Black and Blue

Am I among the last to have heard of Black Rice?  It caught my eye at Costco, and Princess Artiste said it had been mentioned in her nutrition class and was supposed to be very good.


It's very black when dry and turns a purply blue when cooked.  It still looks almost black, and so actually, pretty gross looking.  I heard reactions like 'completely burned,' 'blackberry jam,' and other descriptive terms.  It has as many antioxidants as blueberries, but without more complex carbs instead of fruit sugar.  Each serving has 2 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein.


I cooked ours in chicken broth... a 1 to 2 ratio (2 cups rice and 4 cups broth), like for white rice.  It cooked for 35 minutes, so between white and brown for cooking time.'


Meanwhile, I stir fried chicken breast pieces, celery, green onion, and carrots, and mixed a sauce of water, soy sauce, garlic powder, dried ginger, a bit of cayenne pepper, plus splashes of rice vinegar, blue agave nectar, and sesame oil.

Not the most attractive meal!

The family was leery of the appearance.  It was like eating blind, because the chicken and veggies were mostly masked in the blackness, and we never knew what might be hiding in each bite.  As it was all good, it was a little fun.  We all had bluish teeth for the rest of the evening, but there wasn't a morsel left over.

One Hurdle Down

What is it about getting on the phone and actually committing to things like a mammogram and the dreaded colonoscopy?  I finally ignored my pounding heart, and made an appointment this morning to have a mammogram next week.

Original Image Source

It's been 2 years since my last one.  Why?  Because almost every time I have one, I am 'invited' back for mysterious 'further views' and sometimes an ultrasound.  How much radiation from mammograms before they start causing problems instead of finding?


And I've had 4 separate biopsies.  Some of those biopsies, I'm pretty certain, resulted in some of those extra views to look more closely at 'troublesome spots' and also the cyst I had 2 years ago that created a very scary lump.   A lot of anxiety and adrenalin stirred up for what turned out to be nothing... So many times!!  While I'm aggravated about the false alarms, I'm certainly thankful they were false.


Time to put that all behind me and face the test again.  No use risking my life because I'm tired of being aggravated.


Now for the colonoscopy.  That's so much tougher, as I have to plan to give 2 days to it (neither sounding too fun), and will have to rely on another person of driving age to give up one of those days with me, so scheduling that is challenging in addition to nerve-wracking.  


I'm sharing all these jitters and blather to possibly let someone know they're not alone in their fears, and to encourage anyone in a similar situation to join me in catching up with those tests that may have been put off...

A Day in the Sun

The kitties didn't mind the messy bed

I pretty much took a lot of the day "off" today.  The grass is too long, the garden's a mess, the bread drawer is getting empty, and I made a very feeble attempt at making our bed...








I spent the morning hours awaiting news of my mom's pacemaker implantation, which went well, and is supposed to improve her previously tough recovery.  
She needs to rest the remainder of the day (I sure hope my dad and sister are able to do the same), and I decided to do a little of that myself.  


Prince CuddleBunny and I took a walk around the yard with Henry, enjoying the finally-arrived spring weather, buds, and blooms.


The prince even cut me some spring to bring inside.

It was a lazy day for many

After lunch, the tasks needing attention called to me, but the blue skies and the lounge chair in the sun called louder!  

Ignore the raggedy lawn and dandelions... I did.

The phone had to go with me, just
in case there were any Mom-updates

I gathered my pillow, a notepad, and the book I'm reading and planned to head out.  I stopped to snap a couple of photos, and Princess Sassy asked what I was doing. 

Prince CuddleBunny abandoned his bike riding for some
quiet time in the tree, enjoying the day for himself

I said I was taking pictures of my day off for a blog post, and she asked, "Doesn't that mean you're not taking it off?"  I suppose she's right that I might be a little addicted to multi-tasking...  But I was tired of the stagnant blog, and I did manage to spend a little time just closing my eyes and enjoying the warmth, too.


Now it's time for Pizza Night, and to make sure there's bread for the weekend...  I'll be visiting my mom, hoping to see her energy build.  


Have a good one!

Birthdays, Surgery, Garage... Just an Update

Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes for my busy week last week and my mom's surgery.  I spent a lot of time driving back and forth to be with my parents, and home to tend to birthday celebrations, sports physicals, and the 2 who are still fighting major symptoms of their latest respiratory virus. 
I still need to get back there often, of course, although life has kept me home for a couple of days in a row now.  I feel badly about being away from Mom and Dad, but it's a slight respite... An opportunity my parents and my sister, unfortunately, don't get.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Hubby and I missed the egg coloring and next day's hunt,
but we had a nice Easter morning with Grandpa, and look
forward to years of egg hunts ahead...

Mom's surgery went fine.  They replaced the valve and carved away some overgrown muscle tissue that would interfere with healthy operation.  All good.  
 - But her recovery has not gone as hoped.  She was supposed to be up and walking by last Thursday, but that hasn't happened yet.  The heart, so far, anyway, isn't taking over like it is supposed to.  This probably means she needs a pacemaker of her own to hit the ground running walking toward recovery, but the doctor is in the process of making that decision.


Hubby is happy that he met his big goal for his Spring Break... The floor has been poured for the garage floor.  Because of using a somewhat beat-up, rental power trowel, it's not as sleekly smooth as he might have liked, but he's proud that it's flat and will very much do the job as a very nice garage/shop project floor.  It'll be a few weeks until we can drive on it.                                                          

  





I'm glad that Princess Sassy reminded that we should write in it. 
















The dogs have already made their marks in it, too, which raised a few hairs on the back of Hubby's neck, but it's beautiful, and means we can start framing soon.  YAY.

He is Risen! Happy Easter

Spring "Break" - ?

Sorry to be taking another blog break, but I don't see writing time in this week's schedule! 

- Hubby is working on the garage/bonus addition, planning to pour the slab floor for the garage portion, and also is going to try to start a remodel job for a colleague to help pay for the garage.  The car needs oil and maybe brakes.  Trees need planting.  It won't all happen, but after dedicating most of Sunday to putting together a million parts, the compost tumblers are complete! 

 - My mom has heart valve replacement surgery on Wednesday.  I am taking lunch down to their house today to visit with my parents, and also my brother, who is here from Ohio.   

- Wednesday is also the day Prince Inventive is 18 and Princess Artiste is 16. Thursday Prince CuddleBunny is 8!   I still don't have their respective dinner and cake requests yet.

 - Prince Go-for-It and Princess Artiste are due for their sports physicals... Artiste's was Monday and Go-for-It's is Thursday.   

 - My brother leaves to go back home on Saturday, which means my dad will be alone at home unless my sister or I jump in to stay with him from then through next week, until our older sister arrives to help out on the 11th.  I'm at least planning to be there at least that first day and night, as company, plus chief cook and bottle-washer, and chauffeuring between home and the hospital. 

 - Sunday, of course, is Easter. We usually go to Mom's and Dad's for dinner and fun, but with Mom in the hospital, this year will be different.  It will be tough for me to be away for "Easter Eve," and miss the egg and basket hunt early Sunday morning before church.  This will all take some planning, and enlisting the aid of "assistant bunnies." I'll also miss attending church with my family, but we all know that Grandma and Grandpa come first this week.

 - Add to all this, Princess Artiste is pushing to go to the DMV to get her permit, and Inventive needs to renew his permit, then finally schedule his driving test to get his license (put off because he didn't want to have to pay insurance), so that's always fun to look forward to... A few hours in the DMV...twice.  ;-)

Be back as soon as I can...   I wish you all a blessed Easter.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade."   1 Peter 1: 3 - 4

Buttoned Up

I have a "Button!"  Not sure it was urgent to have one, but now I know how it works in case I ever host a link party or other special event.  If you'd like to display my button, though, (which would be cool!) just copy and paste the code from under the button in my blog's right column.

It was fun to create, and I have Sew Well Maide to thank.  If you want to make your own blog button, you can check out her helpful instructions and links at Tortured by Technology - A Collation of Tutorials: Part 1 - The Blog Button.