Liquid Living

 Originally, I was told I would be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks after my abdominal surgery. The morning after the surgery, the surgeon said I could try some soft foods like scrambled eggs or mashed potatoes after 10 days of the liquid diet. Looking forward to that.

I want to distinguish the meals some by what I eat. For example, I am sticking to Greek yogurt and fruit juices in the morning. Chicken broth or beef broth or creamed soups for lunch or supper. 

I had the red pepper and tomato soup this afternoon. I really liked it. The butternut squash we have eaten before. At least these have a bit of texture unlike the clear broths.

Stocked up on Ensure and Muscle Milk to make sure I am getting some of the nutrients not available in soup. I bought those at Costco. The Muscle Milk is really chocolatey. The Ensure is palatable but not great. 

Jello and pudding and ice cream and sherbet also allowable on my diet. But I have a yearning for something crunchy or chewy which won't happen until around the 4th of July.

Meanwhile, my husband is in charge of his own meals. He is not handy nor experienced in the kitchen, but I have stocked a few microwaveable items in the freezer. He will go to restaurants or Grace Village dining room some of the time as well. Maybe in another week I will have reduced pain and more stamina to fix some things for him. 

It is over 90 degrees today so the popsicles I stocked up on look good, too. Keep cool if you are part of this heat pattern.

48th Wedding Anniversary

 

Today is our 48th wedding anniversary. We had talked about going to a seafood restaurant in Fort Wayne, but we have been to that city so many times in the past month (and still more to come) for medical appointments and procedures that we decided to eat closer to home at Noa Noa Wood Grill in Warsaw. Though the food is a bit on the expensive side, the dress code allows casual items like jeans and shorts. However, I decided to dress up a bit.

We had a reservation for 6 p.m. We could not believe how full the parking lot was. The restaurant was mobbed for a Wednesday night. Turns out that because it is close to the Wagon Wheel Theater, people dine there before going to the show. Things emptied out some and got much quieter around 7 p.m.

I wanted the halibut, but they did not have halibut available tonight. So, I ended up with snapper. It had a mango sauce, but it did not taste like nor look like mango. It looked like brown gravy. It came with rice, summer vegetables, and a piece of grilled pineapple. I thought we would share a piece of Key lime pie, but my husband said he wanted us to each have our own.

It was delicious. It must have had coconut added into the graham cracker crust as well as toasted coconut on top. I was pretty full after the entree even though I did not eat all of the rice. I finished the pie. 

Just a smear of whipped cream, a few crumbs, and the lime garnish were all that remained. And happy memories of celebrating our 1977 wedding.

Pink Flocking

 

Yesterday evening my neighbor across the street was "flocked". A church youth group put pink flamingos on her lawn. This a fund raiser. About 8 p.m. I glanced up from my newspaper reading and noticed bright pink out my sidelight windows. I didn't hear or see when they were planted. When I took a close look, I was greeted by these flamingos.

 When the lawn mowing crew came this morning the flamingos were moved up on the porch, and I was disappointed I had not taken a picture. This neighbor is a good sport. She put them back out on the grass. I didn't waste any time with this second opportunity.

Gorgeous Flowers

 My housecleaner (who is also in a Bible study with me) has a knack for growing beautiful flowers. Today she brought me a bouquet with flowers from her yard/garden featuring peonies with their lovely fragrance. What a blessing.

YAG Laser Surgery

 Within a year of cataract surgery in 2007, I had laser surgery on my right eye to restore clear vision because of posterior capsule opacification. Now 18 years later, I have the same condition in my left eye!

 I will have YAG laser surgery this Friday. It is day surgery that will be done at an eyecare center locally. I have noticed in the past few weeks that I could not see as well as I needed. The thought of my past experience crossed my mind, but I thought certainly something like that would not happen so many years later. The optometrist did the exam and verified that is the problem.

 The surgery scheduler (nurse) said everybody has different experiences after cataract surgery. Some people have no opacification. She added that each eye can also be different as in my case. At least this is an easily-fixed problem. 

The maskless male cardinal came to our feeder this weekend. My husband was able to take a photo of him. I talked about him in my January post: From a Beggar's Bowl: Odd Male Cardinal but did not have a photo of my bird, just one from the internet. This bird was born without eumelanin. It is fairly rare.

Blooms

 

One of my housecleaners remarked to me, "You sure do like flowers." I do sometimes have fresh flowers in my home, but I think she was referring to my decorating. I have 2 framed prints of flowers (irises; pink generic blossoms), a decorative cross-stitched pillow, and my bedspread which is pictured above.

I have pots of flowers on the front porch to enjoy. Geraniums, calibrachoa, and the violas are still hanging around with the cool spring weather continuing.

The geraniums are the same as what I bought last year. I was glad to see Meijer had them again this year.

Since I put the pot of geraniums under the Victorian gazing ball, I moved the violas to the other side of the porch. I expect them to fade out once hot weather arrives.

My cheddar pinks in the patio plot are in full bloom now. Once the flowers dry up, I will cut them off. Usually, I will get a second blooming later in the summer. They smell nice. I always take a sniff while standing on the patio grilling.

What is in bloom at your house?

Food Thoughts

 Notice that this is not food for thought but thoughts about food. 

This afternoon Winona IT, who Grace Village has used for a few years now, brought a little freezer of Igloo ice cream as a free treat for the Grace Village residents and staff. They did this last year as well.

They had about a dozen flavors. Usually, I would go with chocolate, but the name of this ice cream intrigued me: This Just Got Serious.

It was good, but the chocolate flavor was not very strong. Since we have a hot spell right now with temps in the 80s, the ice cream was a welcome snack.

After going to the bank, I stopped at Martin's to pick up a few things. I used to buy a slice of strawberry pie this time of year from Richard's restaurant, but they closed down a few years ago. I saw in their ad that Martin's had strawberry pie. Pretty pricey, but it will just be a one-time splurge to enjoy strawberry pie again.

I placed a Home Chef order which arrived today. I plan to eat the salmon tonight, the stuffed meatloaf tomorrow. I do not always see things on the weekly menu that interest me, but these two did.

This week has been super busy. Once the choir concert is over on the 20th, things will slow down a bit. I am looking forward to a less-busy schedule.

Drippy Day

 

We have had light rain since about 11:30 a.m. We drove to Fort Wayne on a less-travelled road, getting off of Highway 30 with so much truck traffic. It would have been more pleasant without the rain; definitely less trucks. Saw some farmers have readied their fields for planting. A few already have little green sprouts. 

We enjoyed lunch at Casa Grille on Dupont Road. Then I saw a gastroenterologist about whether to have my LINX device removed. He said I might need to do that, but first he wants me to try a different stronger PPI. The past 3-4 weeks I have had acid reflux including while in bed along with some swallowing/regurgitation problems. He wants me to try the new med for 6 weeks to see if it helps my problems and what kind of side effects I have. 

Since I am also having some swallowing problems in the upper esophagus, he has ordered a modified barium swallow test. I will call in the next few days to set that up. 

I kind of laugh when I tell people that which of my problems get attention depends on which specialist can fit me into their schedules. It has little to do with my priorities. This gastro doctor wants to see me again in 6 months, but the scheduler can only find openings 7 months out. I did finally get an appointment with a urogynecologist (well with the NP) after waiting over 4 months. That will be in June. 

I get along as best as I can. I talk to Holly and the Lambs pretty often to keep my spirits up, to remind me God is in control. I am His little lamb. 

Past Bargains

 Do you, like me, feel a little thrill when you find an unexpected bargain? Some really nice things can be found at garage sales and rummage sales; of course there is also a lot of junk. Sometimes it is a discount coupon that allows you to buy something you probably would not buy at the regular price. I do not make it a practice to go to garage sales, but once in a while I will go to those nearby.

This set of two Lenox Winter Greetings bowls I bought at a church rummage sale. They appeared to be unused as they sat in the original box. I paid $2 for the set. I had gone to a sale in the North Webster community center, and somebody from a church in that community had posted at the exits information about a rummage sale close by. I mostly use these bowls at Christmas, but sometimes I continue using them for several more weeks since they have a winter theme. They came with lids for storage or to use vented in a microwave. 

A few years ago, I went to a community garage sale in a nearby neighborhood. It was starting to rain lightly when I perused some items. They lady saw me looking at a hammered aluminum basket; she said, "We are not getting many customers because of the weather. We are cold and tired and ready to close up our sale. If you want that, you can have it for fifty cents." I have a few other hammered aluminum items, and yes, I did want it at that bargain price. 

Another item I purchased for fifty cents was a Pfaltzgraff Yorktowne trivet. I had to work to find this item. We had an "antique"/consignment store on Winona Avenue in Warsaw that had been divided up into lots of different rooms. I was about to leave with nothing when I talked myself into going down into the dimly lit basement on a rickety staircase. I held tightly to the railing. It was spooky down there. Here was the flotsam and jetsam of the store, things they had taken in but didn't feel were worthy of a nice display. I have two small bowls, a sauce/gravy bowl, and a pitcher in the Yorktowne pattern. The trivet fit right in. Recently, I searched eBay to verify this was Yorktowne. All of the Yorktowne trivets had the company blue and white logo badge, but otherwise they were pure white. Somebody had painted the basket and flowers of the trivet I bought. It is unique. I like its rustic nature, and blue is my favorite color.

When I lived in Mesquite, Texas, the Hobby Lobby issued a coupon for $10 off anything in the store. I did not have anything in mind, just walked around the store browsing. Then I met Ellie. I found her tennis shoes worn with her Sunday-best dress and her hat hanging down her back by its ribbons charming. I think she was $12. I never would have spent $12 on a frivolous trinket, but $2 sealed the deal and she became part of our home.

Through the years I have worked to down-size our home and get rid of stuff, but I am not beyond the temptation of a bargain. I enjoy all of these things. What kind of bargains make you smile?

Jigsaw Puzzle with Figurals

 In the past, my husband has mounted posters and made jigsaw puzzles of them. They include figurals, pieces cut into special shapes. He has been putting together an under-the-sea scene he made.

This puzzle has fish, starfish, lobster, seahorse, seal balancing orange ball among the figurals.

This morning my blood pressure was 85/65. I have never seen it so low. My doctor does not like the diastolic to be below 70. She wants to avoid dizziness. I do feel light-headed. I see on the internet that Reclast can cause low blood pressure. I am going to take half of my hydrochlorothiazide the next few days to counteract the effects of the Reclast. Hopefully, the pressure will regulate itself over the next week. 

When we ate lunch at Grace Village today, we had the opportunity to see the new robot waiters they are testing. When I took my photo, I mentioned to the live waitress that this was our first time to see the robots. She said sarcastically, "Whoopee." The machine seems under-utilized. All it does is bring the food from the kitchen to the table number that was input. The human being waitress then removes the items and puts them on the table. The slow part of dining at Grace Village is taking the orders. If the robot could do that, it would be a help. Otherwise, maybe not so much.

Our director of resident services will be retiring mid-May. She has been here over 20 years, thus the entire time we have lived at Grace Village. With a new development director since March, I am afraid things will fall through the cracks with new employees. Change is always hard. Resident services needs to interact with people and learn names. We have not heard anything about a replacement. 

My Trader Joe's flowers finally started drooping and dropping some petals. The rose was the first loss. I have "salvaged" the remaining blossoms and put them into a smaller vase. Maybe a few more days of enjoying flowers before they will need to be tossed out.

Rosie's Replacement

 

Rosie graced the sunroom for 3-4 weeks. Now she is tucked back in her home (bureau drawer) until next Easter. In her place sits the wooden rabbit I bought many years ago at Kohl's from its big discount shelf. His hat and bowtie lend him charm.

The springtime blooms are abundant. I saw some tulips in the neighborhood. My daffodils are blooming. The pretty little coral quince flowers are abundant.

This morning I had an infusion of Reclast for osteoporosis. It was done at the local hospital. I just barely edged from osteopenia to osteoporosis on my last DEXA test. My doctor decided it was time to be more aggressive. This drug is given just once a year. I am taking it instead of Fosamax because of my stomach/esophagus issues. Some people feel like they have flu pains as a side effect. So far, I am lightheaded and sleepy. Time to take a nap. I have about an hour to recline in my chair before my husband has the Cubs game broadcasting from the TV. 

I bought a Home Chef kit from Kroger for tonight's supper. Chicken street tacos. They can be warmed in the microwave for an easy meal. We have not tried these before. I will add the shredded lettuce salad left over from a few days ago. Relaxing today in case the Reclast effects kick in. 

I tried to sit on the porch Thursday afternoon, but without any breeze the 80 degrees were too hot to be comfortable. I will try again next week after our rain and cooler temps have left.

Beautiful Spring Day

 The weather is just gorgeous today. It was sunny and around 70 degrees with a light breeze. We did not really enjoy much time outside because we drove to Fort Wayne to do some shopping. The blooming redbud trees were plentiful in Fort Wayne.

At Trader Joe's my husband bought some cereal he really likes and a can of sardines (yuck). I bought a lemon mini sheet cake (1st time for that flavor), some "seedy" bread to toast for breakfast mostly, and two little bunches of flowers. That is one of the things I appreciate about that store: it has a nice variety of reasonably priced flowers. I wrapped a wet paper towel around the bottom of the stems and put them in a plastic bag, but sitting in the car for almost 5 hours did cause some degradation of condition. They probably won't last as long as if I had brought them home sooner. 

Pinks, purples, and white a nice combination. 

I was mostly shopping for a plain white tee shirt or white pullover top, a spring/summer dress, or a spring skirt. Though I tried on several things, I ended up buying just a skirt. I really liked the flowered dresses I had seen on the internet ads, but they were scarce or not in my size at Macy's, Penney's, and Kohls. 

I had seen this skirt in an ad from Kohl's. It described it as a front button-up skirt. Well, there are buttons, but no buttonholes. They are purely decorative, not functional. I think it will be a nice summery looking skirt that I will most likely wear with sandals in the coming months. 

Tomorrow is to be even warmer than today. Except for singing in chapel with the choir (be gone from home 9:30 to 10:30), I will be able to sit outside on my front porch and enjoy the beauty of spring. My daffodils are *finally* starting to bloom. When there are a few more blooms, I will snap a photo and share with you. My neighbors' daffodils bloomed several weeks ago and are almost done. These were new bulbs so I had no idea when they would develop and open. I also saw as we pulled into the driveway after our trip that a few coral quince blossoms are open now, too. Isn't spring grand?

Easter Desserts

We ate our Easter mid-day meal at the dining room at Grace Village. I had ham, scalloped potatoes, carrots, a deviled egg. There was also an option of rotisserie chicken and dinner rolls that I passed by.

The separate dessert buffet had coconut cream pie (which I took), cupcakes decorated for Easter, and "toadstools". 

 

When we finished eating and most of the people had been served, I went back to take a "toadstool" dessert. They had cut one open for us to see. I believe it is a brownie covered with red melting chips used for coating food. The bottom half (stem) is a strawberry covered with melted white chocolate or melting chips. I have not eaten it yet, so I am not sure exactly what the ingredients are. I see on the internet that is how most of the mushroom/toadstool desserts are constructed. 

It made for a festive table. I will eat my "toadstool" tonight probably.

The placemats had bunnies and eggs, others had a cross. It was nice to see at least a little recognition of the significance of the day. We did say grace at the beginning of the meal, thanking Jesus for his sacrificial death and resurrection that provided eternal life for us with God. 

We had a tasty meal with no preparation nor cleanup which was nice. Hope you had a blessed day. 

Canadian Brass Concert

 Friday Evening we attended a concert by the Canadian Brass held in Sauder Music Hall on the campus of Goshen College. The acoustics of the venue are excellent, but the sightline from the balcony not ideal. When I bought the tickets, there were a few scattered single seats on the main floor; the only places with adjacent seats were the left and right balcony. Once we sat there, we could see why these were available.

The musicians entered through the rear auditorium door playing when The Saints Go Marching In as they processed to the stage. 

Of the five performers, we could only see 3 unless we leaned over the railing. Fortunately, when a musician was featured in a piece, he stood out near the edge of the stage which meant we had a view. The men also changed seats if one or two instruments were prominent or had a duet. They took turns making the comments at the microphone; we did in that way see what all of them looked like. 

There was a wide variety of music interspersed with humorous remarks. For example, Bach's Well Tempered Clavier had been arranged and could now be called Well Tampered Clavier.

There was only one "dig" at the U.S.A. When they introduced the piccolo trumpets, the first one held up was Canadian and metric they said and "the other was American and you know . . ."

The tuba player at one point did "acrobatics" with his instrument, pulling it through his legs, twirling it around his head, and as he got lower and lower in the notes, sinking to his knees and with one last gasp collapsed on his face. This was done center-front so we were able to take it all in.

It was enjoyable and a nice distraction from the chaos in our country right now. We admired the almost-full bright moon on the drive home.