Mishmash

Its been a busy couple of weeks around here, and is about to get even busier!  Tomorrow we are making the trek across the Cascades to visit family in Eastern Washington.  Since this winter has been so mild, we’re not expecting any problems crossing the pass – Yay!  So today has been a busy one, recovering from two WILD days at work and packing for our little trip.  It will be great to see #2 Son and DDIL, as well as Gramps and my brother too.  Upon returning home, I’ll have one day to do laundry and pack up for my next two days at work.  Here’s hoping next week at work will be slightly less berserk than this week – but of course there are no guarantees on that!  We have been overflowing (literally! We had to open an “overflow” unit) with tiny babies of late.  Of course, while not so fun for parents, this is job security for us!

Here is a snap, taken today right outside my front door.  I have to say that I can sympathize with the folks on the east coast… they are having an abominable  winter this year, while we bask in sunshine.  What seems odd to me is that last winter we had repeated blasts of snow (a total of 60 inches here!) and that didn’t make the news.  Yet two big storms in the east, and it’s all we hear about.  Whatever.

Too bad the Winter Olympics didn’t happen LAST winter.  I say that because Vancouver (less than 100 miles from us) is having the exact warm winter we are loving… and had the exact same crazy white winter we had last year.  This year they are trucking in snow to some of the snowboard events areas… Last year, well lets just say that wouldn’t have been necessary!  Speaking of the Olympics, we are SO excited that NEXT WEEK we will be attending two events.  Look for us Tuesday at the USA vs Switzerland Ice Hockey game and rink-side at the Short Track Speed Skating venue on Wednesday. Obviously, I’ll be doing a blog posting on this Olympic adventure – after it happens!

Even though it’s a warm winter, it’s still winter, which for me is an excuse to make soup!  We both love home made soup and last Saturday I made a nice pot of Minestrone.  Here is a photo:

Again I used Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food magazine as a  guideline for my minestrone creation.  It was oh-so delicious, and dear hubby said it was even better the next day.

After the soup, I made one of my very favorite recipes from Everyday Food.  It’s one I have prepared over and over, and never ceases to satisfy!  Asian Pork and Noodles.  Click HERE for a link to Martha’s actual recipe.  And yes, I don’t take license with this one, I make it just as it’s written.  Here it is…

Snow peas and broccoli simmer for about a minute with the noodles

Already sauteed pork strips sizzle with hoisin sauce and orange juice

Ahhhh, the finished product. Simply scrumptious!

Two weeks ago we managed to get our little car all set up to be towed behind our motorhome.  That was a fiasco, but to avoid looking backward, I’ll just say I’m glad it is all done!   Here is a little amateur movie made with my camera as I was following along behind hubby as he drove the motorhome and the “toad” (as it’s called in motor home lingo!) to the storage area…… Check it out here- at You Tube. I tried to embed it, but WordPress is not very accommodating with video!  We are planning a trip with our motor home in April — Spring Barrel Tasting here we come!  And in June, we hope to make a “big trip” and take our [soon to be] “RV cat” with us.  That will be hell on earth an experience!

Look for more next week from your humble “Olympics correspondent”!!!

A book review

I don’t normally make my book reviews into an actual blog post, but today I decided to do just that.  This book grabbed me – big time, and I just wanted to share my review with all.  So here goes:

January 27 “Still Alice” by Lisa Genova.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I literally couldn’t lay this book down until I finished it last night at midnight.  It’s a rare day when I’ll put nearly everything aside and read a book in two days, but that’s what I did with “Still Alice”.  At first, when I picked this book up at Costco, I thought it was a true story.  I was “into” true stories having just finished “The Glass Castle” and loving it… so I thought… “okay, let’s do it again.  Another non-fiction book!!  Woohoo Mizsuzee, you are not stuck in fiction-land, no, you are beginning to fill your mind with real things.”  Hmmmm.  Well, this book is not true.  It certainly could be, though!  “Still Alice” is about a 50 year old woman who begins to show signs of early onset Alzheimer’s disease… how the disease progresses… how it effects both Alice and the people in her life – her husband, children, and  colleagues.  The book is written from Alice’s point of view and even as she begins to get fuzzy and then fuzzier… it’s an astonishing read.  Having said all that, it may not be for everyone.  I have a rather intense interest in Alzheimer’s Disease.  I guess you could call it an “interest”…. but “fear” might be another good word.  My Grandmother developed Alzheimer’s in her 80’s – which isn’t too remarkable, unless you add on the fact that SO DID EVERY ONE OF HER FOUR SISTERS.  Even in this book, which is written by a PhD who really knows her stuff, they discuss the mutated gene that runs in families.   Yes, you can be tested.  And no, I have absolutely NO intention of finding out now, what may happen in the future.  If I remember right, none of the males in Grandma’s family developed the disease.  As far as I am aware, only ONE of the children of Grandma and all of her siblings have developed the disease (that would be my second cousin, Rachel).  So, do I worry about this daily?  Heavens no.  Is it a possibility for me?  Well, yes, I do believe it is.  And  hence my keen interest in this book.  I do suggest it as a heart-wrenching yet excellent read.  At one point in the story, as Alice has absorbed her new diagnosis, she says she would trade  cancer for Alzheimer’s in a heartbeat.  You can fight cancer, you actually have a chance at winning.  Your family and community would rally around you and find your fight noble.  Even if you were defeated in the end, you could look your family in the eye and say good-bye before you left….  Wow.  She is so right.   What a devastating disease.  To lose one’s mind.  Not much more I can say about this book – except that there are not many books that receive a 5-star rating with over 300 reviews on Amazon.  It’s a good one.  That’s a fact.

New paint, more food, and surgery

It’s been a busy January here in our FAR northwest home.  Since DH is laid off work during the winter, he has managed to accomplish some great painting projects!  The latest is our bedroom which, after much trepidation, we decided to paint purple. All I can say about the finished product is: I love it!!  We both are very very happy with the result.  You may recall in my previous post where I pictured DH getting the walls ready.  Well here are some more snaps of the now finished project…..

The beginning of painting the “feature” wall.

The finished darker “feature” wall and lighter side walls.

This shot shows my new purple/brown chair courtesy of Pier One, under the needlepoint picture my dear Grandma made for me in 1973.

The “dressing area” also a light purple.

We painted our tiny master bathroom an even lighter shade of this purple and are SO happy with the outcome.  I also have to put a plug in for Lowe’s Valspar paints.  They cover in one coat, have very little odor – which is totally gone the next day,  are reasonably priced, and are low in VOC’s.  One thing I haven’t finished is the curtains.  They are on hold until a great inspiration hits me as to what kind and what color!

As you may remember, I’ve been trying to make healthy food in smaller portions lately.  In some cases I’ve succeeded, in others… well I’ve again made more than we needed but at least we’ve been socking that away for future meals.  Here are three dinners that turned out particularly yummy!

Roasted Vegetable Pot Pie, on it’s way into the oven

Potpie on the plate – super yummy for a January day!

Hubby raved about this one for days – honestly! Spicy shrimp caesar salad

Then it was time to try something totally new –  QUINOA!  Anybody tried this tasty grain that is full of flavor as well as fiber?  Well it was all new to me… so here’s what I made… 

Quinoa in the pan getting read to boil

Next, the scallops.  I am not a huge seafood lover, but scallops are nice because they have such a mild flavor and don’t (or shouldn’t) taste “fishy”.

Large sea scallops, gettin’ themselves a saute`

And finally the finished meal,  Scallops with Citrus and Quinoa; Dilled Zucchini on the side.  Very tasty indeed!

And now for our final subject for this post, surgery.  After a two and a half hour visit to the orthopedic surgeon’s office yesterday, we have a date set for dear hubby’s hip replacement.  March 2nd.  Lots of stuff to do prior to the big day such as pre-op classes, blood draws, etc etc.  No doubt there will be more on this as the date approaches.  It’s SO VERY necessary, but also quite scary, and we hope you’ll keep him in your prayers.

A new year, a fresh start

Here we are, a week into the new year already!  Hopefully it’s been a “happy new year” for everyone.  So far I’d have to say it’s been a promising new year here.  I think it could be a year that may very well involve a fair bit of change for our household.  First off, dear hubby will definitely be getting a brand new hip joint, most likely in early March.  This is a good thing I do believe – but of course I’m not the one undergoing the big surgery.  Or the rehab afterwards.  Still, the doc has told DH that without it, he can expect to say “bye-bye” forever to his beloved game of golf, and in a relatively short time,  “hello” to wheel chair life.  I’ll be taking some time off work to help care for my dear spouse after the big event.

Prior to the surgery, DH has been told that losing  a bit of weight would be a good plan.  So……. we have been trying really hard to not just “lose weight” but to make some definite changes in our eating and exercising habits.  I’ll admit I’m normally a bit of a slug, a couch potato … you get the drift.  Months ago we got a Wii Fit and we are finally trying to get some use out of it.  I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest workout ever, but we are moving more, and some of the stuff is actually fun!  Hey, it can’t hurt!  I take that back.  If you have a bad hip (as we both do) just skip over the hula-hoop activity!!  It’s a killer!  What’s not so fun is the little voice coming over the TV announcing your weight and BMI and then telling us we are “obese”.  YUCK, what a horrible word!  My goal is to get out of obeseland and into overweightville.  A good first step, anyway!

Another of the  changes I mentioned earlier has to do with our intake. We eat a lot of good food.  Key words: a lot.  I don’t mean to brag, but shoot, I do love my own cooking and so does dear hubby.  Most of the stuff I make is pretty healthy, but we consume massive amounts of this good stuff… and that’s not, well, good. So, we are making a concerted effort to eat less and that means I am training myself to cook less (portion wise).  I went through all my January/February issues of Everyday Food and cataloged all the “light” recipes that looked delicious.  This is what we had for dinner last night: Beef and Orange Stir Fry.  Oh my, it was delicious and I made brown rice instead of the white that is shown in the magazine photo.  When the recipe says “Serves 4″ I am finally paying attention.  I’m cutting down most of the ingredients in half to feed the TWO of us, instead of making the full amount.  Now I know it might be smart to make the full amount and freeze the leftovers, but for now as we get used to our smaller portions, I’m simply NOT making the extra.  We need to re-learn what normal portions are, even if the food is super yummy!   Tonight I made a delightful pot of soup, some of which I shared with a neighbor who’d had some pretty extensive dental work done today.  I gave her a choice of what soup would suit her fancy and she chose Mushroom Barley.  Here’s how it came to be:  This turned out quite tasty, if I do say so myself   Hubby agreed.  We had a nice salad along with it too.  I do love to cook and plan nice meals, so you may be seeing more food showing up on my blog this year.

In early November of last year, dear hubby worked his behind off repainting our living room, dining room, kitchen and hall.  Finally we got rid of the stark ‘off-white’ that has been the mantra of this home since the day it was built, since the day we moved in.  Now it’s time to start in on the bedroom.  I used to love traditional, “Early American”, and “country” type decor… but for some reason, my tastes have changed a bit in my middle age.  I now like a bit more modern look and one thing I really can’t stand is clutter!  Not to say I don’t have my fair share of it!  I’m always struggling to try to make my rooms look “cleaner”.  So, in our quest for new bedroom color(s) we bought (not kidding here) at least 10 different samples from Lowe’s, brought them home and tried them out on the walls.  After much trepidation, we’ve come to a conclusion.  Purple.  Well, maybe more like a lavender-gray.  And the “make over” begins tomorrow!  Here’s the “before” snapshot… That’s dear hubby, prying the mirror tiles off the wall.  Not sure they are going back up.  The shelf that runs horizontally above the bed (the brackets are visible in this picture) will be repainted – black – and will go back up.  Even if it turns out horrific, I’ll be sure and post the “after” photos.  We have been so afraid of COLOR for so long… it’s a little scary to go-for-it, but the paint has been purchased, and we’re gonna do it!  Oh, the dark purple color on the right side of the bed is the color we chose for that wall… it will be the “feature wall”… all the other walls will be a lighter shade.  My darling husband says that if we decide we hate the darker color (right now we actually LIKE IT, but we’ll see…..) he will repaint it to the lighter shade we have picked out for the other walls.   More to come…. soon!!!

Ten years ago………

Ten years ago today, I was…..

• Glad it wasn’t my night to work (yes, I was doing 12-hour night shifts then) because we were all so worried about what Y2K was going to do to our computers at the stroke of midnight.

• A happy newlywed (we’d been married about 6 weeks at this point).  I’m still a happy not-so-newlywed, just for the record.

• Living in Palm Desert California and loving the novelty of a warm New Years Eve.

• Having dinner with our neighbors/friends/marriage license witnessers.  I know that’s not a word! Anyway, they witnessed/signed our marriage license.  I don’t remember what we ate, but was pretty impressed with them being total “sticks in the mud” not wanting to do a darned thing.  These folks were (much) later forced out of the USA and back to Canada due to Visa issues and we haven’t seen them or heard from them in years. These are the same people who would not go out to eat in a restaurant (unless someone else was paying – no joke!) and would not go to a movie because it might entail waiting in a line up to purchase the tickets!!  You know, I’m truly not surprised that we are no longer friendly with this couple.

• Went outside at midnight, hoping to hear all the shouting and fireworks welcoming in a new century!  We did hear it & see it and no, our friends stayed inside their home.  (told you they didn’t want to do anything!)  They missed all the hoopla!

• Remembered thinking many years before the big “turn of the century” …  wow, that is going to be one heck of a big New Years Eve party!  I better line up babysitting way in advance! And then realizing  … I wouldn’t need a sitter for my sons who would be  21 and 22 by then.

That is about all I can remember from 10 years ago today.  Wonder what I’ll be saying ten years from NOW? 

Twas the day after Christmas……..

You know, I do love Christmas.  I love all the decor, the music, the feeling you get only this time of year.  But.  You knew the “but” was coming, didn’t you?  When I know I have to work on the holiday, I get into a bit of a slump.  Mentally.  And yes, I was in “the slump” all day yesterday.  It started when my alarm went off at the very rude hour of 4:30am.  I am used to getting up at that horrific hour at least twice a week, but it just seemed particularly awful on Christmas morning.  I did my normal routine, gathered up my stuff, scraped the frost off the car windows, and headed into the darkness to work.  I’ve worked MANY a Christmas Day.  I always hate it.  I hated it all day yesterday.  I drove my typical 1.5 hours into work, looking at the homes as I passed by.  Some still darkened, some already bright with the excitement that only Christmas Day can bring.  Even the 24 hour Wal-Mart was deserted.  The freeway was nearly deserted…. as I trucked along.  Thank goodness I did have a delightful Christmas book I was listening to along the way! (check out my “books read 2009″ tab!)  I arrived at work and while some might think that it would be an “easy” day.  It wasn’t.  To offer as many people the day off as possible, the staffing was quite tight.  In other words, I had a full load of patients and they all needed the same care they would get any other day of the year.  We’d planned a Christmas potluck at work, but several of the people who had signed up to bring stuff – got the day off! (lucky dogs)  So the potluck was… well, pitiful.  Thankfully I’d brought a can of soup to heat up, you know, the kind you can put in the microwave?  After my 12-hour shift, I began my drive home, continuing to feel quite sorry for myself all the way (despite the great book I was still listening to).  We had been able to get together with the neighbors before Christmas – which was great.  We’d been able to get together with hubby’s family before Christmas – which again was great.  But I was in the midst of a pity party, wasn’t I?  I was thinking about all MY family that I didn’t get to see.  Didn’t get to see them for Thanksgiving.  Didn’t get to see them for Christmas.  So what did I do?  I drove in the driveway.  Drug my sorry butt into the house, and had a good old fashioned cry on the shoulder of my very patient husband.  People, I am not a “crier”.  But once in a while, a good cry is pretty darned cathartic.  It was for me.  And today, well I can say I did my “duty” this year and will look forward to having the time off work next year!

I really do hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Even the people like myself who had to work on the holiday.   And the pity party.  It’s over.  For a long time, I hope!

December is flying by!

I can hardly believe it is December 12 already.  This month is flying past and I am getting next to nothing done!   Last week (I think it was….) both hubby and I had nasty head colds and spent most of the time in the angle of repose on the sofa and loveseat respectively.  Thankfully it was only a cold, and NOT the Flu of any sort, seasonal or otherwise!  While we were “at rest” in front of the TV, we managed to watch two entire seasons of THE TUDORS, which we LOVED!  I could barely tear myself away from one episode after another… and will fully admit I was pretty sad to see the final episode of Season Two.  Ahhh well, Season Three will be out on DVD next week and our dear neighbors who so kindly loaned us One and Two, have said they’ll loan us Three as well!  Yay!

Next weekend we will have a houseful of guests!  David and Damian are coming from London on Friday.  The rest of John’s crew will be here Saturday night for our family Christmas celebration.  It really throws a kink into family get togethers when I have to work on Christmas Day, but we do what we have to do.  It looks as though we won’t be able to have Christmas with anyone from my side of the family this year, so our Christmas will be on Christmas Eve this year, and will probably be just the two of us.  That’s okay.

This year I have utilized the great services of Amazon.com for much (but not all) of my Christmas shopping.  Yes, I do like to shop, but certainly not several times a week, and certainly not in huge crowds… so I absolutely LOVE the convenience of shopping online.  I also love that I can pick something out and have the fine folks at Amazon do the packing and mailing!

Yesterday I finally started in on the Christmas cards — which I absolutely love to receive and normally enjoy writing as well.  I have done ZERO Christmas  baking but that will all change next week when I prepare for the visitors.

I’m also happy to announce that so far – we have had NO snow!  Last year was such a nightmare (living up here in this hilly community where they are absolutely TERRIBLE at plowing) and I hope all the snow will fall safely in the mountains and not on us this year!  Not holding my breath on that one…. in fact snow is predicted (in small quantities) for this weekend.

Does anybody love Susan Branch like I do?  I was reading through her tiny book “Christmas Joy” today and at the very end I read once again what is one of my very favorite sayings of all time.  Written inside a little heart is: “The love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay;  Love isn’t love till it’s given away“.   Let’s all share some Christmas Love with someone today!

Giving Thanks

I love this time of year… the cool, nippy weather, my warm warm home, the smell of apple pie just out of the oven, getting together with people you care about to celebrate a truly American holiday.  I do think however that all of us should probably be a bit more astute when it comes to being thankful – particularly to God – for all the goodness we’ve been given… everyday goodness that so many of us simply take for granted.  I’ve never been a homeless person (thank God) but can you imagine waking up, wanting a simple drink of water in the night, or a clean place to tinkle, and these basic necessities not being available?  For a warm bed, a roof over my head, and clean water- I give thanks.

I’ve read so much in the past years about people who suffered through terribly abusive and neglected childhoods.  My childhood wasn’t like that.  I had parents who really loved me (even though I was a ’surprise’ late in life) and showed me their love daily.  For loving, caring parents – I give thanks.  I’ve thought a lot about my mom today.  As I was rolling out the pie dough, actually making the pie from ’scratch’ – just like she used to do – she would have been proud… it turned out great!  At least it looks great.  Haven’t cut into it yet.  Mom was such an example for all of us – her entire family – of how to be a follower of Christ, to live a sincere and devoted life.  For Mom’s example, I give thanks.  Love you Mom. Not many people who come along late in their parents lives, get to have them as long as I have.  Mom went to heaven five years ago, but I’ve still got my Dad!  I know I’ve written about his 95th birthday and all last summer… I’m so very thankful that my Dad is still in my life.  For his long life, I give thanks.

I could go on and on and on about all the great things in my life – my wonderful husband and fantastic sons and daughter in law, my job, a car that runs and is reliable, a safe place to live,  a full tank of propane- just before winter starts, and a general contentment that’s with me deep inside nearly every minute of every day.  For all these things and SO MUCH MORE, I give thanks.

Wishing all of you a very happy day spent with people you love.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ten years and counting

Today is a special day.  Not only is it my dear hubby’s birthday, but it is also our ten-year wedding anniversary!  Ten years of glorious wedded bliss   I know that sounds like it could be a cliche` but for us, it’s the real thing.  Glorious wedded bliss.  I can count the arguments we’ve had on one hand — honestly.  I am one lucky woman, to be spending her “later years” with such a kind and understanding man… someone who is so thoughtful and loving and willing to give.  It’s actually a great cycle of happiness we have — he is loving and caring and thoughtful, I want to be the same to him, and he’s pleased that I am loving and caring and thoughtful, and he continues on being loving and caring and thoughtful…..  You get the picture.

Way-back-when I knew I had a “winner” when a very simple event happened.  We were on a weekend getaway and leaving the hotel to do some sightseeing.  About a mile away from the hotel I realized I’d forgotten an essential – my camera.  For a few blocks I pondered if I should even mention my oversight, fearing how he might react.  Finally I decided that I wanted the camera bad enough to face an outburst (this was unfortunately what I was used to in my ‘former life’).  I gently said… “you know sweetie, I’ve forgotten the camera back at the hotel….”  and his reply was, “Okay, no problem, we’ll just pop back there and grab it”!  I was seriously stunned. I’d made a silly oversight by forgetting the camera, and HE wasn’t ticked off!  To me, that said volumes about his personality – and it was all good.   I thank God for my wonderful husband and feel like we are as well suited as any two people can be.  I pray for many more years with this special guy, before we all head up to Heaven.

I love you sweetie – more every day!

A bit of disappointing news

This week dear hubby went to the doctor.  He’s been having nothing but trouble with his knees for months now.  We know that he’s got arthritis in both knees and actually has had one total knee replacement done.  The pain he has had lately is under his kneecaps, so we (amateur diagnosticians that we attempt to be) decided that maybe it’s tendonitis.  He’s also had pain in his right upper leg that comes and goes.  The good doctor examined hubby and proclaimed that he probably had pulled a muscle in his right leg, and that physical therapy should help both that and the under-the-kneecap pain he’s been having.  Just to be sure, the good doctor said, “lets get a baseline hip xray on both sides”.  “Okay”, replied dear hubby who just loves medical procedures of all sorts (not).   After the bilateral hip xrays, out we went to finish our tasks for the day.  While at the grocery store, DH’s phone rang and it was the nurse from the good doctor’s office, telling him NOT to schedule the physical therapy after all.  No, instead he needs to make an appointment with an Orthopedic surgeon.  “Severe hip arthritis” was the proclimation.  Bummer.

We haven’t made the appointment just yet, but will of course.  Dear hubby has personally had his fill of orthopedic procedures, but on the other hand, he sure doesn’t want to hang out in a wheelchair if he doesn’t have to!  So… it may possibly be time for a total hip replacement.  We shall see.  Maybe they can try a cortisone shot first (I know it’s just a bandaid and fixes nothing) or maybe an injection of “Synvisc” – which might put off the inevetible a year or two.   Shoot, I’m already married to the “bionic man” – might as well add some more plastic to him!   More updates on this when they become available.

On a more pleasant note, we are going across the mountains next week to visit Gramps and the family for a couple days.  Gotta get over there before the nasty winter weather closes the passes for days on end.  If I was feeling super energetic, I’d cook a big ol’ Thanksgiving dinner for everybody!  So what if it’s a little early!  I’ve invited my boys and their girls to come for Thanksgiving, since I am off work this year, but it looks like that isn’t going to happen.  Sigh.  Ahh well, what can I do but hope for better luck next year?  No worries, we will most likely get together with our wonderful neighbors (as is the tradition here in the past several years) – everyone bring a dish or two – gather around Candy’s huge table and give thanks that we live in this beautiful place, surrounded by fantastic neighbors that we honestly couldn’t have hand picked any better, had we had the chance!

We had a really wicked storm blow through here last night.  Plenty of wind and plenty of rain.  About 11:30 pm we were tucked warmly in bed, both reading away as we are known to do, and suddenly heard a very loud …  CRAAACCCCKKKKK  — thinking for sure the huge “THUD” would sound next – hoping and praying it wouldn’t land on our rooftop — but the thud never came.  This morning we went outside to try and figure out which tree it was that very definitely cracked last night.   Strangely enough, we couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary!   It’s a mystery.

If you celebrate, “Happy Halloween” to you!  If not (like us), then do-do-do enjoy that extra hour of sleep we’ll get tonight as we turn the clocks backward!