Root Beer Float Therapy

I work in a personal care unit of a small town hospital/nursing home facility in Montana. Days can be long, meals provided can be bland, and visitors can be few for the residents living 24/7 where I work anywhere from 8 hour shifts to 12 hour shifts 5 days a week.

Some times spirits start to sink for these folks. Signs are changes in tones/attitude, less attendance in daily activities provided and finally in eating habits. We offer snacks between meals 3 times a day and for the most part none are accepted. The residents do usually keep something in their cupboards in their rooms but with regular checks (to keep water cups filled) and verbal reminders (asking if they would like a snack), still sometimes extra calories or even enough caloric intake is not done. One thing we (the staff of 4) have noticed is by combining little cups of vanilla ice cream and a partial can of root beer in a coffee cup and including a spoon and straw, there are smiles on faces all around. Only recently one resident said to me, "How did you know that a root beer float was always my favorite drink?"

Just this week, I have been experiencing a sort of loss because one of the residents moved out to be taken care of by her daughter at her home. The resident's physical limitations were deteriorating so that she would have to be moved into the nursing home part of our facility. When I made root beer floats for the other residents today, I had to mentally dedicate it to this now "former" resident. I cherished our many conversations and learned several new things in my 6 months of interactions.

Also as a treat to my family, I stopped at the local market and brought home some vanilla ice cream and root beer to have floats for desserts. All smiles in my house tonight!

Hoping you treat yourself to this simple fun tasting joy some time soon.

Storm Clouds

I usually run outside and snap photos of sunrises or sunset here in the country, but today we had some very interesting storm clouds brewing and strong winds blasting.

My son, Wynston, and I thought we saw an angry looking turtle in one of the clouds. Do you see him?



Still I find the skies very impressive and see art in them no matter whether it is the colors or the shapes or even the trees/silos in the foreground.




Hope you enjoy these pictures. I had to conclude with a beautiful sunset to show the storm passed and evening brought gorgeous sky views again!

Pineapple Memories

Had to pull out my iron skillet last night to prepare a little treat after making a huge pot of turkey noodle soup for the family.

Wish I had some cherries to put on this pineapple upside down cake but couldn't find any at the little local grocery store in Fort Benton, MT.

Usually I don't use dark brown sugar, but the taste is still just as it should be.

The kids made short order of the cake and I spied one slice left this morning before heading to work.



Making pineapple upside down cakes in the iron skillet reminds me of my teenage years and having picnic potlucks in our front yard at our summer/vacation mountain trailor after church on Sundays. Never knew who would show up, but usually there would be around 15 people when all got seated. Been thinking about that time in my life lately, especially sitting in the swing late at night and looking up at the stars . . . having dreams and making secret plans for my future. A future that involved moving across country where I now live in "Big Sky Country" and gaze up at those same million stars in awe of the beauty and in awe of how time has flown so quickly.

I don't feel 43 and am very happy when one of the residents in personal care where I work says I look 23. One said the other day that "you are aging remarkably well." I had to laugh and then look in the mirror and say to myself, "no way". They have older eyes and my "youth" is a long distance memory in their lives. Still we can all smile and be thankful no matter what the view.

Chocolate Banana Bread

A perfect way to end a day at home before heading to an overnight shift at work -- do some baking!

Just got a fresh baked loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread out of the oven. Got the recipe in an email from MomsMenu.com -- added a little cinnamon and nutmeg. The house smells wonderful and the taste test divine!!

Savannah Rose Jewelry

I am enjoying my daughter's new interest in working with beads and making jewelry.

She has made a special friend at a local art shoppe that has invited her to come one day on the weekends to work together.

Savannah Rose is learning about the names of jewelry parts, how to use the hand tools, and patterns.

It is sparking visualization. She doesn't admit it or like to have attention told to her about how creative she is.

I sure do love my special young lady and can't believe she is about to turn 18 this May.

The earrings and bracelet pictured above were made by Savannah especially for her Aunt Barb as a birthday present. I hope she smiles when she opens the box.