Happy Anniversary Me!

Four years ago I had gastric bypass surgery. Funny thing, when I was born I was a runt, sickly child.  My dad would make me special milk shakes with eggs in them so that I would grow and get a little "meat" on my bones.  The tiny me hung around for quite a few years and then the tinier me left.

 

Being overweight is a combination of things for most people.  Genetics, nervous habit, enjoys food, etc, etc, etc (sorry love musicals).  If it is in the "genes", it is a battle you will fight all of your life.  If it is a nervous habit, it is one you will have to battle to keep under control.  If you enjoy food, well I have no good answer for you as being a foodie it is not easy when you truly enjoy food. 

 

The final tipping of the scales for me was when I was no longer able to move comfortably.  The knees were worn out, but surgery was not going to be a good answer because I was too heavy for the surgery. Luckily I had not become diabetic.  Sleep apnea, yes.  High blood pressure, you got it.  Cholesterol on the rise.  All signs that my health was deteriorating.

 

Dieting was a yo-yo exercise for me.  Atkins, Weight Watchers, Mayo Clinic all would work for a time period and then I would fall off the wagon and be back on the gaining spree.  For every 20 pounds I would lose, I would gain 30 back.  Not a pretty picture.

 

Weight loss surgery is not the "easy out" that you will hear people talk about.  After much research I traveled down to Grinnell, Iowa, and met with Dr. David Coster to see about having a lap band, my preferred method as it was not as invasive.  Jeff came with me to learn all that he could from this visit.  I was comfortable with Dr. Coster and his assistant Stephanie from the beginning, which is a good thing because you see a lot of these folks.  We watched movies, heard the pros, cons, good, bad, and ugly. We found out that I would be going through a lot of testing, meetings, appointments with other specialists before this surgery would happen and the surgery was going to be a gastric bypass as I was not a good candidate for the lap band.  This meant a lot of trips to Grinnell.

 

Before my surgery Jeff and I went on vacation to the UP of Michigan. We did a lot of soul searching and visiting about whether this was the right decision for us and it definitely was a surgery that affected both of us so we both needed to talk through it.  I was pro and Jeff was con, but still very supportive if I chose to go that route.

 

Back and forth to meet with Stephanie to discuss surgery more, meet the nutritionist to learn how to eat all over again, to meet with the physical therapist to learn about movement and how important it would be.  All of these trips were made with Joyce, my "sis".  Joyce is a dear lady who my mom brought into my life to be there for me once mom was no longer with me and be with me Joyce was cheering me on all the way. 

 

The surgery day came and it was a success.  Down 200 pounds it was like finding a new person under there.  Now it has been 4 years and I am able to walk, hike, ride bikes, snowshoe, and enjoy life.  Food choices are something I have to be careful of as different things are not tolerated.  Dehydration is a battle because I don't like drinking water.  Coffee, tea, wine, you betcha ya.  Water not so much. Then the back aches and I know it is time to get on the water bandwagon.  Kidney stones are a little bothersome problem that pop up from time to time as a side effect of the surgery. Iron deficiency is another issue (even with our water up here in the mining country).  This is not a surgery I would recommend to everyone.  In fact I would say research, think long and hard because it is a life changing surgery, and remember it fixes the weight issue not all of the other problems in your life.  You have to like you fat or thin as being thin does not change that.

 

I still have the best support system around, Jeff, Joyce, and my friends.  Jeff watches my.food intake faithfully daily (I tend to get busy and to forget I need to eat).  He packs my lunch for work, buys snacks that are healthy for me, and pampers me.  Joyce is still the best sis anybody could ask for, always there with her ear and her heart, now unfortunately far away in miles, but still there.

 

On the upbeat since the surgery I spent a wonderful day with my grandson that would not have been possible before.  We went trout fishing and then sightseeing to Bond Falls, climbing all of the way to the top and back down.  I was a little more out of breath than he was and a little slower, but I made it!

 

Four years ago, wow, it does not seem that long ago.  Happy anniversary and now go get a glass of water please!



Canning Memories

I love to can.  There I have said it.  I know it is old fashion, but I get pleasure from making jams, jellies, pickles, preserving peaches, tomatoes, etc. 

With that being said, gardening is an essential tool to my canning process.  I hate to garden.  I truly hate to garden.  I don't like pulling weeds, tilling the dirt, moving the rocks or removing the rocks, planting the seeds, fighting the bees for the beans, or anything at all that goes with gardening.

Jeff was the gardener.  He loved to plan the garden and do all of the things that come with the garden until we moved north and we live on rocks, but that will be another blog.

As I got my supplies out and meticulously cleaned them for the event, memories of other canning/food processing events came to mind.

My mom was not a canner, but she did make the best peach jam I ever ate and showed me how to put up peaches. She made my father pickles once, putting something extra in them to make sure they were crunchy. Unfortunately the extra something was alum and she misread the recipe and put the amount for the whole batch in each jar. Over the next few weeks the jars exploded down in the basement and she never canned again.

My Aunt Louise canned everything, sort of like me, only much better.  She had a huge crock down in the basement for lime pickles and bread and butter pickles.  It was hard as a child to push that lid back, but I would and dip my hand in pulling out the not quite ready pickles and munch away.  She would know where I was if I disappeared from my kitchen stool.

Our friend Bobby had sweet corn.  He would call to let us know when it was ready to for us to pick.  We were at a family birthday party (actually Ryan's and mine) and the call came.  We  gathered our nephew Zak and up to the farm we went.  The boys headed into the corn patch.  I opened the trunk, mind you the trunk was huge.  With in a short time period, those two fools filled the trunk.  Now it was approaching 5 p.m. and we all know the best time to put up produce is immediately after it is picked.  Home we flew, called in the troupes (Jeff's mom and dad).  We all shucked corn until we got enough cleaned that I could start blanching it and Shirley cutting it off the bone.  Jeff and his dad were laughing in the yard and Shirley and I in the house.  Memories.  We did 72 quarts of corn for the freezer that night, but most importantly we did memories.


Another adventure came after a long fun day with my mom. I walked into my home and there were tomatoes.  Tomatoes on the counter, tomatoes in coolers, tomatoes on bags, and a note from my honey saying Bobby called.  Of course the man also had to leave to go to his Friday and Saturday night job of playing in the band.  There I sat with my tomatoes.  After a little thought and fretting, I got my sleeves rolled up and picked up the phone to call my canning mentor, Shelley.  With the phone on my shoulder (no cordless or speaker phone back then), I visited with her through 30 quarts of juice and stewed tomatoes.

Shelley is a special friend.  We met at the Ritz in Clear Lake, she being a Ventura girl and I a Laker.  She was the set up girl and I the potato girl.  We hit it off and have been friends for life.  Life has thrown Shelley some curve balls and I thought cancer was going to take my friend.  Unfortunately it has taken her eyesight so she is not able to can or garden any more, but as I got my canning weapons out yesterday and got the first batch of jelly cooking, I picked up the phone and called.  Now with the speaker phone I laughed and visited with Shelley all the while as my cranberry jelly was cooking. She is an amazing woman.  She is learning braille.  She calls her recorder Wilson.  She still takes in all of the stray animals in Ventura heights.  She still knows more about canning than I will ever know and shares with me while I put up my jars and glow in the fact that I have just provided another homemade treat for my family and friends.

Yes canning always gives me memories along with good food for family and friends.

The elusive Red Apple Vodka

Summer is winding down up here in the woods and I would like to be able to mix up a batch of Red Apple Sangria and have a BBQ with friends at our home.  Jeff can get the accordion out, Larry can sing in his lovely baritone voice, and we can all laugh and have a great time, and the other gathering of friends can come over for the late night croquet challenge and campfire stew along with being silly and all around having fun.  We have the accordion, friends, game sets, campfire ring, and plenty of good food will be available.  Unfortunately this little bottle of vodka is missing from the line up.  Now whoever would think some thing this yummy would be difficult to find.  The Brite Spot (which has a plethora of adult beverages) has none, Super 1 and 2 nope nada.  Now the mission begins.  I have heard it can be found on the Keeweenaw Peninsula in the UP of MI.  I am hoping maybe Rockford, IL might be an option Minneapolis, MN.  I have put out feelers for this rare treat so hopefully before the snow flies (which can be sooner than one might think) I shall have a bottle or 2 in my possession.  Then the dilemma begins to hoard or use........    If you happen to see a bottle when you are out wandering and really like good sangria, grab it and I will send you the recipe (oh and grab one for me too!).

Now to a much more important event, the birthday. I have no problem with having birthdays. Lets face it we either get a year older or there is the other option which just is not as much fun. I will even tell you how old I am going to be, 57.  Yuppers, no problem at growing older.  I love birthdays.  I like giving presents, getting presents, treating friends special, being treated special; you name it.  I love birthdays and my own is no exception.  Tuesday I started the celebrating with a beautiful packages of handmade cards from my sis in Iowa. Yesterday it was lunch with Mary Ann and a fun gift bag of goodies. Last night I went out for wine and dinner with Char, Larry, and Jamey.   Jeff had to miss out on the fun as he was in Green Bay.  Tonight my sweetie and I will have a quiet evening at home.  Saturday I will get calls from the kids, SIL, and friends.  We will go to Paavo, maybe the fair, and just have a fun day.  When I was younger (45 or so) I would snoop through the house looking for my presents (also Christmas packages were not safe either), so the gifts would be hidden at his mother's house.  Now that I am grown up I do not snoop at all in the spare bedroom closet on the shelf in the corner, nope not me.  See I might be getting another year older, but there is still a lot of the silly youngster left in me.


Well it is time for another cup of coffee.  Have a great weekend everyone.  If you are near Hurley, the Paavo marathon is Saturday with the torch lighting tonight.  This is a qualifier for the Boston marathon.  Who would have ever thought that would happen in Mayberry?

Road Trip and other tidbits.

Today Jeff and I are heading south off the Ponderosa (Jeff's term for up north) to go to Rhinelander, a shopping mecca.  We are returning that rotten umbrella that caused a month of grief to Home Depot, then a trip to Menards (I know you are all wishing you could come too), and Kohls! 

Now I am headed to Kohls not for clothing or household linens (although that is an addiction too), I am looking for dishes.  Christmas dishes, grandma's dishes, Fiestaware, you name it I love dishes.  I had 2 more sets before we moved here and I constantly am at Dan's Antiques in Ironwood checking to make sure the one set with the roses is still there. Woe is me I was looking online at a Kohls flyer and there it was, Flamingo Fiestaware. I have been drooling ever since and since I am going to be another year younger in a week I whined and wined until somebody said okay we have room for one more setting (or two).  Now he made this silly statement about getting rid of a couple of place settings that were a little scratched, like that will happen.  Funny thing is I have passed this dish addiction on to my son, who also texted me to let me know there was a new color in Fiestaware and did we have it yet?  This is not for an idea for him to get me for a present.  This is for us to make sure to keep the colors up so he has a full set to inherit when the time comes.

After our shopping expedition we will go for lunch.  When we first went to Rhinelander we were thrilled as there was a Pizza Hut, so lunch was there for many a trip.  Now we have branched out and found a fun little cafe downtown that we both enjoy.  Jeff gets his liver and onions with bacon (nope not me) and I get something different each time.

After the Explorer is full and we are too we will head back to the Ponderosa. Tomorrow looks to be a gorgeous northwoods "cool" day so am looking forward to a little deck time and grilling.

Till the next rambling as Char says "ciao!".