Weekend

I managed not to puke on Thursday.  I didn't feel great for the rest of the day, but I wasn't on the verge of puking.  

So, we had a long weekend all to ourselves.  Because of the holiday, I didn't even need to log into my class and check email messages.  On Saturday, we went to Costco and bought provisions.  Then we went to Flowerland and bought tomato plants, pepper plants, and some flowers.   We have grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and yellow pear tomatoes, red and romas and yellows.   We got green and yellow bell peppers.  

We got a lovely assortment of flowers (the kids each chose some).  

Ben planted the veggies while I mowed our front lawn.  We also picked up grass seed and a tractor sprinkler, which is the coolest thing ever.  Our lawn is in much need of TLC.  I planted some of the flowers.  

The kids played some in the sprinkler.  

We rented National Treasure I and II and watched I with popcorn.

Sunday.   Ben mowed the back yard.  Somewhere in the process, he hit a rock.  The kids are forever flipping rocks or pulling them out of place and leaving them in odd places.  We thought we had picked them all up.  Anyway, the mower started smoking and sputtering.  He shut it off and came inside.  When he went back out, it would not start.  Ben's pretty handy, but couldn't identify the problem, and, honestly, it was easier to just go buy a new one to replace the 11 year old model.  The lawn needed mowing a week ago, and so the delay in tinkering with the thing and figuring out what parts, etc., was not one that we wanted to deal with on a holiday weekend.  We wanted to have the lawn mowed and done.   So, new push mower.  This one is self-propelled.  Maybe that means it will be that much sooner the young ones can take over the job ;).

The kids played in the sprinkler again.

We cleaned the house.  

We watched National Treasure II.  I don't much care for Nicholas Cage, in general, but the National Treasure movies are good.  I didn't know that Jesse James robbed for the KGC.

Monday!  Ben seeded the lawn and sprayed with castor oil in hopes of chasing away the moles/voles that love our lawn.

I planted the rest of the flowers.  I scrubbed the kitchen half of the kitchen floor...Sadly, the linoleum needs replacing.  

We had a great lunch of grilled steak and asparagus (the kids had steamed, they don't like the grilled, but Ben and I do!!!) and mashed potatoes.  Ben bought 10 lbs. of asparagus from a farm nearby.  It is awesome stuff.  I thought we'd put some away, but I think we're going to manage to eat it all!

We also had Virgil's rootbeer from Costco.  It is good stuff.  Liam kept asking why it smelled like licorice.  Ben looked over the ingredients, and apparently, there is anise and licorice in it...no sassafras, surprisingly (and no high fructose corn syrup--yay!).  

So, it was a good weekend.  

I'm thinking often of Marlene and Jeremy and Marlene's family.  It doesn't feel right to be having a good time here at home, or even conducting life as usual, when we know they are grieving in Chicago.  They are headed to the Philippines for the burial.  I am praying for a safe trip and peace to ease their hurting hearts.  

Nausea

Molly woke up last night around 2:30 am. Her stomach hurt. My stomach was feeling a little uncomfortable too, but I didn't feel ill. Molly puked a little later all over the place. She didn't want to go back to sleep until about 4:00. Reagan woke up at 6:00, which is actually pretty unusual for her.

Today, Molly says she feels fine, and has eaten, but is not terribly active. I felt fine (albeit, tired) this morning, but nearly was ill just a bit ago. I took some homeopathy and laid down with Reagan for a bit (she was napping), and I don't feel nauseous at the moment, but I fear its return....I surely hope the homeopathy didn't just work to delay the inevitable. Yuck.

Better switch the sheets while I'm feeling OK. If everybody gets this, there could be a lot more laundry.

Marlene's dad passed away last night.  He was in rehab, and I presumed was on his way to recovery.  I just talked to her last night.  I feel so awful for her.  I so wish they were closer so we could do more for them right now.  

For now, I just pray.  

More Magic

We had some raw milk that went sour before we got to it.  When we were in St. Joe for Katey's baby shower, we didn't get through it at our regular rate.  Raw sour milk, unlike pasteurized milk is not "bad."  It might not be palatable, but there is actually nothing wrong with consuming it.  (Pasteurized milk that is sour is not safe to drink!).   

However, we weren't too excited about drinking it here.  I found instructions online for making queso blanco (white cheese, or paneer).  It uses "slightly soured" milk.  Heat a quart of  milk to 180, remove from heat, stir in 1-2 tablespoons   vinegar.  Then curds and whey form.  Drain the whey (it is recommended to keep it, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with a half a gallon of whey..).  Salt the cheese curds and eat them warm or use for melting.  I ate some (and it squeaked!).  It was pretty good, though one batch was a bit more sour than the others, and I couldn't decide if I liked it or not.  The rest is in the fridge for our next batch of enchiladas or something.

Apparently, this can be made with fresh milk as well, but it may not be as flavorful.

No Toy Zone

I cleaned our bedroom yesterday.  It needed it.  Badly.  I also posted a sign on the door: "No Toy Zone: No toys beyond this point, please. "  We have toys in nearly every square inch of our house. Places one would think toys wouldn't need to go.  I find them on my kitchen counter, in the bathroom, in the laundry room, in the laundry chute, on the stairs.  I need a space without toys.  Ahhhh.

Molly's chin is better.  I still don't know what caused it.  Weird.

I found a couple of people in town with whom to share picking up milk.  This is a great thing, especially since gas is now about 3.99 a gallon for regular (There seems to be a wide range--the low is 3.95....well, a wide range of 4 cents a gallon, pfft.).  Anyway, from May-August, I will have picked up milk 6 times instead of 17.  That works out well.

 

Reagan's Ears and Molly's Chin

We went for a follow-up check on Reagan.  Her ears look good, according to the doc, so she's all better.

While there, Molly turned to me, and I noticed a splotchy rash on her chin (like from her lower lip down to her chin.  It looks almost like a bruise.  She was eating Cheddar Sun Chips on the way to the doctor.  I don't know if that's what caused it.  The doctor turned to me and said, do you think it's something she ate?  I don't know--she's the doctor, for pete's sake!  She slathered some non-steroidal antihistamine cream and gave her a spoonful  of Benedryl in case she was having a systemic reaction.  The rash has not gone away.  I've not seen anything like it before.  Very odd.

Go Irish!

The Buck boys are at our house this afternoon. Mrs. Buck asked if they could come here while she did some volunteer work at church for a couple hours. So, I've allowed an afternoon Smash Bros. tournament on the Wii. Smash Bros. is basically a battle between a number of popular Nintendo characters. Players can summon (for lack of a better word) helpers, one of which is a Nintendog. A huge golden retriever puppy jumps up (blocking most of the action on the screen) and puts his nose "against" the screen.

Someone summoned the Nintendog. The kids laughed and talked about the puppy. "Bad dog!" They said. "Bad dog! said Liam. "He wants to go to Notre Dame!"