Sunday, February 19, 2017

No Rain Saturday

I really need to come up with some catchy blog post headings, other than the days of the week!

Although yesterday's weather forecast said it might rain today (Saturday), it didn't rain.  It was cloudy and it did drizzle a little bit for a few minutes in the late afternoon/early evening, but the sun tried to shine through the clouds and there was no rain, as such.  The puddles from yesterday have all drained off although there's debris all over the roads and there is a downed tree in the next block.

I felt a little tired in the morning, so I relaxed and took it easy.  Finished up a bit of office work that I didn't get to on Friday, read and commented on blogs, replied to comments left on mine, etc.

For brunch, I made more Indian-style cream of wheat (or uppuma):

Indian-style Cream of Wheat

I flavored it slightly differently, this time, using some spicy relish a friend had made and given me, and peanuts instead of cashews.  I made enough for two meals, so I have leftovers for Sunday.  I ate the last of the bananas, afterwards. 

Then, I read more blogs and came across Nathalie's pictures of her breakfast of smoked salmon eggs Benedict and fried potatoes, and it looked so good, I felt hungry, even though I don't like smoked salmon or eggs Benedict.  Then, I saw the pictures of the pastries and cookies she had posted and I drooled!  Even though I knew I wouldn't actually enjoy eating any of the pastries, they looked so good!   Finally, I felt so hungry, I had to go and fix myself a big bowl of salad!


Not-Quite-Pastry Salad!

Red leaf lettuce, a grated carrot, about a third of a cucumber, some shredded roast chicken breast, and Catalina dressing.  I was no longer hungry after I ate my salad, but I still wanted dessert!  I decided to have an amaretti cookie.  This is the only cookie that still tastes okay to me, because the cookie tends to taste a bit bitter, anyway, so I just feel that the bitterness is more pronounced.

Later in the afternoon, I felt energetic enough to vacuum, since I hadn't done that on Friday.  I started with the living room and ended up vacuuming the entire house!  First time I've felt well enough to do that in awhile.  Then, I cleaned both bathrooms! 

Afterwards, I had a cup of tea and watched the news.  Then, it was time to make the dessert to take to my friend's memorial dinner.  I made what I call pistachio fluff - basically, whipped topping, instant pistachio pudding mix, crushed pineapple, and mini marshmallows all mixed together.

Ingredients
 
I had bought the ingredients last year to make the dessert for the almsgiving that didn't take place.  The memorial dinner seemed to be an appropriate occasion to use what was bought for the almsgiving.   I used two containers of the whipped topping, two boxes of the pudding mix to one can of crushed pineapple in juice and about a third of the bag of marshmallows.  This has to be one of the easiest desserts to make - just dump everything into a bowl (no need to drain the can of crushed pineapple) and mix!


Ingredients Ready to be Mixed
 

Except, as I was mixing everything, I got a cramp in my right hand!  My first thought was, "Oh, no, not again!"  This was the first time I've had a cramp since I started taking the magnesium, except I hadn't yet taken today's dosage.  I knew I wasn't dehydrated because I had been drinking water, but anyway, I quickly took my magnesium pill and drank two cups of water.  Then, I sat down and rested.  The two things are probably not connected, but I keep associating the cramps with the black out in December and fear that the cramp is a presage to a black out.  I figured I had done a bit too much with the vacuuming, scrubbing of bathrooms, etc., and now the stirring and mixing was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back!  Sigh.  Eventually, I finished mixing the dessert and sprinkled a packet of shelled pistachios on top, but I forgot to take a picture of the finished dessert.

It was a pleasant gathering, tinged with sadness, of course.  My late friend's older daughter had organized tonight's rosary prayer gathering and dinner.  My late friend's younger daughter lives in Colorado with her husband and baby daughter.  My late friend's husband had gone back to Colorado with his younger daughter after his wife's funeral.  There, he fell and broke several ribs and had to be hospitalized!  He is now recovering in a convalescent home in Colorado.   The younger daughter led the reciting of the rosary from her father's bedside.  It wasn't a video chat; they used speaker phones. Since I am not Catholic, I don't actually recite the rosary, although I know all the words, but I still participate by sitting and listening and meditating.  There will be a memorial mass at their church, tomorrow evening.  I have been included in the invitation to attend it. 

Dinner was served after the prayers were over.  I didn't stay too long after dinner (it was already past 11:00 p.m. by then).  My friend's daughter sent home a plate of food with me, so I won't have to cook, tomorrow.  After I came home, I video chatted with my daughter.

Today, I am grateful for:
- A day without rain to dry out a bit
- Getting the housework done
- The cramp was just a cramp, not a prelude to fainting and falling!
- Gathering together in memory of a friend
- A long phone conversation with my sister

Sunday's To Do List:
- Sleep in!  (It is 4:20 a.m. as I type this; prednisone keeps me awake!)
- Paperwork/Filing
- Tidy my bedroom
- Attend Memorial Mass (look up directions to church)
- Water the indoor plants
- Do the dishes
- Clean the litter box
- Do a load of laundry
 - Rest!

How was your Saturday?  What have you planned for Sunday? 

12 comments:

  1. Even though you still need the rain, it must of been nice to have a day off. If I got to plan the rain, we'd have a nice shower every night at midnight.

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    1. Yes, a nice shower when we are asleep would be ideal, wouldn't it? Unless one has to be out and about at midnight. It had rained sometime this morning - the ground is wet. But it isn't raining right now (10:40 a.m.) It is grey and overcast, so we might get more rain.

      Hope you are having a lovely day and enjoying the long weekend.

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  2. I haven't been keeping up with my reading but the California floods made the news in the UK and I have been worried about you. I'm glad to see you are safe, though still suffering from the cramps. Please take care. x

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    1. Thank you, Lyssa; I am doing well and am going to take it easy, today. Hope half-term is going well and you are having a lovely weekend. You take care, too. :)

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  3. It sounds like you had a really good day, Bless. Even that cramp ending up being just a normal cramp after all. You probably gripped that vacuum cleaner too hard :)

    I'm glad it didn't rain and you were able to go to your friend's memorial service. How unfortunate that her husband was so hurt, but he was able to participate as well with the help of technology.

    Thanks for explaining why you're always up so late. I don't take any drugs so I didn't realize that the Prednisone was what was keeping you up all night. I thought maybe you ought to cut back on drinking tea at night, lol. I hope you got to sleep in this morning. Did Dancer get the memo that mommy needed some sleep? The kittens actually let me sleep this morning, although I had one kitten on each shoulder for over an hour, which made my last moments in bed a little uncomfortable (for my back) but oh so lovely. I finally got up at 7:30 a.m. and they even protested a little because they were comfy and I thought "Well, now you know how I feel when you try to get me up at 4 or 5 a.m. on a weekday!"

    I hope you have a nice relaxing Sunday!

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    1. Thank you, Nathalie. I tend to be a bit of a night owl anyway, and the prednisone, being a steroid, just adds to it. It makes me hungry, too! Today is the last day I'll be on it, this time around (unless the doctor decides to extend it when he seems me at the end of the month). It might take a couple of days to leave my system completely, though.

      I only drink 2 cups of tea a day - one in the morning and one in the evening. I don't think that is what is keeping me up. I just don't want to go to sleep, although I know sleep is essential and good for me.

      Yes, Dancer let me sleep in. He was so used to me getting up by 6:00 a.m. at the latest and feeding him, when I was going to work, before all this started, that when I was undergoing treatment and sleeping in, he used to meow at me to wake up at the usual time for his breakfast! He was like an alarm clock! But now, he's got used to me getting up later. He still comes to check on me from time to time, but I've got more used to ignoring him, and he waits until I am out of bed to actually start running circles around me. :)

      I've planned to do a few things around the house, today, but I am not going to push it. Hope you, too, are having a lovely, relaxing day.

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  4. Your dessert sounds very yummy -- I really enjoy anything that falls into that "ambrosia" category, which to me is any dessert with that pineapple and cool whip or fluff combination. I'm glad that you were able to head off any further complications related to your cramp. I think I would have done just as you did and immediately go for the magnesium!

    My Saturday was pretty quiet as my book club Friday night ran very late and I didn't get to bed until 2AM!!! Very unusual for me. I had an assignment due that evening and have two exams tomorrow, so this weekend has been a lot of studying and low-key activity.

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    1. Laura, sounds like a "hit the books" sort of weekend! That's the one thing I don't miss from my student days! How did your Thursday test go? Hope you did well in it and in the upcoming tests, tomorrow. Hope the week ahead will be a good one for you.

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  5. So glad you had a dry day today. I am going to try savory cream of wheat soon. I have never liked it as a porridge so I am looking forward to trying it like you make it.

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    1. I have never liked the porridge version, either, Anne; I hope you like the savory version. It didn't stay dry for too long; been raining all evening, today.

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  6. I'm so sorry about your friend and about her husband falling and hurting himself so badly. ((((HUGS))))

    That pistachio salad sounds so good! Thank you for sharing how you made it. :)

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    1. Thank you, Debbie, and you are welcome! :) Hope all is well with you.

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