Pie in the sky.

What a week!  This week has been unusually busy.  Running errands here and there.  Dealing with tech support and a busted computer and dead pixels on a new monitor.  Finally got them to replace both.  Now to box up the  broken ones and send them back.  Took the neighbors cat to the vet...for 2 hours. :|  Doc appointment for Brad. Grocery shopping.  Other shopping. Getting the car's broken window regulator fixed. Running here, running there, hours on the phone, blah blah blah.  I am just not used to all of that action in 1 week.  By Tuesday, I was already exhausted.  That's never a good sign!

On the plus side, we finally know what's wrong with Brad's back.  He hurt his back quite a few years ago and it keeps flaring up on him.  They always try and throw drugs at him...which worked in the past.  A little too well.  Rehab and AA took care of that though.  He's been clean and sober for 3 years next week.  Then they have him do 3 weeks of physical therapy and release him.  Well, this flare up....no drugs.  The PT didnt work.  He's been in a lot of pain for a couple of months now.  It was so bad that at one point he had to stay in bed for a couple of days because he couldnt move.  They finally did x-rays.  Nothing.  They did some poking your nerve thing.  Nothing.  Then they broke out the big guns and did an MRI.  Apparently he has a herniated disk.

He's happy to finally know what's wrong and that it's not all in his head.  The fix for this isnt pleasant.  He's on light duty until at least August 1.  He also has to go get a cortisone shot in his spine.  He's gonna have to take pain meds and stuff for this.  It is too painful to do it with just Advil or Tylenol.  I thought I'd freak out about this, but I am ok with it.  He has a plan which makes me feel more comfortable.  He's staying in touch with his sponsor and other guys in his group that have had to deal with taking pain meds.  I know he can make it through this without relapsing.  I just hope he does.

His doc is up on Oakland, which is a bit of a drive for us.  I always go with him for moral support....and because my LNS is sorta on the way back home from there.  hehe  So after I dropped him off at work, I stopped by Needle in a Haystack and got the threads I needed for "Here Comes Treble".  I also picked up a cute little pirate design, and a Lighthouse needleminder.  I like it so much better than my cat one...but only because I have to look at 7 cats already all day!

This weekend is Father's Day.  We dont have anything special planned.  My father lives in Mexico now.  My mom hasnt said anything about doing something with my stepdad and I am sure my kids will be doing something with their dad.  So, that means, I'll probably have a nice and relaxing weekend.  Hopefully Brad's back will be good enough for a hike this weekend.

We interrupt his program to say....WTF neighbors!!??!! They are throwing stuff over the edge of the patio and down the front stairs.  I am not talking about balls or toys, but lamps and furniture and pots and pans.  Holy moly folks, settle down!

Here's a picture of me and my dad.  It was taking at his old property up in Laytonville, CA.  I love this picture.  It's one of the few I have of me and my dad together and one of the very few of him smiling.  He always said he doesnt like his picture taken. The picture is probably at least 10 years old now.

Happy Father's Day Dad!  In your honor I made cheery-o-cream cheese pie last night.  Only I didnt do cherry, I did some fresh strawberries from the farmer's market.  They were delicious!  This has always been a family favorite pie.  It's quick and easy and oh so tasty!  I remember my dad always requesting this at family gatherings.

Cherry-o-Cream Cheese Pie

1 package (8oz) cream cheese softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
9 in pie crust
Berries or fruit

Mix cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice until smooth and pour into a prebaked pie crust.  Top with canned pie filling or other fruit.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours until set.

I like this with regular pie crust, but other family members like it with Nilla Wafer crust better.  You can buy the crust or make it yourself.  Homemade is always better, but not always achievable. Especially in summer when you dont want to turn on the oven.

This was originally a cherry cream cheese pie.  We used canned pitted cherries and mixed the juice with a little cornstarch to thicken it up.  Let it cool and then put it on the pie.  I tend to like fresh strawberries instead.   We've also used the canned pie filling in cherry, raspberry or blueberry.  Any kind of berry is good.  Apricot wasnt so good.  I love apricots, but they just didnt do that well.

I have also used the low fat cream cheese.  It works fine, it just doesnt set up as tight as the full fat.  Nonfat cream cheese doesnt really set up at all.

I better get off the computer and do all the housework that didnt get done while on the phone and running errands this week!  Next post will have some stitching pictures...I hope!