Just a note on greatfulness

This past week at work, we had one of the sweetest couples come in a deliver a healthy baby girl. I will remember them for a long time. This was their first baby. About 3 years ago, they had a full-term still-born baby. There were heart tones and everything up until a few hours before the delivery. I cannot imagine how hard that would be to go through an entire pregnancy and labor and then go home with nothing but a heavy and aching heart. This couple was from upper Michigan, so they drove 5 hours to our unit to deliver this baby. We had 4 babies the night before their discharge, so I was able to go into their room and talk with them for almost an hour that night. They asked about me and what I was doing and they wished me all the luck in the world with nursing (she is a nurse herself). They told me that just the experience that they had with me for just a few days, that I would be just fine and I would be a great nurse. While they were talking, they told me about the c-section delivery. She said that Dr. Meier allowed her husband to actually see the baby come out from her and she said that when Dr. Meier held the baby over the curtain and the baby was crying, she said that was the most beautiful sound she had heard in her entire life. She also told me about her prenatal care. She said that at the 5 month mark of her pregnancy, she had appoinments every two weeks and then at the 7 month mark, she had weekly appointments and then at 8 months, she had appointments at the clinic 2 times per week. She said that if God ever blessed them with another pregnancy, she would do it all over again in a heartbeat and she said she would do it the exact same way. She said she never complained once about having to go to the clinic so often. It is families like this that make you realize that babies are truly a gift from God. It was so nice to see a family so happy with their baby and want their baby. There are so many times that you see families that don't appreciate their babies or you know that the baby isn't going home to a good situation. It was so nice to see a family so involved and appreciative of their baby. I hope that they are blessed with another pregancy down the road, so that I can see how they are doing because they were just one of those families that you cannot possibly forget.

Shades of Soul

Well, around 11:00 this morning, I decided to trudge out to the paperbox at the end of our driveway to pick up the daily "Pioneer," Bemidji's one & only. I could not believe my eyes!! The Shades of Soul are playing two nights during the All School Reunion this weekend. Up until this point, I really didn't care one way or the other about the reunion...but now! Well, let's just say that my energy & excitement level has soared!

The first paragraph of the article reads: "They were Motown in the Northwoods. They were suave, cool and full of music--and they're together again. The Shades of Soul." Molly Miron took the words right out of my mouth!

Back in the 60's when I was in high school, it was not uncommon to have live music at summer parties around town. The bands usually were classmates that had a need to play & the parties had a need for live music, so it was a perfect fit. They wanted to play for experience...& the funny thing about it was they also had talent. That is the way this band got started.

They had about 15 members & the paper has nine on the front page that are reuniting for this weekend. They had many instruments, including brass, dressed in suits, and danced as they played & sang. This weekend they will be doing the same thing, probably without the suits, however.

I guess that I will be going to the All School Reunion after all...how could I live with myself if I didn't relive this part of my life?

Since I couldn't post a comment, I'm going to Post a new posting :)

You know what, I when people always say in Lehman's terms, I also think the same thing as Pete. Must be a family thing. Another thing...Gary, on the title thing, you spelled Klasen wrong. If I remember right, when I looked at the top, it was Klassens. Just FYI.

Lamon

The name change post reminded me of something. Whenever somebody uses the phrase "the layman's term for that is..." I always hear it as "the Lamon's term for that is..."

And it always makes me wonder, are there specific family "Lamon's terms" that you can think of? Share!

Spices, Etc.

Pete's posting on peppercorns really sparked my interest...thanks, Pete. I am a true food lover of great tasting food! If I taste something & it doesn't just grab me as worth eating, I (in my older but wiser age) just don't finish it. I have the attitude that if it doesn't taste good, it just isn't worth wasting calories (points) on it. Yes, I know that we were brought up by depression parents and were taught to "clean our plates," BUT, I have my health to think about, too!
Peppercorns - Two years ago, I bought a large container (18 oz) of Tone's whole black peppercorns & we love them. They were inexpensive, one variety, but good. I use them on everything, including eggs, and when we ran out of the "cheap" stuff, I never replaced it.
Has anyone tried the new hot salt made by Morton? It does have a little kick to it...wonder how it would taste on eggs?

Gardening, Why Bother?

Well, last August we lost most of our garden to frost...yes, even before the produce was ready to eat. If I remember correctly, we did eat one tomato and had some fresh potatoes, but that was the extent of it.
This summer we haven't had much rain, so we are being challenged in the gardening endeavors again! Back to my original question...why bother? I know why...because there is something inside of me that loves to watch things grow and I seem to have a need (or a satisfaction) of taking care of plants...almost like an extension of mothering?? Another idea is that it is a challenge. I never know what "mother nature" will throw at me and I am willing to take her on. And, the outcome is never certain and to me that is exciting.

What's New?

Not too much is going on around here. I'm in the middle of working an 11 day stretch. I'll be done after night shift next Sunday. It always amazes me how fast census changes on an OB unit. Saturday, we started day shift with a total of 17 babies. When I went in again on night shift last night, we were down to 8 babies. Talk about a total turn around.

School starts for me on August 29th. I'm not sure when I am going to be moving back down to Winona yet. My last day of work will be the 24th and then a couple of my friends want to go on a road trip. Anyone have any ideas of where we could go? We will have about 4 days total.

That's about all that's new with me. Hope everyone's summer is going well!

I'm so silly!

I completely forgot in my last post, but Happy Birthday Nancy (my Nancy, not Gary's)!

Pepper

I love pepper. Even more than salt. If I had to give one or the other up, salt would be the first to go. We have a very nice pepper mill in the shape of a wine bottle. It was a wedding present from my aunt Linda and uncle Glenn. I think most of the Saunders side of the family has received one as a wedding present as well. We use a three peppercorn blend in it; white, red and black. This is where 90% of my pepper comes from. But for some reason, I don't like this pepper on eggs. For eggs, you really need the basic black pre-ground stuff. Something like you would find in the shaker at a diner.

This morning for breakfast I had some leftover potatoes that I made the other day. They were a twice-baked style with cheese, ham and onion. When I originally served this I used the fresh ground pepper. Today I went for the cheap stuff. The cheap stuff wins for this dish, hands down.