Lola's putzing along in lala land just fine. Let's see, I took her trashcan away recently because she'd taken to dumping in it whatever liquid she had that she hadn't finished. Additionally, she was spitting out meat that didn't strike her fancy, and the cat was dumpster diving in it in the middle of the night.
I'd switched her over to toilet paper instead of Kleenex because she was breaking the bank going through tissue. Sometimes I found a half inch of unused tissue in it. Today I'm swearing I'll take away the toilet paper because she's taken to bombing the cat with it. Once the cat gets over being bombed, he decides to play with it. I'm getting mighty tired of walking through the living room picking up toilet paper shreds, rolls of toilet paper, and her lap towel (which also gets slung at the cat.)
Speaking of the cat, sigh. Does anyone want a cat? Lola hates it. I call it Stupid, but it doesn't offend me as much now as it used to. I still really don't want it, though. However, I absolutely cannot just lock it out of the house. It's been in this house for at least three years, and it would be utterly cruel to stick it outside. It slept on Joe at night, and now it's switched to sleeping on me. Some people don't have a problem with suddenly locking a cat out, but I do. I'll gladly give it away, though.
The skin underneath Lola's breasts is looking better. The diaper rash creme is doing the trick. Lordy, though, it's a mess and a pain to wash off. Also, I've been trying to keep some cloth underneath them to keep them from resting on other skin. That's a losing battle. I absolutely could not find any cloth diapers to use. They would have been ideal - soft, cotton, and not too big. Pampers just won't substitute. What's up with people that don't realize the myriad uses of cloth baby diapers? So I bought a new package of washcloths to use. Shortly after I put the washcloth there, she's forgotten why it's there, gets irritated with it, and I have to pick it up off the floor.
Mom's getting a bit of red around her nose, not just at the end, but on top and leaking off onto her cheeks. I don't know what's up with that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's just spring and allergies.
That's it with the Lola update.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Can You Really Trust Your State Legislators?
So do you really think you can trust your state legislators to obey the laws of your state? Maybe you shouldn't, especially if you live in Michigan. Is this coming to a state near you? Your state maybe?
Bacon in April 2012
I just finished my first batch of bacon for 2012 and thought I'd post some pics of it. To the left are pics of this batch from one hog belly, except for the two hunks I'd taken out of the smoker earlier and forgot to include in the pic. On the far right you can see the inside of the bacon because I cut into one hunk for supper.
The house is still full of the smell of smoking bacon, and that's great. This batch was done with apple wood, and I liked the smoke from the larger chunks of apple wood more than the smoke from the little chips of hickory you buy in the stores.
Since I'm still in my first year of curing my own bacon, each time is a learning experience. Hopefully I'll get it all together and post a final post on making bacon. The first time I learned not to pile the salt on like you're baking a fish in a salt dome. So this time I salted lightly and appropriately. However, I put the bacon in salt on March 20, 2012, and didn't get it smoked until April 8, 2012. That's too long in the salting process. The bacon didn't end up salt pork, but it was a close call.
The second thing I've decided is that I want to cure the bacon in larger slabs. For some reason, maybe because it's what I'm used to buying, I keep cutting the slabs into pieces about the size of what I'd buy in the grocery. I decided that's really not the way to go with it. I'm going to keep the slabs in the largest pieces possible on the next batch. Once they're cured and smoked, I'll cut them into sizes appropriate for storing.The third thing I've decided is that I need a different smoker. I bought a propane Char-Broil Smoker and thought that would work for the bacon. However, I've decided it's simply too hot for the way I want to smoke bacon. Everything I've read recommends a cool smoke for curing bacon, and after this last batch I think I'm going to try that route. A bit ago I saw a smoker with the bin on one side, and the racks for the meat in a different chamber. I want to try that for curing the bacon.
This time I had all three racks full of bacon, and after about two hours I noticed grease pooling on the patio around the legs. When I checked on it, enough grease from the bacon had dripped into the pan holding the wood that I was worried about overflow of grease and blow up from the grease spilling into the propane flame.
Ah, no problem, thought I. I'll just get my ladle and scoop some of that grease out. Don't try that if your ladle isn't stainless steel. Otherwise, you'll simply melt your ladle.
The last thing I've learned is that you really have to shop and search for a place to purchase the hog belly. The first I bought from the good meat market in Memphis, Charlie's, and it didn't cost more than $35. The second I ordered from a local grocery in Carlisle County, and that price was $120 for not much different poundage. I ordered one from a butcher near Paducah, but they never ever called me to let me know the order was in. What? Did they think I wasn't serious about the order? So Max agreed to take time from work to drive over to Charlie's in Memphis and get this last one. Again, 30-something pounds of hog belly for about $35.00.
Don't ask me what's up with the meat market. I can't figure it out.
The New Truck, the Garage, and JUNK
I think I told you that Max called me few weeks ago to let me know I had a new truck. It's a great old but new-to-us truck. We seem to really need one for here.
There's just one big problem with it (well, besides needing an elevator to get into it) - it won't fit into the garage.
Dad put some fantastic floor to rafter cabinets on the back wall of the garage. Even when the front bumper of the truck is resting against the cabinets, the garage door will only go half-way down. One day last week we were predicted to have possible thunderstorms, and the weather radio was blaring hourly about severe thunderstorms right on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. So I pulled the truck into the garage and lowered the door as much as it would go.
Our next-door neighbor, Larry, is so very nice. He was sitting at the table eating supper and noticed the door. He got up from his supper and came over to help me with the door because he thought it had gotten stuck. I told him the problem, grinning rather foolishly. He walked to the back of the garage and looked at the truck bumping just into the cabinets; then he walked back to the front and looked at the garage door resting halfway down the tailgate. Then he shook his head, looked at me and said, "I'm going back home and finishing supper." He and Julia probably got as much of a laugh out of it as I did.
Our decision is we prefer the truck in the garage more than we prefer the cabinets. So this weekend Max started working on emptying the cabinets so we can dismantle enough of them to get the truck in the garage. This is where the junk comes in. After Max got all the stuff out of them and sitting on the garage floor, we simply stood there in amazement looking at the crap Joe had stuffed into those cabinets.
Larry came over and got the guards for the table saw he traded me the lathe for. He didn't want anything else. Uncle Charles came over and got a few things. These are pictures of some of the things that were left after Max had already filled a garbage bin of stuff.
On the left are a vacuum cleaner from, what, 1950? An electric typewriter from when, the 60's? A compressor from a Chevy air conditioner. Battered hubcaps. A radio/sound system from something that's at least 40 years old. The legs from an old TV tray. On the right is a myriad of "stuff."
Now remember, these are pics from what was left after 2 people came and got stuff, and Max filled a huge, wheeled garbage bin. I suppose for quite a while I'll be shaking my head over the stuff my parents kept in this house. I'll be cursing them, too, but that's another issue.
I get the whole living in the Great Depression thing, but isn't there a thing of taking things too far? That vacuum cleaner was the 2nd broken one Joe had kept. He's going to use the air conditioner compressor for parts for what? He's going to use the electric typewriter without a cord?
Seriously, folks, if you are doing this to your children, get a clue and get over it. Throw the crap away. Last week I cleaned out the "gardening cabinet" and threw away a broken garbage disposal and a huge thing of beef jerky from 2004. When you can't remember what you've got, you've got too much, and your heirs don't want to deal with it.
We were really hoping to save the cabinets and move them over, but we don't think that's going to work. Max had to take the truck back to Memphis this time to get it inspected and registered. So I've got the Kia for 3 weeks with no problem of getting it in the garage.
There's just one big problem with it (well, besides needing an elevator to get into it) - it won't fit into the garage.
Dad put some fantastic floor to rafter cabinets on the back wall of the garage. Even when the front bumper of the truck is resting against the cabinets, the garage door will only go half-way down. One day last week we were predicted to have possible thunderstorms, and the weather radio was blaring hourly about severe thunderstorms right on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. So I pulled the truck into the garage and lowered the door as much as it would go.
Our next-door neighbor, Larry, is so very nice. He was sitting at the table eating supper and noticed the door. He got up from his supper and came over to help me with the door because he thought it had gotten stuck. I told him the problem, grinning rather foolishly. He walked to the back of the garage and looked at the truck bumping just into the cabinets; then he walked back to the front and looked at the garage door resting halfway down the tailgate. Then he shook his head, looked at me and said, "I'm going back home and finishing supper." He and Julia probably got as much of a laugh out of it as I did.
Our decision is we prefer the truck in the garage more than we prefer the cabinets. So this weekend Max started working on emptying the cabinets so we can dismantle enough of them to get the truck in the garage. This is where the junk comes in. After Max got all the stuff out of them and sitting on the garage floor, we simply stood there in amazement looking at the crap Joe had stuffed into those cabinets.
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| To be trashed |
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| The heater is brand new and ours. The rest of the stuff is to be gone through. |
On the left are a vacuum cleaner from, what, 1950? An electric typewriter from when, the 60's? A compressor from a Chevy air conditioner. Battered hubcaps. A radio/sound system from something that's at least 40 years old. The legs from an old TV tray. On the right is a myriad of "stuff."
Now remember, these are pics from what was left after 2 people came and got stuff, and Max filled a huge, wheeled garbage bin. I suppose for quite a while I'll be shaking my head over the stuff my parents kept in this house. I'll be cursing them, too, but that's another issue.
I get the whole living in the Great Depression thing, but isn't there a thing of taking things too far? That vacuum cleaner was the 2nd broken one Joe had kept. He's going to use the air conditioner compressor for parts for what? He's going to use the electric typewriter without a cord?
Seriously, folks, if you are doing this to your children, get a clue and get over it. Throw the crap away. Last week I cleaned out the "gardening cabinet" and threw away a broken garbage disposal and a huge thing of beef jerky from 2004. When you can't remember what you've got, you've got too much, and your heirs don't want to deal with it.
We were really hoping to save the cabinets and move them over, but we don't think that's going to work. Max had to take the truck back to Memphis this time to get it inspected and registered. So I've got the Kia for 3 weeks with no problem of getting it in the garage.
Canning Pumpkin Question
At the end of fall in 2011, I canned some pumpkin and have what may be a problem with it. There has been some discoloration which I can't decide is actual spoilage or something home canned pumpkin does. Because I'm unsure, I'm tossing it.
It's seeming to come from one particular pumpkin - I only had two, but I'm not sure. I may have been sloppy with one pumpkin and took too long to get it from the roasting into the jars. That and the fact that I've never done pumpkin before is why I'm so unsure about this.
I'm really hoping someone that reads the blog will know something about this and can give me some information on it. Please, if you've canned pumpkin before or seen this let me know what you understand about it.
Following is a picture of the discoloration. It's a bright orange that seems to develop around where the pumpkin has bubbled during processing.
It's seeming to come from one particular pumpkin - I only had two, but I'm not sure. I may have been sloppy with one pumpkin and took too long to get it from the roasting into the jars. That and the fact that I've never done pumpkin before is why I'm so unsure about this.
I'm really hoping someone that reads the blog will know something about this and can give me some information on it. Please, if you've canned pumpkin before or seen this let me know what you understand about it.
Following is a picture of the discoloration. It's a bright orange that seems to develop around where the pumpkin has bubbled during processing.
Great Fake White Wine Experiment
We're off on another Great Fake Wine Experiment as of March 2, 2012. This experiment is to make a white wine easily and cheaply. I have a problem with the tannins from red wine - they have a tendency to give me a headache. So I thought I'd try a white wine.
After tasting the Great Fake Red Wine, it was far too dry for my tastes. After decanting the peach wine, it was sickeningly sweet. Four pounds of sugar for the red grape wine; 10 pounds of sugar for the peach wine. This white grape wine will get 5 pounds of sugar.
It generally follows the original Great Fake Wine Experiment recipe:
4 cans of frozen white grape juice
5 pounds of sugar
1 package of yeast
4 gallons of water
Before beginning defrost the frozen juice.
Put the sugar in a big saucepan; I used my pressure cooker. Measure out one gallon of water and pour enough of this in the pan to cover the sugar well. Pour the rest into the container in which you're going to make the wine (5-gallon carboy/water jug). Heat the sugar just enough to get it all melted; it melts better with as much water as you can put in your pan without sloshing over.
While stirring sugar and waiting for it to dissolve, in a small container, cup measure, bowl, whatever is easy for you, put about 1/4 cup warm water, not over 115° F, and add the package of yeast and stir in. Let this set and bloom while you're melting the sugar and doing other things.
Pour the grape juice into the carboy. Add 1 gallon of water. Add the dissolved sugar water. Add the yeast; don't worry about this extra 1/4 cup of water - it won't break the recipe. Add the last 2 gallons of water. Put the lid on and give this a shake to mix everything up. Take the lid off and tape the balloon to the top of the carboy. Electrical tape is the best as is doesn't leave tape goo on the carboy.
Set aside somewhere that doesn't go below 70°F until the balloon deflates and falls over, usually 4-6 weeks. When the balloon flops over, the fermentation is done, and it's wine.
After tasting the Great Fake Red Wine, it was far too dry for my tastes. After decanting the peach wine, it was sickeningly sweet. Four pounds of sugar for the red grape wine; 10 pounds of sugar for the peach wine. This white grape wine will get 5 pounds of sugar.
It generally follows the original Great Fake Wine Experiment recipe:
4 cans of frozen white grape juice
5 pounds of sugar
1 package of yeast
4 gallons of water
Before beginning defrost the frozen juice.
Put the sugar in a big saucepan; I used my pressure cooker. Measure out one gallon of water and pour enough of this in the pan to cover the sugar well. Pour the rest into the container in which you're going to make the wine (5-gallon carboy/water jug). Heat the sugar just enough to get it all melted; it melts better with as much water as you can put in your pan without sloshing over.
While stirring sugar and waiting for it to dissolve, in a small container, cup measure, bowl, whatever is easy for you, put about 1/4 cup warm water, not over 115° F, and add the package of yeast and stir in. Let this set and bloom while you're melting the sugar and doing other things.
Pour the grape juice into the carboy. Add 1 gallon of water. Add the dissolved sugar water. Add the yeast; don't worry about this extra 1/4 cup of water - it won't break the recipe. Add the last 2 gallons of water. Put the lid on and give this a shake to mix everything up. Take the lid off and tape the balloon to the top of the carboy. Electrical tape is the best as is doesn't leave tape goo on the carboy.
Set aside somewhere that doesn't go below 70°F until the balloon deflates and falls over, usually 4-6 weeks. When the balloon flops over, the fermentation is done, and it's wine.
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| The Great Fake White Wine Experiment Due sometime after May 2, 2012 |
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Food Discussion - Up With Chris Hayes
Here's a very thoughtful and interesting discussion on the food we eat. It's from the show "Up With Chris Hayes" aired on April 4, 2012. The panel discusses the "pink slime" issue which has finally hit the mainstream, along with legislation, inspection, finance, drugs, husbandry and a bit of morality.
See my post from April 11, 2011, by clicking here, if you're interested in more information on our meat industry. Looking at the dates makes wonder if these discussions are an annual thing.
See my post from April 11, 2011, by clicking here, if you're interested in more information on our meat industry. Looking at the dates makes wonder if these discussions are an annual thing.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Lola Update 4/2/12
Quick update and documentation on Lola. She's doing as well as she has been for months. Mostly nothing has changed with her condition except for small things. She is now totally off all Xanax and has been for 3 days with no obvious signs of distress, hallucinations, or tremors. Throughout the last two months, I decreased the dosages until she was getting one-half pill in the a.m. and in the p.m.; then only getting the p.m. Three days ago, I stopped the p.m. pill.
There's been little change in her. She seems to be a bare bit more aware of movement in the house - her head is more pointed towards a door which someone is entering than before. She doesn't speak to me anymore than she has in the last months. She isn't any quieter than she has been in the last 6 months.
Her sleep patterns haven't seemed to be affected. At one point, I didn't want to stop the Xanax because she was wandering so much in the night. In the last 2 months, the wandering has almost stopped. Every now and then I'll notice something that makes me realize she's doing some wandering, but it's nothing like it was some months ago.
There's been little change in her. She seems to be a bare bit more aware of movement in the house - her head is more pointed towards a door which someone is entering than before. She doesn't speak to me anymore than she has in the last months. She isn't any quieter than she has been in the last 6 months.
Her sleep patterns haven't seemed to be affected. At one point, I didn't want to stop the Xanax because she was wandering so much in the night. In the last 2 months, the wandering has almost stopped. Every now and then I'll notice something that makes me realize she's doing some wandering, but it's nothing like it was some months ago.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Health Care Discussion
This post is for me to save links to a discussion about health care because I want to listen to it again, and I'm scared the links will either go away or be so hard to find they get lost. It's the subject of a weekend show named "Up With Chris Hayes." The show on Saturday, March 31, 2012, had a panel of both conservatives and liberals discussing this last week's hearing in the Supreme Court deciding the legality of the health care bill up for approval in 2012.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Things People Say
This is a hilarious satirical video about the things people say to homesteaders and/or people who like to be prepared. Apparently she'd had more than she could take of her family laughing at her and did a little relief therapy for herself. It's really so much about the difference between city people and country farming people.
The gal that did this titled it "Things Sheeple Say." To those that don't know, preppers call the mass of people who are oblivious to the need to be prepared for the unexpected "sheeple," as in people who wander around oblivious as sheep. To me, that's a unnecessary demeaning word. I was glad to watch a follow-up vid she did expressing that same sentiment. In that vid she said she wished she hadn't used that term and wouldn't again.
Okay, so here's a little of my philosophy about prepping. To me, it's only wise and prudent to be fairly well prepared for whatever disaster that might befall us. Am I a die-hard prepper preparing for the end of American Society? Nope. However, if we have another ice storm that knocks out the electricity for two weeks as we had a few short years ago, I can: warm and light a room; cook and have decent meals; drink, bathe and flush the toilet.
Why am I not a die-hard prepper? First, I can see the possibility of our society crashing; however, it's a real crap shoot to predict such a thing. I'm not as convinced as die-hard preppers are that it's imminent. Second, I'm nearly 60, without a large family clan or neighbors I've lived with all my life, so actually, I think I'd be killed by looters.
Of the numerous other scenarios that could happen, I don't know if I'd really want to live through that. Nuclear bomb? I don't think so. Asteriod strike - maybe if it's on the other side of the planet. EMP - whoof, maybe. Again, I'd likely die rather quickly - looters, stroke, heart attack.
Why am I soft prepper? Mother Nature can give us a rash of bad events, and I'd like to be able to ride them out without having to scramble just to survive until recovery happens. In our area we have bad storms, ice storms, tornados, and being by the New Madrid fault, we've even had some bad earthquakes.
To me it's wise to have enough preparations on hand to be able to live without electricity, have first aid supplies enough to take care of minor injuries, and have enough water and food to not starve in a couple of weeks.
Now if a tornado blows my house away, none of that will help. If the New Madrid fault goes, I might or might not be in good shape. If a sand blow comes up under my house, I'm pretty well screwed, or if the house falls down, likewise. If my house survives, but the bridges are out, I can make it - even though I'm in an area that can't be reached from any direction, north, south, east, or west, without crossing a bridge. The groceries will be empty of food within 3 days, but I have enough to hopefully survive until lifelines can be established. If we have an ice storm that takes out the electricity, I'm set. Likewise with a bad storm.
So anyway, that's my little op ed for the day.
The gal that did this titled it "Things Sheeple Say." To those that don't know, preppers call the mass of people who are oblivious to the need to be prepared for the unexpected "sheeple," as in people who wander around oblivious as sheep. To me, that's a unnecessary demeaning word. I was glad to watch a follow-up vid she did expressing that same sentiment. In that vid she said she wished she hadn't used that term and wouldn't again.
Okay, so here's a little of my philosophy about prepping. To me, it's only wise and prudent to be fairly well prepared for whatever disaster that might befall us. Am I a die-hard prepper preparing for the end of American Society? Nope. However, if we have another ice storm that knocks out the electricity for two weeks as we had a few short years ago, I can: warm and light a room; cook and have decent meals; drink, bathe and flush the toilet.
Why am I not a die-hard prepper? First, I can see the possibility of our society crashing; however, it's a real crap shoot to predict such a thing. I'm not as convinced as die-hard preppers are that it's imminent. Second, I'm nearly 60, without a large family clan or neighbors I've lived with all my life, so actually, I think I'd be killed by looters.
Of the numerous other scenarios that could happen, I don't know if I'd really want to live through that. Nuclear bomb? I don't think so. Asteriod strike - maybe if it's on the other side of the planet. EMP - whoof, maybe. Again, I'd likely die rather quickly - looters, stroke, heart attack.
Why am I soft prepper? Mother Nature can give us a rash of bad events, and I'd like to be able to ride them out without having to scramble just to survive until recovery happens. In our area we have bad storms, ice storms, tornados, and being by the New Madrid fault, we've even had some bad earthquakes.
To me it's wise to have enough preparations on hand to be able to live without electricity, have first aid supplies enough to take care of minor injuries, and have enough water and food to not starve in a couple of weeks.
Now if a tornado blows my house away, none of that will help. If the New Madrid fault goes, I might or might not be in good shape. If a sand blow comes up under my house, I'm pretty well screwed, or if the house falls down, likewise. If my house survives, but the bridges are out, I can make it - even though I'm in an area that can't be reached from any direction, north, south, east, or west, without crossing a bridge. The groceries will be empty of food within 3 days, but I have enough to hopefully survive until lifelines can be established. If we have an ice storm that takes out the electricity, I'm set. Likewise with a bad storm.
So anyway, that's my little op ed for the day.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Eagle - The Cam is on Again
The eagle cam is on again for this season. If you want to visit their website click HERE.
Yo! Uncle Charles and Aunt Agnes!!!!
Live broadcast by Ustream
Yo! Uncle Charles and Aunt Agnes!!!!
Live broadcast by Ustream
Broccoli and Pasta - Tom Colicchio of Top Chef
This is a video of a one-pot dish of broccoli and pasta by Tom Colicchio of Top Chef.
Egg Dish - Tom Colicchio on Top Chef
This is a video of a breakfast dish that is a favorite of Tom Colicchio of Top Chef. It's an oven-baked egg dish with bacon, mushrooms, leeks and eggs. Since leeks are sparse where I live, I'd likely use green onions or sweet onions.
Spicy Cole Slaw - Gail Simmons on Top Chef
This is a video of making a spicy cole slaw that I wanted to remember. It's by Gail Simmons on Top Chef. It uses peanut butter as the base. She adds enough Sriracha to blow the top of my head off, so I think I'll be skipping that. Max loves it. It's so hot it ruins anything for me to eat. Crystal sauce or Cholula is about as hot as I can go. I know; I'm a wimp. I also think I'd slice everything more finely than done here; certainly on the carrots. I'm simply not a fan of a lot of carrot in any salad.
Fish Recipe - Tom Allen on Top Chef
This is a video of a method of oven-cooking fish in parchment which I want to remember. This method cooks the fish in parchment and calls for a fish fillet, grape tomatoes, kalamata olives (or whichever olive you like), some lemon zest, and a sprig of fresh thyme if you have it.
Pork Roast - Tom Allen on Top Chef
Here is a video I'm embedding to remind me of a method of roasting a pork shoulder. Yum.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Dark Shadows - Intro for the DS Virgin
OMG. I just saw the first trailer for the May 11, 2012, release of Tim Burton's remake of "Dark Shadows." It had me doing the proverbial ROTFLMAO. Gads, I remember dashing off the school bus into the house to watch this TV show from 1969 through 1971. I remember cursing the every-other-year bus schedule that got me home a half hour too late to see it. No video recorders back then, alas.
I couldn't find a clip of the trailer, but I did find this one introducing the original cast members and their contemporary actors. So for the young and Dark Shadows virgins, here's a clip that will let you in on the skinny.
I couldn't find a clip of the trailer, but I did find this one introducing the original cast members and their contemporary actors. So for the young and Dark Shadows virgins, here's a clip that will let you in on the skinny.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Whassup With Us
Okay. So it's been ages since I've actually made a blog post. I started the day off with posting a lot of links to things I wanted to keep at hand. Those aren't what's up with us, just things I want access to without a hunt through the bazillion and one bookmarks I have.
In my last post in February, I noted that Lola was beginning to fall. She was. She fell twice; fortunately, no bones were broken that I know of . She had a sore spot on a hip, but no bruising there. Since no bones were sticking through skin, no bruising showed, and she could walk, I went with there's not much else to do. She doesn't move a lot anyway, so further hurt was minimal. After a couple of weeks, she said it wasn't painful anymore, and I think we're safe.
She has proven quite amenable to using the walker, and goes nowhere anymore without it. Before she was using a cane. Of all of my relatives which have driven family nuts by not utilizing aids, my mother has been absolutely wonderful about accepting aids when the time comes to use them. Thank you, Mama.
A few weeks ago when Max was here, we carried her rocker out of the living room and replaced it with the lift chair I'd gotten for Dad. He steadfastly refused to utilize it properly, and for him it was a total waste of nearly $700 dollars. For mother, it's been wonderful. We needed to remove the rocker she had been using and replace it with something that was steady and wouldn't throw her while using it to stand up.
She uses it to help her get up and to sit down. For the first few days she sat in it rather stiffly. Then something clicked, and she realized how nice it was. She uses it to raise her feet up to help with both comfort and swelling. She relaxes back into it when she knows she's nodding off, and I don't worry about her falling out of her chair during a nap. She curls up and gets comfortable while watching TV. So the $700 waste for one person has turned into a boon for another person. Sigh. What a result.
On the other hand, part of what I think has kept me from blogging for so long has been the decline in Lola. She has become almost incapable of getting herself up in the morning. What a change from the time when I finally took control of the TV remote because she was blasting me awake after 5 hours of sleep. She might get herself up one day out of five nowadays.
The rest of the days I have to roust her out of bed. Always she is spacey and looney. If I don't get her up by 1:00 p.m., she has been incontinent. I have to force her to get up, have to direct her to the bathroom, have to instruct her to take off her pajamas, clean herself, and put on the new pajamas. I have to strip the bed and wash the sheets, pee pads, and pajamas. The good in this is that she is still mostly capable of doing these things herself. If there's been a problem with a BM, I have to clean that up, and frankly, have to make sure urine is cleaned from all areas the diaper/incontinence pads touch. However, she can manage a lot without me doing every single thing. She finally manages to get to the chair in the living room during the time it takes me to strip the bed and get the wash started. Then I have to comb her hair and get her presentable for the day. If I didn't, she wouldn't care.
After all the madness with Joe, his personality and his dementia, I think the saddest and most hard thing for me to cope with has been my mother's demise of capacity. She has declined to the point that it's perfectly acceptable for her to pee in her bed and to lay there for hours in that pee unless I intervene. She hasn't fallen into dementia. She's just fallen into nothingness. Frankly, the last month of dealing with and accepting that has almost done me in.
I could rant and rave about Joe, but I still knew it was dementia accentuated by personality. Accepting that was part of the course. Accepting that my mother has stopped caring about laying in piss has almost done me in.
Who knows what's going to get us until we have to deal with it. This latest has almost stopped me in my tracks.
In my last post in February, I noted that Lola was beginning to fall. She was. She fell twice; fortunately, no bones were broken that I know of . She had a sore spot on a hip, but no bruising there. Since no bones were sticking through skin, no bruising showed, and she could walk, I went with there's not much else to do. She doesn't move a lot anyway, so further hurt was minimal. After a couple of weeks, she said it wasn't painful anymore, and I think we're safe.
She has proven quite amenable to using the walker, and goes nowhere anymore without it. Before she was using a cane. Of all of my relatives which have driven family nuts by not utilizing aids, my mother has been absolutely wonderful about accepting aids when the time comes to use them. Thank you, Mama.
A few weeks ago when Max was here, we carried her rocker out of the living room and replaced it with the lift chair I'd gotten for Dad. He steadfastly refused to utilize it properly, and for him it was a total waste of nearly $700 dollars. For mother, it's been wonderful. We needed to remove the rocker she had been using and replace it with something that was steady and wouldn't throw her while using it to stand up.
She uses it to help her get up and to sit down. For the first few days she sat in it rather stiffly. Then something clicked, and she realized how nice it was. She uses it to raise her feet up to help with both comfort and swelling. She relaxes back into it when she knows she's nodding off, and I don't worry about her falling out of her chair during a nap. She curls up and gets comfortable while watching TV. So the $700 waste for one person has turned into a boon for another person. Sigh. What a result.
On the other hand, part of what I think has kept me from blogging for so long has been the decline in Lola. She has become almost incapable of getting herself up in the morning. What a change from the time when I finally took control of the TV remote because she was blasting me awake after 5 hours of sleep. She might get herself up one day out of five nowadays.
The rest of the days I have to roust her out of bed. Always she is spacey and looney. If I don't get her up by 1:00 p.m., she has been incontinent. I have to force her to get up, have to direct her to the bathroom, have to instruct her to take off her pajamas, clean herself, and put on the new pajamas. I have to strip the bed and wash the sheets, pee pads, and pajamas. The good in this is that she is still mostly capable of doing these things herself. If there's been a problem with a BM, I have to clean that up, and frankly, have to make sure urine is cleaned from all areas the diaper/incontinence pads touch. However, she can manage a lot without me doing every single thing. She finally manages to get to the chair in the living room during the time it takes me to strip the bed and get the wash started. Then I have to comb her hair and get her presentable for the day. If I didn't, she wouldn't care.
After all the madness with Joe, his personality and his dementia, I think the saddest and most hard thing for me to cope with has been my mother's demise of capacity. She has declined to the point that it's perfectly acceptable for her to pee in her bed and to lay there for hours in that pee unless I intervene. She hasn't fallen into dementia. She's just fallen into nothingness. Frankly, the last month of dealing with and accepting that has almost done me in.
I could rant and rave about Joe, but I still knew it was dementia accentuated by personality. Accepting that was part of the course. Accepting that my mother has stopped caring about laying in piss has almost done me in.
Who knows what's going to get us until we have to deal with it. This latest has almost stopped me in my tracks.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Beef Wellington by Gordon Ramsay
This recipe for Beef Wellington makes me drool. So I'm putting it in my blog to keep for easy access. It's a 2-part video.
While Max was in this weekend (3/11/12) we explored a new-to-us meat market, Hughes, outside of Paducah and got the beef and bacon for the recipe. We went to Kroger for groceries for the mushrooms, etc., and about a mile from home I realized I forgot the puff pastry. Grrrrrr.
Oh, well! I froze the beef, and during the next week I'll track down puff pastry, hopefully in Bardwell, and pick up another package of mushrooms and do it next weekend for Saturday supper.
While Max was in this weekend (3/11/12) we explored a new-to-us meat market, Hughes, outside of Paducah and got the beef and bacon for the recipe. We went to Kroger for groceries for the mushrooms, etc., and about a mile from home I realized I forgot the puff pastry. Grrrrrr.
Oh, well! I froze the beef, and during the next week I'll track down puff pastry, hopefully in Bardwell, and pick up another package of mushrooms and do it next weekend for Saturday supper.
Laundry Soap
This is a video on how to make laundry soap. There are various links on the internet one can find. This one is from BexarPrepper on youtube.com, and is very concise. I also like the fact that this recipe only uses 1/2 cup of Borax as Max is fairly sensitive to Borax. I'm hoping that the ratio of Borax to other ingredients will dilute it enough he won't break out in a rash from it.
Right now I'm having trouble getting to a place that sells washing soda and either Fels Naptha or the Zotie soap used. I know there's a store in Martin, TN, that sells it, and if I can get down there, I'll give it a try. You end up getting 10 gallons of laundry detergent from a half bar of soap, 1/2 cup of Borax and 1 cup of washing soda. Can't beat that price.
Right now I'm having trouble getting to a place that sells washing soda and either Fels Naptha or the Zotie soap used. I know there's a store in Martin, TN, that sells it, and if I can get down there, I'll give it a try. You end up getting 10 gallons of laundry detergent from a half bar of soap, 1/2 cup of Borax and 1 cup of washing soda. Can't beat that price.
Egg Storage - For Jill
My cousin was wondering about saving eggs without refrigeration the other day. She lives in a very rural area, and if there was an ice storm or damaging wind storm, there's every possibility that she might be without power for some time.
Imstillworkin, on youtube.com has been conducting an experiment comparing different ways of storing eggs. She's trying refrigeration, non-refrigeration, coating with mineral oil and vacuum sealing. She posted a two-month update the other day, and I've embedded it here for Jill.
If I had more half-gallon jars, vacuum sealing might be a good option. Personally, I'd opt for coating in mineral oil. I've also seen posts about people coating with butter, but I'm leery of the small amount of butter going rancid. Years ago many people used sodium silicate for storing eggs; this was called waterglass. They'd mix a solution in a big crock and immerse the eggs in there. If one googles "water glassing eggs," enough results show up to satisfy curiosity.
Since mineral oil is easily obtainable, and water glass is something: 1. I don't really know where to buy and 2. don't seem to have many uses for, mineral oil would be my medium of choice. We've enough junk around the house without adding something else that is one-use specific.
Imstillworkin, on youtube.com has been conducting an experiment comparing different ways of storing eggs. She's trying refrigeration, non-refrigeration, coating with mineral oil and vacuum sealing. She posted a two-month update the other day, and I've embedded it here for Jill.
If I had more half-gallon jars, vacuum sealing might be a good option. Personally, I'd opt for coating in mineral oil. I've also seen posts about people coating with butter, but I'm leery of the small amount of butter going rancid. Years ago many people used sodium silicate for storing eggs; this was called waterglass. They'd mix a solution in a big crock and immerse the eggs in there. If one googles "water glassing eggs," enough results show up to satisfy curiosity.
Since mineral oil is easily obtainable, and water glass is something: 1. I don't really know where to buy and 2. don't seem to have many uses for, mineral oil would be my medium of choice. We've enough junk around the house without adding something else that is one-use specific.
Runza
Imstillworkin recently posted this recipe on her youtube channel, and it piqued my interest enough to want to save it. I've been craving a meat pie or pastie-type thing lately, but am so horrible with making crusts that craving is all I've done. This recipe looked delicious and easy enough there seems hope that even I can make it.
From her vid, she says it's a dish called Runza and is eaten in Nebraska. It's a meat filling wrapped in a yeast dough and baked in the oven.
From her vid, she says it's a dish called Runza and is eaten in Nebraska. It's a meat filling wrapped in a yeast dough and baked in the oven.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Lola's Beginning to Fall
Note for documentation. Lola was on the floor in the bathroom when I got up this morning. I didn't hear her fall, but as I was getting out of bed/the sofa, I heard a noise in the bathroom. I went to the closed door and asked if she was okay, and she said she couldn't get up. She was on the floor between the toilet and the sink. She wasn't hurting, just struggling to get up. She hadn't had the strength to get herself up. Between us, we managed to get her up.
She couldn't remember what had happened. She had all her clothes on in the right positions, so I can safely assume she hadn't just toppled off the toilet as she was sitting there.
Tonight I asked her if she had any sore spots or anything, and she said she didn't. I asked her if she'd just fallen asleep sitting on the toilet. I couldn't see how that happened, but it didn't seem like she'd taken a whalloping fall. She went into a dialog that she'd broken her arm, and it was held up, her movements indicating as in traction. Frankly, I sat there in disbelief listening to her ramble about this.
Ultimately, I don't know what happened. Fortunately, we have no broken arms or hips and no bad bruises of which I'm aware.
For ages I've been trying to get her to use the portable potty I placed next to her bed. She won't use it because she says she doesn't want me to have to clean it. It's not like I can make her use it. However, tonight I placed chairs in front of the small bathroom to keep her out of it. I told her to use either the laundry-room toilet, where there's a carpet and plenty of room around the toilet or to use the porta potty in her bedroom.
Trying to make a dent in her damaged brain, I told her if she continued to use the small bathroom and fall in it, she would have to go to a nursing home. Ultimate threat, but hopefully potent enough to impress her. Tomorrow I will go to the store and get a hook and eye and close the small bathroom. It's got too much hard porcelain on which to crack a bone and too little space to pick her up.
All of that discussion was enough to send her off to bed without saying goodnight, kiss my ass or anything to me. At the beginning of this, I used to say I was coming up here to Lala Land. That was nothing compared to the Lala Land it's become.
She couldn't remember what had happened. She had all her clothes on in the right positions, so I can safely assume she hadn't just toppled off the toilet as she was sitting there.
Tonight I asked her if she had any sore spots or anything, and she said she didn't. I asked her if she'd just fallen asleep sitting on the toilet. I couldn't see how that happened, but it didn't seem like she'd taken a whalloping fall. She went into a dialog that she'd broken her arm, and it was held up, her movements indicating as in traction. Frankly, I sat there in disbelief listening to her ramble about this.
Ultimately, I don't know what happened. Fortunately, we have no broken arms or hips and no bad bruises of which I'm aware.
For ages I've been trying to get her to use the portable potty I placed next to her bed. She won't use it because she says she doesn't want me to have to clean it. It's not like I can make her use it. However, tonight I placed chairs in front of the small bathroom to keep her out of it. I told her to use either the laundry-room toilet, where there's a carpet and plenty of room around the toilet or to use the porta potty in her bedroom.
Trying to make a dent in her damaged brain, I told her if she continued to use the small bathroom and fall in it, she would have to go to a nursing home. Ultimate threat, but hopefully potent enough to impress her. Tomorrow I will go to the store and get a hook and eye and close the small bathroom. It's got too much hard porcelain on which to crack a bone and too little space to pick her up.
All of that discussion was enough to send her off to bed without saying goodnight, kiss my ass or anything to me. At the beginning of this, I used to say I was coming up here to Lala Land. That was nothing compared to the Lala Land it's become.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Of Bridges and Yurts
This post is going to be a wildly eclectic post as there's not been a lot going on with us in rainy, chilly, west Kentucky this mid winter.
Uh oh! Man alive, am I glad I'm not the captain of this ship!
This week this happened to a bridge to the east on the same highway on which we live. The bridge crosses Kentucky Lake at Aurora, Kentucky, which is a little teeny town that's turned into a tourist spot at one of the entrances into Land Between the Lakes. Needless to say, it's going to turn travel into a nightmare as other ways to cross the lake are miles away either to the north or to the south.
While web surfing, I came across this short vid of people putting up their yurt, or ger as it's called in Mongolia. It takes the hour-long process and condenses it down to 2 minutes and was absolutely fascinating to me.
Max was in this weekend, and we did absolutely nothing but enjoy our time together. It was just too messy outside to go there, and it was dreary enough to suck the energy right out of you. Max came across a "thing" on woot.com that is a combination blu-ray and internet device. He hooked it up to the TV, and we spent Friday and Saturday evening watching "Endgame" from hulu.com on the TV.
It was great fun even if the device did turn out not to be the most efficient device we've ever known. The download time was incredibly long, but watching the show together on a larger screen was great. "Endgame" is a fictional show about a Russian chess genius, Arkady Balagan, who saw his fiance assassinated in front of a hotel, causing him to become agoraphobic and unable to go outside of the hotel. Arkady becomes a "stay-at-home" detective solving crimes utilizing his amazing ability to visualize and solve puzzles, and a few fun characters to run his errands. You can click on the show title above to navigate to the show's homepage at hulu if you're interested.
In the Great Fake Wine Experiment, the grape wine seems to be nearing finish. On Saturday morning the balloon had fallen over, but by evening it was standing back up again. Yes, we giggled about that, too. Today it's falling over again. I'll let it sit for a bit more to make sure there's no more fermentation going on. Don't really want to risk exploding bottles from bottling it up too soon.
Lola is getting on with no improvement nor decline. She continues to wander a bit in the early morning. The other day she sat down in a chair by a magazine rack, pulled every one of them out of the rack, flipped through many, slung them all to either an end table or the floor, and went back to bed. She's maddeningly uncommunicative. It's like pulling teeth to get her to talk, and conversation of more than one sentence has become impossible. She's also continuing to stop the toilet up using massive amounts of adult wipes to clean up after a BM. Joy, joy. Her appetite remains great; she'll eat nearly anything and all of what you put in front of her. Her mobility seems to be getting a bit shakier.
And dat's all for now, folks.
Uh oh! Man alive, am I glad I'm not the captain of this ship!
This week this happened to a bridge to the east on the same highway on which we live. The bridge crosses Kentucky Lake at Aurora, Kentucky, which is a little teeny town that's turned into a tourist spot at one of the entrances into Land Between the Lakes. Needless to say, it's going to turn travel into a nightmare as other ways to cross the lake are miles away either to the north or to the south.
While web surfing, I came across this short vid of people putting up their yurt, or ger as it's called in Mongolia. It takes the hour-long process and condenses it down to 2 minutes and was absolutely fascinating to me.
Max was in this weekend, and we did absolutely nothing but enjoy our time together. It was just too messy outside to go there, and it was dreary enough to suck the energy right out of you. Max came across a "thing" on woot.com that is a combination blu-ray and internet device. He hooked it up to the TV, and we spent Friday and Saturday evening watching "Endgame" from hulu.com on the TV.
It was great fun even if the device did turn out not to be the most efficient device we've ever known. The download time was incredibly long, but watching the show together on a larger screen was great. "Endgame" is a fictional show about a Russian chess genius, Arkady Balagan, who saw his fiance assassinated in front of a hotel, causing him to become agoraphobic and unable to go outside of the hotel. Arkady becomes a "stay-at-home" detective solving crimes utilizing his amazing ability to visualize and solve puzzles, and a few fun characters to run his errands. You can click on the show title above to navigate to the show's homepage at hulu if you're interested.
In the Great Fake Wine Experiment, the grape wine seems to be nearing finish. On Saturday morning the balloon had fallen over, but by evening it was standing back up again. Yes, we giggled about that, too. Today it's falling over again. I'll let it sit for a bit more to make sure there's no more fermentation going on. Don't really want to risk exploding bottles from bottling it up too soon.
Lola is getting on with no improvement nor decline. She continues to wander a bit in the early morning. The other day she sat down in a chair by a magazine rack, pulled every one of them out of the rack, flipped through many, slung them all to either an end table or the floor, and went back to bed. She's maddeningly uncommunicative. It's like pulling teeth to get her to talk, and conversation of more than one sentence has become impossible. She's also continuing to stop the toilet up using massive amounts of adult wipes to clean up after a BM. Joy, joy. Her appetite remains great; she'll eat nearly anything and all of what you put in front of her. Her mobility seems to be getting a bit shakier.
And dat's all for now, folks.
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