Life Update and Cupid Cheesecake

It has been a  long time since I have written here so some brief notes on what has happened.

Michael is in Washington with his wife, Shawna – I wish I saw them more – I am so impressed they seem happy and Shawna is a very talented woman who has a beautiful voice I wish I could hear more of.

Phillip is attending school in Web design and is such a comfort for me.  He jumps in and helps me so much as I have lost some abilities to complete things I am working on and he fixes things I mess up – I can’t seem to be able to remember how to do so many things with the phone or any electronics.

Tanya is in Idaho with her small family – Berret her husband and Hallie her 2 year old daughter.They have brought me great joy as they maintain a blog that allows me a glimpse of their lives with pictures, video clips, a narratives as they grow as a family.  I am very amazed at the beauty they are developing as they strive to create a great family.

Sam is in Utah working and making great strides in maturing as an adult.  I miss him greatly – his ready smile and willingness to serve others.  The hardest thing for me at this time is letting him develop without trying to take over advising him  -- untying my apron strings has been hard for all the children but the hardest for Sam, he is my youngest.

Don is working some and sort of retired.  I am doing dialysis – a form of life I never expected to try – not something I would advise for a goal – Now the trick is to learn how to cope.

Don & I went to a get together of some friends where I had to take a dessert to share.  When I was thinking of ideas Phillip wanted me to be sure the dessert was easy to prepare – the decisions was amazing.  The dessert was so easy I could not believe it and the people all liked it – one exception was Don!  The dessert was called Cupid Cheesecake --

Cupid's Cherry Cheesecakes

prep time 15 min

total time 2 hr 45 min

makes 12 servings

What You Need

12 NILLA Wafers

2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2   eggs

3/4 cup cherry pie filling

Make It

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Place 1 wafer in bottom of each of 12 paper-lined medium muffin pan cups; set aside.

BEAT cream cheese and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing just until blended after each addition. Spoon evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.

BAKE 30 minutes. Turn off oven; open oven door slightly. Let stand in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven; cool completely. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Store leftover cheesecakes in refrigerator.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise

Sweets can add enjoyment to a balanced diet, but remember to keep tabs on portions.

Special Extra

Garnish with fresh mint sprigs just before serving.

This is an easy keeper.

I will try to be more diligent in updating this blog in the future but for now I am out!

Condition Update

Yes, I have started the dialysis treatment for the kidney failure.  I have had some adventures with it.  The jury is still out as to if I can do this – I am giving it a good try.

My first dialysis run was last Saturday.  A very good friend took me and stayed with me the entire time.  I was dialyzed for 2 hours to start building up my body for the changes.  I was having difficulty breathing if I even walked a few steps – like 5.  The first time did not do enough for me to register any improvements but I knew it was a start.

My second time was Tuesday, they tried several times to get the machine hooked up correctly – lots of needle pokes and ended up with an infiltrated needle which meant they had to stop for that day.  I was sent home to come back the next day at 7:15 AM.  Would I do it, I was not sure at the time but after several conversations with family & friends I did indeed go back on Wednesday.

My friend took me to the dialysis center and stayed with me.  They tried to start the process again, had needles inserted but they did not perform correctly.  They kept working, called a doctor over and worked some more.  Next they said I had to stop because they got another needle infiltrated and the doctor wanted to let the arm rest.  A specialist came down and started making arrangements for a catheter be put in (doctors recommendation ) to allow the place for the dialysis site to heal.  After some time arranging for the procedure I was sent to Good Samaritan Hospital to have the procedure done – they were going to squeeze me in.  They apparently like to check the performance of the catheter after it is inserted but were too busy that day to do that so I was sent back to the dialysis center I started from.  I got there and they started to the process and so I was dialyzed with a shortened time but they did do more cleaning – I was able to go about 10 feet before I had to stop to catch my breath.  I was put on oxygen for the entire day and did indeed walk out of there being just barely able to get out – lots of stops to catch my breath.  I got home a little after 7:30 that night really wondering if I would really go the next day for a treatment.

A friend picked me up early, maybe that was why I actually got in the car but I did.  I got to the dialysis center, rested inside the door, was coaxed into the center, rested again and did go in for the treatment – I just had so much trouble breathing.  I got hooked up OK, there were no alarms going off all the time while the treatment was going on, did not have oxygen the entire time (next time I will) and was able to walk clear to the other end of the room before I had to stop to catch my breath.

I was so swollen I could not put my shoes on with socks, Phillip had to help me get them on at all.  When I had to take my shoes off at the hospital, we could not get them on again when it was time to leave so I was wearing hospital socks.  The catheter is about the same height as the defibrillator on the opposite side, I guess I am balanced now.  Anyway, seat belts over the shoulder are a real problem now.  I am going to post a few pictures of what the areas looked like today because a friend thought I should let my children know what is happening. 

Here they are:

This is my arm where they kept poking me.

The lower right corner is a big bump that does not show very well.

Here is the answer for giving my arm a break, the red spot at the top is up at my neck and the rest is the stuff they use to hook me up – dangling down my front. 

I get a day off from treatments tomorrow and will be back at it on Saturday.  Thank you Tanya for posting pictures that help me to focus on trying to feel better.  Thank you Mike and Phillip for helping me in staying willing to work at feeling better.

Back to the blog …

What have we been doing – I guess we are just trying to get by day by day.  Since I last posted we have had holidays which involved a visit from my daughter and her family for Thanksgiving, our son Michael drove down from the Seattle Washington area to visit with us and when he arrived he had an extra passenger in the car, our son Samuel flew from Utah to Seattle to drive down to Portland to visit with us for Thanksgiving.  That made all our living children in Portland for Thanksgiving time, what a treat.  The only real down side was Sam was involved in a traffic accident while driving Michaels car.  Luckily, Sam was not injured but Michaels car was totaled.

Christmas brought Sam a quick flight to Portland – he got here on the Monday before Christmas and he had to fly out on Christmas morning.  Quick but neat trip.  I enjoyed having Sam here even for the  short time.  Phillip, Michael, and Sam figured out how to allow Michael to see us celebrate Christmas from a computer in the living room in Portland Oregon to a computer in Mikes new home in Renton Washington.  What an experience that was.  We do not have much in the way of pictures for our Christmas as a result.

Tanya and her family had Christmas in Idaho, I think it must have been wonderful and I am most grateful for her diligence in posting pictures and text on her blog about her holidays.  She has also posted some things on Facebook that help us enjoy her life away from us. 

      

Hallie has turned 1 year old in January and Tanya did an excellent job of showing  her life through the blog at www.berretandtanya.blogspot.com  -- There are some amazing pictures of the event and so much fun to see.  Tanya’s blog chronicles the growth of Hallie through pictures and text.  She has a nice set of monthly progress pictures and lists of achievements.

January also brought the loss of Don’s job and we are now in the process of trying to figure out how we are going to maintain our lives.  The challenges are ahead and we look forward to learning new things.

Another Week

I am still around. Things are happening but no pictures this period.

Mike has the keys to his new home and is now getting it ready to move into in a couple of weeks. He has installed a new chandelier and I guess Shawna likes it. I hope so -- this is a special home for them and the area with this light fixture promises to be a high traffic area I think.

Mike has appointments for carpet installation and hardwood floor work to be done. I think most of that will be starting on Tuesday and keep going from there. It sounds like the home will be a new home by the time they finish.

Don and I are thinking of going up to see the house next weekend. I believe Phillip is thinking of going also as that is his short week. It should be fun to see them.

I have been excited to finally learn how to make my own mayonnaise. I have always been afraid of it but found it to be very exciting -- besides now I know exactly what I am eating.
It was really easy to do and it truyly surprised me.
I opted for the blender recipe which is:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 clove garlic
10 ounces olive oil -- poured slowly in blender as other ingredients were blending
1 teaspoon vinegar very last
Salt and Pepper to taste if desired

I followed the recipe and probably would not put the garlic in again for regular mayo.

Some options listed that sounded interesting to me were:

1. Add 8 ounces blue cheese at end for a blue cheese dressing
2. Increase mustard to 1 Tablespoon + add 1 teaspoon Worchestershire + a few drops of Tobasco Sauce for a Spicy version
3. Add 3-6 cloves garlic for a garlic mayo -- may be a good spread for a garlic bread
4. Add onion slice and herbs for a salad dressing

Because there is raw egg in the recipe it should be refrigerated and used in a short time -- not for a long storage time even in the refrigerator

I had fun -- hope you enjoy

The Web Marketing Checklist: 37 Ways to Promote Your Site

The Web Marketing Checklist: 37 Ways to Promote Your Site

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Just a Quick Update

Just letting you know that I am not forgetting to talk here. I have just been busy doing another blog which I hope will help the family out. I have been learning lots of things about computers and the world of "social networking". My head is very full.

I have started another blog just to try some things out. I have learned how to copy and paste better from one program to another program -- I do not know how many times I was very frustrated getting extra lines in my pastes into new programs -- this is getting better.

I am trying to figure out how to make a header for a website from several pictures that I want to put together. I guess the trick will be to get them so they do not look funny. I seem to have a problem with some of the pictures looking right when I upload them to the sites.

I have decided to try and put the cooking cards that Dale took on his mission up thinking that most of them were good old "family favorites" but there were some new ones he wanted also. They were supposed to be quick and easy but make him feel more comfortable with familiar foods. They will be going up in division groups he had. Those cards were originally printed on 1/4th size sheet of cardstock and Dale poked 1 hole in them. He put a big ring through the hole and then just flipped to the recipe he wanted. He could make notes on the backs of recipes if he decided to. The original cooking cards he had never made it back home when he returned from his mission. It did not matter because I had the file still in the computer and I am not sure if I will keep it after I enter it into the blog.

I may go back and insert comments on some of the recipes -- I have not decided yet. Maybe you have a suggestion as to what I should do.

I have also started entering a copy of the "genealogy cards" Dale wanted while he was out. He kept asking questions about our genealogy and for a birthday gift while he was on his mission I sent a copy of these cards out. I fixed them like he did the cooking cards. I have not seen them since he got back either. Anyway the information is still pertinent to our family and is in bite sized pieces. I welcome any comments and will include them with the files if you make any.

Just letting you know, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I am still here.
Love,
BJ

Mike' New House To Be

Mike got the word today that his last counter offer on a house he was working on is going accepted. They have been working on this particular house seriously since Friday when the price dropped $50,000.00. They arranged a walk through immediately and made an offer and went through several counter offers. Today an offer was accepted. It will be his!!!

Here are a few pictures although Michael has more on his blog. If you visit Michael's blog be sure to enlarge the pictures.

This is probably my favorite -- the stariway is beautiful and the special place on the landing looks beautiful.

This is my next favorite, what a stove.

You are right, it has a double sided fireplace between the master bedroom and the jetted two person bathtub.

Check with Mike for further details, I am sure he would appreciate your comments.