He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother

We love it when the little boys (cousins) get together. Now Brayle, our oldest, can hold them all at the same time. In a few years that won't be the case. It would be even better if three year old Joshua could be here, too.

Here is a rare moment when they are all smiling and life is wonderful. I felt like singing, "He's not heavy, he's my brother.'

Henry Healing His Grandpa

Walking is one of the best activities, if one is recovering from heart surgery. Allan is doing it twice a day for fifteen to thirty minutes. On cold days he goes to his cousins big commercial greenhouse to walk. It is not only warm, but the fresh air is abundant. He loves to see the activity of the workers planting seedlings, replanting starts and filling big pots as they prepare for the spring rush.

When our grandchildren are visiting, such as little Henry, they take Grandpa walking around our cul-de-sac street of sixteen homes. Holding their tiny hands and being helped by them, is better medicine than one hundred pills.

It is just a matter of time, until he is healed and can thank our grand children for lending a hand.

SAVOR Heart Health Month

February has been Heart Health Month for years, but I never thought much about it until this week. I have tried to prepare healthy meals, avoiding too much salt, cheese, butter, fatty and junk foods and so on. Now it has slapped us in the face and we will always be aware and grateful that the sure signs of trouble are common knowledge. Knowing this helped us decide to go to the emergency room to have I checked out.

Little did I know hanging this 'S' on my front door last week that many S words would play out in our life such as: SIXTY THREE, SICKNESS, SURE SIGNS, STAY (hospital), STENT, SALT LAKE REGIONAL, SURGERY, SORE, STIFF, SOFT FOOD DIET, SCAPING (SHAVING), and so many more 'S' words we could find and associate with our adventures this month.

Take care of yourself and live a long healthy life.

Ticket to Ninety With a & Station Stop at Bypass Surgery

Yesterday after years of telling Allan he shouldn't be eating unlimited helpings of cheese, butter, and such, he had a small heart attack. A visit to the Emergency Room with a blood test, confirmed the heart trouble. The signs were pretty clear: Heaviness in the entire upper chest, sweating and nausea. When the pain persisted, we took the safe road and had it checked out.

Two EKG's later he was admitted to the hospital and prepped for the "Cath" Lab to send a camara up the femoral artery to see what's was going on in the heart. The doctors would do a 'Stent' if there was a minor problem. It was discovered one large artery was blocked and three small.

Now he is stopping at the 'Heart Station' for a quadruple bypass. Wires are connected to every part of his upper torso. Three medications are dripping into his system. Confinement to bed is causing major aches and pains. The ambulance transported him to the correct hospital. How fun!! Now he waits for the surgeon to make room for the chest opening operation.

No more cheese, butter and double helpings. He will be careful from now on, so his ticket to Ninety years old, doesn't expire before its time.

Brayle and Baby Bonding

Brayle, our oldest grandchild loves babies, so when our youngest one crossed her path, they were both smitten. Max took to her like a bee to pollen. She arranged his heart headband, combed his hair, shared her dessert and loved him to the moon and back.

It was like a couple of love birds. They spoke the same language as she doted on him and he let her. It isn't often they spend time together, because of the sixty miles they live apart. She is busy with high school and sports. He with napping, exploring and growing. A Sunday dinner we all shared brought laughs and photos of the two best cousins.

We have got to do this again next month! What a treasure.

Max Meets Taz

We had the blessing of tending Max one evening a few weeks ago. He investigated the fireplace, tile floor, windows and stairs. I put a guard on the bottom to keep him from climbing up. Good ole' Taz, from Jory's youth kept vigil at the stairs. He had a doll in his mouth to let Max know what could happen to him (kidding). Max actually took the little baby and shook it to pieces. He seemed to enjoy watching its hair flop around.

I remember the year when Taz came out. Jory loved him and watching the show he was featured in. For Jory's seventh, eighth or ninth birthday, he got a Tasmanian devil with a matching watch. He couldn't tell time, but enjoyed watching Taz's tail go around the dial. Taz sat on Jory's bed along with Zero and other stuffed friends. Now Taz watches his son and keeps him safe. At least we like to think so.

Zero Calories Zucchini One Cup at a Time

We all hate to find a huge zucchini we missed when picking from those fertile myrtle plants. It happened to me this summer, too. I hated to throw even these elephant sized ones away, so I stored them in the garage for the grandkids to carve. In November while rummaging through my cold storage for onions, I ran across the zucchini. I brought one in the kitchen to peel and shredded a cup of it. It was added to my dish as a filler. No one could tell (not that it mattered). Later that week, I used more for muffins, then omelets and so on.

Fast forward four months since they were picked, to today, January 29th. Those zucchini's never spoiled or got soft and are still going strong. Long after the small ones I so lovingly horded in the fridge for stir fry that went bad in October, the super-sized ones keep being added to fajitas, tossed salads one cup at a time and making my meals even healthier.

I will never turn away those offers of king size zucchini again, at the end of the growing season. All winter long they will be filling my smoothies, sauces and such with super healthy zero calories.