Picture Sunday

Hello, end of weekenders, and welcome to another Picture Sunday in Betland.

I need to start things off with some thank yous and apologies. Thanks to everyone who sent along good thoughts and wishes to my mom, aka Granny. And apologies as well, because I know I should have come along one day last week to update you all on the situation. Things were just very hectic in Betland, and even when I was in town I was trying to get caught up on all the stuff I fell behind on when I was out of town.

For the interested, the story goes like this.

My mom was having a heart cath Monday in R'noke. The family went down the night before, as it's a 2-hour drive and she had to be there at 6:30am. She had the procedure, and the news wasn't good. Of the three main arteries leading to the heart, one was blocked 90%. One was blocked about 60%, and the other was OK. Normally under such conditions, open heart surgery would be the next step. However, the cardiologist and surgeon conferred and decided that Granny (who's not a well woman, as you've heard me say) was too high-risk a case for this. Her psoriasis, age, general condition, it just wasn't optimal. The drugs she's on for the psoriasis would make the risk of infection greater, and would also leave her less able to deal with any infection. They decided to put a stent into the most blocked artery, on Wednesday. They kept her Monday and Tuesday night, since we were so far from the hospital.

I came back home Monday night so I could work on Tuesday, but it was hard leaving. My mom was very weak, having trouble breathing, and was more than a little nervous about it all. She was in capable hands, though, not only the hands of her doctors, but the blue hands of Huckleberry Hound, who went to stay with her in the hospital. (For the uninitiated, Huckleberry stays with any family member in the hospital. He's so far been 100% in the good luck department.)

I went back to R'noke on Tuesday night, and Mom had the stent put in on Wednesday as planned. It went very well. She actually did better overall on Wednesday than she did Monday. In fact, she was a little feisty on Wednesday, and had nurses threatening to tape her head and arms to the bed because she kept trying to sit up. They finally let her sit up around 6pm, and so I left her once again to come back and man my post at TheCompanyIWorkFor on Thursday. My sister brought my mom and dad home Thursday.

And she's been doing pretty good. They said it might take 2 or so weeks for her to start feeling the full effects of the stent, but so far she says she's feeling better, has a little more energy, she got to start driving again on Saturday, and I just saw her today and she's looking well. So I hope this is the beginning of a turnaround I was hoping for.

Friday started to feel like normal again. Mom was home, and Thursday after work I got to go pick up podmobile2 from the shop. The hail dents are gone, $2200 and a new hood later, and I was happy to hand the rented pimpmobile, aka Rockin' Delta Black (thanks, Patrick) back to the rental place.

And Friday - well, you know how you just feel like buying something for no reason in particular? I'd walked down to the pharmacy to get something to drink (yes, my small town's pharmacy has a fountain), and saw something. 50% off, and I was in the mood to hand over some money.

And so - I bought Sherman a horse.




















His name is Mr Steed, and he's very soft. He came with his own saddle, and he and Sherman are getting along like a house afire. As you can see from the photo, where they're roaming the vast plains of the Poderosa's driveway. I was hoping Mr Steed would stay tied up outside eating my grass to the point where I wouldn't have to mow it anymore, but I have a feeling that won't be the case and I'll have yet one more border here at the Poderosa. However, he does seem to know a smattering of Spanish and was conversing with Che Guellama earlier today. So maybe he can be the official translator.

Last night was a real treat for me. My first trip to B'burg in over 2 weeks. Off to Mr M's, Poderosa East, to visit with him and - Kellie with an ie! Yes, Kellie was in Raleigh, NC, for work purposes and made a trip up to B'burg to visit. It was so good seeing her again. We all (Mr M, Kellie, me, the kids, and DeepFatFriar) had burgers on the grill and just relaxed and caught up. After the week I'd just endured, it was perfect.




















Kellie had to leave, though, way too soon, and Mr M and I squeezed in a few clarinet duets before I headed back home. I would have liked to stay overnight, but I had so many things at home I needed to catch up on, and knew I'd end up lolling around in B'burg today wasting my day away if I stayed. So I high-tailed it back to B'field, got in in the wee morning hours, finished up a Comfy Chair movie, and hit the hay.

Then today it was general housework and recipe making. And yes, folks, an actual recipe du jour is back. No handing Mr Peabody a stick of licorice, no spreading frosting on a rake. I actually cooked for you, dear readers.

Which is not to say I splashed out money-wise. I'm proud to say this little foray into the kitchen cost me nothing. I had everything already at hand. So, I must ask. What does one do when one loves Mexican food but doesn't get nearly enough green vegetables in one's diet? Well, now one takes out this recipe card and makes dinner. From the "Veggies Go Mexican!" file at cardland, will you please welcome into your homes Green Bean Enchilada and Refried Peas.




















Well, I honestly don't see how any meal could be healthier than this. And easy? A walk. All you need is to wrap up some green beans in a flour tortilla, slap some enchilada sauce on it, and sprinkle a little cheese around on it before you throw it in the oven. Then take some peas, drain them, get them really hot, then lard them up and watch them sizzle. Mush 'em to within an inch of their pea lives and you've got refried peas. It never hurts to garnish it all with a little cup of salsa, which has of itself been garnished with some green beans. That's fancier than I make myself in real life.

Happy week.

Betland's Olympic Update:
* And yes, all this and a movie too. There's a new feature up at the Comfy Chair Cinema, and I promise you you won't want to miss it. It features some familiar voices and some not-so-familiar faces, and it's called "Sock Puppet Theatre!" Please follow the link and enjoy.