A Medley of Brothers & Sisters

Hello and Happy Wednesday, my friends!
After missing a couple of weeks, 
I'm glad to be linking back up with Terri's...

Today is... 

NATIONAL SIBLINGS DAY

 and you can read all about it here.

Just copy and paste the questions from her blog to your blog,
plug in your own answers, and then link back up to the Medley.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

1. How many siblings do you have? Are you rivals or do you support each other in all you do?

Most of you already know this if you have followed me for very long...I am the "baby" out of eight siblings. My oldest brother (we were 20 years apart) passed away in 2017, leaving a huge hole in our family. We have never been rivals in any way, shape of form and have always supported each other in every thing and in every way. There have never been any family squabbles that I can recall, just a whole lot of love...and I don't say that to brag or boast. I say that out of a most thankful heart to the Lord for allowing me to be blessed by belonging to this crazy bunch. I look forward with great anticipation to every chance I get to visit with my dear siblings and try to up get to Ohio at least once a year. Here are some pictures of us throughout the past several years...I couldn't find any of the old black and whites from the early times where we were all together. Bob had already left home by the time I came along and gathering the rest of us was no easy task to get snapshots, when the old Brownie camera had film in it, that is! 

From left to right...Bob, #1; Doug, #5; Lois, #2; Janet, #6; Ruby, #3; Barbara, #7; Jerry, #4; Me, #8

One of the last reunions when Mom was still with us.

The year brother Bob was to ill to join the reunion. A little photo editing brought us all together again.

And then there were seven...

 2.  Have you heard of the Birth Order Book?  What are your thoughts on the premise that your birth order affects everything you do in life?

Yes, I have heard of this book but I don't know that I ever really thought much about the subject. I do think there might be something to it in a family where there are just a few children but not so much when there are many. I think it also depends on how the parents relate to the children. I personally have not experienced a birth order thing but can certainly understand that it could be an issue in some family situations. All I know is that we just loved each other and thoroughly enjoyed growing up in a large family. I've shared this photo before but I just love it so much. This is the flip-side of the "birth order"...the oldest and the youngest.

3.  Is there something that you still do that drives your siblings crazy?

Using the word "crazy" and my "siblings" in the same sentence would be a bit redundant... for the simple fact that we ALL crazy. I haven't lived around my family since we relocated to Kentucky in 1981 and moved even farther away to NC in 1992 but when we get the opportunities to get together, there's a whole lot of crazy goin' on! I'm sure there are many on the outside that just may not get our brand of "crazy"...lol! Being the baby of the family had many perks and getting away with murder was one of them. Just let me say that I have mellowed over the years.👼

4.  Are you closer to your siblings now than you were when you were younger?

Although there was never a time when we were not a close bunch, through the years we have all gotten closer in our spirits. We all love Jesus and we live our lives accordingly. The six siblings between the oldest and the youngest have always lived close to each other in Ohio, a few of them even worshipping at the same church. My oldest brother who passed away in 2017 had lived in South Carolina since I was a tiny child when he went into the Air Force...and then we moved our family to KY in '81. As we all grew in age, our relationships to each only grew stronger and with the help of Facebook, our connections were strengthened even more due to the ease of being able to see what see were all up to on any given day.

5.  Would you dare to tell us an embarrassing story about a sibling?

Of course this story is no longer embarrassing to my dear sis, Barb since she was just a young girl when this happened but all of the brother and sisters sure gave her a hard time about it for many years. We had a favorite aunt who lived in the country and we would often go and stay with her for days and play with our cousins. At that time, there was no indoor toilet and the outhouse was your only option...we actually thought this was kinda fun. Anyway, it seems there was this nest of yellow jackets living under the rim...I think you know where I'm going with this. That day she became their target.  They (I don't actually know how many) butt but all I do know is at least one of them stung her on the butt hit that target......and out she ran, crying to Aunt Clara, panties and all still down around her knees! Not too many years later, Aunt Clara was blessed with a nice indoor potty. 😉

6.  Tell us something random about your week.

A couple of things, actually. Jim and I had just finished dinner the other night and all of a sudden we heard that all too familiar, unmistakable sound of a bird hitting the glass patio door. Jim thought the little thing was dead and I rushed out to swoop it up before one of the feral cats had him for dinner. It was a beautiful baby downy woodpecker...and I immediately went into "bird whisperer" mode.

It didn't take long for this little one to get his/her bearings back...only a little dazed and confused and soon flew off my hand and onto a tree branch a few yards away. I consider this a blessing from the Lord to be able to do this on several occasions and there is nothing quite like having that amazing, wild creature sitting in the palm of your hand.

And on another subject altogether, I finally made good on a gift certificate to a local nail salon that was gifted to me for Christmas from Adam and Carrie. I started feeling so bad after the first of the year that I really had no desire to go get that much needed pedicure.

All I can I say is ....AAAHHHHH! 

~

So that's pretty much it for me this week!

Spring is finally popping out everywhere and I'm feeling good!

Hugs and blessings to ALL!

APRIL FOOLS'! (a day late)

I'm B-A-A-A-C-K...

...and it feels really good to get in to my routine of life again...

however mundane as that might be.

It took me a while to regain my strength but I am getting more of my zest back every day.
The steroids and I seem to be getting along pretty well...at least no crazy beard whiskers yet!
I just hope and pray they are doing what they are supposed to do.
I will find out later this month when I return for a CT and to see my doctor.

But in the mean time....

...it seems that April Fools' Day is hanging around for another day...

...IT'S SLEETING AND SNOWING AS WE SPEAK!!

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day.

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You're one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

a cloud come over the sunlit arch,

And wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you're two months back in the middle of March."

~Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time, 1926

BUT...it is definitely springtime on my dining room table!

Aren't they gorgeous?

And just yesterday, although quite chilly, I picked a handful of these lovelies

 that are growing in patches all over the yard. 

"When the time is ripe for certain things,
these things appear in different places in the manner
of violets coming to light in the early spring."
~Farkas Bolyai 

They are only about the size of a fingernail so I had to get in real close.

One of my favorites things in the spring is when these sweet little bluets begin to take over.



They are currently growing profusely in thick patches all over the yard.

Don't they make such a sweet little bouquet?

I have to threaten Jim with bodily harm ask Jim to mow around them until the blooms are finished.

He keeps telling me he might accidently forget to do that. 😣
~
Even though April has played a dirty trick on us, it sounds like it will be short-lived.
Tomorrow is to be sunny and 70 degrees and it only gets better from there...
...it's supposed to be close to 80 this weekend.

So what's spring doing in your little corner of the world??
 

A room with a view...well, kinda.

This has been my view for the past five days....

...at least, from my standpoint...or laypoint, I guess I should say.

I raised up high enough at one point to see that I was somewhat mistaken.

I actually think the yellow Porta-Potties add a nice spring-like contrast, don't you?

(sorry for the horrid cell phone shots)

But at least I always knew what time it was.

It's fun to watch the minutes and hours tick by when you feel like crap are as sick as a dog, right?

NOTE:
Before I go any further with the story, 
I want to stop right here and apologize for not answering emails, 
replying to your comments or visiting your blogs. 
I guess you see that I have been just a bit preoccupied. 
I know that y'all have been praying for me and I HAVE FELT THOSE PRAYERS...
and the best part is THEY ARE WORKING!

So when I last left you, I was due to go in for the final dreaded biopsy #5.

And that, I did.

I pretty much knew it would the most invasive procedure that I had had so far.

Have mercy...it was.

It was an outpatient thing and I was home by late afternoon the same day (Tuesday).

Wednesday was really painful but by Thursday, the pain was beginning to subside somewhat.

I thought I was on the upswing.

Wrong.

Although the pain was better, I was very lethargic and just had an overall feeling of yuck.

I began noticing the jaundice a bit on Thursday evening and had pretty much decided that

Friday morning we were probably going to have to head 30 minutes down the highway for Duke ER.

Friends, let me tell you, I was as yellow as minion, including the whites of my eyes.

After several lo-o-o-ng hours, many lab tests and a CT scan, I was admitted.
Did you know that most insurance companies require you to spend at least six hours in the ER
before they will allow them to admit you?
SHHH...don't tell anyone...it's a secret...
If you ask them they will deny it...unless that is if you are a trauma case.

My bilirubin level was dangerously high...the normal level for an adult is somewhere around 1.2 milligrams per deciliter (whatever that means)...mine was 19.4.

So you know those consent forms that we have to sign before having any kind of procedure?

There's always a potential risk and our anatomies are all unique as well...

BUT...and it's a BIG BUT...



...here's the absolute BEST NEWS YET...

...that last biopsy from he## that made me so sick also was NEGATIVE, PEOPLE!!!!!

Although I know that my God has always had this...and still does,

I'd be lying if I said I haven't had my share of doubts.
Being human has that effect on us, doesn't it?

By Sunday, St. Paddy's Day, I was feeling so much better and getting back to my old self...

...taking advantage of anything I could find to make the time pass more quickly.

My bilirubin level dramatically decreased over the weekend...

...on Saturday it had already come down to 7 and by Sunday, down to a 3.9.

I had been scheduled on Monday for an endoscopic procedure to see how things were looking

but the results of my labs were so much better than anticipated and it was cancelled...YAY!

Also, the CT results showed that the so called tumor had not grown in size at all...YAY!

On Monday morning, the BIG DOG doctor came to pay me a visit.

He just shook his head with when he saw me...in a good way, of course.

Just a month earlier he was sure it was cancer.

He told us that among the hundreds of patients he sees every year,

he might get two, maybe three tough nuts to crack like me among them. 

So finally it seems we are now looking at the autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) diagnosis,

the one that we have all been hoping and have prayed so hard for.

Autoimmune disease is when your own body doesn't play nice with other parts of itself.

Now, I wonder what in the world my pancreas and biliary system ever did to deserve such a thing?!

But you know what?

Even before the day I made the journey from my mother's womb into this life,

my Lord had already decided exactly how this body that He created would function...or not.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139: 13-14

So yesterday I began a short course of steroids which is the treatment for this AIP.

Hopefully, it won't be long before the "tumor" shrinks and I'll be good again.

But whenever I begin to look like this, it's time to stop...no matter what.

~

So I'm home, I'm feeling so much better and I'm looking forward to proceeding (with caution)

to a future filled with hope, dreams and many more of God's blessings!

Love to all, 

A tough nut to crack...apparently.

A tough nut to crack:
a problem that is challenging to solve.
~ 

Whenever I hear that expression, "a tough nut to crack",

I immediately form a picture in my brain of the Christmases of my childhood.

My mom had this big wooden bowl that she got out specifically to fill with a variety of nuts

and it was of course accompanied by a couple of nutcrackers.

source

For a little girl, it was not always easy to crack them, some more so than others.

I never really got much joy out that particular holiday treat...it was too much work!

And while we're on the subject...just for fun...

...do you happen to know which nut is among the hardest to crack?

Apparently, it's the macadamia nut...I don't recall even knowing about them back then.

It says here that it takes 300 pounds of pressure per square inch to be exact,

making the Macadamia the hardest nut in the world to crack!

(just thought I'd throw that in) 

~

So I figure that you may be wondering about what's up with me since I've been a little absent

from Blogland for the past couple of weeks.

It seems like every week I have another procedure and I just haven't found the time,

nor have I been very inspired to post anything, much less, another non-update.
They are all sounding a bit boring and repetitive...another biopsy, inconclusive, non-diagnostic...

If I seem to sound a bit tired of all of this, you just might be right.

BUT...

* I am thankful for a group of caring doctors who seem to stop at nothing to get a proper diagnosis.

* I am thankful for the many dear friends and the prayers being spoken on my behalf.

* I am very thankful for a devoted husband who has been there with me during every appointment.

* I am also thankful for a loving family, all Christ-followers, who believe in miracles.

* I am SO very thankful for NO CANCER (so far) to be found.

* And I am MOST thankful for my JESUS who is keeping me sane throughout this whole ordeal!


source

Aren't these little guys cute?

source

So here's the latest...

The needle core biopsy (through my back) that was done last Wednesday was "non-diagnostic".

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I will have biopsy #5...also performed by an interventional radiologist...

a procedure resembling a cardiac catheterization except the catheter will be going into my bile duct.

They say this will be the last one.

I think I remember hearing those words before.😕

~

Sooo....there you have it...

...I am enduring all of this poking and prodding pretty well, if I do say so myself.

I'm pretty tough.

And unfortunately, a pretty tough nut to crack.

I'm thinking about changing my name to Mac...

...short for Macadamia.

😉

A Strawberry Flavored Medley

Welcome to the last week of February.....really??

~

So it finally stopped raining...

...these flowers sure have helped brighten up things around here this past week.

Like so many other areas, we've had enough rain here to last us for a very long time.

The sun finally came out on Sunday afternoon and the last couple of days have been lovely!

Even I, the lover of rainy days, was getting my fill.

I guess I better soak up all the sunshine I can since more is on the way.
~
As you may remember, I underwent my third biopsy last week.
This time, I had the report in just two days and the results were very encouraging.
The doctor who did my procedure said she didn't think it looked like cancer, but inflammation,
and the report below came from the cytologist who tested the samples.

Of course were very relieved to get these result, still being a bit cautiously optimistic.
Dr. Allen still believes this is most likely a malignancy, not wanting to give false hope.
He also told us that he wants to be proven wrong.
And if you are relying on statistics, it is the most probable diagnosis.

BUT...my God is bigger and smarter than statistics!
.
One more biopsy (a different approach this time) will be scheduled very soon.
If this one doesn't prove cancer, I will likely begin a short course of steroids.
If the "tumor" shrinks with the steroids, then inflammation will be proven as well.
Autoimmune pancreatitis is when your body, for reasons unknown, attack it's own pancreas.
It's quite rare and often disguises itself as a malignant tumor, appearing as such on CT and MRI.
It is also very difficult to diagnose...thus the many biopsies.
So I say biopsy the heck out of me...as long as they don't miss any cancer!

I saw this meme on Facebook and immediately related it to what's going on in my life. 

In order for the Lord to give us the desires of our heart, we need to be willing to wait on them.

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.

For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 30:18

~

So I was all prepared to put out a plea to help our dear friend, Diane of Lavender Dreams.

Most of you already know that her lovely blog was removed for reasons unknown...

...but the good news is SHE GOT IT BACK, praise the Lord!

It's quite a mystery as to why this happened but the important thing is that she has her blog back!

I had not backed up my blog since I've been blogging...nearly six years.

Well, guess who's blog is all backed up now??

So today on the Wednesday Medley, Terri tells us that it is...

NATIONAL STRAWBERRY DAY

Hop on over to the Medley, copy and paste her questions to your own blog, 

plug in your answers, and link up!

You just might find out something you didn't know before. 😉

Terri writes...

We continue with February’s heart-shaped and red theme by observing National Strawberry Day on February 27. These juicy, sweet berries can brighten up any dish and are delicious all on their own.

There are a few different stories behind the origin of the name. The more widely accepted version is that the berries would drop off the leaves and become “strewn” about the plant. Overtime “strewn-berries” became “strawberries”. There was a time (and some gardeners still do this today) when strawberry beds were mulched with straw, insulating the plants over the winter, keeping weeds at bay during the growing season and making them easier to harvest. Another sweet story tells of English children stringing the berries on grass straws and selling the “straw berries” in their neighborhoods.

Not only are they delicious, but they are also fragrant. One of the more aromatic fruits, they belong to the rose family.

Strawberries are grown in nearly every corner of the Earth (if the Earth had corners) except for her most frozen southern and northern reaches. Along with all these possible locations, there are over 600 varieties of strawberries as well.

An excellent source of Vitamin C, strawberries are also a good source of folic acid, potassium and fiber. At 55 calories and zero fat in 1 cup, these sweet things hit the spot when a snack time is calling!

HOW TO OBSERVE

While the best season for strawberries is from late April to August, now might be a good time to scout out strawberry festivals and pick-your-own farms or plan to plant your own strawberry patch. Imagine sitting in your very own patch eating sun-warmed, sweet berries you picked or even grew yourself under clear blue skies.

BERRY PICKING TIPS:

• Pick fully ripe berries. Strawberries don’t continue to ripen if picked too early like bananas or pears.
• Don’t overfill your container. Berries are tender and can bruise easily.
• Don’t wash the fruit until you are ready to eat. Strawberries are susceptible to mold and washing will speed up spoilage.
• The best time to pick strawberries is on cool, cloudy days, but if they will be eaten right away, any time is perfect!
• If you pick more than you can eat before they spoil, strawberries freeze very well. Pluck off the green caps and toss into a freezer bag. Use for smoothies, ice cream or cake toppings.

HISTORY

Within our research, we were unable to identify the creator of National Strawberry Day. It is listed as an American Food Holiday.

1.  Given all that information on this 🍓National Strawberry Day🍓, do you have a favorite recipe for strawberries?  Would you share it with us?

Who needs a recipe? I like mine just like this...  

 

...that's a real humdinger, isn't it? Or how about this one? 

No real recipe here...if I remember correctly, this was my red, white and blue dessert last July 4th.

Again, no recipe needed...

...but since you asked for one...

Strawberry-Pretzel Salad

(click here for recipe)

2.  Some people think the smaller, northern varieties are sweeter than the larger berries that grow in the south and in California.  What are your thoughts on that?

I agree, the strawberries that you buy in the stores usually don't even compare to the locally grown ones. "Bigger is better" is usually not the case when it comes to strawberries. Every now and then you can get lucky but if they look white inside, you can pretty much count on them tasting like mushy cardboard... no thank you.

3.  There is a Strawberry Festival right here in Plant City, Florida (next town over from Lakeland) and it is a huge event that lasts 11 days with headliner acts each day.  Have you ever been to a Strawberry Festival?

There are many cities who have their own brand of Strawberry Festivals, one being in a town close to where I grew up in Troy, Ohio. I know it lasts for several days but I don't have any memories of attending it. My sister still lives there and I'm pretty sure she has been to a few of them over the years.

4.  Strawberries are grown in every US state.  Have you ever grown them in your garden?

I have never attempted to grow them in a garden of my own but I'd like to give it a try one day.

5.  Strawberry is the only fruit that has seeds on the outside, and technically it is not a berry but rather a fruit, and would you be surprised to learn that strawberries belong to the rose family?  Do you have any strawberry trivia to share with us?

Well, it seems I learn something new every day...I did not know that the strawberry belonged to the rose family! Did you know that folklore states that if you split a double strawberry in half and share it with the opposite sex, you'll soon fall in love? I didn't either...thanks, Google! 😉

6.  Tell us something random about your week!!

I am looking forward to getting into this book that I received in the mail yesterday. My pastor's wife will be leading a ladies small group starting this Sunday afternoon and this is the subject of our study. I took one look at the title and knew I was all in. Did I ever tell you that I don't believe in coincidences?

I know I keep saying this but I'll say it again...

thank you SO MUCH for your prayers!

Much love,