Snow in San Antonio... Really???

Winter came to South Texas this week. This very rare occurrence caused our temperatures to remain below freezing for three straight days. I think the highest temp has been 28 degrees. Even though it's been a personal affront to most of us, we try not to complain loudly because most of the rest of the country is stuck in the deep freeze with mounds of snow paralyzing their areas.

But snow in San Antonio is the rarest of rarities. The last significant snow here occur ed in 1985 when two storms brought 14 inches of white stuff that stopped everyone and everything in their tracks. The forecasts of snow have kept Facebook and Twitter buzzing with anticipation. And sure enough, last night around news time, a frozen mist started to cover our area. Unfortunately, this frozen mist was pretty much all we got and this morning San Antonio is covered in a layer of ice. Anything resembling snow collected on the frozen surfaces of the streets and sidewalks. But even that is pretty. Here is the view from my back and front doors.

The white covering of ice and snow give a nice definition to the pool.

If there is any accumulation in the grass, it can't be seen from my front porch. But the flower bed attracted some of the white stuff.

The sun is peeking out over the roofs across the street. Soon the ice and snow will be a thing of the past and we will wonder if we were just dreaming!

The Best Part of Feeling Good Again..

After the Christmas/New Year break, we made an appointment to see a surgeon, primarily because surgeons will order tests more routinely than other specialists. I had an episode of nausea and vomiting the day after Graham's birthday, the day we were coming home from the coast.

So in early January we saw the doctor and scheduled a test to see how my gall bladder was functioning. By the time the test day rolled around I realized that I had been feeling well since the first of January. I still had the annoying and very un-ladylike belching, but the nausea was gone and my appetite was coming back.

The test was easy, albeit boring, as I had to lie very still for an hour and a half. And a week later, the results were in and I learned that I have a very happy, well functioning gall bladder! And I have officially declared myself healed! The mystery may forever remain just that, but I have my suspicions as to what may have happened.

I remember that at a dinner in Halifax on September 11th I tasted something unpleasant in my salad and put it aside. By the next morning I was feeling a little queasy as we set out on the coach for Digby and a lunch of bay scallops. By lunchtime I was in no position to eat scallops and had to choke down the birthday cupcake presented to me by the waitstaff. I just didn't feel right until we got home two days later.

The rest of September and half of October were devoted to caring for Treasure. She was failing quickly and her care required a 24/7 attention with several vet visits. I had no time to see about my own health until after she was gone. Within ten days I began the two month saga of cyclical illness. Looking back from today's perspective, I think there must have been a bug or germ of some sort in the salad at Halifax, something that took up residence in my immune-compromised body. Graham says I should have taken antibiotics right off the bat, and this time I agree with him.

The irony of all of this is that I ate that salad on the day before my 65th birthday, and all of my doctor appointments and tests have been covered by Medicare! That in itself is enough to make a sick person well! And I know that I have healthy organs because they've all been looked at!

And what is the best part of feeling well again? Eating well again! Actually, I lost around ten pounds throughout my saga, have put five back on, but we have changed our whole dining routine to try to stay healthy. A good breakfast every morning and "dinner" for lunch gives us a reason to eat a light meal at supper. Graham has lost eleven pounds and we are both happier to be eating less at night. And that gross belching is almost a thing of the past. (Mother would be so relieved!)

Today I made a pineapple pie from a recipe on Pioneer Woman's blog. It was a pie her grandmother used to make so I knew it would be good. My crockpot has become my Sunday best friend. I can cook a chicken or roast while we are in Sunday school and church and have a sumptuous lunch waiting for us at home.

So go ahead, have a piece of pie... it's delicious!

For the recipe, click here.

Back with an Apology

I have stayed away from this blog for a few weeks because, every time I get a new answer from a doctor, my body makes a liar out of me. Since my last post I have had three more episodes of nausea and vomiting. I took a chance and made reservations in Rockport for Graham's birthday and ended up barfing in the car on the way home. I'm a mess.

My latest effort at discovery is an appointment with a surgeon. Graham's brother Pat informed us that a surgeon was most likely to order specific tests to pinpoint a problem and pointed us to a surgeon he knows. I'm to have a gallbladder function test next week. Apparently you don't have to have gall stones to have a bad gallbladder.

Meanwhile, I take my good days as a gift from God. I'm anxious to get my life back on track. I'll be back when I have some news.

Suddenly, I'm Better

I have no explanation. Last week I was still "bubbling" and "burping" and feeling queasy every evening. I tried two different prescription meds from the doctor that resulted in another episode of nausea on Tuesday. I quickly took an anti-nausea pill in the morning which let me sleep for the next 24 hours (off and on.) During one of my conversations with God about this dilemma, I admitted that I had run out of ideas, was really tired of going to doctors and taking medicine, and just asked for mercy.

So... on Wednesday I put away the IBS meds and the laxatives. They were just making me feel bad. I went back to my usual vitamins and Niacin and added the Pepcid. And we determined to eat only freshly cooked and very bland food, which means we are eating veggies and fruits and chicken and eggs.

I woke up on Thursday morning feeling pretty good. I fixed up some very plain potato salad - that tasted soooo good! We had that with cold cuts and fresh fruit. As I was getting ready for bed I realized that I still felt good and the "bubbling" was much less intense. That night I thanked God for His mercy. And today I have felt almost normal - praise Him!

One suggestion that I think I can live with came from a doctor friend of Meredith's who, after hearing her describe the symptoms, asked if I had been under any undue stress recently. She said, "As a matter of fact, she just lost her dog last month." And since this all started about a week after Treasure died, I have to believe that my body just let go and my immune system nearly shut down.

My heart has been healing - slowly - and I am recognizing that I don't need to be a hero and withhold my feelings of grief. I just read a book by Mark Levin ("Rescuing Sprite") about his sorrowful journey with an elderly dog who had to be put to sleep. I identified with so many of his thoughts and emotions as he struggled to come to grips with what had to be done. Writing was cathartic for him, and I believe it might be time for me to start writing about Treasure. I have a file in my computer for "Treasure's Tales" and it's just sitting there waiting for me to open it.

And suddenly, I'm feeling better.

Tasty Christmas Cookies

Every December I look for new and different Christmas cookies to try. Some are winners, most leave something to be desired! This week I have tried out three new recipes (all from Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen) and two out of the three are definitely keepers!


The cookies on the left side of the plate are called "Amy's Raspberry Almond Thumbprint Cookies." The great thing about this cookie is that you are almost guaranteed to have all the ingredients in your pantry. The shortbread cookie is made from butter, sugar, flour and almond or vanilla extract. Any jam you have around works, and the glaze is just powdered sugar and water (or milk.) The recipe can be found here. I hate having to pick just one flavor of jam, so I used the three I had in my refrigerator and mixed them up!

The cookie on the other side of the plate is called "Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Spice Cookie" and it is really yummy. It takes just a little longer to prepare, and you will have most of the ingredients in your pantry. I had to make a grocery run to get the oats, cranberries and chocolate chips, but as long as you have eggs and shortening, the rest are staples. These may look like your every day oatmeal/chocolate chip cookie, but you'll be pleasantly surprised from the taste of the allspice and cinnamon. The recipe for this wonderful cookie is found here. The recommendation is for very large cookies. I made mine the regular size and got four dozen minus one from the batch. I also baked mine for a full 14 minutes. I made no substitutions, but this cookie would work well with a variety of fruits or nuts. Have fun with it!

Unraveling the Mystery

I got word yesterday from the allergist that the tests for pepper allergy all came back negative. So, no allergies to peppers, just sensitivity to them. It's nice to know that an accidental pepper won't close up my airway!

After another episode last week, we finally convinced the gastroenterologist to run some tests for a parasite or an infection. I will find out tomorrow what the results are. This would be the easy answer, because there's a medication I can take that will kill that bug.

Meanwhile, I felt well enough yesterday and today to do some Christmas baking. I poked around on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site and found several cookie recipes that look wonderful. And PW had an interesting recipe for Fruitcake Cookies that I copied and adapted to my taste. Here's what I have accomplished:

This is my adaptation of the fruitcake cookie. I made them in small and smaller cupcake papers to closely resemble one of my favorite Christmas finds - Little Puds. PW's recipe called for brandy as the liquid in the recipe, but I substituted Apple juice, just in case my grandson takes a liking to this cookie. They are so moist and fruity. You can check Pioneer Woman's website for the original recipe.

The recipe made 24 tiny cupcakes and 18 small ones. I put a little powdered sugar glaze (mixed with apple juice) on these to make them prettier.

This is a recipe for thumbprint cookies that I got from Tasty Kitchen. The cookie is an easy shortbread, filled with your favorite jam. Because it's impossible for me to choose, I used three different jams. Can't wait to try one of these. I still have a few more recipes I want to try. I think the mailperson (ours is a gal) will be very happy this December!

Food Allergies - a Pain in the Gut!

I have known for a very long time that I can't eat Bell peppers. I would get bad indigestion from them which sometimes lasted a couple days. So I've always been pretty careful to avoid any food that might be cooked with them.

It seems that my bouts with Bell pepper-related indigestion have been occurring more frequently in recent years (coinciding with the aging process!) and have gotten a little more severe in my reaction to them. I've tried to stay away from the term "allergy", choosing rather to claim a "sensitivity" to the enzyme in them.

As Graham and I have been able to travel more extensively since his retirement, I notice that I need to be more careful with my diet, especially in foreign countries. Since we began traveling with Grand Circle, however, some of that burden has been transferred to the company. This was especially true when we took a river trip in France. Upon notification of my "allergy" the Kitchen manager hovered over my meals every day, assuring a pepper free environment for me to enjoy! It was touching, but more than that, very health-full.

And that brings me to the subject of this post. For several months I have been experiencing symptoms of something more than indigestion with just about everything I eat. One or two days a week I would feel badly enough to postpone appointments and stay in bed. After Treasure died it seemed that my body just let down and the aggravating distress took over. Finally, I had had enough and called the gastroenterologist for an appointment.

After a check of my esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and ultrasound of my upper organs, the preliminary finding was gastritis. All the test results were negative, which should have made me very happy. But I still had this growing problem that produced very unladylike belches. And I was getting little help from the doctor.

So, the day after the unproductive appointment I began to search the internet for causes. I put in Bell pepper allergies on a whim and hit the jackpot! Among the foods that contain the enzyme that causes the allergy were sweet pepper, paprika, green pepper, hot pepper, red pepper, cayenne pepper, pimiento, and Mexican peppers. My little nemesis has friends! And the reactions from this allergy range from itching to rash to belching to constricted breathing and death. Yikes!

Graham went straight to the refrigerator and began looking at labels. You can't imagine how many processed foods contain some fashion of one of these peppers. We threw out several bottles of salad dressing, a half eaten container of pimento cheese (my favorite), several boxes of flavored crackers and chips. I came to the conclusion that I have been systematically poisoning myself for years.

I think it will take some time to rid my system from the months of eating these foods, but I am already feeling the cleansing effects in my body. I'm grateful for the results of the tests which show a generally healthy inside of me. And am so appreciative of the technology we now take for granted called the internet. When used for good it can be a godsend. I consider the information I got from it to be "God-sent."