Burning Love

Getting kisses, hugs, and "I love you"s from my kids as they head out the door: ................................................................ Absolutely PRICELESS 

Doing so while holding oatmeal, fresh and bubbling out of the microwave, then getting tangled up, almost dropping it, so sticking a whole hand into the very hot (and sticky) cereal instead:  ............................ NOT RECOMMENDED

Healthy finger at the top, swollen, blistered finger underneath

I can tell you that is when oatmeal more closely resembles, as a friend put it, molten lava.

After several minutes under the coldest water (probably not anything near the 20 minutes first aid courses recommend, though), and after coating it generously and repeatedly with aloe vera gel and wrapping it in cold, wet cloths, it still felt like there had to be flames coming from my hand for the next couple of hours.


As it calmed down, the only visible damage was some redness on my ring and pinkie fingers, although I was quickly reminded of the event any time I scratched my hand, ran warm water on it, or stirred something steaming on the stove.  

It won't be fun if/when the blisters open,
but I promise not to post photos of that~

The next day the pinkie was quite blistered over both knuckles.  (Aloe vera often takes all the bite and redness from a burn for me, but this was a more serious case than I usually give it.)





New rules for handling hot oatmeal... or realistic ones, just now specified:

Two hands. 

No hugging.

:-)

Favored Apples

I had never seen such a thing before, and I searched the 'net for specific instructions I could share, but with no luck....

Our niece recently got married in a land far, far away. (On the East Coast)  So we weren't able to be there for the big day, but thankfully, she and her groom came this direction to have a second reception.

With them, they brought the favors they'd made for the wedding... Bagged spices to add to cider or mulled wine with custom made tags, and apples.  --Very special, monogrammed apples!  At first glance, some thought they were stenciled or carved, but no.

The wedding party had visited an apple orchard several weeks before the wedding.  There, they were able to stamp the initial on many, many apples, so that as they grew and turned red in the sun, the monogram stayed light.  Fun!

More Fallish Images from Around our Home

...But these don't give me the same type of happy feeling as my previous post!   :-(

Yep, amidst our unusually gorgeous and sunny autumn, the viruses have started.  We have 5 kids here with terrible colds, and one with a sore throat, so probably headed into the same.

Is it just in our house, or is the line blurring between cold and flu?  I thought colds were supposed to be fairly benign, it's-annoying-but-we-can-still-navigate-the-day type of illnesses.  Even though they don't have the fevers that occur with flu, the kids have complained of nausea, light-headedness, chills, and body aches, in addition to the classic sore throat, headache, congestion, and coughing.  Princess Artiste had to stay home from school a day this week because of it...  She wasn't too happy about that upon just returning to school after her 2 1/2 weeks of concussion care.

At least we have beautiful scenery out the windows.  

I hope you and yours are staying healthy during this back-to-school, fall season!  

Fallish Things

This is one of my favorite things about Fall...

Harvest time!  What a bounty, plus more to reach if we haul out a ladder. 

And plenty to share, too!

Why Don't I Get More Accomplished?

Where time (and gas money) goes... An example of one of my days this week (Wednesday).

 5:45 - 6:40   Sleepily arise, with 55 minutes to make breakfast and lunch for Hubby and, also, Prince Inventive, who is just getting used to early hours for college, and for whom preparing his own breakfast doesn't sound too appealing at the moment.

 6:40 - 7:15   Run Hubby to work.

 7:15 - 8:40  Home for 85 minutes to clean the kitchen, then rally Prince Go-for-It, make his lunch, and discuss schooling matters that probably involve cutting some of his junior high classes and welcoming him back to the homeschooling fold. 

 8:40 - 8:50  Take Prince Go-for-It to school.

 8:50 - 9:45  55 minutes to email the school and search out homeschooling materials suitable for remedial work and meeting 9th grade high school requirements.

 9:45 - 10:00  Take Princess Eager to church for her child care job.

 10:00 - 10:30  Go to chiropractor, only to find ours is out of the office today.

 10:30 - 11:10  40 minutes at home for more computer research and to help Prince CuddleBunny bring in the large cans from the street, in order to do some trash and other chores. 

 11:10 - 11:35  Pick up Princess Eager from church.

 11:35 - 1:00  Settled at home for 85 minutes to make and eat lunch, work with Prince CuddleBunny, answer emails, research running shoes to try to find answers to Prince Go-for-It's new knee pain and his recent propensity to wear out shoes within weeks.  Too much computer time today.

 1:00 - 2:30  Accompany Princess Artiste to (5th) concussion check at the pediatrician's office... She finally has the OK to return to school. -- Half days this week, and back to full time next.

 2:30 - 2:40  10 minutes to drop Princess Artiste off at home, use the restroom, and grab a snack... and Princess Eager.

 2:40 - 3:15  Princess Eager  goes to the junior high for volleyball practice.  Trade her for Prince Go-for-It who goes from the junior high and to the high school for Cross-Country practice.

 3:15 - 3:55  40 minutes to ready an oven chicken dish and black rice with veggies so that Princess Artiste can put them in the oven, and start them on the stove, respectively, while I am out.

 3:55 - 5:35  Prince CuddleBunny participates in a mile and a half run, also at the high school... 

Waiting at the start line

It is really meant for 7th and 8th graders, but the Cross Country team is hosting, so Hubby and Prince Go-for-It invited him to compete.  He took a wrong turn and had to double back, adding about a half mile to his run, but he still finished in the middle of the pack of kids 6 yrs older than he.

 5:35 - 5:50  Drive the runners and their coach (Hubby) home.

 5:50 - 6:00  10 minutes to use the restroom, check on dinner, and leave serving instructions.

 6:00 - 8:00   Leave most of the family to eat the dinner while Prince Go-for-It and I trek to a nearby town's running store for shoe advice.  We found a font of information in "Miguel" at Route 16, who was generous with his knowledge of feet and gait, shoe construction, and training methods for running.  After being talked out of the 'minimal shoes' he thought he wanted, that will cause more problems and wear out quickly, 
we found a pair of shoes Prince Go-for-It can love.  They should stop the injury process he'd recently entered, hopefully in time for his twilight race on Saturday.

 8:00 - 8:30  Stop at Costco for sustenance and a few needs, then on to Big 5 for urgent necessities requested by Princess Eager... Pre-wrap in her school colors, so she could make hair decor for Thursday's 'away' volleyball match.  ;-)

 9:00 - 11:00  Home to stay.  120 minutes to help 3 kids with varying homework assignments, make sure enough laundry got done so Hubby has boxers for the next day (which he didn't find, as they ended up in a pile in the girls' room), keep an eye on "X Factor"  ;-), make sure everyone got to bed, try to set plans with Hubby for the next day's travels and appointments, and finally get the shower I'd been hoping for all day!

Final Stats: 8 hours 20 minutes at home (divided into 9 sections!), 8 hours 25 minutes out and about ( in 8 separate outings).  

This day was a little bit of an exaggeration of the typical.  We obviously don't have school changes, doctor appointments, and running shoe emergencies daily, but often 1 or 2 things to take their place... There is a lot of busyness here this fall!

Unexpected Turns

I had some plans for this past week... Mostly homeschooling and running kids to activities, plus lots of arrangements to make for dental, vision, and other medical appointments for various family members.  I'd also hoped to get the van towed (after lots of research into finding just the right, reputable, affordable, local garage) to finally be repaired after a year of sitting.  And there was my mom's birthday, which I hoped to go celebrate with her in some way.

But the week took turns I hadn't expected.  

Turn 1) 
"Mom, can you come and get me?"  
Tuesday afternoon I got a call from a teary Princess Artiste who had slammed, forehead first, into another teammate during a 'swimming-as-fast-as-they-could' drill in swim practice.  
She was in lots of head and neck pain, but wasn't sick or light sensitive, could recount the whole event, and made sense when she spoke.  I decided it would be OK to keep an eye on her for the evening and a nurse in the pediatrician's office agreed.

The next morning she was still in enough pain that school didn't seem possible.  I realized I had NO idea about when it might be appropriate to send her back to school or swimming, so off to the doctor we went.  After extensive questioning and testing, the doctor confirmed that she had a concussion, and prescribed complete physical and cognitive rest.  No sports, no school, no homework, no movies, tv, or video games, no work this weekend, and only light reading for about 15 minutes at a time, and lots of rest and sleep...for a usually very active girl.  Fun.

She was rechecked Friday, but her main symptoms (pain, fatigue, a little foggy thinking) hadn't diminished much, so the prescribed boredom will continue until she feels more like herself.  She has to be pain-free, without the help of pain relievers, before she can try even a half day back at school.  School will be added slowly, and only then will we talk about resuming any swim practice.  A disappointing way to start a sports season, but I'm happy with the care and caution of, not only her doctor, but the athletic medicine supervisor and her coach at school.  Brains are important!

--And so much for swimming being a non-contact sport...

Turn 2)
Frozen computer -> Restart with the screen showing only a folder with a flashing question mark -> lost hard drive.  :-{

Prince Stoic has used his iMac computer for about 5 or 6 years without a hitch.  Princess Bossy has had her Mac laptop since 2008, also without a problem.  I have mine for 2 years and phht.  

I posted on Facebook that I thought God was trying to tell me something... But was it to stay off the computer or to blog about DIY computer repair?  Just joking around, of course.  But since this hard-drive death came after the online game on which I'd become addicted (slightly obsessively) progressed to level 21, mysteriously reset to level 1  (We'd tried to do that weeks ago and couldn't do it), and after Ancestry.com kept signing me out between every record search... I actually think that maybe His message was to "Step away from the pretty, flashing box.... and live your life!"

It's amazing how many times a day I've caught myself trying to check that now-black screen for time or indication of an email message.  Now I've returned to my less-than-reliable PC laptop that can take up to 20 minutes to start up.  It's much less tempting to use as often.

But I've ordered a new hard-drive, so that DIY repair post might be possible yet...

Turn 3)
I want to be clear that I don't mean to belittle this one, by listing it in any kind of casual manner.  We got one of those calls that must come, but are never fun.  Hubby's mom, who had struggled with non-Alzheimer's dementia for the last decade or so, and especially worse in the last 2 years since his dad passed away, was mercifully taken Home by the Lord on Wednesday afternoon. It wasn't a surprise, but the earthly finality is still a difficult thing. We rejoice in her peace and heavenly restoration, plus her reunion with her husband, her younger sister, and her parents, all of whom preceded her.  

Holding hands again in Eternity

...I'll be loving you Always
With a love that's true Always.
When the things you've planned
Need a helping hand,
I will understand Always.

Always.

Days may not be fair Always,
That's when I'll be there Always.
Not for just an hour,
Not for just a day,
Not for just a year,
But Always.

I'll be loving you, oh Always
With a love that's true Always....

Irving Berlin

 --Words from my in-laws' wedding song, and a promise they kept to each other every day of their lives.

 The upside of such events is the reminder of values and priorities, and the extra and special time we've taken with Hubby's brothers and sisters-in-law. We've met to discuss arrangements for the services, which will be Monday, but have also shared some laughs over memories and old photos.

My Guest Gardener

See this lovely petunia?  I really love the soft, pink color, and the plant looks so healthy.

The funny thing is, I planted peas in that pot (far more than sprouted), and can take no credit for the petunia's existence nor heartiness...


and we don't have another petunia anywhere in the yard or container gardens.  

It was a bit of a mystery, until Prince Cuddlebunny  watched a hummingbird feeding from the fuchsias above (no photos, he was too fast!)... 
"Ew, he pooped!"

Ew, maybe... But, aha!  The petunia seed source, I'm sure.  And simultaneous fertilization obviously makes for a healthy seedling.

I will no longer be so cavalier as to taste my basil or other herbs, also growing in pots along the edge of the porch, without a thorough rinsing!