TGIF

This charming young man should visit after every therapy session! 

My current reading - see a theme? Greenhouses and Chicken Coops. 

Michael bought this and put it together for me today. His thought is it will be good to start seedlings and I can move it outside when the weather is warmer....the only windows with southern exposure are in the living room. I know we can't plant anything in the ground until the end of May/start of June. 

But I started these inside....and I'll let them grow inside year round...

Mint, Rosemary and Basil at this point...

All the extra snow made the kids want to get outside and rebuild their sledding run. 

The snow is too powdery to slide easily, but they packed it all down, built ramps and snow berms around danger spots...and when it melts and freezes again - it will be fast. LOL 

Stacia had icicles on her jeans and the boys had frozen beards when they came inside. The day called for hot chocolate. Stacia dolled the mugs up with whipped cream and sprinkles. Ah well, it's FRIDAY - you gotta splurge sometime.

Two Snowy Days

I turned 54 yesterday - and it wasn't a great day for me. This had nothing to do with aging a year. I'm quite happy to gain another year! It had nothing to do with gifts or plans or anything of the sort -  I just wasn't in the mood to celebrate. I didn't expect to be in a funk, but I was.

We began the day early with therapy. It began snowing. I love the snow. The snow is a great thing about yesterday.  We came home to Cory clearing the  driveway. He's a blessing.

Michael had a meeting and left after dropping me off. I went to "bed" and I gave in to the ugly cry. Sometime between getting up in the morning and seeing so many messages on facebook, and coming home from therapy, I realized in a deep, gut-wrenching way that I would not be hearing from Mom on my birthday. I'd not had a good ugly cry since Mom died, and it was time. I socialized as little as possible and the tears fell.

It was time for dinner and church and I was in no shape to go. I stayed home, and that gift of solitude is what I needed. I needed to be alone, to cry, to mourn, and to move on.  Stacia had made a lovely chocolate peanut butter bar which we ate, and then we watched an episode of Father Brown when they returned.

We woke to cool weather (2*) and snow. It's been snowing all day. I didn't realize it snowed when it was this cold - but it's beautiful. Have I mentioned I love snow? ⛄

Today was busy confirming speaker and getting ourselves out the door to homestead club. Our speaker spoke on livestock. I'm overwhelmed. Do I build a greenhouse first or a chicken coop? Do I order chicks NOW, before I have a coop? Where can I find a place to buy hens like a year old so we can have some eggs this summer?????

 

While we were in club, Michael visited Alaska Cheesecake. Do you see where this is going? He bought a 6 in White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. What a treat! Stacia and I have visited before - it IS right by the IDEA office after all...but we usually get a muffin size one and share it. LOL

It was foggy and snowy...and it got deeper as we neared our mountain. We were happy to find the boys and Cory out clearing the snow when we got home.  Michael joined them. I've got the best snow removal team in the valley.

Maria, that housewarming, wheelbarrow gift is an all-season gift! 

Stacia has been asking for Stir Fry for dinner. Tonight was the night to make that happen. I do love my new stove and the POWER BURNERS. Michael thinks I really should read the manual.

Any day which begins with snow and ends with stir fry and White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake has to be a great day! LOL 

The Box and This and That

A box arrived for me last week. My sister in law and cousin had set aside Mom's wedding dress for me. She had talked to me about giving it to me before she got so bad. I left a sweater behind and so Lorri (cousin) was going to send the dress when she sent the sweater.  She had room in the box and asked if there was anything else I wanted. I suggested filling the box with Mom's shirts. I told her that I wanted to make a quilt for Dad. 

The box arrived and sat in the entry way for the rest of the week. I finally brought it upstairs today and opened it. 

I suspected it would be hard to see the clothes. It was. I'm not sure how inanimate objects can convey so many memories.  I have no clue HOW to make a quilt. I had thought to cut out squares, sew them together and back them.....then I realized sometimes you put the rectangle borders on them.....Tammy, a friend, sent me this photo when I mentioned on Facebook  that I was going to make quilts with mom's clothes. I like that it's smaller than I was thinking - but it is considerably more involved than I was thinking too.  I may wait to work on this until I make another to see how it's done. 

I wanted to surprise Dad quickly, but I think maybe I should take a bit of time on this.

In other doings today.....Michael helped me with the scary pressure canner and I canned 16 pts of turkey broth.

We also ran to the Burrough office and discovered the way most military arrive back in state and simply begin getting their in state waivers and such is they "lie" and "no one catches it." We told the truth and so it will be until 2019 before we can get a partial property tax exemption due to Michael's VA disability. Seems you have to be a resident (all agree we are), but you have to reside here a full calendar year before you can claim the exemption....and most military just fudge, according to them. They also said if we'd continued to take the PFD all these years we would have gone under the radar - but the rules are still the same - just you don't get caught doing it.  So.....we did what we thought was honorable and didn't take the PFD as we weren't contributing to the economy of AK while we were active duty.....and now it is biting us. ::snort::  If we'd taken the PFD for these 15 years and saved it, I would have my hot tub and sauna now. ::snort:: They kept the application and said they will process it on Jan 2, 2019.  At least we have the application in early. 😊

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation

Michael has been authorized for 30 some sessions of specialized swallow therapy. This was after a barium test which showed he was losing ground from where he had previously been.  We go to the town over the way, three times a week for therapy.

The therapy is called  Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and is in addition to his traditional swallow therapy. This is in an effort to supplement the traditional therapy and provide better results - swallowing matters - a lot. He has about 2 hours of exercises he does daily for swallowing and vocal chords, and he has these sessions 3x a week, where they hook electrodes up to his throat, turn up the juice until he's at full zinging power and have him do exercises for 30 minutes. (He is sure his hair stands on end and lightning comes from his fingers - it doesn't really).

He has another week of sessions and then they will retest with the Barium Swallow test. IF he is showing improvement, they will continue this therapy for another month or so. If he is NOT showing improvement, therapy will be discontinued. At that point, he will continue the traditional hours of daily exercise - but basically it would mean there is nothing else they can do to strengthen his swallow and vocal chord muscles.  ::Blush:: can't remember the name of the muscles for swallowing...pharyngeal? Please join us in praying the therapy has improved Michael's swallowing issues.

Michael has a new referral to a dietician. This is due to the fact he's starting to eat less, or avoid certain foods,  because of the swallowing. We are really hoping that's a one time visit.

This has been a rough couple of months for us as we continue to face the reality of Parkinson's. Michael is at the BEGINNING of this disease...but more and more we are being asked to consider what options he will want "as the disease progresses." One we'd never considered was if he would allow a G tube - and under what circumstances.  We don't have answers - but we're working on them.

Sunday Sledding

The recent warm weather caused snow to melt, then freeze, leaving a nice icy sheen on the top of the kids' sledding hill. It's not steep - but it's fast and fun.  Today, when the guys came out for Family Sunday Dinner, they spent some time outside in the snow. 

Evidently, Bella is content to watch from inside.....

Um.....Stacia takes the prize for longest run....and we'll be redirecting. She was totally NOT hurt....just exhilarated.  

Jared gives it a try 

Cheeseburger Macaroni (Instant Pot)

*This is another go-to Wednesday night meal. LOL  The original recipe is  here.   I dump spices in. 

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
16 oz whole wheat elbow macaroni, dry
2 C chicken or veggie broth
1 T Franks Red Hot (I subbed salsa)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley flakes
28 oz can diced tomato (I used Rotel tomato and chili)
2 T tomato paste (I was out and used ketchup)
small - med onion (my addition)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Press saute and add ground beef, oregano, parsley, onion and garlic.

Cook until the meat is no longer pink and is crumbling.

Add all other ingredients except the cheese, give it a good stir.

Close the Instant Pot valve, press manual and cook for 4 minutes.

Quick release when it beeps.

Stir in cheese and stir to melt.

"Fresh" Berry Compote - Instant Pot

I ran across the idea to make berry compote to add to yogurt when searching for yogurt recipes. I've tried several and this is the one I settled on for Michael. I've seen it made with no sugar - but he likes sweet and it is going into tart yogurt. This could also be used on waffles, oatmeal, cheese cakes.....

Ingredients:
1 lb strawberries
1 lb blueberries
1/4 C sugar
2 t lemon or orange juice

Optional add ins:
Vanilla
Cinamon
Ginger
Nutmeg

Directions:
Put fruit in bowl and cover with sugar. Let sit for 20 min.

Add lemon juice.

Set Instant Pot for manual/high  - 1 min.

When it beeps; allow a 15 min natural release.

It will thicken some as it cools. I did simmer and add cornstarch the first time.

Notes
1. I use frozen fruit if I don't have fresh. . If you thaw the fruit and drain off some liquid first it works best.

2. If you have too much liquid, I simmer with a bit of cornstarch.

3. I mistakenly put 2 T of lemon juice in this batch and I liked it better.

4. Yes, it can be simmered on a stove instead of pressure cooked. Takes about 20 min, stir OFTEN. IP doesn't save time here - it allows me to walk off. LOL

4. Yes, any berry or stone fruit could be used.....I'm going to try strawberries and a couple of bananas next - omit the sugar. I must often use a lb of mixed berries and a lb of blueberries.