View from the hospital

This was my view for much of the day on Friday.  It's from the 6th floor of the hospital.
My dad has been very weak and short of breath recently and was scheduled for a cardiac catheterization Friday morning.  It showed that his heart is only working at 25% and the pressures in his heart are quite high, and so was his blood pressure.
They ended up admitting him to the heart center for monitoring and trying some new medications.
In spite of feeling pretty crummy, he continues to smile and joke with the staff, and has the nurses all loving him!  He's a blessing for sure!

When we went up on Saturday we were happy to see the sparkle back in his eyes.  He'd even been up for a short walk and his blood pressure was much improved.  At this time they think he may be able to go home on Monday.

My niece Halle was with us and he was very happy to see her!  Grandkids are always a joy, right?
Thanks for your prayers for him.  I'm hoping to report he's back home soon.

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of the meals I made when I did some turkey freezer meals a few weeks ago.  This one is different from many turkey meals, because it has curry in it.  I love curry, Bob isn't so much but he liked this one. I loved it!  Of course, you can make this with chicken instead of turkey.  The recipe called for crushed potato chips on the top which I did, but I didn't really think it added anything, so next time I've skipping them.

Curry Turkey Noodle Casserole
12 ounces egg noodles - cooked as directed on package
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 1/2 cups cold milk
1 (10 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups cooked, cubed turkey (or chicken)
crushed potato chips (Optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook, stirring, until mixture is light golden, about 3 minutes. 
Pour milk into butter and flour mixture, whisking constantly. Stir in cream of mushroom soup, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, green onions,  curry powder, and dried tarragon. Bring mixture to a simmer, cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. 
Stir in pepperjack cheese until cheese is melted and incorporated. 
Stir pepperjack cheese mixture, turkey meat, and noodles in a large bowl until evenly incorporated. Pour mixture into a large casserole dish, or 2 8x8 pans. Sprinkle chips on top, pressing down slightly with the tines of a fork. Bake in the preheated oven until casserole top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

If you want to freeze this meal you can do that after it's assembled.  Remove from freezer the day before you want to serve it and keep in the refrigerator.  Then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Wordless Wednesday

(A sure sign of Spring - maple trees being tapped for sap.  Maple syrup coming soon!)

Old toys and necklaces

The girls spent a night this weekend and discovered a few of Bob's old things that he had put in their room.

Do you remember view masters?  We used to think they were so fun!  The girls had fun playing with this one, but Ruby didn't think Alaina was a bit funny when she found out Alaina was behind her giving her bunny ears.

 And how about Animal from the Muppets?  They had a ball making faces at him and figuring out how to make his eyes wiggle and his mouth move.

 Ruby with Animal

Alaina with Animal.

Alaina's toothless smile - after eating a blue sucker!

 I had picked up a kit for making necklaces with wooden beads.  Here's Alaina laying her beads out before stringing them.

 Ruby told me she could do it all by herself!  And she did...

Here they are, modeling the finished products.

Spring?

It's officially Spring!   But that doesn't mean winter is just giving up here...
I was at work on the first day of Spring and here's what was happening.

 All afternoon it snowed!  That's not the start to Spring that I wanted, but at least it didn't build up on the ground.

More snow on my way home.

So, I decided it was time to add a bit of Spring inside the house.

Tulips and a dragonfly on a side table.

In the dining room, some leaf prints, some greenery and some wooden flowers.

and in the living room, a little bird and some more greenery.

We're supposed to have warmer weather this week.  I hope we've seen the end of the snow!  I'm embracing Spring!

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

I'm sharing a recipe that I should have shared with you last week because it involves corned beef.   We don't really eat corned beef, except this bun recipe.  I made this Sunday night since it was St Patrick's Day. This is an old recipe that I got from my mom.  It's so easy and can be made ahead of time if you like.

Corned Beef Buns
1 can corned beef
1 tablespoon minced onion
1/2 cup sour cream
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
8 hamburger buns
Stir together the corned beef, minced onion and sour cream, then add cheese.  Divide among the 8 buns.  Wrap in foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
These can be prepared the day ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to use them, then bake as directed.

Wordless Wednesday

Random updates

I have to show you this cute picture of Ruby.  Her preschool had 'Reading is a treasure - Pirate Day'  and everyone was to dress up as a pirate.

Laura had a video of her saying  "Arrrgh me hearties, you dirty scalawags!"  Hilarious!

The school had lots of things set up to celebrate reading, including this pirate book saying "We arrrrrgh ready to read!"

We had some birthdays in the family last week.  Bob's Mom and my Dad both turned 88, 5 days apart.

We spent time with her last Friday evening.  She and Bob's step dad, Roger. moved into an assisted living place a few months ago.  Roger has Alzheimer's disease and continues to decline.  He sleeps a lot and is quite confused.  Bob's mom is also declining.  She has lung issues and it's getting harder for her to talk.  She's much weaker and we are noticing some confusion with her too.

My Dad's birthday was last Monday.  My sister and I brought over balloons and took him and Ann out for lunch.  He's doing quite well, but his vision is getting worse and he complains of being tired a lot.  He still goes bowling 3 times a week and is a joy to be around.

We're thankful to have these parents and step-parents in our lives yet, and as they age we are reminded that we don't know how long we'll still have that privilege, so we don't take it for granted.

A bit o' the Irish!

We had a fun St Patrick's Day yesterday!  Our daughter Heather and her husband Andrew invited us to lunch where friends from their church were going to be playing Irish music.

So - after church on Sunday we made our way to Holland MI, a city that is known for it's dutch heritage.   Who would have thought that in the middle of town, there was an Irish pub?

 Inside they were set up with some green for the guests.

 It was so cute inside, looked like it had been there for years.

 Here's what I had - it's called Bubbles and Squeak.  It was an omelet inside a pancake with fresh fruit and red and green pepper.  Heather and Bob had Fish and Chips, Andrew had Shepherds Pie.  It was all very good.

 What we liked best was the music though.  She plays the fiddle, he was playing the penny whistle here.

And then he played the bagpipe.  They were so good!
What a fun way to celebrate St Patrick's Day!

Friday Funny

Cooking Thursday

Today's recipe is another good one for cold weather, and is one of those basic meals that most everyone seems to enjoy!  I've been making this one for quite a few years. A bowl of stew with a piece of hot, crusty bread is perfect on a cold winter night!

French Oven Stew

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 large onions, cut into eight pieces
3 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
4 large carrots, quartered
2 large potatoes, cut into chunks
1/3 cup quick cooking tapioca
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
2 cups tomato juice

Combine tomato juice, tapioca, sugar, salt, pepper and basil in bowl.  Set aside
Place meat, onions, celery and carrots in a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Pour tomato juice mixture over top and cover.
Bake at 350 degrees for 3 1/2 hours.
Add potato chunks and bake another hour.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Wordless Wednesday

Spring is going to come!

Yesterday I showed you another storm, but guess what?  Spring is coming!  It's been lighter in the morning when I go to work and it's supposed to get quite warm this week.  As much as I complain about winter, I really am glad I get to experience all 4 seasons.  My favorite is Spring though - and I think it's partly because I'm so happy to see the snow and cold end.
Here's a few pictures of the beauty on my drive to work.

it was a frosty morning!

But oh so pretty!

A little more snow!

This seems to be the winter that never ends!  We had more snow this week, so I thought I'd share it with you.  :)

Last week we had another snowstorm, nothing too serious but another day of blowing snow and crummy roads.

I also have to share a few more snow related pictures.  When the girls were here overnight, Bob went out to clean the driveway.  There wasn't enough snow for the snow blower so he was shoveling.  Alaina decided to help.

 She started working on the front walk.

 A  wave through the window to Grandma!

 It was hard work!

She did the whole walk though and did a good job!  We were quite impressed!

 When Ruby realized Alaina was outside, she had to go out too, so they both worked on the driveway with Grandpa.

Once the driveway was done, they took a walk around the yard.  They found bunny tracks and some cat footprints.  By then they were cold and a little wet, so it was time to come in.