Categories
Healthy Activities Healthy Living

Thank Goodness for Friends

Who really know how to cook and bake !

Who brought the salad – Delicious ! Thank you K !

& the desserts !  Wow, beautiful strawberry cheesecake tart & OMG my fav, Tiramisu.

Thank you, Lovely F & Chic as always M:)

Crazy actual Christmas Day dinner was yes, that Chinese as Christmas host sadly treated at ICU. Maybe not the traditional Christmas dinner initially planned … but grateful for the company … anything tastes good after waiting for hours at ICU and met with relatively good news – a relief sets off the hunger pangs. We are human.

Reasons people hit the gym in January?

Trip to Fentons as now an out-of-towner, really really craved their sandwich and milkshakes … oh, and Onion Rings. What indulgences. 

Making Chirashi sushi American style …

Bakers in the family are nice to have … convinced with this light and flakey rolls … Thank you R – you are a talented baker ! I mean, who bakes these from scratch these days?  Warm and Fresh out of the oven … they are irresistible.

Gratitude … in spite of missing some people I hold dear to my heart, we remained PRESENT and in the NOW to share and connect … ah, yes, food helps, lol:)

 

Categories
Beautiful People

Christmas Spent @ICU

Christmas supper was cancelled when the host had to be rushed to the local hospital ICU for blood transfusions and series of tests and to be monitored.

Christmas tree from Tahoe in the courtyard …

In the small waiting room was a tired looking mom and a young boy maybe 8 years old … she mentioned that she’s been coming for three days now.  We didn’t ask questions but shared an empathetic nod. So when you are in the waiting room of ICU, these are the kind of literature  we see available – brochures on various Spirituality & Self-Help but what caught my eyes was this brochure called “Finding a Way to Forgive”.  I wondered why that was there.  And I knew. Why.

It’s a reminder that life is short and we need to really take care of our relationships – relationship with our own selves and others so that we are unencumbered and content. No worries our Christmas host, after spending 4 days in ICU is fine now at home and we had our Christmas dinner Sunday night instead of Wednesday.

The unexpected gift of the actual Christmas Day was the message: that we … don’t take things or people for granted; What needs fixing and repairing – don’t wait, repair them, and I’m talking relationships; and that we relish each breath, waste little time and energy on the unimportant stuff – by living in the present moment; with gratitude.  And that requires a discipline of SELF-CARE and tools and techniques for that practice besides the will to.  The will alone will not be enough – the will, the tools, the techniques and … self-knowledge and wisdom to look deep deep within.

As the Christmas supper was scheduled for mid-day, we were a bit hungry after getting out from the hospital in the evening.  We did not feel like being guests to an empty home while the host lies alone at an ICU bed so  … we went to the only restaurant open locally in this part of town not too familiar to us – of course, it’s Chinese restaurant recommended by that mom with a little boy in the waiting room – she would know we figured.  We were grateful that there are fine professionals working on Christmas day.  The ICU staff was compassionate and probably short-staffed but doing their best … Chinese food after hours of waiting was … so good. Gratitude that I was not alone; but with my tribe. Gratitude. Gratitude all Around.

It’s “Super K” brand fortune cookie … even here away from home.

 

Categories
Beautiful Places

This is Northern California