Still No Running

I met with the Dr. again today and he said still no running. He did say I could do a bit of biking, but I had to wear the lovely air cast/splint. I mistakenly thought "miraculous recovery" would come from him as I have had no pain. However, he squeezed it just right and I had "minimal pain, resulting in no running for three more weeks". Blech.

However, I have more to tell you about than my non-running. :)First, oldest daughter is off at her first "week long church camp". I miss her terribly, and due to their location with no cell service and calls going in or out only being emergencies, we haven't talked to her since Monday! She will be doing regular church activities like service projects, such as possibly helping people with home, etc, Bible Study, small group discussions, Worship time, etc... and then the other part of her camp is an "adventure camp" (Here I must ask REALLY? Can't your first camp experience be just going away and quietly reading or studying the Bible?? Adventure, too?? My poor mother's heart will crack, here! :) I know, Isabelle, and Molly, wait until they move away entirely... Ouch.) Anyway... by adventure I mean-these things are really on her schedule!-zip lines, white water rafting, waterfall jumping, and rock climbing! I'm sure she's having a wonderful time and is completely safe... gulp!

Meanwhile, our younger daughter has writing camp this week, all day, so she doesn't have as much time to miss her sister. :) She is at camp from 9-3:30 and takes a sack lunch. She is working on a "Writer's Idea Kit" or something like that. They have done some fun things, thus far, like a real life mystery where "detectives" come in and ask a lot of questions, find clues, etc. and then the writers/campers write their idea of what happened to the "stolen necklace". :) She's having a lot of fun!

So, yes, that means my days are "free" from 9-3:30. On Monday, my husband took the day off and we went to a city park, then the Chihuly glass exhibit at a local place-it was magnificent. Just absolutely beautiful glass works! Then we went to a later lunch, then took a nap! :) It was a wonderful day. Then Tuesday I got things done at home-nothing exciting, and yesterday I got groceries and made bread with them: 2 loaves strawberry bread, 2 loaves pumpkin bread and 2 loaves banana bread. I froze them, for when the weather is cooler. I have plans for more freezer meals, but I have to sort through the ones I want to make first so I don't have to buy 16 lbs of chicken or anything crazy! :)

Still nothing on the job-for-fall front, but I have applied for more positions and am praying on it.

I'm reading The Sunday Philosophy Club, currently. It talks about Edinburgh! And the main character's name is Isabele... coincidence? :)

Last, but not least, I won tickets to our local state fair/concert at the fair. Our local radio station had a contest, and for the first time ever, I won a contest. :)
4 tickets for Monday night! :)Something positive to start my day, for sure.

I hope you're having a winning day, too! :)

Not so much running...

I ran on Tuesday, and was going for five miles, like the schedule required. I couldn't make it, due to increased pain in my left leg. I went to the doctor on Thursday and he said it was a "probable stress fracture" requiring "6 to 8 weeks" of no running. I go for X rays tomorrow, and then we'll go from there. It was very sore the last few days, even without running or doing any strenuous activities, so we'll see. I missed the group/long run on Saturday. Maybe this will get me back to the gym? Just to work on things other than legs? We'll see. I will post after the test results.
In other news, I just baked "Grandma Marie's Swedish Nut Cake". It is my husband's maternal great-grandmother's recipe. We are heading to a neighborhood party this afternoon and are to take a side dish or dessert. My husband decided to make a pasta salad and I decided to make a dessert. He said he was in the mood for this cake, and I haven't made it in ages. Here is the simple recipe:

Grandma Marie's Swedish Nut Cake

2 C sugar
2 eggs
20 oz crushed pineapple (do not drain!)
2 tsp baking soda
2 C flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C walnuts (my husband's mother and I use chopped pecans)

Mix, by hand, all the above ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Topping:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter (both softened)
Mix these and then add
1 3/4 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C pecans

Then spread onto cake while still warm.

I hope you are having a nice weekend. The weather here has been overcast, but the cool temperatures have been delightful; as opposed to the sweltering heat we had last week! :) I'm not running, but I'm sure God's in it. :) He always has a plan, and often it's different than mine! :)Take care!!

Running and Things

Running has been plugging along, steadily. I finished a long 13 miles on Saturday, with a bit of soreness showing up yesterday. This Saturday we meet closer to my home, which is always nice for a change of pace.

I hosted scrapbooking this past weekend and tried two new recipes as snacks:
Grilled Chicken Spinach Quesadillas
and
Mascarpone Mini Cupcakes with Strawberry Glaze.
Both recipes turned out nicely. Neither were too difficult or time consuming, which are the best kind of recipes. :) I try to make "finger" foods, that are easy to eat as you start working on the scrapbooking. I didn't get too many pages finished while people were here, but I did finish a few more since I still have my things out in the living room. I broke out the dusty sewing machine for a few pages! :) That is about the only thing I have the patience to sew! :)
Neither of my girls has a camp/activity this week, so they were supposed to sleep in today... but that didn't happen. :) They were excited to get up and enjoy the day with "no place" to go. :)They are outside in the breezy, comfortable weather. :)

That is the latest from here. I hope you are well and things are going positively for you! :)

Quilts

First I saw Thimbleanna's quilt. Lovely! Then, Molly's blog post, and photo of her wonderful first quilt, inspired me to post my own instead of commenting on her post. I am not a quilter. I have tried many styles of sewing and lack the generous helping of patience and determination that it requires to complete one... except the rag quilt. Sew diagonally from corner to corner, across squares of flannel and voila, a rag quilt that needn't be perfectly matched and ironed to meet up the corners "just so". I took this photo quite a while ago, why I took it on a bed (store bought) quilt, I do not know...
It is the one and only quilt I have finished, and it was completed in two days, with the help of my mom over Thanksgiving one year. It is very warm, and very comfortable, especially in the cold Midwest winters, without being too heavy as it sits in your lap. :) I enjoy it very much. :)