Good Saturday to you from Iowa where this time of year heat and humidity are in abundance. So are flowers, corn on the cob, and watermelon. Loving the watermelon!
Speaking of watermelon it reminded me of one summer when we lived in St. Paul, MN. We were close to Como Park, Zoo, ad Conservatory. We had a family picnic one day at Como park and held a "watermelon seed spitting" contest For some reason I could spit the seed really far that day.....maybe it was all my practice of spitting out sunflower seeds. When our kids were young and first played sports I was always nervous for them and did not want to embarrass the kids with blurting out anything.....so I would crack the shells, separate the seed itself and spit out the shells from my mouth to keep my tongue busy! So talented! Okay then.......back to the watermelon! Watermelon is soooo good for you and we are now spoiled by the seedless ones. A delicious snack or with a meal.
Speaking of food, yesterday I fixed fried liver for the first time in decades. No onions since I can no longer tolerate them..... but I now remember why I used Ketchup to eat it in the past. While I ate it I told myself it was medicine for my body and medicine is not supposed to taste good! You see, the Covid test came back negative, yippee, so I could go to my first oncology appointment with a PA here in town. My original Dr. who knew my body well, retired. This woman did not think my symptoms were from the Zometa and did every test known to mankind to figure out why I was struggling so much. So, that was important to rule things out, right? Every test was good except thyroid was a bit low (may be from the radiation on right side of neck) and my iron was one point from too low. I read at the Mayo site that Zometa commonly causes anemia. I don't have that but do have iron deficiency so thus the liver.........and organic beef. For someone who has eaten beef only 4-5 times in the past 2 1/2 decades, and mostly our brother-in-law's amazing Akaushi beef at that ~ it is a big deal. Besides ordering a sublingual, made in America, all good stuff iron supplement I will be adding beef to the menu. And more liver. Maybe. Joel says, "the body remembers the taste but the mind wishes it didn't!" It is all medicine, right?
Fixing liver had me remembering when I fixed it for our kids. There are only two meals that they still have traumatic memories about as adults.......one was the liver I fixed and the other was when I was gone and their dad took asparagus he had picked in a Montana ditch and mixed it with everything he could find in the fridge........then threw it in the oven and called it a hotdish, the Midwestern word for casserole. According to the kids it was awful and when I came back home they begged me to never leave them to their dad's cooking again! He has gotten a lot better since then, although he will still fix himself a tortilla and put everything leftover in the fridge in it! Needless to say, he is easy to cook for when I'm in the kitchen!
We don't get to see our family often, nor extended family for that matter. But one thing we can count on is praying for each other and I just love that. If something comes up, the texting starts and the prayer chain expands to siblings, to our kids, to grandkids and if needed church prayer chains. It is such a comfort to know that people are praying! What an amazing gift to have. Prayer.
Speaking of praying, we could sure use it here in our country. A turning to God in unison.....intercessory prayer and praise. Not for what we think is right or good or needs to be done, but I'm thinking a surrendering prayer asking God to step in and do His work in our country, our states, our cities, and in the hearts of people as we all attempt to live in this "new normal".
Speaking of that, how are you filling your days? Besides too many Dr. appointments this week, I have been working on a 1,000 piece puzzle. The first 1/3 of it was NOT relaxing, but frustrating and slow but I soon realized that I needed to take my time, relax, enjoy, and celebrate small successes! ha! The last 2/3 has been a better go with the flow approach.......and that has been fun. It is kinda like life right now........go with the flow. "Don't worry, be happy...." While making good choices for yourself. We have noticed that some people have gone back to the old way of living, with their own reasons for not masking, or taking precautions. Others, like us, are still being very cautious, masking, sanitizing, and social distancing. Last night I watched a TV show of home videos that have popped up since people are social distancing or staying home. There are so many creative people out there! Finding fun and the positive in the midst of a not so fun pandemic!
With gratitude this week I am giving thanks for air conditioning, watermelon, worship music, connecting with family, praying and being able to pray for others, liver (?), Amazon that delivers so quickly, our amazing dermatologist, laughter with Joel, puzzles that teach me about how to do life, and good memories to look back on. How about you?
Enjoy your weekend!
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