My Eyes Are Younger Than Me!

Good news following my eye exam! I guess that is something that doesn't usually happen when a person is old. I think my last exam was two years ago and the guy said I had cataracts starting. Today, I found out I have no glaucoma, no cataracts, and no macular degeneration. I told the dr. I thought my vision was better than it used to be, and she confirmed it. She wrote me a new prescription for weaker glasses. She also said my eyes "were set for the computer", so I don't need trifocals. I'm not quite sure what that means, but I have heard previously you can train your eyes to be nearsighted or farsighted by how far you focus your vision; i.e., you can make yourself nearsighted by holding a book too close when reading. I have never been able to get any glasses to work right when I am using the computer, so I have just plodded on typing and typing without glasses, and now I think I have trained my vision to be adjusted to computer work. I still need glasses to drive and to see across the room, but the new prescription is for a lower adjustment. And I have been religious about taking my nutritional supplements, which I think has played a huge role in my improvement and subsiding cataract condition. Anyway, hurray!!!!

"A Walk to Beautiful"

If you have not yet seen this movie, it is being rebroadcast on NOVA. Be sure to watch it. My dear husband had recorded it for me a while ago, not realizing what it was about, but he likes to keep me amused. The subject is kind of . . . let's say, "icky". But we were both deeply touched by the movie, the young women in it, and the charitable organization. The website for the organization is www.fistulafoundation.org and the website for the movie is www.walktobeautiful.com If you like to donate your time or money to worthy causes, I think this is one that would make the top of the list.

Facebook

I finally stepped into the modern age and set up a Facebook page less than two days ago. What an amazing tool for finding missing loved ones! My son has a FB page, and we can instant message each other, and I wrote on his wall. I found a niece I hadn't heard from in more than 30 years, and we have e-mailed each other and written on each other's walls. And I found my son's first girlfriend, from when they were 12! And we e-mailed each other and exchanged a couple of laughs. The story of the first girlfriend: I was so proud of Todd that he called a girl when he was 12 and was so polite. We planned he would invite her to lunch on a Saturday so they could have the entire afternoon to play. We had tater tot casserole for lunch. She was dropped off at our house by her dad, and when she arrived, she was a foot taller than Todd. She was wearing a skirt and hosiery! She was a young lady! We had a lot of fun entertainment planned--board games and MTV, and we had an Atari game. Things went well through lunch and for probably an hour or so, and then Todd's 12-year-oldness got on top of him, and he just had to do somersaults and acrobatics; couldn't help himself, that's what he did best. Hmmm, not a good thing for impressing young ladies. She was very politically correct, though, a very proper young lady, and didn't start crying or go home, but spent the rest of the day talking to Lee. I have shared this with hundreds of people and they all enjoyed it. Todd still makes me laugh and I was very happy to connect with the young lady so we could share the fun of this story.

Head Trauma or Lil' Flip?

I am a person who can’t just wake up and jump in my car and go to work; never have been. It just takes me a while to wake up. If I need to be at work at 4:45, I get up at 2 or 3 a.m., so that I have time (in my words) to “get over myself”.
Everyone knows I have been ill with the flu or some other respiratory-type illness now for a couple weeks, and I am getting tiresome about my symptoms and all their details. I have improved every day, so you can imagine my dismay when I awoke at 5 a.m. on Saturday to prepare myself for work, and I had something wrong with my hearing! It was a horrible buzzing and roaring sound, with blank spots. Okay, I did have an earache with this flu, but I thought it was better, and until now, it hadn’t affected my hearing. My first thought was an ear infection or fluid in my ear. Ohh, wait—my hearing is fine, it’s not my ear at all. The noise I hear is inside my head, a whooshing, sucking sound! My second thought was I had a stroke—only a brain lesion would make that kind of howling noise. Or--nooo, I think I would feel much worse if I had a stroke and maybe not be able to use my arm or leg and be unable to make coffee; the noise isn’t inside my head. Oh, I know, it has been storming—that must be it; yeh, the wind is blowing. Well, hmmm, if the wind is blowing that hard, as unlikely as it is to happen in California, it does sound somewhat similar to a tornado.
So to check on the storm, I pulled open the back door after I had determined I did not have ear infection, wasn’t going deaf, hadn’t had a stroke, and was still able to make (and, most importantly, drink) coffee. It was just Lil’ Flip, a “celebrity” motorcycle rider who lives behind us, riding his stunt cycle, revving the engine, and sliding around corners, over and over, at 5:00 a.m. in the rain. Silly me, I thought stunt riding was a 5 p.m. thing, not a 5 a.m. thing, and it hasn’t been that long ago that he was “stunting” and ran into the mailbox, and broke his arm.
I’m happy to report that my flu symptoms continue to subside, my hearing disorder is gone, and I don’t think Lil’ Flip broke any bones.

Lemon Bars

We are still eating yummy things from the backyard. I have an antique recipe for lemon bars, which I have modified to something more to our taste, more intense. If Greg's family has a potluck, his sisters and cousins are very happy when I bring these. I took pictures, but they were too blurry to put on the blog. When they are in season, I use Meyer lemons from the yard. I use a Pyrex pan--which is better when making acid-y things. And I don't over bake them so the filling stays softer. This was our dessert this evening.

Lemon Bars

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup lemon juice

Cut together flour, butter, and confectioners sugar. Press into 8" x 8" pan. Bake 20 minutes at 325 - 350 degrees. Beat the remaining ingredients together. Pour over crust and bake 20 minutes. Be sure to watch closely so they don't over bake.

Baked Potato Soup

I got the idea from Lee to make this soup, and found the recipe on the internet. I have been cooking since I was 7 years old, and don’t care too much about measuring ingredients. This soup is great for free-lancing: you can add more of the stuff you like and leave out whatever you don’t like; you can make it thicker or thinner; and you can make a lighter version with low fat ingredients. Greg had more dental work done today, so this is our dinner. Plus, we are having a storm, so it is definitely soup weather. And baked potatoes are my favorite food of all time.

Baked Potato Soup
· 2/3 cup butter
· 2/3 cup flour
· 7 cups milk
· 4 large baking potatoes, baked, cooled, peeled and cubed, about 4 cups
· 4 green onions, thinly sliced
· 10 to 12 strips bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
· 1 1/4 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
· 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
· 3/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preparation:
In a large Dutch oven or stockpot over low heat, melt butter. Stir in flour; stir until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened. Add potatoes and onions. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until soup begins to bubble. Reduce heat; simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients; stir until cheese is melted. Serve baked potato soup immediately. This baked potato soup recipe serves 6 to 8.

Todd and Lee at work

I guess this is a day for nostalgia. Check out these two grubby looking little rats. Don't they look proud of the big hole they dug by the front door? Lee thought this might be the first sign that she was considering archeology as a career. They filled in the hole every night and dug it out again every morning. Hmmm, sometimes historical photographs might be more than a mom should look at . . . I wonder why I didn't wash the door once in a while--or ever by the looks of it.

Retro Bride and Groom

Is this picture a treasure, or what? It is my mom and dad on their wedding day.

Therald Esser and Esther Kanz were married on August 21, 1946. My dad was in the Navy during WWII, and then was a farmer all his life. His favorite pastimes were hunting, fishing, and playing cards. Mom was a telephone operator before they were married, and then a professional homemaker. She always cooked and baked awesome things for us to eat, sewed, and loved to garden.