Busy days...

I've been MIA again while I get some things done around here.  The last few years we've kind of let the yard go while we were busy with my Dad and Reid.  Now it's catching up with us and I decided I'd better get to work.

They told us heavy rains would be moving in this week and I decided to try and get the beds all outlined with a small ditch so I could better keep the St. Augustine grass from creeping in among the Monkey Grass and shrubs.  Right now it's not too hot and the ground is soft.  In another couple of months the ground will be as hard as concrete.

 The bushes had gotten bigger and the Monkey Grass was growing under them, so I enlarged the beds and plugged in some more Monkey Grass along the edges.  Last week I trimmed the bushes way back.  They love the heat and humidity here and grow very quickly.  In fact, some of them already need to be trimmed again.  They'll keep growing like this until it gets real hot and then they'll slow down a little.

Reid dug the edge along the side of the house.  I really didn't want him helping because he gets out of breath with physical work, but he wanted to help me with Jim not feeling well.  I plugged some Monkey Grass along there too.

I also dug the edge around the Pecan tree and mailbox.  It will make edging when I mow a lot easier.  I plan to do the mowing until the weather gets hot and then I'll hire someone.

 We were hurrying to get done because they kept saying we would get heavy rain and although the sky looked pretty dark it didn't rain until the next day.  You can see what I mean in this picture.  The Pecan tree is always the last tree to get leaves.

The lawn is full of weeds because we never got any weed and feed down.  I'll try and get that done by the weekend.

Yesterday was a long day down at MD Anderson for Jim.  The weather was horrible in the morning, so Reid drove us down in the truck in case there was high water.  We all believe Jim's cancer is spreading since he's having more and more problems with bone pain.  His PSA had gone way up and the doctor wanted to get another CT scan and bone scan.  They managed to get him a CT appointment for early evening, so we came home to let the dog out, and then Jim and I went back down.  They were running way behind and we didn't get home until almost 10:30 last night.  This morning he had to be back at 7:00 for the bone scan, so he's home now and sleeping.  He'll see his oncologist again next week.  We discussed the possibility of a clinical trial and his doctor was going to see what is available.

Meanwhile, Reid received his next appointments in the mail.  He'll be having all his scans on April 9th.  I was looking forward to him not being scanned again for a while, but the clinical trial he was in requires scans at certain intervals and so he'll be back down there again all day for those appointments.  I'll try and go along and keep him company if I can.

All of our lives have certainly changed over the last several years.  When things are going well you tend to take it for granted until the "you know what" hits the fan.  A wise person once said, "Cancer is something that happens to the other guy until it happens to you."  Who was that wise person?  Reid.

Alphabe Thursday..."Q" as in Quesadillas

Welcome once again to Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent" and the letter "Q" as in Quesadillas.  Johnsonville Chipolte Monterey Jack Cheese Chicken Sausage Quesadillas to be exact.  (Talk about a title for a recipe!)  Last night we made these for dinner after finding the recipe on allrecipes.com.

I wish I could tell you how delicious they were, but that would be a lie.  Reid and I hated them, but my husband actually thought they were OK.  The problem we had was that the sausage tasted like slightly spicy hot dogs.  We served them with salsa and guacamole, but it really didn't help.

I'm not going to bother typing the recipe out.  You can find it here.  There is an error in the recipe.  In the ingredients list it calls for 12 (8 inch) flour tortillas, but the recipe only calls for 6.

Anyway, here's how they looked before we put the top tortillas on.  (We only made four of them and were going to make more until we discovered we didn't like them.)

They had to go under the broiler for two minutes on each side.  We found that was a little too long because some of the tortillas started to burn.

So, try at your own risk!  (Or better yet...don't try at all.)  I've got this recipe theme going for Alphabe-Thursday and there just wasn't time to try another recipe.



Meanwhile, Spring is here!  We had lots of rain this past weekend and once again we're growing mushrooms in the backyard.

And sweet little Blackie followed me around the backyard.  She is the nicest cat and I don't believe she ever leaves the yard.  She sleeps on the deck during the day and I lock her and Baby in the garage at night.  Baby wonders off a little during the day, but not Blackie.  She knows she found a good deal when she showed up here hungry some months back.  They don't come much sweeter than this cat.  And to think I was afraid of her initially because she would growl when I came near her.  Not anymore.  Now it's all purrs.

Most of our trees have leaves now.  They're not completely out on this tree, but almost.

These leaves are completely out and shading the house now.

Hopefully, it will be Spring soon where you live too.  Most days we're running the A/C here.

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent" so you can visit more Alphabe-Thursday posts.

Happy Rebirthday Reid!

On Sunday we celebrated Reid's first Rebirthday.  It was the one year anniversary of his stem cell transplant or rebirth.  He has been cancer free for one year!  On Thursday he had the last infusion for the clinical trial, so that is now in his past too.

Keith came from Austin for the weekend.  As a joke he baked a heart scan cake, so we could also celebrate the good heart scan results he had from his last physical.  (He loves to rib Reid.)

Actually, he did a good job on the cake.  It was a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. We had that on Saturday and it was delicious.  (I'm not sure it's too heart healthy though.)

We let him do the honors...

Then on Sunday we celebrated Reid's Rebirthday.  We had a special gift for him.

What could it be?

Yes, a can of creamed corn.  What wonderful memories!  A year ago his hospital room smelled like creamed corn.  We had been warned beforehand that the stem cells are kept in a preservative that smells like creamed corn, and they weren't kidding.  A can of creamed corn seemed appropriate.

Jim and Keith kept a watchful eye on the festivities.

In the afternoon we went to Kings Biergarten for some German food and a little celebration.

There was even a cake...

A Rebirthday cake, of course.

One year old and he can already walk and talk!


"Yes, Mom...I always wash down my cake with beer."

And a good time was had by all!

HAPPY REBIRTHDAY REID!!

MAY YOU HAVE MANY, MANY MORE!!

Alphabe-Thursday..."P" as in PINK Salad

Time has really been flying by and it's time again for another week of Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." This week we are studying the letter "P" as in PINK Salad or PINK Stuff.

Before we talk about PINK Salad I wanted to apologize for missing class last week. I started with this recipe theme for Alphabe-Thursday and didn't really have a recipe ready for the letter "O" or time to come up with something edible. So, I skipped class. I don't know what will happen when we get to "X" and "Z" (and "Q" for next week!), but we'll see how it goes.

This week I thought I'd share one of our favorites...PINK Salad. I've posted this recipe before and it's one of those things that brings people to my blog in a Google search from time to time. I got this recipe from a friend when we were living in Virginia Beach back in the 1970's. She called it congealed salad, but my family has always called it PINK Salad or PINK stuff.

Congealed Salad (AKA PINK Salad or PINK Stuff)

1 small can crushed pineapple
1 6 oz. Jello (any flavor…I like raspberry)
1 12 oz. Carton Cool Whip
2 c. buttermilk
½ - 1 cup chopped nuts

Combine undrained pineapple and Jello in small saucepan. Heat until Jello dissolves. Mix Cool Whip and buttermilk; add nuts. Stir in gelatin mixture, mixing thoroughly. Put in mold or long rectangular pan. Let set for 4 hours. (I do it overnight.) I find it helpful to spray the mold lightly with Pam…it comes out of the mold a lot easier. Serves: 12. (I use a wire whisk for mixing the ingredients together.)

When I took the picture I got a little fancy and garnished it with some strawberries and blueberries.

I'm actually making PINK Stuff for my family this weekend. We're hoping to all work in the yard on Saturday (weather permitting...now they're calling for rain) and I thought I'd throw hamburgers on the grill and we'd have macaroni and cheese and PINK Stuff. Then on Sunday we'll be celebrating Reid's "rebirth" with a small gathering at a favorite restaurant. March 11, 2012 is the one year anniversary of Reid's stem cell transplant and his life post cancer. We'll have a "rebirth" cake, balloons, etc. It's like he has two birthdays now...the original one on January 28th and the "rebirth" one on March 11th.

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of this week's participants so you can visit some more Alphabe-Thursday posts.

Busy days and update...

I've been trying to get some yard work done. With all the rain lately the weeds have grown like crazy. I spent a good chunk of today mowing, edging and cleaning up the yard a little. I really need to get some bushes trimmed, and I'd love to add some mulch, but we'll see how that goes. I'm really running out of steam here.

Reid had his appointment down at MD Anderson on Monday. He first saw the Physician's Assistant and she was asking him if his shortness of breath had gotten worse, but he said it was the same. Then she mentioned that the latest scan showed scar tissue on his lungs from the radiation and that's why she was asking.  She also confirmed that the biopsy showed no malignancy which was good news.

The stem cell doctor said that they will continue to watch that lymph node and if it increases in size on the next scan they will do another biopsy and take a larger chunk. They've already scheduled him for a CT scan and a PET scan on May 29th. This will be the longest he'll have gone between scans since being diagnosed with Hodgkin's in 2009, so we're thinking that's a positive.

Meanwhile, Jim is noticing some changes and we all decided he should send an E-mail to his oncologist since his next appointment isn't for a while. We'll see what he says.

No time for Alphabe-Thursday this week. Between the yard work and trying to get my genealogy files organized I just haven't had the time. (We won't even talk about the house being a mess!)  And I made some mistakes with the Family Tree Maker program when I entered my information and I have no idea how to fix them. That's one of those things that will probably take me hours to figure out...if ever!  I'm starting to think I liked my old manila folder system from the 1980's better.  That's what I get for trying to bring my genealogy information into the modern age.

Is the drought ending???

I read in the newspaper that today they might declare our year long drought over.  I forget who makes the declaration, but someone in the know decides.

We've had quite a bit of rain lately.  Yesterday, I looked out in the backyard and thought I saw an animal back by the tree stump.  I thought it might be an armadillo, but they normally don't come out during the day.

Blackie came to help me investigate.

Everything is bigger in Texas.  Even ugly wild mushrooms!  (Please excuse my naughty gnome.)

Can you grow mushrooms like this where you live?

Alphabe-Thursday..."N" as in NOODLE

 It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." This week we are studying the letter "N" as in NOODLE Kugel.  I decided this would be the perfect time to try the Killer Kugel recipe by Kathy Levine from the How To Cook Like A Jewish Grandmother Cookbook that I received from Ann in the Secret Santa Swap.

I ran out to the store this morning and bought the ingredients just so I could make it for you.  It's still hot from the oven as I type.

I would serve this Kugel as either a side dish or a dessert.  It's obviously very good for you because it calls for just a little bit of nonstick cooking spray. :)  I would never want to use a lot and make this dish unhealthy for you.

Killer Kugel

1 lb. fine egg noodles
1 lb. cottage cheese
1/2 lb. cream cheese, softened
1 quart milk
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 stick butter, melted
Nonstick cooking spray
Graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. sugar

Boil noodles al dente and drain. In a large bowl mix cheeses and milk.  Add noodles, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and raisins.  Stir well, then add butter and stir again.  (I didn't have a big enough bowl, so I used a large pot to mix everything together.)

Pour into nonstick pan with a touch of nonstick cooking spray in it.  Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes until golden bubbly, but firm to the cut.  Let cool a bit before cutting into squares and serving.  Serve hot or cold.  If there is too much for one pan, bake the extra in muffin tins, but remember to adjust the cooking time down to only 15-20 minutes for them.  Serves 4-6.  (It's so rich...I would say it serves 10.)

Note:  I put mine in a 9 x 13 inch glass pan.  I didn't have a non-stick one.  There was enough left over for a small casserole dish too.  I cooked the small one for about 20 minutes and the large one for 50 minutes.  I stuck a steak knife in the middle and when it came out clean I considered it done.

In the interest of science I immediately ate the small one.  OMG...it was very rich and very good!

Here's the large one.  The picture is a little blurry...sorry.

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's so you can visit some more Alphabe-Thursday posts!

I think we can exhale now...

Reid had a needle biopsy today and the radiologist told him that they did not see any malignancy and he thought the lymph node had actually gotten smaller.

Meanwhile, Reid's appointment with his doctor has been changed from Wednesday to next Monday. So, we'll wait and see what he has to say then.

Meanwhile, we're going to exhale.

If you've ever had to deal with cancer you probably already know that it's an up and down journey.  Thank you for traveling along with us.

Google/Blogger/gmail, etc.

I'm sure you've all noticed that Google is changing their privacy statement. They say it's to make everything uniform across all their services. I understand they're in business to make money and ads generate revenue for them. Their services are free for us to use.

I was concerned when I first started using gmail and saw ads appear on my screen that had something to do with subjects covered in E-mails I had sent or received. At that time I read their policy and learned that no humans at Google ever read my E-mails. Google software just picks up key words and then puts up ads that "might interest me." I thought it was a little intrusive, but decided I could live with it.

Lately, I've received E-mails from a couple of people and their full names with street address have appeared on my screen. I'm assuming these people shared the information with Google at one time. I did not have their information anywhere on my computer or gmail address book. In fact, it was the first time I ever communicated with the one person. Has anyone else noticed this happening?

I can live with them auto-suggesting when I do a google search, or putting up ads on my E-mail screen, but I don't want them sharing my full name and street address.

Should I be concerned...or am I a little paranoid? 

Edited:  I decided to go back and look at both E-mails again.  They do not use gmail, but they both use the same Internet Service Provider for their E-mail. Now I'm thinking they must have willingly shared this information with their provider and it's not gmail doing it.  I am going to start paying closer attention to see if any other addresses appear.  I only noticed this for the first time a week or so ago.  Please let me know if you've ever noticed this too?

Another bump in the road...

It will soon be a year since Reid had the stem cell transplant to cure his Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Everything had been going well until his last PET scan about six or eight weeks ago. At that time a lymph node under his arm lit up on the scan. The doctor told us that it's not unusual and can happen with a cold, sore throat, or even a scratch on the arm. However, because of his history of Hodgkin's it would have to be watched. He said normally Hodgkin's will reappear where it's been before and it was not in this lymph node in the past. Based on that he said there was probably an 80% chance it was not the cancer.

However, Reid found out on Wednesday that the last CT scan showed that the lymph node had increased in size and they now want to biopsy it. We're kind of assuming it will probably be done next week, but so far it hasn't shown up on his online schedule.

Around the hospital are signs that say, "Cancer Changes Everything" and it really does. You just can't ignore anything anymore and you pretty much live from scan to scan. I've said before that I try and stay in the moment. If I dare to let my mind race ahead imagining all sorts of scenarios that may or may not happen I can't enjoy the moment. That's what Reid tells me he does too. He tries not to worry until he knows for sure there is something to worry about.

So for now we're going to try and stay in the moment until we know more for sure.

Alphabe-Thursday..."M" as in Meatballs

It's time again for Ms. Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday and this week we are studying the letter "M" as in MEATBALL MINESTRONE Soup.

I know I've posted this recipe before, but it's so quick and easy and one of my favorites when the weather gets cold. Some years back I was sitting under a hair dryer when I spotted this recipe in a magazine and quickly jotted it down on a piece of scrap paper. I no longer remember what magazine I was reading at the time, but this soup has become very popular with the entire family (except for Keith who hates beans).

Here's a picture of the soup, but it doesn't look too good because I took the picture when the soup was ice cold. As usual I had forgotten to take a picture and had to get the leftovers out of the refrigerator for this shot.

Meatball Minestrone

3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
3 (15 oz.) cans Cannellini beans, undrained,divided
1 (32 oz.) box chicken broth
1 (1.4 oz) package vegetable soup mix (I useKnorr vegetable soup mix.)
60-64 frozen cooked meatballs (I use Italianmeatballs)
1 (14 ½ oz.) can diced tomatoes with basil,garlic, oregano
½ t. dried, crushed red pepper
8 oz. Uncooked rotini pasta
1 (10 oz.) bag, fresh spinach, torn
Garnishes: Parmesan cheese, chopped freshparsley

Saute garlic in hot oil in stock pot overmedium high heat one minute; stir in two cans beans and chicken broth. Bring toboil.

Stir in vegetable soup mix until dissolved. Addmeatballs, tomatoes, and red pepper. Return to boil. Add rotini and cook,stirring often for 15 minutes.

Stir in remaining can of beans and spinach.Cook five more minutes. Garnish if desired. Yield: 4 quarts; Prep: 10 minutes;Cook: 30 minutes

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's blog so you can visit some more Alphabe-Thursday posts.

Alphabe-Thursday..."L" as in LASAGNA

Today we are studying the letter "L" for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent."  In our house "L" stands for LASAGNA!

My son makes a delicious lasagna and he graciously agreed to help me out this week by preparing the dish yesterday so I could take pictures.  Everyone in our family loves this lasagna.  He found the recipe on allrecipes.com and it's appropriately named World's Best Lasagna.

It takes a bit of time to prepare, but it's well worth the effort.

Reid even agreed to pose with the masterpiece.

And here's a close up.

The recipe got very good reviews on the allrecipe.com site.  Rather than typing out the whole recipe I'll let you go here where you can easily print it out.

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's site for a list of this week's participants and more "L" posts.

I give up.  Everytime I do a preview there are huge spaces between some of the pictures.  I did not put them in there and they don't appear on the compose screen.  Hopefully, when I publish this they'll be gone.

Alphabe-Thursday..."K" as in Kid's Recipe

It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday sponsored by Ms. Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent. Today we are studying the letter "K" as in KID's recipe.

Yes, today I'm going to share with you my KID'S recipe. Reid brought this recipe home from school when he was in the 2nd grade (he's 36 now). The page is pretty yellowed and spotted with who knows what, but I've saved it all these years. It's for a drink similar to Orange Julius.

There are no other directions given, but as I recall you put it all in a blender. You can click on the recipe to enlarge it.

Now head over to Ms. Jenny's blog for a list of other participants and for information on how you can join in the fun.

(And I hope this post looks right when it's published. On my last post there were all sorts of spaces between the pictures that I never put in there and never showed up on the preview. I guess I shouldn't complain since I've seen a couple of blogs lately where people have had the pictures go in sideways.)