Travel Planning

It's been eight days since my mom was admitted to the hospital, and seven days since her surgery.  

I've had many conversations with my dad, and several brief ones with my mom, one of which was very disconcerting just this evening, and I was still not feeling at all confident that they don't need 'help' in some way, shape or form.  With that, I grabbed the bull by the horns tonight by firmly telling my mom that I needed to find out what was going on.  I'm more assertive in this arena than she is. 

I spoke with her nurse on duty at the time, and she answered some of my questions, and then she had the doctor call me directly for answers she wasn't at liberty to share.  I then called my dad back and let him know and we pretty much decided it couldn't hurt for me to travel north.

The emotions in doing so are a mixed bag due to other family issues but I'll cross those bridges as I get to them if need be, and due to weather forecasts for driving.  I'm keeping my eye on the weather forecasts  for the higher elevations - I'm not experienced in snow/ice driving so I'm a bit fearful of that, even though I'll be traveling a major interstate highway that is heavily traveled.  Now, to determine the precise day/time to go.  It could be as early as 2:00 or 3:00 Sunday morning, or a day or days later.  I need to pack and decide what to take that I can or will work on during those times of just sitting and waiting or keeping my mom company in the hospital.  She will likely remain in the hospital for another week according to the doctor and if things don't improve in that time, possibly yet another surgery.

There's much to arrange before I go, so I think I'm off to la-la land for a good night's sleep. 

Another Mom Update

My mom is still hospitalized.  It was originally believed she would be able to be released Friday (1/31), but it's now looking like it could yet be another week or two.  The nurse says they're just assessing her day by day.  

After an abdominal surgery for her ailment, the body has to resume functioning normally and as yet hasn't, and she cannot be released until it does.  She's on a liquid diet and hasn't yet held down solid foods, so those processes are slow.  She's 80 and lengthy hospital stays alarm me.

She's not a happy camper, and I'm not sure any one would be in her position, so all prayers would be appreciated.  

I'm still attempting to assess if there's a legitimate 'need' for me to travel there (my parents keep saying no), versus just going to lend support and to ease my own concerns.  I have to weigh our own financial situation with Marty's unemployment along with Nick's means of getting to school and his piano lessons.  Life can be complicated at times with decisions seemingly impossible to calculate.

Committing it to the Lord.

Toaster Oven Tuesday, 28 January 2014

Recently, I've seen a recipe floating around the social network for a cake that looked to be so easy and with only two ingredients.  That's right, just two ingredients, and both of them are a couple of my favorites.  Angel Food cake is my all-time favorite, and who can resist pineapple? 

This cake is SO simple, and SO quick.  Cake mix, crushed pineapple, and a 9 x 13 baking dish.  And my Oster toaster oven can accommodate 9 x 13 pans!  Win, win!

This is the image and directions I came across, our 'usual suspects' look like twins all around don't they?  I failed to make note of who to credit this to, so if you're out there, I'll gladly do so.

Preheat that oven to 350 degrees F.  Do you know how hard it is to take a flash photo of a digital read-out?  I had to figure out how to do a non-flash photo and that's why it's a bit fuzzy!  

If the cake mix you choose, should you choose to make this cake, has a Box Tops for Education coupon, don't forget to cut it off and give it to your school if they take them, or find a school that does if yours doesn't.

Dump the cake mix into a bowl.  I chose this one, from a set of those wonderful Pyrex bowls from the 1950s.  I have the complete set from my mom except that this bowl is actually a replacement as she broke the original.  It is slightly different from the others so maybe a different year.

Grease the pan, I used coconut oil, which was solidified because my house is always too cold for it to liquefy. 

Add the can of crushed pineapple, juice and all, and mix together.  I used a whisk, but a spoon would be fine, and next time I'll probably use a spoon myself.  As you can see, it turns frothy, and as you can also see, it fit pretty tightly in the bowl, so next time I'll use the bigger bowl.

Generally, baking in a regular oven instructs to place the pan on the middle rack.  In this toaster oven, there is no middle rack.  There is a rack that looks to be equi-distance between the upper and lower elements, but if you place the item on that rack, it places the food item quite close to the upper element.  I was concerned about this, and I was also concerned about placing it on the bottom because the bottom of the pan would be very close to the bottom element.  The instructed baking time was 30 minutes, so I thought why not bake half the time on the upper rack, and half the time on the lower rack.  After just over 5 minutes, I was already smelling that burnt sugar smell, but when I looked in, it was browning but not burnt.  I let it go another 5 minutes, and decided it would be best to switch it to the lower rack at that point.  At the switching point, I was worried that the cake would fall flat or do some other weird thing as, though it was browned on top, it was very jiggly.

Even so, the top stilled darkened even more.  The photos make it look black-burned, but it is only deep brown.  I pulled it out of the oven at the end of 30 minutes and the cake was fully cooked.  You can see the sides are that nice light color of an Angel Food cake.  I would like to say it smelled great while baking, but all I could smell was the burnt-sugar odor.  However,...

I couldn't wait for it to cool off and cut myself a piece after it was out of the oven for only 5 or 10 minutes.

The inside was perfect!  And oh so absolutely delicious.  Again, the photo really darkened the top.  The edges were a little lighter than the center of the cake and had no burnt-sugar taste.  Later in the evening after dinner, I had another piece with some ice cream on top - oh yum, yum - and that was more from the center and it did have just a hint of the burnt-sugar flavor.

The next time I bake this cake, oh yes, there will be a next time, I will consider placing it on the lower rack first and watch it.  If I find it still tends to 'burn' on the top, I will try a loose sheet of foil tented over the top.  I was also thinking of altering the recipe by maybe adding some coconut, maybe even some rum extract, I love those tropical flavor combinations.

Much of the purpose of this blog-theme is to determine what can and can't be made in a large toaster oven, and to see how well they turn out with or without adjustments.  I do not recommend this for small toaster ovens; always consult your own toaster oven's manual first and abide by those recommendations.

Now, go make a cake! 

Holding Pattern

I've spoken with my Mom since the surgery.  I'm not sure it should be considered a surgery; sounds more like it was an exploratory during which they performed a temporary fix.  She will require further surgery and I don't know when that will occur.  She will be in the hospital for at least another week.

She was pretty groggy and loopy when I spoke with her so I'm not sure I have a full picture, but I've spoken with my dad, and online chatted with one brother.  I'm not feeling very confident about things, but for now have to trust that they have things under control as much as they say they do.

My aunt Irene lives fairly close and she'll be taking my uncle into the hospital tomorrow for some regular tests he gets and she will check in on Mom while she's there, perhaps then I'll have a better idea of whether it would be wise for me to head up that way, or hold off for now.  

Perhaps I'm feeling I need to be there for me every bit as much as being there for them should they need me or if things should take a turn for the worse - one never knows with elderly patients.  Three siblings live a whole lot closer, but I have freedom of time as I don't have job commitments, though I do have a few family needs that would need to be worked out.  Marty and I have already discussed some of the possible scenarios.

I'm concerned, a whole lot unsure about what to do or not do, and I'm praying,

Waiting For Word

My mom did have the surgery this afternoon/evening.  My dad was going to the hospital at 10 tonight.  They live within a few miles of the hospital and he wasn't planning on staying long.  I tried to call at 10:45 but no answer, so he was not back home yet. I told him I'd be up until 11:00 p.m.   It may be morning before I find out how things went.   My dad just called, and she's made it out of surgery, but nothing to really report yet as she's still in recovery and he's back home.  I could tell he was pretty tired too as his speech was barely discernible and I had to listen very closely but still didn't catch all that he said.

I had planned to go to Road 2 California tomorrow, but as tired as I am, and with the situation up north, I think it's best I stay home. 

Prayers are appreciated., thank you.

Focus...Hocus Pocus...Bogus

Shoot, a word I'm trying to incorporate into action this year is FOCUS.  Today, focus needs some hocus pocus as in conjuring up the ability to pull rabbits out of a hat, not as the definition states: meaningless talk or activity, often designed to draw attention away from and disguise what is actually happening,  Maybe hocus pocus is what's interfering today.  Conjuring is bogus anyway, so a whole lot of prayer would be a really good thing.

I yawned all the way, and it's not so far these days, taking Nick to school.  I just cannot get into gear.  I've put some dishes away, and put some more into the dishwasher, run a load of laundry and folded one that was still in the dryer, swept the floors and made a mental note that they are in terrible need of a mop, refilled my water bottles, and was intent on getting the table cleared off (it's still the way it was in a photo from this post).

The phone rang.  It was one of my brothers from up in the wet land.  He so rarely ever calls so I immediately had a dread that there was a problem.  I thought perhaps something with my step-dad as he was having a throat biopsy yesterday.  Instead, it was to let me know that my mom is in the hospital with a blockage in the upper intestine.  She's 80.  Initially she was told that surgery would be required right away.  But then the doctor/surgeon said he wants to wait two or three days to see if it clears on its own.  She doesn't like this surgeon.  He's only been a surgeon for a few years (he did my emergency appendectomy in 2011 when I was up there) and performed her mastectomy in 2012 and she basically believes he's a butcher. 

In her small-ish town, he's the only surgeon at that hospital.  She was waiting to discuss some things with the charge nurse when I called her.  One of the things that had been mentioned to her when she expressed to 'someone' her feelings about the surgeon was that she could check herself out and go to a different hospital in another nearby town.  She said she didn't like that hospital either!  Lots more was said but I won't bore you.

I asked if I needed to come up there as when she has the surgery, she would likely be spending an additional five days or so in the hospital.  She's concerned about my dad, who is not very well either.  And they have two cats to care for.   She was very down.  I won't go into all the family drama dynamics as to why my siblings couldn't help.  That leaves me at loose ends not knowing if she would prefer I be there to help but doesn't want to say so, or she doesn't think it's necessary for me to help.  Additionally, I have responsibilities here that would have to be worked out first if I did head up that way and then the decision if I do go whether to drive (time factors but less costly) or fly (more expensive and would need wheels when I get there but faster).  Elders can be very hard to read when you're 800+ miles away and these elders tend to be difficult even in the best of times. 

Focus, I think I'll go sew and try to re-focus while letting all this mull through my brain.

Late Start Wednesday

Wednesdays are currently my least favorite day.  I know, most people see Wednesday as 'hump day' that point of the week when you start heading toward the weekend rather than away from it.  For us, it's that one odd day during the week when Nick's school starts late.  Instead of the school day beginning at 8:00, it begins at 9:30.  And while it's nice that I could sleep in a little longer, it throws my day off and cuts into the morning routine.  I'm sure I'll adjust, but I'd still prefer time consistency Monday through Friday!

We have a few clouds.  Very few, very high.  These will never produce shade, nor rain.

This Wednesday, after dropping Nick off at school, I had errands to run.  I had to run over to his former school and pick up his Epi-pen from the school medical office as we failed to do so before the Christmas break, and to order his yearbook.  His picture won't be in the one from his new school so he doesn't want it.  While there I spent time chatting with a friend who works in the office, and then cutting through the library chatted with another mom I knew.  

Upon leaving the school, I had to make a quick stop at a market for a couple loaves of bread, and then on to the Credit Union where I had to take care of some banking matters and then I had to stop to gas up the car before heading home.  All of that sure shortens my day for at-home stuff.

Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.

 Our winter weather is for the birds.  I'm sure there are a lot of "snow birds" from some of those super cold states that are wintering here and thoroughly enjoying these temperatures, but I'd like some rain; I pray for rain.  That 16% humidity reading is false.  This gauge never falls below 16%.  I'm sure we're somewhere closer to single-digit humidity.  It is very dry out.  You can see we're already at 82 (higher now I'm sure).  That was yesterday's high with a low of 48.  Indoors is the 66 temp with 16% humidity - which is also probably false, I need to dig out my humidifier and get some moisture into the air.

First 2014 daffodil.

I took a stroll outside to get that shot of the faint clouds in an otherwise blue sky and was pleasantly surprised to find some blooming daffodils in their pots.  I'm sure they need water, but I'll do that later, or tomorrow.  Daffodils are one of my favorite flowers, they remind me of the wet land where they grow abundantly, and often in the wild where perhaps they were originally planted by an original homesteader where the buildings have long since returned to dust.

10-day forecast

Our weather outlook through the end of the month is one of little change.  There is certainly no moisture on the horizon.  Our state governor has officially declared us to be in a drought and asked us to voluntarily conserve water by 20%.  We (us personally) are not big water consumers compared to the average household, so cutting back 20% may not be an easy task.  If it becomes mandatory, and they base it on prior consumption, we could have a real challenge on our hands, I may only shower once a week!