blogs written by other widows, some with young children, some so much younger than I was (at the time Greg died). Finding a network in Houston of widows (okay, some widowers, but mostly widows) so that I had someone to socialize with, someone who got it.
Defining what the new normal was for me. Taking my life into my own hands- no matter what others thought of my actions and oftentimes disregarding their well-meant advice because it did not, would not work for me.
My gratitude for family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers and everything they did for me. How can you say thank you to so many, for so many kind actions?
I know that others will walk in these shoes, are out there and looking for help, support, direction. And I pray that you, too, will heal with time. Believe me, I got so tired of hearing that -- but it is SO true: time will heal you, heal that deep wound that you felt when your spouse died. And if you are blessed enough to find another to love, do not be afraid to open your heart to that possibility. It helps the healing, makes you look forward again. It is not betrayal to your late spouse to love again.
So this is my two-year mark. And I don't know if I will mark the three-year time by musing about it. I hope you'll understand if I don't mention it at this time, next year.
{{Hugs}} to new widows and also to those who have been walking this path longer than I have. That is one of the things I missed for a long time: hugs.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Health improved!
No, I am not talking about my health... rather, it's referring to L's health. Last July, he had a pacemaker attached to his heart. It was one of the things that he and I had discussed when we first started our phone conversations in early June of '09. He had apparently put it off for several years (he did NOT tell me that part) and I kind of pushed him, verbally, into getting it done.
As part of that pacemaker program, he has to have dial-up checks of the device and how well it is working. And on May 3rd, he had an in-the-office checkup. During that office visit, he mentioned to the technician that he had been having some episodes where he was short-winded. So the tech set him up with a visit with a local cardiologist two days later. During THAT visit, L expanded on his "short-winded" experience, and said that it involved a burning in his chest. Not. A. Good. Sign. This time, it was the cardiologist who nudged him into an angiogram. As the good doc stated it, "Your heart is in one piece right now. If you have a heart attack on Island Lake (this is the lake we live on), I don't know in what shape your heart will be, by the time you take that helicopter flight here and I see you."
I need to tell y'all that it is a 40-minute trip by vehicle from this place to the hospital, and there is a helicopter landing sight about 10 minutes down the road from this house. That would assume that he could get in a car under his own power, or that I could get a neighbor to assist me in getting L into a car. He probably weighs about 250, standing 6-foot-four.
Back to our story: the doc scheduled L for an angiogram on May 10th. For those of us who have lost a spouse, you can imagine my apprehension for this day. Hoping, HOPING that it would be okay, that things would turn out well.
And L was lucky, LUCKY -- there were several narrowings on the right side, mostly bunched together, that were able to be repaired by piggy-backing two stents. These blockages were about 80% - 90% blocked. On the left side, he has lesser blockages, in the 20% - 30% range. He had to stay overnight, was put on Plavix and has agreed to attend at least one cardiac rehab session. He SAYS he takes this as a warning, and of course his kids were (rightly so) shook up by all of this.
The best news of this is that he does NOT have that burning sensation anymore, not even when he picks up the pace during a walk. His PCP (primary care physician) will put him on a statin (cholesterol-lowering) drug next week. That will allow us some time to read up on the various ones and have some well-informed background when L discusses those drugs with the PCP.
Rather ironically, this cardiologist (Dr. N) is the one that I had an appointment with, about an hour before L saw him last Wednesday. I do like him, and he is a very "straight shooter" type. He let L make the decision (angio or roll the dice?) but did give him some very serious things to think about.
I am very grateful for the results and for the fact that, better late than never, L took a positive step towards ensuring that he might stay around a bit.
Oh -- and I won a 6-month free membership at a local gym! So now I can take action, too -- Do as I DO, not just do as I SAY. Wish us both luck.
As part of that pacemaker program, he has to have dial-up checks of the device and how well it is working. And on May 3rd, he had an in-the-office checkup. During that office visit, he mentioned to the technician that he had been having some episodes where he was short-winded. So the tech set him up with a visit with a local cardiologist two days later. During THAT visit, L expanded on his "short-winded" experience, and said that it involved a burning in his chest. Not. A. Good. Sign. This time, it was the cardiologist who nudged him into an angiogram. As the good doc stated it, "Your heart is in one piece right now. If you have a heart attack on Island Lake (this is the lake we live on), I don't know in what shape your heart will be, by the time you take that helicopter flight here and I see you."
I need to tell y'all that it is a 40-minute trip by vehicle from this place to the hospital, and there is a helicopter landing sight about 10 minutes down the road from this house. That would assume that he could get in a car under his own power, or that I could get a neighbor to assist me in getting L into a car. He probably weighs about 250, standing 6-foot-four.
Back to our story: the doc scheduled L for an angiogram on May 10th. For those of us who have lost a spouse, you can imagine my apprehension for this day. Hoping, HOPING that it would be okay, that things would turn out well.
And L was lucky, LUCKY -- there were several narrowings on the right side, mostly bunched together, that were able to be repaired by piggy-backing two stents. These blockages were about 80% - 90% blocked. On the left side, he has lesser blockages, in the 20% - 30% range. He had to stay overnight, was put on Plavix and has agreed to attend at least one cardiac rehab session. He SAYS he takes this as a warning, and of course his kids were (rightly so) shook up by all of this.
The best news of this is that he does NOT have that burning sensation anymore, not even when he picks up the pace during a walk. His PCP (primary care physician) will put him on a statin (cholesterol-lowering) drug next week. That will allow us some time to read up on the various ones and have some well-informed background when L discusses those drugs with the PCP.
Rather ironically, this cardiologist (Dr. N) is the one that I had an appointment with, about an hour before L saw him last Wednesday. I do like him, and he is a very "straight shooter" type. He let L make the decision (angio or roll the dice?) but did give him some very serious things to think about.
I am very grateful for the results and for the fact that, better late than never, L took a positive step towards ensuring that he might stay around a bit.
Oh -- and I won a 6-month free membership at a local gym! So now I can take action, too -- Do as I DO, not just do as I SAY. Wish us both luck.
Friday, May 7, 2010
It's sn*wing...
(above photo of my Rav 4, now with Florida plates... you can see where my loyalties are!)
Yes, it is... and it is not very common (so I am told) that all of April was snowfall-free, only to have snow flurries on May 7. People, it will be Mother's Day on Sunday -- a day that we celebrate by giving our moms flowers and other signs of SPRING. The local TV weather forecasters tell us that it will have an inch or more accumulation overnight, followed by rapid melting Saturday morning. That does NOT, however, make my heart sing. Ugh! Damned cold weather. Obviously, the Goldwing has NOT been out of the garage since we returned.
(following photos:
--- driveway leading away from the house out on Island Lake;
--- neighbor's dog posing down at the edge of the lake, along with two ducks for just general effect;
--- a Florida-plated F-350 truck;
--- snow on the barbee;
--- there IS a pontoon under that snow somewhere!)
Monday, May 3, 2010
Yes, I am still here...
*** I finished a post dated March 28th, that I had inadvertently left "hanging" in unplublished status. You might want to check that one out, too.
So -- a brief update on nothing in particular and everything in general...
We've settled into a routine here -- since L has retained the two guys who kept the shop running while we were in Florida, I don't feel quite so pressured to be there with him all of the time. Although I will go in and do labeling (apply the labels by hand -- this is a SMALL operation) when necessary.
This Saturday L's son G had a promotion ceremony at the Air National Guard base here in Duluth. He was promoted to Chief Master Sergeant, which is the highest rank obtainable by an enlisted person (as opposed to the other line of promotions that is available to officers). Quite a nice ceremony, capped by a speech that G gave. He thanked all those who had been instrumental in his life and was emotional at points in the delivery of the speech. I like L's "kids" (yes, I know they are adults with their own lives, etc.) and I think it works both ways. L's ex-wife was there (I knew that she would be) and L's daughter L (and her kids and husband), and of course, G's wife was there, too. Plus other friends of G's -- he is a well-liked man at the base and just generally viewed the same around this town.
L has been working on the trailer that we bought before leaving Florida. We loaded the Rav 4 on it, for the journey back home -- a simple flat-bed trailer, really. L has welded a gate/ramp for the trailer, so that we can load the Goldwing on the trailer when we want to use the motorcycle. He lives on a dirt/gravel road that is NOT kind to motorcycles, and we can tow the trailer behind the F-350 with its cargo (the Goldwing) when we want to go riding. We'll have to do advance planning for this, but we want to maintain the integrity of the bike - so this was the solution. He is very talented with things he can and will tackle -- knew just how to measure the components for this ramp and how he wanted it to work.
We'll be taking my mother out for Mother's Day (something I have not been able to do for years). L belongs to the local Elks chapter, and they are hosting a brunch this Sunday. I know that there will be TOO much food (for both Mom and me), but she and I can split things that we might want to have a "taste" of, but don't want to fill up on. Of all the cousins on my dad's side of the family, my sis and I are the only ones who still have a living parent. And Mom was NOT the youngest of the aunts and uncles, although she was on the younger end of the spectrum. She will be 83 this September.
My sis and her guy are flying to the West Coast this week. They will pick up an old VW that her #2 son and his friend found out there, and have had it updated, restored, whatever, to make it roadworthy. So they will take this old VW Beetle (I think it is an early 70's model) and drive it back to MN over several days. They plan to take back roads and in her words, "See America." She has always wanted this model of car, she said -- it's a red convertible. Their fleet of vehicles is growing, just as ours is!
Well, gotta get some things done, so I will finish this and post it. Hope it doesn't have a lot of typos!
So -- a brief update on nothing in particular and everything in general...
We've settled into a routine here -- since L has retained the two guys who kept the shop running while we were in Florida, I don't feel quite so pressured to be there with him all of the time. Although I will go in and do labeling (apply the labels by hand -- this is a SMALL operation) when necessary.
This Saturday L's son G had a promotion ceremony at the Air National Guard base here in Duluth. He was promoted to Chief Master Sergeant, which is the highest rank obtainable by an enlisted person (as opposed to the other line of promotions that is available to officers). Quite a nice ceremony, capped by a speech that G gave. He thanked all those who had been instrumental in his life and was emotional at points in the delivery of the speech. I like L's "kids" (yes, I know they are adults with their own lives, etc.) and I think it works both ways. L's ex-wife was there (I knew that she would be) and L's daughter L (and her kids and husband), and of course, G's wife was there, too. Plus other friends of G's -- he is a well-liked man at the base and just generally viewed the same around this town.
L has been working on the trailer that we bought before leaving Florida. We loaded the Rav 4 on it, for the journey back home -- a simple flat-bed trailer, really. L has welded a gate/ramp for the trailer, so that we can load the Goldwing on the trailer when we want to use the motorcycle. He lives on a dirt/gravel road that is NOT kind to motorcycles, and we can tow the trailer behind the F-350 with its cargo (the Goldwing) when we want to go riding. We'll have to do advance planning for this, but we want to maintain the integrity of the bike - so this was the solution. He is very talented with things he can and will tackle -- knew just how to measure the components for this ramp and how he wanted it to work.
We'll be taking my mother out for Mother's Day (something I have not been able to do for years). L belongs to the local Elks chapter, and they are hosting a brunch this Sunday. I know that there will be TOO much food (for both Mom and me), but she and I can split things that we might want to have a "taste" of, but don't want to fill up on. Of all the cousins on my dad's side of the family, my sis and I are the only ones who still have a living parent. And Mom was NOT the youngest of the aunts and uncles, although she was on the younger end of the spectrum. She will be 83 this September.
My sis and her guy are flying to the West Coast this week. They will pick up an old VW that her #2 son and his friend found out there, and have had it updated, restored, whatever, to make it roadworthy. So they will take this old VW Beetle (I think it is an early 70's model) and drive it back to MN over several days. They plan to take back roads and in her words, "See America." She has always wanted this model of car, she said -- it's a red convertible. Their fleet of vehicles is growing, just as ours is!
Well, gotta get some things done, so I will finish this and post it. Hope it doesn't have a lot of typos!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Contacting the satellite tv carrier
And so...
L wanted to see what channels he could see on DirectTV. Since he was the one who WANTED some sports stuff (read: hockey) I told HIM to make the phone call. Which he did. And of course that meant going thru all the crap that these types of calls entail: press 1 for whatever, press 4 for whatsis, etc. He kept saying "representative" or some similar phrase, and then FINALLY hooked up with a real LIVE person. Which was female and had a heckuva accent (according to him, white guy raised in a white-person region). Long story short, after plowing thru Q and A between L and said rep, he was FINALLY transferred to another person.
This was a guy (ethnic background unknown) that apparently met with L's criteria, as far as being an English-speaking person without a discernable accent. And so they were doing ANOTHER Q and A, including one Q to which L replied, "I'm in love with her!" in a slightly raised tone of voice. And I started laughing, because I KNEW what the question was -- and apparently the guy on the other end of the line also began to laugh.
Once they had plowed thru the issues (and L was certain that he had his answers, although they may not have been to his liking), he hung up. And told me what I already knew -- the question was, "What is your relationship to the account holder?" and in guy-fashion, L decided that what he really SHOULD have replied was, "Sexual".
Yeah, there really are NO men -- only older boys. IMHO.
L wanted to see what channels he could see on DirectTV. Since he was the one who WANTED some sports stuff (read: hockey) I told HIM to make the phone call. Which he did. And of course that meant going thru all the crap that these types of calls entail: press 1 for whatever, press 4 for whatsis, etc. He kept saying "representative" or some similar phrase, and then FINALLY hooked up with a real LIVE person. Which was female and had a heckuva accent (according to him, white guy raised in a white-person region). Long story short, after plowing thru Q and A between L and said rep, he was FINALLY transferred to another person.
This was a guy (ethnic background unknown) that apparently met with L's criteria, as far as being an English-speaking person without a discernable accent. And so they were doing ANOTHER Q and A, including one Q to which L replied, "I'm in love with her!" in a slightly raised tone of voice. And I started laughing, because I KNEW what the question was -- and apparently the guy on the other end of the line also began to laugh.
Once they had plowed thru the issues (and L was certain that he had his answers, although they may not have been to his liking), he hung up. And told me what I already knew -- the question was, "What is your relationship to the account holder?" and in guy-fashion, L decided that what he really SHOULD have replied was, "Sexual".
Yeah, there really are NO men -- only older boys. IMHO.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Back in COLD country
So -- we had a l-o-o-o-n-g trip back. We had bought a few vehicles in Florida and wanted to bring them all back with us. Have a 2000 Ford F-350 pickup truck, which is heavy-duty enough to pull that load. In the bed of the pickup truck, strapped down very securely, was the 1990 Honda Goldwing motorcycle. On a hitch behind the pickup, was a trailer (flat-bed kind) with my Rav 4 secured on it. Plus the remaining pickup bed area, the seat area (crew cab) behind the front seats of the Ford, and the entire Rav 4 were all loaded with stuff we were bringing back.
We left Florida late on Wed. afternoon (L had a dental crown installed that day), hitting the road about 5 pm. Things were going pretty well, until we got into some slight grades on the highway (I-75). Then the Ford began to lose power, and we could not get much out of it - 40 mph and we turned on the 4-way flashers so others would know to go around us. Finally we decided to hit a hotel that nite (Hampton Inn in Lake City, FL - the last FL county before entering GA).
Next morning we pushed off again, and we had the same problems. Stopped at 3 Ford dealerships (and probably talked to one or two more) - we worked with some nice folks at the first 2 places, but they were unable to solve the problem. Others could not squeeze us in at all - this was because it's an agricultural area and they work on lots of diesel trucks. We kept going back on the freeway, might get 30 - 50 miles, and the next serious-sized grade would cause the same problem. Finally got up to Byron, GA (only about 150 miles into Georgia, from FL), and set up an appt. for Friday morning. After an all-day session (they only charged us 4 hours labor, but spent more time on it, with diagnosing and actual work), PROBLEM SOLVED. I should mention that the dealership drove L back to the hotel, where he caught an hour or two of additional sleep. But we didn't drive out of Byron until just before 5 pm. Just in time to run into some serious Friday nite traffic in Atlanta - pure hell, and us watching carefully for exits, merges, etc, toting all that crap with us. Ugh.
We finally pulled off the freeway to eat, thinking that the traffic would be lighter after that. Cracker Barrel is NOT my fave place to eat, and this one was FULL of small-town families and lots of screaming, yelling kids. And parents who seemed oblivious to the antics of their offspring. I gobbled down my food and went into the gift/check-out area. Of course, Cracker Barrel does NOT serve alcohol, and by that point, I was in SERIOUS need of same. Splitting headache, probably from all of the stress we had just gone thru.
Long story short - we pulled an all-nighter, driving right on thru to Duluth. L was doing all the driving, and we finally had to roll into a rest area around 4 am in Illinois (just south of Champagne) off I-57. He was falling asleep and really needed some naptime. Try bunking TWO people in the front seat of an F-350! He put a pillow behind his back on the driver's-side door, sat upright, and I carefully positioned myself between his legs (he's about 6-3 or 6-4). I really didn't fall asleep (had caught a few winks earlier, while he was driving). But he DID get about an hours' worth of shuteye and it really helped. The next sleep crisis came in northern WI, and I told him that he was scaring me by drifting off. We got a little testy with each other - which actually served to wake him up! And he was okay the rest of the way to Duluth.
We stopped at our favorite pizza place in Duluth, Sammy's, where they have known L for years and years. Gobbled down the crew special (lotsa meat - a guy's delight) and a beer apiece and drove to L's house on Island Lake, about another 30 minutes plus. Tired, we were. Got enough of our stuff unloaded to get us thru the next morning and finally crashed for the night.
So -- just about over the 1st week back in the North Country and ready for the weekend. Gotta unwind and finish unpacking. Miss our friends that we made in FL, and yet happy to see the family/friends back here in MN.
Later, readers...
We left Florida late on Wed. afternoon (L had a dental crown installed that day), hitting the road about 5 pm. Things were going pretty well, until we got into some slight grades on the highway (I-75). Then the Ford began to lose power, and we could not get much out of it - 40 mph and we turned on the 4-way flashers so others would know to go around us. Finally we decided to hit a hotel that nite (Hampton Inn in Lake City, FL - the last FL county before entering GA).
Next morning we pushed off again, and we had the same problems. Stopped at 3 Ford dealerships (and probably talked to one or two more) - we worked with some nice folks at the first 2 places, but they were unable to solve the problem. Others could not squeeze us in at all - this was because it's an agricultural area and they work on lots of diesel trucks. We kept going back on the freeway, might get 30 - 50 miles, and the next serious-sized grade would cause the same problem. Finally got up to Byron, GA (only about 150 miles into Georgia, from FL), and set up an appt. for Friday morning. After an all-day session (they only charged us 4 hours labor, but spent more time on it, with diagnosing and actual work), PROBLEM SOLVED. I should mention that the dealership drove L back to the hotel, where he caught an hour or two of additional sleep. But we didn't drive out of Byron until just before 5 pm. Just in time to run into some serious Friday nite traffic in Atlanta - pure hell, and us watching carefully for exits, merges, etc, toting all that crap with us. Ugh.
We finally pulled off the freeway to eat, thinking that the traffic would be lighter after that. Cracker Barrel is NOT my fave place to eat, and this one was FULL of small-town families and lots of screaming, yelling kids. And parents who seemed oblivious to the antics of their offspring. I gobbled down my food and went into the gift/check-out area. Of course, Cracker Barrel does NOT serve alcohol, and by that point, I was in SERIOUS need of same. Splitting headache, probably from all of the stress we had just gone thru.
Long story short - we pulled an all-nighter, driving right on thru to Duluth. L was doing all the driving, and we finally had to roll into a rest area around 4 am in Illinois (just south of Champagne) off I-57. He was falling asleep and really needed some naptime. Try bunking TWO people in the front seat of an F-350! He put a pillow behind his back on the driver's-side door, sat upright, and I carefully positioned myself between his legs (he's about 6-3 or 6-4). I really didn't fall asleep (had caught a few winks earlier, while he was driving). But he DID get about an hours' worth of shuteye and it really helped. The next sleep crisis came in northern WI, and I told him that he was scaring me by drifting off. We got a little testy with each other - which actually served to wake him up! And he was okay the rest of the way to Duluth.
We stopped at our favorite pizza place in Duluth, Sammy's, where they have known L for years and years. Gobbled down the crew special (lotsa meat - a guy's delight) and a beer apiece and drove to L's house on Island Lake, about another 30 minutes plus. Tired, we were. Got enough of our stuff unloaded to get us thru the next morning and finally crashed for the night.
So -- just about over the 1st week back in the North Country and ready for the weekend. Gotta unwind and finish unpacking. Miss our friends that we made in FL, and yet happy to see the family/friends back here in MN.
Later, readers...
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