Tea and Cake and Sympathy

Been a quiet couple of days around here.  Mama back at work; kids back at school.  Chores to do but not much else.  So I sit and drink my favorite Taylor's of Harrogate Rose tea in my new-to-me "vintage" 1988 Japanese Shafford creamware teapot and my NYC Starbuck's mug, both of which I got this weekend.




And notice that my sweet couch buddy, who kept me company everyday after my surgery, is gone.

Thankfully, Mama Teacher came for a visit today and we had a wonderful, comforting chat . . . and cake!  This delicious Orange Marmalade Cake from the NYTimes (I'll grab the recipe another time.)  It was even better than the Orange Poundcake I like so much (that was definitely fine, dense poundcake; this was coarse, buttery yellow cake.)  It was great to try the cake and have such a good friend with whom to share it.  A recipe for healing, for sure.


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Orange Marmalade Cake
adapted from the NYTimes (I changed the zests)

2/3 cup coarse-cut orange marmalade, divided (though plain ol’ Smuckers Sweet Orange Marmalade is what I had and it worked)

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1/2 tablespoon for glaze

¾ cup granulated sugar 

2 ½ teaspoons orange zest

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour 

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt 

4 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

Beat together softened butter, sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Beat in 1/3 cup marmalade and the orange juice.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Fold dry ingredients into wet until just combined. 

Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until surface of cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer pan to a wire rack.

Cool 10 minutes; turn cake out of pan and place on rack right-side up. Place a rimmed baking sheet under rack to catch the glaze. 

GLAZE:

Heat remaining 1/3 cup marmalade in a small pot over low heat until melted; whisk in confectioners’ sugar and 1/2 tablespoon butter until smooth. Slather warm glaze over top of cake, allowing some to drizzle down the sides. Cool completely before slicing. 

Yarnophiles

My friend and fellow yarn lover Miss S came for a lovely lunchtime visit today . . . and brought along a wonderful gift from her yarn stash!

After she left, Mojito, Yarn Cat, conducted quality assurance.  Mojito loves yarn and has his own crocheted blanket downstairs, under which he sleeps (we've never seen how he gets perfectly tucked under it, but he does.  Mama is going to Go-Pro it!)

I got to work with the yarn right away, making a Granny Square lap blanket.

And Mojito helped.

Delicious Dinners

Our friends have been so generous with meals.  We have been gifted with more than 21 weekdays of dinners!!  That's more than four weeks that we don't have to worry about shopping and cooking, which take so much energy.  It's so very kind of my friends--friends from old and new church, the neighborhood, Girl Scouts, and my old playgroup; knowing they're thinking of and helping us means so much.

And the food has been pretty good!  Sure, it's a lot of pasta, but we really like pasta and it's easy because it reheats well and can last for a couple of days.  I've taken batches of baked spaghetti or ziti to dozens of people myself (for the last 8 or 9 years, beginning when all my friends started having second children!)  And they're bringing dinner in disposable or non-returnable dishes which makes it so easy (otherwise, I'll inadvertently never return the right casserole dish.)  It's funny how many vegetables we're NOT getting.  A bag salad once or so, and a few roasted vegetables, but otherwise, we get a lot more bread and dessert.  I usually take a bag salad (plus bread and dessert, sometimes a bag of oranges or clementines), unless I make the pasta with the broccoli in it, but I'm starting to rethink that--I'm not sure people really eat bag salad.  I wonder what else I could take?  My roasted vegetables (green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, kale, butternut squash, or brussel sprouts) just don't travel or reheat well.  Hmmm, will give it some thought.  

So a HUGE thank you to all of my local cooking friends, especially Miss B who organized the meals through the meal-sharing website our group always uses.  

For my own meal sharing tips and recipes, see here. 


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I'll add meals as they come.  This week:  meatloaf, French lentil stew, a TBD slow cooker meal, and a lemon chicken bow tie pasta dish.

Miss BA's Turkey Meatballs

It’s my chicken meatball recipe & I think I put one piece of pork sausage in yours, (took it out of the casein).

It differs every time, but here is the basic recipe.

1 lb of chicken

½ cup of parmesan cheese

½ cup of bread crumbs

2 cloves of garlic

½ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. grape seed oil (or olive  oil)

2 tsp. oregano (I usually use Emeril’s Italian  dry mix)

1 egg

And a trick my father in-law taught me to keep the meatballs round, roll them lightly in flour before putting them in the hot oil.

Miss LS's Turkey and Fixin's

"As to the gravy, I use lots of herbs on the turkey itself, so the drippings make amazing gravy. Sometimes I use apple or lemon in the cavity, but I used celery this time. Also sage, rosemary, and paprika on the turkey skin. I can take no credit for the stuffing--it's the only one we could find without chicken stock, organic, too. The veggies were cooked together with butter and basil paste from the produce section. It comes in a tube and is expensive when not on sale, but a great time saver and the kids love it, so we stock up at sale time. The trick to them is all in the size of the cut on each one. Squash has to be pretty large to avoid the mush. We like them close to raw, so I tend to err on that side. I'm sure you'll be cooking again soon!"

Miss JD's Lasagna

 "For the sauce I just roast tomatoes, garlic, onion, with some seasonings...salt, pepper, basil, oregano,  for about 45 min at 375...then I just mash all together with a potato masher...I like it chunky but you can certainly puree if you like it creamier.  

The lasagna is just ricotta and mozzarella and I added spinach ....I always wing making lasagna...never comes out the same.  Sorry I don't have a "real" recipe."

Miss RZ's Butternut Squash Soup

coming soon

Miss PD's Ricotta Dumplings

For dumplings

1 pound whole-milk ricotta, drained

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving, if desired

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 eggs

Baking powder

1½ cup flour, sifted

Kosher salt

For sauce

1 stick unsalted butter

1/2 cup pecans, roasted

1 cup diced pumpkin, roasted, or 1 cup frozen cubed butternut squash, defrosted

1 tablespoon thinly sliced sage leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a simmer over medium heat.

Combine ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, olive oil and eggs in a large bowl. Fold in a pinch of baking 

powder, flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt untnil just combined. Transfer mixture into a piping bag or large 

zip-top bag (with one corner cut off to make a quarter-sized opening). Pipe out 1 inch of dough and 

cut with a knife or kitchen shears directly over the water. Repeat until bag is empty. You also can 

roll it out by hand -- it makes for a prettier dumpling.

Cook dumplings for about 1 minute on each side. Drain and set aside.

In separate saute pan, heat butter and pecans over medium heat until butter starts to brown, about

 2 minutes. Add cooked dumplings, pumpkin (or butternut squash) and sage. Season with salt 

and pepper.

Serve with more pecans and parmesan.

Serves 4.

-- Adapted from Janine Booth and Jeff McInnis, Root & Bone, New York City 

Miss LL's Quinoa Stuffed Peppers 

In Freezer Bag:

3 large carrots, grated (about 1 ½ cups)

2 tbsp Wildtree Roasted Garlic Grapeseed Oil

1 ½ tbsp Wildtree Cajun Seasoning Blend

1 tbs Wildtree Garlic Galore

1 package fresh spinach (or frozen), 10 oz

2 cans black beans, 15 oz, drained and rinsed

¾ cup quinoa, rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 oz, drained

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 cups water

At cooking time:

4 large (or 6 small) bell peppers, any color, halved lengthwise, ribs and seeds removed

1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients in a gallon size freezer bag, “smush” to allow seasonings to distribute.  Place bag in freezer.

To prepare: Thaw in fridge.  Pour bag contents in large skillet, cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 – 25 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Preheat oven to 350. Stir in 1 cup cheese, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Fill each pepper with quinoa mixture, and place in a baking dish with ¼ cup water in the bottom of the dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, sprinkle each pepper with remaining cheese. Bake an additional 10 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes. 

Miss R's Meatloaf
She uses the pre-made meatloaf from the Big Y butchers!!!  And bakes it with sweet barbecue sauce.  Yum!

Miss Jen's Turkey Meatball Orzo Soup

• ground turkey
• egg
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small white onion, peeled and diced
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) orzo
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 4 cups loosely-packed spinach
• salt and black pepper

Combine ground turkey and egg.  Make into little meatballs by hand.

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 4 minutes, until soft. Add carrots, celery and garlic and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add meatballs, chicken stock, orzo (pasta), thyme, oregano, rosemary and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente.

Stir in the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Season with salt and black pepper to taste (if needed). Serve warm.

adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Miss LC's Creamy Lemon Chicken Bow Tie Pasta

• 12 oz dried pasta
• 2 chicken breasts, sliced into small strips (uncooked or precooked)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried Basil
• 1 lemon, juiced (or if you use bottled lemon juice, use whatever is equivalent to 1 lemon.  I originally recommended 1/2 cup, but different lemon juices may be more concentrated...)
• 1 cup of half n half or heavy cream
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus a bit more to top the dish after cooking
• Salt and pepper
• additional adobo and sazon, for flavor
• 1 cup of reserved pasta cooking liquid
• 1 tsp of cornstarch (if needed)

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water.  When draining the pasta, reserve about a cup of the pasta cooking liquid.  Keep pasta warm. (To keep the pasta from sticking together after cooking, you can mix in about 1 tsp of olive oil.)
2. While the pasta is cooking, season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium high and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, chicken, garlic to a saute pan with. Cook until chicken is golden and completely cooked. (If using precooked chicken, saute the garlic about 3 minutes before adding the chicken, then cook a minute or to longer until the chicken is thoroughly coated and hot.)
3. Add about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking liquid, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese and cream to the chicken mixture.  Cook over medium heat until the sauce has thickened.  If you want a little more cream sauce, add the rest of the reserved pasta cooking liquid.  (If you want your cream sauce thicker, add a tsp of corn starch to 2 tablespoons of water and mix into the sauce.  Continue cooking until desired thickness is achieved.)
4. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and turn heat off.  Mix everything together until pasta is thoroughly coated.  Top with dried basil, cracked fresh pepper and additional Parmesan cheese.

Serve and Enjoy!

adapted from Scattered Thoughts from a Crafty Mom

Miss KMc's Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

I'm so glad they liked it! It is a huge hit in my house too
Ingredients: a lb of chicken,3/4 lb of pasta, 1 tablespoon of oil, 2 tbsp of butter, garlic to taste (I don't use too much as my kids will get suspicious if they smell it), 1 chicken bouillon cube, chopped onions (again I only use a little- not even a quarter of onion),1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, 3/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, scallions and 2 bunches of broccoli crowns.
Heat the oil and butter with the garlic. Add the cut up chicken and cook on medium until browned.
Remove the chicken but leave the oil.
Add the onion and cook for about 3-5 minutes.
Add the crumbled up bouillon cube and water.
Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
Stir in the cream, milk, finely chopped scallions and Parmesan. Simmer until heated through and thickened then add the chicken back to the sauce.
Cook the pasta- I add the broccoli in the last 5 minutes. Then drain and mix all together!
Enjoy!!

Month of Gratitude: A "New" Friend

Today I am very grateful for my friendship with Karen, of Sew and Sow Life.  We have only known each other online, though through a mutual friend, but have been reading each other's blog and FB updates for years now.

And today we met in person, for lunch--you can guess where!  Yes, Bloodroot was the perfect place.

I'm still smiling with the warmth and connection of the almost-three hour lunch (yes, we both can talk!  I think I did more than my fair share.)  I really really enjoyed meeting her in person and look forward to more connections in person and, in between, online.

And so, Karen, thank you so much for being the wonderful you I've come to know.  Thank you also for the lovely sachet, a delightful, homemade piece of your "little bit of earth."  The picture below doesn't do it justice, but I thought you'd like it better than something staged.

Until we meet again . . . hopefully sooner rather than later.

Albus loves the woodsy scent (and the string! No worries, I got it away in time.)  

Experiment Conclusions

I've been on FB for one year, having started when Mama had her surgery last August so that I could be in touch more easily and quickly with more friends and family.  It's been an intriguing year.

Here are some things I've learned:

• FB is a lot like sitting at the popular kids' table in junior high.  If you aren't on FB, you are missing out on social information that circulates there--who's sick, who broke an arm, who is on vacation, who is selling a piano--information that you otherwise might not get.  Or you'd get it too late.  Because everyone assumes you saw it on FB.  You also are kept abreast of current cultural memes and jokes--"Hey Girl," Grumpy Cat, those e-cards, anything by George Takkei. I have found I like to be in the loop.
• People post a lot of personal information.  I have, too. I realize, though, that there is no expectation of privacy and anything I post becomes public knowledge. Though, I kid myself that using the kiddos' initials and never tagging them in photos will protect them down the line.
• In many ways, people show their compassion and humanity--supporting cancer survivors, helping to look for lost puppies, sharing Autism updates--but I wonder if that's all we do?  If we are lulled into a false sense of having done something through posting or liking on FB, we really haven't contributed much--and yes, I very much indict myself there.  FB doesn't let us off the civic responsibility or social justice hook.   Does it really matter if you "like" those things, especially when I have read how often those aren't real cancer survivors or "beautiful kids" just ad companies trolling for likes so they can sell them to other companies?  Didn't you wonder why the source of the child with Down Syndrome was "Watch My Weight" or "Ads for Less?"  But my FB newsfeed is a beautiful, calm, loving place full of supportive people who care about the issues I care about--but how are we creating that IRL? (That's "in real life.")   I worry about the disconnect.
• While there are a lot of political posts, there is almost no real dialogue or conversation on issues. Except of course with the people who pretty much agree with you.  Or really don't, at which point they drive you batty (and vice versa, I'm sure.) What can you expect from a "like" or sound-bite format?  It is reassuring, though, to engage with and see the pet issues of my liberal friends online and shocking to find out which of my friends are not (there are even some Bush lovers in the mix!  GASP.  There are things I've learned on FB that I didn't want to know.)
• I wanted more give and take.  I'm often without adult company for long stretches of time, especially not that Mama works late several days a week.  I'm not a phone talker much of the time and few of my friends are emailers.  I don't text, finding it worse than FB for meaningful exchanges--it's like a digital answering machine that demands constant attention.  Anyway, I do like to exchange ideas based on current events and essays I'd read.  So I started posting my links to FB, like I sometimes do here (which is funny, in a sad way, because my best correspondents are here on this blog and not on FB!!)--like op-eds on Trayvon Martin or Russian anti-LGBT policies and the Olympics including Stephen Fry's call for a boycott or something on Roman forts uncovered in Wales because of drought or discrimination against people with mental illness by medical doctors--and no one engages.  Sometimes they don't even "like" it, or they post an agreement; rarely has it gone beyond that.  Granted, I don't always post it with my own take, probably should, right from the get-go.  I think I was looking for intellectual engagement; that was naive.   But it compounded my isolation because I'd put these things out there and not hear back--I even posted that I was unplugging FB for awhile and no one commented.  The opposite of sitting at the popular table, more like being a wallflower at the dance. 
• I spent an incredible amount of time on FB, looking for said interaction, liking things and posting on people's status updates, even looking for neat things to include on my own status update.  The interaction--the approval!--was there, sometimes, and really who doesn't like a lot of comments?  But the time-reward ratio was skewed.  And I realized that's a little desperate and lonely, even for FB.

My conclusions:

• I'm going to stay on FB.  I like to be in the loop locally and culturally and this is the dominant and socially-acceptable way to do it in real time.  
• I no longer like cancer survivors or beautiful children unless the source of the page is clearly "real" and not an ad company. 
• I'll probably do even fewer posts with pictures of the kids.
• I've taken FB off my phone so I can't aimlessly check updates and post things.  I can check my account 2-3 times a day when I'm on a "real" computer.  That's more than enough to satisfy the above.
• I will look for other paths to intellectual engagement and personal interactions and not the superficial quick-fix of FB.  I will try yet other ways to connect with people to discuss issues and events regularly.  Maybe even in person!  People still do that, right?  (Of course, the irony of posting this on a blog doesn't escape me.  Especially because my blog readers are the ones who email or call me up for coffee!!  Maybe the answer is staring me in the face.)

Two Lovely Lunches

I went to a lovely luncheon for hospice volunteers yesterday as part of National Volunteer Week.  There was a lot of yummy homemade food--Florentine Lasagna Roll-Ups, white bean and squash soup, Ramen slaw, garden salad, fruit and yogurt parfait, cookies, and brownies, plus tasty punch.  There was poetry and praise for volunteers, plus goody bags of flower pots, seeds, gardening gloves, and chocolate.  I felt very appreciated.

Today I visited my church friend at the senior home and had lunch with her.  I stayed more for the friendship than the food, a pretty standard food service soup,pizza, salad, and poundcake with strawberries.  We had a good visit--about how she's adjusting (okay enough), how "nothing stays in her brain" and she forgets names a lot (and uses the word "thing" more than she used to), who has visited, and what she's done this week.  I told her about all the kiddos' activities, from piano recitals to gymnastics exhibition, and our upcoming weekend trips in the coming months.   I'll go back in a week or two.

Maybe even for lunch.
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JC's Florentine Lasagna Rollups

12 fluted lasagna noodles

2 Tablespoons butter

¾ c. chopped onions

2 pkgs. (10 oz. each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 ½ c. (6 oz.) shredded mozzarella. cheese

½ c. dairy sour cream

1 egg, slightly beaten

¼ c. butter

¼ c. flour

1 ½ teaspoon instant bouillon (chicken or vegetable*) *which is what I used with you in mindJ

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 c. light cream

1 c. milk

Parmesan cheese

Cook lasagna.  Cool in large bowl of cold water; set aside. 

Sauté onions in 2 tablespoons butter until tender, about 5 minutes.

Combine spinach, onions, mozzarella. cheese, sour cream and egg, set aside.

Melt ¼ cup butter in sauce pan.

Stir in flour, instant bouillon and pepper, stir in milk and cream

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir 1 minute (it will thicken)

Remove noodles from water.  Pat dry with paper towels.

Spread ¼ cup spinach mixture over each noodle, and then roll up.

Spread a small amount of sauce on bottom of dish.

Spoon remaining sauce over rollups.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake 30=35 minutes 350 degrees.

I usually cover with foil to keep sauce from getting too dry.

Have a wonderful weekend.

First Grieving

My friend forgot we were having lunch today.  She also forgot she had a doctor's appointment.  And she had forgotten what time the appointment was.  She didn't know if it overlapped with lunch.

But most difficultly, she had forgotten how to check what time the appointment was and didn't know what to do.  

Confused and disappointed silence.

And I didn't know how to help.  

So we canceled.

And I know she will forget me someday, perhaps someday this year.  Because when she picked up the phone, there was a longer that usual silence after I said my name.

Today just made the eventual loss more real.  And I'm sad.

But I'll make another lunch date for next week and call to check repeatedly like I did this time and hope for the best.  And just keep trying . . . because I won't forget her even if she forgets me.

Tough Transitions

Imagine you are 90-something years old and have lived in the same home for the last 31 years.  Now, picture that you have been moved, at the insistence of your worried children, to a little space in an assisted living facility.  You don't have most of your pictures or knick knacks, none of your books; your closet is mostly empty except for several robes, which you would never wear in public.  You are required to wear a medic alert beeper and a wristlet with your key and room number.  And there are old people in wheelchairs or with walkers--"white heads"--everywhere.

I went to see my friend Miss S, from my first church, this morning at her new home.  Not that I think she'll ever call it that, even if a staff member insisted the whole place was her home when we were wandering around.  It's actually a very nice place, as they go:  clean, well-lit, decorated, lots of smiling staff.  As a hospice volunteer, I've seen worse.  But it's still a senior home.  The place is impersonal and antiseptic; the workers, while nice, are still paid to be there.  There were lots of half-asleep people lining the sitting rooms; others who passed her smiled and said hi over and over.  I was the only visitor; visitors must be a rare occurrence because they thought I was a service provider not a friend of a resident.

It was all so bittersweet.  It's good to know, as her memory wanes, that she is closer to help, but it is so sad to see her so uprooted, so distraught even.  She misses her stuff; she misses her home.  She misses her car; she misses her independence.  She knows she won't leave this place or a place like it, that she'll be there the rest of her life and will die in a place like that.  She is still totally cognizant of all of this, even as she forgets particulars of our conversation, details we've just discussed.  And though I don't think she's ever felt old before, I think it's dawning on her now.

Of course, this is not to imply that my friend shouldn't be there.  She's had some health challenges and isn't driving anymore.  She hadn't been cooking much and only drinking Ensure.  And now she's beginning to be more than just forgetful.  Her short-term memory has gaps; she's having trouble accessing memories and information stored in her long-term memory, too.  But then she could comment upon the NYTimes article this morning on Afghani women's suicides and the tense political situation between North and South Korea. Though I had to tell her twice in the same conversation that I was coming today; she repeats stories minutes apart.  She couldn't remember how to make the apricot brandy she's made every holiday as long as I've known her (she's saved me the last bottle but it's with her stuff and she's frustrated no one has brought it); she wasn't sure what country her beloved granddaughter-in-law was from.  And that's just what I've noticed in the last week; mind you, this has come on quickly--just a few months ago, it wasn't as obvious.  Her family was right to be concerned and to act, I think.  Even if she said it all made her numb.

I know there are those who bemoan such senior and nursing facilities, believing it's proof that Americans don't love their aging parents.  That's a reactionary response to the fact that Americans live longer with illnesses and disabilities than ever before and their children, often in two-working adult families and often not nearby, can't bring them home and care for them as they might have before.  Take me for example:  even if my parents lived in my very town and not 1800 miles away, and even though I'm a stay-at-home mom and not working, I could not physically care for my parents if they were to become sick or immobilized (no, I'm not planning on putting y'all in the home.)  Nursing homes and such try to address this; they are, in many ways (many, many), imperfect answers to the challenges, especially the less-expensive, lower end places.  And of course, they are usually for-profit institutions, cutting corners whenever possible (I recently read about the place that requires residents to have feeding tubes--that's quicker than spoon feeding!  Clearly, there needs to be more oversight . . . and compassion).  But they are the answer we have now.  And it's not the choice you have to make for your family.  I'm pretty sure I won't want to make it for mine; I think it was probably hard for my parents to put some of my grandparents in nursing homes.  And I imagine my friend's family is both relieved and conflicted and even grieving as well now that they've placed her in the facility.  No one is happy.

So I hope to visit frequently. I mean, I do it with hospice for strangers; I look forward to visiting my friend (and make no mistake, she's neither ill nor in hospice.)  I've even promised her that we'd take her out to lunch sometime soon and bring the kids for a visit (she's known them all their lives, looks on them very fondly)--she was so excited.  I know she's scared about being stuck there, being forgotten in her dependence and isolation.  As much as I can, I hope to help her feel loved, needed, and connected.

Even in that place.

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Not Her Recipe for Apricot Brandy (but I bet it's close)

1 1/2 lbs dried apricots
1 quart vodka
1 lb sugar

Place ingredients (DO NOT MIX) in a 1/2 gallon flat topped glass jar.

Turn jar twice a day for 8 days (allowing jar to sit on its top for half a day).

Batch is ready.

You may use the same apricots, more sugar, and vodka added to make another batch, but let second batch sit for 12 to 14 days.