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.

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.

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. 

Life is Still Full

Do you worry? My mother did. If people could be paid for worrying, my mother would’ve been filthy rich. 

Since the pandemic situation interrupted our normal routines, I’ve found myself thinking of Mom and, to be honest, feeling somewhat relieved that she didn’t have to deal with it all. For starters, she had severe COPD. For years we avoided visits with her if anyone had so much as a sniffle. This coronavirus would have killed her, no doubt. Plus worrying about social distancing and toilet paper and money problems and the health of all her grandkids— well, all that worrying would’ve done her in just as quickly as old COVID-19.

You know, even if you’re not normally a worrier, the current situation is enough to make you feel unwell. We’re all of us a little topsy-turvy. Even homeschoolers like me who are used to being home with the kids have had to change routines. My children are bemoaning a lack of new library books while I am missing gathering together with my church family each Sunday. My husband, a pastor, has been scrambling to figure out the best way to shepherd his congregation. 

Yes, these times are more difficult for most of us, and worry comes too easily. We have been told that worry cannot add a single hour to our lives, and I know it is true. Otherwise, my anxious mother would still be alive. But she is not.

But we are alive, and that, my friends, is important. If you open your front door tomorrow morning, the birds will tell you all about it, if you’ll listen. So will those spring peepers (if you’re more of an evening person). Listen to them.

Turn off the television, the smart phone, the radio, and the computer, and listen right now. What do you hear? Do you hear your children laughing or maybe whining or perhaps jumping on your bed despite the fact they’ve been warned three times already? Life.

Or maybe you hear your husband turning the pages of his newspaper or making your morning coffee? Life.

Maybe you hear the cat sitting on the ledge outside your kitchen window meowing for some food? Life.

Even the faucet dripping, the toilet flushing, and the dishes clinking in the dishwasher are all sounds that accompany life.

Right now we have an opportunity to be still and listen. We have enough time in a way we’ve never had it before. There are no meetings, no school, no sports practices or games. 

In a time when we feel helpless to help, try listening. Listen on the phone to your friend tell the same story for the third time. Listen to your child or grandchild read from a book or recite the times tables. Listen to your spouse sing in the shower or chop up vegetables for supper. Listen to your dog snore on the rug in the evening.

Be still and soak up all the wonderful sounds of life until you are full, so full of the joy of it all that there’s no room left for useless worry.

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Speaking of joy and life and an end to all need for worry— Easter is approaching, and Easter means eggs. At our last church potluck, I had the supreme joy of tasting smoked deviled eggs for the first time. If you have a smoker and like deviled eggs, you simply must make these for your Easter dinner. No arguments; make these!

That being said, I haven’t made them myself, so I don’t have a tried-and-true recipe to share with you. However, my friend who made those lovely eggs told me how she did it (she doesn’t use a recipe), and that is what I can share with you. My directions assume you know how to hard-boil and make deviled eggs.*

Smoked Deviled Eggs

First, hard-boil eggs. Next, peel the hard-boiled eggs. Then smoke the peeled eggs in your smoker on the lowest setting for half an hour to an hour. They will be a light shade of brown.

After eggs are smoked, follow your normal recipe for deviled eggs. I don’t follow an exact recipe for the egg yolk mixture, but I do add mayonnaise, mustard, and a little of something sour like vinegar or pickle relish. My friend adds some horseradish. And don’t forget to sprinkle paprika on top; my family says it’s not really deviled eggs without the paprika on top!

*If you’ve never made hard-boiled eggs or deviled eggs, you should be able to find a basic recipe in most cookbooks or online. Or you can send me an email, and I’ll walk you through it.

**This column was printed in the April 1, 2020, issue of the Hancock News.

Forgotten Picture

I've been blogging quite haphazardly (at best), but today our friend was admitted to the hospital. I began thinking about my mother's hospitalization around New Year's, and I remembered a picture I took at the hospital.

One of my mother's nurses wore a uniform unlike any nurse I've seen for a very long time (if ever).

I was so surprised to see the traditional nurse uniform, and she said she gets that all the time. I asked for permission to take a picture, and she said that was fine. She also told me the story about why she wears it: her mother put her through nursing school and wanted to see her in her nurse's hat. She wears it out of respect for her mother.  

I have to tell you, I wish it were more common. There was something authoritative and reassuring about her uniform. It just seemed right and not quite so "pajama-y" as the scrub-style uniforms worn by most modern healthcare professionals.

Has anybody else seen a nurse dressed like this anytime in the last 30 years?

** By the way, if you comment and I do not reply, it's not because I don't want to. I've been unable to comment on my own blog for the last several weeks, and I'm not sure why. I haven't had the time to figure it out. If anybody knows what I can do, please send me a note!

Not Five on Not Friday

1. Hotroot Soup.  My boys love the Redwall book series. They quote the books ad nauseam. They beg me to make the food that the critters in the books eat. This last week, I gave in. You can read about our efforts here.

Hotroot Soup

2. Handmade Gifts. Remember my daughter's birthday party last week? I finally got around to taking a picture of some of the gifts she received from my friend. I absolutely loved them, and what's most important, my daughter loved them, too. If you'd like to buy some other things my friend makes, you can check out her Etsy shop.

Doll with clothes (and Altoid box wardrobe)

Felted bag made from a wool sweater

3. Bear. We had a bear in the backyard. If you want to see more pictures, you can read my last post which I creatively titled "Bear!"

Bear!

4. Lyme Disease.  Truthfully, I haven't checked to see if May is still Lyme Disease Prevention month. I just don't keep up on those types of things. However, after picking a few deer ticks off the kids this week, I figured I should post a link to one of my Lyme Disease rants. I don't want you or yours to suffer unnecessarily from Lyme, so arm yourself with information. If you search "Lyme" on the "Search this blog" spot on the right, you'll come up with a few other related posts. I didn't realize I had so many, but I guess it's been a big deal for us.

5. Graduation. My "baby" nephew graduated from high school tonight. I wasn't there. 😢 But I am so proud of him anyway. Congratulations, Travis!

6.  Ascension. This week, Christians celebrated Christ's ascension into heaven. A dear neighbor, friend, and church member died on the day of the Ascension. We mourn her passing, but we are also thankful that her suffering is over. 

Five on Friday

1. Bird in Church.  On Saturday evening, my eldest and I went down to the church to get a few things done. A few things had to wait because there was a bird sitting on the Christ candle. A BIRD! And being the independent woman I am, I immediately called my husband on the phone for help. Then I told my son to do what my husband told me to do.

So what did we do? We (and I mean my son) opened the door and shooed the bird out. And out that black bird flew.

It sounds really simple as I type it up, but it was actually very exciting. Less exciting was cleaning up a little bird poop in the sanctuary.

2. Frugal Me.  Also last Saturday, I made horchata for potluck. I'd never made it before, but basically you soak raw rice and cinnamon sticks in some water, strain off the liquid, and add milk and sugar to make a yummy drink. That left all that ground up rice to go to waste. The frugal me couldn't leave it at that, so I ended up cooking that up into a sort of cream of rice cereal. It was okay. It didn't set our tastebuds afire for it, but it was edible and no waste.

3.  It Tastes So Gouda.  One thing that has lately set our tasted buds to the drool setting is smoked gouda cheese. I think we bought it at Sam's Club, and it is so entirely yummy, especially when it is a little melted. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend it.

4.  Plague.  Also happening on Saturday (a busy day for us last week)-- one child got sick. Then over the course of the rest of the week, the rest of us fell, including me. Wednesday I spent the day in bed thinking, "I don't even have enough energy to lay in bed." All are on the mend, except my husband, who isn't yet sick. Isn't it fitting that we studied the Black Death in history this week?

5. Etsy.  This is not another shameless plug for my Etsy shop, but it is a plug for Etsy. I love shopping there because you can find just about anything you want. This week I made two Etsy purchases and am looking forward to getting them in the mail soon. Unfortunately, I can't share them with you because they are secrets. Maybe later :)

And because this post needs some kind of picture, I will now do the shameless plug for my Etsy shop by showing a picture of a new hat I listed this week. It's a cotton one instead of acrylic, so it feels a little different. I love the color.

Ta-da!

_The Hancock News_ Column--October 19, 2016

At last the leaves on the trees are figuring out what I’ve felt in my bones for a few weeks; it is finally fall. 

I love the change in seasons. It doesn’t matter which one it is, I get excited as one season gives way to the next. Maybe it’s the newness of the new or maybe I’m plain tired of the old one. Regardless, I never regret moving on to colder or hotter or wetter tomorrows.

But we also order our days in seasons that have nothing to do with the weather. Our family is in the midst of our fall birthday season. With four kids’ birthdays in as many weeks, I struggle to continue liking cake. It is also school season, which means times tables, poems, and lessons about the fall of Rome fill every spare minute. Thankfully, I have more time to devote to our studies now that the garden season is winding down.

Cooling temperatures seem to mean allergy and cold season for us. This last week we came down with some sort of coughing, sore throat, and stuffy nose sickness. Nobody was too sick-- just sick enough for me to allow a few extra cartoons and fewer chores and grammar lessons.

Unfortunately, our little sick season meant that planned visits with my parents couldn’t happen; since my mother has COPD, our sniffles can easily land her in the hospital. 

We’ve all had to adjust to this new season of Grammy’s severe COPD. Tears of disappointment sometimes accompany these adjustments. It’s a big downer for us when we can’t be with my parents for fear of sickness or when Grammy can’t do what she wants to do because it’s too strenuous. 

But think of those big snows in winter, the ones that cause accidents, halt emergency services, and bring us all to our knees. Isn’t all that devastating snow so beautiful! The whole world, it seems, is cozied up in a fluffy white blanket that muffles all the noisy busyness of our lives.

My mother’s condition is awful, but God still works good through it. My mother may have to limit her activities, but that gives her more time to sit in her chair, a lukewarm mug of coffee in one hand and the telephone in the other, simply listening to her grandchildren.

She listens to them read, complain about their mean mommy, and rattle off their Christmas lists as well as their dreams for the future. Because of COPD, my mother, though far away, is available for her beloved grandchildren-- and they know it. And to be honest, that is more beautiful than the purest of snows, the reddest of autumn leaves, the coolest splash in your favorite swimming hole, or the most playful lamb frolicking around the greenest spring pasture. 

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I love all things autumn-- the bushels of apples, the colorful displays of pumpkins and winter squashes, and the smell of all those wonderful fall spices. My husband created this recipe, and I think it is the quintessential fall meal. I like it for the orange colors, the salty sausage, the sweet apples, and those lovely spices baked in a warm oven on a chilly autumn day. My husband likes that it only dirties one pan. The kids just like that it’s yummy.

The measurements on this are approximate. My husband has never measured, but he adds one layer at a time with these proportions, depending on the size of the baking dish. This is so easy to tailor to the taste of you and the crew that you’re feeding, so add your own favorite twists and fall flavors if you wish.

Fall Harvest Supper Bake

In a 9 x 13 casserole dish, layer the following ingredients in the order given:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch cubes

4 apples, cored and quartered

1 onion, cut in 1-inch chunks

Sprinkle this with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and ground cloves, to your taste.

Next, crumble one pound raw bulk sweet Italian sausage over the top, topped by 1/2 stick butter, cut into small cubes. 

Bake, uncovered, in a 350℉ oven until sweet potatoes are almost tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with about 1 cup of Craisins (dried cranberries). Gently stir before returning the pan to the oven to bake until sweet potatoes are soft. Serve with toasted pecans sprinkled on top, if desired.


*This post was shared at Strangers & Pilgrims at Home for The Art of Home-Making Mondays.

_The Hancock News_ Column--January 6, 2016

I decided to make a New Year’s resolution this year after my mother noticed a bad habit I’d fallen into. “Straighten up!” she begged. You see, I’m literally in a slump. I am a sloucher.

When I was younger, people sometimes complimented me on my good posture which was drilled into me by years of marching in the band. Those days are long gone. Years of nursing and gazing down at a babe in arms have helped my shoulders bow down. Toting about hip-huggers and staggering under the weight of toddlers couldn’t have helped either. While I’m proud of my little ones, I certainly don’t stand tall to show it.

So my resolution is to improve my posture. I’m hoping this resolution is an easy one to keep since it’ll improve both my appearance and health without requiring any extra time or money-- just thought and effort.

Unfortunately, not all worthy resolutions are as easy as mine. Some people truly struggle because of their own bad habits or difficult situations. You know them when you see them because their shoulders sag not out of laziness (as mine do), but instead the weight of the world drags them down.

When you see somebody sinking down, offering the “Straighten up!” that my mother gave me probably won’t help. Instead, try to find a kind word or a smile. Extend a helping hand if you’re able. One small gesture won’t fix all of those heavy problems, but it can lighten the load enough to make a difference.

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It seems January is the time people focus on healthier eating. There must be a bazillion different diets out there claiming to be the best one. It’s too confusing! The only thing I’ve seen most of them agree on is that vegetables are good for you. 

My daughter is the self-proclaimed Vegetable Girl. She learned how to make a dip from my friend who watched the children while I was having the baby in September, and now she wants to make it all the time. I must admit, it certainly does help the veggies go down more easily. 

While she normally just wants to throw in the ingredients, we did measure them out the last time so I could share the recipe with you. Please note that my daughter named this dip after herself and also decided it should be famous.

Helen’s Famous Dip

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (healthier option!)

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (or 3 tsp. dried)

1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 tsp. dried dill weed

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

Mix everything together in a bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.



*This post has been shared at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth for The Art of Home-Making Monday.

Funnel Cakes

A few weeks ago, my husband saw a small bag of mix for funnel cakes and brought it home for a treat. On Saturday morning, while the children were enthralled by cartoons, we got to work with the messy deep-frying.  We surprised our children by having this ready on their plates when we called them to breakfast.

You can make them at home!

Yes, I know you should have a healthier start to the day, but really funnel cakes aren't very different from doughnuts. Besides, never mind the cheese and bacon, you do see that green spinach in those scrambled eggs, right?

This was meant to be a treat, one I'm not sure we've ever even indulged in at the fair for the kids. If we have, I'm certain they've never enjoyed a whole funnel cake all too themselves.

It was a treat the children were delighted to see, and they loved tearing into the powdery sweets.  And they were filling, too, I might add. I am not sure that any of them finished off an entire one. We had LOTS left over.

What was intended as a treat also served as a lesson. Funnel cakes really pick up lots of grease in the frying process, and our tummies were not appreciative. These fun fair foods aren't all that healthy (surprise, surprise!). Those of us old enough to express it felt icky and sluggish all day. Two of my children are swearing off funnel cakes for life.

Now, I still like funnel cakes, but I don't think I'll ever attempt to eat an entire one by myself again. I think the fun of funnel cakes exists just as much in the atmosphere of a fair or festival and in the sharing of it. Being able to walk it off afterwards probably helps, too.

Was it worth making them? Definitely. My husband and I had fun making them, and seeing the surprise on the kids' faces was satisfying. BUT a little bit goes a long, long way, and I'm not sure we'll ever make them again.

On a healthier note, tonight we had kale with kielbasa. While we've certainly cooked kale before, for some reason the kids gobbled it up tonight. Even my committed carnivore gobbled up the veggie, and he rarely eats veggies of any kind happily. Tonight he went back for seconds of not only the meat; in fact, he fished out a bit of meat and then loaded up on the kale. My husband and I were left with our jaws hanging down in amazement.

So. Even if you've tried cooking kale with bacon and your family hated it, try it with kielbasa. I just sliced up the kielbasa and some onion, fried it up a little in the bottom of a pot, and then loaded on the kale, adding more once it cooked down enough to make more room in the pot.

What Happens When. . . ?

What happens when this toddler hand. . .

meets up with a few hot peppers in a produce basket that was left on the table?

When said toddler approached me in distress, I wasn't sure what happened. He wasn't crying, but he was whimpering a bit and holding his mouth. My first thought was that he'd somehow managed to find something poisonous. I rushed around looking and found this:

The antidote given was food and drink (milk). He appreciated this help and moved on to more appropriate and safe play.

_The Hancock News_ Column-- July 15, 2015

When my mother was in third grade, she and her younger sister thought they might like a little bit of extra attention. Remembering that sick and injured children are fussed over and sometimes even get soda pop, they hatched their not-so-brilliant plan.

My mother and her sister decided to rub the leaves of poison ivy all over themselves.

Be able to identify this. . . just don't get too personal.

Now, if you’re reading this, you are intelligent enough to know this scheme of theirs has no good ending. For whatever reason, the poison ivy didn’t effect my aunt, but my mother learned a lesson she’d never forget.

Sure enough, my mother broke out in a rash all over. It was so bad her eyes swelled almost completely shut. She remembers going to the doctor and having to take some small white pills. She remembers how itchy it was and how horrible she looked. And she remembers having to go to school where a shy girl like herself would most certainly be the center of the kind of attention she didn’t want.

What my mother does not remember is getting a treat from her parents, certainly no soda pop.

More than sixty years later, I found myself scolding my sons for walking through poison ivy.

“Aw, Mom, why are you so scared of a little plant like poison ivy?” one of them complained. After this past week, I don’t think any of my older children will soon forget their mother’s healthy respect for this common weed.

It all started when I pointed out to my husband a small poison ivy plant growing in our garden right next to an impressive sunflower. He made quick use of a shovel to eliminate the dangerous plant.

But I couldn’t stop there. At the time, I had a fleeting thought that the weeds growing next to the poison might have on them some of the itch-causing oils from their dearly departed neighbor, but I dismissed it. Hadn’t I ignored my own sound advice and waded through poison ivy in my muck boots earlier in the summer while hunting guinea eggs? If I had no problems with that, surely I’d be okay this time.

So I bent over and weeded to my heart’s content. When I straightened up, and I remember this all in slow-motion, I pushed up my glasses and wiped my forehead.

Quick as that, the deed was done.

Two days later the dreaded rash appeared on my face, and by that Sunday, it was bad enough that I had some explaining to do at church. By Tuesday, my eyes were swelling shut.

My older children looked at me with a mix of revulsion and pity, and the younger two just pointed and giggled. After I dabbed on calamine, my face was a grotesque splotchy pink mask that the toddler ran from. The calamine didn’t help much, and the Benadryl only took the edge off the itch.

By Wednesday when my husband took me to the doctor, I didn’t even want to look in the mirror let alone be looked at by strangers in the waiting room, but I was desperate for some relief.

There was to be no relief. I was told that no doctor would prescribe steroids for me because of my pregnancy and that I could expect the whole ordeal to last for three weeks.

So, my friends, that’s where I am now, in a miserable state of trying not to scratch. I wake up at night like clockwork with severe itching when it’s time for another dose of the only medicine I have the green light to take. I’ve tried about every topical treatment and home remedy out there to no avail. While my face is no longer swelling, the rash has migrated everywhere else, and no amount of attention or special treats (not even soda pop) will make me feel any better until the itching goes away for good.
   
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One treat I’ve been craving lately is brownies. I am a lover of chocolate, but I have no cocoa powder in the pantry right now. Instead I think I’m going to beg my husband to bake up a batch of his brownies that use a chocolate substitute-- carob.

Not many people keep carob powder on hand, but if you’re sensitive to chocolate or just want to try something new, it makes a satisfying alternative to hot cocoa as well as these yummy brownies.

Honey Carob Brownies

1 1/3 cups honey
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup carob powder
1 cup nuts, chopped
2 cups whole wheat flour

Blend all ingredients in order given. Turn dough into buttered 9 x 12 inch pan. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350℉. Do not over bake. When brownies come from oven, cover immediately with foil to drive the moisture in. Allow brownies to cool before eating.



**This post has been shared at Strangers & Pilgrims at Home for The Art of Home-Making Mondays.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

We'll start with the good. Yummy things growing are always good.

First zucchini of the year

We ate this yummy morsel with our morning eggs today. It was bigger because these pictures are two days old.

Bountiful blackberries

A few of these tasty treats have ripened already and have found their way into the bellies of garden workers who needed a little snack.

 

Early raspberries

Our raspberries throw out a few teasers before their season begins in earnest, usually in August. Raspberries are my favorite. I also like the willing helper holding the berries; she loves working with growing things. I predict her thumb will turn green any day now.


Now for the bad.


Do you see those mating Japanese beetles through the lacy grape leaf? Yep. They're responsible for that foliage destruction, I fear.

Stupid bugs

It's not all bad, though, because this year our grapevine is actually putting on and keeping some grapes. Could this be the first year we might harvest a grape or two despite those beetles?

I fear the unknown, and right now I don't know what's causing those grapes to turn yucky-looking. I'm so new to this grape thing.

The grapes look like they're rotting.

 And now for the ugly. And let me warn you, it is ugly.

Poison ivy, vile stuff!

While this plant by itself isn't visually repulsive, my face is. There was some poison ivy growing in the garden, and my husband dug it out with a shovel. I made the mistake of pulling the weeds that were next to it. And then wiping my face. And a few other places.

I won't post a picture of my face, but let's just say that the kids are staring with pity and horror, and the toddler just stares and points. When I have a fresh coat of calamine, he won't let me near him. On Sunday and Monday I was merely disfigured and grotesque. Today I awoke to one eye swollen shut. Later in the day it opened up partially, but I'm not sure I look any better.

So I am miserable, but at least I found out I can take benadryl in the third trimester. It takes the edge off. A little bit.

For a bonus ugly picture, scroll down.

That's my compression-stockinged foot in a sock that's coming off in my hot pink Crocs.

If that's not ugly, I don't know what is! Except for my face. That's really, really ugly. Trust me.

But if you don't trust me, shoot me an email, and I'll reply with the picture.

Poisonous

Well, we've had snakes (a copperhead, even!) and lizards on our front porch this spring/summer. I'm not terribly fond of them. And then my son saw this in the corner of our front door frame. It might be hard to see, but it is indeed a black widow spider. I'd thought they only liked dark places, but, no, this one made her home on our south-facing porch.

Yucky old poisonous thing!

And speaking of things that probably aren't the healthiest for you. . .

I have had an insane craving during this pregnancy for instant mashed potatoes. We NEVER make instant mashed potatoes, but a few weeks ago at Sam's Club, I gave in and bought a monster-sized box of them.

Appetizing, no?

But what to serve with instant mashed potatoes when everything you have is frozen and the oven is broken? Hmmmmm. . . 

How about something else that might be served in a cafeteria?

Greasy (but quite tasty) hamburger gravy

At least it was made with grass-fed beef and homemade bone broth, right? Right?!

 

 

Plain Jane green beans

This was definitely not my finest fancy dinner, but you wouldn't believe how the kids gobbled it up. And it completely satisfied my pregnancy craving. Well, I still want more mashed potatoes, but the box isn't empty yet.

What was your strangest pregnancy craving?

_The Hancock News_ Column-- May 6, 2015

In honor of Mother’s Day, I offer up what every mother really needs. No, it’s not flowers or lunch at a restaurant.

In fact, my gift to mothers is nothing like a normal, warm and fuzzy gift because it is frightening. It deals with creepy, crawly things that only wish to feast on the blood of you and your children.  When they’re finished, they are thoughtful enough to leave behind the gift of a sometimes-debilitating sickness.

My gift is a reminder that May means more than Mother’s Day; it is also Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and around these parts, if you’re not aware of Lyme Disease and it’s symptoms, you might be putting your family in harm’s way.

While I’m not a doctor, I am a mother who’s had to deal with Lyme Disease. The symptoms you may have heard about--the bull’s-eye rash and joint pain--aren’t always present. They may even show themselves differently than you expect.

When my oldest son was four-years-old, he started limping. This limp wasn’t the  kind of limp that kids pretend to have in order to receive attention, even if he only limped off and on throughout the day. We asked him where it hurt, and he insisted it didn’t. We took him to the doctor, and she suspected Lyme Disease. Antibiotics took care of that limp, his only symptom.

Five years later, the next in line destined for Lyme was my second son. Gradually we noticed several symptoms in late May and early June. At first we wrote off his headaches to spring allergies. Then he just didn’t feel like doing schoolwork which he was normally eager to do. He said his brain felt foggy. At the time I wondered if he just wanted to be outside playing in the nice weather. His legs started to ache, sometimes his shin and sometimes his ankle. Probably just growing pains, right?

I started worrying more when he lost his normally-hearty appetite. Then one day he had a rash on his cheeks; it looked like somebody had slapped him on the face and left part of a handprint. The following day he woke up with a different rash all over his body--large rings that reminded me of ringworm without the raised-up scaliness. Although there was no center to the rings, this was the classic bull’s-eye rash.

Only a few weeks later, my oldest began his second bout with Lyme. We were at a family wedding, and he didn’t feel like eating the cake. His head was hurting, and he just wanted to lie down. A few hours later, he vomited once. The next day he felt horrible. His stomach was mostly better, but he was so tired and he had a fever. Once in a while, he dragged himself off of the couch and felt well enough to play whiffle ball, but mostly he just wanted to rest.

At this point, my husband and I wondered when the rest of the children would come down with this flu-like sickness. We were returning home the next day, and we hurried so we could better deal with the sickness that all the children would surely have.

The thing is, nobody else came down with it. My son improved, but sometimes he was tired or had a little headache or just didn’t feel like eating. About a week later, his cheeks looked like they’d been slapped, and the next day he had that rash of rings all over his body.

Luckily in all three instances, we seemed to catch the disease easily enough that one long (4-6 weeks) course of antibiotics took care of the problem.

You know, never once did we see a deer tick that carries the disease attached to our children, but it wasn’t because we didn’t look. The larger ticks are thick near us, so we were checking for them. We’d never even seen a tiny one until the drive to that family wedding. Just as we left, my son discovered the speck of a tick crawling on his leg. He captured it in a napkin and gave it to me. It was so small that it would have fit on a pinhead with room left over. I had to look closely to see that it wasn’t just a speck of dirt.

We still do checks for ticks, and we’ve even taken on the care of a noisy flock of guinea fowl to reduce the tick population around our home. Prevention is important.

But please learn more about Lyme Disease and it’s symptoms. Ask your doctor. Look online. I’ve known many who’ve suffered irreparable damage because of advanced Lyme undiagnosed for too long--chronic aches and pains, facial paralysis, and even vision loss.

Sometimes your loved one won’t present any of the “classic” symptoms. Sometimes he or she might have symptoms that seem like another illness or symptoms that occur only briefly or come and go.

If you know about Lyme Disease, you can help your doctor figure it out because the sickness can be difficult for even the best doctor to diagnose. Even tests sometimes show false negatives.

Please, for Mother’s Day, give yourself the gift of awareness of Lyme Disease, its many, many symptoms, and how to reduce your chances of getting it. When your family makes you breakfast in bed to honor Mom, you can share what you’ve learned with them-- between bites of waffles and bacon, of course.

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Hearts, butterflies, motorcycles, gingerbread men, etc.

In addition to checking for ticks on Mother’s Day, our family tradition is making cookies with Mommy. This year we’ll be making sugar cookies and frosting them because we missed that at Christmas. Instead of the Santas and stockings, I’ll break out the non-holiday cookie cutters I never have a chance to use.

This recipe for sugar cookies is from my own mother (I changed it a little), and they are delicious! While they pair nicely with whatever frosting you like, I enjoy them best plain with a glass of milk.

Mom’s Soft Sugar Cookies

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup soft butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sour cream (Mom uses milk with a good bit of cider vinegar to equal 1/2 cup)

Sift flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla and cream with a hand mixer for 2 minutes. Add sour cream and 1/2 of flour mixture and mix with hand mixer for 1 minute. Just stir in remaining flour by hand.

Refrigerate this and it rolls better. Roll 1/4 inch thick. Cut out in desired shapes and bake about 5-8 minutes on a greased cookie sheet. Watch them closely; they get done quickly!

Beautifully decorated

**Note: This is the original I sent to the editor, but due to space issues and the fact that this column is way longer than normal, a bit here and there was cut. The editor did a great job of keeping all the important stuff (to me) in the column.


**This post was shared at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth for The Art of Home-Making Monday.