Ask Me Wednesday Friday!

Happy Friday, Peeps.

I hope that your week was a little (or a lot) smoother than mine. I'm glad it's now the weekend (since it's now after 5:00 p.m. as I finish up this post that's technically the weekend, right?!).

The demolition of my bathroom marches forward. I plan to post pictures tomorrow. It's a mess but at least it's a contained mess.

Daughter #3 texted me the other night to tell me that one of her room mates had been taken to the hospital with a 105 degree temperature.

Yep .... she has swine flu.

So all prayers for D3 and her other 2 room mates and their protection would be wonderful, as well as quick healing for the one with the flu.

My advice to D3? Listen to your body, get to the doctor as soon as you feel any symptoms and ... don't eat any bacon.

It took her a while to get it. I think she seriously was going to avoid all pork. Sigh. She needs a vacation.

Speaking of vacation .... since I'm heading to Minnesota next week there won't be any "Ask Me Wednesday" .... or "Ask Me Any Other Day", either. Of course .... you're always welcome to ask questions on any day of the week, Peeps. I don't have to wait until Wednesdays to answer you.

I'm hoping that I'll have decent cell service so I can still blog, now that I've learned how to "mobile blog". You know me .... I might explode if I can't express myself on my keyboard for a week!!

OK, here are this week's questions .... and my answers, for whatever they're worth. :)

Anon asked:

You've joked about your children and some of their food preferences. At what ages did you try to teach them some of the basics of cooking?

Many of them took basic cooking when they were in middle school. Actually, now that I think about it .... I think only the boys took that class. Son #1 is a pretty decent cook and has made a couple of really great dishes.

Son #3 likes to grill and does a great job at that.

Son #2 likes to play the guitar. He'll starve if left on his own. Wait, I take that back. Give the boy a frozen chicken patty and a microwave and he's good to go.

The girls just kind of learned on their own by watching/helping me in the kitchen. They each do a good job of cooking/baking. I'm not sure what age they really started learning anything, but I would imagine it was in late elementary school/middle school.

Carrie:

Okay, I have a question for you - when someone says this phrase to you, about your widowhood, how does it make you feel - "I'm so sorry - I can't even imagine your pain." Meaning that they feel for you & can imagine that you hurt deeply, but can't imagine HOW deep your pain must be - is that phrase comforting, or is it annoying to you??? I feel like I say things like it a lot, but I didn't know if it was annoying or offensive - what's your opinion?

Hi Carrie --- I find that comforting. It's a very honest comment, which is refreshing. Most people can't imagine it, so it's nice to hear them admit that and not try to compare our losses. I don't find it annoying or offensive at all. I find that when someone just says, "I'm sorry" that says a lot.

Great question. :)

Shelley:

I enjoy reading your questions but can never think of one to ask... but not this week! My dad has Stage IV Melanoma while we've never been really close, his diagnosis in mid-July and the time after that has changed my sisters' relationship both with he and our mom. We've become closer and far more protective. So how has your relationship with your children changed over the past two years?

I think that we've grown closer over the last two years. I also think that I see them now as much more mature than they were, or would've been. We are not a big "talking" family, as in spending time on the phone (as noted by the guy at the cell phone store when he looked at our account and the thousands of unused minutes we have each month ..... no kidding). We text more than we talk. But even though we don't talk a lot I still feel closer to them and know they feel that way, too. It's like there's an extra bond there now. I think they feel it with each other, too. I love them more than I have words to describe and our relationships feel differently to me now --- better, deeper, stronger.

Thanks for asking that great question, Shelley.

RJ:

Please do post the photos of the pictures of Jim.

Also - what is your favourite personal craft project - a cross-stitch, a quilt, a skirt, a christmas decoration?

Also - how good a cook are your kids. Boys compared to girls?

Can they make basic things from scratch like lasagne or spaghetti bolognaise, stir fry and rice?

Did you give them a particular cookbook when they went flatting?

Hi RJ ---

I'll try to remember to post the pictures of Jim .... most likely tomorrow when I download the bathroom pictures. Thanks for reminding me. :)

I like to cross stitch, though I used to do it a LOT more than I do now. The thing that I made that I love best, however, is a baby blanket I knitted for Son #3 when I was pregnant with him. Actually, I started it when I was pregnant with Son #2 but didn't finish it until a little over 2 years later!

Funny that your cooking question comes on the same day as the first question from Anon. The only male who enjoys cooking is Son #1 and he does a very good job. Daughter #1 really likes to cook (as long as there's no meat in the vicinity) and I think Daughter #2 enjoys it, too. I think Daughter #3 likes to bake and does a good job. I'm not sure what kinds of things they can or like to cook from scratch. I'd say they prefer baking than cooking, but I could be wrong about that. And I don't think I've given any of them a cook book.

Now I'm feeling guilty about that!!

Anon:

When you had all 6 children at home did you have a time limit policy on the shower? Did it work? Background: One of our children takes very long showers, using up the hot water.

Anon,

Oh yes indeed we had to set shower limits!! We also had to split them up so that some took showers at night and others took them in the mornings. Nothing can make a dad or, more importantly, a mom --- grumpier than taking a cold shower!!! There were times when we had to set the timer for a couple of them. One of the sons still enjoys staying in the shower as long as possible. He's just fortunate that he has to get up much earlier than I do .... or my grumpiness would spill over onto his head!!

Allen:

On my mobile blogging testing ....

so does it work? and what device are you using?

Allen, it did work. It took me awhile to get the whole thing registered and working .... longer than it should have, in my opinion, but it's working. Except that I can't get it to work with pictures, which is frustrating. I use my iPhone.

OK, Peeps ..... I have to get ready to go to choir rehearsal. I'm going to re-join the choir this year for our annual Christmas cantata. I've done it for the past several years, but couldn't work myself up for it last year. I'm actually looking forward to it this year and to spending time with the people who will be there with me. We have our first rehearsals tonight and tomorrow morning. It will be nice to connect with some friends I haven't seen much of in a while.

I hope you all have a good evening and an even better weekend!!

Peace out, Peeps ...... :)