Advice for Myself

I'll offer this to all of my friends, too, for those tough times.....but for now, I'm claiming it as my own advice.

"If I only had a brain....."

This morning's rush out the door was to get to the neurologist for a quarterly checkup for MS. I can almost do all of the tests by myself; it's become that routine in checking for anything new or different. I'm not doing an MRI this year due to there not being any change in the last year. Pretty stable, which is great.

I found a yard sale on my way home from the dr's office. I only had three dollars so I was hoping for some sweet little deals. Yep, I found them. A pretty blue tall metal pitcher for my outside table. Perks up that little spot quite nicely. Two rustic reindeer tea light holders...cute! And a small birdhouse that fits in with my other two birdhouses on the piano. I look at my finds and they make me smile so three dollars well spent.

Checking out a new Pho place in town. It's a Chinese place that went out of business and now they're offering $5 Pho. Carrie (from Whitworth) and I are going to try it out before she heads to work. We'll let you know how it is!

Happy Friday!

Facebook

Tonight I'm saying goodbye to Facebook for at least until Christmas. The pain I've felt the last week has been too much and it's better to be off of FB rather than feeling sorry for myself because I don't have a lake place, a boat, a teaching job, no exotic vacation, big bucks in the bank to play with, etc. I'm going to focus on what's important and healthy for me. I miss being a part of people's real lives & being invited to share in the activities of the summer. It gets pretty lonely.

Keep in touch with me through my blog, email or phone messages. I'll post pictures and recipes here.

Kerri

A Week @ Lake Kachees (nestled in the Cascades of WA)

It was finally our turn for vacation. David was done with school for three weeks and we'd "reserved" the Gilbert's cabin for a week. Jen, Brad and Easton were able to join us for three days and our friends Jim and Jackie scooted over from Spokane for a night, too. Fun and quiet week. Lots of berry picking, walks, card games, sunshine, book reading and naps.

Kerri, David and Easton

A sweet baby boy with his Oma

Easton and his daddy at Gale Creek

Easton (8 months) on the stump

The end of July

Wow, this month zipped past. I've spent the last few days watering the garden area and the berry patch A LOT. We've been getting tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and the last strawberries. David and I picked 3 gallons of raspberries at Greenbluff. I am making raspberry sorbet and jam tomorrow or Tuesday. It's H-O-T so I'm trying hard to pace myself. Last week was a constant but fun on the go schedule -- dentist, lunch with Charlotte, a day at camp with Melissa, a dr appt, tea with Celia and a few farmers' markets. I LOVE fresh vegetables and fruits & boy is it a challenge to make sure they get eaten right away. We can only eat so many meals. Last night dinner was shrimp and clams that I'd purchased from Spokane Public Market...David bbq'ed them....and then the second round of dinner was crunchy potato salad. SOOOO good! Tonight it's corn on the cob (Spokane Farmer's Market) and pork tenderloin...both on the bbq.

David and Ian are going to the Spokane Indians game tonight so I'm going to brave the temps and turn on the oven to make a peach tart! Peaches are from Wapato and once Jen & Brad move to Yakima, we're going to be visiting Wapato for peaches to can. Another yum!

Moving Smart: "M" IS FOR MONKEYBARS: Getting Ready for Writing

Moving Smart: "M" IS FOR MONKEYBARS: Getting Ready for Writing

July already.....

Hi, everyone! We are half way through summer vacation. Thankfully. summer and the sun showed up. The last full day of school we had indoor recess due to rain!

Here's pictures of our sweet little Easton. He's 7 months already.

What does this summer hold for you? I'm looking for a teaching job, working in my yard and playing with Easton. Not a lot of traveling except a quick trip to visit Lisa in TX and then a cabin vacation on Snoq Pass in August. It's the same cabin we honeymooned at 27 years ago so it'll be great to go back after being away from it for a few years. I can't wait, especially since Easton (and his parents) gets to go with us!

One of my recipes got chosen for the Gooseberry Patch cookbook "Fresh from the Farmstand." I love their cookbooks and having my recipe "Sensational Springtime Salad" in their upcoming book will be wonderful. It's my yummy recipe for asparagus, smoked turkey breast, pineapple and strawberries. Definitely a springtime salad since we love the asparagus to be tender and thin for the recipe. If you get a chance to use any of their cookbooks, you won't be disappointed. I've been cruising through "Comfort Foods" and thinking about making a few things from it.

Tonight's dinner was Spinach Enchiladas, a recipe from a dear friend in Germany. I had lots of chopped spinach to use up so I made pepperjack cheese enchiladas and then spread the spinach cream sauce on top. Meatless and delicious! It makes a big pan so we'll be eating it for a day or two. I usually like to make this recipe for company but when the ingredients are screaming "use me!", you make the meal.

(I made sausage and spinach manicotti last night and it's in the freezer for another day!)

What's been happening in your life?