Easter Card 2013

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Every holiday and every season my sister makes handmade cards.

I'm so fortunate to always be a recipient!

Here is this year's Easter card.

Simple but a strong message.

May you have a blessed Easter.

Shirley  

Beatrice Potter for Easter

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This is a favorite post of mine that I put on a couple years ago.
Happy Easter Everyone.

My simple Easter tablescape was inspired by the Beatrix Potter books.

I saw a movie about her life and immediately looked for the collection of her children's books.

I found them on eBay and love them.

So far my grandchildren are too young to handle them but I will soon be reading them to the two of them when they are old enough to sit still!

All the dishes on the table were thrifty buys from either Goodwill or garage sales!

Have a wonderful Easter everyone.

He is Risen.

Alleluia

Shirley

Predator Precautions

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I'm always worried about the raccoons getting into the chicken run or the coop.  The coop is pretty predator proof, but there's a couple places that need more reinforcing in the run.  I don't think they could open the little pop door but you never know about raccoons!  They are so smart and have opposable thumbs!!!  I hope all my latches are good enough but just in case I got 4 Night Guards.

They are solar powered and emit a red flashing light only at night.

From all I read from people who have them, they work really well.

I also put one by the garage door because the raccoons are getting into the garage 

and eating the barn cat's cat food.  Could be an opossum too because I saw

one of those one night!

I hope these really work and keep those guys away that want a free chicken dinner!!!

I'd be pretty darn upset if they got Martha!!!

(or any of my five!)

Shirley

Confessions of an Old Nurse-Chapter 1

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Capping, in nursing school was a big deal.

I don't remember which year we got our cap.  My memory is rotten as for dates!

I couldn't find a photo anywhere of Huron Road's caps and I don't have mine anymore.  This is a similar shape but ours had complicated pleats in the back.

To clean ours, you'd just take the pins out that were holding the pleats together and wash in the washing machine.  When it came out it was like a limp rag.  You'd then lay it on a flat surface and "paint" liquid starch on it full strength and "paste it to the front of your smooth refrigerator to dry!!  That's how I did it anyway : ))

Then you had to pleat the two sides of the back together again.

I think it's a shame that nurses don't wear their caps anymore.  I'm not even sure if they get capped in the nursing schools anymore.  We had to work so hard for the right to wear that cap.

Now, everyone in the hospital looks the same.  You can't tell the nurses from the lab people, the people in dietary and the housekeeping crew until you look closely at their name tags.

I wore my cap most of my nursing career until after I had worked in the ER awhile.

I wanted to mention that while I was in nursing school, the first open heart surgeries started to be preformed.  Although I never saw one, we saw the HUGE heart lung machine that the patient was put on during the surgery.  And, believe it or not, there was no CCU or ICU back then.  Those serious cardiac patients were on the regular surgical or medical floors!

Heart surgery patients stayed in the hospital at least 2 -3 weeks.  I think now, they're out in 4 days!!

(The great world of insurance and what it allows!!)

I do remember that I graduated in 1963.  I remember that because it's on the back of my pin.

My school pin.

You earned this at graduation.

This was always worn with your name tag under it.

Here's how some things were "way back then!"

 •The syringes were glass, sometimes metal, not plastic.

•The IV bottles were glass, not plastic bags.

•Most all meds were kept on the floors and we had to actually mix a lot of them.

•Foley catheters and lavage tubes were rubber!

•We had little sterilizers on the floor and sterilized certain things.  

(Bigger things went to Central Supply to be sterilized.)

•Patient's food was good!

•We only wore gloves for sterile procedures.  (And of course really messy things)

• It was long before the discovery of Aides and we didn't wear gloves to start IV's etc.

We learned to write good nurse's notes.  And each patient had a metal chart holder with real paper nurses and doctors notes, lab and surgical reports.

(Of course, no computers back then.)

I'll mention more things as I remember them!

I already sound ancient, don't I!!!!!!!

I saw a lot of different treatment for conditions as research progressed.

I got average grades in nursing school.  As students, we lived in a dormitory across the street from the hospital; Belmore Hall. 

Wickersham was my maiden name.

I have great memories of dorm life and will save that for next time.

Thanks for looking in.  I'd love hearing from you.

Shirley

It Snowed So I Went Shopping!

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It snowed AGAIN!!!

The only one that likes it is my St. Bernard!!!

He'd sprawl out there in the snow all day if I'd let him!

Well

I'm tired of the cold and the snow like everyone here in the north!

I'm starting to get a LITTLE DEPRESSED!!!!!

So, what to do??

I say:

Go shopping  : ))

I went to a favorite little antique place in town.

I always find something there.

Like this pretty little tea cup and saucer.

Staffordshire

And this cute little chicken egg basket!  

Love it.

If you put the handles down they're shaped like wings!

Now, see, those 2 little things just brightened my whole day!

I then went to Walmart to pick up some groceries and I found a good pair of loppers.   

(Someone had borrowed mine last year and never returned them!!)

Of course my bill was about $100. for it all!

But I won't think about that!

So then I took myself out to lunch at Panera!

(On a gift card  : ))

So that was free.

I do feel better now!

Shirley

Fitness Clinic at the Barn

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Our barn put on a "Five Minute Fitness Fixes to Improve Your Riding and Driving".

It was this past Saturday and was fun and entertaining as are all of Sarah Vas's clinics.

Craig Cassell, a personal fitness instructor was there too.  He added some more exercises to add to the ones he taught us the last two clinics.  The clinic showed us which exercises that we could do that could improve our personal problems when we ride.

This is part of the "Back in the Saddle " Series.

My guy Echo was one of the demo horses along with Jake, Sephanie's horse.  Stephanie Brown is Sarah Vas's Riding and Training assistant.

Echo likes being in these demonstrations because he gets lots of attention and doesn't have to work real hard!  In fact there's a lot of just standing and walking going on.

The next clinic is a class on the lunge line and vaulting and is April 27th 2-4pm.

That will be a really fun time on the horses.

http://www.winfieldfarm.com/events.html

Address and more info is at the bottom of her site.

Shirley

Intro to Confessions of an Old Nurse

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I don't think I've mentioned this at all on my blog before!

I'm a retired RN who worked in nursing for about 20 years.

I have lots of stories.

My memory isn't so hot.  (My sister thinks it's from when I got hit in the head with a golf ball and lost my eye.  I had a concussion too.

However if I think about things awhile I seem to be able to come up with story after story.

So I will begin to share some with you.

Some are funny, some are shocking and of course there's plenty of sad ones but I'm going to try and keep my storys light.

Nurses have a way of dealing with the horrible things by making light of them, joking among themselves and disconnecting our feelings most of the times.

Just like cops, you can't take this stuff home with you or you'll burn out in a flash.

(My husband, Jack, was a cop)

I always wanted to be a nurse, from when I was little.  I used to play nurse all the time.  There was no question or decision I had to make about my career

Here I am as a new graduate!

I had no idea what the real world of nursing was all about!!

I went to nursing school at Huron Road Hospital School of Nursing in Cleveland, OH

It was associated with Fenn College (now Cleveland State) so I also got an associate degree in Psychology.  (Which I would certainly need down the line for my first marriage!!)

Here's a picture of my roommate in the dorm.  Her name was Dolores Hejduk.  I wish I could find her.

I put this on to show you our student uniforms.  We wore the heavily starched white aprons when we worked on the floors.  I remember folding the back flaps of the apron over your lap to sit down so you wouldn't wrinkle them.

This is a photo of one of our classes. (from 1960)

I don't see myself here so maybe I was in the next class.

It was kind of scary seeing this picture of Miss Woodruff, one of the instructors.  She wasn't the scariest though, that honor went to Miss Krebs!!

Miss Krebs was a big woman.  Not overweight, just big and tall!  Once we got to "work on the floors" as students, she would hid and lurk around every corner watching you for any mistakes.

I remember two instances with Miss Krebs.

One, I was going into a patient's bathroom which had a swinging door, to empty a full bedpan.  The clean bedpans were hung on the wall behind the door.  I swung open the door and heard this huge crash.  Miss Krebs had been lurking behind the door and I pinned her up against the bedpans. 

I don't remember what grade I got for that day!!!

The second story of Miss Krebs and me was the day I had to first shave a woman for surgery.

She was having an abdominal hysterectomy.  (No scopes back then)

And yes we shaved patients from stem to stern!  From mid chest to . . . well you know where!

(And we used single blade razors!)

I was halfway through the shaving when I cut MY finger.  I was bleeding and grabbed a washcloth.  Now the wash cloth is getting saturated when MISS KREBS walked in!!  She probably thought I had cut the patient.  She surveyed the situation, gave me "that look" and handed me a couple bandaids.

I continued.

Poor patient!  That must have instilled a lot of confidence, especially keeping in mind where I had to shave!!

Oh one more thing I remember.

My very first patient, as a complete new-be as a student nurse was a doctor!!!!!

Like I didn't have enough to scare the tar out of me!

He turned out to be really nice to the students though. 

That's it for now but they'll be a lot of stories coming about my real working days.

Keep tuned in.

Any nurses out there?  I'd love to hear from you.

Shirley

That Good and Easy Cheese Danish

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This is a repeat recipe that I put on in 2009 when I first started to blog.

I just baked some today so I thought I'd put this on again.

2009
It's Friday again and this week I have something nice and easy and delicious! Thank you Michael for hosting this beautiful party every week. Please visit her beautiful blog for all kinds of inspiration and the list of participants with more recipes. http://designsbygollum.blogspot.com/

Here are all the ingredients you'll need for this fun cream cheese danish. The recipe is at the bottom of the post.

Combine the egg yolk, two (8oz.) boxes of cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.  Save the egg white. Mmmmm, that's bowl lickin' good!

Carefully unroll one can of crescent roll dough and press into your 9 X 13 pan. (Excuse the look of my pan but it's the old pan I use for everything!!)

Spread creamy cream cheese mixture on top.

Now, you can use plastic wrap or waxed paper for this. Spread out second can of crescent rolls and press to the size of the pan, being careful to press together all the seams.

Flip over onto the creamy filling in pan and peal off the paper or plastic wrap.

Paint with the egg white and sprinkle on your sugar, cinnamon and nut topping. Now it's ready to put in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

All done and nicely browned.

Doesn't that look good? These two pictures are from today as the ones from the first post had fall decorations all over the table!!  We're waiting for spring here!!!!

I got this recipe about 40 years ago from a lady that I was in the art league with!!  Boy, was it that long ago!!!

Easy Cream Cheese Danish

2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls

2 (8oz) boxes of cream cheese

1 cup sugar

1 egg yolk (save egg white)

1 tsp vanilla

Topping

1/4 C sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 C chopped nuts

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla

Grease a 9 X 13 inch pan

Pat 1 can of crescent roll dough into bottom of pan

Spread on cream cheese mixture.

On waxed paper, pat out the other can of crescent rolls to fit the pan.

Flip over on top of cheese mixture and peal off paper.

Paint top with the egg white and sprinkle with the topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Have a great Friday everyone.

Shirley

March Sucks

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There comes a time every March when I've had ENOUGH!

I've had enough cold, enough gray days, and enough rain/sleet/snow falling from the sky!

Enough WIND!!!

Enough mud!

You got it all wrong this year Punxsutawney Phil!!!

(and I had such high hopes after your prediction!!)

I just heard a long range weather forecast.

It's supposed to stay cold through March and into early April.

Makes me think every March that possibly I sold the wrong property!

(We had a house on Anna Maria Island, right on the gulf, that I sold after Jack passed away!)

Yep, right across the road from this!

(I think of Anna Maria a lot every March!)

Yes, there comes a time every March that I get stubborn and refuse to leave my house except for short trips to the chicken coop.

I refuse to go anywhere that isn't warm and I don't have to put on my Carhartts!

Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 30!

On the first day of Spring.

(in name only evidently)

PHOOEY!

Shirley

My Cheesy Egg Lunch

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My girl's beautiful eggs gave me a nice lunch today.

My hen's perfect little egg almost ready.

I toasted one half an English Muffin and spread it with a little Miracle Whip. 

Then I sprinkled a little feta cheese on it.

Next is a slice of tomato.

Then the egg.

I topped it off with a slice of swiss cheese.

I put it in the microwave till the cheese melted and here it is.

Next one I will adjust the time of the egg a little because I would like my yolk to be runny.

But it was a delicious lunch with my cup of coffee.

Shirley