Recipe Review
Today’s
Recipe and Location: Tuscan
Bean Soup with Shrimp
Found
in: The Pioneer Woman blog
If you like a hearty
soup, then this one is the meal for you. Ree uses fresh wonderful ingredients
and strong flavors. She uses Northern beans to add some substance. I like the
idea of shrimp in soup. Most soups have chicken or beef, so to me that makes
this one unique. A great recipe for Illinoians in the winter months.
Trivial Triffles
Can a toe be a trivial
triffle? I’ve decided that this
poor little, discolored broken toe is today. Since I took the day off yesterday
to feel sorry for myself, I thought the least I could do is to show you the
sad, little pitiful thing. It
almost has a full rainbow of color. I must say that one of the biggest drags
was having to wearing Crocs to the grocery story today. They make my feet like
giants, but they are the only shoes I own that do not hurt.
The
only upside is that you can see the pedicure I had done an hour before the “accident.” Another day….another broken bone.
 |
| Swollen and puffy |
 |
| Yikes, even the foot is green |
 |
| The pedicure looks great, however |
Memory Musings
Since
I broke my toe this week, it reminded me of when I fractured both ankles about
15 years ago. That was a major accident for me.
On
Black Friday, I was supposed to take my Mom to a doctor’s appointment. I
arrived at her condo a little early. Mom’s condo was on the second floor of the
building. She had a long concrete staircase going up from the driveway. I let
her know that I had arrived, and would wait in the car.
As
I stepped off of the final step, it happened. Unbeknownst to me the blacktopped
driveway had dropped a few inches where it met the concrete. It was not visible
because the area was full of leaves. My left ankle snapped when that foot was
half on and half off the decline, and I began to fall. The right ankle came
down hard on the concrete slab. The right ankle was actually in worse shape.
Mom
came out and I yelled for her to call an ambulance. I knew what had happened.
Needless to say, I was one unhappy camper. Mom and I have a funny dynamic that
happens when I get hurt. I get mad and she laughs. She asked why I was mad, and
I told her it was the first time I actually wanted to shop on Black Friday. She
found this funny, and went back into the house to stop the laughter. We always
relive these encounters and laugh about them.
Needless
to say, I was taken to the hospital where I had to spend a few days until I
could be casted. Unfortunately, many doctors leave during the holidays. The
other problem was that I couldn’t be discharged until I had a booted foot able
to stand on the floor.
I
was out of school from Thanksgiving break until after Christmas. I was still
unable to drive until February. This was a very hard time for me, because I
found out how much I hate being dependent on others. My wonderful aunts cleaned
my home. My nieces helped with the dogs, and my Mom was so helpful with medical
advice. The parents of Munhall School delivered dinner and other foods every
day that I was home, promptly at 5:30 p.m. When I did return, our school secretary,
Jan McLaughlin, picked me up and brought me home every day from school. A dear
friend, Ruth Verbel, subbed for me the entire time I was out. The kindness of
all of these people was overwhelming, and yet joyful.
Wow,
that was strange to revisit that time. For some reason a little broken toe now
seems such a joke.
