Something Windy This Way Came

What a wind we have had tonight, gusting up to 60+mph at times!  Trees danced . . . and dropped.  Even Gommie, who has survived near hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, was impressed with the way the trees shook and dropped branches.  We saw one lane closed to a tree on our return trip from PT and then were re-routed because a tree fell at the top of our street.  But no trees down on us or our power lines.  Knock on  wood.  Be nice if a tree had hit the garage, since insurance is giving us just enough, maybe, to rebuild the walls.  Could've been worse . . . .Hope all my fellow Nutmeggers are safe and sound tonight.

Sending Love (and Flowers)

My beloved aunt is back in the hospital, after spending most of last summer and fall there.  We don't have too many details, though I can piece together that she was in the ICU but is not anymore.  We're sending love, prayers, and and those flowers down to Texas.

Oh, Wait, It Got Better

For Mama's surgeons...

Tex-Mex Chocolate Sheet Cake

One of Mama's doctors, besides being "family," was also from Texas and not far from where I grew up!  We spent one whole hospital visit reminiscing about food we missed, including this cake.  And so I promised to make her some when Mama went in for her follow-up.

1 stick margarine or butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2-1oz. squares unsweetened chocolate or 6 tablespoons cocoa

1 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (to sour regular milk, place 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar in 1/2 cups measure, fill with milk)

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine margarine, oil, chocolate and water in a saucepan and heat until chocolate is melted. Combine flour, baking soda, sugar, milk, eggs, cinnamon and vanilla in a large bowl, then blend with first mixture. Pour batter into a greased 12 x 18 sheet cake pan and bake 20-25 minutes or until cake is done (top springs back when touched lightly). Leave cake in pan and frost with icing while cake is still warm.

Icing

1 stick margarine or butter

2-1 oz. squares unsweetened chocolate (or 6 tablespoons cocoa plus 2 tablespoons

of margarine or butter)

6 tablespoons milk

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup chopped pecans

Combine margarine, chocolate, and milk in a saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbles form around the edge. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar, a little at a time (this is important). Stir in vanilla and pecans. Beat to a spreading consistency. Spread warm icing on warm cake.

Gommie Hungry

Doesn't Get Better Than This

Mine is the missing one!

Golden Sourdough Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup cold butter
• 1 cup Sourdough Starter
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (I substituted dry buttermilk powder and water, adding the powder to the flour and the water to the starter.  You can also use regular milk.)

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine Sourdough Starter and buttermilk; stir into crumb mixture with a fork until dough forms a ball.
• Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 10-12 times. Roll to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place 2 in. apart on a greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 425° for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Yield: 1 dozen.
• Taste of Home

I'm Still Here

Haven't blogged much this week.  Every time I lie down at the computer (yep, I blog from bed), I take a nap!  It's the new meds to handle my back pain.  Wonderful things, but rather sleep-inducing.  Still, I've had friends over, run some errands, gotten halfway through Final Gifts (about hospice and "Nearing Death Awareness") and watched the new "Glee" (good enough, considering the hurdles of a split show).  This weekend is quiet, or at least that's the plan, and it's a three-day, for Rosh Hashanah.  I imagine we'll have movies/tv, DS, board games, and baking, plus more hospice training for me and kung fu for Bud, as well as swimming and ice cream with Gommie and Pop (who we think will be heading home within a week).  And maybe rain and 49F!  In other words, a great weekend.

In Memoriam

My own photograph, taken (I believe) from the Staten Island Ferry, possibly fall 1995.

Our Bi-Annual Tradition

Our birthday and New Year's tradition . . . (Note:  While Mama and I answered these in July, I just got the kids' answers today--Pokemon is a recent phenomenon and wouldn't have made the list on their birthdays!  Two months ago, favorites were Ninjago, Legos, "Phineas and Ferb", Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc, much like at Christmas.  Funny how similar the lists are, though, right?  Twin thing?)

Sis

Book: Runny Babbit

TV show:  "Pokemon"

Movie:  Pokemon:  Mew Two Strikes Back

Song:  Pokemon theme and Poke rap

Color:  pink

Number:  7

Food:  chocolate

Flavor:  chocolate

Animal: bunny

Day of the Week:  Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Ice Cream:  chocolate

Candy:  Tootsie Rolls

Restaurant:  Chinese food

Toy/Thing:   Pokemon figures

Thing to do:  play Pokemon and DS

Place to go:  swimming or the aquarium

Saying/Words:  "murph"

Happy thoughts every night:  bunnies, Pokemon, Pikachu

What she wants to be when she grows up:  vet

Bud

Book:  Hero Factory

TV show:  "Pokemon"

Movie:  Pokemon:  Mew Two Strikes Back

Song:  Pokemon theme and Poke rap

CD: 

Musician: 

Color:  blue

Number:   7

Food:   spaghetti

Flavor:  strawberry

Animal:  penguin

Day of the Week:  Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Ice Cream:  strawberry

Candy:  Skittles

Restaurant:  sushi

Toy/Thing:   Pokemon figures

Thing to do:  iPad apps

Place to go:   Antarctica

What he wants to be when he grows up:  an artist

Mama:

Book: Winnie the Pooh and The Emperor of All Maladies 

TV show: 2012 London Olympics

Movie:  Brave

Song:  "Ordinary Miracle"

Musician: Indigo Girls

Color:  forest green

Number:  13

Food:  Vietnamese banh mi

Flavor: sea salt 

Animal: panda-cat-manatee-koala-dragons

Day of the Week:  Saturday

Ice Cream:  Grapenut

Candy: gummi bears

Restaurant:  Wood's Seafood, Plymouth, MA or anywhere I can crack lobsters with Bud

Toy/Thing:  iPad

Thing to do:  Play DS with the kids or pet the cats
Place to go:  Almost anywhere overnight

Saying/Words:  What's your goal?

Happy thoughts every night: N/A

What she wants to be when she grows up: joyful

Me:

Book:  anything by Sylvia Boorstein; 97 Orchard by Jane Ziegelman; 

TV show:  "Glee," "Smash," "Taste of History," 

Movie:  Brave

Song:  "Born this Way"

CD:  Brave soundtrack; songs from "Glee"

Color:  purple; rainbow

Number:  12

Food:  smoothies

Flavor:  chocolate

Animal:  sea otters

Day of the Week:  Saturday

Ice Cream:  strawberry soda ice cream

Candy:  dark chocolate

Restaurant:  Jamaican, Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, Indian

Toy/Thing:  juggling balls

Thing to do:  be with family, bake, blog, 

Place to go:  bookstore, together; weekend outings anywhere with family

Saying/Words:  "Keep calm and carry on"

Happy thoughts every night: my family

What I want to be when she grows up: I don't know, which is why I ask little kids--for ideas (cribbed from Paula Poundstone!)

A New Endeavor

I started a new endeavor today:  hospice volunteer.

Eventually, I'll be visiting patients enrolled in hospice (meaning physicians have determined they might have less than 6 months left to live), keeping them company or helping with small tasks like looking through photos or writing letters.

A friend suggested that I might enjoy and be good at it.  And so I looked into it and went to my first training this morning.  Today was mostly HIPAA (which reminds me not to betray any PHI, or personal health information!) and OSHA awareness training, but I liked the people and the environment.  And I'm really looking forward to learning more so I can help out.

You might recall, I've explored issues of death and dying here (and here and here) several times, as well as my pastoral care training, non-violent communication workshops, prayer shawl ministry work, meditation (and here and here) and mindfulness (esp. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction--and here-- and other practices for health), course on prayer (and here), and my recent interest in reading about death, religion (and here and here) and spirituality (and here and here), and the like (and one time that I didn't post on, a sermon on sacred dying and ancient Greek concepts).  I think it's all coming together with hospice.  And they even want crocheted lapghans for the patients!

Something Else

What can I say?  Today, Mama's mom accidentally drove her car (not a Totoya) through our garage, with Mama and Sis as passengers.  Everyone is okay.  Mama and Ma think the car malfunctioned because it lurched forward in drive, wouldn't be stopped easily, they struggled to get it in reverse, and then couldn't stop it without the hand brake and pulling the key from the ignition.  Mama even removed Sis from the car before it stopped because she feared it rolling into the street.  Crazy strange and scary.  Everyone is okay.  Scared and stressed, but physically okay.  The stuff in the garage, not so much.  Because the car went through the garage door and the back wall.  The kids were very upset to see their damaged bikes and toys.  Of course, we've talked about how it's just stuff and we're so happy and lucky everyone is okay.  But with firefighters coming to check for danger--what, with gasoline and power lines around--and a building inspector checking that the load-bearing walls were still okay and all the calls to insurance companies, it was chaotic and stressful.  But the day is over and we are all okay.  And that's what matters.

Life with a Screen

When I was laid up in the last two years, I always posted about what I was doing for "life in a bed."  Well, now it's Mama's turn.  And when she's not eating interesting take-out (so far, hibachi, Jamaican, Italian deli, and Shake Shack) or playing games (mainly on her iPad, which I don't even know the names of), she's watching tv and movies (and was limited in her choices by the hospital's tv, mainly choosing TLC or Discovery, hence "American Guns!"), often with me at night.  In the last few weeks, we've seen (streaming Netflix or Amazon Prime or DVR'd off basic cable; **asterisks indicate recommendations):

• **"Doctor Who" with Christopher Eccleston--We are completely unfamiliar with any of this series but kept coming across it; we're enjoying it.
• **Between the Folds--a fascinating documentary on origami, starting with traditional artistic forms and moving into more technical/engineered forms, "choreographed" or kinesthetic/motion-oriented forms, abstract single-fold forms, "anarchist" crumbled not folded forms, and engineering/scientific applications and forms like with air bags and collapsible telescope lenses in space. 
• Sherlock Holmes and the Game of Shadows--I think we liked this one better than the first.  Totally different from the BBC series with Benedict Cumberbatch.
• Word Wars documentary on Scrabble--kinda bittersweet documentary of four men who live lives rather restricted by their Scrabble obsessions.
• Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox--like the soap, totally turned off by documentary and not because of the wacky religious views of Dr. Bronner but because of the righteousness of the proselytizing son and the lack of distance/objectivity of the narrative--it's like a bad public access infomercial.
• **"Taste of History"--working our way through 3 seasons of colonial cooking by Chef Walter Staib.
• "Auction Kings"--aka WT-version of "Antique Roadshow"
• "Dirty Jobs Down Under" (Australia)--ugh, snakes and poisonous frogs.  And some ugly condescension to Aborigines.
• "Stephen Fry in America"--not as good as it could have been, at least not the New England episode
• "Moonshiners"--reality tv on moonshiners and cops in rural VA.  Wow, not much has changed.
• "Damages"--she's watching this on her own.  Just to look at Glenn Close.
• "One Car Too Far"--she's watching this alone, too
• "Bering Sea Gold:  Under the Ice" and "Bering Sea Gold"--ditto.
• "Fast n Loud"--don't even know what this was . . . 
• "American Guns"--something about refurbishing old guns--and she likes how they got dents out of old wood.
• "Survivor Man"--mmh, hmm.
• "Encounters at the End of the World" by Werner Herzog--actually just quit watching it, weren't that engaged or interested.
• **Thor--Okay, we liked it.  The Norse mythological influences, the fantastic special effects, Queen Amidala.  I'd watch the sequel.
• "Pokemon"--so she could talk to the kids.  And because she loves it.
• "Ninjago"--another one to keep up with the kids.
• **Black Swan--Queen Amidala again.  Frightening, amazing, enthralling, gross, artistic.
• Captain America--I liked the period feel, the story, and seeing LOTR's "Elrond" as evil Hydra Nazi Red Skull.  Didn't like the ending moving it to the present.
• Transformers 3--Yeah, we're not watching everything in order, just what we can get online easily.  Mama had to fill me in on the backstory, which she knew from childhood.  I liked it, especially that they blew up Chicago instead of NYC!  I was even sad when the old Scottish? transformer died.  They became kinda humanoid.
• **"Poirot"--the modern PBS series--we like it.
• **Several 1970s-1980s Agatha Christie movies, including Evil Under the Sun--love Maggie Smith!!
• Iron Man 2--just like with Transformers, we hadn't seen the first one of this.  We're actually watching it now.  Funny to see Sherlock Holmes as a Super Hero.  And Gwyneth Paltrow as an art historian/curator, I think (well, she was talking art in that last scene--but the Boy Scouts?  Ugh, Iron Man), is so cliche.  Can't tell you why we like the Marvel Comics/action movies now.  Power?  Violence?  Clarity?  We wish we could get the new Batman or Avengers.    Oops, we just got bored and changed films . . . I wonder what's next.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Update:  Next was "Ice Road Truckers:  World's Most Dangerous Roads" in the Himalayas, with a female truck driver!  And then the BBC's crime-solving duo, "Rosemary & Thyme."  And tonight X-Men: First Class!

Fall is Coming

Proof, from our dogwood:

The First Thanksgivings

A special dish of origami stars filled with happy thoughts

Today, I'm starting to give thanks to so many who have helped and supported us these last few weeks (real cards eventually!):

• to Miss JL, for cookies
• to Miss KK for chocolate chip bread
• to Miss KJ, for lemon bars and cookies and a ride to PT
• to Miss JD, for banana bread
• to Miss SA, for beautiful flowers
• to Miss BB, for the lovely handmade otter bracelet for good luck
• to Mama Teacher, for blueberry snack cakes, a lovely dish of happy-thought stars, and a compassionate ear
• to Mommy Goose for prayers and emails and distracting stories
• to Miss MQ, for beautiful flowers and stuffed-animal cat (and thanks for not sending a bunny without a penguin!!!)
• to Miss AS, for prayers and constant offerings of help
• to Rev. M, for hospital visit and checking in
• to Lambeth, for his international calls that bring such delight
• to both of my therapists, of mind and body, who keep me in good shape
• to Mama's office for the beautiful flowers and 20 bags of groceries!
• to everyone who has emailed, called, prayed, and sent cards, too numerous to list

More thanks to family coming soon . . . 

Blue and silver beads reminiscent of the sea with an otter charm (just like Hermione, the otter is my patronus!)

Welcome!

Very excited for my cousin R (and her mom, cousin S) and her husband, who welcomed first-born babe, cousin S!  :)  

Happy at Home

We had a good day.  No new symptoms.  No ER trips.  Two successful doctors' visits--me to a new local physiatrist, Mama to her GP for a rash check--and meds to help us out and an encouraging check0in with my therapist.  Plus, Sis started her new gymnastics class and loved it and Bud started with a new piano teacher (he's cautiously optimistic).  And Gommie and Pop helped with it all.  Our gratitude is unlimited.

She's Home

Mama came home around midnight, but Blogger was uncooperative and kept failing on me.   The doctors think she had a reaction to ibuprofen not an infection, so they sent her home with more meds!  She's very splotchy, but we're glad she's home.

Waiting Up

Mama Hungry has a spreading rash and the docs called her into the ER because they're worried it's an infection of some kind.  Looks like she might be admitted for IV antibiotics or steroids.  Poor Mama.  Pop is with her because my back wasn't strong enough to go (but going to PT tonight helped).  Gommie is with me and the kids.  They're all asleep and I'm watching "Sex and the City" instead of the convention--I needed a good distraction.

Right Now

Spotted the first changing leaves....beautiful red outside the window.

Pokéfever

Pikachu

First Star Wars, then Harry Potter, also Ninjago and Phineas and Ferb.  

Now the kids are enthralled by Pokémon (similar to the others in being a merchandising powerhouse!).  They come by it honestly enough--Goo was obsessed as a kiddo when I first met him 18 years ago, playing the card game especially (we even took him to GenCon in Milwaukee one year where he placed second in a tournament) and Mama shared him in his interest, preferring the tv show to the card game.  

Ok, if you are new to  Pokémon , they are "pocket monsters" who populate a fictional world where young  Pokémon  trainers catch (in red and white Poké balls), train, and then battle (but not to the death) in order to gain badges and rank.  The  Pokémon  evolve, gaining in strength, powers, and often size.  They are often plays on real animals, plants, or minerals, with quirky names--Snorlax is a lazy, sleeping cat and Oddish is a weird-looking radish--and they can only "talk" using variations on their own names (so Pikachu can say "pi," "pika," "chu," "pika-pi," and sometimes "cha.").  There are collectible cards with various  Pokémon  on them and a complex card game based on building a deck and battling.  There is also a tv show that follows Pokemon trainer Ash, his main  Pokémon  Pikachu ("pika" is a kind of mouse and this one is electrical!), and his friends, plus their nemesis, Team Rocket.  The whole thing comes from Japan, where it remains extremely popular; I think its popularity has waned here somewhat.  

And now Goo and Mama are passing their interest along to the kids with the show, cards, and toys.  And the kids love it!  They sing the songs, collect the cards, watch the show, play the DS game, and are really enjoying drawing the different Pokémon.  They've both made books of their favorites, complete with references to the evolved forms.  Of course, there are now hundreds more than when Mama and Goo were interested (I was always amused but not as enthusiastic), so we're all learning.  It's been a great distraction, especially since Mama introduced them to it when she got back from surgery and then the kids' became more involved (and distracted) when she was back in the hospital.

It's Raining Again

My back has gone out again.  Like the last two times.  I was sitting at the breakfast table this morning, filling out the calendar for September.  Pop.  I ignored it, thinking it was just my body adjusting, but when I went to get up. . . I pretty much couldn't.  Somehow made it upstairs, where I am in bed . . . again.  With my previous experiences, I think I know what to do and how to cope with the pain.  And I can tell it could be worse.  It only hurts when I move.  :|

I'm sad, though, knowing the burden this places on those around me, especially my folks and the kids.  I feel guilty because I know I have been pushing it the last two weeks and could've taken better care of myself, but I thought it was going well.    I'm grateful at the same time, for the help everyone will give.  And worried about the stress this places on Mama while she heals.

But, part of my meditation practice, the weather practice, from Toni Bernhard's How to Be Sick, suggests recognizing that pain ebbs and flows and can't be predicted.  And so I'll continue my mindfulness and meditation today.  It's more important than ever.

Fuck.

Today

Gommie and Pop are hiking the Appalachian Trail today!

Ma, Gong, and Goo are coming for a visit.

Happy September 1!