MY FATHER AND YARD SALE TREASURES

Hi everyone,

My dad returned home from the VA last Thursday. I was really happy to see him. Here is a pic of my father and I together. A friend of the family picked him up at the VA and brought him home :) :) She kindly took the photo for us. Here it is:

THIS IS MY FATHER AND I JUST A FEW MINUTES AFTER HE CAME HOME.  NOTICE THE SMIRK ON  HIS FACE? I THINK MY DADDY WILL BE JUST FINE.


When I saw my father pull into the parking lot with our family friend, I started jumping up and down and clapping. I was so happy to have my father back home. Even the dog could tell something was different about that day, because she kept sniffing around the house looking for him. When my dad walked through the door, the dog's tail started wagging so fast, you could have used it as a fan :) Isn't my daddy handsome? 

Oh, just a sidenote, in this photo I have lost a total of 60 pounds. You can't tell very much, because I've had that faux suede blouse since BEFORE I started my healthy living/weight loss journey.

I was having a bit of cabin fever and wanted to get out of the house this weekend. My friend P. told me that she had some errands to run. I asked if I could come along. She said yes.  Then we were coming back to the house to watch Downton Abbey on Netflix.  So we found a yard sale on the way home, and yes, I bought two things. Here's a look at what I found...all for $2.25.

The first item was a super cute satin pink pajama set for $2. It actually fits me. I washed it and now I feel really pretty and feminine when I go to bed :) Here is a glimpse of the fabric:

THE PAJAMA BLOUSE IS A REALLY BEAUTIFUL PINK DAMASK STRIPED TOP. THE PAJAMA PANTS ARE JUST PLAIN PINK SATIN. I REALLY LIKE THIS SET BECAUSE IT'S PINK. WHEN I WEAR IT, I FEEL REALLY FRILLY AND FEMININE.

The next item was just a small Christmas item that I spotted. This was only $0.25.  It's actually a dark green pillow with an embroidered center that was hand-stitched. It says "Christ is Born!" I gave this to my father, because I knew he would LOVE IT...and he does. It's sitting on his desk, in front of some books.

I'm working on a pair of socks for my aunt's really, really , really late Christmas present. I started them back in November. So when I actually finished them, I'll post a photo for you and maybe a tutorial, too, in case you want to make a pair for yourself :) 

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today...speaking of which, the weather has been a really interesting mix of sunshine/rainy clouds today.  I really like it a lot. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DAD IS HOME !!!!!!

Hi everyone,
Dad came HOME yesterday afternoon. I'm so excited :) :) He looks really good. He's out and about and moving around, albeit a little slowly...but he looks wonderful :) :) I'll post a pic this weekend :) :) :) That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

p.s. I'll have more vintage, crafts and other stuff up next week :) :) Thanks for visiting me. I LOVe visitors. You are always welcome here :)

HEATHER'S BLOG DESIGN ADVENTURE UPDATE

Hi everyone,

Wow, I finally managed to use up all my image storage space on Blogger. So I had to go back to my Picasa web album (which I forgot I even had still) and delete a bunch of unused photos. Plus, I deleted all my blog posts from my first month of blogging, to create space without having to pay for extra storage. I just can't afford to purchase more space, even though it's really cheap.

Have any of you ever experienced this?  Well, the one good thing is I've figured out how to create my own header ;) :)  So that is a step in the right direction :) :)

I did finally figure out how to add my own background image to  Blogger. Now I have to figure out how to make it fit the whole screen instead of repeating itself over and over. Uggg..I hope you don't mind my experimenting with my blog layout and design :)

If you want to read the update on my father, you can click here.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DADDY UPDATE - ALIVE AND WELL

I'm working on changing the look of my blog. I'm trying to upload a personal photo to the background template, but for some reason it's not working. Can any of you help me? Until then, I'm going to have a really plain blog :) :) :)

Hi everyone,
It has been awhile since I posted anything, let along give an update on how my dad is doing. The good news is that my dad is alive and doing very, very well. He is recovering nicely.

THIS IS MY FATHER, "BIG POPPA", ON  HIS WAY TO THE VA REHAB FACILITY.


I wanted to start with that photo first, because, my daddy is so handsome :) :) That and the fact, that I was so happy to see him doing so well after all that he's been through.  This photo was taken last Wednesday.  My father is a veteran of the Army...and because of that the VA payed for his entire hospital stay. However, the doctors determined that my dad would need intensive speech, physical and occupational therapy and that could only be found at the VA facility about 1.5 hours north of where we live.

At first Dad didn't want to go, and I didn't want him to go, either. There were so many unknowns. However, everyone that has had any experience with this particular VA has had nothing but high praise. It's the most modern facility in the entire VA system AND more modern than most hospitals in the private sector.  So the free medical transport came to take my dad up to the VA rehab facility.  The hospital was really sweet and brought my daddy a bagged lunch for the ride up there.

He "graciously" let me take this photo of him with his lunch in his lap, and the driver taking him up north.  That driver is rather good-looking. As he was wheeling my dad out to the van, I started singing the "Leave It To Beaver" theme song. My dad rolled his eyes and started laughing. I say he "graciously" let me take his photo. In truth, I told my father he owed me one, because I saved his life :) :) Yeah...so I got a really nice photo. My dad is shy with the camera. Isn't he handsome and looks so healthy :) :) :)  His anticipated release date is sometime this coming Friday. I'm praying so hard for his safe return home.


Here are a few pictures from when he was still in the hospital, that I wanted to share with you.

Our next door neighbor brought these jumper cables as a "get well" gift for my dad. He said that "For the man who has everything, I brought you these.  If your heart gives out on you again, I'll hook one end to your chest and the other end to my car engine. Then I'll give you a boost" My dad started laughing so hard...and that made me laugh. Laughter is really good medicine :) :)

These are my daddy's precious hands...more like the size of bear paws...but stil precious, all the same :) :)  He was using my aunt's computer laptop.  He was still having some trouble with hand coordination and getting his fingers on the homerow of the keyboard.  He's gotten so much better since this photo was taken. He LOVES doing Bible studies on the computer. Having this computer with him in the hospital was really good for brain stimulation.

This is literally my dad's favorite Bible. He made the leather cover himself years ago.  He likes to insert his own notes inside, between the verses and extra page inserts...sort of like his own personal Bible commentary. It's really sweet. This was one of the first things he asked for when he woke up out of the medically-induced coma.

This is one of the pages inside my dad's Bible. He made this page insert himself.  That tiny photo at the bottom, is a photo of me and some friends at a Christian retreat when I was in college (in Germany).  This is the same Bible that my dad carries everywhere with him, even to the grocery store. His reason is "You never know when you'll need a Bible...even at the grocery store" :) :)

My father's anticipated release date is this coming Friday.  He's getting a minimum of 4 hours  day of combined physical, speech and occupation therapies. That's so awesome.  He's got his own personal flat-screen computer...like a giant iPad, that hovers above the bed in his room.  He's so occupied now, that he hardly ever calls. Now in our family "no news is good news" I'm so happy that they're keeping him busy. I'm so thankful for the VA, because they are covering the entire bill for my father. Without that, we would have been in a world of financial hurt. God really provided for my tiny family in so many different ways.

There's so much to say, that I have forgotten. Feel free to ask questions. If you need prayer, for anything, feel free to email me. 

It rained so hard last night. So much so, that I was afraid the water would come through the ceiling.  Now it's wet outside, but sunny :) :) My next door neighbor, Lisa, has been so good to give me rides when I need them, till my dad gets home.

Thanks so MUCH for all of your prayers and good thoughts coming our way. My dad and I have appreciated all of them :) :)  That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DADDY UPDATE FOR THURSDAY - JANUARY 12.

Hi everyone,

if everything went according to schedule, the doctors should have started my dad's procedure this morning at 7:50 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. They are putting in a new pacemaker/defibrillator. The procedure will take anywhere from 2.5-3 hours.  Please pray that the doctor/nurses working on my dad will have clear minds and skilled hands.

Oh, my dad has been saying some really funny things in the hospital.  He's also been saying some really profound things, too.  I'll see about sharing some of those stories soon.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)

DADDY UPDATE

Hi everyone,

I'll try and write some more later today, but I wanted to give you all a short update on my father.  He is getting better a little bit every day. Yesterday the nurses removed the tube in his mouth. That was great, because my dad didn't like the tube at all.  He can follow basic commands and he knows who I am. He now knows where he is and what happened to him, although in a really basic form.  I think when he is more alert, if he asks me details, I'll tell him what happened, since I was there.  I'm going to go visit him again today, to see how he is doing.  Thanks so much for your prayers !!!! They mean a lot to me :) :) That's the news from the ocean shores of California this morning. Love and hugs, Heather :)

PLEASE PRAY FOR MY SWEET DADDY!!!!

Update:  I called the ICU a little bit ago...about 10:30 p.m. on Friday evening tonight.  They are gradually letting him warm up/helping him to regain consciousness.  The nurse said he did open his eyes and wriggle his toes...and I"ve never been so happy in my entire life. That is a very good sign.  Please continue to keep him, myself and my aunt in your prayers.  I'm really tired...need some sleep...but thanks for the prayers. They make a difference.  Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather

p.s. I'm very lucky to have my aunt here, good friends and neighbors!!!!!
Hi everyone,

I am asking you to pray for my daddy today!!!  I'm going to make this brief...shortly before 3:30 p.m. yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, I heard my dad scream. He was upstairs in his room, I was downstairs making tea.  I called his name multiple times and he wasn't responding. When I went upstairs, he was slumped over to the right in his chair, unresponsive and purple...He wasn't repsonding to my voice or my touch.  I called 911 right away. They were here at the house in less than two minutes.

It wasn't a heart attack. It was not his pacemaker. They don't know what caused his heart to fibrillate.  He's in  a medically induced coma right now...and they may wake him up/warm him up out of that today.

Please pray for him...pray for me, because I'm having a hard time keeping it together. Pray for my aunt (his sister). She'll be flying in this afternoon.  That's all I feel like sharing right now. There are things that I need help with now. I've got fantastic neighbors helping me...and my dad will need more care when he wakes up. Pray that he will not be afraid or too disoriented, because I"m not even sure if he was aware of what has happened to him. Please pray!!!

Thank you.  I may update from time to time on my blog, but other posts will have to wait.

Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

SLOW-COOKER CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Hi everyone,

I've been doing really well on my journey into eating gluten free and eating real food.  The GAPS diet has been a really good, extremely healing diet for my ulcerative proctitis. Ulcerative proctitis is a minor form of colitis, which is an auto-immune condition.  I'm going to try and make Thursdays the day I talk about healthy eating, my weight-loss journey and anything else related to those two things :) So, pray for me, because this is something that I really believe in. It's been very healing for my body...and I hope, that in some small measure, sharing my story with all it's ups and downs, will encourage you all in some way :) :)

I'm now on Phase 4 of the Intro Diet for GAPS.  I'm feeling better all the time, although I do still struggle with coffee. It is an addiction for me...a happy one, but one that is not at all good for my body. So I'm still struggling with that, but let me tell you about something totally yummy and delicious. 

Homemade chicken broth/soup with vegetables is really easy to make.  Prior to starting the GAPS diet, I usually avoided the kitchen. Thanks to GAPS, I've had to spend more time in the kitchen, learning how to cook real food on my own. This is how I made my yummy soup:

THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE VEGGIES I USED IN MY CHICKEN SOUP.   THIS ISN'T THE BEGINNING OF THE RECIPE. I JUST LIKE THIS PHOTO BECAUSE IT IS FULL OF COLOR.

FIRST, YOU GET A SWEET, OLD DOG TO HELP SUPERVISE ALL THE MEAL PREPARATIONS. IN THIS CASE, ROSIE "HELPED" ME.  THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN AFTER THE CHICKEN WAS FINISHED IN THE SLOW-COOKER. EVEN ROSIE KNOWS REAL GOOD FOOD WHEN SHE SMELLS IT :)  SHE HAS ARTHRITIS, SO SHE SITS A LOT. ROSIE ALSO EATS A LOT,BUT THAT HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH HER DOGGIE ARTHRITIS.

FIRST, YOU NEED A WHOLE CHICKEN.  I USE A WHOLE, ORGANIC CHICKEN FROM TRADER JOE'S.  IT REALLY IS UP TO YOU WHAT KIND OF MEAT YOU CAN AFFORD, BUT FOR ME IT IS SIMPLE.  YOU ARE WHAT YOUR ANIMALS EAT, SO I CHOOSE TO SPEND A LITTLE EXTRA FOR A NICE, ORGANIC CHICKEN.  IT COMES WITH GIBLETS.

Now my chicken came wrapped in plastic. Inside, it has what looks like a chicken maxi pad covering the "butt" area to catch all the chicken juices.  The giblets will be inside the bird, in a closed paper bag.  Remove the giblets from inside the chicken. You will include the giblets when making your broth. The giblets have lots of good stuff for the body, plus it helps the broth to form a nice gelatin when  you put it in the refrigerator.

So once you've removed the chicken and giblets from their packaging, place all of it in your slow cooker.  Now add some water to the slow-cooker. You have some options here.  I added six cups of purified water to the chicken in the slow-cooker. It's up to you. You can adjust the water, more or less, according to your needs and what you like :) :) I add lots of water, because it helps stretch this out for many, many meals :)

Also, add one teaspoon of either Celtic seal salt or pink Himalayan salt.

Slow-cook the chicken on "low" for 7 - 8 hours.  I let my chicken slow-cook for a full 8 hours. About an hour before your chicken is finished, add some fresh, chopped garlic to taste. I add four cloves of fresh, chopped garlic. However, this time, I forgot, so I added the garlic after I had cooked the chicken and vegetables.

AFTER YOUR CHICKEN IS FINISHED COOKING IN THE SLOW-COOKER, IT SHOULD LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS.  OH, YEAH, YOU CAN'T TELL HERE, BUT IT SMELLS SO G-O-O-D IN HERE.

NEXT, PREPARE YOUR FAVORITE VEGETABLES TO ADD TO YOUR SOUP.

While my chicken is in the slow-cooker, I like to prepare my vegetables.  About 30 minutes to an hour before your chicken is done, gather your vegetables. For this particular batch of soup I used fresh, organic red onions, rainbow carrots and organic broccolo florets. Chop them up and put them in the steamer.  Steam your veggies until they are nice and soft.  With my steamer, I find that 35 minutes is a good amount of time. They veggies are nice and soft.

ONCE THE VEGGIES ARE DONE STEAMING, PLACE THEM IN A NICE STOCKPOT OR SOUP POT.

When the vegetables are done steaming, I put them in a nice, large pot perfect for soups or stews.  I also added four cloves of fresh, chopped organic garlic.  This should have been added when the chicken was in the slow-cooker...but I forgot.  You can add the garlic whenever you like. Garlic adds a nice aroma and flavor to your cooking.

FRESH CHICKEN STRAIGHT FROM THE SLOW-COOKER.

By the time your vegetables are fully cooked, your chicken should be ready.  I deboned the chicken and put all the good meat into the stock/soup pot.  I used a fork and knife to seperate the meat, because I wasn't interested in touching it with my hands :) :)  Rosie, the dog, made sure to catch anything that fell to the floor. Nothing fell to the floor, but I did give her two small pieces of chicken. She ate it up right away.

HERE I AM STRAINING THE BROTH BEFORE I ADD IT TO THE SOUP.

Once you have removed all the meat from the chicken, it is time to strain the broth.  I place a fine, mesh sieve over the soup/stock pot. Then I used a measuring cup and slowly strained the chicken broth. This allows you to get all that yummy, healthy chicken broth without all the extra gross bits like cartilage etc.  I also added the chicken liver to the soup as well. Just chop it up super fine. You don't taste it. The chicken liver is also really healthy and good for me, so in it goes.

HERE IS MY BOWL OF FRESH-MADE CHICKEN BROTH, WITH CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES. DOESN'T IT LOOK OH SO TASTY GOOD?


Now at this point, what you do, is up to you.  I placed some of that fresh made chicken/vegetable soup in a bowl. Sorry that my bowl is messy...but that's real life, folks. I don't have people to wipe it up neat for photos :)  You can heat everything through again if you want, too. However, it wasn't necessary, since the broth and the veggies were still hot.

What to do with the leftover soup? Well, that is also up to you. This is what I do and it works well for me.

I PUT THE LEFTOVER CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE SOUP IN CANNING JARS. THEN I PUT THOSE JARS IN THE REFRIGERATOR.


All I do is place the extra chicken/vegetable soup in canning jars.  Those jars I place in the refrigerator. I don't know how to can/put up stuff. Besides that, I eat a lot of this soup, so it doesn't last very long anyway. 

To make this soup even more tasty/healing for my body, I add two teaspoons of clarified butter (ghee) and a 1/3 of  a mashed avocado, and 1 tsp of sauerkraut. The avocado is something I'll usually add at dinnertime. I do the sauerkraut in every bowl of soup.


This soup is really easy to make. It's very healthy for you and it tastes super good :) :) 

Why do I add clarified butter to my soup?  It's a healthy fat that has all the casein elements removed.  My body doesn't tolerate regular dairy very well, so I make clarified butter, which give me the best parts of the butter without the casein bits that irritate my tummy.  I'll post on how to make clarified butter soon. It is really easy.


Why do I add avocado to my soup? It's another healthy fat :) :)  I use an organic avocado. 

Why do I add 1 tsp of sauerkraut to every bowl of soup?  It is a natural probiotic. 

I'm sure you all have some questions. I'm still on the learning process myself...but if you want to ask questions about why I decided to take this journey, feel free to leave questions here, as long as they're nice :)  I'm not a doctor, so I cannot give medical advice.  This is a choice that I made for myself, after much thought, education and discussion. It's a plan that really works for me.  I would highly suggest talking with a naturopath or other medical person of your choice before embarking on any kind of new eating plan.


That's the news from California today. Love and hugs from the ocean shores, Heather :)


P.S. I'm linking up with the following blogs this week.  See below for details... Also check my right side-bar for blog buttons to their sites.

Thriving On Thursdays at Domesblissity

A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Our Simple Country Life

Homemaker's Cottage

MY TEA THINGS FOR JANUARY 4th, 2012

Hi everyone, 
Let me share my latest teacup and saucer with you today. Before I do that, let me give you a short update on our "plumbing" problem here at the house.  YOu can click here to read the original post. We finally had the plumber out for a third time in a week. They ran a camera down the pipe and discovered that the pipe was an old "Orangeburg" (sp?) pipe that was installed when the house was originally built back in the 1940s/50s.  The pipe runs 24 inches below ground, underneath the garage. When my aunt had the house remodeled, they never found that pipe, because they never looked.  When they installed new water pipe, it was installed only 18 inches below ground..so they never discovered the old pipe. Basically, the old pipe is very small and is collapsing in on itself. It will need to be replaced, eventually...but for now, my dad and I can use the upstairs bathrooms just fine with no problem. So, we're okay for now :) :) That's is a total answer to prayer.

Okay, now for the fun stuff.  This teacup with matching saucer was given to me as a gift by my aunt's friend.  She had purchased it at an auction. My aunt's friend said that it was in a box full of junk. It was like finding a diamond in the rough.

HERE IS A VIEW OF MY LOVELY PINK ROSE TEACUP WITH MATCHING SAUCER, AS SEEN FROM THE TOP. IT IS A LOVELY SHADE OF PALE PINK, WITH BEAUTIFUL CHUBBY, RED ROSES AND OUTLINED IN DELICATE GOLD

WHEN YOU SEE THE NEXT PHOTOS, YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY I TOOK THIS PHOTO FROM THE TOP VIEW.

THIS IS MY TEACUP AND SAUCER AS SEEN FROM THE SIDE VIEW.  YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE TEACUP ITSELF IS A SIMPLE, PLAIN WHITE WITH A DELICATE GOLD STRIPE RUNNING AROUND THE CENTER OF THE CUP. ALL OF THE DETAIL IS ON THE INSIDE OF THIS BEAUTIFUL TEACUP.

THIS IS THE BACKSTAMP ON THE TEACUP. IT SAYS "BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN - CHINA POTTERS - PARAGON - FINE BONE CHINA - ENGLAND REGD"  THERE IS ALSO THE LETTER "P" ON THE CUP.  I'M NOT SURE IF THAT IS SIGNIFICANT OR NOT. IT DOES ADD A BIT OF MYSTERY TO MY TEACUP.

HERE IS A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SAUCER. IT IS REALLY LOVELY.  I THINK PINK IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL, ROMANTIC AND VERY FEMININE COLOR. IT ADDS A TOUCH OF BEAUTY TO THE EVERY DAY THINGS OF OUR LIVES.

THIS IS THE BACKSTAMP ON THE SAUCER. IT IS THE SAME AS THE ONE ON THE TEACUP. THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL MARKINGS. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM OR THEIR MEANING. IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT IT COULD BE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.


Thank you for joining me for tea today. I love having visitors. Your comments also make me smile :) :) 

Oh, as most of you know, I live by the ocean. This is what the waves looked liked yesterday (Tuesday). Isn't it just dreamy?

I NEVER GET TIRED OF LOOKING AT THE OCEAN OR TAKING PHOTOS.

AT ONE POINT, THE WAVES WERE GETTING SO BIG AND SO FAST, THAT THERE WERE MULTIPLE WAVES CRASHING AT THE SAME TIME. 


That is the news from California today. Love and hugs from the ocean shores, Heather