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Sunday, November 24, 2019

Birthday and a break!

It was my birthday on Sunday and I got kind of spoiled.


 It started on Friday when I found this box sitting at my spot during our morning meeting at work.  It was full of delicious muffins to treat everyone.

 At lunch that day we ordered out and someone treated me to a wonderful salad, and someone else brought in these cheesecake bites.  Yum!


Bob took me out for supper at our favorite restaurant that night.  (lots of eating that day...)


On Sunday, I was on call and we were short nurses.  I was scheduled to work and 2 of my co-workers agreed to work 12 hour days to split that shift so I didn't have to go in! I was able to go to church and got lots of greetings and hugs there.  I also got a few cards, and had gotten some in the mail too, including the card on top, which was from one of m blog friends - Arlene.  Thanks Arlene!
We had a quiet and peaceful day with greetings from each of the kids.  Perfect day!

I'm taking a little break!  I have too much to do and not enough time to do it.
I hope all my United States friends have a nice Thanksgiving and I will see you soon!

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Cooking Thursday

I have the best bread recipe to share with you.  It's one I found several years ago, and it promised a loaf of yeast bread in an hour.  I had to try it, and it's not quite an hour, but mine takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes from start to finish!  And it's good - try it and see!


Best Bread Ever

5 1/4 cups white bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 rounded tablespoons fast rising yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons oil
2 cups hot tap water

Mix dry ingredients, add oil and water. Mix for one minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add a little water. Dough should be very sticky. Mix for 5 minutes. (Do not add flour to dough after mixing) Spray counter and loaf pans (9x5) with Pam. Shape loafs and place into pans. Cover with dish towel and let rise for about 30 minutes. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Makes 2 large loaves.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Monday, November 18, 2019

I Am

Image may contain: 1 person, standing and text

I saw this last week and was blessed by this reminder that God is in control, no matter what things look like in the world, or in our lives.  Isn't this a huge comfort?

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Fireplace Makeover

You probably remember that our daughter Heather and her husband Andrew bought a house this past Spring.  It's such a cute house but it needed some love.  There was a lot of painting and cleaning to be done, and then there are some bigger projects to be done.
Last week Laura and I went over to help Heather figure out where to hang some things.

 A big S on one wall...



A little Farmhouse décor in the dining room.


Laura trying to hang a sign in the hallway.  Those things aren't always easy to hang!  We moved things around in their bedroom, hung a few things in the kitchen and planned things for the living room.


But here is the big project!

This is their living room when they moved in.  Lots of charm, but that fireplace!  Someone had the bright idea to put stucco over everything and then press in glass beads.  It was pretty gawdy.
We all helped tear that part down, and then Bob starting building a new fireplace.
Here's how it looks now:

 Shiplap on top, new bricks, new mantle and the fireplace doors were repainted.



Heather, Laura and I figured out some Fall decorations for a mantle.  I think it turned out just beautiful!  We had lots of fun!

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Cooking Thursday

It's getting cold here - perfect soup weather!  How does a bowl of creamy, comforting potato soup sound?  I have a recipe for it that is so easy and it cooks in the crock pot.  It's a favorite!



Cheesy Potato Soup

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Potato Soup
4 soup cans milk
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 large russet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)

1. Stir the bacon, onion, soup, milk, black pepper, potatoes, & 1/4 cup chives in a 6 quart slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or until the potatoes are tender.
3. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Serve with the remaining chives.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Wordless Wednesday



We had the most amazing sunset last week.  It looked like the sky was on fire!

Monday, November 11, 2019

Suddenly it's Winter!

Winter hit us early this year.  As I was enjoying the beautiful Fall colors, it got cold and the snow came!

Our Japanese Maple was just gorgeous this year, the leaves were bright red and they even looked pretty on the ground.
This is how things were looking Wednesday, during a brief moment of sunshine.  You can see we had just a little snow that day.


 Thursday morning, the back yard looked like this.



 There wasn't a lot of snow, but it was a slippery drive in to work, as the roads were icy.



This looks like a mix of Fall and Winter!


 The pumpkins on the front steps were also covered with snow.



Remember our living room view?  It looks a little different with the snow!

I hope this doesn't mean we  are in for lots of snow this winter!

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Sisters Shopping Trip!

Every year for probably the last 25 years, my two sisters and I have done a Christmas shopping trip.  We don't actually go away, but shop in our area, then stay in a hotel at night and do a little finishing up on Saturday.  This past Friday and Saturday were the days for this year.  We always have so much fun together, lots of laughter and lots of shopping!


 Here's Terri and Cheri, checking out at one of the stores.  We started at 9 and shopped til 5, when we stopped for supper.



We ate at a favorite restaurant - I forgot to take a picture of my meal, but got one of my takeout box. They are large portions - this is 1/2 of my Penne Con Pollo - Chicken Pasta with sun dried tomatoes and pin nuts.  It was yummy!


We stopped at a few more places after supper, and made it to the hotel at 8pm.

 It's always a chore hauling all those packages to the room.  We then sort through everything and mark down what we've purchased.



 We had gotten dessert to go, and enjoyed that treat once everything was sorted and packed into bags, ready to go back to the car in the morning.


We usually stay up fairly late talking, but we were in bed by 11 this time.  All that shopping is tiring!
The next morning we were up bright and early.  We had breakfast at the hotel, then made a few more stops to finish up before heading home.


Here's my bags, ready for an afternoon of wrapping.  I put on a Hallmark movie and spent the afternoon wrapping gifts.
It was a really productive weekend!

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Cooking Thursday

I made an old favorite this weekend - no bake cookies!  They are one of Bob's favorites, and this is our favorite version.  We don't like the kind with coconut in them, and this one has a little peanut butter which gives it a great flavor.   They are very quick and easy to make, and so yummy!


Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
5 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix cocoa and sugar together. Stir in milk, and add butter. Heat in saucepan and bring to full boil. Add peanut butter and vanilla and stir in. Remove from heat, then add oatmeal.
Drop by tablespoon onto wax paper or cookie sheet. Let cool and enjoy!

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Wordless Wednesday

(the view from our living room window)

Monday, November 4, 2019

Birthday Party!

Yesterday I told you we had a party for Alaina and Ruby.  Alaina turned 8 on the 24th, and Ruby turns 5 on November 5.  I can't believe how quickly they are growing up.

Laura and both girls had been sick, and although they were feeling better, we decided it would be easier for them to just have it here.
 We started with pizza.





 Alaina was happy to get this rainbow loom.  It's something she's used at school to make bracelets.



 Here's Ruby and Laura reading a card.



 Ruby loves bunnies and was happy with this little stuffed bunny she got.




Ruby also got this hopping bunny game and they all had fun playing it.


Alaina did a test of her loom and made this.


We had some donuts that are famous around here in the Fall instead of cake.  And we all had to wear party hats while eating them!
 Some of the crazy partiers!  Andrew and Heather.



 The birthday girls!



Silly Grandpa!



Laura, Ruby, Alaina, Aaron.

Happy Birthday girls!  We love you lots!

Sunday, November 3, 2019

A Day in my Life - November

Happy November!  Here's what I did on the first day of the month.


 The weather has really changed in the past few weeks.  It's cold in the morning! I couldn't get a clear shot, but the thermometer in my car said 32 degrees when I left for work at 7am,



I got to work at 7:15 (it's so nice to have a short commute!).  This hall is the therapy hall and also has some offices, including mine.  There was only one therapist here when I arrived, so it was still dark.


 Here's the view from the end of our hall once the sun started to rise.
I start the morning by going to our long term wing and skilled nursing wing to check each nurse and make sure everything is going ok.  I also check for any labs that have come overnight and go over any notes that nurses have left for me.
I have a few things I need to audit every day so I check those things, and also run off a report of any nurses notes and new orders for the last 24 hours.  I review them to make sure everything is entered correctly and to see if there is anything that needs to be followed up on.



 At 9:30 we have a daily meeting with the Administrator, Director of Nursing, Social worker, maintence, Dietician, Admissions, Activies, Business Office...   We review the admissions, discharges, any issues, things that need to be done, activities coming up... We then go over all the notes that I printed earlier in the morning.  This meeting takes about an hour.


When this was done I worked on orders for a new admission that was coming in the afternoon, entered lab orders for the next week, ordered supplies for our residents on tube feedings, with trachs, or other medical equipment.


On Fridays, we try to have lunch together and on this day our marketing director had been out and picked up lunch for us from Panera Bread.  I had tomato soup in a bread bowl.  Yum!



 One of the big parts of my jobs is being the infection control nurse.  I track every resident who is on an antibiotic; the reason why, which bug, where the infection is, the symptoms, what we are doing to monitor it and the dates the infection started and when it was cleared.  I also map out the infections to make sure nothing is being spread from resident to resident.  I do the same for employees, then each of these things get entered into a computer program.
At the beginning of each new month, I have to close out the month before, compare infection rates from month to month and then get all the paper work ready for the next month.  I worked on this for several hours.
There were several interruptions, we had a resident pass suddenly which is always hard.  I also had 2 family members come to see me and it was nice to catch up with them.  This is the norm in this job.  You get close to residents and their families, it's sad when they pass and then it's always a blessing when family comes back to say hi.


I got out early on this day.  I usually am there till 5, but I was out at 3.

 I stopped and had a badly needed haircut!   That didn't take long, and I had a few other errands to run.


 I stopped at the post office...



and then a quick stop at the grocery store.



 I drove home about 4:30.  It was quite cloudy out.



 I got home and did a little straightening out.  I also got some presents ready (the pink bags)  because we were having a birthday party that evening.

At 6:00 Laura, Aaron, Alaina and Ruby, and also Heather and Andrew came over for a party for Alaina and Ruby.
We had pizza and cider, and later donuts and ice cream.  Of course there were birthday presents, some games and lots of laughter!


After the party was done and they all went home, Bob and I relaxed and then went to bed about 11.
What a fun day!