Excuses and whining

I had this silly notion that once the splint came off my wrist I would get right back into blogging. I didn't stop to think about how much a broken wrist affects the fingers. All the pain, stiffness, and swelling in my fingers during the past 8 weeks didn't seem to resister in my head how stiff, or how painful typing was going to be. How about how much trouble one has getting back into the swing of things after a broken bone. I had forgotten that too.

I was disappointed in myself when I whined about how difficult and slow typing one handed was and often gave up before I even started to blog. I told myself I would get back into the swing of it when the splint came off. Now, I think I type faster one handed then I can with one good hand and one stiff and sore hand.

It amazed me how uninspired I was while unable to cook and experiment because I couldn't handle opening cans or jars by myself. Have you ever tried stirring a pan of food only to have the pan spin instead of the food. I told myself I would be inspired again when the splint comes off, because I will be cooking again. My cooking is pretty rudimentary because the usefulness of my wrist is still very iffy.

I decided I was going to get up early this morning and write something for my blog, but I had no idea what to write about. I had really been wanting to write about my tortilla experiments, but I found two gluten-free cooking magazines and they seem so far ahead of me I was feeling defeated. My tortilla experiments are not done until I try their recipe.

Then I suddenly remembered a call I wanted to make yesterday. My mother had called to wish me Happy Mother's Day. She left a message on my answering machine while I was at church. Since, she stated that she was making the call before heading into work, I thought instead of ending up leaving a message for her I'll call later in the day, when I would catch her. Well, I forgot to make the call and had to make that call right then and there before I forgot it again. We talked for nearly 2 hour. We had catching up to do, after all.

So I didn't write a blog today because my right hand is still very sore and stiff and typing is just going to make it swell up. I, also, couldn't write because I simply was uninspired. And finally, I didn't write for my blog this morning because I was on the phone with my mother, who appears to be much more thoughtful than I am.

My kids are also more thoughtful than I am. They knew they were not going to be able to be with me on Sunday. They planned and celebrated Mother's day with me on Saturday.

You all have a great week.

P.S. Question, comment, and suggestions are welcome. They come in handy when I am feeling uninspired.

A Few Questions

I whacked my arm on a door knob. It feels like its cracked or something It's been hurting for a month, now. Why pay hundreds to have someone confirm it. So I chose to care for my body in my own way. I bought a splint, two weeks ago, and my arm is getting better.

Four months into the year, still no unemployment check, it's rare to hear of anyone who has received theirs, from Michigan's overtaxed system. This four months mark is the point you have stopped working to pay the government and now get to work for yourself, yet, today I write a check, we didn't pay enough income tax last year.

If the bone had been obviously bent, I would have sought medical care, but what if the government was in charge of health care:

would I get what I needed,

would the doctor get paid,

how long would it take,

would I need a license to have a splint,

would I have the right to chose to earn an income and then pay for the care myself,

how much does the legislators get paid,

do the people in government know better than I do on how I should live my life,

spend my money,

care for my fellow human,

New splint

I could have lived with the previous splint. It was affordable. We made it from stuff around the house. We still don't have an income or an unemployment check.

Now, I could easily get into politics here. How the over taxation of Michigan caused business to run from here. How that it is taxing the unemployment system so that it doesn't send qualified people their checks. We're not the only ones that are not receiving their checks simply because of some fluke in the system. Or with stellar examples of proficiency like this and the bail out garbage, how could we not want government to run health care?

My husband, Ken insisted we buy one. He was right. My arm is feeling much better.

Gluten Freestyling With Lisa

The great thing about families is the way everyone pulls together when your hurt. Every weekend our family gathers on Friday and Saturday for dinner, games, and movies. My broken arm might have stopped me from cooking, but it didn't my family from gathering for our special time together.

Lisa, is twelve years and can show you how easy it is to cook gluten free family meals. She of course received a lot of coaching from mom. On Friday Lisa simply made sloppy joes using gluten free ketchup and spices. She then made a simple salad. Twelve is a little young to be doing deep fat frying, so big brother Jared cooked up the French fries.

For Saturday's meal, Lisa first put on a pot of rice to boil. She then chopped vegetables for a roasted vegetables dish. We were going to roast them part of the way in the microwave and then finish in the conventional oven, but once things got busy with the distraction of her older siblings and nephew showing up it, we forgot to move the dish to the oven. So, we needed to just cook them in the microwave to have them done on time. Lisa topped off the meal with steak and gravy. She did a good job. Her cooking was so delicious I think I might be fired. There were no leftovers.

The amounts in this recipe is all to taste and mood. What I give here is what Lisa choose. My daughter-in-law makes this same dish with fresh onions, the steak in it and uses rutabagas instead of celery.

Roasted Vegetables

1 tsp dried chopped Onions

3 small cloves Garlic

2 chopped Parsnips

2 stalks chopped celery

6 skinny Carrots chopped

Roast in conventional oven at 350° for an hour or until vegetable are tender. For microwave, cook on high for 10 minutes, stir, and finish by cooking for 5 minutes more.

Variation: Toss with a tablespoon of olive oil or butter and some spices before roasting.

Steak and Gravy

This is usually done with leftover steak, but since there wouldn't be enough we started out by browning some fresh steak.

1 and ½ pounds of chopped, browned steak. Stir in 2 – 3 tablespoons potato flour. Pour over this enough gluten free broth to more than cover the steak. Simmer on Medium heat until desired thickness. Serve over potatoes or rice.

For my vegetarian needs I tossed some tofu with low sodium Tamari, which is a gluten free soy sauce. I find it both at the health food store and the local grocery store. I tossed the tofu with my roasted vegetables.

Life isn't easy

I know it isn't going to be easy to keep blogging, but I will do my best.