Good Luck Amy!

Today I'm going to listen to my niece as she presents the 2:00 PM lecture at Women's Conference. I'm sure she'll give a wonderful talk. I think she is destined to become the next Sheri Dew.
Here's some information I'm sure you didn't know. If you google "Amy Springer" you get 100 pages of hits. 100! However, I don't think any of those hits referred to my niece. Good luck this afternoon, Amy!

Work Perks

On Monday, two very nice ladies came into the office. They were holding a box. Box=yummy, nearly every time. They thanked me for the referral of a patient and handed me the box. They then said they'd like to bring lunch in for us as well, and would Monday of next week be a good time. I said no, that I'd be away and how about the following week. Great. Bye.
Let me tell you what was in the box. Heaven, er, a cake . A chocolate chocolate-chip cake with cream cheese frosting.

I am not kidding you when I say Box=I*have*never*in*my*life*tasted*anything*that*good.

Nothing Bundt Cakes was the maker/baker of the cake. On their website, they give instructions on how to take care of your cake. Here's what they say:
"If you can resist consuming your Nothing Bundt Cake immediately, we recommend you": blah, blah, blah (the actual instructions aren't important).
Then it says:
"If any cake remains (is that possible?)": blah, blah. Hello? No, it is NOT possible that any cake will remain. The instructions are completely unnecessary!
Yes, they know how good their cake is, which is why they can charge almost $20 for an 8-inch cake! And I am willing to pay it! I ate my piece, then I ate Bud's piece. Oops. It couldn't be helped. I am seriously considering going to work for this place for as long as it takes me to memorize their recipe.
The funny part about this whole thing is- I don't know what patient they think I referred to them, but I didn't even know the doctor's name (thus, how could I refer someone to him?). All I know is that I was in cake heaven. I wonder what they're bringing for lunch...

A Riddle

What do you get when you cross this

with this?

Ready for the answer? You get a sewing machine that doesn't work, and an $80 price tag to fix it. However, I still love my grandson, regardless of him thinking my sewing machine was a piggy bank. And in case you're wondering, the repairman gave me back the penny.

Happy Birthday Boo

Today is Laura's Golden Birthday. That means that she is 27 on the 27th. Here she is on her blessing day. So sweet.
This is her Halloween costume. I think my kids were clowns more than any other thing.
How can I just reach in to this picture and kiss this face?

This is Laura's Papa (my dad). My kids loved to go to their grandparents' house.

She was proud when she learned how to blow bubbles.

Laura was always so very serious all her life.

As these pictures demonstrate. She was always mild mannered and timid and shy.


Very shy.

She started playing softball when she was four.

Yes, she's in there, somewhere.

Eventually, she started taking pitching lessons because she was tired of being on a team that didn't have a good pitcher.

She grew up.

She had kids of her own.


But she'll always be my "Boo." Happy Birthday Laura.
P.S. My sister also had a baby on this day, but that was 31 years ago. Happy Birthday to Joette too!

Workplace Humor

Occasionally a patient will bring in an appropriate comic. I can relate to this one.

In A Jam

In my opinion, it's better to be in a jam than in a pickle. Pickles are nasty and sour. And while jam is sticky, at least it is sweet. So for the benefit of my posterity, I decided that today I would teach my children or grandchildren how to
get into a jammake jam, which is my favorite thing to do with strawberries. The only jam we seem to eat is strawberry jam, although I've made peach jam too, but it doesn't seem to get eaten
at allas quickly as the strawberry. All you need for this is a freezer, some containers, strawberries, sugar, pectin (I will only use MCP) corn syrup and a lemon. Let's get started, and remember, this is really to teach my grandkids so forgive the simplified language and/or directions.

Wash the strawberries, then hull them (cut the stem off) and cut them into big chunks. This picture shows the washed strawberries, the cut up berries, and the trash bowl with the stems in it.
I use the food processor to chop the berries into smaller pieces. I just turn it on and off a few times really fast until it looks like this.
Here's my whole batch of chopped strawberries ready to be made into jam.
Now measure out 3 1/4 cups of berries and pour it into a big bowl.
Actually, depending on how many strawberries you're using, you'll need several bowls.
Then you're ready to add the pectin. This is the best kind, and the recipe I'm showing you how to make can be found inside every box of this brand. If you don't use this brand, then it will be a different recipe. For my California granddaughters, you can find it at Stater Brothers. For my Utah grandkids, you can find it at Maceys.
Add the pectin to the berries
and 1/4 cup of lemon juice. You should be able to squeeze that much juice from one lemon.
Now I need two timers because I can't keep track otherwise. I set one for 30 minutes, and the other one for 5 minutes. Stir the strawberries, pectin and lemon juice once every 5 minutes until 30 minutes are up. When 30 minutes are up, add a cup of corn syrup.
Also add
a ton of sugar4 1/2 cups of sugar, or if you want to weigh it, it's 2 1/4 lbs, or 1000 grams.

Or whatever this says...
Then you stir it forever, or until the sugar dissolves. When it's dissolved, pour it into a container that can go in the freezer, but don't put it there yet. Just let it sit on the counter or pantry shelf for 24 hours, then put it in the freezer. Then hire a maid to come and wash all the dishes that you got dirty and sticky making your jam. Or, ask Nana to do it.

Then you have to make pancakes.
And when they're gone, you have to make more.
And when they're gone again,
then you will be full and happy.

Strawberries

What's your favorite thing to do with strawberries? Here's Karen's. This was her farewell dessert before she went to New Jersey.

And one for Brandon too.
How do you like your strawberries?

Uncles, Aunts and Cousins

It was wonderful to see so many cousins yesterday. There were only four that weren't there, and I'm sure they would have liked to have come if they could have arranged it. Here we are sitting with my Aunt Helen.


Here's the last three of my uncles and aunts.

They are really fabulous people.

A Remembrance

Today is my uncle's funeral. He was my dad's brother, and my favorite uncle.
I was fortunate enough to get together with my uncles and aunts a few months ago for lunch. It was really a pleasure to see them all again, and to chat briefly as it was, once more.

My earliest memory of my uncle was at our kitchen table. He put a nickel and a dime in front of me on the table and told me to choose one. I picked the nickel. He put another nickel on the table and asked me again to choose one. Again, I chose the nickel. A third time, he put a nickel out with the dime and told me that even though the dime was smaller than the nickel, it was worth twice as much. I wasn't sure how much longer I could get him to play the game, so that time I chose the dime. In the end, I was 20 cents richer instead of ten. If I'd picked the dime straight off, it would have been a very short game!
When I was a teenager, Uncle Lawrence came to live with us for a little while until he could relocate his family from Idaho to California. My mom was working that evening, so it was my responsibility to make the dinner. I can't remember what I made, but it was awful. Uncle Lawrence ate it without complaining and left $20 on the table for me, a "tip."
He took us to Disneyland several times when we were young. Who in their right mind would take someone else's kids there? That was back in the day when you had to have a ticket for each ride. When he didn't take us, he'd at least give us his family's leftover tickets in case we could use them later.
And he was funny. He was one of the funniest people I have ever known in my life. I could sit and listen to him tell stories for hours. If ever there was a family gathering, with a bunch of folks all in one spot, you could be sure Uncle Lawrence was at the center, entertaining everyone. I will miss him.

Something Is Wrong

What's missing?

This guy.
He's gone to New Jersey.

This video clip is short, but watch for the dribbling. It's awesome. He holds on to the ball while he taps it on the ground.

Nice shot!

Betrayed

All I've ever done was love it. And this is the thanks I get?
A couple of nights ago, it rained. All-night-long. And then it rained some more.
The next evening, I went here, to get some spaghetti noodles.

I was only wearing socks (yikes! Socks AND clothes!). My socks quickly got wet, and I shouted, "We have a problem here!" Yes, the carpet (indoor-outdoor) was soaked.

There are no window wells to let the rain in, so it had to just come in from the foundation somehow. Now the room is starting to smell "off." Bud went to a janitorial place to get some stuff that's supposed to fix everything and make it better. In the meantime, I feel hurt. Totally betrayed of the trust and love I've given this house because of the way it failed me during that rainstorm. It will probably take some time before I can forgive it completely, but I'll work on it. Because life is too short to hold grudges, I'm told.

Grandpa's Work

Before leaving for New Jersey, Caleb's mommy and daddy had a check-up at Grandpa's work. We were asked to take a look at Caleb as well. No problem. This is how we do it at our office.
Wow, this looks like a major procedure! No, just an x-ray on a little guy that didn't think he needed one.
Let's make it better. How about some lunch afterwards? Still not happy?
Okay, how about Nana's phone to play with while you eat your french fries? Feeling better now?
Oh! THIS will do it.
Now we all feel better!