Adrift On The Lake

My husband died

2015-09-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

Exactly 20 months ago today, my best friend, my husband, Don, died.

20 Months. 1 year, 8 months. 608 days.

Yep, I count the days.

A few months after my last blog post (from 2012), Don was diagnosed with cancer. Lymphoma. Specifically it was called "Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma." Also known as DLBCL. Stage IV.

Don was the epitome of health and to discover the nasty stomach pains he was experiencing was -- cancer -- was devastating. That's an understatement. There are no words to begin to express what we felt that day. That day was Thursday, April 25. We came home from the doctor's office that afternoon and together we just sat there in silence. The doctor told us we had to decide on an oncologist. We knew he had lymphoma but we didn't know what kind yet. We didn't know where to begin. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know who to call. It just didn't seem real.

Don wanted to tell our daughter first. She was in college. He didn't want to tell anybody else until he spoke with her, and later that evening he was able to talk to her. Listening to his conversation suddenly made everything REAL. Surreal actually. After he hung up the phone with her is when the reality of our situation hit me.

I spent all day Friday trying to find an oncologist with no success. On Sunday night at 10 pm, I drove Don to the ER in our town because he was in so much pain that prescription painkillers didn't help. The first of so many ER visits that I eventually lost track of how many. The next morning, he was taken by ambulance to a larger hospital in Sioux Falls, SD about two hours away. The first of numerous ambulance trips. He spent a week in the hospital on that trip. The first of many hospital stays. It was during this time they got an exact diagnosis of his cancer. He had so many tests, it was surreal. He began chemotherapy. The first of many chemotherapy treatments.

We were told that DLBCL was a very common lymphoma. A very curable lymphoma. We read all we could about it and we had high hopes that he could beat it. We prayed. A lot.

Three weeks later, we were told that he had an additional aspect to the lymphoma. It was called c-myc. This diagnosis turned everything upside down. About 5% of DLBCL have this translocation. There is not much written about it that we could find. At least in layman's terms. Every article we could find ended with "poor prognosis." Our oncologist told us it fell into "the grey zone" for lymphoma.

The next 8 months were hell. In the beginning, someone told us "welcome to the roller coaster" and that's exactly what it was. So many ups and downs, twists and turns.

Because of the c-myc translocation, the oncologist in Sioux Falls sent us to an oncologist specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. It was decided that Don would continue his chemotherapy in Sioux Falls rather than transfer to Mayo.

At the end of the chemotherapy treatment, in September, we were told the cancer was pretty much gone. They didn't use the words "remission" -- they said "no evidence of disease" remained. We were so excited! Don was starting to feel good again now that the chemo wasn't being given every 21 days.

Don went for a checkup on a Friday in October. CT scan, bloods tests were great. Doctor said everything looked absolutely wonderful.

Just 3 days later, we were back. The exact same tests showed the cancer had returned -- and was stronger than ever. In just THREE DAYS.

The Sioux Falls oncologist called the Mayo Clinic oncologist. We were told to drive straight to the Mayo Clinic. About a 4-5 hour drive. Get there ASAP. They wanted to start a new chemo that very night.

The next 3 months were spent trying different chemos. Salvage chemo is what they called it. First one did not work. Second one did not work. Third one did not work. Many blood transfusions and especially platelet transfusions happened during this time. We spent 10 hours on Christmas Eve in the local hospital with transfusions. On January 2nd, they called off the stem cell transplant he was supposed to have later that month. (Called an autologous stem cell transplant. Using his own stem cells.) The procedure we had been told is necessary to save his life.

They began palliative chemo but we were not told he was terminal. We were told they were still hoping to knock back the cancer enough to get him into a clinical trial which would still lead to the stem cell transplant.

On January 28, I had to call an ambulance for Don. We had just returned home the day before from a 10-day stay at the Mayo Clinic.

He died that night.

20 months ago today.

I was 52 years old. I'm not supposed to be a widow at 52. We were supposed to grow old together and die together in our sleep. Holding hands. When we are old.

From that day on, everything became a blur. I was actually disappointed every morning when I woke up. I didn't want to wake up. I didn't want to go through a day. Yet it happened every single day. I existed through the days. 608 of them so far.

We never discussed Don dying. We knew it could happen. But we didn't talk about it. If the doctors had said something like get your affairs in order, you have x amount of time left, we probably would have talked about it then. The doctors never told us that. Other people we knew who had cancer were told this. Our doctors gave us hope, even when we were told how bad the cancer was getting.

I have prayed more than I ever prayed these 608 days. I have asked God for signs. I have asked God to send Don back. I have asked God to let me join him. I have asked God for a lot. I have prayed someone will call or stop by. I have sat in my house and watched my friends and neighbors go on with their lives, hoping one of them will suddenly come over and drag me out of the house. Or bring me food. Or show up with a bottle of wine and just sit and talk. Or show up without the wine. Or just call. I find it hard to leave my house. I want to do so many things and I think I'm going to do them. But I don't. After 20 months, I rarely hear from anybody. After 20 months, sometimes I think I'm ready to begin participating in things again but it's been so long... it's awkward to me now.

When people ask how I am, I always say I'm doing well. I'm good. I'm fine. Things are great. Nobody wants to hear me say no, I'm not okay; I'm scared to pieces and all alone and I don't want to do anything. I put on a happy face and smile and be cheerful and get through the day.

The world feels like it's spinning a million miles an hour around me. And I am standing still watching it.

I pray that nothing major goes wrong in the house. A few minor things have happened and they've send me into a spiraling panic. I've learned how to do a lot of things -- small things, but they're big to me. Don always took care of everything. If a toilet wasn't working, I told him and then he fixed it. That was the way things worked. Don could do anything. He knew everything. He was a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, an engineer, a car mechanic, a gardener and every other thing you could think of. He rarely called a professional to do something because he could do it all himself. He only called a professional if he didn't want to do it.

I could ask for help. And I have a few times. But calling someone for help, even though I know whomever I call would be happy to help, is hard. Only in sheer desperation have I been able to ask for help. And I can't do it for every little thing, so I try to learn how to do things myself. A few months after Don died, a friend came over and changed the a/c or furnace filter. I'm really not sure exactly what to call that. The filter. To change it involves moving a utility sink. That is dealing with plumbing. Scares me as much as something electrical. I watched my friend do it, he showed me how to do it -- and I couldn't do it after that. I have had sleepless nights worrying about that stupid filter. This past weekend, over a year later, I said a few prayers and decided to do it. And I did. Changing that filter was a HUGE accomplishment for me! Huge.

Has God answered my prayers? Some, yes, definitely. Not all of them, thankfully. :)

Has God sent me signs? I can say a definite YES! Beginning just a few days after Don died, I started seeing signs. Signs that God was reassuring me. Signs that God is with me. When Don was sick, we brought up signs... A sign that if one of us were to die, the other would see this and know immediately that it was the other saying hello. We wanted an animal of some sort. An animal that is in our area but rarely seen. If we decided on something like a bird or a squirrel -- well, we see those all the time. It had to be something more rare than that.

We decided upon a fox. We know there are foxes where we live but we have rarely seen one.

After Don died, I thought about the fox. I didn't know if foxes hibernate. It was winter. I figured the odds of seeing a fox were nil at that time and wondered if and when I would ever see a fox...

Suddenly, I started seeing foxes everywhere. Not a living fox but fox things. A fox figurine. A fox shape in the clouds. The strongest one came two weeks later. The pastor at my church mailed me some pamphlets on grief and he included a hand written note. On stationary with a picture of a FOX. The moment I saw that note and the picture of a fox, I KNEW that was my sign!

There have been so many other signs, too. One of them is hearts. Don used to write me notes and usually drew a heart on them. Or he'd sign a card with a drawn heart next to his name. I have seen hearts over and over. A drop of water in the sink shaped like a heart, a thread that fell on the floor and made the shape of a heart. The dog was licking the cushion on the couch and I looked down and saw she had licked a heart shape. One night the moon was shining through the windows and hitting something in its path -- to make a large heart-shaped light on the wall. A few weeks ago, I dropped a box of cereal and a bunch of it spilled onto the floor. I swept it up into a circle and went to get the vacuum. The dog decided to take a few bites while I was gone and I returned to find that my circle was now in the perfect shape of a heart.

One of Don's favorite snacks was popcorn. He loved popcorn. We had a popcorn machine and he would make it often. A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night (I usually wake up every half hour to an hour) and thought I smelled smoke. Jumped out of bed wondering where the fire extinguisher was. A few seconds later I realized I was smelling popcorn. It wasn't faint, it was a strong smell of popcorn! And it lingered for about 5 minutes. Of course that prompted me to google "I am smelling popcorn" and after reading about it on the internet, I apparently need to see a neurologist immediately. :)

Popcorn. If there were any scent to immediately associate with Don, it is popcorn.

I also know where all the fire extinguishers are now.

My latest sign came last night. I was getting ready for bed and noticed an ant on the nightstand. Now I don't like ants. Or bugs of any kind. I've had to kill spiders all by myself since Don died instead of freaking out and getting him to kill them. But an ant? On my nightstand? How on earth did an ant get in? And wherever it came in, it had made its way all the way to the bedroom and up the nightstand and was now just sitting there and looking at me. I grabbed a tissue and got ready to squash the ant, looking around to see if there were any more.

And then it hit me. An ant on the nightstand. When Don and I were dating in San Antonio, I lived across town from him in an apartment. One evening I called him in a panic because there were 100's if not 1000's of ANTS -- crawling around on my nightstand and the wall and the carpet. Like an infestation! It was horrible and I was literally panicking. He came over, all the way across town which was about a 20-30 minute drive depending on the traffic. He brought all the stuff he needed to eradicate the ants. Apparently they came in because of the soda I had knocked over a few days earlier and didn't clean up properly. The sugar in the drink attracted them.

It was also the 3rd "I'm panicking!" trip he'd made since we began dating. The first one was because of scorpions in my apartment and the second trip was because of a water problem I didn't want the maintenance people to know about because I broke my kitchen sink.

I suddenly remembered what Don told me that night. Nothing major or life-changing but he said something like "you have to learn to deal with these things. I won't always be around to do it for you." He didn't mean that in the forever sense. He worked a lot and traveled a lot for his job and wasn't always around.

Over the years, he would occasionally bring up the "ant incident" to tease me about it. And over the years he was always showing me how to do things.

Here I stood, 31 years later, with another ant on the nightstand. It was on the coaster I used for my drink. Just standing there. There were no other ants with him (I looked) he was a loner ant. I swear I could literally FEEL Don there with me! The first time I've had that feeling since he died.

I've been learning to deal with things the past 20 months. The past 608 days. I've done way more than I ever thought I could. Some things have taken me a long time to learn, such as the filter, but this morning I woke up and realized that I've been managing somewhat on my own. At least with things concerning the house. It hasn't burnt down or collapsed in deterioration yet.

Every morning I pray to God to get me through the day. And every night I thank Him -- for getting me through that day and for everything He does for me.

Note: I have been asked by a friend to collaborate, along with a few others, on a book she is writing. It is a book of real-life thoughts and experiences from women bloggers whose husbands have died. I've agreed to write at least 5 posts and today is my first. I have re-activated my old blog to do this. If you were formerly a subscriber, I have ended that service as of today.

Living on the lake can be hazardous

2012-09-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

This is the view from my home. You'd think it would be incredibly inspiring, wouldn't you?

Since moving here permanently last fall, I have had some big plans. BIG ones. I have a list of things to do that is numbered and the last thing I added to it was "#77 - Rearrange the pantry."

Guess how many things on the list I have accomplished in the past year? ONE. I have done ONE thing on my list!

I blame it on the view... each night I go to bed with thoughts of all the things I am going to do the following day. I wake up excited to be productive. Then I pour my coffee and with list in hand, I sit down to organize my thoughts and get ready. I sit down to that fantastic lake view... and stare at it all day long.

The bird feeder on our tree gets lots of action with squirrels and a variety of birds. Yesterday hubby and I sat outside on a gorgeous day. We watched a Kingfisher chattering from tree to tree while occasionally diving into the water. A mink swam along the shoreline, occasionally climbing up the rocks to look at us. Squirrels were gathering nuts from the walnut trees around our house and terrorizing the birds at the feeder. A sailboat glided around all day... we had company stop by for a visit...

I'm not totally lazy -- things like regular house cleaning, grocery shopping and the laundry gets done. I do go to work each day.

The only thing I do manage to accomplish while enjoying our lake view is reading and cross-stitching. I have read so many books on my Kindle this year that the titles are a blur in my memory!

Now that summer is over and autumn has begun, I have dusted off my to-do list and hope to start accomplishing things again! Hey - writing a blog post is #6 on my list! (Although it actually reads as: "#6 - write and publish at least two blog topics a week." It doesn't say anything about posting after six months!)

I'm getting there... :)

Thanks for visiting!

Check out our Webcam at the lake!

2012-03-23T15:30:00.017-05:00

I have a new link on the upper right hand side of my blog -- it links to our webcam!

My hubby has run a weather station for around 15 years. The first one was at our acreage and it was broadcast through the Weather Underground website for many years. We knew people viewed it, as we could see the hit counter go up. But it wasn't until he took it offline that we realized just how many people were viewing it! Apparently a few of the farmers close to us kept an eye on it; I would also get a comment or two from co-workers, friends and occasionally employees in the stores where we shopped.

A few years ago, hubby put up a new weather station at the lake. Again, it is connected to Weather Underground but he recently added it to EarthCam as well.

Here is the link to EarthCam (you can also click in the upper right corner):
http://www.mycampage.com/lostislandlakecam

And here are the links to the weather station on Weather Underground:

http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KIARUTHV2
http://classic.wunderground.com/webcams/darkclouds/1/show.html

Check out the calendar at the bottom of that link - iIt's kinda cool to see the weather change day by day!

Thanks for visiting!

Keep Calm and Blog On

2012-03-21T10:30:00.021-05:00

During my unintentional leave of absence from blogging, I have been thinking of what direction I want to take with my blog. Or, if I even wanted to continue blogging. It seems as if most blogs have a purpose – decorating, cooking, needlework, etc. When I started mine, I wanted to take part in everything! For the most part, however, I wanted a place where I could just post ‘things’ of interest to me. Especially tablescapes, easy recipes and small projects.

When we sold our acreage last fall and moved everything to our lakehouse, we did downsize a bit. I quickly discovered that a house half the size of the previous house doesn’t hold as much stuff! Cabinet, closet and storage space is now limited.

One of the downsizing items I am referring to are my dishes. I did not realize how much I had until I tried to ~~hide it all~~ put it all away at the new house. I found out just how large my collection is! And to my chagrin – so did my hubby!

When I ran out of storage room in the kitchen, living room and most of the closets, I found myself putting sets of dishes in the bathroom storage areas. Hubby found me putting dishes in there, too… I finally had to admit that I had too many.

I blame my mother. She passed on the “dish gene” to me. And when my mom passed away three years ago, her dish collection came home with me.

The majority (but not all!) of my dishes and accessories now have new homes. It felt pretty good to lighten the load in my cabinets, too!

Along with the dishes, many other items now have new homes as well. At the old house, I had multiple projects planned – refinishing a few pieces of furniture, painting a few things, updating and refreshing other things… it was a rather long list. And they were fun projects to do – not necessary ones. Projects I wanted to photograph and blog about. But those projects (along with the large basement to do them in) are no longer around to do now. And you know what?? So far I haven’t missed a single thing!

So what have I been doing all these months?? I’ve been reading – a lot. Or rather, a lot more than usual. I bought a Kindle a couple of years ago (and have upgraded twice) and it goes everywhere with me. Over the weekend, I counted how many books I have read since September: 24 fiction books, 8 books on faith and God, and 3 non-fiction books. I also started 13 other books but quit reading them about halfway through from lack of interest. (I even caught up with a year's worth of Wine Enthusiast and other magazine subscriptions that had been ignored!)

Along with books, I've been reading blogs and have kept up with each and every one that I like to follow -- I may not comment very often, but I read them all and look forward to new posts!

I’ve also renewed an interest in an old hobby of mine – cross stitching. Just after I was married 25 years ago, I started cross-stitching and literally spent every spare moment I had working on something. We have many framed pieces I completed over the years… When my daughter was born, her nursery was filled with items I had made. I continued to stitch until she was about five years old – then abruptly quit to learn and take up quilting. I’ve missed it and am enjoying working on new pieces!

Continuing from my first paragraph now, I think rather than defining an actual purpose for my blog, I am going to "blog on" as I have been. I enjoy posting about the lake – and, well, whatever else comes to mind!

Thanks for continuing to hang in there with me and I’m looking forward to blogging again!

Thanks for visiting!

Larry the Cable Guy filmed his show at our lake!

2012-03-13T16:00:00.014-05:00

So... I don't write for three entire months (while taking a completely unintended break from blogging) ... and I have returned with a Larry the Cable Guy post! "Git r done!"

I had to pass this one on! Larry the Cable Guy has a show called Only in America and he was at Lost Island lake filming with the Iowa DNR for a carp rodeo which will be a featured segment on his show. Check it out tomorrow night (Wednesday, March 14th) on the History Channel!

This photo was posted on the Iowa DNR's facebook page.

Update: After watching the show, the DNR's description of the photograph was incorrect. It was filmed it at Spirit Lake instead of Lost Island. Spirit Lake is about 30 miles to the north of us. The photo does look like Lost Island though and many people who live in the area thought it was, too!

Judging by the water and the leaves on the trees, I'm guessing this was filmed sometime last spring in April 2011.

Photo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources
What brings Larry the Cable Guy to the middle of Lost Island Lake? DNR fisheries biologist Mike Hawkins (second from left) leads Larry through his first carp rodeo. Watch what happens on Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy, Wednesday, March 14 at 8 p.m. central on the History Channel.

Thanks for visiting!

A Christmas Tree Party!

2011-12-22T10:00:00.002-06:00

How COOL is this?? I love all the linky parties each week and lately seem to spend more time looking at all the other blogs in blogland instead of doing anything with my own! haha! There are so many wonderful Christmas decor and handmade crafts and foodies and so much more out there during the Christmas season.

This is a link party for Christmas trees! There's over 500 links so far. Check it out here:

Thrifty Decor Chick: A Christmas Tree Party!

I used to decorate quite a few Christmas trees and each one had a theme of some sort. Now that we are in a smaller home, space is an issue so I only have one tree up. It's a "slim" tree! I have to admit that as much as I enjoyed the years of multi-trees and a house full of decorations -- it's rather nice to have my tree up and decorated in record time!

Birds are my favorite ornament.

Especially clip-on birds, and more especially, glass birds.

Glass birds with feathers!

The Three Wise Men is my other favorite.

More Three Kings.

Clip-on butterflies in the aqua color I like.

Glass Partridge in a Pear Tree.

One of my cherished glass birds. A gift from my mother-in-law.

Mostly copper, aqua and gold on my tree.

Peacock feathers at the top.

This little tree is on my kitchen counter. Clip-on gold butterfly for the top.

Tiny glass Santa with cute ornament hooks.

And of course, more birds!

Thanks for visiting!

World War II mural on US Post Office wall

2011-12-20T16:00:00.001-06:00

The post office in our town has a unique piece of art on the wall!

"Conservation of Wild Life" mural on post office wall.

Painted in 1940 by artist Lee Allen, the mural on the U.S. Post Office in Emmetsburg, Iowa is called "Conservation of Wild Life."

Throughout the United States—on post office walls large and small—are scenes reflecting America's history and way of life. Post offices built in the 1930s during Roosevelt's New Deal were decorated with enduring images of the "American scene." (read more here)

Artist's signature and date

The dark square in upper right corner behind the squirrel's tail shows how dark and damaged the mural was before cleaning/restoring it approximately 15 years ago.

What I initially thought was a WPA (Works Progress Administration) mural, I discovered was actually funded through commissions under the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later known as The Section of Fine Arts or The Section) -- and not the WPA.

The "Section's" primary function was to decorate public buildings with selective high quality art to make the art accessible to everybody.

While in the post office to take my photos, one of the employees gave me a little more information. About 15 years ago, the painting was professionally cleaned and restored. Over the years, contributors to air pollution (cigarette smoke, etc.) had dirtied the painting. She pointed out a dark square in the upper right hand corner. The square was left to show the damage before the mural was cleaned.

There are less than 40 of these murals in the Iowa post offices. It is pretty awesome to have one in our town.

Thanks for visiting!

Do you peek?

2011-12-13T13:08:00.001-06:00

I am not a peeker.

When I was a teenager, I wanted a pair of Topaz earrings in the worst way. For whatever reason, I thought those earrings would make my life complete. I begged for those earrings. I recently had my ears pierced (my parents made me wait until I was 15) and the only thing that mattered to me at that time were earrings.

My parents told me that I wasn't getting them. They said the earrings were too expensive and they already had my Christmas presents. I was absolutely positive I was not getting those earrings. Especially because my mother couldn't keep a secret. If I were getting those earrings, her eyes would've given her away even though her lips were denying it. But not only was she denying it, she was getting a little angry that I kept asking.

One of my friends came over a couple of weeks before Christmas. We were just hanging together. She asked if I had peeked at my gifts yet and I replied that I had never done that. My friend couldn't imagine not peeking! She convinced me (rather easily I might add) to peek at a few of my gifts.

She was definitely an Expert Peeker. She knew how to unwrap and re-wrap the gifts without any indication they had been touched. I was impressed! (Today, I know know how to wrap gifts so that this cannot be done as easily as we did it that day.)

I had several gifts under the tree and picked out a smaller one that felt heavy. I undid the tape, opened up the paper and slid the box out of it. Even before I opened the lid to the box, my inner voice was telling me "This is so wrong! Put it back now!" Being a high school freshman and 15 years old, I tended to ignore that smart little inner voice many times -- and this time was no different.

When I opened the lid to the box, there was a black velvet pouch inside. I opened the pouch and found .......... a rock!?

It was a rock the size of my hand and on the top of the rock were tiny little figurines playing instruments. The side of the rock was painted with the words "ROCK BAND" and it was absolutely adorable! I already knew where I wanted to put it in my bedroom. I couldn't wait to show it to my friends! The ROCK BAND rock was one of the coolest things I had ever seen!

Then this horrible feeling started to come over me. I felt soooooo bad. Sick to my stomach bad. I think it was guilt. Oh, the guilt! I secretly opened a gift that was supposed to be a surprise. I had been badgering my parents for such a silly gift like earrings when I had plenty of earrings already and here was something they knew I would love. What a rotten daughter I was.

I carefully began to wrap up the rock to be re-wrapped. As I held it from the top to move over to the tissue paper, the bottom of the rock fell off. Not only was it a cool rock -- but it was also cut to make a box.

Inside the rock box was a tiny black velvet jewelry box. The kind that holds earrings. My stomach fell. I still picked up the velvet box to open it. As you have probably guessed by now, inside were the Topaz earrings I wanted so desperately.

Now I really felt bad.

For the next two weeks right up until Christmas I felt bad. Sooooo bad. During that time, I turned into the Perfect Daughter because I felt like such a horrible person. I cleaned my room, did my homework, emptied the dishwasher, folded laundry and put it away... all without anybody asking me to.

That was the first and the only time I have ever peeked at a Christmas present! I have never been tempted to do so ever again. Well, almost ever again... there have been a few times...

I still have the earrings and each time I see them in my jewelry box, they remind me of my parents. Yes, I peeked. And although I won't do it again, I love the image of my parents it brings me when I see the earrings.

Thanks for visiting!

Pretzel Rolo Turtles (easy candy recipe!)

2011-12-09T07:30:00.011-06:00

These little candies have to be the easiest things to make - the hardest part is unwrapping the Rolos!

Only three ingredients are needed: Pretzels, Rolo candies and pecan halves.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pretzels on foil-lined baking sheet. Put a Rolo candy on top of each pretzel.

Bake for 4-5 minutes until Rolos are soft but not melting. Place pecan half on top of the Rolo candy and press down slightly.

Place in refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes until cool.

See how easy?? This is a great recipe to make with children or for a quick snack or just to have on hand. You could drizzle a little white melted chocolate over them to make them fancier. Color the white chocolate with red and green for the holidays. If you don't care for pecans you can use any kind of nut -- or substitute something else. I've seen them made with crushed peppermints, M&Ms and dried fruit.

Here is the recipe again:

Ingredients:

Pretzels (I like to use the square ones but any will work)

Rolos Candies (unwrapped)

Pecan Halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil. Place pretzels on foil-lined baking sheet. (You can put them together fairly close.) Put a Rolo candy on top of each pretzel. Bake for 4-5 minutes until Rolos are soft but not melting. Remove from oven and immediately place a pecan half on top of the softened Rolo and press down slightly. Place in refrigerator until cool.

These can be stored in an airtight container. I usually keep them in the fridge in a container and remove as needed.

Thanks for visiting!

I am linking to the following parties:

Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop at Homemaker on a Dime
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

A Christmas Cactus story

2011-12-06T16:45:00.002-06:00

Christmas cactus plants are so beautiful. I have admired them for as long as I can remember. I have tried to keep one alive for as long as I can remember as well. I usually fail... my plant dies... but I do get an "A" for effort.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me a story about a Christmas cactus. Well, it may have been about a rose. I can no longer recall much of what she said and nobody else in the family remembers the story either...

I do remember this part: "Whenever you see a rose blossoming, it is honoring Christ our Lord." And then she said "Don't ever forget Jesus -- because He loves you and He will never forget about you."

I've always associated the flower blossoming with a Christmas cactus. Since I was a teenager, I have had one of the plants in my home. They never stay around for more than a few years because unfortunately, every single one I have had has met its demise under my care.

About 7 years ago, I picked up yet another Christmas cactus. It was the largest one that I had ever dared to bring home. Its blooming time had ended for the season and it was on clearance for a great price and I couldn't pass it up. I brought it home, re-read all the info I could find on caring for one, and put it in our living room with prayers that this one would do well. It was in a room that we didn't use very much, but according to the care instructions, this is the place where the plant should flourish.

And flourish it did! This cactus grew larger each year and was absolutely beautiful! However, it never - not once - bloomed with flowers. Not even a hint of a bud appeared on this plant. I finally came to the conclusion that I bought a flawed or disabled Christmas cactus. I continued to take care of it and loved it just the same. I was so happy I hadn't killed it.

Starting in 2008, we lost a lot of people in our lives. Hubby's best friend died that year from cancer. A few weeks later, his dear sister passed away. A month later, his uncle passed away. A few weeks later, my grandmother died. Six weeks later, hubby's aunt died. (He considered her like his mother as she raised him for most of his life.) And six weeks after that, my mother passed away.

It was 7 straight months of losing many people we loved so much.

My grandmother was 96 years old and the first person I had lost in my immediate family since my father died 21 years earlier. That day, my mother and I talked on the phone for over an hour, talking and reminiscing about my grandmother... it was November.

Still thinking of my grandmother a couple hours later, I went into the living room to look at the Christmas cactus. After all, my grandma's story is the reason why I always have one...

When I stepped into the room and saw the plant I was stunned! The plant that did not have a single flower in almost 5 years was in a complete and glorious full bloom! The color was stunning -- it was a peach color instead of the usual red or pink. I didn't even know they came in that color! Surprised and shocked doesn't begin to cover how I felt seeing this familiar yet strange plant in my home! I just stood there staring at that gorgeous plant in all its glory!

I watered the plant maybe a week earlier and I did not see any indication that it was on the verge of blossoming. Looking back, perhaps the buds were not noticeable since they were a peach color. I don't know.

Of course I immediately thought of my grandmother. How wonderful and eerie and amazing that the very plant I have -- because of the story she told me 35 years earlier -- bloomed in full glory on the day she died.

I wish I could say the plant continued to grow and became larger and more beautiful -- but alas, this Christmas cactus died just three months later. It seemed to have given everything it had with all those beautiful blossoms and wore itself out. I actually bid it farewell the day after my mother died in March 2009.

After that, I didn't buy another Christmas cactus for over a year.

Last December, in 2010, I saw some pretty little ones in a store and they had many blossoms. I couldn't help myself and picked up one with pretty red blossoms. Within 7-10 days, all the blossoms fell off. And the little buds that tried to grow fell off. I was destined for another dead plant. Yet... the plant continued to stay alive... for an entire year... but it never bloomed again.

Until last week. My little Christmas cactus has a flower! One little flower! I try to contain my excitement since 35+ years of history with these things has not worked out well.

But check it out! Isn't this the prettiest little bloom?

If I look very closely, I can see 5 more teeny tiny little blooms beginning.

This could be my year.

Thanks for visiting!

First snowfall!

2011-12-05T16:21:00.000-06:00

The first snowfall of the season arrived on Saturday, Dec. 3!

The lake has begun to freeze... as the temperatures remain low, it will continue to freeze heavily.
Soon there will be ice fishing huts on the ice!

Snow: another love/hate relationship I have... for the most part, I do adore the snow in the winter. It is incredibly bright and pretty and 'cleans' things up when it blankets the ground. Especially when it comes down without the wind to blow it and cause drifting.

On the other hand, I dislike driving in winter when the roads are coated with snow and/or ice. Often times, the snow remains on the road, melts during the day, but freezes again when the sun goes down making for slick roads. The main highways are kept dry with salt (requiring twice as many car washes to keep the salt off the car) but the roads around the lake can stay rather slick.

Regardless of the driving conditions, I love living in an area that receives snow!

Thanks for visiting!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-23T07:30:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanks for visiting!

Thanksgiving Tablescape

2011-11-20T20:07:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving is this week! What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. With Him, I have everything to be thankful for!

I am thankful for my my wonderful hubby and my beautiful daughter! I am thankful she is coming home for a few days this week! College keeps her so busy...

I am thankful for my family! Between my family and my hubby's family, we are very blessed!

This is the first table I have done since we sold our acreage and permanently moved to the lake. I am still in the process of sorting through things -- all the 'things' are here and there and although I know I have everything, I can't quite find everything! haha

Fall is my favorite time of year and using fall colors makes me happy!

There is definitely something about turkeys that attract me... turkey is actually one of my least favorite foods -- but I love decorations in the shape of turkeys! Dishes are no exception.

The center of the table is lined with a runner and just a few decorations this year.

Along with the turkey dishes I recently found, they had matching salt and pepper shakers!

This Holy Bible is very old... and very used. How wonderful is that?

The cute turkey dishes are colorful! I found them at Walmart and they were exactly what I was looking for!

Loved using these napkins with the gold and bronze colors in them.

I mixed orange and yellow dinner plates.

Chargers are for fall! The acorns and leaves that adorn the sides peek out from under the dinner plate.

Here is a place setting using the yellow dinner plate.

This flatware is one of my favorite sets! It seems to go with every occasion.

The candlestick holders are another of my favorites. They were the first turkey item I bought many years ago!

I've been waiting to use the table runner! I bought it earlier this year. The embroidery and applique on it is incredible! And the colors are fabulous!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

What's on the table:
Dinner and salad plates: Purchased at Walmart
Turkey and Pumpkin salt and pepper shakers: Walmart
Chargers: Walmart
(I shopped at Walmart a lot this year!)
Table runner: Crate & Barrel
Napkins: Crate & Barrel
Flatware: Purchased at World Market
Yellow/gold goblets: JC Penney

Thanks for visiting!

I will be linking to the following fantastic parties this week:

Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage
Show off Your Cottage Monday at The House in the Roses
Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Whassup Wednesday at Elements Interiors
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch
Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Open House Party at No Minimalist Here
Feather Your Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
Flaunt it It Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating
Seasonal Sundays at The Tablescaper

Thank you Veterans!

2011-11-12T09:29:00.002-06:00

I want to thank all those who have served for our country. Including my father, my husband, my brother, my father-in-law, many of my friends, my family, and now the children of my friends and family.

God bless all of you! My prayers are with you and your families every single day.

God bless America!

Clay County, Iowa courthouse on Veteran's Day. Surrounded by dozens of flags.

Thanks for visiting!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T10:30:00.000-06:00

A small reflection of summer 2011...

Little chapel on Lost Island Lake

Holly on a boat ride

Busy beaches along the shores of the lake

Hot summer days!

Lots of fun!

Lots of friends!

Lots of entertainment!

The gathering at the shoreline...

The removing of the docks... signaling the end of summer.

Thanks for visiting!

Think I can hit the side of a barn?

2011-11-08T16:30:00.048-06:00

Why yes! I can! I can definitely hit the side of a barn.

Hubby took me out yesterday to practice shooting. I've never used a firearm before, so this was my first time!

The barn is in front of a hill and will eventually be taken down, saving the old wood of course.
Our target sheet is to the right of the door.

For awhile now, I've considered getting my concealed carry weapon permit -- aka CCW. I want to have this for a few reasons, but the two main ones are:

1. It is my constitutional right.
2. I occasionally drive hubby's truck. Just in case his firearm is still in the vehicle, I will be legally covered.

To receive my CCW permit in the state of Iowa, I decided to take an online course. Once I receive the certificate of completion via the mail in a few days, I can take that to my county sheriff's office. (Before taking the course, we did check with our county sheriff to make sure that this course was acceptable. Many are not. There are other options as well -- please research the requirements for Iowa or your state if you are thinking of obtaining a CCW permit.)

If you are an Iowa resident and interested in taking the same online course I took, here is the link: http://www.cedarvalleyfirearmstraining.com/courses. He has a money back guarantee that this course will be accepted by your sheriff. (I still checked with our sheriff before taking it.)

I learned SO much from this! I needed to pass all six sections with a 90% or better. There were a couple sections that I flunked the first time (and even the second time) but failing and re-taking them made me learn the material well.

See my groupings on the target? I think I did pretty well for a newbie!

Thanks for visiting!

Busy as a Beaver = Timber!

2011-11-07T15:26:00.002-06:00

Our friends (who also live at the lake) awoke the other morning to discover the landscape next to their house had been altered. A fairly large tree had come down and was partially lying in the water.

Upon closer inspection of the tree trunk, the tell-tale signs of a beaver appeared. During the night, a beaver chewed away at the tree and brought it down!

Look underneath and you can see all the wood chips from the beaver gnawing at the tree.

We see all sorts of critters around the lake and there are plenty of beaver dams and lodges. However, for the most part, I've rarely seen them at work -- usually I see them in the mornings and evenings swimming along the shoreline, probably on their way to an important beaver meeting. They always seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere!

Not only do beavers use trees for building their dams and lodges, but they also eat the bark and the soft wood just beneath the bark.

The beaver removed all the branches from the tree trunk closest to the water and hauled them off to his building site.

Beavers cannot control which way the tree will fall and occasionally they will be trapped or killed by the tree they take down. Luckily for our friends, this tree happened to fall in the water. If it had fallen towards their house, it would've fallen on their deck and possibly their kitchen! See how close this tree was to their boat lift:

I returned the next morning to take another photo -- and saw that Mr. Beaver had returned during the night to start gnawing the fallen tree again. He's making firewood!

Thanks for visiting!

My Favorite Candy Recipe!

2011-10-31T15:30:00.001-05:00

Happy "Pumpkin Day!"

I wanted to share my favorite candy recipe with you -- and it is sooooo easy!

1 pkg of Candy Corn (any size)
1 jar of salted cashews (any size)

Mix 1 cup of each together and stir.

This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. and can also be modified to taste by adding more candy corn or more cashews. The mixture is like eating a salted nut roll!

My favorite candy!

This is my only Halloween decoration -- I use it to put my candy in.

Thanks for visiting!!

Sunrise at the lake

2011-10-30T19:15:00.000-05:00

Fall has definitely taken over! It's already making way for winter to arrive. This morning, the lake was so calm, I could hear the leaves falling from the trees and landing on the water.

The sunrise is one of the most spectacular sights to see on the lake! I went out with my camera and took a few shots:

Sun is just rising over the horizon.

A few minutes later it is much brighter!

The boats and docks are now back on the shore - with the exception of a few that are still waiting to come out.

Along with the sunrise is the sound of guns. Hunting season is in full swing right now and the moment the sky begins to lighten, the sounds of the guns begin.

Hard to believe it is the end of October already!

Thanks for visiting!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

Don't ask......

Thanks for visiting!

The collapse of the cottonwood tree

2011-10-10T18:29:00.001-05:00

Awhile back, I posted about the cottonwood trees around our lake.

In that post I mentioned this: Cottonwoods can become rotten and it is unnoticeable -- until the tree falls.

Well... guess what?

A few weeks ago during some rather high winds, our neighbors who are just two doors down us experienced it first-hand. The tree came crashing down and destroyed their boat, the boat lift, their jet ski, the jet ski lift -- and the entire dock. Luckily, nobody was hurt!

The tree came down quickly, smashing through the dock and everything around it.

It also crushed a boat, a jet ski and both lifts!

This was the jet ski lift. You can see the crushed wheel which is used to raise and lower the jet ski.

What is left of the boat lift -- the cover stayed on. The home owners definitely kept their sense of humor -- do you see the chainsaw sitting on top of the tree trunk??

Base of the tree where it was rotten. This was a HUGE tree!

Better view of the ruins.

And another. The tiny chainsaw probably wouldn't cut a small branch on this tree!

The disaster from the other side.

This man, who insisted on climbing over everything to stand out there, is over 6' tall -- gives you a good idea how large this tree was! (There's one of these guys in every crowd, isn't there? LOL!)

Thanks for visiting!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T10:20:00.003-05:00

Time to start a new chapter in our life!

While growing up, our family moved often because my father was in the Air Force. I have not considered houses as emotional objects. They come and they go. However, I had a tiny bit of sadness when I finished cleaning the acreage house for the new owners. Thinking about the years we spent living in it and remembering so many happy occasions there. 19 years of my life was spent in this house. Before that, the longest I had lived in one house was 3.5 years.

The sadness came and went quickly however. I am very excited for the new family moving in and wish them many years of happiness in this home!

Our new permanent residence is at the lake! And you will find me drifting around on it often...

Thanks for visiting!

My life is in the trash

2011-08-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, it feels like forever since I've been able to post something on my blog! Life has just been crazy these past few weeks and I wanted to check in and just say "howdy!" and let you know that I am still here!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I am a web designer at my regular job. (A job I love!) After working for many, many, many months on a new website -- it was launched on Wednesday, August 3.

Not 10 minutes after I 'hit the switch' to launch the new site, I had to run home and sign papers -- because our acreage sold!

Yay!!!

Since that day, it has been non-stop work. Moving out of a huge house we have lived in for 19 years is one thing -- but add to it a barn, an extremely large metal building, and a 19-year-old daughter heading back to college -- it became very time-consuming. Especially trying to move out in less than 30 days. Then add the new website and all the changes/additions/corrections that go along with it...

I was literally working from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for nearly a month with almost no breaks. Running back and forth between the acreage house, the lake house (our new permanent home), my office -- and the Goodwill donation store which is 25 miles away.

The only day I did not spend working was last week when I helped our daughter move back into her dorm at college to begin her sophomore year. The 6 hour round-trip was a welcome break from everything. I spent about 4 hours at the college. Helping her move things into her dorm room, a quick trip to Walmart for some necessary items and we had lunch together. As sad as I am to see her leave again, I know she is excited to get back into the swing of things at college. That makes me happy.

And now... we are done... all we need to do is wait for the closing day.

Here is a photo of the giant dumpster we had to rent to clean out the barn and metal building:

This thing was huge! It held a LOT of stuff.

By the time it was picked up, it was completely filled to the top.

Yep -- our lives were in the trash. Literally! LOL!

Thanks for visiting!

Are you ready for some ... football? Already?

2011-07-23T08:09:00.000-05:00

I guess that time of year is approaching! This morning at the lake, I see the flags are a-flying...

The house to the right of us:

University of Iowa Hawkeyes

And the house to the left of us:

Iowa State University Cyclones

After moving to Iowa many years ago, I quickly discovered that the Iowa / Iowa State competition is a fierce one!

I remain mostly neutral. I am a college football fan and enjoy watching both teams. However, when they play each other, I usually choose one over the other. The Hawkeyes.

Thanks for visiting!

My Garden Center Purchases!

2011-07-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I blogged about visiting a garden center and mentioned I had bought two items. So I thought I'd share a photo of them!

I actually started this post two days after the last one and just now found the time to finish it! If you've read my "about me" page, you might have noticed my regular job is a web designer. Well, that's what I've been doing for the past few ~~weeks~~ months -- working on a new website that will launch on August 1. So far, I've built over 5,000 pages on the new site. Page. by. page. by. page.

After sitting at the computer from 7 am - 5 pm each day, the last thing I want to do is get back online when I am home... I have so many posts I've not had the time to do yet -- and so many blogs I need to catch up with. I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now!

So back to the garden center stuff! Remember the black and white pottery? I loved the mushrooms! They had large, medium and small and I bought a medium sized one. Hubby put it by this tree, but I'm still trying to decide if I like it there -- I picture it nesting amongst a bunch of hostas in my shade garden. The other day I moved it to try it with the hostas, but ended up putting it back under the tree because I missed it there.

My neighbor, Julie, said it looked like a Gnome Home. I'm going with that.

The other purchase was the heart-shaped turtle! Love at first sight. <3

(That's a heart. The "<" and the "3" together make a heart and I know how to do those because I'm cool... ok, actually it's because I have a 19-year-old daughter who told me how to make them.)

Mr. Turtle resides on my side table outside. Right next to the pepper plant I planted -- that actually has peppers on it!

This is the east side of the house with my shade garden... I took the photo two weeks ago and will have to take another updated one. The flowers along the edge are a type of "balloon flower" and have exploded in purple!

I'm still working on the shade garden landscaping. I started three years ago. Since I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time, my game plan has been to buy something that grows in shade, plant it, and hope it comes back the next year. If it doesn't, I get something new in the spring and try that. It works for me. I <3 planting things and get so excited when they actually grow!

Thanks for visiting!