Good News!

Instead of linking to a care page, I'll just let my blogging buddies know what has happened to daughter Julie over the past two days:

1.  She had her chemo treatment, but a week later she had severe nausea.
2. When the nausea continued to the point that it was obviously not related to the chemo, she was taken by ambulance to her local hospital (20 miles from her home in S. Carolina) and then AGAIN transferred by another ambulance several hours later to Charlotte, NC to the 700 bed Carolina Medical Center for tests on her AV shunt (the AV shunt drains fluid from the brain to the heart to treat her hydrocephalous).  She has had over 100 AV shunt revisions in her life.
3.  Julie underwent emergency surgery last night to replace the clogged. She is speaking coherently now, has no headaches and has no memory of anything that happened, including her intense pain from the headaches, for the past 72 hours. That short term memory will likely not be regained, and I say "who cares?" as she won't remember that awful time.
4. Julie is supposed to sit up in her wheelchair for a few hours today while in hospital and will be discharged tomorrow if all goes well.
5. Thank you all for your prayers and concern!

The other good news is the package of breast cancer clothing accessories that came in the mail yesterday from Cafe Press.

This is the t-shirt I wore yesterday:

It says: "They're Not Real (the real ones tried to kill me)

Here is a hat for Julie going in the mail today, also from Cafe Press:

Decoupaged Side Table & Chair

Greeting cards, get well cards, birthday cards, sympathy cards ... I cannot bear to throw them away because the sentiments, although sometimes just the garden variety that come from the manufacturer, are sincere efforts to keep friendships alive. And often, the illustrations are keepers!

Several years ago when I was going through chemotherapy as a result of breast cancer, cards sent by friends and family helped keep my spirits uplifted. I saved them all.  But a better use than keeping them in a box was to display them for gentle reminders of love.  So I decoupaged them onto a little table where some costume jewelry resides, and those bits and pieces of  get-well cards remind me of valued friendships.

A little Modgepodge and some cutting and pasting were all that was necessary to make this useful little side table an enduring sentimental symbol of friendship.  I use the "get well" table in my bathroom to hold the tools for getting ready for the day.

The cards were cut and pasted onto the table in no particular order.  The randomness of the mementos draws my eye to a different card at each glance onto the surface, reminding me of  the kindness of each friend.

(close up of top of table)

Taking on an old piece of furniture and decoupaging it with special gift wrap or other unique papers is a project which you might like just for its preservation value of sentiment alone.

Here is a link at FaveCrafts that shows how another woman has more methodically decoupaged a chair seat:

And here is that chair again holding some pretty flower pots.  Her theme seems to be flowers, and appears to be a nice touch to her patio.

Summer Squash and Sausage Casserole

With tomatoes, squash and onions all now available, they are the basis of my favorite summer casserole.  This recipe makes plenty, is easily reheated in the microwave, and is definitely in the new triangle of foods that are good for you.  It also has lots of cheesy goodness.

Ingredients: as many and as much as you like of....

1. tomatoes in thick slices
2. yellow and green squashes, any varieties are fine, cut in thick slices
3. onions, yellow or white, cut in pieces
4. a pound of Italian sausage, browned in a skillet with the grease discarded
5. cheese, yellow and grated

Preparation consists of layering all the vegetables, browned sausage and grated cheese a couple of times with lots of pepper, a bit of salt, and maybe some spices you like.  Cover and cook in a 350 degree oven for an hour or until the vegetables are no longer crunchy.

So there you have a complete meal if you add just a slice of bread, a beverage, and a dessert if you are feeling indulgent.