There's an App for Rain

We've been keeping track of rainfall here for several years. Today I downloaded a Rain Tracker iphone app so if anyone ever asks, I can look up the rainfall on my app. Just so you know, rainfall in January 2011 was -- just a minute, let me look -- 2.48 inches. Okay, then.

Khirla's Stone

This is Khirla's intestinal stone. Poor horse. No wonder she was sick. The stone is larger than a grapefruit.

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night

It was cold and windy this morning when we took our walk around the ranch and by dusk it had started to rain. We took dinner to Mom's tonight. I made a salad and had some left-over vegetarian chili. Geno, staying in his RV on the ranch, made some "sausage bread," a version of Stromboli, which he shared with us. I looked on the internet and found quite a few recipes for sausage bread. It was really good.

No Peugeot

Okay, no Peugeot. We thought we would test drive one, but found there are no dealers in San Diego. So I guess that car is out. A friend suggested we buy a Camero convertible because it was his dream car. Ummm, no. We're still looking.

New Car

Peugeot Hybrid Concept Car

We're in the market for a new car (since the Honda got smashed and has over 125,000 miles) and are taking suggestions. We already have a vote for a Peugeot 3008 crossover. Apparently there is (will be?) a hybrid diesel-electric version. Any other suggestions?

Mom's Home

Thanks to all of you who viewed my blog and commented with good wishes for Mom. You'll be happy to know that she came home from the hospital yesterday even though her pulse rate was still lower than normal. Normal is between 60 and 100 and she was running in the 40s and sometimes 50s.

When I called her this morning at 8 a.m. she had already taken the dog for a walk. She sounded fine over the phone--back to her old self. She even readily agreed to lunch with Dennis, who returned from skiing last night. Finally, my little family is back together on the ranch.

Zapped and Captured

Mom and I got up at 4 a.m. this morning and left the ranch at 5 a.m. so we could be at Green Hospital at 6:30 a.m. so Mom could be prepped for her cardioversion procedure scheduled for 8:30. Everything went smoothly. She went in at 8:30 and they called me from the waiting room at 9:15. The procedure was a success in that her heart rate became regular, but at too slow a rate. So they are keeping Mom for one or two days while they adjust her medication and increase her heart rate. Oh my.

Hell's Bells

What a day! I was feeling so good about getting an appointment with a new cardiologist for my Mom on the very same day we already had to travel to Torrey Pines for another doctor appointment. One trip instead of two. That's good, especially because it's about 1.5 hours portal to portal.

My poor Honda

On the way in to town, some big metal thing came flying through the air and slammed into the front passenger side fender. The car started making noise after that, so I pulled off the freeway and took a look. What a mess. We were close to Honda, so we drove there and they were nice enough to pull off the big plastic thingy that is normally tucked nicely under the fender but which, in this case, was dragging across the tire.

AND YET, we arrived on time. But the doctor was held up so we had to wait awhile. During the consultation appointment they found that Mom was in afib  again and needed another cardioversion, the last one being in April 2010.  So back we go tomorrow at 5 a.m. to get Mom zapped.

On the way back home we narrowly missed a big wad of steel wire on the freeway. Is the sky falling or what?

Plus, the wind is blowing like crazy around here.

Hell's bells.

Where did the weekend go?

We had so much going on this weekend, I woke up Monday morning feeling like there was no weekend. Let's see, Friday night Mom, Gary, Angie, Dennis and I went to dinner at my cousin Vince's house. We had a great time reminiscing about the old days. Linda made baked chicken, potatoes, and asparagus. It was delicious. She also made a chocolate cake complete with candles for my birthday. I guess I had one more day to my birthday week. Thankfully, I was able to blow out the candles.

Alora, age 1

Early Saturday morning Dennis and I flew out to Sacramento. We rented a car and drove to Grass Valley for Dennis's granddaughter's one-year birthday party. Her name is Alora and she is adorable. Such a sweet baby.

We had a chance to visit historic downtown Grass Valley, too. We liked the town, especially the chocolate shop and the bamboo store. At the chocolate shop we found the same kinds of candies we made in our class. The bamboo shop had sheets, towels, and clothing made of bamboo. I'm visiting that store again online.

After watching Alora open tons of presents and having some food and cake, we drove back to Sacramento, found a hotel, and went to dinner at Fat City in Old Sacramento. Next morning we flew back to San Diego. Dennis's Uncle Johnny picked us up at the airport around 1 p.m. and we went to lunch at the Fish Market near Seaport Village.

Back to Uncle Johnny's house in Lakeside to pick up our car and decide what to do to kill time before a concert at 7:30 p.m.  We decided on a movie (The King's Speech), followed by a slice of pie at Coco's in El Cajon. Then we drove back to San Diego for a concert featuring Tom Paxton, a folk singer from the 60s. That was fun, but I had a hard time staying awake past my normal 8:30 p.m. bedtime. Finally we came home around 11:30 p.m. and got up Monday morning at 5:30 a.m.

See what I mean about a lost weekend?

Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili

I made this in a slow cooker tonight. It's a bit spicy, so if you want to try it, you can adjust the chili powder and cajun seasoning. I like it spicy, though. You don't need a slow cooker, either. Last time I made it, I just used a dutch oven on the stovetop. I suppose you could bake it, too.

Company coming? This is an easy, no fail dish you can serve with a green salad and sour-dough bread.

Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili

1 15-oz. can no-salt-added red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz. can small white beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz. can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chile peppers, undrained

1 cup beer or chicken broth

3 tablespoons chocolate-flavored syrup

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

Dairy sour cream as topping (optional)

Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Note: When I made this, I didn't drain the beans, just emptied the cans in the slow cooker. The result was a more liquid chili and I liked it that way. I've made this before doing it the "correct" way and that was good, too. I served this tonight with the sour cream and the cheddar cheese because I like both. You can leave out the cheese and/or the sour cream if you want, but you'll be missing something.

Happy Birthday to Me

Finally, the Birthday Week is over. Today is the day and I celebrated by going on a horseback ride in the Lagunas with my friend, Joyce. When I got back I treated myself to a quiet afternoon in front of the fireplace with a good book...on my Kindle. Tonight my husband made dinner for me--broccoli beef over Japanese noodles. It was delicious. A very good birthday.

A Sad Day

Raffi and Khirla

Today was a very sad day at the ranch. Our Arabian horse, Khirla, was not improving despite the procedures and medications we've been trying for over a week now. We had to put her down today. It turned out she had a large intestinal stone and, at age 24, she was too old to undergo an operation to remove the stone.

We've had horses for many years and there have been other times we've had to have horses put down. It's never easy, but it's especially painful since Khirla has been part of our family for such a long time. When I bought my mare, Raffi, years ago, Khirla was just a 6-month-old filly at her side. We decided to buy both mare and foal and were never disappointed with either of them.

Khirla got her name, Khirla-Q, because of the way she held her tail when she ran -- raised up high and curled over her back. What a beauty. She looks like a brown horse here, but over time she turned "grey" like her mother.

My Birthday Week Continues

Yesterday, Dennis took me out to lunch (which was also our dinner). Today, Mom, Angie and I had a girls day out today. After my doctor's appointment in Rancho San Diego we went to Kohl's in Santee to exchange one of my birthday presents. No luck finding the right size. Then we went to Marrieta's for lunch, rolled ourselves back to the car and trundled back to Rancho San Diego where we tried our luck at the Kohl's there. Nope. We returned the item for store credit instead. That means another shopping day. On the way home we stopped at Viejas Outlet Center to exchange some jeans at Chicos. Success there. We have to go back to that store--my size is zero.

On the down side, Khirla is not any better. She's not eating and keeps curling her lip (pain). When we returned today she was lying down in the pasture. I gave her some pain medicine and a bran mash for dinner. Long-term, it's not looking good.

Post Birthday Bash

Chocolate cake with creme brulee filling and chocolate icing. Yum. The cake was delicious and I only had to blow out one candle. As old as I am and I still got presents. Thanks guys.

Neck and Neck

My sister (2squirrels.blogspot.com) and I are running neck and neck on our blogging entries. She beat me to it today reporting on MY birthday bash...or was that "hash?" She's right, it is my birthday week, but it actually started last night when Dennis finally succumbed to my nagging for chocolate chip cookies. No one makes better chocolate chip cookies than he does and I've been craving them for awhile now. So last night I ate chocolate chip cookies to my heart's content and nearly fainted from the sugar high.

This morning we had brunch at the La Posta Casino and tonight we will have chocolate cake that both Dennis and Mom have had a hand in making.

All this talk about food is significant because I've been on a no or low carb diet since June. I was doing fairly well until Christmas and have been trying to set my diet back to the new normal (carb-less) all month. So this birthday frivolity must end. But when will it end? My birthday isn't until Thursday. Egad.

It wasn't all about food. Khirla gave me a present by feeling better today and blasting out her gate to the pasture just like old times. Dennis surprised me with a bouquet of flowers, no mean feat since the nearest florist is 30 miles away. I know what he does--he hides them somewhere until I go to bed then leaves them for me to find in the morning. A card came with the flowers and another one was hidden in my laptop. It fell out when I opened the lid this morning.

My sister says there will be presents tonight because she's running out of time to return it if necessary. Dennis says there will be no presents as far as he's concerned until Thursday...my REAL birthday. That probably means he hasn't gotten me anything yet, you never know with him.

Khirla

The vet came over again today to see Khirla, our 24-yr-old Arabian mare. She's not eating and curls her lip up, signifying pain. She doesn't seem to be in the severe, sweat-producing pain that accompanies colic (big stomach ache); but she's not eating or pooping, the two things horses normally excel at.

The vet gave her intravenous liquids, pumped oil through a hose inserted in her nose to lubricate her stomach and intestines, took blood samples and gave a rectal exam. Yikes! Poor Khirla.

We will watch her through the weekend; with any luck she will get better and feel like eating again.

Country Strong

Movie Tuesday was a success. Perhaps because of our diminished expectations (movies haven't been great lately), we all enjoyed and stayed awake throughout the movie, Country Strong. The best scene, I think, was Gwyneth Paltrow's comeback performance after being laid low by alcoholism. The popcorn was hot, too.

Movie Tuesday

Today is Movie Day. I think we are going to see Country Strong with Gwyneth Paltrow. More on this later.

Email Mystery

My Outlook stopped working correctly on January 2. Since then, for some mysterious reason, my incoming mail briefly lands in my inbox, then after a minute or so it clunks down into the Deleted folder. What's that about?

January 2011

The year started in the right way: Tacos at our house with the usual suspects: Mom, Angie, Gary, Dennis & me. And Spike & 50-50, of course. Can you tell they are not happy?

It's all ready Jan. 10, so I'm late starting the 2011 blog. I had to catch up with the last two years of no entries. It's been a good year so far. I had a horseback riding lesson with by trainer and friend, Betsy, on Wednesday and went trail riding with my friend Joyce for the first time since my knee accident on August 3, 2010. We went to the Laguna Mountains and the entire trail was under snow. My horse, Doc, loved it. I was wearing my new ACL brace and was a little nervous about slipping on the ice (either me or Doc). But there were no mishaps. On the trail someone had built a small, 3-ft. tall snowman. Doc took one look at it and I could just hear him thinking, "No way I'm going past that horse-eating monster!" He did eventually, of course, or I'd still be out there.

Recap 2010

Medicare
What a way to start the year. I turned 65 in January and had to make the adjustment to Medicare. Apparently, this triggered the signal to fall apart. In March I had a stroke...really? a stroke?...isn't that what happens to old people? Luckily, I had no lasting effects except some slight vision damage. However, once they get you (the medical establishment), they feel they can change and control your life. First, get rid of the PremPro, welcome back hot flashes. Then shed 10 lbs. within two months. No Jenny Craig, just quit eating all carbs (bread, pasta, pie, fruit, crackers, cereal) and, by the way, don't eat meat either. Hello nuts and vegetables. Next it's either cholesterol medicine or holistic therapies such as niacin, red yeast rice, chelated magnesium and fish oil. Have you ever taken niacin? And I thought hot flashes were bad. Finally, lower that blood pressure--another tiny pill to take and double your exercise, too. So instead of my usual daily mile walk on the ranch trail, I started climbing the hills behind our home. My dear husband has been with me every step of the way. He even cooks low-cal, high veggie dinners for us.

Cry Fowl
We added more wild birds to our collection, including 13 wild turkeys. They are beautiful from the neck down--heads not so much. But amusing, yes. I don't know what they're thinking, but they seem to like to follow...people, dogs, cats, cars, whatever is moving ahead of them.
Camping
We acquired a camper and took it for a try-out at Lake Morena. Spike came with us, sleeping in his own pup tent.

My Bike Accident
Dennis & I took a couple of rented electric bikes out for a trial ride in August. We'd been riding for a couple of hours when I had an accident and blew out my knee. Long story short, the worst part was my ACL detached and it took about 5 months before I could ride my horse again. In December I was able at least to get up on Doc, even though we didn't go anywhere.

September Wedding
Perhaps the best of 2010 came when my nephew, Bryan, married a sweetheart of a girl, Danielle. They decided to set their wedding date on the day my parents (Bryan's grandparents) were married--September 25. That made my Mother very, very happy. The wedding was held at Danielle's parents' gorgeous home in Rancho Santa Fe. Great niece Amanda was one of the two flower girls (Amanda on left, Simone on right). The girls were cute, cute, cute. It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy for them!

Trips
When I could walk again, we took a couple of trips: San Francisco to see Cavalia, a Cirque du Solei with horses, and to Washington State to visit friends and relatives in Washington and Canada.
Rally to Restore Sanity
In October we attended a local Rally to Restore Sanity, not the one in Washington, DC, but a satellite one in San Diego.
A Sicilian Christmas
My Mom and I have been talking about putting together a recipe book of all the traditional foods we prepare at Christmas. This year Mom, my sister Angie, and I finally did it.
Sandy Creek Designs
My glass fusing endeavor has evolved over the year and I decided to try to sell some of my jewelry and glass art. My friend, Betsy, and I set up tables at the Pine Valley Days craft show and I started a website and new business called Sandy Creek Designs. The website is not done yet but I'm working on it.

That about sums it up for 2010. Not an especially good year, but it ended on an up note anyway. Now I can get on with 2011's blog. I hope I can keep up this time. Only time will tell.

Recap 2009

Glass Fusing
In January I took a glass fusing class at Blue Dolphin Stained Glass store in San Diego. I started making glass pendants using a microwave kiln. Dennis bought me a glass kiln and I started making more and better jewelry, plates, bowls, spoon rests, and vases. In truth, they are cluttering up the place.
Other Hobbies
My knitting continued to progress at the same time. This year I concentrated on making socks and learning lace knitting. Mom relearned to knit this year after crocheting for many years. Dennis still plays his violin, although his time for practicing has diminished in direct relation to his work schedule.
Dog Diary
We lost two dogs this year: Ghost and Shadow, 13-year-old litter mates, half samoyed, half lab. They were our black and white bookends and we miss them.

Kindle-ites
Mom, Dennis and I have given up hardback books in favor of digital books on our Kindles. We LOVE the kindle! It's so easy to carry around, no more big, heavy books to pack and lug around when we travel, no more storage problems.
Sandy Creek Forest
Our tree planting is finally making a difference. From spring through fall you can barely see any of the buildings on the ranch from the road.
Back to the Mac
I now have an iMac in my home office along with the obligatory PC.
The Bells are Ringing
Dennis built a carillon that chimes at the hour and quarter hour and plays a tune at the half hour. He programmed it with Christmas carols that play all year round!
Travel
To make a long story short: Northern Italy and Switzerland in September and San Francisco in November. For Christmas, Dennis, Mom and I met my sister Angie and brother-in-law Gary in Branson, MO, for a week of nonstop entertainment. We loved it.
Ranch Projects
No house remodel, no garage, but we have plans to enlarge the guest house just a little. However, Dennis did remodel the garden, putting in some planter boxes and many vegetable plants.

Ok, that's a very quick recap of 2009. On to 2010.

I Had a Stroke and Forgot I Had a Blog

My sister and I were looking at her blog (2squirrels.blogspot.com) and I clicked on the link she had to my blog. OMG, the last entry was December 2008! How could I ever catch up? So my clever sister gave me the line for the title of this comeback blog.

I did have a stroke, but it was last March, not two years ago. Then I blew out my knee, but that was last August, so my excuses are pretty thin. I could just start with January 2011 as if the last two years didn't happen (wouldn't mind skipping 2010 actually), but my left brain won't let me. Therefore, I'll do a recap of 2009 and one of 2010, then I'll try to keep up. How's that sound?