A Big Old Helping of Gratitude!

Hi folks! This is just a quick update before I head out for a few hours. I just wanted to touch base with everyone to say thank you for all your kind comments on the blog. Also to those who emailed or inboxed me on FB, I am so touched by your kindness and caring. The foodie community sure does stand together when life throws curve balls. I appreciate it more than you could possibly know. You folks amaze me every day.

I am normally a busy gal but this past week has been crazier than normal. I don't normally work like that. With the barn owners away it made for a tons of work and time away from home. I just thankful for hubs having been off those days as he was on constant puppy duty. I have to say he stepped up and really helped, threw the pup off schedule a bit but that's my fault for not being more specific with instructions. But all in all not bad for 4 days, only a couple of accidents. He really did great, particularly as he did not want the puppy. So they bonded and are now in love. I came home yesterday and she stayed by him and broke my heart. Fickle little puppy. So kudos to hubs and to B (best son evah!) who kept things running at home as me and mini-me were gone alot. Hubs is not a cook, but he did make dinner the night I was out all day and night. Made chicken wings and homemade fries. So that was cool for the kids. Heated up some pizza for mini-me who does not eat birds.

I made it up to see my Aunt who is ill. She is now in palliative care. I have not seen her in a couple years so was hard to not be shocked by how frail she is. She has dementia as well as cancer so I was worried she would not know me. My cousin thought she did, I was unsure. But I held it together as I held her hand and talked. She told me lots of stories. I had a brief flashback to my Dad when he was sick when she commented alot on my hair. After Dad had chemo he was put on ativan and had a weird reaction. He got off kilter and we had to ride out a 12 hour window while it left his system. At one point he stared at me so oddly that I just had to ask why he was staring. He asked me if my hair had always been this colour. Needless to say I was stunned, since I'd been with him almost non-stop for about 5 months at that point. So we had a lengthy discussion about my gorgeous hair (lol) and it's always stuck with me. So when Aunt Barb started talking about my hair I had to pull up my bootstraps and be brave. Not have a meltdown of epic proportions. I think I did well. Even stayed with her for a spell so Bri could go off with his wifey for a bit. I have to say it was nice to visit and hang with Bri and help him out as best I could. His wife, E, grabbed us some dinner and she and the kids stayed with Aunt Barb so we could go downstairs and sit outside to eat and talk. I am so happy that I made the call and put the past in the past where it belongs.

So again, sorry for the absence. I am not used to working and putting in long days. Couple that with kids, a hub, a new puppy and 10 other animals, well I just haven't had time. Then throw in Thanksgiving weekend and well my goodness I just barely made it through. And speaking of Thanksgiving here's the lowdown on that one. The only thing I made from scratch was the turkey. It was the best processed Thanksgiving meal ever. Lol! I bought a Honey Bee Ham which was the bomb. I made stuffing from a box, I made potatoes from a pouch, I made carrots from a frozen bag, corn from can, and buns were store bought. Yup, I really powered through eh! I didn't even make a dessert so we had ice cream, and it wasn't even one of mine. It was from the store. Oi, I should be booted out of the foodie community immediately. It was a sad state of affairs. But dang tasty. Oh and I did not take one single picture to show you. Yah, I should be nominated for slacker of the year right now. I shall try to take some pics of the leftovers to show you tonight.

Okay so tonight you can expect a couple posts I need to get up. I am going to do ice cream sundays, as well as lunatic loves these links. The downside to them is they may not be as comprehensive as usual. So just forgive me cuz you love me. See you all later tonight.

Toodles and smoochies. xx