Hoping Spring Brings Happier Times

Prayers are needed for a good friend of mine, Donna. 2009 is turning out to be a very difficult year for her and her family. Her husband, Dean, lost his job in March. Donna has been out of work for over a year now, but has been able to find part-time temporary work. As of yet, Dean hasn't found a new job. Their oldest son is graduating from high school this year and plans to attend college in the fall. Their other son is a freshman in high school. Last week, Donna's mother was diagnosed with ALS. The family is devistated. They are praying that the disease progresses slowly so that Kathy and her husband, Fred, have many more years together.

This news is hitting my family hard because Donna's parents have lived across the street from my parents our entire lives. My Mom has commented on several occasions that Kathy and Fred have been the best neighbors that anyone could ever have had. Her parents have been extremely helpful to my parents in the past 9 years since Dad had his first stroke. Kathy and Fred have been there whenever Mom needed assistance. They have come over at a moments notice when Dad has gone into seizures. They have helped with running errands. They even cleaned up a horrid mess in Mom and Dad's house after one of Dad's 'episodes'. (I won't describe the mess, but be assured it was a mess you would think twice about touching even if it was your own family.) They also have a huge garden and share their harvest with my parents. They are angels!! I just pray that God is merciful on them.

Switching to happier news now.

Easter was spent in Cincinnati with my family. We didn't do a very good job coordinating the menu because it was heavy on carbohydrates and desserts. We had two kinds of potatoes, mac-n-cheese, and about 7 desserts. I made two.

First a fruit tart. It was a recipe I improvised from several other recipes and if I say so myself, turned out quite well. Heres a picture. Doesn't it look yummy!!!



My other dessert was a lemon sponge pie. This is an old family recipe from my paternal grandmother. It is Dad's favorite. It didn't get cut on Easter, so I sent it home with my parents so that they could enjoy it through the week. It is like a lemon meringue pie with the custard and meringue folded together.



Here's the latest progress on Decimal. Coming along slowly. I'm through 2 balls of yarn. 10 to go. This first picture is a little blurry, but the color is right.


The second picture is clear, but the color is off.



Yesterday I bought WendyKnit's sock book. I really like it. After I finish Decimal, I'm going to try a few of her socks. My goal is to go through the book and make all of them. It is a nice learning resource.