So here we are at the soon to be midpoint of January and so much has happened! So many things have and will change now. On January 1st just hours after my last post an episode occurred that I should not have ignored but I did. Post dinner I experienced rather severe chest pains but as I had no other symptoms I dismissed it as indigestion. Things settled down and I had a restful night. But Friday morning things were bad. The chest pains returned shortly after waking up and only stopped if I sat down. A walk to the warehouse and back left me seriously short of breath. I kept needing to sit down. Zane and I had already done a few things that morning. We had taken the truck and picked up some slab wood they had buzzed up for us. We were preparing to put up a mailbox also. I walked out to the road to help Zane and told him I wasn’t well. So after he drove me to the ER in Gouverneur it was determined that I needed to go to Syracuse to St. Joseph’s Hospital for a cauterization procedure. So that’s where I was from 10:30pm Friday night until about 2:30pm on Sunday afternoon. I am happy to report that I did not have a heart attack. My heart is in good condition. However I needed to have 3 stents placed in the arteries of my LAD. My RCA has some rather troubling plaque but functions beyond the placement of stents. I received excellent care at the hospital and feel fortunate to have dodged a major heart event.
So my new reality involves medication, new diet, and scheduling doctor visits. Honestly I am taking all this very seriously and will stay the course. I have come way too far in life not to heed this wake-up call! I spend a couple days recuperating at my Sister and brother-in-laws place at Black Lake next to Camp Edith. A huge wind storm knocked out power all over upstate New York and we were on generator power for awhile. They were still on generator power Thursday when Zane and I decided to move back to the farm where we had power. So after gathering up groceries, medications, and miscellaneous things we settled back into Little Red. We restarted the wood stove as the cabin had been being heated by its backup electric heat since Friday. We got pounded by heavy rains but the mild temperatures weren’t too hard to take. Zane and I resumed the mailbox project as we knew our days of unfrozen ground were about to change. He felt quite the sense of accomplishment in that small task.I knew it was because it marked a continuation of something we had started together and a move forward into the new reality. I felt it also. That strange sense of realizing that things could have ended much differently and the whole future would take different directions. I was ok. Things were going to return to normal. I just need to do my part to make that happen!
We had to cancel our trip to California unfortunately so that big adventure is off. We have spent our time regrouping at the farm and making plans as for the best way forward. I have suddenly become less obsessed with the cabin project as we continue to modify the space in a manner that better fits our living needs. We brought in an old metal topped table so we can better sit and enjoy meals.We added a second small fridge for all my healthy veggies and new diet items. The loft is working out for sleeping and we were smart to include it into the build. My new diet involves less cheese,red meat, and high fat foods. I hope to lose weight as I work my way back to a healthy me. The project can wait I have decided. It’s time to consider the present and how best to live in it. I can’t say what happened to me was good but it certainly wasn’t horrible. My body warned me that’s all. So here I am one week plus from the event totally reevaluating my life. It’s refreshing and I feel really good actually.
The last couple days have been all about small details given that another storm was coming. Groceries,generator gas, and going through things here in the cabin. We made a trip to a favorite sport shop of ours to grab some MRE’s and get some target shooting ammo. Zane and I the occasional round of skeet shooting here at the farm. Given the location it’s not bothersome to anyone. The storm hit yesterday as forecast. High winds and blowing snow throughout the night. I hunkered down and enjoyed the warm bliss of the cabin. There’s nothing like that peaceful feeling of being prepared!
Today the strong winds continued and we got more snow. There’s at a foot now and it keeps coming. It’s going to stop later but the wind is going to keep blowing. It’s feeling a lot more like January. This weather has been unbelievable in its strangeness. Black Lake is barely frozen over. All this snow will keep it from freezing properly in my opinion. I took a nice walk earlier close by. Up on the plateau behind the barn I gazed down onto Beaver Creek and wondered when it might be safe to trek there. I am going to stay clear for some time given all the fresh snow. I want to continue my “Tales of an Icewalker” series but not at the expense of falling through! So I will watch and wait. There’s other things that need my attention at the moment.
This is the last week Zane is off before his college resumes. We are going to need firewood for this cabin very soon. I also hope to put a temporary skirt around it so we can bank it with snow. I decided against a permanent skirt due to summer snakes, rodents, and the potential for moisture issues. Our ancestors frequently banked their buildings with snow. It’s the ultimate insulation if it’s abundant enough to throw up alongside your building. Living here within sight of the barn makes me think of years past. The barn was the sanctuary of our livestock. I have mentioned it in the past and there’s nothing like a patch of stormy weather to wake up those memories. I am enjoying this time here in the tiny and unfinished cabin. I hope to get my energy back soon and be able to enjoy the new me. All that restricted blood flow now makes perfect sense. It happened so slowly that I never noticed it. I’m serious about getting back to the better conditioned me. Syrup season is on the far horizon. Snowshoeing isn’t that far out either. Winter must be enjoyed while it is here. So far it’s been mostly absent but there’s still time! Time for “WHIMs”. Winter has its moments. Time for the Icewalker’s to take to their frozen avenues. Time for enjoying nature as this time plays out. It’s a time to reflect while sipping maple syrup infused coffee. Time to recharge the batteries and get back on track. Time to see the smallest details and the largest. But mostly it’s time to acknowledge the gift of life itself. To be present in the present. It’s a time for making MOONTABS!✍️