What A Great Day!

As if this:

 

Or this:

 

Or this: 

 

Or even this:

 

Were not enough reason to call it a good day, someone came by my work station today and brought this:

 

She said she had had a visitor who left them behind, and she would not ever eat them, so she gave them to me.

And then, another co-worker came by a few minutes later, and brought this:

 

A half dozen home made chocolate chip gluten free cookies. Okay, I ate three of them, and they were yummy!  He said a friend of his is starting a gluten free company in Tucson, and when she came to visit she brought these for me. Well, by then, I was feeling really extra special and very loved.  And then, another person came by and brought this:

 

She had been down to Flagstaff, and was shopping at Frontier Foods, and when she saw their gluten free aisle, she thought of me. And that Cranberry Pomegranate juice? Because she knew I had that kidney stone last week, and just wanted me to have it. 

People, I am so high on this spontaneous show of love from these people!  I can't tell you how good this made me feel today.  I can hardly wait for tomorrow...

Oh, Deer!

In the two years that we have been living and working on the Kaibab Plateau, we have never driven up Hwy 67 from Jacob Lake in the dark, until last week when we came home from the emergency room.  The closest we came was when we drove up around dusk one time and counted 105 deer.  Those deer were way off in the meadows, close to the trees. Not right on the road.

I was pretty well drugged up that night last week, so I COULD have been hallucinating, but dang! there were HUNDREDS of deer out there, just hanging around.  It was very creepy to see them, those animals that look so cute in the daytime. See:

But the other night they were standing in groups, herds, of probably 20 or 30, on both sides of the road, along the 43 mile drive.  When our truck lights hit them, they seemed to turn in unison to look at us, the light reflecting from their eyes looking all red and evil. I told FabGrandpa it was like they had called a meeting to discuss taking over the world!  It was sort of like that old Alfred Hitchcock movies, "The Birds", except this was mule deer.

And as if that was not enough creepyness, we saw two cows standing on the side of the road about half way up the road. They were the weirdest looking cows I have ever seen, but of course it could have been the drugs.  I only wish I had taken pictures. But it was dark. And I was on drugs. They sort of looked like this:

(This photo from U.S. Ayrshire Breeder's Association website)

only they seemed to have a larger, shaggier body.  And a smaller head. And shorter legs. And they looked really scarey in the dark. 

Gluten Free Banana Pudding

My neighbor gave me a bunch of ripe bananas today, so I decided to make some gluten free banana pudding. It turned out really good--FabGrandpa ate two big bowls full. To make it:

1 cup sugar

3 cups milk

1/4 cup corn starch

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

5 ripe bananas

1 box of KinniKritter Animal Cookies

Mix the sugar and corn starch in a 4 qt pot. Add milk and salt, cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Separate the eggs, set the whites aside. Beat the yolks well, then add a small amount of the hot mixture from the pan to the eggs, stirring well. Add the egg yolks to the pan, stir and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. 

Layer the cookies and bananas in a large bowl. Pour the pudding over the bananas and cookies. 

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add 1/3 cup sugar a little at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread the meringue over the top of the pudding. Put the bowl into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until  the meringue is browned.

For a review of KinniKritter Cookies, click here.

Company Comes To The North Rim

Because we live in such a remote area, and have such a small community, whenever someone has company, we ALL have company.  It's not that we are being nosey and and hogging up each other's friends, it's just that we are all starved for news of the outside world. Or, it could be that any occasion is a reason for a party. Whatever. 

Lenny, Kenny, Sandy, Dennis, Walt

So, a last week our neighbor and co-worker, Dennis, came over and asked if he could borrow my dutch oven so he could make some stew for his visitors who were coming the next day.  I gladly loaned it to him because I sort of knew I would be eating that stew, too.  The next day, I was working at the entrance station, when the guys came in. Even though I had never met them, when they showed me their pass and ID, and I saw that they were from Kentucky, I knew they were the guys coming to visit Dennis. Sure enough, they were. I gave them detailed directions to where their friend lived.  

FabGrandpa and Zach

When I got home from work that night, FabGrandpa wasn't here, but I knew exactly where to find him. I went over to Dennis's place, and found him eating the pork and chile stew. When I came in, I was still in uniform and the guys were all, "You gave us great directions" and "How did you know we were the right people?" and someone handed me a bowl of stew. Yum.

 

Me and Kenny

The next night there was a party at Dennis's place. We had a campfire in the barbecue grate. It was loads of fun. Even though we hadn't met until the night before, it was like we had all known each other forever. 

 

Lenny, me, and FabGrandpa

 

Zach, FabGrandpa, and Walt

 

Kenny tending to the fire. 

Dennis's company left the following Monday. Today, Dennis came over with a bunch of bananas. He said one of his visitors left them at his place. So, I thought, when life hands you bananas, make banana pudding!

A Very Long Time Coming

Last winter we worked at a Christmas tree lot with our friends. It was very hard work, having to lug all those trees around, keeping them watered, fluffing them out, standing them up, tying onto people's cars, etc.  Our last day working there was Christmas Eve. When we received our last paychecks, each of us was shorted 13 hours pay. Our friend, Lynda, who was the manager of the lot, called the owner of the company several times, and sent several e-mails, with no result.  I also called several times, and sent several e-mails, and then just decided to write it off, and call it one more business owner who took advantage of a traveling gypsy employee. 

Well, guess what? On Friday, this was in the mail!

It only took, what? almost 10 months for him to pay us? At least he did, but we won't be selling Christmas trees again. Ever. 

Becky and the Parents, Day Four: The Grand Canyon

After our whirlwind trip around southern Utah and northern Arizona, we were back home at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We took Becky on a tour of  Cape Royal and Point Imperial. We stopped on the way up to Cape Royal and took a short hike over to Greenland Lake. The lake was dried up this late in the season, but the hike was still gorgeous!

 

 

Becky on the trail to Greenland Lake

 

That's the lake, all dried up this late.

The next stop was Cape Royal, at Wedding Point. There are Becky and FabGrandpa near the edge. The day was very windy but sunny and nice. 

 

The view from Wedding Point.

 

Looking over the edge--it's a long way down there!

 

Gorgeous, as usual!

 

 

Walhalla Overlook--that light brown crescent near the center of this photo is the Colorado River.

 

  

This is Mount Hayden, at Point Imperial. 

 

Another view from Point Imperial

 

That night we had reservations for dinner at the restaurant at the lodge. The view from there at sunset is awesome!

 

This view is from the veranda at the rear of the lodge, at sunset. Oooooooo, Ahhhhhhh, awesome!

 

That was our last night with Becky. She left the next day around noon, headed for Las Vegas to spend the night before returning to Atlanta.  We all shed tears as we said our good byes. We really enjoyed our visit, and all the sights we saw.   

Trying To Catch Up...

I don't which is worse in the life of a blogger---having so little going on that it is a stretch to find something interesting to write about, or having so much going on that it is difficult to find the time to write.  This is the time of year here at the North Rim where we all start thinking about having to leave, and that brings about a flurry of parties and get-togethers. We are all trying to spend as much time as possible with our friends before the end of the season.

Last year, FabGrandpa and I didn't get to know many of our co-workers and neighbors that well. It was sort of like, we were newcomers here, and people were just used to seasonals coming for one season and then never seeing them again. When we came back in the spring, though, we had lots of people smiling, hugging us, welcoming us back. Although the community here is small, we have  lots of friends this year, and have spent many hours of our time off sitting around campfires, having a few beers, laughing, talking, dreaming with those folks. 

I have so much to tell, and so little time to get it written up. I have to finish telling you about Becky's visit. And then, I have to tell you about our neighbor's company. Yeah, when one of us have company, we ALL have company.  I have loads of pictures to share, and news of a wedding and a new baby in our family to tell you a about. And then there was my uninvited, unwanted company this week:

 

(that is the kidney stone, ugh!)

The enemy only stayed around for a day and a half, but that was way too long! I was so glad to finally see his ugly face and send him on his way. And I hope he never, ever shows up again. Next time I will be prepared, though, as I still have most of that RX of percocet left, and will start on as soon as I know it is coming. 

I am having a dinner party tonight. I'll be making my prize winning gluten free meatloaf, some home made gluten free mac and cheese, and a gluten free cake. My guests will be bringing something as well.  Heck, I can't even keep up with the two Meme's I participate in, Scenic Sunday and Remember Whensday.... 

So, I may have several posts in the next couple of days, trying to play catch up. At least I hope so.....

Ah, The Joys Of Kidney Stones

The first time I had one, I had no idea what was wrong. I just knew I was in pain, lots of pain.  I was divorced at the time, and my 15 year old daughter was sleeping in my bed with me because she had seen a spider in hers--and we ALL know girls of any age won't sleep where they have seen a spider.  I got up in the night to go to the bathroom and was not able to walk back to the bed, a mere 10 steps or so. I crawled over to the bed and woke Becca up, and said "You are going to have to drive me to the hospital." 

Her eyes got as big as saucers. She was more afraid of driving me to the hospital in the dark than she was of seeing me there writhing in pain on the bedroom floor. She did the next best thing--she called my son, who no longer lived at home, and told him he had to come and take me to the hospital.

When I finally did get to the ER that night, they took me right in, before any of the other people who had probably been waiting all night. They took several X-rays (this was 20 years ago, okay? I also had health insurance back then). When they determined that it was a kidney stone, they hooked me up to an IV for saline solution and a morphine drip. Ahhhhhhhh, Morphine was my friend!!!  They also kept me overnight for observation, then sent me home with a device to strain my urine. You know, so I could catch the sucker and examine it closely so I could get to know the enemy.

That first kidney stone was a big as one of those black watermelon seeds, similarly shaped, except it had jagged teeth along the edges--a real mean S.O.B.   Now girls, I gave birth to my son in an Army hospital in Germany in 1971.  Natural childbirth is what they believed in over there at the time. Seth weighed 10 lbs, 8.5 ounces. And that experience did not hurt as bad as passing that kidney stone. I am just saying, I would rather give birth with no drugs than  have another kidney stone. 

Yesterday started out just like any other day here at the North Rim.  I got myself up and dressed, and drove the 12 miles out to the entrance station, arriving there at a very early hour (can't say what time we open up).  I felt fine, up until about 9 a.m., when I had that old familiar feeling. The one where I usually end up writhing in pain on the floor. I called my boss and asked him to get in touch with FabGrandpa, and have him bring me one of those Lortabs the musculo-skeletal doctor prescribed me back in July.  

The boss called me back in a little bit and told me that he was sending out the medication with my co-worker, and for me to let him know if I needed to come home. So, about 10:30, the co-worker showed up. As soon as he walked in, I said "You have something for me and if you don't give it to me RIGHT NOW, I am going to knock you down!"  I took my pill, and then went out to walk the line because it was a really busy day here yesterday. The trees are turning and all the leaf peepers are coming out. I don't blame them, it IS really beautiful here.

I stayed out there long enough for Richard to have his lunch, then called the boss and told him I was going home. Then I called FabGrandpa and told him to be ready to go to Kanab when I got there in about a half hour. That Lortab doesn't touch a kidney stone pain, I have to tell ya.  I got home before he did and changed my clothes. I put on my pajamas and laid down on the bed. When FabGrandpa came in, he said, "Why are you in your pajamas? I thought you were going to the ER."  So, I got up and changed my pants. 

When we left, I was wearing my pajama shirt and jeans, and a zip front hoodie. I forgot to take my purse, my hairbrush, AND my TEETH.  You know, my lower partial plate, the one that I need for chewing if I happen to eat anything. I just wasn't thinking about anything but my pain, girls. 

It is 85 miles from our home on the plateau to the ER in Kanab. About 15 miles out, I had to stop on the side of the road and throw up. I have had several kidney stones, but have never had to throw up when I had one before. That made me just worry that there was something else wrong. About 50 miles out,  FabGrandpa got pulled over by an Arizona State Patrol for speeding. The officer walked up to the truck on my side. I put the window down and I am sure he could see my distress, as I was writhing in pain there in the seat of the truck. 

He gave FabGrandpa a very stern lecture about how our truck was not an emergency vehicle, and how he could call for an ambulance if I was that sick, but that he was not allowed to speed under any circumstances. I told him that if I waited for an ambulance it would take more time to get to the ER, and FabGrandpa promised to slow down if he would just let us go. He did, and I am thankful for that. bastard.

We finally got to the ER. I walked in and said "I think I have a kidney stone. I have had them before, and you don't forget what they feel like."  So, they took me right in, made me pee in a cup, took my blood pressure and temp, and hooked me up to an IV of saline solution, and gave me a shot of Tordol and another one of Zofran, just in case. They also gave me a barf bag. The RN told me "If you feel like you have to throw up again, PLEASE use this bag."   I understood her plea. I taught all my kids to throw up on the bed, not on the floor. It was easier for Queasy Momma to clean up the sheets. 

It took a little longer for the Tordol to work than morphine would have taken, but it did work. It eased my pain completely, and I think I slept for a couple of hours while the IV dripped out. As soon as the IV was done, I was released and sent home with a prescription for Percocet and a strainer. Yay. I get to wait for the enemy again.  

The three hour stay in the ER:  $1009, after a 10% discount for paying in full.  Dinner for two before heading home (with no teeth, see above): $26. Prescription for percocet: $18.  Having a husband who loves me enough to drive 85 miles to the ER: Priceless!  

 

 Sunset in the desert on the drive home. Crescent moon on the left. Wow!

Scenic Sunday

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon behind the lodge at sunset. This was taken on Monday, September 14, 2009.  It was a gorgeous sunset.

For more Scenic Sunday photos, click here.

Becky and The Parents Day Three: Bryce Canyon National Park

We spent the night in Kanab, then got up early the next day and drove up to Bryce Canyon National Park. Again, the drive was just as beautiful as on the previous days. The photo above is one view along the way of a river in southern Utah, in Long Valley.  

 

To get to Bryce Canyon from Kanab, you take Hwy 89 north until you get to Hwy 12, then turn right. You go through an area of red rock formations in the Dixie National Forest that is spectacular all by itself. If you didn't get to Bryce, you would still be in awe just from the drive on Hwy 12. 

 

 

 

Once you get into Bryce Canyon National Park, there are several different areas and viewpoints. We went to the Bryce Ampitheater, which included Sunrise Point, and to Fairyland Point.  FabGrandpa and I went to Bryce last year, but we were there in mid-afternoon and the sun was too bright--all my photos looked washed out and did not truly show the gorgeous colors. This time, we got there early in the morning. The light was better and I got some fantastic pictures.  

The pictures below were taken at Sunrise Point:

 

 

 

 

Becky and FabGrandpa at Sunrise Point

 

  

 

And the pictures below were taken at Fairyland Point:

 

  

  

  

So, so far, we have been to Antelope Canyon, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon National Park. Three canyons, all different, and all very beautiful and awesome in their own ways.  Then we went home to the North Rim and took Becky on a tour of the Grand Canyon.