Letters to Mom

Hey Mom; having a laugh yet? Today found me making an apron of all things.  We found a couple of those cut out the pieces, sew, put together and brag pattern/materials.  I, of course, picked the curved pattern one and got to play with snipping little triangles along the curve so the material would lie flat when folded for a hem.  Argh! that was time consuming but interesting.  Even managed to rethread a bobbin with only one glitch that I figured out. Sewing, cleaning, cooking..... I refuse to wear pearls and call myself June Cleaver! (even if David thinks I should!)

Well, that was a nerve wracking few hours today!  Woke up under tornado warning that expanded into a tornado alert.  A county above us a tornado did hit and there's one dead and several injuries, some critical. We had some heavy rain and winds but no damage.  Now we keep alert for falling trees from the saturated ground. We are safe. We have a basement that has no windows and is cinderblock.  It opens into the two car garage but there is a cinderblock wall between the two rooms.  We have water, food, meds, etc etc etc set aside for Just-in-case. When you see the news, don't panic. So far we're okay.

sorry, I forgot to include the link. SUBMITTED BY: L. Robertson "A tongue-tantalizing poultry dish that gives chicken the new life you've been looking for!" Original recipe yield: 8 servings PREP TIME  5 Min COOK TIME  40 Min READY IN  45 Min INGREDIENTS 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 1/2 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce 1/2 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Do a web search of the title to find the instructions.  it's really good.

http://www.food.com/recipe/healthy-baked-corn-tortilla-chips-homemade-263512 I used salt and paprika as toppings.  Good stuff! check out the weblink - the ingredients are really simple 5 corn tortillas (Misson brand is Gluten Free) salt (optional, additional spice options listed in directions)

Hey Mama; it's my birthday and I'm missing you a lot. I'm going to fix waffles for lunch and try out a new chicken recipe tonight.  Did the bare minimum of chores and, other than that, we're not doing much today.  I did have Jackie take some photos of me in my new purple hat.  May wear it out tomorrow when we do a little running around since it is my b-day month. Love you, Mama. The photos I'm standing in front of are by Jerry Bosworth, a fantastic photographer and one of our bestest friends.  Mom called this the California wall. In one photo you can also see two small dolls that one of our Red Hat ladies gave Mom before we left CA (Bunny)

Hey Ma; Lynn & Jerry Lynn says she's lost count of how old I am. That's okay, I have to remember what the current year is and subtract one off the tail to remember my age.  She has one of your pictures on the bathroom vanity and sees you every night, probably talks to you too. Can you believe Brenden went to his first highschool dance? Lynn says he's 5'8" and wears size 13 shoes.  Wow. ##  # ## Penny - I've become a pen pal for her in your place.  I can tell she desperately misses you.  It's a mitzvot to write her and its a way of reaching out to you through her, if that makes sense. She is very glad that we want to work and finish the quilts that you and Grandma left (which we need to get moving on). She said that Bernice wants to rent a place and have a caretaker, she hates the rest home she's in.  The problem is affording a place to live and hiring TWO caretakers and relief. Penny said it takes two people to help her to the bathroom....

A picture taken in 2011 and one in 2012 - Love you, Bud.

Banner day, Mom We got letters from Marie, Penny, Murna and a wonderful birthday card from Lynn and Jerry for me. tired tonight. I'll tell you about them tomorrow.

Hey Mom, what do you think?

Hey Mom - cold and rainy today. We're not getting the ice here they're predicting further up.  We're taking today to read and just chill after the housework yesterday. Tomorrow we'll be back at it. It is really hard without you Mom. Nyx ran into your room last night (I pulled all but Kimmers in from the cold). She yowled, explored the room, yowled and then did all kinds of "cute kitty" for me to pet and reassure her. Had to take her into my room where she could watch me sleep and glare at Darcy. Eeek!

hit the weblink for the directions on this one and check out my notes. Easiest  BBQ  Pork Chops http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easiest-bbq-pork-chops/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=slow%20cooker%20pork%20chops&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page ·          1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup 1 cup ketchup 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup chopped onion 6 pork chops Notes: Not enough ketchup, we substituted with another can of mushroom soup Changes: I would brown these in a little flour and oil or butter before putting them in the slow cooker to hold in the juices and give the meat more flavor.

I know you're probably a little stunned, Ma.  I was sure surprised to get a phone call from my Uncle Keith day before.  My heart instantly sank. You know how it does when you hear from someone unexpectedly in the family but it was good news, he and Aunt Jeannie are driving down to Florida and coming right by our house.  Did I want to meet them for dinner last night? You bet! Well, I met them at Folks last night.  Being a Georgia chain I thought there was a good chance that they hadn't been before and I was right.  The service was great, food was awesome (Uncle Keith had two helpings of the Talpia fish).  It was surreal seeing Aunt Jeannie again.  I was, what, 12 or 13 last time? Family news: Aunt Mert's daughter died of cancer and Mert has Alzheimer's.  Millie is still working (wow!). Aunt Jeannie's son has MS and it's in the later stages.  He was a Marine, Ma!  Bobby Jr, as you know, died when he was 20. An old man ran a light ...

Mama; one of these days I'm going to get the actual day of Shabbat down as a day of rest! Today ended up as a restful day instead. I think I'm just at the end of the rope.  I have got to figure out how to get to sleep earlier than the wee hours of the morning. Got something you'll really love, Ma - a quilt pattern that I am hunting down. Seven Sisters from the late 1800s.  It's a set of seven Magen Davids/Star of David! How awesome is that?  Of course it makes sense, its a geometric pattern, after all.  I'm intrigued!

Okay, history behind this one: A few years ago Jack n the Box introduced Southwestern chicken pitas.  Yum.  But costly.  Okay, deconstruct the thing.  Chicken, check.  Onion, check. Black beans, check. Corn, check. Some kind of taco seasoning, check. Pita bread, check. Thus began the formation of one of our favorite dishes. The grand thing is you can use almost any kind of meat (haven't tried fish yet): chicken, pork, turkey, different cuts of beef saute the onions and brown the meat if it isn't already cooked.  We've used stew meat, hamburger, pork (before my conversion), left over or store bought roasted chicken and Polish Kielbasa sausage. Add a can of whole kernel corn and half or all of the liquid add a can of drained black beans 1 packet of taco seasoning (degree of heat, your choice) bring to a boil and then let simmer, reducing the liquid to desired consistency.  We prefer more solid of food to a soupy mix. Dish up and enjoy....

Hey Ma, bet you never really thought we'd managed this, did you?  Cousin Polly and Jules' granddaughter, Tyler, took some of your ashes and spread them at a very famous landmark in St. Louis, just like you said you wanted for years.  She was very pleased to help out. Polly and Jules are doing okay, they've kept clear of that bad flu going around, thank HaShem! We worked some in your room today, making pillows for Chris and Georgia and I ironed material and made more drafty door dodgers in addition to cooking and cleaning. I swear I cannot get the jist of this resting on Shabbat!  LOL Definitely missing you, Mom. This month and Feb will be hard. There are five weeks in each month. How the hell did that happen? Especially for Feb!  We're still not sure if we'll make it okay on just my SSI or if we'll really have tighten our belts down. Love you, Mom. Still kinda pissed at how fast this all happened.

Hey Mama, We still find ourselves checking out titles and authors that you might like to read. I wonder when that will ease up.  Then again in Walmart, we spotted some pajamas and robes that you would have loved and a couple that Grandma would have.  I guess it never really goes away, does it? I don't think Chris' leave was approved. Hopefully we'll get to see him before he goes home after school and onto his first duty station. So far it looks as if he's heading for San Diego to play with the Seals.  Awesome!

Check out the weblink for directions. This is really good stuff Palestine and Jordan 4 cups yogurt, plain 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil, or 2 teaspoons dried basil 2 cloves garlic, crushed Salt to taste From " From the Lands of Figs and Olives " by Habeeb Salloum and James Peters http://www.sudairy.com/mer/recipes/yogbasil.html

Hey Ma; We got more material washed. The stuff that needs ironing now fills your bed!  It's really cold today. The heat from the dryer vent sent a fog of steam wafting over the back yard.  Fascinating to watch.  Even Kimmers came in without a fight and hasn't made any moves to try and get out.  You know it's cold when she does that. The county sent out an email alert that we might get a mix of snow and rain but that it wouldn't stick. The warning was about ice and black ice tonight and tomorrow.  That's cold. We got the dining room, laundry room and one bathroom scrubbed top to bottom.  We'll tackle the other bathroom, kitchen and living room floor tomorrow.  Something hit me today. I was thinking how fast you left us and how fast Bea went and how you were so touched by the earrings she gave you because you had admired them.  Ma, I don't remember which earrings those were.  I'm feeling horrible about that.

Hey Mom; Got a few things done today and then collapsed. Not sure if its because I was up late chatting with cousin Chris on FB or I'm coming down with a stupid cold. At least I hope it's a cold - the flu making the rounds this season is vicious. So - not much to talk about tonight. David and Serena are praying for us, that's always a comfort, for sure.

Ma; I had to do some hand sewing on the draft dodgers and discovered my straight pins were getting low and the yellow container in your room had four, count them, four pins. Jackie told me where more pins were and it reminded me that I needed a pin cushion. Putting pins in chair cushions or in clothes that I'm wearing can be disastrous if I forget the pins are there. When we were in Michael's we saw one that straps around the wrist - they wanted $8 for it. WTH?  Then I spotted a familiar sight.  A tomato. A Styrofoam ball with red and green material around it made to look like a tomato. How many generations of people (especially girls) have used that familiar tomato?  How many pins have gone into those things over the decades? Made me think of you and Grandma.

www.allrecipes.com check out the weblink for directions - I love this stuff SUBMITTED BY: PKZimmer "A tasty alternative to the real thing. Heavy cream is lightly sweetened, whipped until stiff, and mixed with a little sour cream for flavor. Serve with scones or fruit." Original recipe yield: 8 servings PREP TIME  10 Min READY IN  10 Min INGREDIENTS 1 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup sour cream 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Okay - there's a story with this one.  Remember the deer, Ma? We were having a potluck with our Red Hat group a couple of years ago.  I wasn't feeling well so Mom headed out alone with a crock pot filled with this soup on the passenger floorboard.  It was a 20 mile drive one way. A deer darted out in front of Mom and she slammed on the brakes, of course. She kept the car on the road and didn't hit the deer but the soup was a causality.  So was the carpet in my car.  She continued on and there was enough soup for everyone to have a taste only and everyone agreed the soup is fantastic.  Kaiser the Great Dane/German Shepherd dog loved cleaning the carpet for us. LOL Miss you, Mom # # # A Taste of the Season Gooseberry Patch Terri Peterson, New Richmond, WI I don't have a link for this one - sorry guys.  Serves 6 to 8

"Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops." Arsenic and Old Lace Who the hell designed the calendar so January has five weeks?  It's been over a month.  Okay, Ma, I gotta ask - what the hell? What was that galloping thing through the stages of this?! Ten days? Ten frickin days from diagnosis to you being gone?  It stunned everyone from your doctors to us. I know its good in some ways - you didn't go through the nightmare of chemo and slowly lose it but really?!

www.allrecipes.com Check out the weblink for directions. Tropical Pork Chops recipe Posted by Don from NJ at recipegoldmine.com 8/2/2001 7:06 am 1 firm banana 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided use 2 lean pork chops (1/2-inch thick) 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 2 tablespoons raspberry jelly or honey 2 teaspoons prepared mustard 1/2 cup water works with chicken too