Gosh, I'm getting to be quite the foodie, aren't I?! I was feeling kinda bummed, so...I baked a cake. I tried out a recipe for a banana cake only I added nuts. The icing wasn't creamy at all, was one big lump, so I added milk and saved the day. (I'm thinking this ingredient was inadvertently left out of the written recipe.) It turned out quite moist and I liked it, but I've had better. I think it needed another banana for a punch of flavor. Oh, well, everything I cook can't be fantastic. Like my biscuits and gravy I made the other day.

Even though I cheated and used canned biscuits, it was still a hit. Now I want them again.

The sample lady at Costco was passing out little cups of salad made of cucumbers, tomatoes and feta cheese. That’s it, no salt, pepper, salad dressing, nothing but those three ingredients. I bought this wonderful trio, brought them home and made it right away. You know how you hear people call something “refreshing”? This.

I wasn’t sure if my family would like it, but I was asked to make another batch of it today. A new dish everybody likes, yay!

Twenty-seven years ago today. I don't miss him any less.

This is me (the gal w/glasses) standing next to my brother John who gave my sister a kidney many years ago, and my sister Martha who is awaiting another transplant. My daughter Valerie has completed testing to be a donor, and a tentative date has been set for late October at the University of California, San Francisco.

In the meantime, my daughter is having a procedure next week which requires a 3-month healing period by UCSF before they will set the transplant date in stone.

As both a sister and a mother of these fabulous women, my emotions are all over the place. If you are a believer, we sure would appreciate it if you would keep our families in your prayers.

Make New Friends, But Keep The Old

Silly goofers

I love making new friends, but the old ones, well, they bring comfort just being in their presence. We had a gathering of old friends this past weekend and had a blast. We stuffed our faces, talked about old times and caught up on the new things that are happening all around us.

From this picture you wouldn't know that Phyllis (in red) is a 3-time cancer survivor, Debbie (behind her) has undergone major heart surgery, Twila (in purple) is traveling 250 miles each way on a regular basis to tend to her elderly parents' needs, Susan (in brown) is starting over, Martha has had 3 kidney transplants and is gearing up for a fourth, and that I am still struggling with the repercussions of a stranger's suicide by car (mine).

We don't get together as often as we should, and it had been a long while since our last get-together. The hours passed much too quickly, just as the years have, but it was so comfortable, it was like not a minute was lost between us.

We needed this. And we will always need each other.

52 Reasons Why I Love You Book

 

If you’re having a tough time finding something to do for that special man in your life this Father’s Day or any other special occasion, here’s an idea my daughters inspired me to do for mine. I made this little book for my man using an entire deck of vintage cards. (There are 8 photos included here to show you that it isn’t a difficult project, but it does take a lot of thought and time. Mine is a couple of years old, so it’s a little wonky.)

For the front and back covers, I painted a couple of pieces of lightweight scraps of packaging material and embellished them with an old glass heart earring, paper sayings from chocolate kisses and glitter. I Punched a couple of holes along one side of each card and the cover boards and put them together with large binder rings (smaller ones wouldn’t allow for the book to open properly). You could also use leather, string, ribbon, or whatever else pleases you.

Thinking of 52 reasons why you love someone is not as easy as you might think. I know in my heart why I love my husband of more than 32 years, but actually putting thought to paper challenged me to be creative while expressing it in this way. Writing each sentiment by hand directly on each card would have saved a lot of busy work, but I chose to write mine on the computer, print them out, cut them to fit the cards then glued them in place.

However you decide to share your 52 how-do-I-love-thees, have fun with it! 

A Great Day

On the subject of our trip to UC San Francisco this past Friday: It went much better than I fretted over, yay! Traffic at 4:30 a.m. was light, my daughter’s testing (she is possible kidney donor for my sister) went very quickly and we were back on the road by 9:30 a.m. Great company made all the difference. A wonderful lunch at Gino's was icing on the cake!

On the subject of a significant milestone: I hadn’t driven “the spot” of Highway 101 since the night the guy walked in front of our car. Going by it on the way up in the dark wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, but one of my daughters quietly cried through it.

On the way home, while driving by the exact spot, white-knuckling it, I looked over and there was a CHP to the right of me in the next lane, just enough ahead of me to make it seem as though he was escorting me, even though he didn’t know it. It was a good reminder that I always have a co-pilot anyway. Thanks to everyone who said they were praying for me, I could feel it the entire trip. Whew.