Gratitude: Days 12 & 13

Nick gave me a free photo book for Mother's Day & he reminded me I have to use it by Dec. 1, so I've got to get hustling. I thought I'd use it for the construction of the addition of the house, but ... I've decided I'm going to use it for the first couple of years of my blog.

Saturday, Nov. 12: Cell phones. I've already listed the internet last Saturday when I was without it. Nick is obsessing over a new phone & new carrier. He is so obsessed, I took my frustrations to the Lord today. I actually knelt down at my bed & told Him all about my concerns. When Nick & Don came over to talk about it,  I was able to come up with something I feel was truly inspired. Anyway, I LOVE cell phones. Yesterday, Saturday, when we went to Logan I forgot my cell phone. When I remembered it in Franklin, 6 miles from home, I was very tempted to ask Nick to turn around & go home to get it. I figured I could do without it, but I felt like I was half dressed all day. I kept patting my pocket.

Sunday, Nov. 13: Food. Today it was my turn to cook Sunday dinner. I always agonize over what to fix. But today I did a fairly simple meal, pulled pork sandwiches on hard rolls, Pineapple Apple Coleslaw w/a recipe I got from allrecipes.com & made my own. I seldom follow a recipe exactly, olives & Jean Carter's mandarin orange cake. OMG, it all turned out so good.

Last night when Don & I were shopping, I saw some barbecue sauce from KC Masterpiece called Smoky Bourbon. I don't usually buy KC Masterpiece because it's more expensive, but earlier in the day we, actually Don & Nick, had been having a play on words on Suburban, 'Burban & Bourbon. I thought it would be fun to use it. Actually, it was really good.

Mother & I listened to Fannie Flagg's book, Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, earlier in the week. Aunt Elner had a near death experience where she met Neighbor Dorothy, a friend who had a cooking radio show. Dorothy gave Elner some cake & tea. Elner said how Dorothy's cake was always so moist. Dorothy said the secret was to preheat your oven to 375° & then turn it down to 350° to bake it. So, when I went to bake my cake, I remembered this & thought I'd try it. Don't know if that was the secret, because when Jean served the cake at DUP on Tuesday, hers was moist.

Day 15

Today I am thankful for food. Some people never have enough to eat. Since we have been grocery shopping at the Bishop's Storehouse, I've really come to appreciate the large assortment of food at a supermarket. I'm not ungrateful for the food orders, I just get really tired of pasta, beans & rice.

Today Don came home with another garnishment, Cache Valley Specialty Hospital again. I think I'll die before I ever go back to CVSH for treatment. I was supposed to have had a mammogram earlier in the year. Then every time I go for lab tests, it is $110. Then there is the chest x-rays. Nope, no more blood work or chest x-rays & I don't think I'll go back for my 6 month check up.

Today at work I had a visual disturbance & then the head ache hit. It's kind of hard to read when you can't focus your eyes. Even so, the paper was pretty straight forward today & I was finished by 6:30 p.m.

More about Mufasa

Mufasa finally seems to have settled down a little. Today he finally got fed in the daylight. I hate working until 6 p.m., & coming home in the dark. After Mufasa knocked me flat & I bumped my head so hard, I haven't dared go down by myself to feed him. I'm going to have to start doing it before work.

Today, I got home from Logan & my foray into Christmas shopping & it was still daylight, so Don & I went down to feed & care for him. His kennel needed cleaning out. I got the rake & was raking it up, while Don was holding Mufasa. I commented to Don that it looked like a horse stall. Don commented that he was as big a small horse.

I took one of the sleeping bags that Don & Don-Mike were going to throw away & put that in the corner where he sleeps.

He has been knocking his food bowl over & hasn't been eating his dog food. I bought the brand that Lynette told me to buy, it just wasn't chicken & rice, it was lamb & something. So, when I needed to buy more food, Wal-Mart still didn't have the chicken in that brand. They had more lamb, but I've been worried that he isn't eating. I bought Purina One in the chicken & rice. He gobbles it right up. I know it's not what she wants him fed, but I'm not about to drive to Brigham, just to see if they have the chicken in that brand.