Ham and Bean Soup

In my previous post, I mentioned that I am making ham and bean soup and cornbread. Here is my recipe for the soup. Bud doesn't do veggies, so there is no carrots or celery in this batch. But if you are like me, and love you some veggies, follow the recipe below. Mmmmmm good!


DeeDee's Ham and Bean Soup


1 pound dry great Northern beans
8 cups water
tsp teaspoon salt
1 pound diced smoked ham
1/2 cup diced carrots
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon ham soup base
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

Place beans and salt in the water and bring to a boil. Let boil 15 minutes, then cut off the heat and let soak for 4 hours (covered). After 4 hours, drain off the water and add 12 cups of fresh water to the pot. Add ham soup base and diced smoked ham. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for an hour. After an hour, add in your carrots, celery and onions. Once again bring the pot back up to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for another 40-60 minutes. Beans and veggies should be tender. If not, continue to simmer until beans and veggies are tender. Add white pepper before serving. Serve with cornbread or crusty french bread.

MIL is home!

We got to bring MIL home yesterday. She still has zero appetite. We took her to Main Street Pub, and she ordered a steak, fries, and a cup of homemade potato soup. She ate two bites of soup, two bites of steak, and two french fries, and couldn't eat any more--and that is the most she has eaten since a week ago Thursday night!

It is going to be a slow road back to recovery for her. I think she expected to feel a lot better sooner. She is healing well, though, and she is doing a great job under the circumstances. She was so happy to just be able to sleep in her own bed!

She had dialysis this morning, and Bud called to say she was having a rough go of it. When she gets dialysis, all the meds in her body get dialysed out--including the pain meds. So it is essentially 4 hours of pain for her right now. Wish I could do the dialysis for her...

It is a very blustery day out today, overcast and bleak. I am going to make a pot of ham and bean soup and a skillet of cornbread, perfect for a cold, yucky day. I am hoping MIL has an appetite and can get a few bites down. I expect she will sleep through most of the day on and off, and that is okay; she needs the rest.

Thanks to all who kept her in your thoughts and prayers. Very, very appreciated.

Because God evidently doesn't think we have enough stress....

MIL is in the hospital. We took her to the ER at 3am on Monday morning, as she was having chest pains. They took her by ambulance to Borgess Hospital in Kzoo, and they did a heart cath. Turns out, she has three major blockages and and needs bypass surgery.

So now the poor woman has to deal with both dialysis and having her chest cracked open on Friday. She is taking it amazingly well. She is of course scared, but she has accepted that it has to be done and there is not a whole lot she can do about it.

This is a major deja vu for me--takes me back to when ES was in T-town and had her leg amputated. Drove 45 miles every day after work to go see her while she was in the hospital. Guess how far Kzoo is from here? Yup, just over 45 miles. At least this time, Bud and I are dealing with it together. When ES was int he hospital, if you were a follower of the other blog, the Self-Sustaining Kitchen( http://bamagalskitchen.blogspot.com/ --it is still up and running--go there for a lot of background and more on this storyline), you know that right after ES had the amputation, Bud had to rush to Michigan because his mom had had a heart attack, and his dad was in the hospital as well...not a pleasant time in our lives to say the least.

Mom is scheduled to have surgery on Friday, and Bud and I have been operating on little to no sleep; calling friends and family to keep them updated; trying to not have meltdown. I just did all the homework for one of my classes in record speed. My brain is thoroughly fried.

MIL, ever the worrier, is focusing not on her pending surgery, but rather on the fact that she was supposed to get her car serviced on Friday, was supposed to meet a friend for lunch this week, and oh, yeah, Peanut, the Jekyll-Hyde dog, was supposed to go get her annual booster shots. Not to mention that she had a ton of crafting projects she was working on that she had planned on finishing...gotta love her. She is obsessive-compulsive-and-very-likely-insane.

Keep her in your thoughts, everyone--all three of you intrepid followers!

Valleys, Peaks and Plateaus

The astute reader will instantly know that I am referring to weight loss trials and tribulations. My peak weight is now behind me; for a while, I have never been close to the valley (ideal weight), unless you count 8th-10th grades; I have hit one of the blasted plateaus.

I didn't lose one dang ounce this month. I am irritated with myself, as I went over calories 19 times in the last 30 days. Stress eating is a killer, I tell ya. Four of the 19 days were just in the last week. Couldn't have anything to do with the fact that we are broke, could it?

On the upside, hubby and I got a last minute call for a karaoke gig. Of course, we jumped on it. Mind you, I only had 4 hours sleep on the previous evening, and I was already yawning when the call came. I am so glad we did it, as we got paid way, way more than we would have charged. That was a nice perk this week. We were able to fill the van with gas, buy some much-needed items, as we still have money in our pockets! Bud was able to take MIL out to eat Sunday so I could get homework and midterms done (thanks, hubby!), and we are taking her out again tomorrow after we take Bud's cousin (the one he donated a kidney to) to an appointment.

One of my SWs is in the hospital with influenza, bronchitis, and pneumonia. They couldn't get her oxygen in the "safe" zone, so they are giving her oxygen and steroids so she can breath better. Doesn't help that she suffers from asthma...

Hubby has a "to-do"list a half-mile long that he has imposed on himself. Well, semi-imposed. Some are things his mom wants done and that he agreed to do. Staying busy is a good thing, though.

Speaking of valleys, peaks and plateaus, I hope we get out of this valley of dept, find the highest peak, and plateau there for a while so we can actually NOT have financial stress for a while. It is something we would both like to experience once before we die, anyway...

What the What?!?!?!?!

I am taking a finance class this semester, one that I previously gave up in around the 4th week and took a big fat "F" in as a result. I took it last year when my FIL committed suicide, and dealing with that took too much out of me to even think about completing the class.

This time around, I am trying hard to stay focused on it. Not an easy task. We are now talking about the time value of money--in other words, taking advantage of investing opportunities and discounts. I find myself completely lost most of the time, and I ask LOTS of questions. I am sure the professor thinks I am a total idiot: "So, Ms. Weiser, you want to go into the business field? I would advise getting an accountant to help you out..."

Okay, he didn't say that, but boy, do I feel like I am just not getting it! I will be glad when this class is over. I will be glad when ALL my classes are over for a while. I keep telling myself that I will go back and get my MBA at some point, but do I really need to pursue a masters when I am approaching my geriatric years? I will never be a Donald Trump, but I would like to think that my education is an investment that will lead to a greater return in the future. Gee, maybe I am getting this concept of the time value of money...they sure are taking enough of it right now!

We are Broke with a capital "B" right now--can't even run to town to buy a paper, as we don't have the gas to burn, and we don't have the 75 cents for a paper. BUT--we have a roof over our heads, and there is food in the house, so I am NOT bitchin'. It just feels aweful to have no money in the bank, no money in my billfold, and social security benefits are drying up faster than a rain puddle in mid-August. Let's not go there. My mental health is hanging by a thread these days, and I don't have the dexterity anymore to tie a knot...

Shopping with MIL

My MIL's sister passed away a week ago today. She had been battling cancer for over two years, and just when she thought it was beaten, they found her liver full of cancer. They gave her 2-3 days; she lived 6 more weeks.

Aunt Hazel was a very tenacious woman, and though I didn't know her very well, I remember her laugh the most. She had a hardy laugh, and she loved nothing more than to have conversations that involved story-telling. She will be missed by many.

MIL was concerned, as she only had one dress, and she had worn it before and thought people might notice. So, we went to Mishawaka in search of the perfect dress.

We hit paydirt at JC Penny's. They were having their annual Labor Day Sale, and most everything in the store was marked down. She found two dresses she really like, and tried them both on. She looked great in both, but was very self-critical and didn't like "how big her hips looked" in the one, and how "low-cut" the other dress was. I knew all I had to do was read the price tags for her to make the decision. Mom likes value (don't we all), and when I told her the "low-cut" dress was on sale for $26, she made her decision. "I don't have any pantyhose!" She said with large eyes. Off to the lingerie section.

She clucked at how expensive the pantyhose were. I agree. Even when they were $1.99 a pair, I thought they were too much, as I inevitably only get one wear out of the little beggars. She bought the cheapest pair she could find, then said, "you know what, I don't think I have a purse that would look right with this dress." Off to the purses...

She looked at many purses. Many, many purses. She loves purses like I love shoes. I think she has in the neighborhood of 20 purses, and the number keeps growing. She also makes purses, so she has lots of cute quilted bags as well. She managed to find a very cute purse for $8. SCORE! "You know, I don't think I have shoes that will go with this dress..." Off to the shoe department...

The shoe department was busy. They had lots of summer shoes marked 70-80% off, so you can imagine what it was like. I thankfully had no money, so I didn't walk out of the store with a half-dozen shoes and the giddy head-rush that comes with knowing I have new shoes. I found a pair that was oh-so-cute, and MIL loved them as well. They were normally $90, but they were marked down to $29, so they were a steal at that price. At the register, she looked at the cashier and lamented, "I don't have any jewelry to go with this outfit!" The cashier told her kindly that she would hold the items and pointed her toward the jewelry...

Bud has a great eye for that kind of thing, and he found her a gorgeous necklace and matching earrings (the earrings were actually a three pack, and they were the same price as the single pack earrings, so again, SCORE!)

We went back to the shoe counter, and the sales associate rang everything up. Her outfit: dress, shoes, jewelry, purse, and nylons was--are you ready for this?--$94. Can you believe it? The discounted prices were discounted even MORE. She saved almost $150. I don't know who was more tickled--MIL or me.

Here she is in her dress as we were heading out to the funeral. The handsome man on her shoulder is my hubby. We clean up pretty good!

I actually enjoyed my shopping experience with MIL. She was like a little kid at Christmas, and I was glad to see her so happy.

Devil Dog

MIL has a dog named Peanut. As you can see in this picture, she is aptly named, as she is a tiny little dog. She is a Yorkie, but in her current hairstyle, looks more like a chihuahua. She even acts like a chihuahua, shaking for no reason and acting pitiful.

I woke up this morning at 8:30am after being up until 2 frickin' thirty doing homework (which, by the way, is still not complete). Bud and MIL must have left real early, as I appeared to be the only one home.

I took three steps, and then, *squish* right between the toes. The little bugger had left a wet turd right outside the bedroom door. I of course said some choice words and hop-hobbled to the bathroom to wash my foot. On the way, I encountered a turd in the dining room, a turd under the table this laptop sits on, a turd in the kitchen (using "turd" lightly here, as it was more of a liquid mass), a semi-formed turd in the hallway, and a turd in the bathroom. That is an awful lot of turds from one tiny little dog!

After cleaning up all the messes, and after not hearing from hubby or MIL, I decided to call and find out where they were to make sure everything was alright. They were fine, but Bud confirmed that he, too, had cleaned up no less then two piles from the little poop machine.

I must say, I am quite impressed that that much excretion came out of her. I guess I shouldn't be, as she is literally a little shit. I named this post Devil Dog aptly, because I am certain she is a minion of Satan.

She can be the cutest, sweetest dog around. But then, when you least expect it, she becomes evil. It reminds me of the movie Gremlins. Remember those cute little furballs? And what happened when they got wet? Peanut is like a cute little Gizmo, until she gets a wild hair up her butt. Then, watch out. Here are the before and after:

I have taken to calling her queenie,

As she is the queen of the house. She dictates when MIL gets up,
goes to bed, when she will eat, when she wants to be picked up, and her position on MIL's lap. She allows one of the other dogs, Suzie, to get up in the chair with MIL, but she will growl and glare at her to get off of MILs lap and move to the side so she can have the coveted lap position. Look at that evil glow in her eye--possessed, I tell ya. Mind you, our dog, Ghost, could chomp her in one bite. Don't think the thought hasn't crossed her mind, as I have seen the look in Ghost's eye many a time: "I could swallow you whole, you little hefer. Don't mess with me!"

As we speak, she is growling and fussing because I will not take the gate down so she can go into the living room. Sorry, poopy dog, but there is no way I am giving you access to furniture right now...