If you give a girl a kitchen....

.....she might find a recipe like this on pinterest

and while she is making twice baked yams with roasted grapes and honey she might want to make some delicious salmon to give you a meal like this

I love food :)

Groceries

Typically my lovely Aunt Evelyn buys the groceries but last week we were running low on some items and Grandpa decided  he wanted to drive into Rigby to stock up. It was quite the experience. Grandpa drove around the store in his cart puling out and pointing out things to add to his and my carts. before I knew it both were full and we had several items I wasn't sure what to do with. Here are some of the results:

There are beets in that pile. I had never eaten a beet before in my life. It turns out Grandpa likes eatting them raw like carrots as a side with his meals. We also got that giant head of cabbage, a butternut squash, some yams, cucumbers, onions and strawberries.  Grandpa made sure to get the Pizza and Drumsticks for visitors as well as that large container of Peanut Butter chosen particularly for my Dad who will arrive today. It has been fun to think of interesting ways to use these items and it was fun to see what kinds of things he wanted. Who knew?

Flashback

A few weeks ago Grandpa and I were stoked to have Christian and Emily come visit us for a fantastic FHE! We chatted, sang a hymn, read the story of first Nephi Dr. Suess style before enjoying delicious homemade oreos and hide-and-seek.
Kaylene provided scripts for our reader's theater lesson where we got the story of Nephi and his brothers told in Suessian rhyme. We each got a part to read and enjoyed exhibiting our thespian skills. Hide-and-seek was a blast and Carly got her chance to shine. She is still learning not to jump out and say "Here I am!" but that made it even better.

Kaylene was the photographer so here are her master shots

ultimate photo bomb!

Here is where Kaylene and Grandpa make appearances as feet entering the frame.

 

 

 

Happy Memorial Day!

After an extremely rainy and dreary weekend, Memorial Day came to us all shiny and beautiful. Grandpa and I celebrated by going to the Ririe Cemetery. First there was a military presentation where we heard the gun salute and taps on the bugle then we visited the graves of my Grandmother Gwenevere Hymas Reed and Grandpa's parents and a couple of his siblings. Grandpa knows just about everybody buried in that cemetery as well as the one in Rigby where Grandma's family is buried. It occurred to me while we were out there that that we were visiting his friends.

In the evening Kaylene and Erika made it down and we all visited the Cemetery again before coming home to dinner and fresh pumpkin pie.  Naturally the evening included us three girls singing and playing a concert for Grandpa - by now we've learned to not be coaxed :) Both of my Grandfathers served in the military and were lucky enough to survive and create amazing families of which I am now a part. I am so grateful for their service, their goodness, and their faithfulness. 

Sunday Dinner

On the weekends out here my uncles stay with Grandpa and I get to party in Rexburg with my sister Kaylene and her roommates. Every Sunday they have dinner together and take turns cooking. This weekend was my turn and I was really craving Spanish food and stoked to cook some of the recipes I have been saving on pinterest :)

So, our main course was Spanish chicken with chorizo

We had fresh tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt...

and homemade focaccia bread on the side.

 

And finally,  I made a Greek yogurt cheesecake with peaches and honey for dessert. 

 Everyone was super nice and showered me with compliments till I felt a little ridiculous, but I confess I enjoyed it. I love food especially when I get to make it for such awesome people!

Aly, Alisha, Erika, Brook, Me, Haily

Kaylene made her way in!

excited about dessert :)

The Evidence

Here is the bite about 32 hours after the incident. I still have the stitches in the deeper cut, but accidentally shaved off the other two in the shower. Woops! Luckily, that cut (top one) was shallower and had already healed :)

I think I should end up with some decent scars and the bruise is looking a lot more intense now too. Good thing I like to keep life colorful!

Animal Encounters: Part 2

Yesterday I decided to try running to the right instead of to the left of the house. The dogs down that way turned out to be not so friendly and I came home with six teeth marks sunk into my calf.  Leave it to a Jones.

When Grandpa saw all the blood he set the emergency communication chain in action. Within a few minutes most of the Reed family knew what had happened and I was still cleaning the cuts feeling silly. Here I was supposed to be taking care of my grandpa and he had to take me to the doctor. After everyone was duly informed Grandpa and I set off for the urgent care center in Rigby, about 16 minutes away. Anyway, after lots of blood, numbing, and scrubbing the doctor put a couple stitches in each of the deeper cuts and prescribed an antibiotic.

Then we discovered they automatically call the sheriff's office for dog bites and the sheriff's assistant came down to the doctor's so he could take my statement and get pictures of the bite. It was exciting.

Ironically, I have been bit by a dog before when I was little. That time, I was staying with my Grandma and she took me to the hospital for stitches on my face.  Hopefully, I don't keep having these type of run-ins. In any case I've got some great stories with scars to back them up so it's all worth it. And as far as running goes, from here on out I'll choose the left. :)

All Creatures Great and Small

Another benefit to living out in the country is that I get to appreciate all the critters around here. In the house I most often run into ladybugs of all things but outside there are cows, cats, dogs, and horses galore.

On my morning run I go past a house with two dogs and four horses. The first time I ran up one of the dogs started barking like crazy and the horses kept their distance. The other dog ran up to me and I paused a moment to see if he was friendly. The pooch is just a sweet overgrown puppy. I took a moment to pet him and tell him out great he was and we parted friends. When I passed the house again on the way back I decided to try the horses. So, I grabbed a fistful of grass and slowly approached the fence nickering and talking softly. Pretty soon these giant, beautiful horses meandered over to greet me. After a brief rug down and a snack we were pals too. Horses are the sweetest animals. They just need you to  pat them and tell them all the wonderful things about themselves and they are devoted to you. I guess it's the same with most things - even people :)

A Feminine Presence

Well, I've been here about a week and I think I've got a feel for the routine and my responsibilities. The day starts at 7:30am with the typical hefty breakfast and morning housekeeping. Then I go for a run if the nurse isn't coming. I usually tackle some project of cleaning/ cooking/ or art making before lunch around 1:30pm, and do another project of one sort or another between lunch and dinner around 7:30pm. After our meal I give a 1-2 hour piano performance as a start to the evening's entertainment and we finish it off with a movie. This is the life :)

While that seems to be the norm, visitors and new experiences break up the routine fairly often. This week I introduced Grandpa to quesadillas! He hadn't had one before at least that he could remember and I was happy to introduce him to such a culinary gem. I also chased a cow that was considering escape back into the pasture behind the house. On Monday we had a visit from the hospice Chaplin who happens to be LDS. He is an extremely friendly and conversational elderly gentlemen. He mentioned it must be nice for grandpa to have a 'feminine presence' in the house to which Grandpa responded, "and feminine cooking!" I's good to be a girl.

Brekkers

Well, today was my first full day as caretaker extraordinaire to grandpa spectacular. It was a fantastic day and I learned something very important: after partaking of the sumptuous Grandpa Reed breakfast fare my stomach requires three hours of digestion before being ready to exercise.

For those who haven't experienced this breakfast it includes:

• buttered toast
• Canadian bacon heated in the microwave
• an egg steamed/poached in butter

(these first three items make a tasty open-faced sandwich thing)

• treetop apple juice
• cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats or Great Grains)
• Mocha Mix cream on cereal
• yogurt on cereal
• banana sliced on cereal (optional)

Yeah, it is pretty much the bomb and this breakfast is part of the morning routine around here. Pictures to follow :)

Here they are!