Good Morning ☀️ 
Mark just finished his 10th week post surgery and his third week back to work! He is going to cardiac rehab each week and walking in between those sessions.  If you know our driveway on Coyote Ridge, you know that it's a challenging slope, but he is able to add a bit more grade each week-it's a little dull to go back and forth on just the one section, but it works and our dogs are so happy to have his company again.

One of the last things Mark told the surgeon before he went under was that he was hoping to ski at Lutsen with the grandkids and Anton again this season (he had just bought seasons passes and he was letting her know that's what he needed to get back in shape for), so that is a sad loss for Mark. He maybe could tackle a run in the spring, if snow lasts, but falling is a big concern, so we'll see. He points out that he doesn't fall...🙂
meanwhile, Olympic curling is here! The weekend before Mark's medical emergency, he had traveled to Omaha with our brother-n-law, Ronnie, and met up with our nephew, Tyler, who lives there, to watch the US Olympic play downs. I'm sure all of you know that he is passionate about curling and that it was a big part of his family culture. Our nephew, Tyler, somehow even got Matt Hamilton, the second on the US team to send Mark a video get well message when he was in ICU! He's anticipating watching every minute of the games and has been enjoying the coverage of the round ro in so far. Of course, it was thrilling that John Shuster, the US team skip was chosen to carry the US flag in the opening ceremonies. What an honor and tribute to him! It's so cool. 
We have had a few hurdles with life challenges that are unrelated to Mark's medical issues, (but stress is a big no-no, so it's all impactful) like a brake failure when going down our driveway! We were not hurt, but of course Mark's blood pressure cannot be elevated at all, and that did happen! Our car is in a repair shop purgatory until everything is settled, so that is inconvenient, but thankfully our kids, Andrew and Simone have a remarkable 20-year-old Subaru that traversed Coyote Ridge without issue (available to us while they are in Brazil) to get us through the emergency phase, and now we finally have an all-wheel drive loaner from the dealership. Like for everyone else, winter here just makes things more challenging, right? We wonder about the future and the reality of being able to live in this amazing setting that belonged to my dad and Polly, which because of it's spectacular location, is not easy. We feel like those conversations have accelerated for us. We'll see. Mark has more "surveillance" tests coming up in March and will see the endocrinologist in a couple of weeks. They are monitoring the surgery site, but also the dissection that remains in his descending aorta and his diabetes, Along with high blood pressure, these are the main issues that all are related and need to be balanced. He self-tests everyday and we are working on a heart healthy diet under the advice and coaching of our daughter, Brienne, who is an amazing health minded cook and vegan food master! (Our traditional Scandinavian and East Bay Hotel eating habits and recipes have been making her crazy for years when family meal sharing)🙁 We should have been listening.
Anyway,
we thank you again so much for all of your love and well wishing-prayers and support.
❤️

Kathryn