Friday, December 28, 2012

It's Good Riddance Day, 2012!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I've been waiting for this day for a while. December 28 is known as Good Riddance Day, when you get to say "so long" to anything and everything that has brought you down in the past 12 months.

Where do I begin?

OK, before I get started, you need to know that I'm not making this up. I've posted about Good Riddance Day a couple of years ago...and you can find a form to submit for the "official shred" in Times Square here:
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/forms/Marketing/Good_Riddance_Day.aspx.

Me? I'm making my own list, checking it twice...and firing up my own shredder. Sort of a Do It Yourself Celebration. Here goes...my Good Riddance List for 2012.

I bid a not-so-fond farewell to the following:

1. Bell's Palsy - My year would have been quite different, if I'd never heard those two words put together to make a person so miserable. I was diagnosed on Sunday, June 24th, and I am still dealing with the last, lingering effects of facial paralysis. If putting the words "Bell's Palsy" on a piece of paper and shredding it would make it go away, I would have done that 6 months ago, for sure. Still, I desperately wish to say good riddance to BP, so it takes the number one position on my list.
2. Other health issues - I'm going to lump my back problems, eye problems and vertigo...along with Missy M's broken foot problems...into one big category. Oh, and this most-recent malady, the flu...and all attendant fevers, coughing, wheezing, etc. A friend asked me if I thought my health problems were a result of my immune system being compromised due to the Bell's (and the meds I took to deal with it...many of which can suppress the immune system). Possibly. Regardless...it's good riddance to poor health.
3. Fear - When you live through one episode after another, you start thinking: what is going to happen next? And then, you become afraid to do something you wanted to do. So, fear wins. Hopefully, if I put it on my good riddance list, it will not linger any longer.

Three. That's plenty. Time to shred!

Join me, won't you?

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Taking a Time Out

My timing is impeccable. Just when I don't want to...or need to, I find some poor, lost virus and give it a place to live for a few days.

Thought it was bronchitis. A nemesis from long ago. I actually haven't played host to a good bout in several years, so why not finish out 2012 in style? I must be at Platinum Level on my frequent-illness rewards program by now, don't you think?

Imagine my surprise to hear the results of my flu test from the doctor's office: Positive for Type A flu virus. What? Are you sure?! What about that flu shot I took last September? You know, the one y'all gave me?

I believe the last three days of fever have burned up the worst of the infection, so now I'm left coughing, sneezing, feeling weak and listless. Dr. offered me Tamiflu, but since I'm beyond the 48-hour window, she didn't have high hopes...plus, it sometimes makes people nauseated. Don't need that, thank you very much. I declined, and then opted for the prescription cough medicine...the kind with hydrocodone. Wake me up when all this is over, will ya?

She said to expect 7-10 days of this misery ("unless it turns into pneumonia," which was said with more than a little concern...I guess even my doctor knows how my year has been trending, eh?), so I guess I won't make it back to "almost normal" by the weekend. Too bad, 'cause we were planning our Lunn Family Christmas on Sunday. A meet-up in Boone was on the docket. While we will be two shy of a whole family (as small as it is...:-), it will be good to meet-and-greet-and-eat with Bro and SIL J & J. Bro T won't be able to join us as SIL LaD is just now out of the hospital herself., and can't make the long drive from KY to NC. Missy M and the grand-dogs are scheduled to make their journey down the turnpike on Saturday...good Lord willin' and the crick don't rise. Now, I suppose we will have to aim for a New Years Lunn-feast.

Speaking of Missy M...she'll be headed home to a potential flu ward, as Mr. T just got his flu shot today. (What are our chances?) Her main concern? That she'll end up having to go to the grocery...and have to cook Christmas Dinner all by herself. Well, we're covered on one of those.

I am ever so thankful for online ordering and Express Lane service at Harris Teeter. I've waxed poetical about both the convenience and personal shopping experience our NC grocery offers. Well, folks, it's times like these that the $4.95 service charge seems like a drop in the proverbial ocean. Plus, they sent me a $5.00 Christmas coupon that will make any tiny bit of guilt vanish...poof!

Meanwhile, nothing else is getting done on my list. No cookies are being baked. No stockings are getting stuffed. No presents are getting wrapped. If it weren't for the beauty of the internet and UPS, FedEx, and USPS on-time delivery, I would really be in a pickle. Fortunately, I had placed all of my orders by last week, so things are arriving on the front porch with increasing regularity. I do have one handmade gift to finish...and one more to make, so I am feeling the push to get outta my sick bed...sooner rather than later. Surely I'll feel better by tomorrow...

I think I'll just have another cuppa tea with lotsa lemon. And stay in my time-out for a little while longer.

[Updated at 6:42p.m.]

P. S. I received this from the University of Memphis. Loved. It. Thought it might bring a smile to your face, too...


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Christmas is Coming!

It's that time of year to get the house all dressed in shades of red and green...the colors of Christmas. I know, I know...that's a traditional, some might say "old-fashioned," color combination. But it's what works for us. You may find an occasional gold ornament on our tree and a very-occasional blue bauble...and OK, a couple of purple ones...but I draw the line on teal (one of my personal fave colors otherwise) or mauve. No way, no how. No surprises here...we are all about "tradition!"

Well, we used to be. Time was that NO artificial tree was allowed in our house. Live...or nothing! Then, we got a three small "fake" trees for our ornament collections: one for my sheep, one for Nana/Momma/Edith's Santas, and one for Missy M's bears. OK, we survived the invasion.

And then, last year, when Mr. T and I were spending the Holidays in Looeyvul, I caved and bought a pre-lit tree for our dining room window (photo, left)...and the corner was turned. I loved having a tree (which took the place of my sheepie tree), especially one that was easy to put up and no worries like a live tree...particularly since we would be away from home for a couple of weeks. Mr. T loved how the lights were already on the tree...he didn't have to wrangle the tangle of strands anymore...hurrah! It was perfect...and it made me smile every time I looked at it from the kitchen doorway. Ahh...

Sheepie Tree in the Dining Room window

Sheepie ornament...one of many




















So, this year, we went 'round the bend and bought a nine-foot, pre-lit, slim-line tree for the den (photo below, right). And I could not be happier! I also got these Scent-cicles, which make one tree smell like pine and the other like spruce. Ah...lovely! Now, I have nothing against live trees...heck, I hope loads of folks buy one of North Carolina's finest products! But, I totally understand the "beauty" of having a lighted tree, up in 10 minutes, give or take. And, even though the tree tops me by almost 4 feet, I assembled it by myself. Of course, I needed some help from the guy with the height in adding the ornaments...:-).

New tree for the den
The trees may be artificial, but the memories that the ornaments represent are very real indeed. There's the oldest ornament on the tree: a silver ball that used to be covered in glitter and silver spangles...it may have lost some glitz, but it remains a reminder of childhood Christmases in Henning. There are the painted globe-ornaments and Santa shells that N/M/E crafted. There are Missy M's baby pics with Santa and all of her school pictures in ornaments...I treasure the moments each year when I look at each one. There are the ornaments we have purchased on trips far and wide...good memories all. And, there are the ornaments we have made, one for each year or so. Some are painted, some are cross-stitched, some are knitted, and some are quilted or sewn. All are special.

Still the tradition continues with our Nutcracker collection, which numbers 55 and counting. We have so many that we are hard-pressed to find places for them all. We lost some space on the TV cabinet earlier this year when the new mondo Vizio came to live with us, so the guys on top of the bookcase are a bit squashed together. The plan for next year is to enlarge the mantle (photo below/left) and expand the sofa table. All for the Nutcrackers...:-)
Nutcrackers on the mantle

Today I spent some time arranging the Nativity Scenes on the coffee table. One is an inexpensive wooden Nativity we have had as long as we've been married...37 Christmases. Another is in the form of a plate and its holder. My favorite is a ceramic Holy Family in simple, elegant glazed white that Mr. T's Mom made for us one year.

But the one with pride-of-place is the complete scene of ceramic characters that Mrs. A made for Missy M over a period of three or four years: Holy Family, Shepherds, Wise Men, and all the animals. I remembered to tuck Baby Jesus away in the drawer until Christmas Eve.

I usually put the Advent Wreath here, too, but I haven't found it yet. I did find the Advent Calendar I made when Missy M was maybe three or four, and it is up and in use.



We got the outdoor lights up about 10 days ago...including Chimney Santa (below, left) as well as The Santa Nutcrackers (we call them The Mens), all of whom are showing their age. We have the yard outlined in lights (as opposed to putting lights up on the gutters, like we did in MO)...and we like the way that works with this front yard. There are lighted snowflakes and stars on the porch, and a lighted "net" over the holly bushes. And the lighted deer are nodding away on the lawn (below, right). We haven't gotten the wreaths up on the windows 'cause that would mean a major trim to the bushes...and we just haven't had the time. Maybe this weekend.


Chimney Santa waving...



Lighted reindeer nodding


















We did get the Henry VIII wreath on the front door. Now, admittedly, this is probably the oddest ornament collection we have...felted, stuffed characters that represent Henry and all six of his wives (two of whom he had beheaded), that I got on one trip to England. And, I added a William Shakespeare character...and a Beefeater/Guard from the Tower of London. If I gave it much thought, I'd probably wonder about its appropriateness. What can I say? Some people put a pickle on their tree...I have history hung on my door.

So what's next, you ask? I am eager to begin baking tomorrow...when I get to put on my Holiday apron, pull out our favorite Holiday recipes, and pop in some Christmas DVDs like Christmas in Connecticut, White Christmas, and The Hunt for Red October (don't even ask about that last one...we always seem to watch it whenever we bake chocolate chip cookies...:). I'm hoping we get the cooler weather we've been promised, so I can enjoy some hot apple cider, too. Then, I'm looking forward to the annual trip to The Nutcracker Ballet on Thursday. I wish this could have worked out when Missy M was here, but the schedules didn't match up. My shopping is pretty much done, but I'm still working on a few of my gifts, and I don't want to get behind in wrapping! And this weekend is reserved for writing our Annual Newsletter and the Christmas cards.

Yes, lights are twinkling everywhere...ornaments and collections are out on display...and the little china angel that topped all the trees we had when I was growing up is now topping our new artificial tree. The old and the new.

A very Merry Christmas is in the making, I do believe.

P. S.  Here are two more photos I snapped with my phone...enjoy!




Teddy looks happy about the new tree, all alight!



Duche$$ says "My rug! You put this here for me, right?!"


Monday, December 3, 2012

Maxi Multi-Tasking

What an interesting day I've had! And it isn't over yet!

I had a Gardening article due to our County Horticulture agent today...and, with all of my meandering last week, well...I hadn't written it yet. Truth be told, I hadn't even started writing it yet. Oh, I guess that's not exactly right...I have given the topic (which I was assigned last January) a good bit of thought and consideration on how I was going to write it (theme, style, etc.). I probably "wrote" three or four passable articles in my head as I tried to keep my mind off the remaining number of miles to home on Saturday. But "pen to paper?" Nope...not as of 8:00 this morning.

So, with my deadline looming (hey, 11:59 p.m. Is STILL today, right?), I got my second cuppa coffee, fired up my PC and printer, and...decided to bake bread.

OK, some might call this procrastinating. I prefer to think of it as getting something out of my system. And, while I was writing the article, the bread could be rising. Multi-tasking is my middle name!

So why was baking bread "in my system," you ask? On Saturday while visiting Cousin A in Dickson, she asked me if I still baked sourdough bread? She remarked that I had once brought her a loaf, years ago...and she allowed that it was quite tasty. I guess if a 104-year old remembers something like a loaf of bread, then maybe it was good.

She was right. I used to make sourdough bread every week, using a recipe I got from the old, brown Southern Living Southern Country Cookbook (one of my go-to resources). This recipe calls for making a "starter" that gives the bread that classic sourdough taste. Trouble is, you have to make the starter at least three days prior to baking a loaf of bread. Hmmmm...

So, I began by mixing up the starter. And then, since I already had the yeast, sugar, and flour out on the counter, I pulled out another old recipe for a basic white bread. The yeast smell had put me in the mood for bread...and you know how that goes.

Out came the stand mixer, which has a dough hook, and makes the mixing and kneading process much easier. Then, while the dough was rising, I noticed another old recipe for Lemon Pound Cake...and I was off on another tangent.

And, what goes great with homemade bread? Why, homemade chicken noodle soup, of course. I had the remains of a rotisserie chicken that I popped into the stockpot to boil the meat off the bone as well as make the stock needed for the soup.

By noon, there was a bubbling pot of soup on the stove, and this is what was cooling on my counter.



And, I had yet to write Word One. Ahem...

Right. Need something to keep my strength up. Time for lunch!

By 1:00, I finally got around to starting my article. Nearly 1,350 words later it was done! Before 3:30, I was printing out my copy...and getting the file ready to email off for approval. See? I got all those other distractions out of my system so I could concentrate on the main task at hand.

Yep, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Sourdough Starter inspired by Southern Living Southern Country Cookbook

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup very warm water (105-110 degrees)
1 T dry yeast
1 T salt
2 cups warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour

Sprinkle one teaspoon sugar over warm water. Sprinkle yeast over this and let stand in warm place until doubled in size, about 10 minutes. Stir well.

In a largebowl with a cover, add remaining sugar, yeast mixture, and other ingredients. Stir, using only a wooden spoon or paddle, as metal retards growth. Cover loosely and let stand in a warm place for three days, stirring the mixture down daily.

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I'll post the link to the article as well as the recipe for the bread...and how to feed the starter later. It's now tomorrow...and time for bed.

Friday, November 30, 2012

Random Thoughts on A Road Trip

I've stopped at the Senator Albert Gore (Sr.), Patsy Cline and Chet Atkins Rest Areas. I've driven on Sawyer Brown Road, the Andrew Jackson Parkway, and the Carl Perkins Highway. I've been to the Alvin C. York Veterans Administration Building. (OK, not really on that last one. But it was on the same exit with Whitts BBQ...:)



Forget Waldo. Where's Patricia?Three guesses...and the first two don't count.

Here are a few thoughts that have floated through my brain while driving, over the past three days and the last 1400 miles...and still counting...

1. Momma was right. She always said the roadbed of I-40 was poured, east coast to west coast, following the sun. Going from east to west in the late afternoon can be brutal on the eyes.

2. Papaw was right. If someone invented a giant vacuum to suck up all the cotton (lint) on the roadsides of West Tennessee this time of the year, he'd be a rich man. (Of course, Papaw would think it had to be a man to invent such a thing...so, maybe he was wrong, too...:)

3. I love the coast and The Beach. I love the mountains and the Piedmont. Heck, I <3 North Carolina altogether. But NC just doesn't really have a region to compare to the farms and fields of West Tennessee. And I think I need to get an infusion of it annually.

4. There is nothing like an old friend. One, who...when she receives a text out of the blue asking to meet...drops everything she is doing to make it happen. And then who picks up the conversation right where we left off, like it was 15 minutes, instead of 15 months ago. Is there something better than BFF? 'Cause that's what ATT is for me.

5. Seeing one of the last of your Mother's contemporaries frail and failing is a painful thing to witness. Not enough tissues in the car, dang it. Of course, this was the reason for my pilgrimage at this time, and to this place. Painful as may be, it was still worth it.

6. Seeing your 104-year old cousin in relatively good health and even better spirits is a remarkable thing to witness. Puts a song in my heart!

7. Having a brother & SIL who live "en route" of all my running about is a fortunate thing. Having ones who let me use their house like a B & B when they're out of town is priceless.

8. Having a husband who not only understood why I had to make this trip, but also insisted I go...and then dog-sat, painted the front porch rails, AND installed the new kitchen light fixture while I was away is beyond priceless.

9. Tennessee has, without a doubt, the cleanest Rest Area rest rooms...and the most anemic hand dryers. Three words. Paper. Towels. Please.

10. I love technology! Being able to stay in touch with everyone via my cell and texting is great. And what would I do without satellite radio?!

11. I hate technology! Just when you need to do something, you are in a NO SERVICE area. Never fails.

12. Being the driver, I can "take the road less traveled," i.e., US Highway 70, or a scenic drive...or, as Mr. T calls them "Bird Roads" (for the picture of the mockingbird, Tennessee's state bird, on the road signs). That's where you find the good stuff, like Mud Puddle Pottery.



13. I'm not so sure about technology. Mr. T said "Apple's 'Find My Friends' ap says you are about 300 miles from High Point." That's nice. Wait a minute...I wonder if it can tell I stopped at that yarn shop in Crossville? Hmmmm...

14. Mr. T is right. The slowest drivers are on those so-called scenic roads. Where is I-40?! Time to make tracks back home!

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Update: I'm back in HPNC, safe and sound...and only a bit worse-for-wear. Nothing a good night's sleep in my own bed won't cure. Glad I went...glad I'm home. No regrets.


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Bell's Palsy Update - Month 5 Ends

Blah, blah, blah...Bell's Palsy...blah, blah, blah. Yeah, it's still with me. But it's definitely fourth quarter in this game...and I do believe I am winning.

Honestly, there really isn't much more I can say about my bout with Bell's that I haven't already said...with the possible exception of saying The End. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm oh-so-close. I still have some paralysis, stubbornly hanging on to the lower left portion of my bottom lip, probably more noticeable to me than to anyone else. When I'm tired or stressed or try to talk too fast, it's much more noticeable. And, though I've mastered...for the most part...my Ss, Bs, and Ps, I'm still doing my speech therapy exercises with my F-words...:-). You remember? "Phil fell fifty feet."

In a related note, I picked up my new-new glasses this afternoon. Better than the last time around...not quite as good as I'd hoped. I am not experiencing the nauseating sensations like I was before finding out I had a condition known as anisometropia, so I'm guessing the correction in the right lens is on target. Still, I do feel some bit of discombobulation, for the lack of a better word. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever again will I be complacent about "normal" vision! Or normal anything, for that matter!!

I'm going to need all my energy to be focused...not on Bell's issues or vision problems...but on an upcoming trip. You know I have mentioned Miss Caroline, my former piano teacher? She and Momma were "Henning Friends," graduating from RHS, Class of '38. After Momma died, she and I kept up almost-weekly phone chats and regular correspondence, and she has become like a Second Mother, filling a hole in my heart. An only child of only children, she never married...so, no children, no grandchildren. I like to believe I have given her not only continuity with "her old life," but also a measure of feeling loved.

Alas, her body is wearing out. She's been battling a persistent kidney infection for weeks now, and she is growing weaker with each day. I think I have gotten my various health issues controlled enough to be trusted out on I-40...which is exactly where I plan to be Thursday morning. More on that in my next post, I'm sure. Remember, no regrets.

I'll sign off this post with the Documentation Photos, taken on Day #154...the beginning of Month #6. And, yes...before you ask. Those glasses are really old. Really, really old.
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Saturday, November 24, 2012

Kitchen Redo Redux Number Two


Everything takes longer than it takes.
-- One of Murphy's Laws of Life


I must say...I never imagined that redoing our kitchen would take almost six months to complete. Not in my wildest dreams.

All I wanted was to replace the World's Ugliest Formica Countertops with granite. And create a tile backsplash that would incorporate some hammered copper tiles (from our kitchen redo project in O'Fallon), and some glass mosaic tiles (although not for the entire backsplash)...with a clean, bright white ceramic background. Oh, and add some undercabinet lighting, since our kitchen is quite dark, especially with the cherry cabinets. And, while we were at it, I wanted to finally install a stainless steel organization system I purchased 7 years ago from the no-longer-open Home Expo in St. Louis for that MO kitchen...but never installed. Was that too much to ask?!

You've read all about the countertop installation which took place back in June, under Mr. T's supervision, while I was in Lville with Daughter-With-The-Broken-Foot. Need a refresher? Click here.

Here's a photo he took after the granite guys finished, looking at the "ceiling tile" backsplash we used over the stove.


Then came Bell's Palsy...and my life turned sideways for a while. When I was finally able to see again (after my cataract surgery), I felt comfortable in making tile selections, thinking we'd then call the tile guys back in to finish the job.

While selecting the tile, I was convinced by a fellow (whom I have never seen before in my life) that we could do this part of the project ourselves...and live to tell the tale. (Remember that post? Click here for a refresher.) After all, we have painted, wallpapered, built a deck, and-most recently-a patio together. We could do this!

I took these pictures as we were starting last Saturday, to remind us of what the wall looked like before our backsplash became a reality.





On Day One of the backsplash project, we worked long and hard on getting the design over the stove as close to perfect as possible. We'd looked at...and fiddled with, and redesigned six ways to Sunday...this part of the project for a couple of months now, as we had purchased tiles to "play with" (like a puzzle) on the breakfast bar. Here's what that part looked like after Day One, complete with the blue painters tape we used to make sure the tile adhesive held.



And then here's a close up pic, showing both the hammered copper tile as well as the glass-and-granite mosaic tiles in one of the 4x4 diamond cut-out ceramic tiles we used with a 4x8 rectangle to create a repeating pattern in the 4x4 ceramic tiles.



As a matter of fact, I went to bed on Sunday, dreaming of this idea of a repeating pattern throughout the wall space. Soooo, come Monday morning, the first thing I asked Mr. T to do was remove a section of 4x4s so we could create the repeating pattern. Ahem.



Day Two saw us finishing adhering all the non-cut tiles. Day Three was the hardest so far: that's when the cutting began. I measured, and Mr. T made the cuts with the wet saw. He became quite good rather quickly, with no breaks until it came to a couple of cuts for the tiles around the window sills. Ugh. Not fun.

After a two-day break for Thanksgiving, we got right back at it. Day Four we grouted, and Day Five we caulked and began the putting-Humpty-together-again part. While I caulked the parts I could reach (and then climbed on the countertop for the parts I couldn't!), Mr. T worked on extending the outlets...which you have to do because of the increase in wall-thickness due to the width of the tile. And then he mounted the organizers and one of two undercabinet lights.

Here's a couple of after-shots for your viewing pleasure:





Are we done yet? Well, as of this post, we still have a few things to finish: both the coffee maker and the can opener are spacesaver models that are mounted under a cabinet; a magnetic knife bar goes on the wall above where I keep my cutting board; and the remaining undercabinet light has to be returned/replaced due to missing parts. I'm "weeding out" some of the items that used to occupy prime real estate, so I'll have less clutter...I hope.

Then I can return the plants to the area behind the sink...and all will be done.

Ahhhhh! And to think, it only took six months.

BTW, if you are keeping score, I got three out of the four things I said I wanted in this project...and we only did one out of four things That Fellow told me to do. Oh well, I think we win, no matter what the score is!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Bell's Palsy Update - Week 22 Begins


This just in! Woman takes a Big Bite out of a Whole Sandwich! Film at 11:00!


Yes, dear friends. It has finally happened. At the approach of the end of five months with this nightmare called Bell's Palsy, I have finally, finally been able to order a club sandwich (the fabulous Orange-Cranberry Club from McAlister's Deli...:) and EAT THE WHOLE THING without having to dismantle it because of its height. Hurrah!

While I still have some paralysis in my lower lip on left of mid-line and I continue to seek benefits from twice-weekly speech therapy sessions, I know The End is in sight. Dawn is coming, and this nightmare will be over. Even if I must keep writing updates and taking Documentation Photos until the sixth-month anniversary (sigh), I will cross the Finish Line...collect my medal...and be thrilled to be through with it. Period. And the really good news? I'm a lot closer to The Finish Line than to The Starting Line!!

I'm happy to also announce my return to My Life. This past week was the Annual Meeting of Guilford Master Gardeners out at the Extension Center, and I eagerly prepared my Winter Fruits Salad with Lemon-Marmalade Poppyseed Dressing (recipe below) to add to the buffet table.

It was so good to be back in the fold...and to begin to feel like my life has meaning and purpose again! And even though I have stepped aside from any leadership roles for the coming year, I can still contribute through Media Outreach (writing articles)...and eventually as a speaker again through Speakers Bureau (yes, I've agreed to my comeback gig in January...how's that for confidence in recovery?). I also chatted with a couple of folks about the Education component in relation to the Demonstration Garden...great possibilities for outreach and using what I can offer there.

OK. Must close. We are tiling our kitchen backsplash today, and I need to get to work. I know, I know...I specifically said I would NOT do this Thanksgiving Week. Ah well, needs must, as the Brits say. Mr. T couldn't take any vacation days off before this next week, and this is definitely a two-person job. I am too short...or, more to the point, my arms are too short...to manage good placement and proper alignment of the tiles in the far corners, under the cabinets. I'll post pics when we are done.

Meanwhile, I'll leave you with Doc Photos, taken yesterday, as Week 21 was ending. Not a lot of visible difference, so you'll have to trust me that things are improving. Snail's pace, true. But improvement nonetheless.

(BTW...Recipes below the photos...:~\)

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Documentation Photos, Day #147

Smile!

Big smile!!

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Recipes

Winter Fruits Salad

• 1-2 containers Earthbound Farm Organic Heirloom lettuce leaves, depending on number to be served (or 8-10 cups lettuce leaves)
• 8-10 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
• 1-2 crisp apples like Honeycrisp
• 2-4 pears, not hard but not overly ripe either, such as Starkrimson (red) and/or D'Anjou (green)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup glazed pecans (such as Diamond's), broken in quarters
• A citrus-sweet or Asian-inspired dressing such as Lemon-Marmalade Poppyseed (below)


1. Remove any tough ends from any lettuce leaves. Tear leaves into bite-size. Put in a large salad bowl for serving. Chill.

2. Grate the Gruyere cheese, using large-hole side of grater or disc.

3. Wash the apples and pears under cold running water. Cut each in half then into quarters. Cut away and discard the core from each quarter. Slice them into 1/8-inch thin slices. If serving a large crowd, you may wish to continue slicing into 'match-sticks.' (If preparing ahead, place the sliced fruit in an airtight bowl, pouring some of the citrus dressing on the slices to prevent browning.) Seal and chill.

4. To assemble, sprinkle the lettuce in the salad bowl liberally with the grated Gruyere. Arrange the apple and pear slices in a pleasing pattern on top of the cheese. Sprinkle the dried cranberries and the glazed pecans over the top. Serve immediately, with dressing on the side. (Note: you can toss the dressing with the lettuce, but wait until the last minute as the salad may get soggy.)


Lemon-Marmalade Poppyseed Salad Dressing

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 T orange marmalade
3/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1 T Dijon mustard
2 tsp finely diced onion
1 T candied ginger, chopped
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2/3 cup oil
2 tsp poppyseeds

Directions:

1. Purée in blender the sugar, marmalade, lemon juice, mustard, onion, ginger, and salt.
2. While still running, add the oil to the blender in a steady stream, and continue blending until thick. Add poppyseeds at the very end of the blending process.
3. Store in refrigerator in glass jar until 1/2 hour before serving. Let dressing sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Give the jar a good shake before using.
4. Enjoy on Winter Fruits Salad...or as a tasty marinade for grilled chicken.



Friday, November 16, 2012

A Couple of Rainbows, A Couple of Wrinkles

First, let's talk about something good and happy...something to make you smile. Like rainbows. Yesterday, when I came out of Speech Therapy, I was surprised to see that we had had a nice rain while I was in the rehab building at High Point Regional Hospital...in a room with no windows on the outside world. It was still sprinkling, but right at sunset, the sun was coming out...and you know what that meant: rainbow!

Imagine if you will: I'm driving home, north on Eastchester/Hwy 68, with my phone mounted to the top of my steering wheel, snapping as many shots as I could. For safety's sake, I pulled over to the side a couple of times...but stopping in the afternoon traffic in HP is almost as difficult as DWOOing (driving-while-otherwise-occupied, a la Lydel Sims, a writer for the Memphis Press-Scimitar, from the olden times. If you follow the link on his name to learn more about him, you can click through to one of his columns. And you will see one source of my writing style..:)

There are actually two rainbows in this picture...can you spot them? There's an "echo" rainbow to the left of the one you can clearly see in the middle of the photo.

OK, I'll be the first to admit that the pic itself isn't the best, clearest, crispest shot I've ever taken. Fuzzy would be a better description. And that leads me to the wrinkles.

Fuzzy is just the word I'd use to describe the way I see the world these days. And with good reason, too. You see, I got my new glasses' lens last week (same ol' frames), and I've been feeling sorta sick ever since.

I kept telling myself that I just needed to get used to these new specs...keep wearing them and grow into them. Blah, blah, blah. No matter what, though, I felt nauseated, off-balance, light-sensitive, disoriented...you get the picture, I'm sure. Kinda like having one long episode of vertigo, but without the spinning sensation. Yeah.

So, I rummaged through my dresser and finally found some really ancient glasses...at least 20-25 years old, I'm guessing. BBB glasses. You know: back before bifocals. I wore them to work in the garden on Saturday and Sunday, for light and debris protection more than to help my sight, but needed to switch to the new ones when I came indoors for "close work," like to see to cook, read, knit, etc. Just don't look up quickly toward the TV across the room! Ugh...

Big sigh. Time to head back to the eye dr. I wasn't sure if I could take any more bad news about my eyes, to tell the truth. You see, Dr. T had already said the my night vision problem was probably caused by a wrinkle in my new implant in my right eye, from the cataract surgery. "It happens sometimes. You're still healing, so it may 'resolve itself.'" It doesn't hurt, but it does cause me to see a "starburst" around lights after dark, or anytime my pupils are dilated...like when I look at headlights of oncoming cars, taillights, street lights, traffic signals etc. They all are distorted.

So what do they look like, you ask? Take a good look at that picture above. Notice the "beams" of light radiating downward from the oncoming headlights to the street at 6:00 (if the lights were all faces on clocks)? Take that effect, rotate it and lengthen it to 10:00 and 4:00 (on the "clock"), and you would be seeing exactly what I see.

That's Wrinkle Número Uno. The second Wrinkle is what is causing my issue with the "new" glasses. After a test or two, it seemed pretty evident at the eye doc's that I have a condition called anisometropia. Joy. Here's what Wikipedia says:
Anisometropia ( /ænˌaɪsəmɨˈtroʊpiə/ US dict: an·ī′·sə·mə·trō′·pē·ə) is the condition in which the two eyes have unequal refractive power; that is, are in different states of myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) or in the extreme, antimetropia (wherein one eye is myopic and the other is hyperopic), the unequal refractive states cause unequal rotations thus leading to diplopia and asthenopia. Gross anisometropia is the difference of more than 2 diopters between the eyes.

Anisometropia can adversely affect ... clarity between the two eyes. The brain will often suppress the vision of the blurrier eye in a condition called amblyopia, or lazy eye.

The name is from four Greek components: an- "not," iso- "same," metr- "measure," ops "eye."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anisometropia

And here's a link to some info from the UK: http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/leaflets/files%5C090427visionimbalance.pdf


So, what to do? Well, I doubt there is anything to do about Wrinkle #1, unless it resolves itself somehow. I won't choose another surgery (unless it gets a whole lot worse), so I'll have to adapt. That means limiting both nighttime driving as well as rainy-day trips.

Wrinkle #2 is a horse of a different color. The optician fiddled around with my prescription to get it to the point that I no longer have one eye 'a minus' (left eye) and one eye 'a plus' (right), giving me more balance to my unbalanced vision...a good temporary fix, at least until they do the cataract surgery on my left eye (which I do not need at present). The ophthalmologist readily agreed to the new scrip, saying only that I must remember that I won't be seeing as clearly out of the right eye. Actually it'll be better, since my only alternative was looking through these ancient specs...I could not continue to wear those new lens. So they have ordered me another set of lens with the new prescription. We shall soon see...we fervently hope!

So. Rainbows and Wrinkles. Such is life. Moving on...

Here's another picture of the Thursday rainbows. I'm going with "a sign of hope and good things to come;" how about you?


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Garden 2012 Roundup

It was a bea-u-tee-ful weekend here at Casa 3917. Sunny and warm enough to be outside in short-sleeves, no jacket, at least until late afternoon. So, after a run to Tractor Supply for bird food and to Soviero's Tri-County Garden Center for bags of this and that (more in a sec), we took advantage of almost every moment, working mostly in the Kitchen Garden.

First, we finished removing Summer from the Warm Season garden. Mr. T had already pulled up the tomatoes and the okra last weekend, and I dug the sweet potatoes following our first frost... leaving just the peppers and the bean and pea fences standing. While he removed the fences, I weeded the asparagus bed and snipped all the yellowed ferns.

We'd decided to build a box for this bed, as we wanted to build up the soil around the crowns and make it easier to weed during the year...both important to the health and optimum production of asparagus. [You may or may not know...or care to know...that asparagus is a perennial vegetable, coming back year after year from the roots (or "crowns") you plant only once. It also hates to share space with anything, especially weeds...a real loner.] Mr. T had a couple of 8' boards for the long sides, but he had to cut two 3' boards for the ends. He screwed them together with deck screws, then nailed them to the corner braces he'd sunk into the ground. It ain't going nowhere!

We then emptied out the 'used' soil from the potato bags and spread out a good dose of mushroom compost. We will cover everything with a layer of straw after it has settled a bit. I can almost taste those tender spears that will pop us next Spring, can't you? Here's a pic of Ella Rae checking out our work.

Ella Rae approves of the new asparagus bed...but she'd really like to roll around in the compost!

Then Mr. T emptied out several bags of leaves* and ran the mower over them to give 'em a good chop. Next up, he got the big tiller running and turned the whole area under. I kept busy with the Mantis(r) tiller to dig new beds for daffodils behind existing daylily beds. When the Mantis conked, I continued pulling up the frost-singed zinnias and snipping the last of the rose-blooms. (Yes, the roses are STILL blooming)

So what's left, you ask? The cool season garden is hosting broccoli (pictured), cabbage, lettuce, a few carrots, fewer still beets, turnip greens, and collards. There are also a couple of rows of garlic that will overwinter and be ready next July.

Grow, baby grow!  Will you be ready for Thanksgiving?

We went out yesterday in the early drizzle (goodbye, good weather...:) and measured and marked the rows/paths for next year. We'll add amendments like lime (per our Soil Report), and North Carolina's own Kickin Chicken and Pete's Cow Manure before we put the baby to bed for the Winter.

You probably won't be surprised to learn that I took the measurements and spent the evening drawing up the Plan for Garden 2013. One can't be too prepared, can one?

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Leaves* - Hello, my name is Patricia...and I am a Leaf Thief. I admit it...I see leaves bagged up on the curb, headed to the landfill, and I can't help myself. I load those bags of once-and-future gold into my car and head home to the shredder. Nuthin' better to help loosen and build clay soils!

This year, though, I may have made the best deal yet. Our across-the-street neighbors have a beautiful front yard, lush and green...and they are fanatics about getting the fallen leaves off their lawn, sooner rather than later! I asked if we could trade all the veggies they want next year from our garden for their bags of leaves...and we would return the bags, too. We've had a similar deal with our next door neighbor...and our lawn guy, who brings us BIG bags of leaves that he "vacuums" from his customers' yards with his monster riding lawn mower. With all these contributions this Fall, we may not need to make the rounds of the neighborhoods the day before the HPNC yard waste truck does.

Still...I may hear the siren call...

Friday, November 9, 2012

Fun Friday!

Today was one of those perfectly marvelous days one dreams about. At least, it was for me. Day trip!

It began early-early...at least it did for me. I had set my alarm for 6:00, but I suppose I was too excited to sleep much past 5:00. I had already packed my day-bag with my tickets, a knitting project or two, my iPad, my iPod (for the audiobook I'm listening to, The Last Founding Father), and just in case I needed one more thing...a new gardening magazine. By 7:30 a.m., I was off on my latest adventure.

I've written more than once about how much I enjoy going to symphony concerts, especially the Friday Favorites series performed by the NC Symphony in Raleigh. And I have also shared a post or two about my love of train travel. Combining the two of these passions on an absolutely gorgeous Fall day, meant that I was eastbound on The Carolinian, leaving the Furniture Capital and headed for the state capital, as the sun began its steady rise in the cerulean* blue sky. Here we go! Second stop outta High Point (which got its name by being the highest point on the NC railroad between Charlotte and Goldsboro) is Burlington (pictured).


I arrived in Raleigh right on time and began the easy, less-than-10 minute walk to Meymandi Concert Hall, arriving with about 25 minutes to spare before the pre-concert lecture.

Lecture? I thought you said this was a fun day, Patricia! Well, it was a fun day for me...because I had the opportunity to learn something new. You see, growing up in the 60's and coming of age in the 70's in West Tennessee...and specifically Memphis...my exposure to music was limited to either Country Music (favorite of my Nashville-born & bred Daddy, and a little less fav of Momma), show tunes (Momma's favorites), church hymns, or Rock and Roll. Period. That's all I knew. Oh, maybe a march or two played by the band(s) at football games, but that was about it.

I know, I know... Miss Caroline tried her best to teach me something different during my 5 years of piano lessons. But I struggled so as the assignments got more difficult that I guess I just didn't get it. I never realized that the pieces she wanted me to learn were examples of beautiful classical music. Trust me, there was nothing beautiful about the way they sounded when I played them!

When I arrived at Mississippi State College for Women (MSCW) in '71, I was only being "nice" to my sweet (and talented) suitemate KD when I agreed to attend a concert by the W's orchestra, where she had won a spot playing the flute. When I first heard classical music played as it should be, by an orchestra, I was amazed...and I was hooked.

The train thing has been with me since Kindergarten days in Covington. We went on a train trip all the way to Atoka, Tenn ("two stores and a cotton gin"), a distance of maybe 12 whole miles. What a thrill! Moms were smiling and waiting at the station to drive us back, as the conductor helped a gaggle of us 5-year olds step off the train. Well, the other Moms were. My Momma was in tears, frantically trying to get in our car, which she had locked. With the keys in the ignition. And with Li'l Brother Jack snoozing in his car-seat. I don't know if he still remembers the trauma, but it did nothing to deter my new-found joy attached to train-travel.

[A note. As you know, Mr. T and I are extraordinarily compatible and enjoy many of the same things in life. But, he doesn't share my love of classical music...or trains either for that matter. So days like today are days that bring joy to me alone. Sigh.]

So, back to today. The lecture was excellent, and I learned new and interesting tidbits about Dukas, Debussy, Dvorak, and Mozart...all of whom were on the program entitled Mozart's Prague Symphony. I learned that the real reason composers used a Fanfare at the beginning of a piece was to tell the Audiences to, and I quote, "sit down and shut up!" It seems that 18th and 19th century audiences (especially in Paris) were a bit more raucous than we are. Who knew?

Following the education portion came a soothing 90 minutes of beautiful music, played well and enthusiastically by the NC Symphony, with a guest clarinetist...who, even though a Harvard graduate, looked to be about 15, but who played Debussy's rhapsodie for clarinet like he had many more years of experience. As usual, I found my seat in the first balcony and pulled out my knitting needles.

Yes. Knitting needles. I find that the act of knitting helps my busy brain to settle and focus on what is at hand. I choose a project that is pretty basic (no fancy patterns here!), that I can knit and purl in the near-dark of the concert hall, and that can be done on circular needles...so I'm not chasing a lost needle mid-Andante. And I purposefully knit slowly, to avoid clicking my needles and annoying the person(s) next to me. I've had folks make comments about "how do you manage that in the dark?" (it's not really totally dark). But I've never had anyone say that my knitting bothered them. They may have felt it, but no one has ever said it.

After the concert, I headed to my favorite downtown restaurant, bu ku, which offers a 10% discount to concert-goers. It was delish, as always! I had grilled salmon and pear salad with Asian Ginger dressing (pictured)...and since I didn't have to drive the train home, I treated myself to a lovely Gewürztraminer.


With about 90 minutes until I had to get back to the station for my return trip, I headed down Fayetteville Street toward the State Capitol building (pictured). It isn't really the prettiest I've seen (I reserve that honor for West Virginia or Georgia, with their gleaming golden domes), but neither is it the plainest (New York in my book). It's a replacement building, as the original burned in the mid 1800's...and I guess they were aiming for solid rather than showplace. The dome is copper...meaning it's that ugly brackish-greenish verdigris. The most interesting part was seeing all the trees on the square surrounding the building. Are they all NC natives? I'll have to investigate further...


Then I made my way to the State History museum. Be still my beating heart! All this history...and free admission to boot. I'd probably still be there if I didn't have a train to catch.

I have two more opportunities to repeat this Fun Friday in the first half of 2013. I can hardly wait to hear "All Aboard!"

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*Cerulean blue...yeah, I could have just called the sky Carolina Blue, but my brain has been on the Color Wheel this week. I wrote an article on Decorating for The Holidays from The Garden which is now available at: http://guilford.ces.ncsu.edu/2012/11/holiday-decorating-from-the-garden/

I know, I know. It says it's originally by Karen Neill, our Horticulture Agent...and that none of the pictures show up. She tells me there's a glitch or two in the way the site is set up, and she's trying to get it reworked. No matter. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Bell's Palsy Update - Week 19

Another one of those "not much to report" updates, which is either good or bad, depending on perspective, I suppose. I continue to see infinitesimal improvements, as I continue to see my Speech Therapist.

I still have some lingering paralysis in my lower lip, left of the midline, which means I still have a crooked smile...and trouble pronouncing certain letters. (You'll be able to see it in my "Big Smile" Documentation photo below.) This week, she gave me a page of verbal exercises to do in order to help me with the F sound, which - due to that bit of paralysis - seems to be my main issue at the moment. Say them with me:

1. Phil fell fifty feet.
2. Funny Fanny makes fabulous fudge.
3. Fill the funnel with fat-free batter.
4. The fox fit under the farm's fence.
5. The form failed to fit the false face. (I'm not sure what that means...I just say it...:~\)

You get the idea, right? It sure beats saying ooh-ee-ooh-ee-ooh-ee and la-la-la-la-la.

Oh, did I tell you what happened the other day at therapy? My session was winding down to a close, and I was on the last exercise. It's one where I open my mouth as wide as I can and run my tongue around my lips, more or less in a circle...making allowances for the fact that my mouth doesn't open in a "circle" yet. On this particular day, Tori had moved the second electrode pad to a different spot on my chin, below my lower lip, in order to stimulate the paralyzed part. Well, I ran my tongue over my top lip and started to complete the first circle when...did you ever stick your tongue to the end of a battery when you were a child? Yeah. Same shocking sensation. Needless to say, she and I were both laughing so hard that we had to call it quits. Zapper, indeed...:~\

Now, you will probably think that jolt loosened a screw or two, but I probably have Bell's Palsy to thank for saving my life. No, really. Ready for this?

Remember how my year began...with my unorthodox shortcut down the stairs on my rear end? That little episode eventually sent me to the Back Dr., and the MRI machine, both of which diagnosed an annular tear in a herniated, lumbar disc. And in April, that led me to my first (of potentially four) epidural spinal injection, which was performed in the Dr.'s office and which was described in pitiful detail in an earlier post. You may recall I didn't want to ever go through that while awake again, so I had decided if I absolutely must have more ESIs, to request the next one(s) be done as an outpatient, under anesthesia...meaning at High Point Surgery Center.

Anybody keeping up with the National news lately? Meningitis ring a bell? Specifically meningitis caused by tainted meds, mainly used in epidural spinal injections? Well, dear readers, any guesses where one of those patients who died from receiving a tainted ESI got her injections this summer? Three guesses...and the first two don't count.

But, because I left HPNC for KY in late May, and subsequently got Bell's Palsy in late June, requiring me to take a large amount of steroids orally...and because oral steroids are available in your body as help for back pain as well as jaw pain, I didn't need another ESI for my back when I returned home in August. Ergo, because I got Bell's Palsy, I didn't get meningitis.

Of course, one could say that because Missy M broke her foot, I didn't get meningitis. True, but that doesn't give credit for the oral steroids (which possibly caused my cataract to accelerate, but I digress). And, let's face it. I've been searching for a silver lining about Bell's for months.

130 days, to be exact. Nearly 19 weeks. So, let's just go with "Bell's Palsy Saved My Life." That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Time to document the wee bit of progress toward full recovery. Here they are...the Photos, "Smile!" and "Big smile!!"




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

P. S. Good news from the ophthalmologist today. My right appears to have healed well, so he ordered new lens for me. I still need correction for the left eye, and I still need both bifocals and transition lens for both. But, good news is good news, right?

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Bell's Palsy Update - Four Months Later

I could go on and on...and on...about this misery known as Bell's Palsy, and about how confounded I am at having to write yet another update instead of an ending. About how certain I was that it would be just a lingering memory of a bad dream by now, instead of this continuing nightmare. About...well, you get my drift.

So, let's not dwell on the gloomy. Let's find some silver linings, how about it?

Silver lining #1: the damage that Bell's did to the left side of my face starting on June 24th is almost completely erased, four months later. My eyebrow is very nearly where it should be...in line with the right eyebrow...and I can raise it "like normal." The drooping and sagging of my left eye have almost completely disappeared...so, thankfully I no longer give the appearance of having had a stroke. I can wink!

Silver Lining #2: my hearing is back to normal, and I have zero jaw pain. I don't have to rely on any meds specifically treating Bell's symptoms. Hooray!

Silver Lining #3: my speech is almost back to normal...just a bit of slurring with Ps, Bs, Fs, and Ss when I am tired...or when I try to talk too fast. When I smile, you can see teeth...top and bottom. And, I can whistle!

Continuing with this whole weather metaphor, I have only a couple clouds to contend with:

Cloud #1: When I'm tired, my blink response in the left eye gets "lazy," for the lack of a better word. I must still use artificial tears several times daily...and remember to blink.

Cloud #2: I still struggle with eating "thick" foods like hamburgers and sub sandwiches. I have to either take sandwiches apart or smoosh the fat ones down. And I still must cut all foods into small bites, especially lettuce in salads. I just can't get my mouth open wide enough yet, nor do I have complete feeling back in my lower lip. My smile is lopsided still, and probably is the most telling reminder of the paralysis which once held the left side of my face hostage.

So it's now Silver Linings=3, Clouds=2. The score is tilting in my favor...finally. Both my Speech Therapist on Tuesday and my GP today assured me that The End is just around the corner; I should be able to put this all behind me when the Holidays are upon us. Three or four more weeks, "tops."

Let's hope I won't need to write too many more updates or publish too many more documentation photos.

Five (months) could just be the charm!

P. S. As enquiring minds might wish to know, my right eye continues to recover from cataract surgery with alacrity. I'll be hap, hap, happy when I can get my prescription lens updated, as I feel a bit wobbly while looking at the world through my old specs. That should happen in a couple of weeks.

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Documentation Photos for Day #122

Saturday, October 20, 2012

No Regrets

"I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things that I haven't."
-Lucille Ball

No regrets. That's what Mom said last summer when I asked if she had any regrets about her life. She was in Hospice Home, in the final stage of lung cancer. Isn't that a marvelous thing to be able to say at end of a long, productive life?

Of course, I didn't wish to remind her of the one regret I could ever remember her mentioning...something she hadn't done instead of something she had. A year or so after Daddy died, she went on a cruise to Alaska with a Senior group from Pickerington, OH. She didn't expect to enjoy it as much as she did. She had a blast, including that once-in-a-lifetime helicopter ride out to a glacier! After that trip, she said "I wish I had done that when your Daddy was alive. He always wanted to go to Alaska, and he would have loved every minute of that cruise." Ah well...

So now that's become my personal guiding light. No regrets. Not if I can help it.

And that's how I wound up in Orlando with Missy M at Disney World this week.

Did I need to be in the heat and humidity of Florida, where it felt more like August than October, before I have fully regained the stamina that Bell's Palsy has robbed from me? No.

Did I need to be in the brutally bright tropical sunlight so soon after cataract surgery? No.

Was I fully ready to handle the heat, humidity, eyeball-blistering light, AND the crowds? Oh h3ll no!

Do I regret going? Not in the very least! Lucille Ball was right.

Missy M and I have tried to get together for what I have called our annual Mother-Daughter Bonding Trip (MDBT) every year since we travelled together for a week in Washington in 2001 or 2002. Actually, the idea was probably germinated in 1998, when she and I spent a couple of months together in Sophia-Antipolis, France, while I was on assignment for SEMA Group Telecoms and she was on break from college. Good grief! That was over 14 years ago!!

Anyway, when M made plans to attend a training conference on the WDW property, she asked if I wanted to go with her...and play with Mickey the week prior to her conference. I couldn't say "yes!" fast enough. (I am my mother's daughter, after all..."Edith's got one foot in the road and the other crooked to hop"...as Nananny once said about her. Me? I keep a suitcase half-packed and handy at all times!) Having lived in Kissimmee for a brief time, and having enjoyed the benefits offered to Missy M when she worked at Epcot in the College program 2002-3, I'm a big fan. And it's always fun to see what's changed. Our last visit was 3 years ago...and there have been many changes and updates. Plus, Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival is in October...need I say more?

Both of us have battled health problems this year, as you are well-aware. M is still dealing with issues related to her broken foot, and Disney World is known for being spread out. Yet both of us were determined to do this MDBT this year. Determined was actually too mild to describe us. Try resolved, resolute, driven.

M wore a pedometer every day to see how many steps we did:
Wednesday - 21,855 steps (Hollywood Studios)
Thursday - 21,387 steps (Epcot)
Friday - 16,824 steps (Magic Kingdom)
...for a grand total of...drum roll, please...60,066 steps!
If you consider that M's "step" is about 2.25 feet, and that there are 5,280 feet in a mile...well, you can see that we averaged about 8.5 miles of walking each day!

What happened on Friday, you are probably asking? Well, in short, we hit The Wall. Remember I mentioned heat, humidity, intense sunlight, and overwhelming crowds? Yeah. By late afternoon on Friday, we had both endured about all of the above that we could take. Or, as M said: "Tink! My pop-up timer has come out. I'm done!!" We were too tired to stay for the fireworks...now that's tired, folks!

No matter. We enjoyed the time together as much as the trip itself...more, even.

So, Patricia...what was your favorite part of the parks this time? I loved the Behind the Seeds Tour of the sustainable agriculture greenhouses in the Living with the Land pavilion in Epcot. Fantastic!! Disney...and gardening...be still my beating heart! I also loved the Toy Story Mania ride at Hollywood Studios every bit as much as I did 3 years ago...what can I say? My inner Buzz Lightyear is strong.

Here are some of the shots I took on the Seeds Tour to share with you:

First up, turnips growing big in sand:


Then, a pepper bush gets a Mickey haircut:


And finally, can you see Mickey in Red Sails lettuce in the back? Soon, the front lettuces will say "Epcot":



So, today was my travel-home day, with a flight back into Raleigh where Mr. T picked me up. Tonight, Duke is playing North Carolina in football. Busy day. No worries...tomorrow, I can rest.

Any regrets? Not a one. Not a single one.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Bell's Palsy Update - Week 16 Begins

Not a lot to report today. Not many changes noticed...but no "backsliding" either. That's always good news, right?!

Will be taking a little break from Speech Therapy this week...more on that in my next post from _______...can you guess? I'll keep you in suspense for a bit. Big grin!

Until then, here are the Documentation Photos - Day 114:




Friday, October 12, 2012

Quick Update

Dear Readers,

I know several of you aren't Facebook fanatics...yet...:~\. So I wanted to share what I posted there this morning with you.

Let me say it twice: it's a great day in HPNC!


  A Bright, Sunny New Chapter Here’s to spending 49 years with the same Valentine! Even though our story’s Prologue began in Jackson, MS, wh...