We've Got a Real Live Blizzard

I am completely snowed in with truly no way to get out unless I pull out the skis or snowshoes.

So I thought I'd make use of my new dutch oven!

My favorite cab.

Homemade bread.

Whatever I could find in the kitchen (boneless pork ribs, zucchini, white potato, sweet potato and hominy) I also found peas.

Some onion, garlic, wine and spices.

It spent about a half hour total on the stove and 2 hours total in the oven, (love the dutch oven).

I stopped myself at my second bowl...the sweet potato in here is awesome (trust me).

And my favorite winter drink.

Peppers

Yesterday I saw a cooking challenge that involved bell peppers. The chefs did all kinds of amazing things (like create desserts) with the peppers.

It reminded me that I haven't tried to make stuffed peppers in a while. I’ve made them a few times and have never been super excited about them. They weren’t bad but they weren’t good enough to be addictive for a week – which is how I like food to be, seeing as how I eat the same thing all week.

Per usual with every Sunday I made food for the week and tried stuffed peppers again.

I decided to get all four kinds: green, red, orange and yellow – to do a little taste experiment as well.

Then I thought I’d add all of my favorite things…starting with oven baked bacon.

Following with artichokes, corn, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, fox point and goat cheese. The eggs act as a binder.

Cooked on the pan that also cooked the bacon…this is just good karma.

I am "In Charge" of Pie

This year my Mother has officially assigned jobs to my sister, sister in law and myself to bring food for Thanksgiving. I've been doing pies the last couple of years but now its official. I think this is a great idea for her to do.

I asked her if I could make any kind of pie - I wanted to try some new recipies. Like coconut or chocolate pecan or some fun variation of my personal favorite, french silk.

She said, "You can make whatever you want - but make sure to do Grandma's pumpkin pie and an apple pie for your Dad."

Later on in the conversation she said, "We don't need any more than two pies."

So last night and today I made my Mother's idea of whatever pie I want! I added caramel to the apple - hopefully I will be forgiven for that...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I Had Surgery

Last Wednesday 11/10, I had a stapedectomy to restore hearing in my left ear. I had otosclerosis and this is the surgery to fix it.

Here's a close up:

Before

After

I didn't know I had otosclerosis until I was in my twenties. My parents assumed/told me my hearing loss was from an accident and loud music. It wasn't until I was older when I considered a hearing aid and found out I could have my hearing back with surgery.

So this is the second time I've had this surgery. The first being ten years ago. It took me this long to do it again because of recovery time. The recovery is awful.

There was a 1-2% chance I would have complications:

• Loss of hearing completely
• Loss of facial control on my left side
• Permanent vertigo
• Permanent ringing
• Loss of sense of taste on left side

I did have a complication and I lost my sense of taste on the left side of my tongue. It's a weird feeling but I am getting used to it. Potentially I will get it back. The nerve wasn't damaged completely, it was just pulled.

I guess I traded the ability to hear with the ability to taste. I'm okay with that but a little bummed - I do love to cook, this will make cooking challenging.

So far I can't hear completely, I have dissolvable packing in my ear. I have stitches behind my ear (this is how they go in) that itch.

So those are the nuts and bolts to it. I want to talk about my stay in the hospital.

I was in observation for a day and a half - middle ear surgery is considered a major surgery and pretty much renders a person helpless for a little while. The vertigo is so bad, just turning my head was awful. Not to mention the pain and the nausea.

In observation, they check your vitals more frequently. I also think the nurse to patient ratios might be smaller.

All I could do was lie on my back or right side. I didn't want to eat; wasn't hungry. I was allowed morphine every 2.5 hours and looked forward to it because then I could sleep for a while.

I have a real appreciation for being in such an awful condition and having to rely on complete strangers to help. The nurses and nursing assistants were really amazing people. I sent them candy and a card after I left.

Observation "rooms" do not have four walls, they have 3 walls and a curtain. So in observation you can hear much of what is going on around you. I was lucky, the swelling was bad enough, I could lie on my good ear and not hear anything.

EXCEPT for the super rude visitors of the person next to me. WOW. On one hand, I understand that when we go to visit people in a hospital, we are not thinking about anyone but the person we are visiting. In fact, we are usually very worried about the person so really aren't thinking about anything else.
However, the people next to me were so loud I couldn't sleep even with the morphine and lying on my good ear.

It was SO AWFUL. It was challenging for me to push the button to call the nurse - that's how invalid I was. I considered throwing my water cup at them...which by the way was totally an irrational morphine induced idea. If put into practice, I probably would have thrown the cup on myself. I couldn't even see where they were (and they weren't even in the room with me).

I didn't want to complain because I was afraid the nurses would label me as a complainer - another irrational morphine induced idea. That stuff is potent.

Finally, a nursing assistant came in and I told him I was having trouble sleeping because it was too loud. That was like instant gratification because he went over there and all I could hear was a firm tone in his voice and then SILENCE. I'll probably never forget that moment as long as I live; I was asleep within seconds after it.

Anyway, from now on - and I encourage everyone else too - to be especially mindful of other patients when visiting people in the hospital. I think it's easy to forget when worrying about one person.

My recovery has been a blur. I stayed with my folks for 3 nights and then came home. Honestly I barely remember staying with them even. I slept almost all of the time. One thing that sucks about being single is not having help when you really really need it. Yet another reason to find a partner in this life.

I haven't been able to drive but the vertigo has almost gone away so I might try today or tomorrow. I am going to go for a walk and see how I handle that first. The general restriction for driving was 10 days and it has been 7. So I may not be ready yet.

I am very sick of soup and pizza. I also can't go to the gym for another couple of weeks. My restrictions are as follows:

• No cardio 3 weeks
• No weight lifting 3 weeks
• No lifting above 10 lbs 3 weeks
• No chiropractor 30 days
• No bending/leaning over 3 weeks
• No flying 30 days
• No driving 10 days
• No ibuprofen because it makes bleeding easier
• No water in my ear 30 days

I am pretty much unable to do anything - no horseback riding - because of bouncing.

So I've been making candy:

I'll be sending it off to a bunch of people randomly. I think it's funny - so Suzy Homemaker of me. I can understand why people do crafts when they can't do anything else. I might start knitting too.

Lexi is also doing very well - she is truly a prednisone miracle.

It Has Passed

As do most things in life. Last night's storm might go down as the worst in MN history - according to the sensational news media. 39 tornados reportedly touched down last night. 3 people died.

A couple was sucked out of their mobile home and flung a half mile away. She died on the way to the hospital (missing a leg) and he is in critical care at the Mayo (he broke every rib and his arms and legs). That tornado was 3/4 of a mile wide.

I can't even imagine seeing something like that.

I called to get more prednisone for my little "prednisone miracle" today. This is typically a routine refill. The vet tech on the phone informed me I have 30 days left and then I need to bring her in for a check up to continue the prescription.

I have been told by vet techs four times in the last year to bring my cat in over nothing and each time the vet has agreed not to do it.

When I asked the vet tech to have the vet call me, she said, "Well that's not going to change anything." She told me "it's the law" that I have to have my cat come in for a check up in order to continue prednisone.

What kind of crap is that? The more I think about the conversation, the more mad I get. First, she's trying to blackmail me saying that I can't get more meds for my cat unless I come in (that's a $49.50 charge) and then she's lying and saying "it's the law."

What a wacko control freak. I have no reason to bring my cat in. She has a terminal illness and is stable and happy right now. There is no need to adjust medication, she is doing very well on what she's on. They can't fix her heart murmur or her cancer/IBD/lymphoma/whatever it is. I am not going to have her tested for anything, there is no point. She is most certainly not getting vaccinations - that could speed up her inevitable end. She is an old cat.

This vet tech actually argued, tried to blackmail and lie to get me to come in for a $49.50 weigh in and "check up." There is nothing the vet will do I can't see for myself!!!

I think she's just pissed I'm telling her no - and pissed the vet always sides with me. If it really comes down to it, I can get pred elsewhere. I do not have to get it through them. (sigh) It is convenient though and I do like my vet (not the vet tech).

A Storm is Coming

Well I would have been at the farmers market right now but there's a big storm about to hit the twin cities and I'm directly in the path! So I'm home waiting it out, all the plants are inside, deck "furniture" laid down and my car is in the garage.

I have deck "furniture" because it's plastic. It is recyclable and high backed so it works just fine for now. Like so many things in life.

I'm here alone with my little prednisone miracle - she's still happy and therefore still alive! She likes to eat my my plants so I had to cover them.

Being single sucks. Okay, I take that back, being single over 30 sucks. Under 30 it's pretty fun most of the time.

Almost all of my friends are married with children. The kids dictate how the day goes and if plans happen or not. Spouses also dictate. Even people with no children will cancel last minute because of something with the spouse/spouse's family/etc.

Mothers like to hang out with other mothers. I think it's because then their kids will have something to do while they talk. I would like to have kids someday but I'm not just going to start producing them so I can keep my friends.

Some of my friends actually get together without me...for kid things/spouse things. They are either totally forgetting about me or it's me. I'm going with the easiest answer and that is they forget. I can not say enough how awful it is to not be invited because I don't have a date and/or a child.

I don't think it's personal, I think it's just what happens. It sucks!

Anyway, hard week. Stuck between a rock and hard place on more than one issue. So, complaining about my social life seems to be the next best thing!

The news people say tornados are on the ground. Wish us luck!

So I'm on a music kick...

I hope you all like it!