Sunday Morning Musings

Mom

My last post was in honor of my mother..  It was on Mother’s day 2011.  I had a busy time with mom this past year..  She spent the week after Christmas with me..  She spent time with all of her children and grandchildren in the past year..  She has been to Vermont, Schroon Lake, Syracuse and Utica..  We celebrated her 84th birthday and made plans for her 85th..  Her comment to us was, she did not know if her 85th would occur..  She did not care if she had another birthday or not..  She was at peace with her self and her god..

She had made plans for her death and made her wishes clear in a letter to myself and my siblings..  We were to have a service at her church, serve sandwiches in the basement and there was to be no calling hours..    We did just as she instructed.  She also said to pay the minister and the organist.. We did!!  And no flowers,  just donations to her church!!  Ok mom  Done!!

You had to chuckle at the note, as serious as the subject it was “true Virginia”.  Mom had a strong will and was the guide post to which we all had moored ourselves too..   Some days the feeling of being adrift is strong, then I will get a phone call from my sister or brother and my feelings of belonging strengthen, and we all address the details that still need to be attended to..

I will always miss both my parents..  I was taught about love and the value of family..

Peace!!

Mom… who are our mothers….

Happy Mothers day to all of our Mothers out there.  I dedicate this post to my mom who I am unable to spend the day with.

I love my mother and I also love my mother in law.  Both are amazing women, each in their own way.

I feel that a child does not have to grow inside you for you to love it!!  I say that because I am adopted.  I have 2 siblings that were not, and I was treated and punished as fairly as they were.  In my parents eyes I was just another Jansen.  My grandparents treated me the same as well.    I felt loved and secure.  All children want and need that love and security.

So just who is mom?  In today’s world of blended families mom can mean many things…..  All children need nurturing.  So who hugs you when you fall and cut your knee…  is it mom,auntie, step mom or grandma  or a foster mom.

My definition of a mom is the woman or person who is doing the “job” of mom.   If a grandparent, step parent, aunt, godmother, mother in law or foster mother is nurturing you then the title of MOM fits…

Ann Landers had a quote that my mother cut out of the newspaper one day and I kept it on my bulletin board..  ” not flesh of my flesh nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own!  You did not grow under my heart but in it!!”

So on this day that our nation has set aside to honor our mothers, remember that just to be biologically related does not make a mother.  Its the woman who is doing the job that counts!!

Mom, You know who you are, you are my hero..  I love you and miss you today and every day!!

And to my sister and sister in laws and Mother in Law who love my children as there own.  Happy Mothers day to you as well, If I were not here to do the job I know that you would be there for my kids.  They love you very much.  Tinkerbell!!

Leave your opinion or tribute about the woman who most influenced you.  She is a mom!!

Regarding Civil Liberties…

Last Sunday evening as I was leaving work I heard that Bin Laden was located and  killed in Pakistan.  I was cheerful that he had finally met his demise.   I have turned into a news junkie the past week looking for more details concerning his death.  I am disgusted by the news bureaus.

They are asking questions that to me, and many other Americans are just down right stupid.  Questions about was it legal?  Was it fair and why wasn’t he taken alive.

Sorry,  Bin Laden did not ask these questions on September 11. 2001 when he orchestrated the most horrific attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941.  He took the lives of over 3000 men, women and children on that awful day.  As far as I am concerned dying was too good for him.

It would be nice if he could feel the pain of those 3000 souls and their families.  The lives that he altered on that day, and must live without their loved ones.  Children that must grow up without their mother or father..  Unborn babies, never to know their dad.  Ask those families if they thought they were treated fairly…

Pakistan was negligent. Period.  Caught with their pants down.  How did this man live for 5 years in the shadow of a military academy.  The fact that Pakistan was not informed speaks volumes about their loyalties.  They are not loyal to their “ally” the USA.

I do not need to see a photograph of Bin Laden.  I could care less.  I believe my government on this one.  The SEALS left live civilians in the compound and they can spin any tale they want.  BUT they cannot dispute that Bin Laden is dead.

Did the USA have the right to go into Pakistan and execute this raid?  YES!!  Pakistan is proven untrustworthy… and It is our governments duty to protect its citizens.  I hope all the other bad guys, that want to do us harm, will think twice  before attacking us again.  You can run and you can hide,  but we will find you and dispense with what ever justice happens on that day.

Bin Laden so warped the religion of Islam that its sad.  The people that I know that practice Islam are peaceful and honest citizens.  They did not like or support Bin Laden in any way and described him as evil.

Were Bin Laden’s civil liberties violated…  I think not.   I am glad that there will be no trial.  We as a nation do not need that.  Imagine the expense of such a side show.  The expense of protecting him and making sure he had TV, work out room,  food per Muslim customs. He would have to be kept in solitary to protect him in prison from other prisoners.   These are only the obvious “rights” that  come to mind quickly.  The expense of such a circus will be better spent on improving the American way of life.  How about reducing the deficient with some of those saved dollars.  And perhaps put some more money into education and health care.  I believe that,  we as a nation will be better off without a Bin Laden trial.

I feel that the Americans treated his body with respect per Muslim traditions.  Much more so than his brethren have treated our fallen heroes.  Our military men have been desecrated, dragged through the streets of African and Middle Eastern cities.  Our service men and women have been captured, tortured and executed.  They have also done the same to western journalists.  Who where there to report all points of view!

Would we have asked the same questions about civil liberties had the allies been able to get their hands on Hitler?  I do not believe so.  So what has happened in the past 70 years  to make us worry about the rights of such an evil man?

Leave you opinion…  I have been unable to wrap my head around the idea that Bin Laden deserved mercy of any kind.

The Last Lecture

I have been re-listening to an audio book.  The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch..  In the book Randy fleshes out his Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University.  His title , Really achieving your childhood dreams.  The link to the live lecture is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

It is over an hour long but well worth watching.   The book is a background story for his children.  Randy died July 25, 2008 from pancreatic cancer.  But the lessons he teaches are pertaint and timeless.

The brick wall

One topic is the brick wall.  He talks about  brick walls, and how they are placed in front of you to prove how badly you want something.  If you cannot figure out a way to penetrate or go around the wall then you do not want (it) something {anything} badly enough.    Randy so wanted to leave a memoir for his children that he manages to write this book!!

This has made me reflect on my own brick walls. What are they and how have I dealt with them.  Sometimes I managed to surpass the wall.  At other times in my life the wall has won.  Is that a karma thing?  I believe in fate and karma so I guess that when the wall won… it wasn’t meant to be.

Randy is an inspirational person.  He is loyal to his wife and children and insisting on making the best of every day till the end.  Thus the book.  He was pondering the question;  how do I teach my children the lessons I would have taught them had I grown to old age?   The book is a memoir for his children so that they can know their dad, and perhaps answer questions they may have about him.

Randy was a warm compassionate and entertaining teacher.  He leaves a legacy of inspiration, imagination, and research.  Yes research!!  He was terrifically brilliant and I believe his legacy of virtual reality research will live on..

I almost finished the book yesterday.  Its on  my i pod.  I will complete it today and then perhaps in the next day or two I will re-watch the you tube lecture.

The lesson I am taking away from his memoir is being true to your self, working a way around the brick wall, and that loyalty and integrity are not old fashioned and need to be present in every day life.  He also illustrates that manners and politeness are extremely helpful in obtaining your ultimate goal.

I had a college professor or two that illustrated Randy’s values.  Randy, I wish there were more like you and hope  my children will meet up with inspirational profs in their college careers.

Blessings to all.  Give this book a read, either in print or audio.  If you have time go to the you tube video.  But have the tissues handy!

By the way after you watch the video leave a comment and tell me what you think!!

I miss my Kids!!

I love having the kids around….  I miss them and they have only been gone 36 hours!!.  I don’t think I will ever get over this.  There are days I just want to choke them…  [not all at once]  But for the record.  I wish they all lived at home with me!!   Mom….  I love that word.  When they start a sentence with mom my heart melts.  It flashes back memories when they just hugged you with all their heart.

I know and understand that they HAVE to leave home.  I did!…  Its part of growing up.  Its part of becoming self sufficient and a natural progression of life.  But I must say that I wish for those fun days of the past!!

I want to hunt fossils,  swim, take  photo hikes, watch Margaret dance, take the boys skate boarding,  meet in Vermont for a ski trip and more!!

So I began a bucket list for me…  I have to keep busy somehow.  I am not a sit in front of the tv kinda person.  I watch a bit of TV.  But if you ask me about American Idol, You think you can dance and that other dance competition dance show {cannot remember the name} forget about it.  I just do not watch them.  I like the crabby fisherman and NCIS…  That is it!!..

Back to the bucket….  I LOVE pets.  So Miss Inky joined our family

Miss Inky!

After Miss Inky, Miss Isabella Wiggles joined the fray…  Yes fray…  She certainly livened up the house and the kids!!..

Miss Isabella Wiggles

Bella is definitely high energy and she just loves her mommy..  meeeee  and she will never leave!!  I think that is why perhaps empty nesters like dogs and pets!!  They are enormously good company!!  I have wanted a dog for the last 30 years….  So perhaps Bella will be my only dog in my adult life.

I wanted to knit…  I already knew how to sew, smock, embroider…  knitting was just the next thing.

Felted slippers!!

First pair of socks!!

Then I added Basket weaving….  I have dabbled a bit in that…

I would like to learn to spin…  So there is a spinning wheel on my bucket list but its kinda down on the  bottom of the bucket.  But I am learning to drop spindle.  Its an inexpensive way to try spinning!!

Jeri Brock Turkish Whorl

I have not made any yarn I am willing to show  a photograph of.  The spindle is out on loan to Bev.  Hopefully she will be able to critique me and tweak my technique so that I can get a knit-able piece of yarn from this!!  lol

I guess these are the kind of activities that empty nesters engage in.    I would not get into any of this if my kids were around…..  I would be busy taking care of my wonderful family!!

Cheers!! …….. Kiss the kids!!

Easter Monday

Ooooh   Aaahhhhhhh….  The Easter Holidays are over!!  I love it when all the kids are home….   I really like the mayhem and hub-bub of the comings and goings…

A lot of preparation occurs when the kids are around….  mostly food prep!!  One of the dishes is Homus {pronounced hum-mos}  Its real easy and a great filler for meals.  Its also a great  snack for the kids at any time of day!!

Assemble the ingredients!!

I put the ingredients into the food processor, and just turn it on.  Let it run till the beans are nice and smooth

Throw it all in!!

Let it spin!!

The final look!!.

I can tell you that its all gone!!.  I made a second batch of this and on Monday its gone!!..  A lot was eaten but the rest was sent in care packages back to school with the kids!!  They are great left over scavengers!!

Have an awesome day!!

Preparations…… for the Easter holiday!!

My kids will be home this weekend!!  YAY!!  Its Easter and while we not longer have visists from the rabbit its still fun to have them home.!!

There are a few food requests that are pretty standard …   Chocolate Mousse Cake is one.  I usually do not honor this request!!  It is a heart attack disguised as a succulent dessert!!

I thought I would play around with photographs of this delight but be warned….  They are just snapshots.  Nothing fancy, no pretty backgrounds and just my out of date kitchen counter and my stove top. I began with the Chocolate Mousse….

First I organize my helpers..... Inky agreed to keep track of where I was in the recipe!

My “helpers” had to be dealt with.  Inky thinks the entire household belongs to her.  So a thorough scouring of all surfaces precedes any cooking or baking!!

Bella prefers washing dishes to reading the recipe

Now that the tasks were assigned  its time to prepare the crust!!

Spring form pan

This recipe calls for a spring form pan.  I have several that I have lost over the years.  My favorite is this Aluminum one.  It works well.  After melting unsalted butter and making chocolate cookie crumbs out of chocolate cookies in my Cuisinart you mix  and them press onto the sides of  the spring form pan.  I place this pan in the freezer to harden while I prepare the rest of the mousse.

I am kinda a thrifty baker.  With limited cupboard space I have condensed my tools.  I plan to use this bowl to put the entire mousse together so why not melt the chocolate in it?  So while its not a traditional double boiler it works and saves time.

Next I separate the eggs.  I need 2 whole eggs and 4 yolks  to add to the melted chocolate.  The eggs need to be room temp or slightly warmer.  This I have found is the tricky part of the recipe.  The chocolate needs to be cooled a bit and the eggs need to be warmed a bit.  I put the whole eggs in a Pyrex measuring cup and place it in the hot water.  The water is not on the heat.  Just sitting on the stove.  So let the chocolate sit a bit and then go about warming up the eggs.  I do this with both the whole eggs and the yolks.  It makes the mixing of the eggs and chocolate easier.  The texture needs to be creamy.

Now its time to whip the egg whites and heavy cream.

Egg Whites

Now for the heavy cream

I am prepared to fold all in!!

Now I gently fold in the whipping cream and the egg whites.  Be gentle here!!  If you fold too vigorously you will loose the loft!  The idea is to keep this really light and fluffy!!

Now pour into the pan with the crust!!

Freezer ready!!

At this point you can freeze this.  I cut a round piece of tin foil and tightly cover.  I like to make this a couple of days early.  There are no short cuts in the cooling of the chocolate and keeping it smooth.  So its a fussy recipe.  Easy but fussy.    The day before I want to serve this I put it in the fridge.  It will slowly defrost and be ready for serving!!

Another fav is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.  This is a recipe I wrangled from a wonderful baking friend!!  While its kinda a fall recipe the kids ask for them year round.

We prefer mini muffins.  I hate muffin papers.  They just do not peel off a freshly baked muffin.  So I use a spray oil on my muffin pan and am happy not to have to purchase muffin papers.  One thing I have done is purchased a real nice heavy muffin pan.

Wilton muffin pan

I used to use dollar store pans but had issues with burning and uneven cooking.  A nice heavy pan spreads the heat evenly and baking results are predictable.

I like to assemble the ingredients

Muffins are a snap. The trick is not to over mix.

Let cool 2 or 3 minutes

I just spray the pan, mix the ingredients, plop mix into the pan and bake.  Between batches I wash the muffin tin.  When I re-bake I get burnt on oil.  So I wash and only spray enough openings to finish the mix.  Now usually 1 batch of these will not do.  But there will be plenty of other sweets in the house along with the healthy food.  So I am being stingy..  and only baking one batch.

Now perhaps you are wondering what do I do with the left over pumpkin?  I freeze it in sandwich bags in 1 cup quantities..  The next time I want to bake these I have pumpkin measured and waiting.!!   I do the same with shredded zucchini in the summer for Zucchini Bread!!

Have a wonderful holiday!

Feels like Sunday

Tuesday is the second day of my work week and it feels like the Sunday after working my usual 7 day shift.  Monday began with a vengeance!

Our team is short 1 co-worker.  That alone is difficult!!  The substitute went home sick.  AND to make matters worse the Emergency Dept and the hospital was in full tilt boogie!!  I mean just slamming.  I understand that the ER is unpredictable.  There are patients with real concerns and illness in the waiting area and the ambulances are double parked out back.

Meantime back at the ranch the floors were on double time with orders.  Most of the time if the ER is busy the floors seem to be at homeostasis, that means there is a steady flow of draws that can be handled as they come in.  The orders can be taken care of in a timely fashion and good service can be given to each patient and RN.

In a perfect world no one would be sick.  One aspect of our health care is that there are so many people out there that do not have a primary care physician.  That is a tragedy.  I have no answers nor helpful suggestions.

This is the situation…..  Health care in the US is broken.  I know its broken, I work in it and see it misused by some and off limits to many that really need its services.  As I stated before I have no idea how it can be fixed.

I know if many had a primary care physician that would be helpful.  I know that if the people with a sore throat or an earache went to a clinic or their primary that would help.  I also know that if you ask for a drink and you complain about the drink brought to you to the RN that is also attending to a heart attack, you need to go home.

If your turkey sandwich is soggy,  GO HOME!!  You are among the population of patients that perhaps would be better served at urgent care or better yet,  call your primary physician, call someone other than the ambulance to drive you there and follow Doctors orders, take the medication as prescribed and give said meds time to work.

Come to the ER if you have a stroke, heart attack, Chest pain,Bleeding from places that you should not bleed from, seizures, blood clots, intense migraines uncontrollable vomiting, the list of serious illness is endless.  Do not come if you have back pain, ear ache sore throat.

Become a part of the solution for health care in our country, utilize the emergency room for emergency and help the severely ill get the health care that they really need by calling your family doctor.

Rant over!

Props!!

As a professional Photographer I need props.  Some of the best props come from accomplished craftspeople.  I recently ran across Rachel Ewen.  She is an awesome knitter!!

On her Etsy shop are hand knit props for newborn photography!!       http://www.etsy.com/shop/WithEveryStitch?ref=pr_shop

Quality props are essential for quality photography.  Oddly enough I learned to knit so I could knit my own props…  Yes good luck with that  lol  Her diaper covers and cocoons are awesome!!  Talk about sweet hats..  Oh My!!

Soo I guess the moral of the story here is that even though I knit I think I may be heading over to With Every Stitch Etsy shop the next time I need newborn props for my studio!!  You should too!!

Annoying stuff

Just a short post today.  I am heading off to work.  I am kinda annoyed as I was looking forward to 7 glorious days off.  Not happening.  I don’t mind the overtime.  Bella is annoyed  because it means extended crate time.

Inky just sleeps.  She is a sleepy cat that just eats and wants to sleep on my white parlor sofa.  The cushions are tipped.  lol

Kate and I are meeting for lunch on Friday!  YAY  !!  We will knit and look at free  knitting patterns on the internet!!    So off to the races today and tomorrow.  I will be looking forward to the weekend

Blessings and cheers to all!!