MARCH ROUNDUP

 I have made a decision to blog once a month to let everyone know what is going on.  At least for now.  I do still stop in and read your posts and occasionally comment so I am still around.

So let me tell you what's happening.

At the beginning of the month I decided that I needed to eat healthier.  Eating a bunch of junk food because I am too sick to cook just wasn't cutting it.  So I looked back through my posts and found the ones from when I used to go to the farm every other week.  I wrote down what I was given there.  Joe and I used to belong to a co-op which was fun because we paid a fee at the beginning of the season and then twice a month got a box of food.  We never knew what would be in the box and ended up trying all kinds of fruits and vegetables that we wouldn't ordinarily have eaten.  We ended up liking a lot of them.  What I made from this first purchase was an apple pie from Honeycrisp apples.  So good.

I also made a quiche with some spinach and mushrooms that I had gotten.

I used a lot of the veggies to make some chicken vegetable soup and others to make wonderful salads.  I also made wonderful roasted parsnips and a baked acorn squash.  Yes, we ate good this month.

On Thursday the 14th I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned.  When I got there I went to the handicapped entrance and rang the bell.  A guy whom I had never seen before opened the door for me.  He let me in and walked to the waiting room with me.  He told me that he was a new employee and didn't know how to check me in, so I had to wait for another person to check that I was there.  I noticed that all of the techs were people that I had never seen.

I was taken to the exam room and another girl who was new to me took the xrays and got me settled in.  Then a dentist walked in and introduced herself to me.  I asked if Dr. Reed was off that day and she told me that Dr. Reed and her husband (also her partner dentist) had retired and sold her the practice.  Well that explained a lot!  But this new dentist was great.  Very gentle.  Very nice.  In fact the entire office was great.  So I will be going back there.  But what a surprise!

The 14th was also Pi Day.  I was going to go to the store and buy an apple pie, but Joe and I went this direction instead.

Mushroom and green pepper.  It was good.

On Wednesday the 20th I decided to make some bread.  In Bible Study the day before some of us were talking about making bread, kneading bread, hand making bread vs. a bread machine.  So I got it into my head to do this.

Instead of making my usual Betty Crocker bread recipe, I went online and looked up "Amish bread recipes".  I found one that looked easy and it really was.  Here is the link to the recipe:  Amish White Bread Recipe (allrecipes.com).   I had everything I needed in the house except bread flour.  I just used regular white flour and it turned out fine.

I had chicken tenders and asparagus for dinner.  I wanted to have the bread too, but I didn't time it right and it wasn't done baking.  (The bread didn't rise even after an hour because it wasn't warm in the kitchen. I ended up putting the dough in a slightly warm oven to rise and that set me back.)  It looked SO GOOD when I took it out from baking.  The color was perfect and when I sliced it, the slice looked perfect too.  And the taste!  It was not like any bread I have ever made.  There is sugar in it and it is a sweet bread (sort of like Hawaiian rolls if you have those near you).  I am definitely making it again.  Three hours start to finish.

Sorry I don't have a picture for you, but it didn't last very long.  There's a picture in the recipe, though, and that's exactly what it looked like.

That bread didn't last long.  I am making another loaf today or tomorrow.  Joe said it was the best bread I have ever made.

Well, this month has not ended well.  My best friend Debbie was diagnosed with brain, lung and liver cancer.  After a week in the hospital, she came home yesterday.  Her entire life has changed and there are big adjustments to be made.  I will help her as much as I can, but I am taking care of Joe and his ongoing illnesses as well as trying to be good to myself.  I have not had an afib event in almost a year and now I am having a lot of them.  I think because I am so stressed.  I try to calm myself down because if I am in the hospital I am not doing anyone any good (including myself).  But it is hard.

I took Joe to the VA Hospital the other day and used my new walker (or rollator?  It has wheels.) to get around.  It was easier than the cane for sure.  It also has a seat which was very helpful.  But a lot of places do not accommodate a large walker.  So I am still using the cane also.  Good to have a choice though.

I am going to post this today (the 27th) and give you another post for Easter.  This has worked out so well for me.  If I want to post, I do.  But I have a running post for the month that I can write a few sentences.  I'm going to continue on like this for the next few months and see what happens.

Thanks for sticking with me.  I will be back later this week.

Kathy