Einlauf? Seriously?

On Saturday, Ron and I took another road trip (translation:  eating in a restaurant that is more than 15 miles from home).  We ate at the Allegheny Grille Restaurant, right on the Allegheny River.  We had a wonderful dinner, so wonderful that I had two thoughts...  1.That we should not eat out on Sunday, 

2. That I didn't want to cook at home.

Then I had this great idea!

I picked up my phone and called my mother.  I asked her if she was in the mood for some great German food.  Of course she said yes, so on Sunday afternoon we headed down to get mom and dashed her off to Max's Allegheny Tavern for some good old fashioned German food.

Mr. K's first question, no matter where we are, is what is the soup today?

The server told us they always have French Onion (In a German restaurant?) and Einlauf.

Okay, what's an Einlauf?

Here's what the menu said...

Einlauf Soup • Cup 2.95 - Bowl 3.95 A light, rich chicken broth, generously sprinkled with homemade Einlauf noodles and

seasoned with a delicate blend of spices. Our Einlauf noodles are made by pouring a

seasoned mixture of flour and eggs into briskly boiling chicken broth.

It was magnificent!  It was delicious.

The chicken that they used to make the broth must have been a millionaire,

it was that rich!

But still, we kept asking what an einlauf was...

No one could tell us, so I did what any adult with a smart phone would do...

I went to google image and found this...

Over and over...it was either this or maybe a soccer team?  

Hmmmmmm?

I think my cup was a little more attractive, what do you think?

We can still celebrate

Sixty one years ago, in a blink, you were there!

July 28, 1958

Third child, first son.

Fifty three years later, in a blink, you were gone!

October 8, 2011

Husband, father, brother, friend.

Between those two dates, so much happened!

You are so missed.  We talk about you, laugh about the things you said as if you were just around the corner.

In a sense you are...

We'll see you again soon.

Until then, we'll cherish our memories...

What day is it?

Oh my!

This is a day I could celebrate until the cows come home!

Yes!

I was blessed with almost a million...or close

My dad was one of 12...

We can't figure out when this was taken...

or even why I have it.

This is when they were only 9...

Sadly, there are only 2 left,

the two beauties top and center. 

That's my dad beside them.

That family gave me a total of 22 aunts and uncles.

My mom was one of 9.

I know there are photographs of almost all of them together...

but of course, I can't find it!

Here's a photo of the last 3...

That's the three babies of the family, My mom on the right.

That family blessed me with 

TEN aunts and uncles!

32 all together!

Oh my goodness, the laughter, tears, hugs and help...

I might add, it's 68 years of being a niece.

Wow, I'm blessed!

I Got Mugged!

The day before my birthday,

 I humbly appeared before my CRNP

for my yearly check up.

That's when they reminded me that it's now called an

Annual Wellness Visit.

made me feel old...

Ha!  Fooled them, I AM old.

I abhor wellness checks.  I put them off as long as I can

(this year it was 2 extra months)

I worry...I toss and turn...I know the routine and for the most part, accept it as necessary.

There are two things that go on during that wellness check that I worry about:

They will accidentally tell me what I weigh...

And a memory check.

It's been ten days and I can remember the three words she asked me to remember:

orange, sofa, cinnamon.

Why do I remember them now, and will remember them all year, but was almost unable to answer her questions because I was repeating and re-repeating them in my head?

Not only did I ace that test, I was able to draw a clock face with the hands pointing at 11:45!

The bonus:

Beth, my CRNP gave me this for my birthday!

I've been mugged!

When I wasn't paying attention...

This is what I missed...

Sunday was National Ice Cream Day

S

Yesterday was National Hammock Day...

But what I didn't miss was today is...

I'll be celebrating for sure!

Happy Lollipop Day!

It's National Lollipop Day!

Of course, I can't celebrate without honoring my Dum Dum  lady...

Shortly after losing my husband,  the dogs, Tony and I left my dream house, 

the house on the hill, the house I believed to be my forever castle.

Even though I was happy to be living in town where there were sidewalks and stores...

Parks and of course my friend and walking partner, Deb.

I was so sad...

One day the dogs were out in the yard and I heard them barking hysterically.

I looked out and there was this tiny woman, just a bit taller than the chain link fence,

standing there looking at the dogs, a lollipop hanging out of her mouth.

She saw me and in this gravelly voice said that she knew I was not Bill, but she wasn't sure if I was Jan or Linda.

If you didn't know, I AM the Jan, Bill and Linda were my English Mastiffs.

I was too stunned to ask how she knew and she didn't seem to think I needed to know.

From then on, I would see her (and her Dum Dum) when Deb and I were out walking.

She was always friendly, happy to see us and made sure we were okay.

She was kind of like the elf on the shelf...you never knew where she would show up,

but you knew she was around...she was tiny and cute...get the picture?

Then, during the summer, we didn't see her for a week.  Someone told me where she lived, and I left a note on her door.

The next day, I went out to find a Dum Dum on the windshield of my car.

Every day that week, and it was stinking hot, I'd find Dum Dums stuck here and there around my house. 

Later that week, we found out that she was walking a few hours earlier than usual because it was so hot, but she didn't want us to worry about her.  She called us her Dum Dum girls.

She even formed a bond with Tony...she thought he was the most handsome man in the neighborhood!

One morning, I came out to find a note, scribbled in pencil, on the back of an envelope, in my car.

It was from Darlene, a friend of Jeannie's, saying she had taken Darlene to the hospital, that they thought she had the flu.  She also gave me her phone number.

When I called, I was finally able to put the puzzle pieces together.  

Darlene (who I had never met) was the wife of our new neighbor on the hill.

When my son told her husband where I was going, Darlene told Jeannie and I instantly became one of Jeannie's MANY missions.  Her morning walks were her way of checking on all she thought needed checked on.  She was tiny in stature, but had a huge heart...

Jeannie never came home to the her apartment.  She moved on to her heavenly home.

I don't know if I ever knew her birthday,

I just celebrate her on Lollipop day.

Bill, the lap dog!

Linda Lou, duchess of House on the Hill

I wonder what the neighbors thought when I moved in with these...

For the record, that's about 440 pounds of dog.

Bill was 205

Linda was 175

Winnie was 60

I've been Typealyzed!

If you go here...TYPEALYZER...

(yes, go ahead and click on that word, I dare you)

And enter the URL of a blog...

It will analyze the personality of the blog author.

Now, I follow quite a few blogs, but have not tried to analyze those authors...

But if you are at all curious...

Here's me:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ESFP - The Performers

The author of http://redsockmama.com is of the type ESFP.

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft beautiful textiles, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. ESFPs love being around people and having new experiences. Living in the here-and-now, they often do not think about long term effects or the consequences of their actions.

ESFPs live in the moment, experiencing life to the fullest. They enjoy people, as well as material comforts. Rarely allowing conventions to interfere with their lives, they find creative ways to meet human needs. Active types, they find pleasure in new experiences.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions. ESFPs are excellent team players, focused on completing the task at hand with maximum fun and minimum discord.

Common satisfying careers: Artist, Performer, Actors, Teacher, Social Worker, Nurse, Event Coordinator, Chef, Fashion Designer, Jeweler, Retail Manager, Recreation Worker and Interior decorator.

Notable ESFJs: John. F. Kennedy, Richard Branson, Hugh Hefner, Deepak Chopra, Paulo Coelho, Quentin Tarantino, Mel Gibson, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Megan Fox, Jamie Oliver, Robbie Williams, Dan Brown and Chewbacca. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not sure how I feel about that...seems there are quite a few crazy people on this list...

That Darn Fairy!

She must have come while I was asleep!

How does it feel to be 68?

I'm still taking inventory, I'll let you know!

PSA

If you were looking for me today, 

You might want to reconsider.

I might be celebrating!

Fondest Memories

 These photos popped up on my Facebook memories this morning...

July 13, 2018...

"What kind of grandma spends the night in her back yard in a 2-man tent with a 3 year old? This kind of grandma!"

 Grandma Jan and Locklan, sleeping in a two man tent in our back yard.

He was pretty excited, but was NOT happy that Shirley wanted to camp out with us...

Once Shirley was gone, he was all happy.

We read stories by flashlight..

And it didn't take long until...

~sigh~

Rocket Man: Crash and Burn

Last November, Mr.K and I went to see Elton John's Yellow Brick Road tour in Pittsburgh.

What a show!

I've been an Elton fan for years, Mr. K, knew WHO he was, but not much more...

What a concert!  No opening act, just Sir Elton, on stage, entertaining us for 2 hours...

We loved it!

We loved it so much, we have plans to see his farewell tour when it comes to Pittsburgh in November.

Yes, we were in awe of his talent and ability to captivate us for two hours!

This weekend, Mr. K and I were left to entertain ourselves.

Mindy and Henry went swimming...

Andy and family (and Griffin) spent the weekend at a friend's farm...

What to do?

We were just deciding when my phone rang...

It was Locklan, face-timing from his mom's phone!

We made funny faces and silly hair styles until we lost signal...

Mr. K and I decided:

We would go out to dinner and then go and see a movie.

On the way, we stopped at Andy's where Locklan came running out the door...

I got my BIG HUG and tried to life him...

I swear, that kid grows a pound and an inch a day.

We got our hugs and then decided on dinner.

I am NOT a chain restaurant fan but we ended up at Red Lobster and then we headed for the Movies.

Mr. K chose Rocketman, the story of Elton John's rise to fame.

Now I will say that I'm not a movie critic or a movie fan.  I seriously dislike trying to stay awake in a dark theater for the hefty price of a ticket.

This time it was not a problem.  Less than half way through the movie, I asked Mr. K to leave.

It was disturbing.

If you didn't know better, you would think it was the story of a porn star...

My advice?

Save your money.

Stay home...

And to quote one of the few movie characters I enjoyed in my lifetime:

That's all I have to say about that.

Henry is 8 months old!

Every month since Henry was born, I made him a onesie, 

(otto mesi means eight months in Italian.  Mindy is very proud of her Italian heritage)

I do every month and will until he's the big ONE!

I don't have a picture of him in this month's shirt, but here's one that Mindy took recently...

Isn't he something?

They grow so quickly!

Still Here/And I can see

A little over a month ago, I made a commitment to post three good things here each week for the next three months.

About a week ago, One of the best things that happened in quite a while happened...

I had a persistent, nagging, irritating, life-limiting cateract removed from my left eye..

According to my eye doctor, when I asked her about Lasix surgery last September,

I was developing a cataract in my left eye and that when it was ripe, they would not only remove it, they would correct my vision to perfect in that eye.

Since that seemed to be in the far, far future, I just ordered a six month supply of contacts and went home.

Now, a little background...For about 35 years, I have used monovision, one contact to see close and one to see far.  It has always worked, but in the fall, my far distance seemed to be worsening.

Fall got busy...Mindy was in and out of the hospital, Henry was born 5 weeks early and was in the NICU for a few weeks, Thanksgiving, Christmas preparation and celebration...I just made the best of it by not driving at night and wearing my glasses all the time.

Finally, the fog that surrounded the left side of my life was driving me crazy.  I went to see my eye doctor who examined and re-examined my eyes.  Finally she pronounced my cataract was ripe!  She explained that to be considered 'ripe' your vision could not be corrected better than 20/70 and I was beyond that.

She made an appointment with the surgeon, who re-scheduled for a week later (which turned out to be a good thing).  My appointment was on June 26.  I immediately liked the doctor who conducted several tests.  He was amazed that I am right handed and left eye dominant.  (I am sure, that in someone's definition, it means I am some kind of crazy...)

He said that it must have been annoying to have my vision that limited.  He asked when I wanted to have it done.

I said last week.  He said that he couldn't do it that far back, what would be my second choice.

Tomorrow?  He said that he was booked for tomorrow, but how about next Thursday?

We walked into the office where his secretary said that she had just gotten off the phone, that one of his surgeries for the next day had cancelled.  

And so...without further ado, I filled out paperwork, was given instructions, antiseptic eye drops and an appointment and WHAM!  By 11:30 the next day, I had perfect vision in my left eye!!!!

With a close up contact in my right eye, I am so close to being normal, it scares me.  Wearing my glasses, however, it a problem...4 more weeks until they will write a new prescription.  Can't wait!

Now that I can see...I'll let you know what I saw!