Medical Boo Boo

I just got off the phone with my parents. My grandma has been complaining about painful joints for some time now. For her age, it is common for their bodies to lose the capacity to make enough glucosamine. So she went to see the doc and he prescribed her some Viartril, which is basically a glucosamine supplement.
But instead of writing VIARTRIL on the prescription, he wrote VIATRIL, which is the female version of the viagra.
It would have been funny if the pharmacist really gave her some Viatril.

Oh how we laughed.

Forgetful I am

I have been so forgetful lately. I can walk into the bathroom and forget why I went in there for. Even mundane things like brushing my teeth. After I walk out of the bathroom and then I remember.. Oh yeah!! I wanted to brush my teeth!
I forget that I have clothes in the dryer.
And yesterday, I forgot that I had left the cat outside in the rain. He sulked and ignored me all morning.
But today I totally forgot that I had a doctor's appointment at 2pm!!! I got a call from the doctor's office at 3pm telling me that I had missed my appointment and I had to reschedule it for another time slot 4 weeks later! God help me if I forget it then! I had written today's appointment down in BIG LETTERS on my planner which I look at everyday. And I even remember telling Jason last night that I have a doctor's appointment today. And yet, it totally slipped my mind.
I used to be very heedful of such things. Now, I don't know what's happened to my brains. Maybe I'm getting senile. But I think the Zoloft medication is doing that to me. I have to remember to tell my doctor that. If I remember that is.

When the parade passes by...

We drove 180 miles to Oxford this early morning for the annual St John's Day Celebration at The Masonic Home for Children. My alarm clock rang at 4.45am and we left the house at 5.30am to pick my father-in-law. Since I had volunteered to drive, I'm pretty glad we all reached Oxford in one piece since I only had 1.5 hours of sleep the night before. (Hurrah for Cruise Control)

Oxford is a neat little town of 6000 people.
We arrived there in plenty of time to catch the parade. I was gleefully excited when the band started playing and all the miniature trains, trucks and jeeps paraded down the streets of Oxford. It was fun and I felt like a little child again. The Hillbillies were funny and the remodeled vehicles were pretty ingenious. Wished we had brought Cooper and Wrenn with us. But it wouldn't have been easy for a 1 year old and a 3 year old to sit in the car for a total of 6+ hours driving time to and fro.
We had BBQ pork (North Carolina style) for lunch. (Well, actually I had chicken instead) and caught up with other family members at the festival. Then, we drove out to the countryside to visit more family. And I saw a fig tree for the first time. And lots of tobacco fields.

We drove back to Charlotte in the late afternoon. I surprised myself for being able to stay alert on the road eventhough part of me felt like a zombie. But I was even more proud of myself for driving all that distance and not getting any panic attacks. Perhaps the Zoloft is indeed working. Or perhaps I need to change jobs. Or maybe it is all just in my crazy little mind.

Sing.. Sing a song...

Have you ever woken up with a song churning in your head?

This morning, before I was fully awake, I had "Runaway Train" playing in my head. What's funny is that I have never known the full lyrics of this song. But in these early morning serenades, I always get the full lyrics. Once I am fully awake though, the lyrics start to fade and all that remains is the tune or lyrics of the chorus for the rest of the day. Yes, the "rest" of the day! I am relieved that it's "Runaway Train" today and not Kermit the Frog. Last week I had Kermit the Frog singing "It's not easy bein' green" in my head all day!
I wonder if all these songs mean something or if it's subconsciously trying to tell me something.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Honest to God, you never know who.. or what.. will come knocking on your front door!!

This happened last week at Hilton Head, SC.

Oh we must travel

I am stealing this from my husband's blog. This is a map of all the places I've put my feet on.



create your own visited country map

And in the U.S :



create your own personalized map of the USA

The Sausage Factory

Our kitchen turned into a sausage factory this afternoon. It's true what Jason said in his blog. You should never watch how a sausage is being made. I disobeyed the law and made the mistake of watching. Now I will have to suffer the consequences.

On the bright side, we now have 32 lbs of sausages in our freezer, which would probably last us a lifetime. Signing up for Dream Dinners will have to wait until we make room in our freezer. And the only way to make room is to eat those sausages. Gulp.

Here's the process:
(Warning!! View at your own risk. Some pictures may be unsuitable for viewing before mealtimes)

Don an apron and a chef hat. Be prepared to get all dirty.

Chop up the Boston Butt (Pork Shoulder)
Ground up the meat. Drink some german beer (with courtesy from our neighbors, R.C & Betty, who dropped by to watch)
Add spices and other secret ingredients to taste. Knead with hands.

Make little patties and fry em in the pan to get a taste. Add more spices if necessary. Here, Bert uses the empty beer bottle as a makeshift pestle and mortar to break up the star anise.

Bert gets the intestines ready.

Roll meat and drop them into the grinder, very very carefully, while holding the intestines in place. Prevent air bubbles from forming. And prevent it from bursting. Very tricky.

Cut and tie the intestines.

Enjoy!!

The proud makers of the five-foot long sausage

All ready !!

The Sausage factory is all ready and we are waiting for Jason's accomplice, Bert, to arrive anytime now.