365 Slow Cooker Suppers by Stephanie O'Dea

Let me say right off ...

I am totally STOKED about presenting this cook book to my readers. 

365 Slow Cooker Suppers by Stephanie O'Dea

I am such a fan of her previous two cookbooks and this time, I was lucky enough (and totally honored) to receive a review copy of her newest cookbook prior the release date of September 24.

Long time readers of my blog know that I reviewed a previous book of hers on my blog back in 2010 -  and she most graciously commented on that blog post.  You can imagine just how shocked I was to hear directly from an author - especially an author who I admired.  What a kind thing to do!!  I never forgot that.

Anyway, when she offered bloggers an opportunity to receive a review copy of her newest book, 365 Slow Cooker Suppers, I jumped at the opportunity! Thank you so much Stephanie.

First let's get the less interesting stats out of the way on 365 Slow Cooker Suppers:

• Stephanie O'Dea is a blogger. Crockpot365.blogspot.com.  I have a weakness for bloggers.
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt  -  www.hmhbooks.com
• 3rd Crock Pot Cook Book by Stephanie O'Dea (Make It Fast, Cook It Slow and More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow).  I have both books and they are great.
• 336 pages
• $24.99 retail
• Book organization:  Soups and Stews, Beans, Poultry, Beef and Lamb, Pork, Sandwiches, Meatless and Fish and Seafood.

What I love:

• Beautiful photography! Her first two books had no photos.  I didn't think that it was a minus, because when I cook, my results seldom looks like the picture.  Food photography is an art.  It takes a special kind of person to make beef stew smile.  There were many smiling foods in this book.  
• This book focuses on suppers only.  Perfect!!  Most cook books spread themselves a bit thin by having samples of all the possible food options (breakfast, side dishes, desserts, and main dishes).  When it comes to the Crock Pot, I am a main dish kind of girl.  Throw it all in the crock pot, turn it on and 8 hours later dinner is done.  I have never made breakfast or dessert in a crock pot.  Those sections of other crock pot cookbooks are wasted on me.
• Don't you hate recipes that have 25+ ingredients and just as many steps of preparation. Or how about the 3 ingredient recipes ... I get so turned off by the swings of extremes in recipe creation.    Stephanie has an average of 10-15 ingredients in a recipe (a few that have more.)  In my mind this means this is not an over simplified slow cooker cook book - that uses 3 or 4 ingredients (one being canned soup) and then calls the results "great."  Nor is it a recipe that take 30 minutes to collect all the ingredients before you can do anything.  I have a few books in both categories and they are heading into my recycling because I never make anything in them.   Steph's balance of ingredients and preparation steps are perfect and realistic for the every day cook. 
• In her first 2 books she used "The Verdict" to report family reactions and other observations on each recipe.  She has continued this practice in book 3.  I totally love these snippets.  I feel like the author is talking directly to me ... giving me the inside scoop on this particular dish.  Obviously she wouldn't have included recipes that were duds, so you don't have that kind of feedback in "The Verdict."  But if you are interested in how well a specific recipe was received by kids and other members of the family, or how light or filling a meal was, or will it freeze well, or kudos to others (with websites referenced), "The Verdict" provides this feedback.  To be totally honest, sometimes I read The Verdict before I check out the ingredients.

Things that could be better?  Well, I prefer to characterize my slim list of improvements as "wishes for the next book."  Really, there is little that could make the recipes better.  But the publisher might consider these options:

• Spiral binding - cook books that lie flat while you are using them are user friendly. I am considering have all three of her books punched for spiral binding at a local office supply store.  
• Nutritional information for each recipe - health and weight conscious folks would really appreciate this added information.  

Next week I will be preparing two recipes from this book and I will report back on the outcome with pictures and comments.

And just for the record, it took me all of about 2 minutes to find those two recipes.  In quickly checking out the options for meals, I think I could have closed my eyes and just picked two at random ... they all sounded great!

Through My Caregiver Eyes - Memories

This is the latest entry in a continuing series called 

Through My Caregiver Eyes.  

The full story can be found under the label "Through My Caregiver Eyes."

 (Label Section to the right of my blog posts.)  

My mom is 87 years old and is in Assisted Living. 

The rocky path from independence to living with me and finally to Assisted Living

 is documented in this series.  

While our journey together is peppered with joy-filled moments,

 it is mostly losses for her and sadness for me. 

For those of you who are caregivers of elderly loved ones, 

you may see yourself in my story.

Memories are intangible things that can make life worth living, and at other times, sad to recall. Memories can fade and be lost, and in the elderly, sometimes the loss is permanent.  I believe it is the loss of memories that is the cruelest loss of all in aging.

I got the idea to recover some of mom's happy memories by bringing one of her travel albums with me on a recent visit.  The album I selected was from May 1990 when she traveled in Europe.  It was filled her typed and handwritten notes of scenes and the people pictured.  I thought she had done an excellent job of documenting the trip and it might be fun for her to see it again.

She was initially happy to see the book - recognized the cover right away.  She seemed surprised to see her own handwriting - recognized it as hers - she said it looked like my handwriting.  I guess it does.

It made me happy to watch her page slowly through the book.  She was quiet, however, and did not make many comments.  I asked if she recognized any of the places and people.  She said, "some" ... and that was all.  It was the first sign that maybe some memories of this happy time were lost.  I felt a little saddness at that thought.

At times a small smile graced her lips - I assumed she recognized a scene or a person - maybe one of the pictures prompted another memory.  She did mention the name of the man who led the tours - so she did seem to connect with the images.

Then she suddenly turned to me and said, "This is your book, right?  There are some nice pictures of you in here."  No ... no pictures of me. The book was entirely of her travels.  Later it occurred to me that she was seeing pictures of a much younger self.  We are always told how much we look alike.  I guess she got confused. Another little red flag on memory lane.

She reached the end and closed the book, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.  After a bit she mentioned that she did travel a lot at one time. But 1990 was a very long time ago. The comment seemed like simple confirmation of what the book represented.  She sat quitely some time.

It was hard to tell how these pictures impacted her.  Did they make her sad at the passage of so much time?   Did it confirm that some of her memories were lost because she couldn't recognize some of the images from her book?  Was she just reflective?  I will never know because mom finds it hard to put her thoughts and feelings into words at this point.

I hoped she would keep the book with her for a few days to enjoy and remember.  But she clearly wanted me to take the book back home that day.  She said she was glad that I brought it, but she would not keep it with her.

My heart hoped she had a few moments of happiness paging through the photo album.  But the small voice of my mind wonders if these pictures had another unpredictable outcome.

Memories are fragile things.

Handle with care.

Retired Knitter
Daughter and Caregiver

V-Day

We are owned by 2 cats.  Our two boys are "cat-cats," not "dog-cats".  Over 40+ years we have had cats that acted more like dogs. We assumed that all cats were dog-like.

How can two reasonably intelligent and educated people be so wrong!

Preamble:

We spare no expense for our four legged family.

  Soap box comments aside,

 I strongly believe that if you can't be a responsible, caring, loving pet mom or dad,

 you shouldn't have the privilege of being owned by pets. 

(please don't comment if you feel other wise)

AND if you mistreat them,

 you should have the word "Scum" tattooed to your forehead

 so that we can easily identify you!

  Opps!

  Slipped briefly onto my soap box.

  Stepping down now.

Today was V-Day ... Vet Day!  We kept it a secret as long as possible from the participants.  But at some point the jig is up - and V-Day becomes common knowledge.

Our story starts with the two very fancy travel cases on wheels that we have for these yearly trips to the vet.  They were pricey, BUT they are worth every single penny.  The cats seem calmer while traveling and it is easier on our aging backs.

It also allows us to make a snooty entrance into the vet's waiting room - making a positive impression by looking spiffy, calm, cool, collected and blood free.  We always get comments on the cases.

Money well spent, I tell you!

But loading our boys into the cases at home can be tricky!  We haven't totally mastered that yet.

Wally

The first cat is usually easy.  This time the first cat was Wally.  We pick him up, he is happy, purring ensues, and then ... plop ... we drop him into the case and zip him in.  Easy, peasy.  We are feeling masterful and in charge at that point.  Then Wally yowls a long loud cry, raising the alarm for his brother, Max, who gets the message with lightening speed and dives under the bed. (And it makes no difference who is picked up first.  They are brothers.  They work as a team in crisis situations.)

Max

*sigh*

Now our focus is Max under the bed. We begin with softly worded cajoling (which never works, by the way), and then we move on to the "cookie technique" - cookies placed artfully in a line leading out from under the bed (which worked exactly one time 6 years ago and never since), and then the "catnip offering" which he dearly loves (making him totally manic if he imbibes, but on V-Day - he doesn't.)  We are finally reduced to the "broom technique" - sweeping it against his body to push him out where we can grab him (picture two 66-67 year old codgers laying on the floor beside the bed - one codger has markedly reduced vision - an elephant could pass by and he might miss it - the other is swearing mightily - totally annoyed at how dirty it is under our bed.)

Really, it is not one of our finer moments!

At some point, however, we succeed - but not without many swear words and sweat!

The trip by car it uneventful ... if you agree that pitiful cries from the back seat and cat drool (due to motion sickness) are "uneventful."

The vet's exam is also fairly quiet.  The cats are docile making us look totally ridiculous as we stand there looking damp, layered with cat hair and carpet fuzz.  I guess the vet has seen worse.

It is only once the vet take the cats to the back lab for blood work, urine samples, shots and nail trimming that the true state of affairs become evident.

I mean, after all, imagine just how much fun it must be to take urine from a cat.  For example this time we had this scenario:  the technician returned with Max after the visit to the lab using one hand to wipe the side of her face.  I was immediately worried.  There didn't appear to be any scratches or blood.  She said things got kind of exciting in the lab.  While preparing to retrieve some urine (don't ask how they do that),  Max started to pee all over the place.  I had visions of a vet tech holding sample cup here and there - moving left and right - trying to catch the urine stream before it hit the ground.  What she was wiping off her face was cat urine.

Some people are just not paid enough for what they do!!

The return trip is always quiet.  The cats are exhausted and we much poorer!

And every year on the return trip home I have the same nagging thoughts ... will they remember us when we come next year?   ... do we need to change our names?   ... is there any chance that there will be new staff who don't know us?  After all, those fancy travel cases can carry you only so far in the "positive impression" department.

We know things could be worse.  Been there - done that!  Many years ago we had a cat named Alex whose chart was covered in very big red ink letters with stars and arrows - inside and out - pointing to one over-riding message.

***ATTENTION***
***STAFF***

Release cat to owners

 before 

totally recovered from anesthesia.

Yes, Alex had issues!

The vet frequently asked how we were able to manage a difficult cat like this at home.  He cautioned us that often cats with this kind of extreme behavior are euthanized.  I sincerely doubt he believed us when we told him that the cat was a cream puff at home. Oh well.  I prefer to think that Alex was just misunderstood.

Rest in peace dear Alex.  We miss you.

August 2013 is now under our belts.  No worries until August 2014.

And between now and next V-Day I reaaallly need to clean under our bed!!!!

Pithy and Inspiring!

I was visiting at a blog called Great Balls of Wool (shocking I know - visiting a web site that features wool - nuts - I wish I had thought of that title myself), and I made a REAL shocking discovery.

While perusing her blog list of blogs she follows, I saw my blog listed!  Not listed near the top of the list that was updated 2 hours ago.  Not near the middle of the list that was updated 2 weeks ago.  I was infamously located in the 4 week-ago section.

Balderdash!  Stupid BlogSpot is counting wrong. Then I visited Spinning First.  Her blog said the same thing?

FOUR WEEKS!

 Really??

Is that possible?

  I said nothing for four whole weeks?

  Did I black out?

  Did I have a four week out-of-body experience - and that person didn't blog?

Did I time travel?  

I quickly visited my own blog in total disbelief.   Cripes!  July 28th housed my last sterling words of wisdom - and what were those words??  "Old School Blogging" where I participated in a blog prompt event at Paula's Place - about blogging.  It was a fun event, but realllllly!  Should those be the last words on my blog?

Most definitely not!

If I were going to end it all ... it would look very different.

I would take a bow, have a big splashy ending, make a long speech (like I am doing now), thank all the "little people" (and since this is an independent effort - I guess the little people would be my imaginary friends - there, I said it!),  and wish everyone well!  Maybe blow a kiss or something!

So I am not doing any of that ... but I am blathering on about not blogging ... again!

*sigh*

So here are some true statements:

• During my black out, other life, time travel (I like that possibility best), I was visiting the blogs of others.  You guys rock!
• I will not be giving up blogging (even if you begged.)
• I will not be blogging every day (or every week apparently.)
• I will be happy with my episodic writing ventures - and not obsessed with blogging just for blogging sake (like I am doing now!)
• I have pictures of stuff that was planned for the blog - so what else will I do with those images if I don't blog?  (Sorry, that was a question - not a statement.  But I digress.)

I will be back in the next day or so with something pithy and inspiring.

 (Ok, maybe just pithy, as I cannot be inspiring on command.)

 .... 

(Maybe just wordy as I am not sure what pithy means.)

I will be back in the next day or so with something wordy!

There ... that sounds right!

Wordy Blogger's Note:  Be sure to visit the blogs I have linked.  Paula is on blog-break and will be back.  But her story of caring for her dying husband is at times intense, touching, gritty and real.  Check out her posting history.

Wordy Blogger's Second Note:  Now I am at the top of everyone's blog list!  Ha!

Wordy Blogger's Third Note:  Well, maybe not "everyone's" list! I am pretty sure I am not on President Obama's list ... well, mostly sure!!

Old School Blogging

I stop in regularly to visit at Paula's Place.  She has the most interesting topics on her blog.  During the month of July she had one topic called Old School Blogging that drew me in, and so ... here we go with the big 5 of everything ....

Five things I have a passion for:

Family 

(husband, children, mom, sister, cousins, 

they would eat up all of my 5 - so they are under the big topic of "family")

My cats and granddogs

 (they are 5 all by themselves)

Knitting and related crafts

 (knitting, crocheting, weaving, spinning - again, too many to list separately)

Walking

(it is a passion but I wish I was doing it more.)

Five things I'd like to learn before I die:

How to be a more forgiving person.

How to spin wool enough to make a sweater.

How to say "no" without feeling bad about it.

How to take my pills everyday - the way they are prescribed.

How to be more quiet, separate, just "be."

Five Things I say a lot

Sh** on a stick!

Crap!

You know ...

Give me a break ...

Actually ...

Five books and or magazines I have read lately

These will have to be Audiobooks mostly.

World War Z by Max Brooks

Wool by Hugh Howey

The Stand by Stephen King

Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck

Separation of Power by Vince Flynn (a series of books)

Five Favorite Movies

Ben Hur

Alien (first movie)

Aliens (second movie)

The God Father Series

Tucker and Dale verses Evil

(Seriously, check this last movie out on Netflix. It could be described as a corny bad movie.

 Probably is.

 It starts slow, but it builds to the funniest series of mishaps I have EVER watched.  

I laughed so hard I was choking and tears were running down my cheeks. Just amazing.) 

Five places I would like to travel to:

England/Ireland

Canada

Alaska (return trip)

The Grand Canyon

Hawaii

(little chance of any of this happening, but wishful thinking is allowed.)

Five people I invite to do this Meme:

I typically hate this part of any blog event or award -

the inviting of other bloggers to participate and they really don't want too.

So here is where I invite all of you to pick one of these topics

and just share it in my comments section ...

or not!

I'll still love you anyway.

Well ... that was fun.  Try it.

Nothing to blog about ...

... she says after another brief blogging absence.

Could it be that my life is just that boring?  Probably.

Oh wait, there was the stunning multi-car accident that I happened upon while I was going out to pick up Chinese food!  Just 1/4 mile from my house.

Yes, that SUV is on top of and crushing another car!

The car with the missing front end was the third one in this accident.

There were 2 fire engines, 3 ambulances, 4 police cars, and 2 large tow trucks all gathered in a very small intersection.  Looks like someone was traveling just too fast in a effort to make the light and two other cars were in the right place at the wrong time.  Amazing ... and never seen on this quiet little intersection. No way to know about injuries, but I am just hoping no one was killed.

Not boring I guess.

I did, however, visit a new Community Center just 10 minutes from my house.  Just 10 minutes away, only 2 years old, and I had absolutely no idea the building was even there.  (Do I live in a paper bag or what!)  They have a great indoor walking track and in this muggy hot weather, an indoor air conditioned track sounds just fine.  I prefer being outside but when conditions are so terrible that I can't take a deep breath - indoors I go!  They also have a state-of-the-art gym with great looking equipment.  Seniors (which I am), can use the gym for $25 a year!  How's that for a deal?  Use of the walking track is free!  Can't beat the price.

My walking has taken quite a hit this summer.    Walking and breathing at the same time is kind of important!  But I am still loving my FibBit Flex.  That is why I am eager to find a viable option for walking indoors on these terrible days.

At my dad's grave site.

Several weeks ago I had a chance to visit my Dad's grave.  My sister and I were doing some planning on mom's behalf and it took us to his grave site.  He died in 1970.  Even after all these years, and after all the bad memories of my upbringing, it gave my heart a tug to see his name on the tomb stone.

Rest in peace, dear dad.  Sorry I don't visit more often.  I know you were ill with alcoholism and when you lived there wasn't much help for that.  At least I have a few good memories and mementoes of your life.  I wish you had lived long enough to meet your grandchildren.  You would be proud of them.

Finally, here is a picture I have been holding on to a bit.

Easter at Brooke Grove

I love this picture of mom with one of the activity coordinators dressed as an Easter bunny.  They really try to make the holidays grand for the residents.  Easter was a good day for mom.  Lately she has had days when she mostly sleeps.  Then other days she seems more alert.  She has Congestive Heart Failure and these up and down periods are fairly normal.  We just take each day as it comes.

She has started to ask me again when she is "going home."  It breaks my heart when she says that as I want to think she is content where she is.  Coming back home now is next to impossible.  She can't climb even one step and I have tons of them.  And her care has reached a level beyond my abilities.  So technically she is "home."  During our last Family Meeting, the staff reported that mom seems "content."  Maybe she is content  at times, but there must be a small part of her that is not content.  It continues to pain me.

Guess there were a few topics to blog about after all!  :-)

Hope you all are doing well this hot summer.  Be back again soon.

FitBit Flex

I have a new pedometer as of the middle of June.  My daughter gifted me a FitBit Flex for Mother's Day.

FitBit Flex
Photo Credit: http://www.fastcodesign.com

Long time readers know that I have struggled with maintaining a walking program.  Walking is my preferred form of exercise.  There is nothing like slipping out the door for a quick (or long) walk with my iPod playing my current audio book or just enjoying a beautiful morning when the weather is inviting.  It beats gathering my stuff for a trip to a gym, getting in the car and driving, parking, waiting for time on equipment, etc. etc. etc.  But my success at keeping to a walking program has been spotty.

So walking it is.

It is helpful for me to have a quantitative measure of how active I am.  It keeps me honest.  It pushes me to do better.  My tool for doing that has always been a pedometer.  And I have had a bunch of them.

My new favorite pedometer is the Fit Bit Flex - for a lot of reasons.

• The model is worn on the wrist. It only comes off to be charged.
• It tracks just about everything, but steps are my interest.  There is, however,  no face with numbers - just a small line of 5 lights.  I don't miss seeing the numbers at all.  If I am curious, I just open my phone, hit the App Icon, the device syncs automatically - and there is my total.  In fact, I think I prefer not having those numbers staring at me on the device.  It takes the pressure off for achieving a certain number ... but keeps me moving all the same.
• When I reach my goal - for me it is 10,000 steps - the lights flash and the band vibrates.  Pretty cool, as well.
• The device is meant to sync to your computer or Smart Phone.  This can happen automatically when within a certain range of your computer or phone, or you can manually sync when you log on to your phone or computer.  This feature is pretty awesome.
• Step totals do not roll of memory after 7 days like many pedometers.  The totals are out there when you want to see them.
• The battery must be recharged every 6 to 7 days.
• The device is water proof - apparently you can even shower with it.
• It can also be set to track the quality of your sleep - a very cool feature.
• Because it syncs to a free website, you can have "friends" and can easily see how they are doing.  You can even send messages back and forth.
• And it appears to be very accurate.

There are many features I haven't even touched on - more features I use - but I will say this is the best pedometer that I have ever used.  It's a winner. 

So, if any of you great folks are already FitBit users and are looking for a new "friend" to help inspire you to walk, please let me know.