Cuppa Joe

It's been awhile and until things settle down a bit, keeping a daily photojournal without resorting to a string of EBs like this morning's coffee may be a stretch. 

Back home after a four day drive from Chicago, our calendar quickly filled with medical appointments, a long "to do" list of repairs and clean up around the homestead, and providing as much support as we could, practical and emotional, for our friend Ron as he transitioned to hospice care (he passed last Saturday). 

On a high note, C is doing much better following her last surgery. In my case, while there were no real surprises after my last round of appointments and bloodwork, I've progressed to stage 4 CKD and am being referred for dialysis education/evaluation and kidney transplant. An ironic fact of life for me has been that the anti-rejection meds I take to protect the liver transplant I had in 2012 are causing my kidneys to fail. All things considered I ain't going to complain. I made it to "cranky old man" and when Eli turns 18 in 4 years we plan on getting tattoos together.  Mine will be (what else?), a Pepper. 

Thanks for your patience and support as I come and go. I may not be very good about posting in my own journal but I'll try to stay up to date with yours ... and the adventure, as a cranky old man once told me, continues.