Prayer request for our daughter-in-law

Would you please say a prayer for our daughter-in-law, Marcela, tomorrow? At 4 P.M. she will have surgery to determine if the tumors that have been found in both breasts are maligant. Needless to say, she and our son are very nervous... and we are too. Thank you.

My "new" room...

Recognize the room? Possibly not. We have a long, long way to go, but it's a start.

We have walked all over McAllen, Texas today looking for Persian-style rugs. I have inherited a beautiful one, but the look-alikes, next to it... well, just do not "cut the rug"... (bad, bad... I know). I just feel the need to get some rugs on the new wood floors... just do not want to have to break the bank to do it. Any suggestions??

This is short tonight. Exhausted!

Day 2

Tell me this is all going to be okay....

Please

The Mess Begins

Today the work began. The carpets have been ripped up, tile chipped away and the old linoleum is history. It's been 25 years of wishing for wood floors and now it is happening. The men struggled with the tile. They ended up having to buy a $200 machine to help them get the tile chiseled out. It had been laid to stay. I loved that Italian tile but I succumbed to my youngest son's pleas to remove it as it was "outdated". Story of my life lately. Maybe that means that I am "outdated" too. Probably so. Oh well....

    I am sipping on ice tea right now trying to swallow the dust that is swirling through my home. My husband has a deer head mounted on our family room (I remind him frequently how fortunate he is to be married to a woman who would tolerate that) and the workmen have wrapped it totally in plastic. I must remember to get a picture. I have a feeling ye ol' deer is insulted.

    The living room, entry way, family room, breakfast nook and kitchen will all have wood floors by tomorrow afternoon. Amazing.

     As I type I hear the linoleum that I have walked on for 25 years being ripped up. "Good-bye, faithful flooring. My sons have all grown up walking barefooted on you. They've worn their basketball shoes, golf shoes (hence a few small holes), dress shoes for proms and regular dirty school shoes across you. People I have loved and lost such as parents tread on you and dearly loved family and friends as well. Thank you for holding up as best you could and going beyond your duty."

(I think I hear Taps in the distance... )

Waffle-style Grilled Cheese Sandwich

So you probably think my sons bought this waffle iron about 20 years ago so I could make waffles for them. No...

The boys wanted waffle-style grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm not real sure how this came about in the beginning, but my mother would make them for me when I was a child. They are absolutely wonderful. Smear a little butter on the outside of your sandwich (top and bottom) that is filled with either Velveeta or American cheese... or cheddar if you like. Close the lid and let the sandwich cook until it is toasty and the cheese is melted. I now use whole wheat bread, but a long time ago we used white bread... which actually makes a lighter, more delicate grilled cheese sandwich. So yummy. Serve this with tomato soup and you have a delicious and quick meal..especially good for Sunday night... like tonight. Come on over. The iron is hot.

"Weinbeber"

This is one reason why it's so much fun connecting with other people who enjoy collecting. I came upon a new blog (new to me!) named "That Old House". In one of the many beautiful pictures on this blog was a wine decanter and it was very similar to mine that was handed down from my grandmother, mother and then me. This woman's history regarding the decanter may help me find out who gave the decanter to my grandmother... and it could be older than I thought it was.

Here is what "Cass" wrote to me, "It's called a "weinheber" and it's a decanter and dispenser -- the crystal decanter is held in the wrought iron holder. There is an insert to hold ice for chilling white wines, and a lid for the decanter, but I am missing both of those --lost the lid, cracked the ice holder! You fill the decanter with wine, and then put your wine glass up under the narrow end of the bottle, push upward, and the wine is released into the glass."

I had figured out that the glass tube in the center of the decanter was for cracked ice, but I never thought about it having a lid. The fact that "Cass's" came from Germany helps me to pinpoint who might have given the "weinbeber" to my grandmother as she had in her possession other items that were brought to her from Germany by her brother-in-law in the early 1940's.

Thank you, "Cass", for giving me some very helpful hints and interesting information.