Spring is here!

This past month has been full. As some of you know, Judy has been dealing with AFib for a few years. For about 9 months she was in constant AFib. The first week of March we returned to the mainland and Judy had a couple of important appointments. She met with a cardiologist that does a "Watchman Procedure," got a trans esophogeal echocardiogram to determine if she is a candidate, and had a cardioversion which, fortunately, put her back in normal sinus (cardiac) rhythm. The Watchman is scheduled for the end of April. Fortunately, her energy is returning and she feels better. A sneaky energy sink, this AFib.

When we returned, our first stop, of course, was the house. We were delighted to see that the downstairs was framed in.

Since then, we have cleaned up the cement floor and did an acid stain. 

Today, we will put a wet-look sealer and tomorrow a paper board to protect it from all the construction traffic. The next few weeks Mike will be a  construction worker. Our contractor wants the deck on the lanai completed soon which means that Mike will be building it. Exhausting, but he loves it. The pace of construction is now accelerating as a huge load of lumber arrived yesterday, including long glue lams. It is coming together.

We did a bit of exploring also. We accidently drove to a beach that we are convinced is 4 WD only (we used the 4 WD, of course). The unpaved road meanders 1.5 mi through a lava field and there were lots of potholes and unseen dropoffs of 5-6". But clealry tourists were driving there in rental sedans. We are sure that if the rental car companies knew their cars were being driven over that road, they would charge the renter a lot of money. Anyway, on the beach we happened upon a couple that were watching and protecting a Hawaiian Monk Seal. They are rare, endangered and very few on this island. The couple belonged to an ocean mammal center and their charge was to keep people away from the seal. She was about 1 year old and molting. A wonderful surprise and experince.

Judy continues the Tai Chi class and feels at peace after moving in every direction to improve balance and flexibility. Mike comes to the class when he can. We purchased a float belt for Judy so she can be supported if her left shoulder with the torn RTC needs help. Our first outing to a beach to use it was late in the afternoon and the waves were choppy and crashing right at the beach. Coming out of the water was a bit of a challenge as waves kept knocking her over til Mike lent a hand. Next time we go in the morning to a quieter setting!

We also went to another Harp concert on Sunday for a Celtic themed concert. It was the same wonderful group of musicians we saw before and very entertaining. It took place in a theatre that was closed 15 yrs ago and only recently opened again. Inside it looked like it had been furnished about 2000 and it was clean and like new.

As spring approached, we noticed a definite warming in the days and evenings. Spring has arrived which means, supposedly, more rain. The flowers are supposed to be in full bloom, as if they had ever stopped.

We have been thinking a lot about our good friends and family who have had to deal with their own or grandchildren's medical issues. Everyone seems to be hanging in there and seeing progress daily.

These kind of issues underscore what is truly important in life and we are grateful for our health and the friendships we have with all of you.

Love and good thoughts to you.

Judy & Mike