Flu and Dad, II

My fever broke and I feel fine. Woohoo!

My dad is having surgery tomorrow to put in a dialysis port. They still hope that they can find the delicate balance for his system and keep the fluid off. They hope that he will then be able to go home.

Flu and Dad

I have the flu, I think. I would appreciate prayers for quick healing.

My dad has suffered some setbacks since my last post. He has taken on 15 pounds of fluid and his heart is only pumping at 20%. This has resulted in the fluid accumulation and his kidneys aren't working properly. They are trying to decide whether or not to do dialysis. if they do dialysis then he might have permanent kidney failure. The other option is to just let things run their course.

Homemade "Baked" Beans

I made homemade baked beans in the slow cooker for the first time this weekend. I don't have a picture because they were consumed before I had a chance. The usual suspects were involved: ketchup, molasses, onion, mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey, and spices as desired. There are two things that I want to encourage y'all to try. First, don't be afraid of using dried beans. It allows you to control the sodium and additives. It isn't that hard to soak beans in a container. Then put them in a pot with water and cook them until tender. They don't even require stirring at this point.

The other key is to use FRESH ginger. The spicy, aromatic flavor is beyond wonderful. I started the slow cooker on high for 1.5 hours and then turned it down to low and let it go for about 6 hours. I stirred the mixture a few times.

Tough Crowd

Don't mess with me. I hang with a pretty tough gang these days.

Flood-Not the Jars of Clay version

Our house flooded. We had 8 inches of standing water in our full sized basement. Pilot lights went out. Appliances stopped working. My mom came home from work and smelled gas when she opened the door. She went to the neighbor's house and called the fire department. They came and shut off the gas. Then they found the water. Pretty much everything is ruined. I drove home to help. We cleaned everything. We threw away most of the stuff and only saved really sentimental things. It was nice to look through old notes and reports from school. It was not so great to throw them all away. Everything was so slimy and gross.

Praise God for friends who were such a huge help to my mom. It could have been a lot worse and a lot more expensive to fix and dispose of everything. Also praise God that we were able to save most of my mom's old things. I thought they were gone and she was so upset. Her Alphabet Coloring Book made it through. My Kirk Cameron poster was tragically lost.

Baking Fool

I made two cakes recently and they tasted great. I am not great at taking pictures of them so please realize that the pictures don't do them justice.

This is my Berry Quickbread. It was gluten, dairy, refined sugar, and egg free. The picture looks weird but it was very moist and aromatic. Unfortunately, I don't remember how I made it.



This was my favorite. I made a cherry upside down cake that was dairy and egg free. I used a normal cake recipe with cherry juice as the liquid. I used cherries, oil (minimal), and brown sugar for the topping. This was so good.


I have the bad habit of not writing down my ingredients. It always seems logical and easy to remember at the time. If these luscious treats are calling out to you then let me know. I can probably put together something close to these guys.

I recommend watching someone play this on guitar if you ever get the chance. This video doesn't do it justice.

5 Things Meme

This meme has been going around for a while so here is my contribution.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Me

1. You might know that I love country music but you probably don't know that I was a groupie. My grandfather has played music in various bands all my life. He used to tour but having kids ended that. He is my favorite musician and I wish I had more recordings of him.

2. My favorite childhood memories usually involve the campground that my family used to work at. We all helped including me. I used to work with the horses (OK, mostly ponies for me). My favorite memories involve cooking over the campfires and singing songs with my whole family. We all contributed our various instrumental and vocal talents. The Partridge family and the Brady's had nothing on us.

3. I get really annoyed when people think that food science=culinary school. If you have ever seen me chop something you would realize that I have never been trained in such things.

4. I really wish I had red hair. I think that is why I dated boys with red hair in high school. They were dreamy.

5. I am a redneck, literally. I am not talking about the fact that I worked in a steel plant during college or the fact that I might refer to my manual transmission pickup truck as my baby. My birthmark is a red patch on my neck. I actually get it from my mom's side.

If you knew these things about me then I tag you.

Chicago

Do you know anyone traveling to Chicago on Wednesday March 12th? I could really use a ride.

Giggling Girl Moment

Dialysis, We Don't Need No Stinking Dialysis

So my dad's doctors are going to remove his temporary dialysis port. Apparently his kidneys decided to start working again. Also, they removed his drainage tube.

My Dad's Attitude

Many people have asked me how my dad's attitude has been. I had a nice long chat with my stepmom yesterday and I asked her about it. My dad's attitude is apparently great. His current plan is to get out of the hospital and get strong so that he can share his story with others. Who knows? My father might just be the next great evangelist (hopefully minus the scandal).

My Dad- Quick Update

Today they took out my dad's breathing tube! That man has one very strong will to live.

Calling All Bakers

I am sitting on about four posts but for now I have a request. Due to the unfortunate "holiday" on Thursday I have decided to make something nice. I saw a Red Velvet Cake for the very first time this weekend. It was very red and looked fabulous. Does anyone out there have a recipe that they know works? I am okay if my cake looks like I severed an artery but I need it to have flavor equal to or greater than the effort required to make it.

My Dad

I am happy that it is Friday although last Saturday wasn't the greatest day either. Last Saturday my father's ongoing fluid problem almost cost him his life (again). His kidneys stopped working and toxins started to build-up in his system. He started to exhibit the classic kidney failure signs of lethargy, delirium, and other physiological things too gross to mention. They didn't think he would be able to take a "normal" dialysis so they started to prep him and insert tubes for a 24 hour type dialysis. The doctors also became concerned that his lung would collapse so they tried to suction out the fluid. While suctioning, my dad vomited and it went into his lungs. He lost blood flow to his brain for a few minutes but they were able to bring him back. They put him on a respirator, started dialysis, and waited for him to awaken.
Praise the Lord! My father woke-up and while still on the respirator can answer questions by nodding or squeezing hands. He has been on dialysis since Saturday. Today they switched from a 24 hour-a-day dialysis to a couple of houre each day. It is a more aggressive form that pulls off more fluid. They hope to take him off the respirator soon.