2026-06-01 UPDATE

​Day 21 - “Wax and Wane” is how the neurologist explained symptoms during the process of recovery from a stroke. It’s definitely been like a roller coaster to ride with all the highs and lows. 

Armando was surprisingly very awake and alert after a very sleepless night for both of us. He did get a little bit of a break from hiccups this afternoon but not much. So far, all tests are coming back with excellent results. Still waiting on blood cultures and trusting the same results.

 The reason the doctors are keeping Armando in ICU is because of the secretions that are staying at the top of the throat. He’s concerned of aspiration which will cause pneumonia and other complications.

Armando also continues to have issues with the tube feeding. As long as they give it to him slow and then give him a good break in between, he seems to tolerate it better. Otherwise he starts vomiting.  

5pm - All blood work and tests this far have come back normal. However, fever and white blood count (WBC) have been abnormally on opposite sides. When fever is high WBC is down but when fever is controlled, WBC elevates. The team of physicians are currently trying to determine the cause.

I want to say that I love and appreciate everyone’s prayers, texts, meals, comments and speaking the WORD sending me Quotes! I may not be able to reply right away but don’t hesitate to keep them coming! ♥️ 

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Día 21 - "Cera y caer" es cómo el neurólogo explicó los síntomas durante el proceso de recuperación de un derrame cerebral. Definitivamente ha sido como una montaña rusa para montar con todos los altibajos.

Armando estaba sorprendentemente muy despierto y alerta después de una noche de insomnio para los dos. Esta tarde tuvo un pequeño descanso del hipo, pero no mucho. Hasta ahora, todas las pruebas están volviendo con excelentes resultados. Todavía estoy esperando los cultivos de sangre y confiando en los mismos resultados.

La razón por la que los médicos mantienen a Armando en la UCI es por las secreciones que se quedan en la parte superior de la garganta. Le preocupa la aspiración que causará neumonía y otras complicaciones.

Armando también sigue teniendo problemas con la alimentación por sonda. Mientras se lo den despacio y luego le den un buen descanso en el medio, parece que lo tolera mejor. De lo contrario, comienza a vomitar.

5 p. m. - Todos los análisis de sangre y pruebas hasta ahora han vuelto a la normalidad. Sin embargo, la fiebre y el recuento de glóbulos blancos (WBC) han sido anormales en lados opuestos. Cuando la fiebre es alta, el glóbulos blancos baja, pero cuando la fiebre está controlada, el glóbulos blancos se eleva. El equipo de médicos está tratando actualmente de determinar la causa.

¡Quiero decir que amo y aprecio las oraciones, mensajes de texto, comidas, comentarios y decir la PALABRA de todos que me envían citas! Puede que no pueda responder de inmediato, ¡pero no dudes en seguir viniendo! ♥️

2026-05-31 Update

​Still in ICU but possibly moving tomorrow, Armando’s response has been lower for the past couple days. A low to mid grade fever has been prevalent since after surgery. They’re trying to figure out why. Constant hiccups day and night with hardly a break. Pain throughout his body from lying in bed so much plus consistent pain in the head. The nurses have been amazing doing all they can to make him more comfortable. 

Another CT scan was done to rule out if he’s still bleeding in the brain or continuing to still have more strokes. That seems to be stable. 

I’m praying and believing that the cyst in the kidney which has grown since being here and the kidney stone they had saw as well the nodule in his lung all be dissolved and gone before we leave. These are not emergent so they will not be diving into those until later. 

Pneumonia remains a concern since he can’t swallow and is unable to get up and move at all. X-rays reveal that he has had some aspiration a couple times. The most recent strokes have affected his ability to speak and he seems to have some paralysis in the right arm and leg. 

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Todavía en la UCI, la respuesta de Armando ha sido menor durante los últimos días. Una fiebre baja a media ha prevalecido desde después de la cirugía. Están tratando de averiguar por qué. Hipo constante día y noche con apenas un descanso. Dolor en todo su cuerpo por estar tanto acostado en la cama. Las enfermeras han sido increíbles haciendo todo lo que pueden para que se sienta más cómodo.

Se hizo otra tomografía computarizada para descartar si todavía está sangrando en el cerebro o si sigue teniendo más accidentes cerebrovasculares. Eso parece ser estable.

Estoy rezando y creyendo que el quiste en el riñón que ha crecido desde que estoy aquí y el cálculo renal que habían visto, así como el nódulo en su pulmón, se disuelva y se vaya antes de que nos vayamos. Estos no son emergentes, por lo que no se sumergirán en ellos hasta más tarde.

La neumonía sigue siendo una preocupación, ya que no puede tragar y no puede levantarse y moverse en absoluto. Las radiografías revelan que ha tenido alguna aspiración un par de veces. Los accidentes cerebrovasculares más recientes han afectado su capacidad de hablar y parece tener algo de parálisis en el brazo derecho y la pierna.

Tools of the Gardening Trade

I love gardening! There’s just something therapeutic and satisfying about being outside, listening, smelling, breathing, living nature that revives my very being. Each season brings new experiences and I hope to learn more.

After a very inspiring email I received from my Mom, I decided to post some of the tools etc that have been very helpful in my gardening endeavors.

I do a lot of weeding on my knees so, this wonderful squishy knee board really helps a lot! I don't always use the gloves, but they seem to help grip the weeds better than my bare hands as they have a anti slip coating on them. Aren't those Million Bells lovely!

I've had these crocks for YEARS! They were given to me by an elderly friend as a thank you gift for helping her pack when she was moving. They are the most comfortable footwear I own! Sometimes, if my feet are hurting, I'll even wear them inside when I'm washing dishes or cooking. I wear them in the garden all the time. Some of the vegetables I grow I get as plants that have already been started at the greenhouse. The trowel is perfect for digging the right size hole to plant them in!

Of all the tools I have, the roto tiller has to be my favorite! I just can't imagine how I've ever gotten along without it. You may notice that it's called "Super Bronco"... They didn't name it that for no reason, but I have managed to tame the bucking machine. It's rather temperamental in that, if you don't maneuver it correctly, it will really take off! Fortunately for me, it has a safety mechanism so if you let go of it, it'll stop, Notice I said, 'IF you let go'. One day, I was tilling doing just fine when, all of a sudden I hit a patch that 'spooked' my tiller and it jumped and galloped away... with me holding on for dear life. I felt like my daughter when she was little walking our dog who was actually walking HER! All she could've done was let go of the leash and she would've been fine but, she held on for dear life and soon she was being drug across the yard until I hollered at her to let go. Now, said dear daughter was watching her mother do the same thing and laughing rather hard about it. 

Now that I have mastered the skill of tilling with it, it has really been a blessing! I till just before planting my row to make the grown freshly soft. I till between the planted rows periodically to keep the weeds down so my garden doesn't get out of hand.

Here's the ever faithful hoe for those narrow places that the tiller can't get into such as between the rows of corn. Eventually, the corn, which is planted just a little closer together, gets too big and it's not a good idea to till between them even if you fit through because it could damaged the spreading roots below the ground. 

This is another must-have! Diatomaceous Earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. This fine powder has many uses and can even be taken eternally. What do I do with it? I sprinkle it on the leaves of my plants and it helps stops unwanted pests from eating the leaves. I have been told that when the beetles etc eat the leaves, they eat the D.E. which slices their intestines causing them to die. Sounds barbaric, doesn't it! According to Wikipedia it dries the little culprits insides up and causes them to die. However it works, I only know that it DOES work. 

This is a picture of my bean plant. Notice that the older leaves on the bottom are full of holes while, the upper newer leaves look nice and healthy!

My dear hubby brought this compost tumbler home for me. It has a vented lid on both ends for easy access adding scraps such as egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit peelings, vegetable scraps. I've even plopped a few earth worms in there! Ever so often, I flip it the over putting the fresher scraps on the bottom. If you have a good compost, it should not have a foul odor but a nice earthy smell.

My childhood love for wagons overtook me this past spring. I was bound and determined to buy one and had it delivered to my door. My sweet boy assembled it for me and I wheeled my green buddy out the door and into the garden! It has been so convenient to have! Until I got a hose, I had to haul the water down to the garden and water each plant by hand (a rather time consuming chore) so I was able to haul 3 5-gallon buckets at once instead of just one. I pull it around as I'm weeding. The sides come down and I can sit in it while I harvest or weed, or prop my feet on it while I sit under the tree and shell peas.

When my little friends come over, they have a blast pulling each other around in it.

When you have a garden as large as mine, (104' x 68') rain is a real blessing? Living where it's humid and we usually see lots of rain, there are still times in between that I need to water if I want my pantry filled. Even though my wagon was a great blessing in hauling all that water to the garden, a hose was a quick addition to my "tool chest". But I was still spending HOURS watering with the hose and so a sprinkler was gifted by my dad who didn't want his daughter turning into a lobster standing in the blazing sun. It works GREAT! You see, ever since I got it, hooked it up, turned it on -  it rained! It's been raining pretty regularly ever since! Amazing, isn't it? Sorry, I don't have a picture of the sprinkler, but I guess everyone knows what a sprinkler looks like anyway!

Diatomaceous Earth works great for certain pests but, not for furry cute ones such as rabbits and squirrels! I watched one such long-eared cutie pie take his liberty on one of my biggest marigold blooms the other day! Dad said it was time for me to get a BB gun. I was a little worried about it as I don't want to actually KILL the critters, just scare them off. Dad assured me that it wouldn't harm them so, I was excited to try it out. Only problem is, just like the efficiency of my sprinkler, I haven't seen on single critter since I got the gun! Actually, I take that back.... My husband was out there pounding stakes in for my tomatoes to be strung up when I saw a CRITTER!
ME: "OOOH! A target!!!"
HUBBY: "Where?"
ME: "There!" pointing to a black cat on the far side of the garden
HUBBY: "that's not a target! That's the neighbor's CAT!"
ME: "I just want to see if I could actually hit it!"
HUBBY: "Are you crazy??
I didn't answer that as I realized I would have to be a good aim if I were to avoid shooting my husband. I don't think he would've appreciated it too well.

Well, this is the end of my list of tools for now. Do you have a favorite tool you like to use in the garden? I'd love to hear about it. 

First Canning of 2016 ~ PICKLES!

I really enjoy canning the fruit of our labor. It's such a joy to see my shelves fill up with fruit and vegetables that we will use for the next year. I also love sharing with others what the Lord has blessed ME with!

This year I planted only 1 row of Straight Eight and Marketmore. Not all of my plants did very well as the farthest half of my garden doesn't have very good soil. I'll need to work it more as time goes on.

After a few pickings of cucumbers and storing them in my fridge, I had enough cucumbers to pickle! I was pleasantly surprised to end up with 14 pints of dill pickles to store away! I've tried a recipe or two for dill pickles and I will keep trying till I find one that I like but, for today, I just used Mrs. Wages mix for this batch.

One thing I have learned is that it's important to pick the cucumbers before they get very big. I like to use them when they are about an inch in diameter. If you let them get too big, the pickles will be mushy and the seeds a bit tough. It's also important not to over process them (like I did last year!)

If you have a recipe that you have tried and love, I'd love to try it out!

Blooming Where I'm Planted

Have you ever wondered just how many times a plant can be transplanted and still thrive? Meet some of the plants I have been blessed to be acquainted with that have had this experience – some on several occasions.

I dug this lovely Bugle Weed (Ajuga Reptans) from my mother's flower bed and planted it in mine 50 miles and approximately 4000 feet lower elevation. At the time, I really didn't give it much thought whether it would survive or not; I simply planted it and it DID survive and thrived in spite of the change in soil and dramatic heat change. Purple flowers of the plant bloomed for me every Spring and again in the Fall. The roots of this plant are shallow and likes to be well watered often. It didn't particularly like the hot sun and I discovered in time that it seemed to move itself under the shade of my rosebush.

Then we moved to a cooler higher climate. I dug up as many of the plants as could fit in my large planters. I was determined it would go wherever I went. I know…  I’m overly sentimental for my own good… but, that’s just me!

Then we moved AGAIN. Not too much difference in climate in the new location but I decided that I would keep my darlings in the pots until I knew where we were going to settle down, buy a house and “grow roots”.

Then we got ready to move AGAIN! This time the climate would be dramatically different than anything these little troopers had ever experienced! We were moving approximately 1800 miles away! As we prepared to leave behind the beautiful state in which I grew up, I found, to my horror, that my beloved Ajuga Reptans – (Fairy Carpet as my mother and I have always called them) was gone!!! My broken heart sank deep into the sandy earth and I cried – literally cried. The only thing I could think of that could’ve happened to them was that they were devoured in the night by a hungry furry critter – perhaps the lone squirrel that would steal the bread I left for my Jay birds and Mourning doves. I can’t imagine that any of the dozens of cottontails that mowed and fertilized my lawn each night could’ve ever been guilty. There was no evidence and no one to charge for the crime. They were simply gone. And not long after, so was my family and I.

I wanted to take every rock, every tree, every mountain, every sunrise and sunset, every star and every person that was so dear to my heart. But, obviously, that was quite impossible and I have only the fond memories and pictures of my purple Bugle Weed.

Whoever would’ve thought that I would’ve ever uprooted and live 1800 miles away! But here we are. Along with all our other possessions, I did manage to bring some beautiful iris bulbs that was given to me by a dear elderly friend we left behind and a houseplant given to me by another friend as a thank you gift for helping THEM to move.

I never knew how many absolutely gorgeous varieties of irises there are! These were dug up by my elderly friend and placed in a bucket where they stayed for quite some time until we finally transplanted them. They’ve since been transplanted again two more times. I’ve shared some of the bulbs with other friends just in case by all our transplanting mine should ever bite the dust.

I had transplanted some of my Fairy Carpet into the same pot as the asparagus! 

Another plant I transplanted a number of times is the asparagus I planted upside down in containers. I wasn’t able to tell which end was the roots so I just planted them. After several weeks of no sign of life, I dug them back out and figured out that I had indeed planted them upside down (perhaps China could use some asparagus?) I was happy I had planted them in containers as it made it so much easier in our moving escapades to take them along. They still had to adjust to climate changes but they did very well – until…. I had to move them so we could paint our house. As I lifted the pots, I heard the most devastating sound: the ripping sound of roots! A few days later, most of the plants turned yellow and died! It took a very long time for the remaining plants to recover. I gave them to a friend of mine when we headed east.

So, I suppose it depends on the type of plant and just how much love and care it’s given whether or not it will survive so many times of being transplanted. Only time will tell. 

Gracing the Hope and Joy of Waiting - Hope Chest Treasures

A friend of mine blogged this morning that she titled, “Dreaming & Planning for the Future – Items to Put in a HopeChest.”  I started to comment on her blog and pretty soon found that she had inspired me so much that I had quite written a whole blog post myself and so, decided to add it here on my Inspirations of My Heart blog.

I had a hope chest once. For my birthday one year when I was in high school, my mom bought me a large whicker chest. I didn’t have a real large variety of items in it when I got married, but what I did have was special.  What I had was a large set of dishes that I had fun getting piece by piece. They were a grocery store marketing set from A.J. Bayless. For every so much money a customer spent, they would get a stamp that you would affix to a card. When you filled up the card, you could get a dinner plate, a cup and saucer. I had collected a set of about 12.

It was so enjoyable to watch my collection grow over time. However, after I was married, my mother had given me her large Pfaltzgraff tea rose set and I had lost interest in the tulip design of the dishes I had collected. My mother-in-law seemed to really love the dishes, so, I took them to her on my first trip to Mexico with my new husband.

The other item I remember having in my hope chest was a letter written by my mom to my future husband. It was a very sweet letter and I still have it. She wrote it when I was in baking a lemon meringue pie for my Home Ec class when I was in Junior High. I guess this will give you an idea just how hopelessly sentimental I am!

After I was married, my mom gave me many things that she no longer used as did a few of the older sisters from our church. And, as time went on, the Lord has provided all the things that I needed and so much more!

Today, I am feeling somewhat melancholy – maybe even a bit weepy. You see, today my baby has turned 13 – no longer a child. I am now the mother of one adult and three teenagers. However, I am counting my blessings today because the Lord has blessed me tremendously with these awesome and wonderful young people who I still call… my children!!! They are so diverse from one another, yet so much fun and they bring me such joy!

Among these, the Lord has blessed me to be the mother of three lovely daughters. My oldest has a hope chest as well. She uses an old beat up green trunk that we have stored in the garage. My next daughter has been storing items in a drawer for the time being and my youngest doesn’t have one… yet.

I have thought about what items should be in a hope chest. I suppose certain factors such as how much room you have to store items would influence what you would collect. There is a family that is very dear to me that my family and I like to visit. They always go so completely out of their way to really made us feel so welcome and loved! One evening their children and mine all but kicked me and their mother out of the kitchen and so, she and I decided to go to town and have our OWN adventures shopping. When we came home, the house was filled with tantalizing, mouth watering smells, and the table! The table was set for all 14 of us and lovingly, beautifully placed with one of their daughter’s fine china that she has been collecting for her hope chest. Her china doesn’t fit in her hope chest which is an old steamer trunk that she and her dad lined. She keeps in in a big plastic bin. Her china wasn’t very fancy, but it was very elegant and I decided then, that if I can, I would like to see my daughters be able to have a china set for their hope chests… even if it doesn’t fit! I’m still working on that one.

Among other necessary basic items that would be needed to start a home, I have listed some ideas to grace the hope and joy of waiting for that very special day:

v    A china set J

v    Very special family heirlooms

v    Handmade items such as

o      a crocheted doily

o      needlework

o      a quilt

o      pillowcases

o      aprons

v    Pictures for my daughters to start their own scrapbook albums

v    An organized recipe book with recipes handed down from family members or simply the tried and true recipes we use often in our family

v    Even special items for their future children.

o      I have a rubber maid box for each of my children containing a few clothes that they wore when they were babies, their blankies, etc. My mom had saved some of the clothes that I had wore and I thought it was so special to put them on my own babies. I still have my clothes, and, someday, I may part them out to each of my children for their children.

o      I have been finding particular books that have been extra special to me when I was young to give to them so that they may teach their children diligently the way in which they should go. 

Another GREAT Math Resource

I just received an email from my mom who always sends me the most interesting and helpful information. The email contained a YouTube link for a wonderful math video from MindYourDecisions for multiplying numbers quickly. If there is a visual learner in your home, you'll want to check this out! In my side bar under "Math Links" I have listed the link to all the videos from "Mind Your Decisions". I haven't seen them all, so I couldn't tell you how helpful the other videos are.

Math Trick Multiply Using Lines

Also, here is the blog for Mind Your Decisions: Mind Your Decisions.