Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Heat Day 2023

 I am popping in here to announce that today is the official Heat Day 2023! 


This picture is from yesterday morning when we actually decided to turn on the heat.



But Heat Day isn't simple anymore, so allow me to offer some clarifications.

Since my father moved in, we have not allowed him to freeze. His room has its own heater, and so does my son's room. Both of these heaters are in the addition to our home on the north (and cold!) side of the house. Their heaters have been in operation, off and on, for a little while now. That heat doesn't seem to have too much of an effect in the main house. Or at least I don't think so.

Also, we did have to turn the heat on earlier one day when the furnace repair fellow came to service the furnace. We turned it back off as soon as he was done. So this doesn't count for the heat game either.

AND yesterday morning was the day we turned the heat on, BUT the furnace didn't actually kick on until around 6 a. m. today because we had the temperature set low. I am not planning on turning the heat up yet because there will be much baking the next few days. 

It is still not the record, but it was a more than respectable performance this year, don't you think?


Monday, October 23, 2023

Multigenerational Ken

 Growing up, my favorite toys were Barbie dolls. My daughters play with my dolls (at least the ones that are still functional) plus their own. This evening we had an interesting discussion over supper about Barbies (because the girls were successful in getting their brothers to play with them).

This is what I learned:

These are the dolls I called (from left to right) Derek (of Barbie and the Rockers fame), Dad (from the Heart family), nothing (because this doll didn't belong to me-- it's new-vintage for my youngest), and Ken. You can see I was not at all creative with my naming. I stayed with the name on the package usually.




My daughters, however, have named the gentlemen (from left to right) John (the one whose head is detached and who gets shoved under the bed), Ken, Joseph, and Fred (the antagonist).

For those of you who feel bad for Fred the Antagonist, I have been assured that he isn't always the antagonist. It's just that if there is an antagonist when they are playing, he is it. They tell me to think of him as an evil businessman.

And there you have it. Generational differences.

Saturday, July 1, 2023

Missing Cakes, Part Two

Just a few more imperfect birthday desserts. . . with some commentary.


My (poor) attempt at Lord Baltimore cake. Next year: Dark Lord Baltimore cake!


Banjo birthday


All lemon, all the time!


I think this is the 3rd or 4th zebra ice cream cake for the child.




We played around with royal icing to make hard decorations.


Store-bought (on vacation)


Brownies never disappoint, right?

And now I'm caught up with birthday "cakes."



Missing Cakes, Part One

 I don't give my blog much attention lately; I've decided it's more important to give the attention to my family. But I would like to continue posting occasionally. Some of my favorite types of posts are the ones that show the unprofessional and imperfect birthday cakes I make for my children. 

(Remember: Kids can have happy birthdays without the perfection others show us online.)

It's been a couple of years that I've failed to post cake pictures, so I have many pictures. I'll break them up into a couple of posts. The funny thing I noted while looking through the forgotten pictures is that many of them aren't even cakes. And one birthday didn't even get a special dessert, so I didn't have a picture. And once I forgot entirely to photograph a birthday cake. Imperfect, indeed.


Fresh strawberries are easy decorations.


German Chocolate


Black Forest-- The Portal edition


Another construction cake


Christmas-themed cake


This child loves her zebra ice cream cakes!



Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Theme Party

My son is far away for his first year of college, but I'm thankful for the technology that keeps us connected. 

I woke up today to this little gem, an insight into his college life.




The boy remembers his mother's literary heart.


Tuesday, December 6, 2022

More Amigurumi!

 In a June post, I shared with you that my 13-year-old daughter entered a crochet design contest. She didn't win, but that didn't stop her from designing more for another contest. Once again, she would appreciate all the votes she can garner because she would really love to win the prize yarn.

You can vote here.

You will be asked to select your 10 favorite designs and enter your email to ensure no double voting. You can see her fantasy creature designs in the pictures below. This time she created 6 (!) patterns. (Yes, November was a productive month for her; she also took part in NaNoWriMo.) 

Thank you in advance if you have time to help her out. Also, there are some other really cute designs entered you'll need to choose from; have fun!


A goblin



Medusa the Gorgon



A faun



A phoenix



Mothman



Herman the Merman




Thursday, November 24, 2022

Thanksgiving Lyme Update

It's been 4 months since I last posted a Lyme update, and I have seen so much improvement. For starters, I still have no lingering Lyme symptoms, so that is a big, wonderful thing. I do, however, still have issues stemming from the facial paralysis that resulted from the Lyme infection. 

What does that look like for me? Let's start with a few pictures.


This is the last picture I have of my smile before paralysis.


Current smile

You can see that the right side of my smile doesn't quite work. BUT. This smile is more smile-ish than it was 4 months ago! (You can see that here.) You can also see that the eye on the left side of my face is more droopy-- but this has nothing to do with paralysis; the paralysis on the right side of my eye decreased the right eye's normal droop. You can see that eyebrow is higher, too. The chin is also uneven.


Current resting face--creepy.

The real news over these last few months is that I have more function. Before I couldn't blink or close my eye without pushing it closed with my fingers. As time went on, I was able to close it while still lying in bed in the morning--but only once or twice a day. Now. . . 


I can close my eye!

It still doesn't function exactly normally when I close it, but it's a big improvement. I still cannot blink, but my husband says that when I try, the eye closes more than it used to. I can also wink now. 😉

Another change is that I rarely need to use eye drops because now my eye produces an overabundance of tears. They call it crocodile tear syndrome, and, like not producing tears at all, it is an annoyance. BUT. At least my eye is now hydrated!

When the weather turned colder, my acupuncture doctor told me to avoid the cold or cover my face up very well because the cold would be bad for my face. Boy, was she right! I'm finding that exposure to cold air increases muscle spasms on the right side of my face. 

It wasn't so many years ago in my house that right after lunch was nap time for the little ones. Guess what. Now it's nap time for me! After lunch, my children shoo me off to bed for a 40(ish) minute nap. Sleep and rest help nerves heal, and, boy, do my facial muscles get weak throughout the day. I must go to bed earlier at night most of the time, too; otherwise my facial muscles just sort of stop working very well. It becomes difficult to focus my eye, and there is general discomfort. BUT. It's not pain (as it was in the beginning)!

So that's my update. From what I gather, facial paralysis caused by Lyme Disease doesn't get better quickly, and I don't really like that. 

BUT. 

I can be thankful that I am learning much-needed lessons in patience and self-care. 

I am thankful that my life is such that I have the opportunity to do what I need to do for maximum recovery (nap and rest). 

I am thankful for the progress-- slow, but steady. 

I am thankful for my supportive family and friends.

I am thankful that I have a cozy home to enjoy even if I can't be outdoors much. 

I am thankful I have wonderful doctors-- both our family doctor and the doctor who does my acupuncture. 

I am thankful that I have enough function to do my daily tasks. 

I am thankful that I am no longer in pain and that the antibiotics seemed to take care of the Lyme Disease. 

I am thankful for the prayers that have been offered on my behalf and for my God Whose steadfast love endures forever.