pUrPleRonASaurus

Four year old Kresimir has always wanted a purple dinosaur. Last year for his birthday we asked him what he wanted and he said, "A purple dinosaur." For Christmas, we asked, "What do you want for Christmas," and he answered, "A purple dinosaur." This year for his birthday and Christmas, we asked the same question and got the same answer. I'm thinking, "It's time to find this boy a purple dinosaur!" So, in my attempt to be Grandmother of the Year, I went in search of a purple dinosaur! Well, as you might guess, purple dinosaurs don't exist. So, I decided to "discover" a lost breed of dinosaur--the Purpleronasaurs. I went to the craft store and bought a dinosaur. Then I consulted with the hobby guy, "How do you paint a dinosaur purple?" (I know, it's a dumb question, but I'm not a crafty person!!!) So, he directed me to the paint, gave a few instructions like, "He shouldn't put the dinosaur in the bathtub with him or in a kiddy pool," (remember that, KY).

Well, here he is--Purpleronasaurus. Isn't he cute? Do you think Kres will like his purple dinosaur? What grandma's won't do for their grandkids!

I love visitors

Since I have been down and out, I have enjoyed a variety of visitors.  Trey stopped by to show off his new, dressy outfit.  He's really a handsome young man!  Great outfit, Trey.

Ky has stopped by with the kids on several occasions,  Dad read stories to Kres, and Kres and Ella loved playing in the big tree out in front of the condo

I Cried!

I felt like crying.

I looked at the clock--3 a.m.--I couldn't sleep and was sitting in the big chair in the living room.

My legs hurt soooo bad, both of them.  If asked to describe the pain, I would say, "It feels like giant snakes are going up and down my leg spewing their venom as they go." 

But, no one was there to tell that to.  Just me.  In pain.

Yesterday my back was swollen like a soft ball.  I iced it.  It didn't help.

It worried me.  I called the Dr's office.  "Come in tomorrow," she said.  "9:45"

Now, only 6 3/4 hours until 9:45!

I prayed  the pain would  go away--that I could sleep.  And

I cried.

Cribbage "15-2, . . . .15-1?"

The other day I was bored, so Isent Ron to the store to buy a Cribbage game.  We often sit around on Sunday evening and play, and I win a little les than half the time.  But I love to play.

Anyone who knows the game, knows that you count cards that add up to 15 or 31, as the case might be. 
You deal 6 cards to each player, and each player puts 2 in the "kitty". It's a pretty simple game. 

But, wait, add a pain pill to a muscle relaxer and then try to count to 15!!

Here's an example of how our game went.  Ron layed down a 10 and said, "ten", I then laid down a five and said , "Fifteen for 2"  I then proeeded to move Ron's peg two points instead of my own.  "Wait," he said, "what are you doing?"  I'm moving my peg two points  "but that's my peg--Im blue, you are red. You moved my peg." 

"oh," I said and then moved my red peg 2 in front of his blue peg."  "now what are you doing." 

"I don't know??"{ I said.  "I moved my red peg like you said."  "just don't touch the pegs," he said, as he moved them correctly.  "Now I play the next card."  He layed down a 2 and said, "17"  I laid down a 7 and said, "7".  He huffed a little and said, "now let's start all over. We had 15, and i laid down a 2 for 17.  Then you laid down a 7.  What's 17 + 7?".  I looked confused, an used myh fingers to count 17 + 7.
 "24" I proudly announced.

Ron laid down a 7 and said "31 for a go and a pair worth 2 for a total of 4."
By then I was totally befuddled and ready to cry.  ":What happened to 35?"
He was in shock--but patienely told me 35 has nothing to do with the game.    So,I started to gather the cards and shurrle them   "WHat are you doing," he asked befuddled.  I'm  suffling the cards. "

"WAit, put those cards down, we \ need to do our count."
"I thougt our ount was 35!" I said,
"isn't it your nap time?"  Roln asked
"Well, maybe,"  I said, "but you promised me a game of Cribbage". . . .

Whoever claims drugs don't affect cognitive skills has never played Cribbage after taking a powerful pain pill and a muscle relaxer!  Poor 'Ron--He' s a trooper.

On a lighter note . .

Kim did such a great job of blogging our summr activities, but she wasn't around for everythng.  So today I'm doing another "Random Blog" from summer, and trying to keep my mind on something besides pain. 

One day the kids found a nest of baby quail in an old tire on our place.  There were about 18 of them and no mom in sight!

Rob, Jodi and Trey stopped by one Sunday afternoon and offered a ride to Wallowa Lake.  It was a rainy day, but always a beautiful drive.  Here are Rob andJodi by the lake. 

Everyday the kids checked the birds.  They started with about 18 and they all died but 4.  Ron realized they couldn't get out of the tire to hunt for food, so he fixed it so they could get out.  After that, they wereen't seen again!

Randy was the coach of the East Shrine team.  They lost, but played a good game.  It's always fun to watch him coach.  That's him in the red had.  My blog is confused, I don't know why.  But, I try.  It keeps me entertained! 

On my way back from Hell!

On October 9,2009, I underwent back surgery to free a pinched siatic nerve.  So, to my surprise, when I went to the Dr for my 9 month check up, he informed me I had a broken back!  After considering the option of a lifetime in a wheelchair on pain pills, or surgery to fuse a couple of vertebrea, I opted for a trip to Hell--surgery!  It involved removing a disc, scraping bone from my right pelvis, putting the scrappings into a corkskrew, inserting it where the disc had been, and holding it in place with a metal plate and 2 screws. 

The surgery took from 9-12, and when I woke up, I was, literally, in HELL!  I know that isn't a polite word, but it seems to fit nicely for my situation.  Every time I moved, I was in extreme pain and dizzy.  Every time I ate, I threw up.  I often fell asleep while eating.  THey informed me I had to walk to the end of the hall, which was at least 50 miles long, I swear!.  I told them I was dizzy, and they said, "WALK!"  So, I took off, being supported by a walker and a Geek belt (fastened around the chest to hold me up if I fell.  "I'm dizzy," I said.  And they said "Keep going, your're doing fine." 

"But I'm, dizzy.  OK, now I'm fainting,"

 and down I went.  I found myself sitting in a wheelchair, and as soon as I woke up a little, they said, "We really need you to walk."  They settled for a few steps.  I talked them into letting me sit in a chair for awhile before having to walk, and putting me on less powerful pain medication.  That all helped.  So, on Thursday afternoon, after making sure the vital parts of the body were moving, they sent me home.  I am now at the condo, and Ron is a great care giver.  Krissy relieves him in the evening, and sometimes he leaves while I am sleeping to run to the store.  Again, my blog is as confused as I am, but I'll keep trying.  My journey from hell is getting a little easier!  I'll try to keep you posted!

Darn!

Darn--I tried to do a really neat post on my favorite pictures from summer; but blogger is being stubborn today.  So, here are random shots of some of our doings.  These are just random--ones I could get to load.  But, Oh Well--I tried!

Random pictures from summer.  Don't they look like they could be sisters?  Krissy and Kim at a baby shower.

Can you see the big hail balls on Ella's neck and Taz's ear?  Of course, they had to play outside in a hail storm!

Kresimir turned 4 with a Scooby Doo Cake and lots of friends

Grandpa painted the picnic table in the mountains while Taz and Cynjyn caught crawdads!

Kresimir and Beckham enjoyed eating at the Rain Forest Restaurant in Las Vegas!

Ella, Mary, Cynjyn and Kres loved posing at the family reunion!Kim was pretty in purple for our trip to the Rain Forest Cafe

Here's those crawdads Taz and Cynj caught.  Taz was crawdad king at the family reunion and cooked and served about 2 dozen to attendees!Beckham enjoyed the little cars at Kres' birthday party.  Cutie!

This is a wild blog!  Blogger never cooperates with me; but, hopefully, you can figure this one out!

Fun is Work and Work is fun (Sometimes!)

I went to Boise last week for Kres' 3-year old awards ceremony.  It was fun!  And Kres won the award for "Best Worker"!  Keep up the good work, Kres!  They all wore butterfly wings because the theme was "evolving"

The next day, Krissy and I took Kres and Beckham to the zoo, even though it was raining.  We had a great time!

Kres wanted to take some pictures, so I totally gave him the camera, didn't even supervise him, and here are a few of the pictures he took:  He took the one of Krissy above, and these:  Can you see the zebra peeking out of the shed?

And this one of Beckham and Krissy, and many more.  I think he did a good job--may be a good photogrtapher in the making!

We had a great day at the zoo!  Then we took the kids to Burger King and let them play there for awhile after lunch.  We got them home around 3:30, so Ky had the whole day to herself!!

Then came time for me to work!

I gave my second "Cooking with Gwen" class on Tuesday, focusing on saving money in the selection and preparation of meat.

I made Pot Roast, Beef Stroganoff, Swiss Steak with Cheesy Noodles, BBQ Pork and Braised Cubed Steak.  For a special treat, I made an "ultimate cheesecake".

Here are a few of the ladies enjoying their meal!  I thought we would have leftovers for days, but there was very little left!  Eighteen people came and everyone had a good time, learned a lot and went home full!

Life can be fun hard work or work that is fun--either way, life is good!

25 Things You Might Not Know About Me

I challenge you to try this--it isn't easy to come up with 25 things about you, period, let alone 25 things others might not know--here goes:

1.  When my mother took me to school on the first day and left, I hid in the closet and wouldn't come out.  They had to send for my dad to come and get me and take me home.
2.  I have absolutely no artistic ability when it comes to crafts, drawing, painting, etc!!
3.  I hate to sew
4.  I started piano and clarinet lessons in the 3rd grade, and continued through my 2nd year of college!
5.  I am a slow reader.
6.  When I was a young child, we moved to La Grande.  Everyone thought my sister and I were twins because mom cut our hair the same and dressed us the same.  She made all of our clothes alike but in different colors.  I was usually green, and Jackie was blue.  We did look alike and were about the same size, although she was 20 months older than I and 2 grades ahead of me in school
7.  I am a fainter.  I used to faint when I got a shot, cut myself badly or got too tired.  I'm better now, but can't guarantee I won't faint!
8.  For years, I had a collection of personally autographed movie star's pictures.  I entered my collection in hobby fairs and won blue ribbons.  I had everyone: Rock Hudson, Marilyn Monroe, Jimmy Dean, Doris Day, --all of the old greats.  I left my collection in my mom's basement when I went to college; the basement flooded (we lived at the foot of the mountain, far from a river of anykind), and my collection was destroyed.
9.  I used to save $2 bills.  I had about 200 bills saved when I got married.  Ron and I used them to get a little used car.  I still love $2 bills!
10. When I was 6, my sister got the measles.  So, my mom took my baby sister and I to get a measles shot.  The problem was, I already had them, but they hadn't "come out", so I was twice as sick.  I had to spend 2 weeks in a dark room, with the door shut because I was contagious.  Only my dad and mom came in to see me and care for me during those 2 weeks.
11.  When I was in high school, President Dwight D Eisenhower shook my hand and handed me a signed ticket worth one free milkshake.  I was in the high school band, and we were at the Spokane Lilic Festival.  I loved milkshakes, so I spent it!  What a foolish thing to do--have regreted it my whole life.
12.  When  I was in HS, I was cooking for 200 firefighters in our restaurant when I spilled hot grease on my whole left hand.  It created a big blister, and was very painful.  But, I was the only cook there, so I had to finish my job!  What an ordeal that was.
13.  I was co-editor of the HS yearbook, class of 1958, with my now husband, Ron.
14. I once helped my dad unbury glass jars containing money from the basement of our house.  We dug up $25,000, which he used to buy a downtown building.  He didn't trust banks because he had been affected by poverty during the Great Depression!
15.  I was one of only 3 girls in the University of Oregon Concert Band in 1960.
16.  I won a music scholarship to U of O, but turned it down to major in accounting.
17.  I shook John F Kennedy and Jackie Kennedys' hands when they gave a campaign stop and speech at Eastern Oregon State College.
18. I was invited to tour Europe with a symphony orchestra, but declined because The Berlin Wall was scheduled to come down.  I didn't want to be in Europe if there was going to be another war!
19.  I almost didn't graduated from college because Biology was a required course, and I wasn't going to cut up any dead animals!!  Ron rescued me and became my lab partner.  He did the cutting,
20.  I am a family history buff, and started my original research as a newly-wed working on my Golden Gleaner Award.
21. I spent 20 hours this week reading microfilms in search of my 17th Century ancestors in England
22. I have had 14 surgeries, which includes 5 C-secions.
23.  I won a State Recognition Presidential Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Mathematics.  My reward was a T-shirt and $700, which I used to buy my first computer.
24.  I used to play in the orchestra for the musicals presented at BMCC.  I loved doing it--played for such plays as South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Brigadoon, Grease, and the presentations of The Messiah, and many more.
25.  I sat and ate dinner within 20 feet of President Spencer W Kimball when I attended a Genealogy Conference at BYU. 

Now you post 25 things I don't know about you!!

Cooking Class

Someone at church talked me into giving some cooking lessons.  So, I sent out a "feeler" to see if there was any interest and listed some categories.  I had 14 people express an interest in Quick and Easy Meals and Easy Ways to Save Time and Money in preparing those meals.  So, Tuesday night I had the first class, and 17 people came!  I was excited to see so many there.  I made a 16 page booklet for everyone, and it contained ideas, easy one-dish meals, and easy desserts.  I also included a page on What Can I Do With White Sauce? 

I began by talking about having the right tools to make cooking easier.  I focused on knives and a good sharpener.  As you can see, I talked about good kettles, storage containers, cooking salt and pepper shakers, Johnny Salt and a good cutting board. 

I asked for someone to help me, and we each made a white sauce.  She turned hers into egg sauce, and I turned mine into Chicken Mushroom Soup.  That was fun and "amazing".

  I had made some of the desserts to sample, and after talking about them, we all ate them.  Everyone liked that!  Above, you can see Banana Split Cake, Tuti Fruiti Pudding or Pie, Chinese Noodle Treats and 60 year old cake!  They were all a hit, and the recipes were in their booklet.

Here we see Creamy Tacos, Frito Pie, Add Anything Dish and Spam Loaf.  We made the egg sauce for the Spam Loaf.  Everyone liked all of the dishes, and everyone was surprised at the Spam loaf being so good!

Of course, I fixed a pot of My Favorite Vegetable Soup in the Crock Pot!  It was a big hit. 

Sorry, I didn't get a picture of everyone eating, but I was kind of busy answering questions, etc.  There was very little food left.  All in all, it was a fun evening and I had fun preparing!  They asked me to do more classes, and I agreed to do one in June, but probably wait until fall to do others. And, they LOVED the recipe book!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Saturday--Beautiful Weather, Not too hot or too cold--Wonderful, Modern Ball Park

This great day found us in Baker City watching Trampis blay baseball.  Ontario JV against Baker City JV.  He had several really good hits.

And off he goes. . .

He played catcher the entire first game.

All in all, it was a great way to spend the afternoon!   Good job, Trampis!

By the way, they won the first game and lost the second.  Trampis played 3rd base for 5 innings and catcher for 2 innings the second game.

Simple Pleasures

Today I decided to blog some miscellaneous tidbits, since I don't lead a real exciting life.  Well, some days are exciting, but everyone already blogged about branding, so that's out.  So, I'll just entertain you with some fun things from the last few days.  The picture above is Ella.  She came to visit and claimed I had no pictures of her on my camera.  So, she took a picture of herself!  Well, she's wrong, too, because I have several hundred pictures of sweet Ella.  But it's always fun to have another one!
The picture above Ella is supposed to be next (can't figure out what's going on this time with the blog. .  )  Anyway, we were all in the kitchen eating after branding, when someone looked out the window and saw a coyote!  He played around quite a long time, so we all got a good look at him--that was a fun addition to the day!  The picture above the coyote is my empty living room and dining room.  In August, 2009, I bought a carpet shampooer.  Before it arrived, I had an inflamed syatic nerve, followed by back surgery--you all know the story--Well, Monday I decided I felt good enough to put it to use.   My carpets were driving me crazy and needed shampooed.  So, I decided to just do the two rooms, so I wouldn't overdo it.  The machine was easy to use, and the floors look great!  I am very encouraged and excited about doing the rest of the carpets.  However, I have to wait a day or so in order for the two I did to COMPLETELY dry!!

What happened?  The picture loaded right!  Anyway, Kres gave me this funky candle holder for Mother's Day.  So, I turned it into a vase, and I think it looks really nice.  I needed something for the new TV stand.  So, here's the look.  I love the stand and the look.  Fun, but simple!

Here's the whole view.

That's enough excitement for one day!

I love everyone's blogs, so keep up the good work, and I'll try harder to do better next time!