April 1, 2016 - Friday
31 degrees/cloudy/calm
Pentoga Road

We've spent the past two days getting Sargie's pain diagnosed, waiting at the hospital, having blood tests, cat scans, and running to her doctor's office.

Dickinson Health Care

It definitely has to do with the left kidney and that area, but beyond that, we're not sure of anything at this particular time. A doctor says one thing, a radiologist says another. I'm about half tempted to take her to my friend, Augie Nelson, the Inupiaq tribal doctor, in Kotzebue, Alaska. I think he'd know about as much. 

The weather has been typical for this time of the year. The past two days have seen plenty of rain coupled with some heavy bouts of wet snow.



Thankfully, it doesn't stick around very long and so far, the roads have been slushy, but not slippery.



Strictly adhering to Murphy's Law, we had a flat tire on our way home Wednesday afternoon. It had been pouring rain, but thankfully, it let up when I had to change the tire. We limped on home with the spare "donut."



 We saw something unusual on our drives to and from Iron Mountain these past two days. Gas was $2.00 per gallon. That doesn't seem like anything strange, but we were talking how it's usually any number but an even dollar amount; $1.99 or $2.01. I guess there's not much excitement in our lives that we take note of such things.



We limped back to Iron Mountain Thursday morning for blood tests and to have the tire repaired. Neither of us have liked the set of tires that have been on the Kia and after learning the flat couldn't be repaired, we decided to purchase four new ones, something we were going to do before next winter anyway.



Sargie had her blood tests and I needed the same as the doctor just changed my blood pressure medication. 

Sargie was in one room, I was in an adjacent one. The young lady, not much older than my granddaughter, Abigail, who drew my blood, gave me a sticker for not crying or screaming and for being a "big boy." Sargie didn't get one, so that tells me I was more grown up. It's a sticker I wear with pride.



Speaking of grown up, Luke sent this picture of Coleman. He'd been riding on a wagon and four-wheeler helping his daddy gather maple sap in Maine. 

And Matt sent this gem of Emerson and Bennet.

It's time to get going. It appears as though we'll be spending the third day in a row sitting in a doctor's office or hospital waiting room. 

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road....

This was in the Iron Mountain Daily News featuring Yooper Brother Mark and a cadre of chefs and helpers preparing for the annual St. Patty's Day feast a couple of weeks ago. I think Yooper Brother Mark, far left, with a sparse growth of hair on his head, looks absolutely stunning adorned in his hairnet, especially when most the other men are wearing ball caps. Hmmm.