Fresh Air

Most days I try to take a walk outdoors with hubby. For the past two weeks, I have not gotten much fresh air because my mother is still in the hospital. Her stomach hurt and so she had to go through a bunch of tests for her tummy--ultrasound, CT scan, and an endoscopy--to make sure she did not have any bleeding in her stomach from the overdose of Coumadin. Fortunately, her stomach is fine except for a little inflammation, but she is still very weak because she has not been eating much.

After our hospital visit today, I asked hubby to stop at the park on the way home. It was such a beautiful day and now that it is staying light a little longer, I thought we could take a brief walk. So we did, and I felt much better for it. There's nothing like a walk in the woods to get rid of stress. And it was nice to get the hospital smell out of my nostrils.

I have not done much writing. It's very hard to concentrate on anything right now because I am worried about my mother. I got a rejection from Steeple Hill this past week but it didn't faze me. I have a collection of rejections from Steeple Hill! Perhaps I should frame them all. :^)

I'll just have to send my manuscript elsewhere. I'm sure someone else will be happy with it.

Acquiring Medical Knowledge

My mother is back in the hospital again. This time her Coumadin level was too high. In the emergency room she got a shot of Vitamin K and two bags of plasma. Nevertheless, she became delirious from a lack of sleep, dehydration, and a possible infection. Yesterday was the worst day. She had another CT scan to see whether there had been any hemorhaging in her brain. My mother looked horrible and had to be restrained so she would not hurt herself.

The CT scan showed that there was no bleeding in her brain.

Today, though weak, she was quite normal again. But she did get a chest x-ray to see if there was fluid in her lungs.

I guess we'll get the results tomorrow.

Baking

My mother got out of rehab on Saturday. She's happy to be home but she is still very weak. However, she can swallow ordinary liquids now. She lost ten pounds in the hospital--and my father looks a lot thinner, too. He spent all day with Ma at the hospital and in rehab. If nobody fed him, he didn't eat.

My parents need to be fattened up.

I stayed at home on New Year's Eve and baked. I made the Cape Cod Cranberry pie I usually make for Christmas. Last year, I was so upset because my mother was in the hospital that I forgot to put in the sugar. This year, the pie came out perfectly.


















I mixed up a sweet yeast dough on New Year's Eve, too. Yesterday morning, I kneaded the dough and made a massive poppyseed roll. My mother has always claimed that eating a poppyseed roll will bring good luck in the New Year. This poppyseed roll should bring us a ton of good luck.


















I made another roll, too. The house smelled so wonderful with all the baking.