Announcement….

Have you ever had one of those days where you simply have had enough and then something else falls from the sky, drops in your lap, and voila, you simply have to take that on too?

Recently I have had a series of events occur that are over the top and I wanted to share this with you.

Going back a bit to the beginning of last year, a blood test revealed that I had a cancer. All last year and into this, I have been undergoing treatment. There have been a number of side effects to say the least.

One of these I have been referring to as a “spell.” It is rapid heartbeat and low blood pressure. Both the oncologist and the primary care doctors told me not to worry. I don’t know about you, but for me this was a worrisome deal. On a recent Saturday, when I was having one of these spells, I looked to my husband and said, “Take me to the emergency room. Let’s find out what is really going on here.”

Now, I could really get into the details here but would rather not. Suffice it to say, there was a treatment to settle down my heart, xrays, and more. One of the funny moments, if there can be any, was when the ER nurse handed me this tiny cup to use for a urine sample. With all the wires coming off me, how was I ever going to hit target zero? I felt like I was the meatball in a huge bowl of spaghetti.

I ended up spending quite a bit of time in the hospital. More than I expected. I was in for a total of 16 days, or slightly over half of August. What they discovered was that I have a fixable heart condition. The next thing they discovered was pneumonia. I thought this would quarantine me, but surprisingly it did not.

Over the course of my time in the hospital, I had numerous xrays, too many blood tests, insertion of a PICC line to enable the nurses to draw blood, respiratory treatments, and whole slew of tests, and pills, pills and more pills. Then there was the food.

The nurses bragged about the good food that comes from their cafeteria. The food was really bad. If they added a bit of applesauce to their apple muffins, eating one of these would be moist and flavorful rather than bland and dusty. Dinner plates were attended with a dull knife. There can be no serrated edges to a knife handed to a patient as they might cut themselves. I found it was easier to eat like a cave man. It just worked out better. The staff was not happy that they kept having to change my gown and sheets.
Upon release, they told me that I had a fixable heart condition and the pneumonia. They also told me that I was suffering from COPD, and a slight trace of emphysema. They were waiting for results from a test they did on my lungs, and it would be about another week before we knew what those results would be.

Did I mention that I gained 20 pounds in the two weeks? It was not from the hospital food. One of the drugs causes major water retention. I swear I can hear myself sloshing as I walk. The swelling has my ankles looking like I had sprained both of them. Maybe I should add a bit of purple and green eye shadow. At least I now I know what my feet probably looked like when I was a baby. All the wrinkles are gone there and in my face too. Who cares that I look like a chipmunk? Hey, maybe they should just give this drug out instead of using a Botox based drug to create a youthful looking you.

When we finally found out the results of the tests, we were told that I now have stage 3 cancer. The other cancer does not seem to be with me anymore, but this one is.

So, now you know why my responses to you and new postings have shifted. This last week has been one Dr. appointment after another as things get lined up and ready for the start of my treatments. My treatments will be a combination of radiation and chemotherapy, and I believe it will begin next week.

As if is this is not enough, one more thing happened. It took us once again to the ER. I have a blazing red and purple rash on my abdomen that turned up quickly. This ugly little rash turns out to be shingles. I can now pass on chicken pox! Wahoo! One never expects to hear hysterical laughter in the ER, but after hearing this is what I had, my husband and I did just that: We laughed our asses off.

We have new challenges to face, my husband and I, and we will be doing so head on and with a positive outlook. I want life to be as normal as it can be considering the circumstances. I am hoping that I will be able to post to the Life in the Foothills blog on a regular basis, and same with the Mondays Finish the Story blog. If there is a bit of delay in my replying to a comment, commenting on your story, or doing a post, I ask that you bear with me. I have an offer from one of my blogging friends to help me out, and if I need to I will take her up on that.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and remember: Be well… ^..^

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Today Was a Good Day – WP Photo Challenge

Hello my dear readers. I have been absent for far too long and have missed posting to this blog. Illness crept around the corner, grabbed my by the lungs, squeezed me, and landed me in the hospital, where I still am today. I managed to contract an odd variety of pneumonia. Never had this before and do not ever want to have this again either. Today, I am actually feeling a lot better and felt like creating a post.

The challenge for today’s WordPress Photo Challenge, Cheri has chosen the topic “Today was a good day.” Because I am stuck indoors, with a tiny window allowing me to see the tops of pine trees, I decided that I would share some favorite photos with you of what I would much rather be seeing. This will make my day a good day.

Seeing my dog Astro.

Astro

My cats….

Madison.

Missing Ms. Madison

Toby.

Toby

Scrappy and Toby.

Is it OK if we play with this box?

I would include my husband in these photos but I do get to see him every day when he visits.

I have missed you all! I am not sure how I will be feeling tomorrow, and if I can do it I will post again tomorrow. You take care and be well. Thank you for stopping by! ^..^

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Make My Day!

I have been doing a post a day, on occasion more than one, since I began this blog in June of 2011. I love sharing with all of you my photos, recipes and the “other stuff” that I sometimes do. I would like to thank all of you who take the time to read my blogs for giving me a moment of your time! I appreciate all the likes you give to my posts as well as your comments!

The other day for Sunday Photo Fiction, I did a post called On the Road. This was to be flash fiction, and in reality, this is my story. I have been diagnosed with Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma.

I start chemotherapy today. I am not sure how I will be feeling and so I might not be posting every day as I have done in the past. I will post as I can. Heavy sigh…Writing posts for this blog, I confess, is my one big addiction, to which my husband can attest to.

So, to you my dear readers, I want to thank each and everyone of you for sticking with me, some of which go back to my first post!

Now I am going to be taking a positive attitude and not let this get me down. Daily affirmations and positive thinking are key to me getting through this.

Now, I was asked in the WordPress Photo Challenge to post a selfie…I did not do this because I am really rather shy. Just for today, for those who really want to know what I look like, I decided that you get to see me as I really am!

Just me as I normally am! Ask my friends!

Now I would like for you to do one thing for me if you would be so kind. Please make this post the best day I have ever had with WordPress by clicking on the like button, and leaving me a comment!

I am not sure when I will feel like writing because of the treatments, so please hang in there with me! As Arnold Schwarzenegger said in almost every movie he made, “I’ll be back!”

Peace be with you, and know that I hold each and everyone of you in my heart! I am humbled by the number of followers of which you are one, and, I thank you for your love and support of this blog!

I am heading off for my first chemotherapy treatment…I will see you again when I post next…

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Daikon – One Huge Radish!

I love the flavor of radishes, and there is nothing better than one grown in the home vegetable garden! One that I have not tried to grow yet, but am thinking of doing this year is Daikon! This is a huge white radish that resembles a very large carrot only bigger! So let’s take a look at this lovely root vegetable, shall we?

Daikon – Photo from EdenBrothers.com

This lovely root originated in the Mediterranean, and history records it being brought to China and Japan during the Han Dynasty. The commonly used name, Daikon, means large root, and you can see from the photo above that it is indeed!

This root is frequently pickled and often used in soups. Me, I just love it raw in a salad! Imagine the mild peppery flavor added to a cole slaw! Not only is the root edible but so are the greens.

But what is most amazing about this lovely white root, is the benefits to the human body! This vegetable is full of anti-oxidants, and helps the liver process toxins. It is high in vitamin B and C, which can act as an anti-inflammatory. Amazing, huh? It is also a natural diuretic, and it can help with weight loss.

For the garden, this vegetable is very hardy and can take the cold in the winter climate, allowing it to be grown all year round. Some varieties of this vegetable can reach a length of two feet! This root, from seed to harvest, will be ready to consume in 45-60 days. It does just fine in a mix of shade and sun. Once harvested the roots can last for weeks!

What do you do with Daikon? I would love to know! Thanks for stopping by today and have a great Sunday!

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Some Simple Home Remedies

As one goes through life, one comes across unusual remedies using ordinary items that one might have around the house. Let me tell you about about how I got rid of a wart on my pinky finger and tell you about the uses of some other items you might have in your home…

I had this pesky, unsightly ugly wart on my pinky that went over the top most joint from side to side. Can you picture that? Oh was it ugly. I tried the over the counter products. Didn’t work. My Dad bought it from me. Didn’t work. I cut a potato in half and rubbed it over the wart then buried the potato. Didn’t work. I had it frozen at the Dr.’s office. Didn’t work.

What did work was Castor Oil!

Castor Oil – Photo from BeautyWithinMe.com

I actually got this remedy from a book of Edgar Cayce’s readings. At night before you go to bed, take a cotton ball, and holding it against the top of the open bottle, tip the bottle to get some of the oil on the cotton ball. Take the cotton ball and place the castor oil side down on the wart. Secure the cotton ball with a band-aid. Leave this on overnight and remove this in the morning. It took me about two weeks of doing this for the little nasty to disappear! Apparently castor oil is a great anti-fungal!

Here are some other tips…

* Drinking two glasses of Gatorade will help to get rid of a headache!

Gatorade

* When you begin an exercise regime and have not exercised for a while, have you noticed how your muscles ache afterwards? To relieve this pain, add 2 cups of espsom salts to a tub of hot water and soak for a half hour, the results, no achy muscles!

Epsom Salts – Photo from LoveLifeWithEO.com

* Have a bad cold? From a Swedish remedy book I found this. Fill your tub with the hottest water you can stand and add two cups of thyme leaves. Soak for a half hour, and let yourself sweat. When you get out of the tub, dry off, don your bathrobe, then jump into bed and cover yourself with a load of blankets so that you continue to sweat. Stay there for at least a half hour. This helps to kill the germs that gave you the cold!

Thyme leaves – Photo from Herb-Magic.com

* Working around the yard, you sometimes find yourself with splinters. Teeny, tiny splinters. When you are unable to use the tweezers to remove the splinters, try some Elmer’s Glue! Put a drop of the glue on the splinter and let it dry. Once dry, pull off the patch of glue and the splinter will come with it!

Elmer’s Glue

These are just a few remedies that I have tried that have worked. Do you have any home remedies? Please feel free to share them with my readers!

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Easy Raspberry Frozen Yogurt

I have never been much of a sweet eater. However, I found an article on the internet for a 10-minute soft serve dessert and after reading the article I had to try it. My husband chose the flavor and I made the dessert. This is so easy to make and will definitely impress company! You can make this just before serving, or if you make this ahead of time, take it out of the freezer to soften up before serving. This recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
1/2 superfine sugar
1 bag of frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 tsp lemon juice
1 small container of plain yogurt

Let’s start with the sugar. You can either buy superfine sugar, or you can make it yourself. I made it myself, by taking a 1/2 cup of regular sugar and processing it in my food processor. I processed the sugar about a minute until it felt much less “grainy” than regular sugar. I noticed too that I had sugar “dust” floating out of the processor when it was ready.

To the sugar, add the frozen raspberries. Using the pulse button on your food processor, combine the raspberries and the sugar. Here is what it looks like right after I started.

Sugar and Raspberries

Here is what it looked like when I was at the point that I could add the remaining ingredients.

Half way through the process

Let the raspberry mixture sit while you combine the lemon juice with the yogurt. Feed the yogurt slowly through the feeding tube in the processor. You will have to stop periodically to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl. Continue until all is added. Here is a photo of the frozen yogurt before serving,

Almost done

and here is dessert!

Dessert is served!

Now the secret here is that you are using frozen fruit. So, if you want to make this out of another flavor other than what you can buy in the store, then make sure that you freeze the fruit well ahead of time! I am thinking about pineapple, peach, strawberry, strawberry-banana….the list goes on!

Here is the link to the article from Yahoo Shine where I found this recipe! 10 Minute Soft-Serve You Can Make in Your Food Processor The article is from Eating Well Magazine, and the author: Hilary Meyer. Kudos to you and thank you for the recipe!

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Stanley, the Stinky Sponge

Everyone, no matter where they are, who uses a sponge in the kitchen has had to deal with Stanley, the Stinky Sponge! No matter how hard you squeeze the water out of the darn thing, the next day, or two days after, the aroma rises up and assaults your nose! Once you get that stinky smell in your nose, you smell it the rest of the day…So what can you do that will get rid of Stanley and end up with Nice Nancy, the Good Smelling Sponge?

Is this Stinky Stanley or Nice Nancy?

Well, I found an article on what works to get rid of Stanley and end up with Nice Nancy! The article was written by Beckey Worley. Now, just so you know, I have tried most of the remedies that Ms. Worley indicates do not work. What have I tried that does not work?

* Microwaving the wet Stanley offender. What you end up with is a hot stinky Stanley!
* Washing the sponge in hot water with dish soap. No matter how much you scrub Stanley behind the ears, he still smells bad.
* Ms. Worley indicates that she soaked the test sponge in bleach and it fell apart. I tried this too, although not overnight. It worked for about 10 hours. Stanley went into the trash and was replaced by Nice Nancy!
* The top rack of the dishwasher. It works, for about 5 minutes! Nice Nancy comes out of the dishwasher and gets wet once, and Stinky Stanley is back!
* Ms. Worley also tried a vinegar bath followed by a bath of baking soda…didn’t work either!

What Ms. Worley did discover is this: Place Stinky Stanley outside in the full sun and let Stanley sit there for four days. When you go back out and pick up Stanley, you will discover that Stanley is no longer there but you will have Nice Nancy there in your hands. What causes the change? The UV rays of the sun! It kills all those bad critters that make their home on Stinky Stanley! Ms. Worley did indicate that she left the sponge out for less than the four days and it worked!

But, who uses a sponge once every couple of days? Hmmm…can’t think of anyone I know. So here is the suggestion for keeping Nice Nancy in the kitchen and Stinky Stanley out. First, always squeeze the water out of the sponge. Do not let it sit in the sink to grow allow all those ghastly bacteria and potentially dangerous other stuff grow! After using your kitchen sponge, rinse it well, squeeze it well and stick it outside in the sun. Then have a backup sponge to take its place. By rotating sponges maybe we can all have Nice Nancy in our kitchens!

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The Answers to the Questions

Did you look up the answers?  Well, maybe you decided to really test yourself.  Without further ado, here are the answers.

Question #1 – Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.  The answer:  Boxing.

Question #2 – What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?  The answer:  Niagara Falls .   The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.

Question #3 – Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year.  What are the only two perennial vegetables?  The answers:  Asparagus and rhubarb.

Question #4 – What fruit has its seeds on the outside?  The answer:  Strawberry.

Question #5 – How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle?   The answer: It grew inside the bottle.   The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.

Question #6 – Only three words in standard English begin with the letters ‘ dw’ and they are all common words. Name two of them.  The answers:  Dwarf, dwell and dwindle…

Question #7 – There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?  The answers:  Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation mark, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

Question #8 – Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.  The answer:  Lettuce.

Question #9 – Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter ‘S.’   The answers:  Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

Did you have fun with this?  I know that I did…How is this for a bit of whimsy Joe E.?

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The Buffalo Side of Double Nickels

Today marks a milestone in my life. Today, this is my 255th post! Today I celebrate the 34th anniversary of my 21st birthday! Today I was given the opportunity to celebrate The Buffalo Side of Double Nickels!

The Buffalo Side of Double Nickels

What is the Buffalo Side of the Double Nickels you ask?

The Buffalo side of the double nickels is many things. It is a landmark!

** As one gets older, most, not all, have learned from all the “mistakes” they have made in life so far. At the double nickel landmark you have learned so much from those mistakes, that you now possess a wisdom that you wished you had in your early years but realize you were too young to recognize when the lesson in front of you. You learned and you value the lesson that you were given.

** You have learned that when someone tells you that you have made a mistake, you can boldly look them in the eye and tell them that you did not make a mistake. You can tell them that you gave yourself the opportunity to learn something new and to grow from it. After all, you would not be the person you are today, if all those “opportunities” had not come about.

** You listen to what others say and you now know, from experiences learned, what they really mean and what they really want. Not much can be hidden from you as you have done it all, maybe, and you have learned. And, now you have the opportunity to make a wise decision, or possibly to share the wisdom that you have earned in your life.

** You value life in a way that you never realized could be possible. You find out who your friends really are, and you know that the good ones are few and far between. You value those that have traveled your life with you and you cherish the ones that at this time in life you have made. And you know that those in the latter group will be there with you, as will the few from younger days, for the remainder of your days, because of the wisdom and the grace you have learned and the understanding you share.

** You wake up every morning and value the fact that you are here! And you think about what you can do today that will make a difference to those around you, no matter how small that difference might be. And you smile to yourself because in some way you know how you have positively touched the life of another person, and while they might not yet realize it, you do!

** You have realized that you have to laugh at yourself before you can laugh at anything else in the world. And you find yourself laughing at yourself now just about every day, and you find that it makes you happy!

** You enjoy the wisdom of those who are older than you because you now get it!

** There are those who are your age that are still concerned with “looks” and you realize that even though your hair has grayed, your chin has doubled, and your weight has increased, that you still are a magnificent person! The hair is not gray, but platinum. The chin is not doubled, OK maybe it is. And while your weight has increased that is just one of the many trophies of hitting the buffalo side of the double nickels! I have not found out yet, but I am sure that “looks” don’t matter much and never did to Saint Peter! And I heard through the grapevine that he is fond of buffaloes!

** You have learned that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.

** And you now know how important it is to tell those that are important to you that they are important to you!

To all of those who have hit the double nickels before me, I honor you! To those who are approaching the double nickels, continue to realize the opportunities as they arise. To those who shared this special day with me at dinner tonight, I love you all, and I thank you for being my friends, and for being in my life! To my husband, you are the love of my life and I look forward to laughing with you daily for the remainder of my days!

Hugs to all today! I look forward gently touching all of your lives, and I thank you most humbly for touching mine!

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How to Make a Marriage Work

If you are married, or not but living together, there are compromises that need to be made on both sides. I could talk about general cleaning, sex and money, but I would rather not. You have to work that part out for yourselves. But what I do want to talk about is what happens in the kitchen!

From the get go in our relationship, and we moved in together before we got married, I told my husband that there were rules to our kitchen, and if he was not on board with these rules, then I should plan on finding someone else and someplace else to live. We loved each other and I knew that we would be coming to some compromises here.

The first and foremost kitchen rule is this: If I cook, you clean. No arguing. This is the rule. I will not cook an entire meal, clean as I go, and have to clean afterwards. OK – so this had to be modified after the first dinner I cooked for us. I cooked and did not clean as I went. He griped. I helped clean that night and since then, I clean as I go. This has worked out well. And, this rule goes both ways: I cook, he cleans, and he cooks, I clean. And, we clean as we go, or as my friend Conor in Ireland says you CAYG! Thank you Conor!

Next, I work and my husband is retired. As I work, and he is now retired, I cook 4 nights a week, and he is relegated to three nights. How does this work? Planning! My husband cooks on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, which is why you rarely see food posts on those nights, and the rest of the time is mine. This takes some working out, depending on schedules, but for us this works really well. I finish my week, thanks to furlough Friday’s, on Thursday nights, and I start planning on Monday what I need for recipes I plan on cooking. BTW – before I started this blog, we did this then too.

Figure out the dinner menu. We both have busy days. Just like with Mom and Dad, at their house, whatever is put on the table for you for dinner, you eat. We both take into account what each of us likes and don’t like. He doesn’t serve me Lima beans and I don’t serve him brussel sprouts!

Margarine is not allowed in our house. Margarine is really bad for you, and butter is really good, as long as you do not over do it. If you want your recipes to taste really good, butter makes the dish. Margarine does not. There is too much water and oil in margarine. No compromise here: We both prefer butter to margarine.

Every now and then we do have frozen dinners. Not Banquet, nor Swanson’s. Sometimes you just do not feel like cooking, or putting a huge meal together. Whatever we choose, we make sure that the food is healthy.

No, and I mean absolutely NO, macaroni and cheese from a box. When I moved in with my husband, he had about a dozen boxes in the cupboard. Then I made him my macaroni and cheese. Since eating my macaroni and cheese that uses real cheese, he refuses to even look at a box of mac ‘n cheese. We donated the boxes to a food drive.

Everyone eats leftovers. No food goes to waste! Enough said.

Whatever you decide, whether living together or married, compromise is a big part of this life, and the kitchen is a good place to start!

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