In Red Chair Series- 3 Months

Singer Sewing

Thanks to Elaine's aunt, I am the proud owner of a circa 1950's Singer Sewing machine. I've wanted to learn to sew for quite a while, and the machine has sat in our garage for almost a year now. Kelly came over on Monday to teach me about the machine, how to thread it, what the parts are, and how to use it. It gives a certain gratification knowing that there are hairbows and a dress in existence because I made them.

Bananas 3

Bananas at Wal-mart this week were Carmelita brand, from Mexico. Not sure what part of Mexico, so I'll have to skip on the food miles this time. Mexico is definitely closer than Guatemala or Columbia. But to be considered 'local' it needs to be grown within 100 miles of where I purchase.

Challah Bread

Walker's Challah Bread recipe for Passover:

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon salt

Place the yeast, sugar and warm water in a mixing bowl. Stir and let stand for about 10 minutes, until creamy and foamy. Add the melted butter and eggs and mix well.Combine the flour with the salt. Add it to the yeast mixture, 1 or 2 cups at a time, until it forms a soft dough. Place the dough on a well-floured board and knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a large, well-greased bowl, then flip the dough over to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let stand in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Punch the dough down, form it into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool before slicing.

Instead of putting in a loaf pan, Walker braided the challah and painted with an egg wash before sprinkling with sesame seeds...then proceed to put in the oven. Here's info on how to braid a challah.

Story Time

at Frisco Public Library! Rémy and I went this morning and sang songs, wiggled and clapped our hands and feet, met about 30 other friends her age, plus moms, dads and grandparents. We read a book about Dinosaurs and then we got to play with a maracca! Sure wish I had taken my camera for this! It was so interactive and fun, we are sure to put this on the agenda every Wednesday morning! Next week's topic is Bugs, Bugs, Bugs...

I checked out Davita's Harp(Potok) and My Name is Asher Lev(Potok) per Walker's request, and checked out Babywise(Ezzo) and Lilah(Marek Halter) for myself. Lilah is a book on cd that I'm hoping we'll get to listen to this weekend on the drive to and from Clarksville.

In other news, I started my new job today. I guess technically I started yesterday, but it was all training. Today I'm just getting things organized and learning my way around the real estate world.

Up from the Grave He Arose!

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Refrain:
Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

2. Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)

3. Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!
(Refrain)

Dog Training

Since Truffle has taken quite an interest in diapers, we've decided to train her for diaper duty. We're trying to redirect her current behavior to one which is more helpful. Right now Truffle believes that these little bundles are placed in the trash just for her. She finds them, no matter what trash they are in, and takes them on a journey through the doggie door and into the backyard. Most of them are still in tact when we find them. One day, after being gone for a few hours, we came home to discover close to a dozen that had survived the journey to the backyard and a couple of more in the living room that had not made it.

In the past it has taken Truffle 3 15 minute training sessions to really understand what we ask of her. Today we started training while Rémy was engrossed with Baby Einstein. I took the glass jar full of treats into the nursery and said "diaper" over and over and over again. Every time Truffle picked the diaper up I gave her a treat and petted her enthusiastically and said "good diaper".

Next I've got to get her to carry the diaper in her mouth and then to understand the word "trash", and to release the diaper once it's in the trash--and the BIG one--not to get it out again.

If she can get this one down, it'll be one for the books!

Oh, and Gabe is here with us too. He knows how to 'sit' and I'm helping him learn to 'lay' today. Gabe is Ken & Debbe's dog who is staying with us a few days until Ken is well enough.

Ken Recovering

As many of you know Walker's dad, Ken was rushed to the hospital last night with severe chest pains. Walker and his mom spent the night in the hospital with him and the doctor saw Ken this morning. He had a minor heart attack that left no muscle damage. The doctor did an angiogram which revealed 2 major blocked arteries, one was 100% blocked, the other 80% blocked. The doctor put a large stint in that took care of both arteries and opened them up completely. He is very tired and recovering tonight and will probably be able to go home tomorrow. Thank you all for your phone calls, visits, caring words and prayers.

Snow!

Oh so fun! We got around 4 inches this afternoon and evening!

Larry King Live on Autism and Vaccines

Autism & Vaccines

The debate is heating up again in the controversy surrounding vaccinations and whether or not they cause autism. CNN has an interesting video of Larry King interviewing several families and a pediatrician who have or work with autistic children.

I found this article posted on CNN's webpage:

March 6, 2008
Vaccines and autism
Posted: 12:01 PM ET

Some new news to share about autism today. At a press conference this morning, a Georgia family will describe how the government has conceded that a vaccine “contributed” to their daughter’s autism symptoms. The family will receive compensation from a federal vaccine court.

That doesn’t mean the federal government agrees that vaccines cause autism. Nor does this 9-year-old girl’s case mean the 4,900 other families in the vaccine court have won their claim that vaccines resulted in their children’s autism. That case continues.

Advocates who see a vaccine-autism link point to Hannah Poling’s case as a big victory for their cause - evidence of the potentially disastrous side effects of vaccines.

Within 48 hours after receiving her vaccinations, Hannah, then 19 months old and by all accounts a normal little girl, developed a high fever, inconsolable crying and some signs of regression, including difficulty walking and speaking.


Over the next several months, she had countless visits with doctors finally culminating in the diagnosis of encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder. At the same time, and this is potentially very important, she had genetic testing and was found to have the gene for an underlying mitochondrial disorder.

So, did the vaccines worsen an already existing condition leading to the symptoms of autism? That is what the government seems to have conceded. And, if so, was it caused by the mercury preservative thimerosal, which was present in Hannah’s vaccines several years ago, or was it the profound immune response that vaccinations cause in the body?

The Centers for Diseases Control, American Academy of Pediatrics, Institute of Medicine and other prestigious medical organizations maintain there is no link between vaccines and autism.

As many experts have told me, this case is likely to raise more questions than it answers. But, these are good questions and important ones for anyone who cares about this issue. What do you think?

- Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Medical Correspondent

Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

Filed under: Dr. Sanjay Gupta • autism

Mama & Rémy in snow

SNOW DAY 021 2
Originally uploaded by dollye_plagge

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
by: Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of the easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Papa & Rémy in snow

SNOW DAY 023 2
Originally uploaded by dollye_plagge

We waited all day for it to snow and finally it came! And it snowed, and snowed and snowed. We probably got between 2-3 inches here. It had melted by yesterday afternoon, but it was fun while it lasted!

Becki's Molasses Butter Balls

1 c. butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. molasses
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 c. finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter in a large mixing bowl on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and molasses; beat 'til combined. Beat in flour. Stir in nuts.

Shape into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 325' oven for 20 minutes or 'til set. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Place powdered sugar in a plastic bag. Add cookies, a few at a time, and shake gently 'til coated.

56 servings.

Stamps and Memories

This time about three years ago my mom and I were planning a wedding shower for Amy and Matt. I bought the invitations and mom purchased the pretty postage and mailed it to me so I could send the invites. A couple of weeks later we decided to postpone the shower a little until Amy felt better. It's so strange that such a small thing as a stamp can spark such a flood of emotions and memories. Those two 'books' of stamps followed us from our apartment in McKinney, to living in Ken & Debbe's guest house, to our home in Frisco where they have sat under my bathroom vanity sink for the past 2 years. A couple of months ago I put them in a place with the rest of our stamps for personal use, knowing that I could probably never bring myself to actually use them. Today as I was addressing and putting stamps on Rémy's birth announcements I ran out of regular stamps. I thought about going out and buying more, but then on second thought realized- what could be a better way to use those stamps than on Rémy's birth announcements. Such small ways that such a large life made an impact. In a couple of days you'll probably be receiving an announcement in the mail from us...not all of them have 'Amy's' stamps, but if you would just take a minute and remember her family and friends this month, as this time of year is always difficult. For those of you who don't know Amy or want to know more about her life you can read more at her brother Jonathan's website. And also read what her sister Kara says about Amy's life.