A Trip Down a Very Short Memory Lane

Cordelia and Bumblebee spent the evening at our house last night so you know we were having a good time!  I brought up a toy box from the basement that she'd not seen for a few months.  Apparently, even when a person is only 2 years old, it is fun to travel down memory lane.  She got pretty excited discovering and remembering.  She picked up the Jesus Bunny and declared, "This is my favorite!"  The Jesus Bunny was actually a gift to Pastor Mike but luckily pastor/grandpa shares.

Then she noticed something she had not noticed before.  She thought it was funny that the Jesus Bunny has bunny slippers!

She rediscovered the little golf clubs.  Remember hall golf?

 Then...

Now...  



Other excitement from the evening included Bode and Bumblebee dancing, chase game with Sam, watching a Strawberry Shortcake Movie (which Cordelia told me was her "Mudder's favorite"), reading books and eating cookies.

As the evening was winding down she said to Grandpa, "You play music and I will wisten to you!"  Grandpa of course obliged.  Cordy remembered that one of the baby rattle toys at the bottom of the toy basket was a guitar.

What could be better than an evening listening to Grandfather and Granddaughter play their guitars together?

Who's Calling Please?

Yesterday, shortly after lunch, my cell phone rang.  I was driving so I pulled to the curb to talk.  I know, you didn't ask, but I thought this was a nice little opportunity to point out that safety move.

A funny conversation followed.  After I said my "hello" a lady asked to whom she was speaking.  I kind of thought since she called me she should know that but sometimes I've forgotten who I was calling myself so I was nice.  Truthfully, I thought it was someone from Hospice wanting me to cover a shift so my mind was off in a different direction, "Could I work a night shift with so little notice?"

I answered, "This is Susan."  Most of my friends don't actually call me Susan but it really is my name.  When I applied at Hospice they called me that because it was on my application.  Although I answer to a lot of nicknames (Sue Ann, Susie, Bubba, etc.) I am most used to being called Sue, except my relatives usually call me Susie.  I don't mind either but I really never liked being called, "A Boy Named Sue!"  The truth is, I think Susan is the prettiest so at this new job, I just let it be.  That is why I answered, "This is Susan."

The voice on the other end sounded confused as she asked, "Susan who?"  Now, I know that when someone calls and asks your last name you probably should not give it out.  This lady, though, didn't really sound like a salesperson or even a stalker so I gave it.  When she next spoke, her tone was still confused but relaxed and I recognized it!  It was my Aunt Michelle!

My aunt was confused because she had been talking to a technical support person.  We all know how much fun that is!  She'd already answered many, many questions and then was cut off from the person who was "helping" her.  At that point she heard her phone dialing and there I was.  Surprise!  It was kind of a nice surprise for me.  I enjoyed having an unexpected conversation with my aunt!

Cell phones do funny things.  One time I was calling Maria and got a stranger.  At the same moment she received a call from another stranger.  Somehow two calls had crossed!

Even before cell phones most of us had weird phone calls.  One time I had spoken with an older  woman from our church.  That conversation ended and maybe 30 minutes later I went to use the phone.  Someone was on the line but talking in the background!  It turned out that the older woman hadn't quite set the phone in the cradle and we were still connected.  Someone was visiting her and I was then an eavesdropper!  I yelled and yelled to Evelyn but on her end I was a voice too tiny to hear.  I had to hang up and give up using my phone  for awhile.  Every now and then I'd check and yes, Evelyn was still visiting.  Eventually, after her company left, she noticed the phone and hung it up.  Who would've thought that connection would've held on so long?!

And then there are the wrong number funny  moments.  I loved the one that happened to my Mom years ago.  Her phone number was similar to that of the local bus company.  Once, in the middle of the night, she sleepily answered the phone.  Someone asked, "Do you go to Denver?"  Confused, she answered, "Sometimes."

How about you?  Any funny phone stories you'd like to share?

Cooking Tutorial - Stop Laughing!

After my poncho tutorial I really expected Martha Stewart to give me a call.  Oddly, she has not.  Nevertheless, I've decided it is time for me to tackle another tutorial.  Hang on!

I will never be well-known for my cooking talents, but every now and then I find something I can do well.  Today, I am going to share one with you. my lucky readers.  I am also going to add fascinating photos of me mixing stuff together, like any good cooking tutorial.

In the last half of the 1980's Mike was in seminary in St. Paul, MN and I worked at the seminary bookstore.  It was a great job; I got to touch books all day long!  One of the books placed in my hand was the best cookbook ever!

Before I move on, I want to tell you about that beautiful bowl in the photo.  We received that bowl as a wedding gift nearly 34 years ago.  I love it! It is heavy and incredibly durable.   We put that durability to the test.  In 1983-85 we were living in the Seattle area while Mike attended college.  We'd moved out there with our 2 yr. old baby girl, taking only what we could fit into 2 vehicles.  The little college did not have married student housing but they did have an odd collection of donated furniture for us to use.  One of those pieces of furniture was a 3-legged couch.  I can't remember if it was 3-legged when we got it or if something happened to a leg while we were using it.  At any rate, one day I found myself looking around for something to prop it up under the legless corner.  I'm not sure what made me try it but it turned out that bowl, upside-down, did the trick.  You can still see the marks from it's time as a couch leg.

I bet you weren't expecting that story in the middle of a cooking tutorial!

Anyway, on we go...

The More With Less Cookbook is written by Doris Janzen Longacre and has lots of charming and honest little lessons in it about nutrition and ethical eating.  I don't know if Luther Seminary Bookstore still carries it but it would be worth a try.  It is my favorite cookbook!

So, the recipe I want to talk about is just called Basic Dry Cereal Formula, but it is what l know as granola. It is a recipe written for people like me, people who don't really follow recipes.  It tells you to mix 7 cups of dry ingredients with 2-3 cups being oatmeal.

I love that it doesn't boss me around.  It lets me choose what dry ingredients I wish, using their suggestions or coming up with some of my own.  Even so, because I'm a free spirit, I used 8 cups of dry ingredients instead of 7.  I measured none of it individually, but I'd say I used at least 4 cups of oatmeal.  Then, I opened the cupboard doors and browsed.




 (For the record, I don't have any idea why that paragraph is underlined but the underline feature seems to be working independently today and will not let me remove it.   I think I will just go with it.)





I came up with sunflower seeds, almonds,

peanut butter, brown sugar, cinnamon,
pumpkin pie spice, cloves and nutmeg.

I was disappointed that I had no coconut.
I was also disappointed that I didn't have any dried fruit.
No big deal, those things can be added later.


Then, I spotted rolled barley.  I don't know why I'd originally purchased it but I felt super duper hippie-like to have it in my cupboard.  That's a good thing, in case you were wondering.








I changed into my bell bottoms and peasant top, grabbed the barley and in it went!

I expertly stirred it all together...

Then, you are told to separately combine 1 cup of liquids.

Again, a list of suggestions follow.

Again, I have to march to my own drummer.  This time I used 2 cups of liquids.  Well, in my defense, I prefer my granola to be more moist.

I poured in molasses because it makes me feel mother-earthy, kind of like the barley.  I added syrup, and LOTS of it.  That probably wasn't so mother-earthy, was it?  I wanted to be able to share some of this granola with Maria and her family.  Since they are vegan, I used almond milk and vegan margarine.

I scooped the margarine into this cute little bowl to melt it in the microwave.  I thought the bowl looked like something they'd use on a professional cooking show, don't you?

A word of caution.  Don't heat the margarine too long in your microwave.  If you hear a "POP", it's too long.

I'd planned to drop in some applesauce but I forgot.  Oh well.  No worries.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the flavored syrups on my counter.  I'd purchased them to add to coffee but my coffee never turned out as well as coffee-shop coffee.  It's a good thing this is not a coffee tutorial.  The syrup bottles are too big to fit in my cupboard so they've just become counter clutter.  The little lightbulb appeared over my head so I grabbed one of those bottles and slopped some in.





After stirring together the wet and dry ingredients in my beautiful-yet-durable bowl, I spread it all out on the cookie sheet that I'd already smeared with more of the Smart Balance Light.

I baked it at 300 degrees for about 45 minutes.  I usually stir it around about half way through to break it up and keep it more flexible.

It is delicious!  I mixed it with yogurt last night and called it my supper.

This morning, I ate a bowl of it topped with the last of my almond milk.

It is so, so yummy!  I think you should make some as well!  If is an adventure!

Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.

This Day

I have a list of things to do today.  How about you?  I am not working at hospice so I've made some plans of my own.

 
  1)  Make breakfast burritos for breakfast.


  2)  Do lesson from The Essential Jesus with Mike.


So, as you see, I've already done those first two.  Yes, I am one of those people who write things I've already done on my list just so I may have the pleasure of checking them or crossing them off.  Do you do that?


 3)  Pack a lunch for Mike to take to work.  Oops, scratch that...he just left while I was working on my blog. Drop off a lunch for Mike at work.


 4)   Go to Curves for a workout so that I can feel self-righteous the rest of the day.

 5)   Take this new book I bought at the grocery store and read it to Cordy at her house.  Any day I get to spend time with that charmer is a perfect day for me!

6)     Take Maria and Cordy and meet another friend for lunch.  That will be a treat!

7)     Tackle this stack of what seems to be mostly junk mail.  It won't be exciting but it has to be done.

8)     Crochet like the wind!  Maria had a great idea of taking samples of some of our products into a new little local store to see if they'd like to carry some of our items.  The owner ordered quite a bit from us, to be delivered next week!  Yay!  She said if it goes well, she'd like to carry more of our things!  Now, we are both working toward completing that order as well as making new items for Wyoming Rose Boutique at Etsy.  I love any reason to crochet, sew or craft!

So, in spite of the fact that we are under a high wind warning...

"A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST THURSDAY.
* SUMMARY AND TIMING... A STRONG SOUTHWEST WIND WILL OCCUR TODAY AND TONIGHT.
* WIND... A SOUTHWEST WIND OF 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH.
* IMPACTS... STRONG AND SUDDEN WIND GUSTS WILL CREATE HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. "

It's going to be a great day!

Thank-you for stopping by. Feel free to use my photos but please link them back to my blog. I am honored if you wish to share content of any of my posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. as long as it is linked back to my blog.

A Night at Hospice

I worked the night shift last night.  You'd think a 12 1/2 hour shift would seem to take forever but most of the time it just flies by.  Although it can be pretty hectic, the pace is usually not frantic, at least not for the entire shift.  

Sometimes it is still hard for me to get used to this kind of nursing.  I love that we can have time to have a cup of tea with a patient or sit with a family member when they are having a hard time.  To me, it is an opportunity to give the kind of nursing care we all want to give.  We have time to try to give care to the whole person, not just treat their illness.  

The part that still startles me, though, is when I realize how differently we approach changes in a patient's condition.  In most types of nursing, if a patient takes a turn for the worse, we call the doctor or if you are at a clinic, maybe even 911.  In hospice nursing, in most cases anyway, we just increase the comfort care and gently prepare the patient and family for the approaching transition.  Usually they've had time to learn what to expect and they know we can offer relief from pain and anxiety.  Instead of an air of panic and chaos, we try to exude calm confidence.   

Many patients are glad when they notice the dying process is progressing.  Recently, when I told a woman I did not think she was going to die that night she looked at me long and hard and said, "Well, I hope you are wrong!"  She feels she has waited too long already.  She's ready.  It's just not quite her turn yet.

Bode... Puppyhood Rewound

Today is Bode's 1st birthday!  We know that because it says so on his papers.  We did not know him until later.

Although I like to call Bode a "rescue dog", we actually "rescued" him from a mall pet store.  Mike and I had decided we were not going to get another dog.  We wanted to be a little more free to travel on a whim and things like that.  We knew it would be hard to resist but we tried to keep each other strong.  I'd occasionally mention a rescue dog (never puppies) but Mike would be strong for me.  He'd mention that he really wanted a puppy, and I'd talk him out of it.  Puppies are soooooo much work!

The trouble started with mall lunch.  About once a week I pick up Maria and Cordelia and we meet Mike at the mall for lunch.   After we would eat our lunch we'd wander around a bit.  It quickly became a tradition to take Cordy through the pet store.  It was such fun to see her enjoying the puppies!

One day a Vizsla puppy was there.  He was so cute!  Mike really liked that breed and it was clear that the Vizsla puppy was the main attraction for him.  Still, we remained strong.  We resisted.  Nevertheless, we kept stopping in weekly and enjoyed watching that little cute puppy playing with his cagemates.  As he grew, he went through quite a few cagemates.  When one was sold, another would appear.  He seemed to enjoy them all.

Eventually, though, that cute little puppy started to grow long legs.  The cage he was in seemed to become smaller.  We started noticing that the Vizsla puppy was not as rambunctious.  He often was sleeping or just laying there looking out the glass at us.  He did not have much room to move.  It was horrible.

Then, it happened.  One night in May I had a dream that the Vizsla puppy was losing his spirit.  He was sad!  He was already 4 months old a now he needed rescued.  In my dream I realized we were supposed to rescue him!  In the morning I told this to Mike.  He was supposed to gently talk me out of this crazy idea.  He made a feeble attempt and I dropped the subject.  It wasn't long, though, before Mike said that we could maybe just go to the mall and check on him.

Now, I have to give you a little more background.  Mike's birthday had been earlier that Spring.  Instead of buying him a gift I mentioned 2 things I knew he really wanted, a puppy or a mandolin, and I told him to choose.  By the middle of May, he'd still not made his choice!

When we got to the pet store of course that poor sad puppy was still there.  We asked to get him out from behind the glass and the guy let  us play with him in a little enclosure.  We'd never touched a Vizsla puppy and he was stunningly soft!  I know, all puppies are soft, but Vizsla puppies feel much softer.  They have no undercoat and they are slick and smooth and incredibly fun to touch.  Well, of course you know we had no resistance left.

When we took that puppy outside that day, Mike set him in the grass outside the mall.  He cringed and plopped down.  He was afraid of grass!  His little paws were so tender that when I took him for a walk that first week, they bled!  He was most definitely a rescue dog... an expensive rescue dog!

Bode has continued to be very expensive.  Besides all the things he's chewed up, like every one of our vertical blinds, he's had several runs to the vet with partial obstructions from all the weird things he has swallowed.  Now, we have learned that he will need surgery on both hips.  He was probably the product of an irresponsible breeder and by purchasing him, we helped support the puppy mill business.  I am sorry about that.  I am sorry his hips hurt.  I am sorry he eats blinds, and yarn, and furniture, and rocks, and plastic bags, and newspapers and anything else he can find.  If we'd known all this, perhaps we'd had sense enough to get out of that pet store!

On the other hand, Bode has a bright and happy spirit now.  He loves us and anyone else with unrestrained enthusiasm.  He has given us many, many moments of laughter.  He sleeps well at night.  He loves to go for rides in the car.  He still feels awesome to pet.  He's so pretty we've had people stop their cars when they see us walking him, just to tell us what a beautiful dog we have.  His best friend is Bumblebee.  He greets us with a bouncy wiggle and a dog toy in his mouth.  He is a velcro dog, enjoying life most when stuck to our side.

He's part of the family.

Happy Birthday Bode!

Mm

Continuing with the ABC's of Bible Memorization...




John 10:27, 28 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.

My First Thanksgiving

 This is too funny to me!

Yesterday I was at Walmart.  I am cheap, I mean frugal, so I always look through the sale racks.  In fact, the word CLEARANCE  is like a magnet to me.  On this particular trip I was just picking up a few grocery items but got sidetracked looking through children's sale clothing.  I found a cute little dress for Cordelia for $1!  Of course, she has to wait until she is 4 years old before it will fit her.

No, none of that was funny.  What had me laughing was this onesie, size 24 months...

Get it...size 24 months?  Think about it.

Challenging God

 In one of the readings from The Essential Jesus we were reading some history of the Israelites, particularly the time when Moses was leading them after they'd escaped captivity.  Do you know those stories?  Those stories used to always make me think those people sure did complain a lot.  It seemed to me that after God rescued them from slavery, they'd be so grateful they'd never again complain. 


I am finally starting to understand that we are all that way.  I wonder if I ever have a day that I don't complain about something.  I may complain that it is too cold, too warm, I'm too busy, I gain weight too easily, I don't have someone else's talent, and on and on.  I don't think of myself as a big complainer but it turns out that maybe I am.


The author went on to say that the main offense of the Israelites wasn't really that they complained so much, but that in doing so they were challenging God.  I was surprised to ponder the author's statement that the heart of all sin is challenging God.


I'm going to be thinking on that today.  What do you think of that?  Is "challenging God" the heart of all sin?  Do we sin because we think maybe we know better than God?  Is complaining a sin?   


Our society doesn't really even like to talk about sin.  Even the word, sin, is not used much in our world today.  It is not trendy.  It is not cool.  Maybe we should try to bring it back, use it more, think about it more.


Anyway, I was just pondering this today and wondered what you thought.  Are we challenging God when we sin?  Do we have a right to challenge God?  Any deep thoughts?  Any shallow thoughts?

The Piano

I have been trying to come up with a good post about pianos.  You see, recently I took photos of our new grand piano at our church.  It's SO pretty!  The photos were taken with my cell phone, so they are not of great quality or anything.  But the piano is just SO pretty!  I just needed a good post about pianos so that I could use the photos on this blog.

First, I looked up the Bible verse about making a joyful noise unto the Lord.  Sure, I could have come up with some words to draw it all together, maybe it could have been a bit of a devotional... but I just wasn't feeling that deep.

Next, I thought about telling you that I took 2 years of piano lessons when I was 12 to 13.  I seemed to pick up on it pretty well and absolutely LOVED it.  My teacher was a high school girl, though, and when she graduated and moved away I chose not to look for another teacher.  That is a decision I still regret.  Yes, I could write about that, but then I'd have all you nice people feeling compelled to encourage me to take lessons again.  No, I don't think my regret is strong enough to properly motivate me so let's not even go there.

So, I guess I am just going to show you the pictures for no reason other than I think they are cool.

And now, for the grand finale.....