Happy 4th of July

Happy Independence Day to all of my readers from the USA.  Happy July 4th to all my readers from other countries, thank you for joining us in our celebration.

We had a quiet day and celebration.  We were up early and got to work on the upstairs bedrooms, prepping them for their makeovers.  Tamie arrived to clean the house while Frank and I went to visit Mom and hit the grocery store.  When we came back, I asked Tamie what plans she had for the rest of the day and she said that the kids were with their dad and her boyfriend was working so we asked her to come back and join us for dinner tonight.  We talked to Frank's sister Roz, who told us her husband was sleeping and trying to fight off a cold so we invited Roz and Mom Klik to join us for dinner.  Tony had to work today too so we knew that Ting would be joining us also.

I took a look at the Weekly Menu and decided to add a bit to our dinner tonight to accommodate our guests.  I added some baked beans and a Strawberry Spinach Salad that is always a big hit. This salad recipe comes from a cookbook that was made as a fundraiser for our kids elementary school.  All the parents sent in a couple of their favorite recipes and they were all included in the cookbook that was called Cooking with the Best; St Anne Catholic Community, Warren Mi, 1945-1995.  I have been making this recipe since buying this cookbook nearly 20 years ago.  It is one of our family favorites.  I hope you enjoy it as well.  The original recipe from which I adapted my version was submitted by Sandy Wiebelhaus.  Sandy if you are reading this I would like to thank you for many years of great salads.

Strawberry/Spinach Salad
adapted from Cooking with the Best, Sandy Wiebelhaus

1 bag baby spinach
1 qt. strawberries

Dressing:
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. black sesame seeds
1 T. poppy seeds
1/4 t. Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 t. paprika
1/4 c. white vinegar
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 scallions, finely chopped

Place all items for dressing into a sealed jar and shake vigorously until well blended, set aside.

Wash and spin dry spinach, place in large bowl.  Husk and quarter strawberries, add to spinach.

Pour dressing over spinach and strawberries.  Toss well and serve.

Print Recipe

Crafts from California

My niece, Natasha, who lives in California with the rest of my brother's family makes beautiful artwork out of old barn wood.  Her house is filled with these masterpieces and I would always admire them when I would visit.

When I go to California, one of my favorite times are in the early morning when Natasha and I would go for a walk.  Each day we walk and talk for an hour or so....about our lives, our hopes, our dreams, our faith, our frustrations and our joys.  During one of these walks, Natasha asked me for one word that helped to give me strength during my care giving journey with Grandma.  I told her it was Faith.  She told me she was going to make me a barn wood sign with Faith on it for my home.  I was very excited and pleased.

A couple of months later when we were talking about Ting's wedding and the awesome gift Amy was offering them with the rental of her house, I asked Natasha if she would make a sign for me to give them for one of their housewarming gifts.  She replied that she would be happy to do that for us.  I requested that she make this sign with the word VERITAS.  Tony has a tattoo that reads Veritas on his left hand along his forefinger.

When he and Ting first started dating, before we knew and loved him, I noticed that tattoo and being the kind of Mom I am I immediately googled Veritas to see exactly what kind of guy Ting was going out with.

In Roman mythology, Veritas, meaning truth, was the goddess of truth, a daughter of Saturn and the mother of Virtue. It was believed that she hid in the bottom of a holy well because she was so elusive. Her image is shown as a young virgin dressed in white.^[1]

Veritas is also the name given to the Roman virtue of truthfulness, which was considered one of the main virtues any good Roman should possess. In Greek mythology, Veritas was known as Aletheia.

I was very pleased with the definition and chided myself for not having faith in Tingting's choices. I thought this would make a perfect housewarming gift because I knew it would have a lot of meaning for him and it would help me remember to judge not!!

These arrived by mail while we were gone on our cruise.  Didn't she do a wonderful job??  And this is not all her talents, she is an awesome cook and candy maker as well.  Not to mention an excellent niece who I am proud to call a friend.

He Huffed and He Puffed.....

Hey Everyone...It is Five Minute Friday!!  Stop by and check it out.  This is the place that we bloggers go to, read the prompt and write about what that prompt puts on our hearts for 5 minutes.  We don't over think it.  We don't worry about spelling or grammar or editing.  We just write and we breathe....which is perfect because today's prompt is EXHALE.

Go

It is funny, the images that go through your mind when you hear a word.  When I read the word EXHALE, I immediately thought of the big bad wolf.

Do you ever feel as if the wolf is at your door?  Just waiting to blow your life to smithereens?

Then closely on the heels of this thought, came thoughts of the parable of the man who built his house on sand and the house was weak and couldn't stand but the man that built his house on rock had a strong foundation and the house could not be destroyed.  

Similar to that anyway.  I will look up the parable when my 5 minutes are done. 

So I am going to stop worrying about that wolf and trust in my Rock.  God has promised to care for me and His word is Truth.  So I will just Breathe.  I will Exhale and know that I am His lamb and He will always protect me from the wolf.

STOP

Matthew 7:24-27New International Version (NIV)

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Moving Day!!

Tingting and Tony moved into their own place today.  We spent the day helping and getting them settled.  It is going to be awfully quiet around here.  This will be the first time in 10 years that Frank and I have had our house to ourselves.

Poor Tony had the worst of it. 

He is a big guy to be scrunched up in the back of that truck.

That girl had 2 truckloads worth of stuff crammed into her room and she left another truckload behind!!!  I am very excited to start redoing my upstairs bedrooms.  Ting's room will once again be our guest room and Mom's room will be turned into a nursery with extra sleeping space for additional guests when needed.

On the way down to their new house, I stopped in to see how Mom was doing. 

I found her in the Beauty Salon.

She had gotten her toes and nails done and was waiting to have her do finished.

She thought if she put her hands up like that it would show off her nails.

I left Mom getting her hair combed out and stopped at Chicken Shack to pick up lunch for us.  I phoned Amy and she took her lunch break from work and joined us at the house.  I timed it perfectly, they were carrying in the last boxes as I pulled up LOL.  We had lunch, played around with furniture placement and then headed back here for load #2.  They have all left now to take that load to Ting's house.  

When Frank get's home we are heading to the hardware store to pick up paint and window treatments.  On Monday, Dawn is coming over and teaching me how to use chalk paint.  I have a bunch of mismatched furniture that I am (hopefully) going to have all come together for the nursery.  Stay tuned as I document the room transformation.

Midweek Merriment...

This is a fast week!!  We didn't get home until late Monday, we went out to a birthday party yesterday, Thursday we are helping Ting and Tony move and Friday is Independence Day....that leaves today!!!

I went to the food pantry this morning and checked the larder, finding it bare, so off to the grocery store I went.  Just as I was finishing up with those chores Frank called and asked if I would like to meet him for lunch before his afternoon meeting.  It was a tough decision but I decided I could make time for him LOL.

I did not make it over to see Mom today but Dick and Jackie were stopping by so I am not too concerned.  When I stopped in to see her yesterday she was happy as a lark.  They were having a sing along.  I sat with her and we sang songs and played tambourines.  When it was time for her to have lunch I told her I was leaving so she could eat.  She kissed me goodbye and not a word was said about her going with me or my not leaving.  My heart was singing when I left.  I was concerned because I was seeing her every day and then was gone for the cruise but I should not have been worried because Mom has no concept of time any longer.

The Bendas are joining us for dinner this evening.  I am still serving the meal I had planned on the Weekly Menu but adding a couple of things to make it company worthy.

The Bendas are Scotch drinkers so the Whiskey Compound Butter recipe that I am adapting from Girlichef is perfect.  I am serving baked Russets and Sweet Potatoes and I am substituting Broccoli for the Asparagus because it is in my fridge.  I have added Crab Dip to serve with drinks as we are waiting for our steaks to grill and a Salad to enjoy while the steaks are resting and I will serve sauteed onions and mushrooms along with the steak.

I pulled 6 steaks out of the freezer, a mixture of Porterhouse and T-Bones.  I normally season my steaks with Montreal Steak Seasoning but today I only seasoned them with salt and pepper and I added the Montreal Steak Seasoning to my compound butter.

Linda is bringing dessert.  I think it will be a wonderful night.  I have included some recipes below for your dining enjoyment.  Happy Humpday!!!!

Mix together all ingredients for Compound Butter.

I used a food processor.

Place on plastic wrap and shape into a log.

Refrigerate until needed.

Grill steaks to desired temperature.

Place a pat of Compound Butter on each and let rest for 10 minutes.

Compound Butter for Grilled Steaks
adapted from Girlichef.

1 stick butter at room temperature
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. chopped chives
1 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 shot Scotch Whiskey
1 T. chopped parsley

Mix together all ingredients until well combined.  Place in the center of a piece of plastic wrap and form into a log by rolling the plastic wrap around it and twisting the ends.  Refrigerate until firm. Place one slice of butter atop each steak before serving.  Print Recipe

Roasted Broccoli with Toasted Pine Nuts

Roasted Broccoli with Toasted Pine Nuts

Broccoli Crowns from 1 large head
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. pine nuts
2 t. butter at room temperature

Toss the Broccoli Crowns with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Place in a vegetable rack and grill over high heat with the lid closed for 10-12 minutes or until tender, tossing occasionally.  While Broccoli is roasting, place pine nuts in a dry saute pan an toast over med high heat until toasted and fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning.  Remove from heat and set aside.  When Broccoli is roasted toss with softened butter until coated and butter is melted.  Add the pine nuts, toss to mix and serve immediately.  Print Recipe

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It is beyond all Understanding

On this One Word Wednesday, I am going to be taking a break from writing about my care giving experiences with Mom and talk to you about some of my care giving experience that I had with my Pops.  Just click on the blue One Word Wednesday above to learn all about and join in on our writing exercise for this week.  Today's prompt is Understanding.

I always believed there was a Heaven but only because I believed in God and that His words were true. I couldn't have given you a real life experience that would prove to you that Heaven was an actuality until I went through dying with my Pops.

Being able to help my Pops through the dying experience is one of the greatest gifts I have ever been given. Unlike my experience with my Mom's dread disease, I never had one moments resentment at having to care for my Pops while he died.  I think my frustration with my Mom is that she is no longer there...it is just a shell that looks like my Mom and holds my Mom's soul but contains nothing of my Mom and who she was....but that is a story for another day.

When Pops was dying he had two guardian angels who were always by his side.  A little girl who was there constantly and a little boy who was there most of the time but not always.  My father's mind was sharp as a tack.  He knew that none of us could see his little visitors.  He could describe that they both had dark hair and that the boy's hair was curly.  He could describe what they were wearing but he could not make out their facial features. They were with him, by his side, for the last couple months of his life.  They never spoke until about a week before he passed away and he described that as a "dream" in which his visitors kept telling him to "come home".  He tried to explain to them that he was home but they just kept repeating themselves. When he spoke of his dream, the next day, to Kirsten she told him that she thought the angels were calling him to Heaven.  He thought about this for a few hours and then later told me of this conversation and that he thought Kirsten may have a point.

Around the same time, we had a family function to attend and our son, Chuck, was on leave and stayed with Grandpa while the rest of us went out.  When I got home, Chuck told me this story....

"I was sitting on this couch reading, when I heard your bedroom door creak.  Thinking grandpa had gotten up I went in to see if he needed help.  Grandpa was sitting in his chair where he had been sleeping so I went back to my book.  Then I heard Grandpa talking so I went back to see if he were calling to me and he wasn't he was just talking and seemed very animated and happy so I figured he was having a dream and once again returned to my book.  Mom, this went on all night.  Grandpa would stop talking, the door would creak and Grandpa would start talking again....He had visitors for about an hour and a half  tonight.  There was no wind that would have made the door creak and it was like clockwork....the door would creak and Grandpa would have a conversation."

We thought this was interesting and we all went to bed.  The next morning, when I brought Pops his coffee and breakfast he told me he had a dream in which three busloads of people he used to know pulled up outside the bedroom window.  He said it was almost as if they had come to a funeral viewing.  They would walk up to his chair, say a prayer and then they would talk.  He couldn't recall any of the conversations but said that it wasn't really a funeral viewing because he was alive but that it gave him the feeling of a funeral.

The last day before Pop's died I checked on him in the wee morning hours. I was sleeping on the couch at this point so that I could hear him if he needed me.  I awoke because I could hear that he was extremely restless and was mumbling and anxious.  He had soiled himself and was out of his mind.  He did not recognize me or his surroundings.  I could not understand anything he was saying. I was trying to clean him up (he had never soiled himself before) and he was pushing me away and punching at me.  I was in tears and called the hospice nurse at 5 am.  She (God bless her) came right over and helped me to clean Pops up and get him settled.  Pops continued to fight us and was extremely restless and agitated.  Suddenly, Pops, looked over our shoulders, broke into a huge smile and said clear as a bell, "Hey, how the hell have you been?  I haven't seen you in so long".  Pop's then calmed down and fell asleep with a smile on his face.  He never awoke in this world again.  There is no way I will ever know but I believe that his brother, my Uncle Dick, was the person he was so happy to see.  They were very close and I know my Uncle would have come to Pop's aid in a heartbeat.

All of this would have been enough to "prove" to me that there is a Heaven.  But just in case, I might still mourn my Pops and have some doubts, God sent me a couple more signs.

At 2:30 am the next morning, I awoke.  I laid on the couch listening and wondering what woke me.  I thought I should go check on Pops but I listened a bit longer and thought that he was peaceful and quiet so I fell back to sleep.  At 6 am when I awoke for the day, I went in to check on Pops and he had passed away. I first called my brother, Dick, and told him Pop's had passed. Dick said he had awoken at 2;30 am thinking about Pop's.  Dick called my brother Gary and my brother Dan.  Dan told Dick that he had been awake since 2:30 in the morning when he had a dream about Pops.

My niece, Denise, told us that when her 5 year old son, Gavin was having breakfast she said to him "Remember how we talked about Grandpa Great being sick".  Gavin replied "Oh yeah, Grandpa's in Heaven now, he was here last night and we did our secret handshake."

My great niece, Brianna, who was 4 at the time, announced to her parents when she awoke that Grandpa Great had come to see her and gave her a butterfly kiss on her cheek.  This was without Grandpa having even been mentioned to her yet that day.

So even though it is beyond all Understanding, be assured that there is a Heaven and that one day we will be greeted by all of those who have gone before us.

Pops with Gary and Gavin before he got ill.

Pops with Brianna before he got ill.

Join me as I link up with Thrive at Home Thursday to share my story of how I know there is a Heaven.

Our trip in a (coco)nut shell.

We had a wonderful time with all the family on our cruise to celebrate Mom Klik's 90th Birthday.

Day 1

Upon arrival to our room we were met by Senor Frog.

We were starving so we immediately went to get food.

We met up with Roz and Ron and had a couple of drinks.

We toured the ship before dinner.

Each evening we all met for dinner so that at least once a day we were all spending time together.

After dinner we all split up, some went to the casino, some went to Salsa dancing lessons and Nicole, Pierre, Frank and I went to the welcome show.

After the show we met up with the others who had gone to the bar for Salsa lessons and joined them on the dance floor for a while before crashing for the night.

Day 2

Frank and I were up and off the ship bright and early for diving.

We dove a wreck.

and a wall.

We met this big guy!

And learned how they are growing coral on these trees they made.

They take pieces of healthy coral, place them on a tree in a location that encourages growth and strength and then transplant them throughout the ocean  floor.

Ray came by to say Hi.

And this pretty bouquet of anemone waved goodbye as we left.

Day 3

This final day was spent taking family photos.

Mom Klik had fallen the day before our trip.

We think she just wanted to show up Anthony's tattoo!!

 Frank called for a family photo just so he could dress like a Polock.

He is weird like that.

I kept my distance from him and stayed close to my Amy who looked beautiful!!

And here we are in the real family photo.

Rebecca, Dan, Frank, Ron, Amy, Nicole, Anthony.

Mom, Me, Roz, Pierre

Danielle, Jennifer.

Good bye Norwegian Sky.

Thank you for the memories!!

Linking up with List it Tuesday.  What's on your list today??