Fleeting February

Tomorrow is February 18 and I can hardly believe it.  I am 2 weeks into using Efudex on my head.  Bob is using a Q-tip to apply the POISON to my head and so far it's not too bad.  I have discovered a couple new ways to wear my hair.  If I put my hair up immediately after getting out of the shower, I can twist it and clip on one of those lobster claw type barrettes and the ends of my hair sweep over the top of my head and stay there all day hiding the "spot".  I have gotten a few compliments on this style.  I can also put it in a high bun and sort of twist the hair on the top, use a couple bobby pins, and you can't see any of the bald spot either.  It's a nice break from scarves. 

Two weeks ago we went to Westby to attend the Snowflake Ski Jump.  The weather was perfect, the ski hill made snow, and we were able to spend most of the weekend outside.  Here is a picture of Bob and I and the Snowflake princess.  I'm not sure how she got in the picture, but I guess it's OK :)

There were ski jumpers from all around the world.  I wanted to get this picture so I could send it to Stein and tell him the jumpers from Norway were there.  It's amazing to watch the skiers jump, flatten their bodies over their skis and then manage to land without getting hurt.

We stayed at Bob's cousins place out in the 'coolies' near Coon Valley.  They built a log house out of all recycled materials they've been collecting for years.  Lots of people wouldn't care for their style, but I love it.  They love having people there too and we always have a good time with them.  Here's a couple pictures of all of us and their house.

Scarfing It

 Here are a few shots of my new style.  The stitches are on the top and back of my head, so I have to bobby pin the scarves to stay in place.  I did get a couple wide stretch headbands, but they don't work because of the location of the spot I need to cover.  They just pop right off.  If you look close and aren't squeamish, you can see the end of the stitch row on the lower right pic.  Anyways, thanks Grandma O. for all the scarves.  Who knew?

With cold weather comes increased knitting time at night and here are some hats that I've knit.  I saw one on Etsy and had to try a few.  I'm still making and giving away chunky cowls, because they're something you don't have to think about.

I didn't have any babies to try them on, but I think they're pretty cute! 
So.......a few food pictures before I go.  Here is a pic of the last of the Christmas leftovers, taken weeks ago I assure you!

The corn and sweet potatoes are just that, but the baby pearl onions which are very tedious to peel, are requested and usually devoured immediately, so I was surprised to find leftovers.  Probably because we were missing Nels this year. 

This last picture is of vegetarian chili and wild rice soup.  I usually make soup/chili every week, but the week after Christmas I made both.  Betsy and Leah were here, so we had lots of help eating it.  The wild rice soup is a favorite of everyone.  It's made with Minnesota staples; wild rice, cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup.  Both'em. 
Stitches out on Monday.  Decision on how and what to do to get rid of the "babies".  I'll let you know.

Bandages.....

If you could see me now, Jacob Marley would come to mind.  I have a bandage running around the top of my head anchored with a chin strap bandage.  I am also "wearing" a pkg. of frozen peas on top at the moment.  Needless to say, I took another day off of school.  I should have some time today to figure out how and what I'm going to be wearing for a few weeks/months.  My SCC was invasive, which means it had gone deeper into the skin layers.  It is gone, but it did produce a few "babies" that we'll deal with later.  The surgery is done in a circle, which they then stitch up.  When you bring 2 sides of a circle together, you have to pull a little skin and it could be possible that I've also undergone a very tiny eyelift!  So my fears of a large quarter size bald spot have been somewhat calmed, but hair/scarf styling will be a challenge.  Sunscreen, people!!!!!

Tick Tock

This title has 2 meanings for me today.  2011 is soon to be history and I am almost finished with the Hunger Games trilogy.  If you've read them, you'll get the title.   It's always hard for me to read the endings of books where I'm not sure what's going to happen.  When I was younger, I always read the last page first.  But I refrained, because I know that the ending is controversial.  Some people love it and some despise it!!  I'll find out how I feel later today. 
 

Christmas this year was a day of changes.  For the first time all the kids were not at home, which was not as traumatic as I thought it might be.  There was NO snow and it was warm enough to hang clothes out, so I did all the bedding.

Now that I think of it, it was Christmas Eve, but same weather on Christmas Day too.  Some things stayed the same.  Betsy did her usual 1000 piece puzzle in just a couple hours.  I should actually time her, because I'm always amazed by it.

We had our Christmas Eve dinner on Christmas Day because Hans had to work.  It's always a ham, but it's the side dishes that are the 'stars'.  Creamed onions, sweet potatoes (no marshmallows), green bean hot dish, lefse and an assortment of pickles!  Christmas morning is always cinnamon rolls and scotch eggs.  Sorry Molly, I did not get a picture of them.  Next year........
 

My first goal in the New Year is to pare down the Christmas decorations.  I am sending packages to the older kids with their ornaments, since I don't think I'll be driving to NV in the near future.  The expense will be worth it.  This is one of my favorites though.  It sits on the dining room table and cheers me up whenever I look at it.  The older I get, the less I want around and the less I want on me:) 

OK, one more little vignette.(sp?)  This is just an old cheapie from Kohls, but it lights up just as nice as those expensive ones.  I hope you've all had a happy and restful Christmas break and Best Wishes to you dear family and friend, (that's you Olive!) in the New Year!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Lot's of them too. 
First - Seven pounds dropped in a month loosely following the South Beach Diet.
Second - Motive for weight loss, a wedding in Las Vegas on 12/16, canceled.
Third - Keratoses on the head, formerly harmless, now cancerous.
Fourth - Youngest son may soon be leaving for graduate school.
Fifth - Tree seen decorated in previous post, now undecorated on bottom half thanks to 2 cats.

Number 3 isn't so serious.  Squamous cell carcinoma is fairly common in people with Northern European heritage who have been in the sun.  Very slow growing, so this is a recent change since it was looked at in June.  Vanity is my main concern because they have to do the MOHS procedure which will leave a spot where hair will not grow back and it's the top of my head.  So I'm kind of feeling sorry for myself about that.  I may be looking into scarves, headbands, etc. afterwards.  Those scarves I wrote about last spring?  Folded from corner to corner and tied under the hair, I may just be "back to the 60's"!  Stay tuned!

Artificial or Real?

This is the second year for my Christmas tree.  I guess now you know it's artificial.  When I grew up the tree was always real.  Sometime around 20 years ago we bought a big, small needled, artificial tree.  We don't have a basement, so we stored that monster under our steps.  It was quite a pain to set it up every year, but we felt justified in the fact that we were saving money.  I always missed a real tree though, so after  10 years we got rid of the sucker at a garage sale and started buying a fraser fir at the Home Depot.  We really are space challenged in our family room though, and when the tree was up you couldn't see the TV from the right end of the couch.  Last year I spied a $25 tall, skinny artificial tree at Target that seemed to say, "this is what you need".  And I bought it.  Here it is for the second year looking a little empty at the bottom, but a few gifts and dolls should fill it up nicely.

Fall Cooking

I have a renewed love for cooking every fall.  When the outdoors isn't as beckoning, it's easier to stay in and putz around in the kitchen.  Today was one of those days.  It was sunny, then cloudy, then sunny, then cloudy, and the wind blew with a definite feel of November.  I dug around in the fridge and found some brussel sprouts and leeks that I had bought a couple weeks ago at the farmer's market.  Here's the dish ready to stir fry on the grill.

I threw a few mushrooms in too.  I made another salad with 3 bulbs of fennel, radishes and mushrooms which was pretty tasty.  I must make a confession.  I am cooking more vegetables than I usually do because I am starting the South Beach diet tomorrow.  For 2 weeks I can eat all the vegetables I want, just not potatoes, carrots, corn and peas.  I can eat protein which would be lean cuts of meat and eggs.  No dairy, fruit or grains.  Some nuts, lemon and olive oil dressing, small piece of dark chocolate, reduced fat cheese and that's about it.

I had to take advantage of today also, and hang out a load of clothes.  Every time I have done this in the past week, I think it's probably the last time.  I just really have this thing for hanging out my clothes.  I love to do it, what can I say?

Here's a couple shots of the scenery just a couple blocks from the house where the kids live.  They are on the western edge of Las Vegas in Summerlin.  It's desert right next door.  The weather was fabulous, 85 degrees, no humidity, cool at night, I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing break.  The night I left, we were coming back from one of their friends house after watching a World Series game, and right in front of us as we approached a stop sign, we saw a mountain lion run in front of us.  That decided the conversation earlier about Betsy walking the dogs at night.  NO WAY!!