Check Up....

MrD had his post surgery check up today. The doctors office is over an hours drive away.. long... but has some pretty views of the mountains on the way.

The doctor was quite pleased with his progress ( to me it’s quite impressive actually) but was a bit puzzled tho not too concerned by the clicking movement in the spleen area

So next week.. Hubby has to go for a CT scan.. then see two specialists. One to determine whats happening in the spleen area.. and the other to make sure that the spine fractures are healing

All MrD is thinking about is when I can go in his motorbike again!

On the way home we stopped for an early dinner date

Yummy

Love and Hugs 

Phoebe x

World Book Day.. and Beef and Bean Enchiladas...

Its World Book Day...

and my little Bookworms are dressed ready for the occasion..

We have Hermione from "Harry Potter"

Jessie from "Toy Story"

( I know its not a book but its the only thing she would wear)

t 

and Thanos

Yes I had to google it too...

Dont they look fabulous!!

Beef and Bean Enchiladas

These Beef and Bean Enchiladas are very simple to make and with  an extra tasty juicy filling. The refried beans are excellent and fills it out, with lots of flavour! I had enough filling left for another meal at the weekend

1 tsp each onion & garlic powder 

1 tbsp each cumin powder, paprika and dried oregano
1/2 – 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, spiciness)
14 ounce can mild enchilada sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion , finely chopped (1 cup)
1 lb ground beef 
14oz refried beans (1 can)

14oz black beans, drained (1 can)
8 tortillas (or burrito wraps)
1.5 cups grated cheddar cheese
Cilantro/coriander leaves , roughly chopped, optional garnish

• Mix together spices. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
• Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. 
• Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes.
• Add beef and cook for 2 minutes, breaking it up as you go. 
• Add spices. 
• Cook for a further 2 minutes or until completely brown.
• Add refried beans, black beans, about 1/4 cup Enchilada Sauce and salt & pepper to taste
• Mix and cook for 2 minutes then remove from stove 
• Smear a bit of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking dish to stop sliding.
• Place filling on the lower third of a tortilla. 
• Roll up then place in the baking dish, seam side down. 
• Repeat with remaining filling and tortillas.
• Pour sauce over the enchiladas
• Top with cheese, bake for 10 minutes covered, then 10 minutes uncovered. 
• Serve hot!

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

I Like a Nice Cuppa Tea....

 After work yesterday.. Mrd called at the British store.. and picked up some of my favourite biscuits

Perfect with a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon...

Custard Cream or Jammie Dodger anyone?

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

A Burst of Colour...

MrD's second day at work.. and he was really feeling it today

His back hurt.. his ribs hurt... his head hurt

But still.. he came home and mowed his pride and joy.

I must say..it looks pretty good for winter

Winter it may be.. but Spring is just around the corner

We already have colour in the garden with the succulents bursting into bloom

Just lovely

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

A New Week..and a New Meal Plan..

Last night we had an amazing thunderstorm. I lay in bed watching the intense lightning and listening to the much needed rain lashing against the windows.. and counted my blessings. My children are well.. my grandchildren are thriving and my wonderful hubby is bouncing back like a trooper

MrD returned to work today.. just a mere 10 days since the accident that could have ended so badly. He promises he will take it easy.. and not lift to much.. but I do know that just standing by his work bench will be tiring and painful for his back. But, the Lord will continue to watch over him and continue with his healing.

The rain did wonders for the garden. Its so surprising that here in So Cal.. last years flowers are still blooming... if a little tatty

They love the rain.. and lucky for them there is more forecast this week... much better than tap water.

But unlucky for us.. with the rain comes cooler temperatures. 

Thats what sweaters are for right?

Here's this weeks dinner menu..

Weekly Plan - 3rd March 2025

Monday              Parmesan Chicken Burgers, Potato Wedges, Coleslaw

Tuesday              Beef and Bean Enchiladas

Wednesday        Chicken Curry, Rice and Poppadoms

Thursday            Cajun Sausage Pasta

Friday                  Pizza (as always)

Saturday             Chilli Dogs

Sunday                Leftovers

Sunday Thought ~ Psalm 121:7-8

 Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

Happy Saint Davids Day

 Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus…. Happy Saint Davids Day... well..it is in Wales 

Daffodils...the Welsh National Flower in the garden 
of my old home in Wales

To celebrate I made a batch of  Wartime Welsh Cakes. They are a cross between a scone and a pancake and also known as a Welsh teacake, and are a perfect sweet, afternoon tea treat. 

Quick and easy to make, these little cakes are a wartime classic that provided soldiers and coal mine workers during the World War with a sense of happiness. to me they are a taste of home

You can take this girl out of Wales.. but you can’t take Wales out of this girl.

Wartime Welsh Cakes

6 oz plain flour with 3 teaspoons baking powder added (or use self raising flour)
2 oz margarine, butter or dripping
2 oz sultanas (or mixed dried fruit)
1 small carrot grated
2 oz sugar
1 fresh egg or 1 dried reconstituted egg
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

• Rub fat into the flour and baking powder mix until resembles bread crumbs
• Stir in nutmeg, sugar and dried fruit
• Mix the egg and milk together and add to dry mix to form a stiff dough (add more liquid or more flour as needed)
• Treat mixture as pastry and roll out on floured surface to 1/4 inch thick
• Use 3 inch rounds to cut out
• Pre-heat griddle or heavy frying pan
• Grease
• Put in Welsh Cakes and cook until golden brown on both sides over a moderate heat (about 4 minutes)
• Set aside a cool
• Sprinkle with a little sugar
• Serve with butter/jam and a nice cuppa strong tea!

Lovely Day...

81 degrees... and snow on the mountain..

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

Birthday Boy...

It’s been a hectic few days.. what with MrDs accident and all. But this wonderful man has never been far from my thoughts.. as today would have been his 91st birthday

After all this time.. the tears have subsided .. and I’m left with wonderful happy memories of the fun and the laughter.. 

Always the joker.. Always the Gentleman .. Always with the kindest heart..

Happy Heavenly Birthday Dad..

Love Always xxx

More Pain...

MrD is doing fantastically well.. he is getting up and down so much better.. and getting a bit stir crazy. He's itching to get back to work.. though he cant lift anything heavy for 4-6 weeks.

  

He did get an extra agonizing pain tho.. this time in his wallet. Over $700 to get his bike back from where it had been towed to. Surprisingly there was very little damage to it.. a few scrapes and scratches.. and two broken tail lights.. Amazing!

But I think it will be a while til hes in the saddle again...

I hope!

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

The Wreak Part 3.. The Saga of the Meds...

This morning.. after MrD got home from hospital...I was up very early and stood for a while watching the sunrise from the coffee room window. Little did I know what a hectic day it was going to be. MrDs meds hadnt arrived at the pharmacy before they closed last night.. but luckily we had some painkillers from when he had hernia surgery last year.

Still he had a bad night.. couldnt find a comfortable spot to sleep.. and in pain from the surgery.. his cuts and bruises and the fractures in his neck and back. By the time the pharmacy opened at 10am.. there was still nothing on the pharmacy app so I began calling.. 

The pharmacist said they had nothing under hubbys name... but then asked me for its spelling. Now we have a Polish name.. ending in vich... and it appeared someone had written it.. vitch. As it was a controlled drug he couldnt give it me..so I called the hospital to change his name. I was told I couldnt do it over the phone so I had to drive 30 minutes to the emergency room... produced his driving license...and was told they had no record of him!! After a bit of back and forth between us.. they finally found him.. wrong name spelling... wrong date of birth..no address or telephone number! They eventually changed it... I had to go up to the ICU and ok the prescription with the doctor.. and then headed back to the pharmacy... where I was tld there was a line before me and it would be about 3 hrs..

Two hours later... we had a phone call. The pharmacist said the date otonighf birth was still wrong!..  So...it was back to the emergency room to change MrDs details again.. ( this time I asked for a copy so I could check myself).. went up to ICU again to see the doctor.. then back to the pharmacy. Again I was told about 2 hours.. but by the time the pharmacy closed tonight ... we still have no meds.

I will chase up the meds tomorrow but MrD is coping well and I must say what a difference 24 hours make. He is moving better.. in less pain.. and definitely on the mend..

I think my guy is made of rubber... he just keeps bouncing back... one way or another

And the Lord was definitely looking after him

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

The Wreak.. Part 2.. A New Day...

The morning after his accident, when I went to the hospital, Mr. D was a completely different person. He was sitting up in bed and even had a welcoming smile when I walked through the door. He said he had an uncomfortable night with pain meds for helping. It was such a relief. 

The doctor came to see him, and he said that the procedure had gone well, but unfortunately, the spleen was dead, but they had used a new procedure which had only been around for about 10 years. Now bear in mind Im not medically savvy.. but the gist is they put a coil on the blood supply to the spleen and are hoping that new veins and new blood vessels will grow again, meaning that the spleen could actually come back to life. No guarantees, but wouldn’t that be amazing!! 

I asked when he could come home. The doctor said it would be about 2 to 3 days After he seen the physiotherapist. I was confused... a physiotherapist for spleen??. "Oh no," he said "he’s got tiny fractures down his neck and spine, but luckily they’re all in places where they are not mobility or life-threatening... and will heal themselves"  

So later this afternoon, the physiotherapist came and Jeff had to go for a little walk with him to see how he was doing. Apparently he did amazingly well and he said if Jeff was up to it, he could actually go home 

So tonight MrD came home.. Of course hes still pumped with all the painkilling drugs and I had to go in search of his meds from the hospital and that’s the next story..

But the main thing.. MrD is home... and on the mend..

Thank you Jesus

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

The Wreak.. Part 1.. "My Idiot"!!..

After a hard week at work.. MrD went out for a ride on his motorbike. About half an hour later, he called me and said "I’ve been an idiot. I’ve been in a wreck". I thought he was on the mountain and had lost his balance or slid... again!  I asked of he and the bike were ok... to which he replied "Oh yeah I’m jumping on it in a minute and I’m coming home. I’ve just gotta wait for the police to come." I was confused police on the mountain. Oh no he said I got into a wreck with a flat bed truck. Again I asked if he was ok and he said was fine but the police were there and hung up. He made two more calls getting more confused each time, but I managed to get out of him where he was and made my way over 

When I arrived, I saw five police cars and ambulance and a firetruck. MrD.. was sitting on the side of the street and he and his bike seemed fine, But as I got up to the ambulance, the paramedic said MrD was confused. He didn't know where he was.. his name.. the country he was in . the date... the president.,, and as it turned out... he didn't know me!! With I suspected green bleed they rushed him to the hospital and while I  sorted out the bike with the police. 

At the hospital I waited 45 minutes in emergency.. then they let me through to see him. Thank goodness.. Mr. D recognized me. His arms were badly scraped and bleeding... his MRI had come back clear, but he had ruptured his spleen. They rushed him up to surgery where they were going to do a "procedure" to try and stop the bleeding. He would be awake, they would go in through the groin.. but if they were complications, they would have to put him to sleep and go in surgically. They told me that the procedure would take about an hour, but it turned out to be 3 1/2 hours. They had to put him to sleep, but they still did it laparoscopically. Back in his room, they said everything turned out well except they couldn’t save the spleen. 

I stayed at the hospital till quite late I could have stayed but had to come back home because of the dog.

It was strange coming home to a dark empty house. I felt alone...even though Prince was there making a fuss of me. I fell to my knees and gave thanks to the the Lord for being with my Hubby today... and prayed for comfort and healing. I know the Lord was listening

 As for MrD... he may think he’s an idiot… but he’s my idiot.. The Lord was definitely looking after him and giving him protection. It could have been a lot worse

 Part two of the story is to follow

    

Love and Hugs 

Phoebe x

Happy Valentines Day

My lovely hubby planned a Valentines Day out for us..

1st stop… 

The British Tea House to stock up on a few goodies I miss.. 

and have a cup of Yorkshire Tea and a buttered crumpet

Quite lovely

Next.. 

a stroll through a couple of Thrift Stores 

 followed by a lovely steak dinner..

He knows me so well!!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone

Love and Hugs

Phoebe x

G