Heat Day 2025

 Today is the official Heat Day for 2025! (Yes, I know I missed last year's heat day, but I don't know why.) Anyway, as is usual for the last several years, I feel the need to provide some disclaimers. 

1. Today is the day we turned the heat on in the main part of the house. The heater in my father's room in the addition has been on for a little while because he was cold. I'm not forcing him to play my game. However, the other heater in the addition is broken, so it hasn't been on.

2.  A week or so ago, I woke in the middle of the night and realized that the furnace was running. I hurried to the thermostat and realized the heat was on; it just hadn't run because it wasn't cold enough. I turned the heat off.

3.  Last week (?) the heater guy came to service the furnace, so it had to run some I think.

But this morning I woke early, showered, dressed, walked out into the dining room and realized it was cold! I checked the thermostat which said it was 65℉, and since that's too cold for my face to be comfortable when I'm outside, I deemed it time for the heat to come on. 

It's time for snuggling in for a cozy winter!

Cozy kittens

Overheard and Pretty Pictures

Frustrated, tech-savvy son: Why do USB keys keep ending up between my toes?!

And while you chew on that, how about some pretty pictures my daughter took?

Marigold

Cat

Crocus

Whatever the plural of crocus is

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?

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

The Regency Ball

 For the last two months, our family has been preparing for a Regency ball planned by my friend and fellow Jane Austen lover. 

The whole Lyme Disease thing put a serious kink in costume sewing, but the children stepped up to the plate and learned some stitching skills since I couldn't. I should also add that I had two friends donate significant hours to help the kids with the sewing tasks. The last few days I was well enough to do some stitching myself. 

And the last few hours before we had to leave for the ball, I was hearing Mrs. Bennet's voice from my favorite Pride and Prejudice movie shrieking, "Make haste, make haste!" Even as we were driving, we were sewing buttons and hooks and eyes. The children went into the venue to help set up, and I sat in our van pinking seam allowances. 

In the end, the costumes weren't sewn perfectly, but I thought my crew looked quite handsome. And what's more, they had such a blast learning some challenging dances. Little has been talked about since the ball except for the ball. It seems our family wasn't the only one enthralled by the evening; plans are already being discussed for a winter ball. 

My crew

Tea for all! 

This was an occasion to wear his great-great grandfather's pocket watch and chain. 

The only down side for me was my eye. I did dance the first few dances, but then the eye on the paralyzed side of my face became too tired? dry? uncomfortable! to stay open. And since the muscle that closes the eye doesn't work and the muscle that opens it does work (always if I open the other eye), I spent the rest of the ball sitting down with my eye patch on and with my eyes closed. I was still able to hear the dancers' feet get the hang of each new dance as it was taught. That was a neat experience!

I call this my faux-Regency/pirate look. I swear that is really a smile.

Lyme Update

Thank you to everybody who has been wishing me well and praying for me! 

I wish I could say that I'm all better now, but I can't. I DO think that most of the symptoms from the Lyme Disease have resolved: no fever, chills, aches, etc.

However, the facial paralysis triggered by the Lyme is the most difficult part to deal with. I never imagined all the things that would be affected by half of my face not moving (though I should have since my nephew has a host of health issues because of his paralysis). Some of the things affected are:

My eyes:  My right eye doesn't blink. I can close it, but only partially. Enter a host of eye drops (the two boxes were samples from my eye doctor) to help keep my eye hydrated and protected. I have tried unsuccessfully to tape my eye shut at night. Also, my vision is often blurry in that eye. From what I read online, that's normal for this condition.

New additions to my bathroom counter

My mouth:  My tongue feels funny, and I can't taste on the front of my tongue. I can't use my muscles properly to move food around in my mouth, and I can't properly open my mouth to eat. This was interesting when I tried a sushi roll yesterday; I had to use a fork to cut each piece smaller. I prefer to use a small straw to drink; if I don't have a straw, I have to use my other hand to push my lip agains the edge of the cup so I don't dribble out everywhere. Cleaning food out of my right cheek is difficult, and spitting is impossible to do in a proper fashion. (Is there a proper way to spit?)

My speech is a little slurred, and I certainly can't whistle. 

My ear: My right ear is quite sensitive to sound. Sometimes sounds are a little distorted. 

The big one is PAIN:  The right side of my face and neck and my right ear have a lot of nerve pain! Sometimes the pain is so bad that I can't sleep. The pain has sometimes caused me to despair. Yesterday I went to my doctor and she gave me some good recommendations for pain relief. 

One was acupuncture, and I had my first appointment last evening. I was impressed by that doctor. She was very experienced and had an air about her that gave me much confidence. The treatment did relieve my pain for a time, but more importantly, when the needles were in, my mouth barely drooped. The doctor said that is a good sign. I suppose the muscles were responsive. Whether or not it foretells recovery, it at least gave me some hope. I have another appointment scheduled next week.  (Also, for those who might be wondering, the acupuncture treatment was not uncomfortable.)

As I wait for further healing, I am trying to continue to rest, continue to take my medicine, and continue to try to eat well (a pot of nourishing and healing chicken broth will be made today). My friend cautioned me not to jump right into doing my work around the house again so that I can continue to heal. She is a wise friend, and I will follow her advice.

I Don't Even. . .

 Overheard:

"Mommy, I can lick my armpit!"

Words fail me.

Not Loving Lyme

Two weeks ago I was scrambling about trying to get costumes sewn for a Regency Ball. Now life is quite different. About a week ago it became very clear that the flu-like symptoms plus jaw pain I had been feeling for a couple days were not hormonal after all. After talking to my doctor, we decided what I was experiencing was likely Lyme Disease from an unseen tick bite. She called in a prescription, and I started the antibiotic right away.

The next day, we found the telltale sign-- the bull's-eye rash-- in a place I never would have seen that tiny, old tick! Later the headache pain was so bad that my husband took me to the emergency room where just about every test was performed-- from COVID to spinal tap to x-rays and beyond! The only test that showed bad stuff was the Lyme test. The nice staff gave me a bag of fluids and some pain medication which helped so I could sleep that night. I came home and slept. 

Two days later, I started feeling some weird stuff going on in the right side of my face. Twitches. More pains. A little numbness. This was one Lyme symptom I really hoped would bypass me-- facial paralysis.

Day 1 of facial paralysis

My eyes were not blinking normally, and I couldn't smile. Since then, the paralysis is worse. I can't make it look like a smile no matter how hard I try! (If you want to see me smile, cover up that droopy side of my face.)

Today's "smile"--much droopier face!

The paralyzed right side of my face produces a good deal of nerve pain. Chewing is painful, talking is painful, lots of light and sound are painful. I'm learning new ways of eating and drinking. I'm trying not to frighten my children. I avoid laughing (because it hurts!). Brushing teeth is interesting. And talking is purely functional for necessities to my family, so if you call, please don't be offended if I can't talk. I'm sorry that the children don't always give out good information, so I'll try to post updates from time to time. BUT looking at screens for very long isn't easy, and did I mention it's nearly impossible for me to read, too?

So what have I been up to? Well, I'm pretty tired most of the time, so I'm usually in my darkened bedroom sleeping or just resting away from sound and light. I also slowly eat my (often ground into mush) meals with a baby spoon so my antibiotics won't upset my stomach.

My friend Marti reminded me (literally as my face was becoming paralyzed) that I didn't have all those other things I was testing for: I didn't have a brain tumor, I didn't have fatal meningitis, I didn't have a brain aneurysm. I have a treatable disease. For that I am thankful to God (and to Marti for the reminder).

And as always, there's a silver lining to this cloud: I'm losing some weight :) And praying. And resting. And trusting God that all will be well. 

At supper this evening, I complained, "This is NOT how I wanted to spend my summer!" My son said, "There's a song about that!" Then he grabbed his phone and played for me the Minions' version of a Rolling Stones' tune:  "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Thanks, son.

Please, please, please read about Lyme Disease and its symptoms. Those tiny ticks are so small that even when they are in more visible places, they are hard to see! But if you can recognize the symptoms (and there are soooo many of them) without looking only for a bull's-eye rash (because it isn't always there!), you can get treatment early so that it doesn't become a chronic issue. Please do this for your own health and for the health of those you love.

And I've written about our experiences with Lyme Disease before here and here and here. 

Vote for Sea Turtles!

 My dear daughter loves to crochet. She even designs crochet patterns. Today voting for a design contest opens, and she would be thankful for your vote. 

You can vote here.

You will be asked to select your 10 favorite designs and enter your email to ensure no double voting. Helen's design is a sea turtle and her baby, and you'll need to scroll down a bit to find it.

Such cute sea turtles!

If she wins she would get quite the prize package; I think it includes being published in a book and lots of yarn (nothing like feeding the addiction). Thanks in advance if you take the time to help her out. 

 My son just informed me that I was going to burn in sandwich hell (for saying that a taco is a kind of sandwich). The boy takes his sandwiches seriously; Dagwood's got nothing on him.

A Fine Day

Yesterday was a fine, fine day. The weather was sunny and just warm, not hot. We had wind, of course, but it was the kind of breeze that would have been good for flying kites, if we'd chosen to fly kites. Days like that make everything in life look sunny.

I decided it was a day to take a few pictures of outside goings-on before settling in to wash dishes and start supper.

What was going on? Well, it seems a warm day is a day for bees.

That wind did make it difficult to keep the smoker lit.

Lots of honey coming out of winter

I know it seems like lots of honey would be a good thing, but we suspect something is wrong with that hive because there are few bees. The queen is still alive, but there is little brood. I'm guessing something happened earlier in winter to make fewer bees since there is so much honey remaining. The other hive seemed to be doing well, so that's good.

After visiting the bees, I walked toward the backyard to see what the chickens were up to.  To nobody's surprise, they were scratching about in the leaves, and Chester the Rooster kept his evil eye on me. 

Common sight nowadays

Chickens weren't the only thing I found in the leaves on the edge of the trees.

Hello, crocus! 

And, yes, according to the dictionary, "crocus" is the plural of "crocus." The dictionary also says it would be correct for me to type "croci," but that would just make it more awkward, I think. I've always said "crocuses," but I learned today that I've been wrong all these years. I will probably continue saying the word incorrectly because I like it better. I guess a lovely spring day brings out the rebel in me.

It's Not All About Me

Sometimes I like to highlight people in my life (or people I don't actually know) who are doing things I think are cool, amazing, or interesting. Today is one of those times. (Note that I have highlighted some of these folks before, but if they continue to do things that impress me, why not?)

1.  Creative juices are flowing for my daughter. She has been writing, creating games, crocheting, and sewing of late. This morning she created a blog post about a recent creation.

Cute unicorn gift

2.  I've post before about our first-time beekeeping experiences. My beekeeping son has really put some effort into his endeavors. He's created a YouTube channel, Baroque Beekeeping, to post videos of his bees and to document what he doing and learning. (This is not a homeschool assignment.) I particularly enjoy how he's merged his love of classical (and baroque) music with his love of bees. If you want to try out his videos, choose one of the more recent ones; the quality is better. There's something to be said for experience.

I love the logo he created!

3.  My brother-in-law knits, crochets, and paints. Other people in the family do other crafty things. Last week they created an Etsy shop, Bakerz Dozen Creations, to sell their goods. (This last year wasn't good for the craft fairs they normally frequent.) They don't have everything in the shop the way they want it yet, but if you have a request, they probably can meet it-- especially if you are into amigurumi (that's his expertise).

4. I have two more friends' Etsy shops that I want to share. The first is from a virtual friend, Karen, who I "met" on The Frugal Girl. I love Karen's ability to repurpose and make beautiful, classy, and useful items. Her shop is called Fabric Speaks. (I really love repurposing!)

The second shop also brings to life old things in a different way. I hadn't expected I would enjoy buying, learning about, and selling vintage items so much, but it is another way of repurposing, don't you think?Anyway, my friend in real life, Ann, finds the coolest vintage items and sells them at Annie's Vintage Nook. She takes clean photographs of her items, and I've noticed she has excellent reviews, especially with regards to packing her items carefully. I'm so excited Ann is doing this because she has an eye for beautiful things. (She is artistic and crafty, too, but, to my  knowledge, she only sells her creations at craft fairs.)

And that's all for now, folks! 

December Birthday Cake

 It seems I am destined to be behind. That's okay. This birthday party was delayed by a couple of weeks anyway because of sickness. 

The birthday girl requested a snowman cake, and a snowman cake I attempted. 

This was a fun and easy cake to make. I loved the colors, and it tasted good with some coconut extract in the chocolate cake.

Overheard

Child: Mommy has a moustache!

Younger child: She does not! She just has. . . (pause for thinking). . . hair on top of her mouth.

Children are so brutally honest, aren't they?

Heat Day 2020

This morning the inside temperature was 65F, and it was absolutely no problem. After church we decided to visit my father and cook supper for him. My husband and I knew we would be coming home to a very cold house since the dryer wouldn't be running, the oven wouldn't be cooking, and the 9 living bodies wouldn't be maintaining a few spots of heat in the house for the entire day. So, we made the decision to name today, November 1, the official Heat Day of 2020. We turned the heat on as we scurried about to fill water bottles and as we reminded everybody to visit the little girls'/boys' room. 

I don't feel shame, especially since we were driving through blowing snow on the way home. Snow outside equals heat inside, right?

BUT there could have been an interesting turn of events in the game; we discussed during the drive home that the wind was blowing so hard that perhaps our electricity had gone out. Now, as long-time readers know,  I occasionally change the rules of this heat game on a whim. My husband and I reasoned that if the electricity had indeed gone out, then we technically wouldn't have benefitted at all from the heat being turned on. SO, if the electricity was out, today wouldn't actually be Heat Day since we would still be shivering in the cold until the power was back; Heat Day could have been delayed a whole day (or even two).

But we had lights and heat and very tired children when we got home. The game is over, and we made it to November! Yay!