I have found that if I take my shower in the evening before bed rather than in the morning, I sleep better. It must wind me down. The night that I slept right through I showered with some baby wash I had from when John was a baby. I like to use body wash rather than soap so I figured I'd try that. Maybe there's something in it that lulls the babies to sleep, because I sure slept well that night! LOL If it works like that again I will be buying a new bottle!

Karrine, perhaps your daughter would rather have you live somewhere that's comfortable for you rather than worry about leaving an inheritance. I think our facilities here are expensive, too. I don't think I would get enough for my house to pay for very long. I would not have to have a fancy place to live. I am accustomed to living without all the bells and whistles. As long as I'm safe and comfortable.

I'm glad your ankle is starting to improve, finally. You've been through a lot with it.

And you have been through a lot with your sciatica, Gayle. I don't understand why the exercises are making you hurt worse, unless it will improve as you do it more. Try to keep in mind that you want to be able to continue to get around. I had a painful night last night that I haven't had in a while. Reminds me of my intention to get back to my exercise.

Mary, I highly agree with this statement that you made above. I was eating very poorly for a while and my last A1c was in the 8's. That's when my doctor increased my Amaryl to 2mg twice a day. Since then I have gone back to much better eating and am no longer getting any blood sugar readings above 200 at any time during the day, and I have been only taking half a mg of Amaryl in the AM and 1 mg or less in the PM. Occasionally, I will take more if I know I will be eating more carbs, but I try to avoid it. Most blood sugar readings are below 150. I think having the Amaryl makes me think I can eat more carbs, when I know I shouldn't. I have not gained any weight from it, but it is probably contributing to my inability to lose.

Sandy ~ Maybe we can help/encourage each other to do the PT exercises. I am off to a good start today. Following her instructions to "ease" back into it. A tiny bit achy, but not in pain like my other attempts to resume the program she had worked up for me.

Dh went fishing today so I've been being lazy so far this am with nobody to get me going. Tried to get Halo in for her "spa" treatment but she needs her rabie shot updated so they won't take her. We can bathe her and clip her nails but we don't like to brush her teeth and her breath is very bad. Has anyone tried the dental chews for dogs? I had some samples but misplaced them. I may buy some.

Glynne - I too forget to do my PT exercises a lot anymore. There are a few that most mornings I do before I get out of bed. I sit at the side of the bed to do those, but occasionally I don't feel I have time so don't do them. In reality they take very little time though. It is all the others I haven't been doing much at all and I'm trying to get back to them. So I definitely understand the struggle. On the pain I'm not sure it is the same with you of course, but for me they caused me pain in the beginning and now do again since I don't do them often...but the more consistently I do them, the better my back and shoulder feels. When I have back pain, I lay on ice for 10 min. and that helps too even though I hate doing it. I feel like I'm wasting my time, laying on the floor for 10 min. LOL Wonder what I'd do if I weren't there...there's a good chance I'd waste it anyway. :dizzy:

Karrine - I understand about the high cost of senior centers...I wonder about that too because our house and whatever cash we happen to have at the time will be all we will leave to our children. We have only had to touch our EF once and we quickly paid that back, but whether it will be there at that time I can't possibly know. And you are right that no matter how much savings you have (or get from your home), at the high cost of the senior places, it won't last long. I try to make every decision prayerfully and I trust that things will work out right one way or another ..so we (I) will just make the decisions as needed when the time comes.

Sandy - Your dh sounds like mine. Even though is not like he was before he fractured his leg and all the surgeries, he still is a hard worker. He loves it when the sun shines and he can be outdoors working. Winters are hard for him although he has seemed to adjust a bit since we stopped RVing. He doesn't seem quite as anxious to travel even esp new places. I think partly that might be because of his hearing loss, and feeling a bit less able. But here at home he still often does more work in a day than many younger men.

Carol Sue - Understand what you're saying about the BS issue. For me it's about timing my food...I tend to want to eat way too often. Right now my weight goal is simply to get down to my sig weight and stay there! Only one more pound to go as of this morning. So I'm trying to only eat every 2-4 hours (I know, ONLY?) and no snacks unless my bs is low enough. Eves are my biggest problem so trying hard to have only ONE snack...but crazy as it may seem, that is not easy for me. I cannot imagine how I ever lost weight in the past because it is so hard for me now.

Yesterday I took out all the things under our bed that used to be under our son's bed and put them back there. Also had to clean out under his bed to do this. But that's all I got done here at home beyond the daily stuff. Spent too much time out. I have to go out again today cause I forgot one item but hope to dust and vac the same bedroom before I leave.

Have a good day!

Tomorrow morning we are going to try to get our taxes done. I used to do them myself, but it's not as easy now that they no longer send the forms and instruction booklet. I know I can get all that online but I don't like to do that. I tried to efile one year and that was a disaster so I won't do that anymore. Last year we went to the AARP who does it free for seniors. You don't have to be a member, but it gets really crowded and you have to get there early to get in. Last year we had to go up a second time because they were full by the time we got there. The AARP does the efile for us.

Today I bakes some cookies for my grandson for Easter. Tomorrow I need to do some last minute shopping for Easter. Then on Friday I will make Beet Horseradish and Easter Cheese, which are 2 traditions from DH's Slovak family. I am the only one who still makes them. When I am gone they will just be a memory. We will be away on Saturday, and on Sunday I will cook a small ham for us, make potato salad and a kielbassi casserole to take to my step-son's. I have all this planned. I hope things fall into place and I get everything done on time.

Good evening GG's,

The sun has kind of come and gone today. Steve and Maddie have gone to do some errands. I was surprised ~ usually she has homework on school nights. It is quiet here right now, so I'm gonna take the opportunity to visit here.

I got to talk to mom today ~ it was one of her better days. Lately when I call, she has dozed off in the chair. She has been having spells of being agitated, so I hate to have them wake her when I call and disturb her when she is calm and quiet. They are doing a kind of music therapy thing with her ~ they have loaded music (they read me a list and I told them the ones I thought she would enjoy) onto an iPod and she can listen with headphones to help calm and relax her. They are so wonderful there. (If I mentioned this before ~ forgive me ~ I don't always remember what I have shared.)

I followed my PT lady's instructions and did some of the exercises this morning. A tiny bit achy after, but not pain like I had been having when I had tried to resume them on my own. There was one exercise I asked her about, and she said only if I didn't have pain. It was a back stretch that was to be done while standing ~ 10 times every hour. I thought I'd do it once and see how it went. No pain right after, but it started later on. I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with that exercise as much as from sitting at my sewing machine. I always seem to end up having pain after using the sewing machine. I wasn't even doing it very long today.

I had gotten a new sewing machine, but hadn't had a chance to try it out and I knew that Steve would start fussing at me soon if I didn't get around to that. I think the information about it said that you could sew without using the foot pedal, and I thought maybe that would help me to be able to sew without aggravating that sciatic pain.

I did walk for one 10 minute chunk on the treadmill and had planned to do more and another set of the PT exercises, but now, feel like maybe I shouldn't push it.

Mary ~ I don't forget to do the exrecises, I just don't like doing them. Just like the regular exercises ~ I feel like there are other things I'd rather be doing. But as you described in your experience, like you, I wouldn't end up doing anything of much importance and would probably waste that time. In the whole scheme of things, that half hour walk isn't much time out of the day. And the PT exercises don't take all the long either.

My bad habit of wanting to skip these important things probably gives you all a clue as to why I am in the shape I'm in.

Mary ~ several years back I had heard about the Fly Lady thing you mentioned. It sounded like a good idea, so I signed up for her emails but so many came it got overwhelming. And I could never keep up with her schedule ideas and I ended up feeling like a failure at it. I just have to kind of do the cleaning in what ever time frame works for me.

Carol Sue ~ I'm glad that the evening showers are helping you to rest better. I was always a morning showerer ~ because if I did it at night, and slept on my hair, there was no fixing it in the morning. I have to start with wet hair and dry it. Also, I had very oily hair and had to wash it every day. Now my hair is not oily like it used to be and I can skip a day. I have learned a trick and now if I have to get up earlier in the mornings than I usually do, I can take a shower at night still be able to fix my hair right in the morning. I have a spray bottle and spray my hair so it is damp and then use the hair dryer same as I do when I shower in the morning and I am able to fix my hair as usual. Your Easter sounds like a nice one of some family time. You should write down those recipes even if no one is asking now ~ they might regret later on that they didn't ask you while they had the chance ~ and you could be one step ahead of them. I asked my dad to write down some of the recipes for things he fixed when he came to visit us. He thought that was a silly request, but now I have a memory/keepsake of some of the recipes he made and in his hand writing. I also have some my mom and grandma wrote down for me. Treasures.

Karrine ~ did your ankle do ok after the sweeping on your porch? Hope it tolerated that ok. I've heard that the kind of facilities I mentioned are pricey. It sounds like a good idea, but it is probably not something we could afford. I wouldn't mind just staying where we are and trying to hire someone to help us with the yard work and such when we are no longer able to do it ourselves. Or maybe some kind of condo type place where the maintainence of the structure and yard are done for you. Steve did have the good sense to seek out a one story house so we wouldn't have to deal with stairs. I sort of hate the thought anyway of having to go to a smaller place and having to give up some of my stuff ~ my bike is one such thing.

Sandy ~ glad you got to enjoy your walk the other day ~ sounds like it was beautiful out. What is geothermal? The different plants you describe in your yard sound so beautiful. I will have to google the names of the different things you mention ~ my imagination without a picture I'm sure doesn't come anywhere near to what they actually look like.

Grandpa and Maddie found a sale on kids clothes at one of the local stores and she is wanting to put on a fashion show for me. So, guess I will get off and check out her outfits.

Hope you all have a good rest tonight.

Good morning everyone,
We had freezing rain overnight and it is still freezing rain now. The roads are full of ice so I'm hoping the road sanders and salters will improve things in time for me to go for my physio therapy appointment this morning. Nan's family (DD; SIL and 2 grandkids) are coming to visit today. That will be very nice for her. They live in the next city (40 minutes from here). DD and SIL are separated but they will be together today for the visit. I imagine they will come in separate cars

Carol and Mary One thing I would dread about having to go into a nursing home or retirement home would be the thought of having to share a room. I would want a private room which, of course, would be more expensive.
I am not diabetic but I have a question about your posts. When I do my BS readings I am in the 7 and 8's but my A1c readings according to the doctor are still in prediabetic range. What is all this about readings of 200 about?
Carol - your Easter dinner plans sound very nice.

Gayle Speaking of exercise....I sure am getting bad since I hurt my ankle at the beginning of January and although I hate exercising I really need to get back on the treadmill again to regain some strength. I never did get the front porch swept but it has to be done before Saturday afternoon when my DD and hubby will be coming to put out my patio furniture.

That's all my news for now
Hope everyone has a good day,
Karrine

Karrine, you in Canada, use the metric system. We in the US use imperial units. Here is a conversion chart that compares the 2. My blood sugars in the AM aren't too bad. I used to get readings over 200 after meals but not so much anymore.

https://www.joslin.org/info/conversi...onitoring.html

We spent the morning getting out taxes done so that's over with. A lot of people got their early so we had to wait a couple hours. Then I went to the grocery store to get the last of my needs for Easter. Now I've made stuffed peppers for dinner and they are in the casserole waiting to be cooked. Then I get to spend the rest of the evening reading.

Just got home from the gym where I felt I had a pretty good workout. Now to get something done at home. I am making a beef enchilada dish tonight. I do not usually care for my enchiladas but this is a new recipe so will see how it is.
Last night we had Subways for dinner before the Easter communion service. It was a wonderful service.

Strange how it is so cold with freezing rain and snow in many places. It is damp, cloudy but it is 52 degrees. I just wear a light jacket and it's enough since I don't stay out long. Dh dresses warmer.

Karrine - I hear you on wanting a private room and yes I'm sure it would be much more expensive even if you can get it. Don't rush and overdue your ankle...perhaps you can do some chair exercises or very brief standing ones.

Glynne - Glad you are doing the exercises again. It's one of those discipline things and hard for me too. I joined Flylady long ago..at first I got the emails but that was too much for me..so I dropped them. Now I just use the Flylady version of Cozi organzier and the am, pm and missions are in there. I don't really need reminders on the daily tasks but I try to do the missions (specific extra tasks like monthly etc) and the weekly home blessing (only I do a little every day if I can) and otherwise if I have time I vac the carpet in any room that needs it. Don't always get to that though esp if I go out. So really I have these few reminders but I work it all into my schedule. Since I'm retired I like being able to just go out with dh when he says asks me. If not all the housework gets done I try not to worry about it. My home is not super clean but it is fairly maintained so I don't have to be too ashamed if someone drops by. One thing I really really need to do and I have trouble fitting in is shampooing the carpets. Since we got Halo they have gotten very dirty.

Carole Sue - I think it's great that you are carrying on their family traditional recipes. I hope they will wake up and realize they'd better learn to make them on their own one day. My kids don't seem to care much about traditions either. Or maybe it's just that they have started their own...

Sandy - How you doing? Don't over due in the garden.;)

My step son might carry on the tradition of the beet horseradish because he likes it, but the others won't care, and no one would miss the Easter Cheese. They couldn't be bothered making it. They don't know that I take a short cut with the beet horseradish. My mother-in-law used to get a horseradish root and peel and grate it. Then she got fresh beets and peeled, cooked and grated them. Then she blended it all together and added as much beet juice as was needed. I am a big cheater! I buy cans of sliced beats, drain and smash them with a potato masher. Then I buy jars of prepared horseradish, which contain only ground horseradish, vinegar, salt and flavorings. Mix it into the smashed beets and I'm done. No one ever noticed that if wasn't the same as grandma's. DH knows, because he sees me make it. We serve it on slices of the Easter Cheese, which is just made from milk and eggs, or on our sliced ham. I don't understand why we only have this at Easter.

CarolSue Of course the Beets are so good. We make it with canned beets, too. It won't go as good with the Lamb we are serving so it will be skipped this year. Sure makes Beef great, tho.

Mary DH wears hearing aids, and the lack of hearing well causes some weird conversations, and occasionally an angry comment. We used to talk so much more, easily. I do miss that.

Going to Mass in a bit. So glad they moved it to 6:00 instead of usual 7:00 pm so we'll get home earlier. Same for Good Friday. Friend planed to meet us, too. When we get home we'll watch Kansas in NCAA tournament and Oklahomal and also one other.

Scale was not friendly today. Eating more carefully today.

I'm a little bit worried about the scallopped potatoes I plan to make for Easter dinner. Wondering if I could prepare the potatoes and sauce and put in fridge overnight if I get too worried about the timing of everything on Sunday? If we go to the 8 am service I think I'll be fine but if we go to the 10 am I might have problems as I have to heat the ham too. Both will take about an hour per instructions. Has anyone ever tried preparing the potatoes and sauce a day a head? Any advice?

ETA: Just read online that these potatoes can be prepared even two or three days ahead, so if that's true, I guess I could do them on Sat. They said if you set out to get to room temp before heating they only take about 30 min to heat. I could set them out before I go to church...will be at church almost 2 hrs. That way I could go to the 10 am service. What do you think?

Good morning everyone,
Well yesterday was a bust as Nan's family was unable to come visit due to needing to work late yesterday. They have plans for over the weekend so they will come visit her hopefully next Thursday. I'm not too thrilled with her family because I don't like the way they treat her. You would think that they could put her first occasionally but that would interrupt their social life. Oh well, I best not judge as it's none of my business but I can see that I will be the one giving her the care & support she will need on the home front during this sad time and I don't mind doing that. We will be going to the early Sunday morning mass at 8:15 am and now that we have the disability parking permit we can park close to the church entrance so that will really help. I really hope the snow on my deck melts today as tomorrow my DD and hubby will be coming to put out my patio furniture. I don't care if it gets snow on it as I need to get the help wherever I can right now.

Carol Thank you for the conversion chart. I didn't even think about me being on the metric system lol. Everything is more clear now. Your Easter recipes sound good and like you I don't understand why we don't make some of these things year round for instance. I love hot cross buns but they are only available during the Easter season.

Mary How did your beef enchilada dish turn out. I would go for making your scalloped potatoes and sauce the day before. I've often peeled and cut in halves potatoes the day before to save time and just changed the water the next day. They didn't discolor as long as covered in water but I'm sure you already know that.

Sandy I'm not one to try new foods therefore I've never had lamb. Does it taste anything like chicken; beef or pork?

Happy Easter everyone and have a good day,
Karrine

I guess I was wrong about the evening shower and/or the baby wash helping me sleep. I did both last night but tossed and turned all night. I guess it was just a fluke that it helped before.

Gayle, I have the same problem as you, that I cannot fix my hair after I've slept on it, but if I take my shower at night I don't always wash my hair. Sometimes I wash it in the morning over the sink, or I wet it again in the morning and then blow it dry and style it.

Mary, I don't know how you or others feel about this, but you could bake the scalloped potatoes and the ham in the oven at the same time. Some people worry about the flavors of the two blending together but with ham and scalloped potatoes, that's not a bad thing.

Sandy, I have eaten lamb, but I don't think DH would eat it. My mother made it once in a while and I liked it. As a kid, it was just meat. All meat tasted good to me. She made leg of lamb and also made lamb patties out of ground lamb. We eat gyros, and I think the meat they use for gyros is lamb, so DH has eaten some lamb.

Karrine, Nan is so very lucky to have you to care for her so much.

When I cook for a holiday I cannot make anything the day before because then it's leftovers, and DH will not eat leftovers. There are exceptions. One time I made something the day before a family get together but he told me not to tell anyone that it was made before. I don't remember what it was, but it was something that took a long time to cook and would have been impossible to make the day of the get-together. No one else would care, except him. I will be making the beet horseradish and Easter Cheese today because we have plans for most of the day tomorrow. The potato salad would taste much better if I made it the day before and the flavors all melded together, but DH will not allow that. He's finiky.

For some reason, my computer wouldn't boot up this morning. When it finally booted up, I was no longer logged into 3FC and I had to log in again. Now that I'm trying to post this, it's telling me I don't have permission and myst refresh and log in again. I hope I can save this to repost later.

Good evening GG's,

This day has just kind of flown by. It didn't turn out at all like I thought it would.

I was gonna go out to Walmart and Dollar Tree right after I got up, but Jason called and needed me to find some papers he had left here the other day. Then he went to a place to get some information on training for a different kind of job. He planned to stop by here after, for a few minutes to tell what he had learned and for some help from his dad (dad acts as his account/financial adviser) because of his decreased pay while he is on light duty from work because of a back injury. I didn't want to leave then ~ hate to miss a chance to get to visit with him.

He ended up being here until almost 4 pm. So, I didn't accomplish much today. But I guess that is ok ~ I did a lot of cooking yesterday, so maybe being able to take it easy today was good even though I feel kind of guilty about it. My back has been kind of more achy today ~ I think I didn't move around enough.

Jason helped facilitate Steve getting rid of some piles of paper stuff. We get busy with other stuff and don't get around to getting rid of stuff in a timely manner like we should.

We kind of got a little break today. Maddie was with her dad.

Carol Sue ~ you have the patience of a saint with this no leftovers stuff. I guess each of has something like that to deal with and it sounds difficult to someone else, but we are used to it and just do it. Enjoy your family time this weekend.

Karrine ~ Nan sure is lucky to have you. Sad that her family chooses to do other stuff and not spend time with her. Especially with the health things she has going on ~ you'd think they'd be taking every chance they could to spend time with her while they can. Glad you are able to park closer to the church enterance now. That is good for both of you.

Mary ~ hope all your foods turn out well for you. Glad you are able to have family time this weekend.

Sandy ~ enjoy your basket ball games and your family time this weekend.

Hope you all have a nice evening.

It's been a busy run around day and I'm still very tired. I went to the mall for the ham and then came home to get it into the fridge. Then left again, this time with dh, and went to Costco to get jelly beans and a supplement I needed and we had lunch there. Dh didn't want to share so I got my own slice of pizza but only ate a little over 1/2 of it. Still a lot of calories though. After Costco we went to two regular grocery stores and a drug store for dh's med.

For Christmas one of our gs gave dh a treat dispenser. You put your hand under the opening and out comes the treat. Since Christmas (when we had m&ms in it) it's been empty but for Easter, I am putting jelly beans in it and bringing it out after dinner for part of the dessert. I am sure the kids will like it. I may bake a coconut cake but not sure whether anyone will eat it. I hope they don't leave it for us. Some don't eat sweets, others don't like coconut but it just seems perfect (to me) for Easter. I may decorate it a bit with jelly beans too.

Carole, one oven rack will not hold both baking dishes/pans. My oven is supposedly good for like baking cookies in the different racks, but my experience has been the racks do not bake the same and somethings burn, others don't. So I don't often do it. Ham and potatoes would likely be ok to do it...I don't care about the mixing of odors...but I just don't completely trust this oven. That said, I'm on a different track now....I asked Honey Baked Ham about reheating and they do not recommend it. What they recommend is to remove the ham from the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature before serving. I have always said that heating tends to dry it out a bit esp the top layers and they also mentioned that the glaze slides off and I have noticed that too. I just spoon it back on but it's not the same as it's more liquid after heating. SO, I don't think I will heat it now. That will make my life easier and if anyone just has to have their slice heated I can do it quickly in the microwave. Maybe it is the ear cleanse that helps you sleep...might last a couple nights even. :?:

So now my biggest issue is the scallopped potatoes. I think I will cook them tonight and just reheat when I get home from church. I have a feeling I might be ready before my company comes now, cause I told them we probably won't eat until 2 but now I think it will be ready sooner. I did tell them to come earlier because things might be ready sooner. My dil said 2 would be easier for her cause she's cooking ribs in a slow cooker but thought she could be ready by 1 if need be.

So here is my menu (I think!)
Honey Baked Ham
Barbecue Ribs (dil)
Scalloped Potatoes
Potato Salad (dil)
Peas & Onions (from frozen but forgot to buy today)
Spinach Salad (dd)
Dinner Rolls
Coconut Cake and fresh strawberries? or Jelly Beans for decor
Jelly Beans for kids

The kids will have an Easter egg hunt after dinner. Dh tries hard to keep the yards picked up after Halo, but I'm going to tell the daddies they need to do it before the egg hunt. :D

Karrine - So glad you got the disabled permits! And I'm glad you have help coming for the moving of furniture on the patio. Hot Cross Buns! Today I was trying to tell dh I'd like some for Easter but couldn't think of the name. So instead we just got regular dinner rolls. One year for Easter when the kids were home I got Hot Cross Buns and we had them for breakfast. We always tried to make breakfast a little special on Christmas and Easter but now that it's just the two of us we don't do that. The beef enchiladas were wonderful! The best I've ever made for sure. In fact tonight we are eating the leftovers.

Sandy - I never ate lamb while growing up, but after I married I was determined to try all sorts of food (wanted to be the perfect wife you know!) so I cooked some lamb chops a few times. They tasted ok, but there was something about the smell when I cooked them that I didn't like and I finally stopped. I should try them again as my tastes have changed a lot. Can't remember whether I was pregnant then..if so maybe that was it. I prefer not to eat pork but I still succumb to the smell/taste of bacon, ham and ribs now and then. Also my dh and son like them so that's another reason we eat it now and then. But usually we just eat chicken, beef and fish. Also you and Carole have been talking about beets...way back when I was a kid, you were forced to eat everything on your lunch tray. I had never tasted beets and didn't like them...they made me eat them and I became sick. I have avoided beets ever since. Funny how things can happen in your youth and affect your whole life.















Glynne - My

Ok just have to share something I just learned today....vanilla is sometimes made with the urine of beavers. How's that grab ya?!! LOL

Good morning everyone,
Just going to tidy up around here today with DD and hubby coming. We are having home made hamburgers; potato salad and macaroni cheese salad for supper tonight. My ankle is healing very slowly (too slow for me) but the physio therapist said that a broken bone heals faster than ligaments. At least I can now walk a short distance with reasonable comfort as long as I'm wearing the brace.

Carol that's too bad that your evening shower did not work out for you. As for the scalloped potatoes....my mother used to make a scalloped potato casserole with slices of ham between the layers of potatoes. I remember that casserole as being very good.

Gayle Getting rid of paper....we get the daily newspaper so we have to put all our paper products out to the curb for pick up every week or it gets to be too much. I feel the same way about Nan's family not spending more time with her especially now. I'm hoping that will change once she has more information from the Cancer Center regarding her internal organs and treatment.

Mary Your Easter Dinner menu really sounds wonderful and you sure are going to a lot of trouble to make it nice. As for the vanilla post - YUCK!! lol.

I won't have time tomorrow morning to post so I want to wish all of you lovely ladies a wonderful Easter Sunday with family and friends. God Bless,

Karrine

Oh no!! My DD just called from up North. They got the ice storm worse than we did. She has been without power for 3 days now and still no power. Lots of tree branches broken off on their property. They are trying to get their generator going to save all their freezer meat and therefore are unable to come here for Easter. I called the restaurant and cancelled our reservations for Sunday. I feel so sorry for her and tomorrow we are supposed to have a big warm up weather wise so that should melt the ice off the tree branches. Needless to say, I guess we'll just have to make a non fussy meal here at home tomorrow. Hope nobody else has last minute changes to their day.

God Bless and Happy Easter,
Karrine

Karrine ~ I'm sorry for your disappointment at not being able to spend Easter with your daughter. Maybe this isn't helpful, but I hoped sharing it might help somehow. Because of our family situation, we don't get to spend holidays together like we used to ~ I have found that it isn't so much what day we do it on, but that just being able to spend time together on what ever day works out to do it ~ is still fun and a gift to be able to be together even if it isn't on the "official" day.

Gayle Your words about the great value of family time together, regardless of the day is so wise. I fully agree.

Our family, except our oldest & family, lives nearby so this Easter we are having them here with us. It is possible that by this time next year our family may be scattered, so this time is extra special.
Lamb is in the refrigerator.

I've dusted all except the extra chairs we'll need to add tomorrow. The desk chairs, we have 4 with rollers, will work fine at the table. Don't match, but so what? I'll still need card table chair for Anthony (he is 3) He is a messy eater but everything can be cleaned up. This is when I miss our dog to help in clean up!!!

Since DH and DD#2 have taken over the kitchen, I feel funny that I'm left out of much of the planning. What a blessing that they do it and relieve me of that work, but I do miss getting to plan and prepare, too.
I'll make the carrot/pineapple salad as usual and make it today to have ready.

Since DD#3's friend can't come, it will be just family and actually I'm glad of that. We are trying to cope with DH's beloved Sister in Florida having cancerous brain tumor and getting radiation treatment that have her miserable.

I don't want radiation for any reason at my age and she is 12 years older. I seem to remember her saying that, too, but when she had the stroke last weekend and fell, hit her head so badly they took the CT scan, compared it with the one they took in December and the tumor shows up as having developed and is growing rapidly. She recently said that she wants NO visitors, and we will not be going down. Lord help us all.

Little Anthony will keep us busy and laughing, and thank God for him. DGS#2 is raising him as a single father and doing such a good job. They live across the street from his dad and our Son. Anthony has lots to love him and he is such a happy little guy. Almost white hair like his grandmother and like DH had as a child, his huge blue eyes and ready smile cause him to be welcome anywhere. He loves people, and in day care they have trouble getting him to "be quiet" and not interrupt the other kids as they take their nap. Funny, but he is exactly like his dad and his grandfather were.

I put the girls down for a nap in one bedroom, and our son shared ours. I told him he could take some toys in bed with him, but if I heard him make noise the toys go. He listened, he obeyed and never took a nap from 10 months on. I needed the time to rest - 3 kids by our 4th wedding anniversary! (And I had prayed as a kid for 12 children. As a mother I prayed he change that number.) When our youngest was 6 I hungered for another child and we are grateful for her. She still lives not so far away. Car is in shop so I'll run down and get her before we go to Mass on Easter. Her sister will probably take her home later in the day when all our food and visit is over.

Last night's Good Friday Service was so holy, amazing. "Were you there when they Crucified our Lord?" is always sung. We had extra verses added and every one sang. I sat between Kelly (a friend) and Jeri who also had gone to the Church we attended for 30 years. This Catholic Church is "Liberal" according to my son, but the differences are appreciated by us. ESPECIALLY, no, NO incense. I'm so allergic to that and so is the Priest so we don't have it.

Hopefully, no Easter Lilies will be in the Church either.

Everyone is asked to bring a vase of flowers from their garden to put at the altar for Easter. (Mark all vases so you can get them back). My flowers are too small to take, but I'll enjoy the others. Bet lots of Pear, Forsythia, will be among those bought. Also Cherry tree is out and looking beautiful Early this year but so appreciated.

Oops, DH is home with groceries. Sandy

Gayle, I am so accustomed to the way my husband eats it does not seem strange to me, but does to other people. His brothers are mostly the same. My one sister-in-law told me once she made a dish and set it on the table. His husband took one look at it and got up, went to the cabinet and took out some cookies, and went into the living room and ate them, all without saying a word. With us, I knew in advance what he would and wouldn't eat and knew not to fix them for him. When I was growing up, food was scarce, so there was never any leftovers.

Sandy, I am sorry for your sister-in-law's problems with her tumor. I am the same that I do not want visitors when I am in the hospital, other than DH, who won't even stay home when I tell him to. I tease him that he comes because he likes eating in the hospital cafeteria. LOL

Mary, for some reason I do not like warm ham. It seems too salty to me when it's warm, and less salty after it cools to room temp or after being stored in refrigeration.

Karrine, I am sorry to hear of your daughter's dilemma. I hope she gets it all worked out and you can get together another day. My step daughter is feeling very guilty that they are spending Easter with her husband's sister, but I told her it's about time. Since they met 30 years ago she insisted on spending every holiday with our family instead of his and they fought about it every year. His mother, who has since passed away, told me once how bad that made her feel, but no one could change Janelle's mind. Now his parents are both gone and I told her it's so important for him and his sister to have each other. We live only a couple miles from his sister and they can stop at our house on their way home. Sometimes my step son spends some holidays with his in-laws and I never get upset about it.

I hope all have a very happy and blessed Easter!

I'm doing pretty well with the tasks I planned today. I have the eggs done and refrigerated, stopped for a while to dust, clean glass and vac the living room. Tomorrow I will remove the dog covers and just make sure the sofa and love seat and pillows are reasonably clean. Halo still manages to get them dirty even with the covers, esp the pillows. I then prepared the scalloped potatoes and have it baking now. I will cook them 15 min. less on the time since I will be reheating them. They look really good. Now I am resting a bit before I clean the family room. Then I will be done with my weekly cleaning. I mopped the kitchen floor late last night. Oh I also need to scrub out the tub as dh bathed Halo there yesterday and I forgot to clean it last night. He rinsed it out but I want more than that since I bathe in the tub at least a few days a week. After the family room is clean, I will bake the coconut cake. I haven't baked a layered cake in several years...this will be from a cake mix and is just two layers but has a creamy coconut frosty...so will probably challenge me as not only the layers but I rarely ever frost a cake if I make it just for us. Actually don't think I've baked any kind of cake for a few years.
The last cake I remember making was an upside down cake for some gathering.

Sandy - love reading about your family.

Carole Sue - I prefer my ham cold. Don't think I've ever served it at room temp before.

Karrine - Glad the brace is helping you.

Glynne - You are right...it doesn't have to be on a certain day. I finally learned that when we were RVing..for a time there we considered fulltiming in our RV as we were talking with so many people who did. One of the things I was concerned about was being with family on holidays and they shared this truth with me. Things are sometimes even more relaxed when it is not "THE" day.

Gotta get busy again.

ETA: We bought some dental chews for Halo...remember I told you her breath was bad? Gave her one and it said on the pkg that they can stain light material so we restricted her to the dining room/kitchen which as a hard easily cleaned floor. I can't find it anywhere so I guess she ate the whole thing. Put the rest in the treat cabinet so hopefully she will continue to think of them as a treat. haven't had time to check her breath but it says to give her 2 a day. I figure if I only get one in her it will be better than nothing.

Happy Easter Everyone

Happy Easter everyone!! :) We got home from church much earlier than I expected, so here I am thinking I'd be short on time so planned way ahead...cooking everything yesterday and removing both the potatoes and ham in order to have them at room temp and then have to heat the potatoes when I got home. So now I have three hours til the time I designated to serve altho I did say it might be good for them to be here earlier just in case. So now I certainly have plenty of time. Put the potatoes and ham back in the fridge for a while but will remove them again as it gets closer to dinner time. But you know as soon as I say I have plenty of time, something is sure to happen...I think that's part of Murphy's Law or something.:D In the time I have I removed the dog covers and put them in the washer and spot cleaned the sofas and chairs. And strawberries here and there around the cake. The little touches. We were so happy that our son joined us in church this morning. Its kinda drippy out but the sun is trying to shine and it's a good day!:)

Good morning everyone,
I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter Sunday. Nan and I went to a restaurant for breakfast after mass yesterday and then we had a relaxing day here at home. We watched a couple of movies that we had recorded on our PVR and talked with family on the phone. Nan is walking with a cane now due to her bad hip which is partially being caused by her bone cancer and she can't raise her left arm very high (also partially caused by the cancer). All in all, I enjoyed our day.

Gayle Thank you for your kind words in that it sometimes happens that plans do not work out due to Mother Nature. My DD and hubby are going to come some other time over the next couple of weeks. I'm just happy that they are safe and no damage was caused by the ice storm they had. They didn't get their power back on until 6 pm Saturday.

Sandy so sorry to hear that DH's sister has cancer and unable to enjoy any family time. I always thought that it is chemo and not radiation that makes you so sick but I guess radiation does too. My prayers go out for her as well as Nan. It is so very very sad to hear about anyone having cancer & what they go through. I too can't stand incense and avoid any masses that use it.

Carol That's wonderful that you told your step daughter to spend Easter with her DH's sister. We always took turns in my family on special occasions like Christmas and Easter and nobody was ever hurt.

Mary Sounds like you covered just about everything getting ready for yesterday. Your coconut cake sounds yummy.

I have a physio therapy treatment this morning and so far have no other plans except the usual tidy up around the house.

Have a good day everyone and let us know how your Easter Sunday day turned out.

Karrine

Glad to hear that everyone had a nice holiday. Ours was nice. The weather was beautiful! We sat outside both before and after we ate.

My step-daughter texted me that she had an enjoyable day at her in-law's too, so I'm glad of that.

My step-son cooked his ham different, and it was delicious. I would like to do mine that way, but I know DH wants it baked. He put it on a rack in the electric roaster, added ginger ale and orange juice in the bottom of the roaster, put the lid on and let it cook overnight at 200 degrees. it was very moist and just fell apart in chunks. He also had chicken, and I think he did something similar with the roasting chicken. All the food was very tasty and there was a lot leftover so everyone could take some home if they wanted to. That would make it leftovers, which DH would not eat, LOL, but I eat them!

Mary, I have baked a ham early in the morning and just let it sit out to cool down and by the time my company came it was room temperature. I still like it better refrigerated.

Good evening GG's,

It is a nice sunny day out today. I got to get out (alone) and run some errands without “assistance” ;) It was a nice day to do so.

We ended up having a nice Easter day. I hadn't heard anything from Sara about any plans, so sort of made my own. I was gonna go to a nearby church ~ kind of try it out. I have visited a few in the area, but haven't found one that I feel is “the one” for me. But I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't go back to sleep. By the time the time to get ready rolled around, I was feeling tired and not up to going. Later on, I did some sewing ~ getting famiarized with my new sewing machine. I finished a little pillow I was making for my grandson and a mending project. A nice quiet day. Later in the afternoon, Sara invited us over for a visit. It was so nice ~ we sat out on her deck and with out Mr. X being there (he finally moved out last weekend) the previous feeling of a constant under current of tension about to errupt was absent. We had such a nice peaceful visit. She didn't do an Easter dinner or anything ~ we just visited, but that was ok.

Carol Sue ~ the meats your step son prepared sound delicious. Glad there were some left overs for you to enjoy. Glad your step daughter had an enjoyable time with her inlaws.

Karrine ~ glad you and Nan had an enjoyable day even though your daughter and son-in-law weren't able to be there. Hope your ankle is improving.

Mary and Sandy ~ how did your Easters go?

Enjoy your evenings

Gayle Sorry your Easter was nothing like you planned. Maybe you can try again on another day.

Mary Hope you are not totally worn out from all your work. I can't believe how hard you go. Glad you had so much prepared ahead of company. Will you do this next year?

CarolSue Sounds as if your stepson fixed some special good food and even leftovers. I agree, they can be great. Today I took the left over meat from Easter, with huge protebello Mushroom, butter & garlic to mix and then Paprika and boiling water and macaroni that was gluten free. The mixture was actually healthy and very flavorful. We finished the salad from yesterday and nothing was wasted.

EASTER was the best I remember. Ted's roasted lamb, Polish mashed potatoes, asparagus with sesame seed sprayed, Pat's great and pretty veggie salad, and my carrot salad had all full and healthy.
Beautiful day outside and we all went in our roomy back yard with lots and lots of seating areas and places for 3 year old Anthony to play. Warm enough that screen door was open!!! What a lot of fun we had. 5 gals and 5 guys. DH and I oldest, and great grandson youngest. All the guys names began with T and 3 had names alike and so did other two. Got confusing, lots and lots of laughter.

Mass was absolutely fantastic. Becky did an amazing job with the music and Fr. John had the service both joyful and reverent. We never felt we had to hurry. I love that relaxing way there.

Karrine Wanted to let you know I was wrong about DH's sister having cancer. She does have brain tumor that causes sezsiers that can't be stopped, but it is not cancer. It may shrink with radiation and they are encouraged with her first few sessions. They were getting ready today to move her to Nursing Home when Severe stomach cramps caused them to scan. Perforated bowels required immediate surgery. She is in ICU now and doing fairly well. Joan called to let us know she is "out of the woods:" on that issue, but still wait and see on other. Joan sounded much better as she is gradually realizing her Mom will just not be here long and just requires lots and lots of care. She will be in the same Nursing Home as her oldest sister (who has dementia and doesn't know anyone.)

Getting old can be rough. Thank God for every good day we have. By the way, the knee shot #2 kicked in and no pain yesterday nor today. Last shot will be Wednesday and then I'll go till December before needing it again. Gotta get some weight off for sure this summer.

Garden is full of blooming wildflowers. Fun showing them off to family yesterday. All 10 of us love the woods and some recognize the flowers, the others were too busy fishing to notice.

Sandy ~ I'm sorry ~ I guess I don't tell things very good sometimes. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was all disappointed. Don't be sorry ~ it was a really nice day. I thought we weren't even gonna get to see Sara or anything, but we did. It isn't so much what you do, but getting to be with the people you love ~ and we did get that. A meal doesn't matter ~ we probably had a better visit because Sara wasn't having to work on preparing a big meal.

I'm glad that you had such a wonderful day ~ family time. Good times and memories :)

Good morning everyone,
I'm glad everyone who has posted had a good Easter and if no dinner, at least got to hear from or see their loved one. I'm jealous that some of you had nice enough weather to sit outside. I'm making hamburger hash with mashed potatoes today. Nan doesn't like pork or fish so I''m getting sick of making the same things like chicken; ground beef; beef roast; stew or pasta. I love pork and know I could make something just for myself but I don't.

Sandy Thank you for letting me know about DH's sister. Having a brain tumor is so very serious too. I wonder how she got that perforated bowel and glad she is now "out of the woods" on that one. Yes, her Mom not being around to help care for her down the road is also a serious situation that should be planned for. So glad your 2nd knee shot has relieved your pain.

Have a good day everyone,
Karrine

Sandy, I had a perforated bowel in 2011 and also had to have emergency surgery. It is very serious and can cause death if not caught in time. Mine was caused by diverticulitis that I didn't know I had. I had to have a colostomy bag for 6 months, then had it removed in 2012. It was a very uncomfortable time for me, but I am happy to have lived through it. Those 2 surgeries are the reason I have such a big belly. Cutting through my abdominal muscles twice has totally ruined them. My over eating doesn't help either and I cannot blame it on just the surgery.

I had open heart surgery in 2008, and the bowel surgery was much worse than the heart surgery. Not everyone has to get a colostomy. I had to have it because they removed a small portion of my bowel and also because of the extent of the infection. Some people just get their bowel repaired and don't need the colostomy bag. I hope your sister-in-law has a speedy recovery.

Gayle, you are right. Easter and other holidays are not just about the food, they are about spending time with those you love, so it sounds like you had a nice day.

Karrine, the weather on Easter was a fluke here in PA. The day before was cold and so was the day after. Normally we cannot sit out side in March. Sometimes it still isn't warm enough to sit out on Mother's Day. We just hit it lucky this year. We have had times when we had to wear snow boots to church. LOL

It's so nice of you that you cook according to what Nan will eat. I'm sure she appreciates it. That is how I am with DH's food limitations, but recently I have started cooking two different entrees so I can eat some things I don't usually get, such as grilled whitefish, grilled salmon and calf liver. Actually, now he has started eating the grilled salmon, much to my delight!

Mary, I hope you and Joe are doing well and getting rested up from your Easter entertaining.

We had a good Easter, plenty food and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Son and his gf came late as expected as they had a previous commitment, but they stayed long enough to enjoy being with everyone. He even ate a slice of the coconut cake and he usually doesn't eat sweets but he admitted recently he'd been a little more interested in them. Even my dd liked it ..her only complaint was she was hoping it was coconut pie. Seems like no matter what I make someone wants something else...:dizzy:..just part of the craziness of a larger family I guess. There was so much going on and it was fun, but I hardly got to hold the newest addition to our family because every time I'd start to hold her, someone would want my help with something and off I'd go..handing her back to her mama.

At one point after dinner, my dd came running for me to help dh, as he was having pain. It was the same kind of pain he had before his lung surgery. It apparently caught him as he was standing up. Got him into his recliner and it went away but whenever he would get up, move around, bend over or anything it came back. By evening it was easing but in the morning it was back again so I called the pulmonary clinic. Couldn't get an appt until April 8, but they sent an order for a chest xray. Won't get the results for a few days.
We then went to get new lenses put into his glasses and ended up going to a couple places for that. The last place was close to our primary doctor's clinic so we walked in to see if possibly they had a pulmonary doctor in their clinic system that might see him sooner. It is a different clinic system. They did have an opening but offered a triage nurse first because without an x-ray we realized a doctor wouldn't be able to do much. He was not in much pain by then. They listened to his lungs and said they were clear and just a little more quiet on that side and his O2 was fine. So we didn't see the point in seeing the doctor until she has the x-ray. This morning he had no pain or sob before he left to go fishing. There are usually lots of men out there so I'm sure someone would help him if he had trouble.

Our son also found out Sun he lost a good friend. Too young to die. So although we enjoyed our family time together, it was not uneventful.

Sandy - Your Easter meal sounds so good and healthy. The ribs my dil brought were SO good, very tender. Both meats were eaten about equally but doubt both were needed as we had leftovers of both even though the kids took some home. We ate some of the ham leftovers yesterday but hardly made a dent, so I will freeze most of them today and tonight I will make bean soup with the bone and pieces of meat. I don't think I'll do ham next year, perhaps I can get her to bring the ribs again. ;) Or I'll do something healthier. But yes, I likely will do it again..unless someone else steps up to do it and as long as they all want to come here or until I can't do it. It's tiring but I don't mind as I love to see my family happy together. We have all been separated too long in the past and this is like a miracle to be together again, that is all but our oldest dd.

I have usually done the ham as others like it, but I'm ready for a change. My dd brought a beautiful asparagus salad. I really liked it, but knew we weren't likely to eat the leftovers though so she took it home. Glad you had such nice weather! It was raining here but the kids still wanted hide eggs outside and they were out there quite a while doing it first with parents and then alone. At least they had fun. Only one didn't want to go out, preferring to stay dry and play on his ipad. They also loved the treat machine...it was good for some laughs. We planned to line up the kids and let them put their hand under the dispenser and get their jelly beans, but dh accidentally started it and jelly beans went all over!! The kids were scrambling for them..then he found a way to set it so less comes out. Regardless it was a hit.

Carole Sue - The ham sounds delicious! Funny, my dil's ribs (that were SO good) had coca cola in them. I've never tried that as it sounds unhealthy to me but it sure tenderizes the meat and tastes so good. Glad you had a nice day too.

Glynne - Glad you got to spend time with your dd and gc and it was peaceful for you. Like Karrine, I'm a bit envious that you can sit on the deck. Although it isn't really cold here, it will be a little longer before we can comfortably to that.

Since we were running around all day yesterday and waiting in offices, I didn't get anything done here at home. Today I hope to do a little more. I am still picking up things the kids left around the house and will also try to do a little dusting in the living room. The kids aren't in the living room much except on holidays as we have a door we can shut and restrict them to the other rooms.

Sorry this is so long.

Mary, I enjoyed hearing about your day. Sorry about your DH's scare with the pain, but hope the X-ray also shows no problem.

Loved imagining the jelly bean incident.!!!

CarolSue: Thank you for giving more information on the perforated bowel issue. Don't know for sure for Jennie, but now I can ask the right questions. Understandable that your poor abdomen muscles have been treated so harshly.

Thanks for explaining Gale. I agree, that sometimes having the quiet can be helpful, too. Glad for family!!!

Lost the first post that was long. Forgot to post it. Grrrrr

Last night I invented a way to use part of the roast lamb, single huge protebello mushroom, garlic and butter and gluten-free pasta to make a really tasty supper. Probably would have been a casserole, but I was not sure the gluten-free pasta would stay together if I put it all in oven. Serving it from large pan worked just fine. Don't know if we can afford Lamb again, but if we did, that is a super way to use leftovers. DH got the Lamb on discount by ordering it the week before when it was on sale. To feed 10 of us it helped.

Today, good weather, but cool. I transplanted some in Garden, and tried to get rid of weeds. My poor body is not too happy with me, but I'm glad I began getting in better shape for warm weather.

Tomorrow is last knee lubricating shot, Massage, and Adoration at the Chapel. My day away by myself. DH is going to put up some new light fixtures under the cabinets. LED Lightening is expensive but uses so much less electricity. Funny how it is different. He replaced the vanity lights in the Master Bathroom. When I turn on the switch, there is a slight pause before the light comes on. When I turn OFF the lights, it also pauses before the room goes dark.

Sandy

I had to laugh at some of these...how did they know I still am holding on to these?!!
http://embracinghomemaking.net/2015/...c_location=ufi

Hope everyone and their families/friends are doing ok ~ none of you have been here today.

It is 70 degrees today and a beautiful sunny day! We went to the gym and then I babysat for about three hours. My gs and I pulled a few weeds in the front yard. It felt good to be out there and good to get him away from the electronics for a few minutes. The babysitting was unexpected so I still haven't gotten caught up with my housework but making memories with the gc is more important. I fixed them boxed (ugh) mac and cheese for their lunch as they like it. Tonight I am making a chicken and pasta dish. Hope dh will like it.

Yesterday dh only had pain when he sneezed and today so far no pain or sob. Still waiting for the x-ray but if there has been no change in the amount of fluid in their we will probably cancel the drs appt. Perhaps this is just something that will come and go. I would like to know why but I realize sometimes they just don't know what causes pleural effusion and if it is not so much to be harmful he may need to live with the occasional pain. He is working in the yard now...our dd gave us a flower in a pot for Easter and he is planting it in our front yard right now.

Last night we sealed and froze several bags of ham, putting enough for two sandwiches in each bag. Left only enough for a couple sandwiches. And the jelly beans are gone, thank God! I didn't even like that many of them but they still tempted me.

Carole Sue - Did you see that Patty Duke died of a perforated colon? Mine still hurts mildly now and then but so far the increase in fiber helps. That sounds like a bad way to go.

Sandy - Hope you are having a good day today on your own. When I am on my own, I rarely can think of anything to do and end up home sleeping then doing housework. I live such an exciting life. :dizzy: Glad those lubricating shots help you.

Bye, for now..

Good morning,
It is another rainy day here today. I go for physio again this morning. Nan's family couldn't come last Thursday so they are coming today. That will be nice for her. She told me yesterday that she needs to redo her will now that DD is separated. There are a couple of things in my will that do not pertain anymore so I'll just leave it the way it is as everything else is to stay the same. Everything that I had decluttered is starting to get cluttered again so today I'll start on that.

Mary Glad your Easter turned out so well. Thank you for the site on 200 things to throw away. I really enjoyed reading most of it and I see several things that I really should get rid of like old makeup, nail polish and plastic containers without lids etc. Looks like more in depth spring cleaning is needed LOL.

Have a good day everyone and sorry for not posting more personals today.
Karrine

I'm up a few pounds and not happy about it, but I'm not surprised with my eating of the past few days.

Mary, I saw that about Patty Duke. When I had my issue, I had some slight abdominal pain for a few days, then one morning the pain was very severe. DH kept saying that I ate something bad and I should make myself throw up. I knew it wasn't that, but he hates for me to go to the hospital and tries to avoid it. My pain started around 10 AM and I didn't go to the ER until 4 PM. By that time, I could barely stand up. They did some tests and I was on my way up to surgery by 8 PM. The surgeon told DH that he didn't think I was going to make it and even after surgery when I was in ICU I was still not out of the woods, and was still full of infection. I was on heavy IV antibiotics for 13 days, and then pills after I went home. DH told me that if it had been him he would have died, because he never would have gone to the ER for a "stomach ache." Since then I've heard of others who had this and died. Perhaps they felt the same way as DH. I told him I would rather go to the ER and have them tell me I have a stomach ache than not go and find out that it's something serious. My pain started very low in my groin area, but then anywhere you touched my abdomen I felt pain. And riding to the hospital, I had pain with every bump we hit. That's the only way I can explain it. I know I was very lucky.

I hope your DH is ok with his lung issue.

My step-son's ham was not cooked in the ginger ale and orange juice. The liquid was in the bottom of the pan and the ham was on a rack above the liquid. It cooked on a low heat and the steam cooked it overnight. He told me that some people do it the same way using coca cola. Perhaps that's the way the ribs were cooked, not actually in the coca cola.

Sandy, we have a dimmer switch in our bathroom, so I can go in there in the middle of the night without a lot of light. We have a little night light at the entrance to the kitchen for the same purpose. We have under cabinet lights in the kitchen that we rarely use.

Joe went fishing so I'm being lazy again. I have put chicken in the slow cooker and have the garbage/trash ready to take out and made my bed but that's all I've done. I still haven't gotten into the living room to clean, hopefully I will today. My dinner tonight is Ranch Chicken...and I am using the mushroom soup that I rarely use...it also has ranch dressing mix and cream cheese it it and will be served over bow tie pasta. Not sure we will like it.

Carole - Your experience sounds so terrible! I'm really glad you made it! I would think the pain would get so bad that anyone would eventually go in but then it might be too late. When I had what was my second gall bladder attack (tho I didn't know it then), I waited a very long time before finally going into the hospital. Couldn't figure out what was wrong with me and when I got in and the doctor said he thought it was my gall bladder, I thought oh of course, stupid (meaning me) as I felt I should of thought of that. Then they did the scan and there were the stones. I didn't have surgery then though...instead I waited about ten years and through more attacks larger and smaller til I actually felt kinda sick most of the time. When it was bad I'd go in for pain relief and once I did have a scope done as one smaller stone got free but no surgery. Now I think that was also stupid, I learned a lesson, but the doctors really didn't encourage me that much to do it. By the time I had it done, I was ready, I wanted that thing out of me! My primary doc had by then sent me to a surgeon who agreed it should come out, like yesterday. By the time he opened me up it was black and all shriveled up and he had a hard time finding it as it was buried under intestines. He said it was the worst/most difficult surgery of that kind he'd one. Actually I'm surprised I wasn't sicker. So if my colon begins to throb again, I will definitely get in right away like I did last time when I had diverticulitis with infection. I've had enough pain in my life. I hope it never comes to that though as I don't want anymore surgeries. Dh says the same thing.

Dh still continues to have a little pain when he sneezes (allergies) but that's it. I'm hoping if it does occur again that he can just have it suctioned out now and then to keep the fluid down rather than surgery. But it still puzzles me what caused it..there is a lot of built up in the wall per the surgeon, he couldn't remove it all. I know water flows from a place of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration so perhaps that build up has something to do with it, but I don't know how water would get into the wall to begin with so I can't quite understand it and the surgeon didn't know either.

About light in the bathroom, I'm funny as I never think of light usually when I get up at night. Dh is always telling me to turn on a light, but I just feel my way around with my eyes closed even. Might as well close them since I can't see anyway and I don't want to get so wide awake I guess too. But the funny part is that a few years ago I bought one of those candle warmers with the little tart candle wax. It has a light bulb in the lamp and is plugged in all the time but usually I only turn it on after I clean the bathroom until bedtime. I just recently found out that dh uses it as a night light...you know I'd never even thought of doing that! So lately I've been doing that...of course I still walk in there in the dark but at least I have a light when I get in there for taking meds etc so I don't have to turn the light on. I like a light for taking meds as once I almost drank from a cup with a big spider in it because I started to drink without a light on, decided to turn the light on and there is was!:( I have also recently learned to use my phone light when I go to bed late and don't want to disturb dh. I'm a slow learner sometimes I guess..