Merry Christmas!

I hope your day was filled with love and precious gifts.  But, because I know that some of you have to bear the weight of a Christmas day without cold or snow, I thought I would send you a few pictures of the Northwest from today.
I hope your day was great!

Here is my recent publication.  I hope you enjoy it.

Coeur d'Alene oncology nurse finds harmony during challenging times  http://spokane.latterdaysentinel.com/

By Gloria J. Warnick, Staff Writer

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December 15, 2011 — In the season that celebrates the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, we talk and wonder of the angels that sang praises on that night so long ago. Were we one of them? Perhaps - and if so, what did we do or commit to do in this life that allowed us this privilege?

Debbie James was probably there.

Not only does does the Coeur d'Alene resident sing like an angel as a second soprano with the Northwest Sacred Music Chorale and Select Ensemble, she works at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane in the Medical Surgical Unit that specializes in end-of-life oncology. In other words, cancer is what she works with and she does this work with great love for her patients


Coeur d'Alene resident Debbie James works as an oncology nurse at the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center. James' interests include singing with the Northwest Sacred Music Chorale and Select Ensemble, kickboxing and maintaining a rock garden. Contributed Photo.

"I've been an oncology nurse for 25 years and I've had the privilege of working with some really great people," James said. "I feel like this is really a gift and a calling that I have."

In the days and hours before the death of a body and the rebirth of a soul, how wonderful it would be to hear the words that we may have forgotten over the long period of time we call life. In other words, the perspective of death as the end of this worldly probation and ascendance into a peaceful realm. To hear this from an angel could provide great peace and joy to the suffering soul - and that is the gift that Debbie James works to give to her patients.

She talks about death as if were a preparation for a trip.

"We've all had an opportunity to travel," she said. "We know that, if we traveled from one city to another, there are specific things that we have to do and there are specific rules that apply."

And so it is with the trip that a person makes into and out of this life.

"I don't know if it's a scriptural thing but I like to remind people that we made this trip once, at our birth," Debbie added. "I don't know if we got to choose our time of birth but we waited to be born. What were we waiting for? I don't know, maybe for our last eye lash to go on, or maybe some final instruction about going through the birth process. I feel that people who are waiting for their rebirth are going through the same process. Unless their death is brought on by an accident or some kind of sudden cause then we are all waiting. What are we waiting for? I don't know...maybe some final departure information, maybe which gate to go to meet their loved ones as soon as they cross through the veil, or maybe we are getting instructions on how to leave out bodies. I like to think about this. I like to think these analogies are true."

Debbie teaches family members what to expect when their loved ones' physical bodies fail. Other important issues, such as helping family members say things they may never have gotten around to or creating final paperwork is important to Debbie.

"Yes, I am responsible for knowing vital signs and reading lab reports and looking ahead to what is coming next, as many of my brilliant companion nurses do, but I have a passion for the psyche/social aspect of a patient," she said. "I feel that my gift is that I want a patient to be comfortable about what is going to happen next. I want them to be at ease and I want the patient to know that I am here for them and I will take care of them to the best of my ability. These are the important things to me. I started with this gift of caring for the person and I feel that the medical knowledge was added so that I could have this opportunity."

As wonderful as the opportunities are, working in the Oncology department can be very stressful. Debbie finds that she has the constant challenge of finding an outlet. The North West Sacred Chorale provides one of those for her.

James describes the experience as collaborating with "a fine group of people" in a setting that features "challenging music and interaction with fabulous musicians."

Debbie has several outlets beyond music. She has been seen kickboxing at the Kroc Center and, at times, stops by the road to gather up a particularly unique rock. In fact, on a trip to her home you might find her out digging and planting rocks in her yard, a most wonderful outlet for this eart bound angel.

At this time of the year, as we sing and write and think about the birth of our Savior, we can rejoice in knowing that he has a plan, not only for our birth but for our rebirth.

Christmas Ideas

I found these Christmas gift ideas at my daughter blog:  http://kellywestover.blogspot.com/  I wonder if I could get a button made of the Chocolate comment....teheheheheh!

1.  Stocking stuffer gag gifts | Dippylulu | Etsy

2.  Not a quitter tags | Aubree Lane | Etsy

3. Letterpress 2012 Calendar | Albertine Press | Etsy

4. All you need is love | Gayana | Etsy

5. I like to rock | Handz | Etsy

6. I'm tired, can you carry me | Red Bishop | Etsy

I try to give credit where credit is due. 

If at any time you notice an uncredited source please let me know.

Willa Cahill Nativity Update

I promised up an update on what Willa Cahill has been painting lately.  These are not the pictures that I wanted to share with you of the 7 foot tall project that she was creating in her garage.  Those pictures are still on my Kodak camera and the cable that my grandson filed away for me hasn't been found yet.  Tomorrow at church I am going to seek among my family history researcher friends to see if any one has a compatible cable I can borrow.  Then I'll share those awesome pictures with you.

But, here is a picture of a Nativity that she created for her mother-in-law.  She gave this to her already, so I feel safe sharing the images over the internet.

I love the work of this talented, sensitive person.    I'm a Mormon, so she created my Nativity characters with halo's and gold dots but her family is Catholic and for her mother-in-law she put angels with wings  in the night sky.

Angels with or without wings, her art work takes my breath away and I am pleased to show it to you!  Oh and the paint brush in my hand is because I got to put the lacquer finish on the work!

Crock Pot cooking at it's best

I came home from a L-O-N-G day of work and my dear husband had the house warm and inviting with dinner cooking in the crock pot.   Everything was sweet, but me.

I don't like going out of my home to work. But, crazy health issues have caused my husband and I to flip our established work arrangements.  So, grumpy and without much of a smile I took a plate of food and sat on the couch in front of the TV. 

Do you know how much a bit of good food can change a person's attitude?  Well, I do.... now.  Yum  This dish was so good I took pictures of it and am posting the recipe.  Thank you Sweetheart.  This dish is a keeper...just like you!

Crock pot cooking at it's best:

Prep Time : 20 Minutes
Total Time: 8 hrs 20 minutes
Serving:  6

Ingredients:

12 skinless bone-in chicken thighs (about 5 pounds)  He used the chicken breast.
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound baby Yukon GOLD potatoes (he used red potatoes)
2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, plus springs for garnish
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper.

Directions:

1.  Rinse chicken and pat dry.  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat.  Add chicken and cook, turning, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes.
2.  Place the potatoes, onion and garlic in a 5-6 quart slow cooker: top with chicken.
3.  Stir together honey, juice, cornstarch, rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook, 6 to 9 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high.  Serve garnished with rosemary springs, if desired.

 ♛

Tonight we are trying this recipe with a beef roast.

What a crazy holiday season this is!

What a crazy holiday season this is!  Not only does Thanksgiving and Christmas happen but in my family there are at least 5 major birthday's to celebrate,  including mine.  I can't complain too much as I contributed to this log jam of late-in-the-year birthdays.  But I do get tired!!!!   Here's a picture of my ideal cake. It is what I'm shooting for next year....So that gives me a year to find the stars, crown and learn how to make the yummy fondant icing   I found this picture at

www.wilton.com/ideas/browse.cfm?cat=Cakes&cel=Birthday.  I have a Wilton book from years ago and they have always given the best information and ideas for celebrations! 

Being tired this year,  my cake didn't exactly look the greatest.  In fact it was a yellow sheet cake with a white cream cheese frosting and dark chocolate sprinkles that I stuck Happy Birthday picks into. The funny story of the day is that I had to make my own the cake. I had to decorate it ,and I even put the candles on it and lit them.  (Three candles only .. one each for Health Wealth and Wisdom)  Then I gave it to my boys for them to present to me.

Oh the dulcet deep tones of Happy Birthday! 

Great Facebook Postings

Today I am preparing for the 2012 New Year and taking inventory of  the 2011 year.  I
meet great friends, ate great foods, and wrote a bunch.  I also read some great saying from my Facebook friends.  Here are three that I especially liked:

We’re women.  We don’t say what we want, but we reserve the right to be pissed off is we don’t get it.
– from Sliding Doors And posted by Rhonda Kidder.

 
Dear Tone-Deaf Business Man singing along to "Wake up Little Suzie" in the coffee shop at the top of your lungs while reading your newspaper: Your oblivious happiness made my morning.  posted by Christy Warnick

And my favorite:  (about my grandson)
When my wife leaves the house, Quinn cries,  When I leave the house, Quinn slams the door behind me.  Posted by Eric Westover. 

Have a great New Year!

 

Kelly McDowell - A great masseur from the Highlands Day Spa

 Kelly McDowell is a licensed massage therapist at the Highland Day Spa.  His specialty is Swedish massage.  Trained in Lomi Lomi and Thi Message, he has a large repertoire of therapies to choose from.  Creating his own massage based on the needs of his client is what this thinking young man does best.

While his goal is to open his own studio/ massage clinic in the Bend Oregon area, he currently works exclusively at the Highland Day spa.  http://www.highlandspa.com/   This is an honor shared by only one third of all graduating students. 

 

The Spa’s training is thorough, and Kelly is a fully certified as a licensed massage therapist. He said that the opportunity to become a massage therapist came to him as friend’s who were enrolled at the Highlands Day Spa talked to him about the program.   He called up, made an appointment, and became involved in the spa’s work-off program.  He left the program recently as a fully licensed therapist without the large student loan.  He credits the Spa and his parents for giving him this excellent start in life. 

What advice would he give to a new graduate?  “I suggest you find a location outside your school as a career opportunity as soon as possible. Getting your career started is important.”  Kelly said.

It's a big rule in my house that Thanksgiving has to be cleaned....

It's a big rule in my house that Thanksgiving has to be cleaned away before the Christmas holiday celebration can begin.  Today was a major clean up.  It's taken hours and the house smells like pine sol, but it's basically clean and the Christmas tree is up.

 

Do you have boxes and boxes of handcrafted oraments that your children have created for you over the years?  I do.  And  I love them.  Every year when the sky is grey and the snow is beginning to fall, I pull out the ornaments and they delight me.  I can honestly say I don't remember the names of all my children's teachers that spearheaded creating them, but I appreciate the effort they made on my behalf each year.

This year, I left all my children's handcrafted ornaments in the box...Before I did, I picked each up and  ooed and aahed over them and even shed a tear at the memories, but I left them in the box and just put lights and decorative balls on the tree.  I don't know why.  But suddenly, I felt like a grownup again...alone with just today and the future in front of me. Interesting to be this age and redefining what each day means to me. 

Wow! I just read what I wrote and it sounded really grown up, but the fact is, the ornaments that I chose to put on the tree were total memory lane.  I made the one on the right when the children were little and the one on the left was from our original tree, when we were so poor all we could afford was one box of $2.50 ornaments and a string of lights. Those were tough days, financially... Today, life is still financially tough but I have great memories that I enjoy.

So, along with creating great memories and getting the tree decorated, I want you to have a house that smells wonderful. 

Here is a recipe for a great Star Christmas Tree Cookie!  Enjoy the cookies and have fun with your tree decorating!