fun new shenanigans
In case you haven’t noticed, The Dungeon is all decked out for St. Patrick’s Day! :tipohat:
Yep, already—it’s one of the best holidays of the year…we’ve got to get a jump on these things. :dancin:
And, yes, you can start drinking green Guinness now, if you’d like. :cuckoo:
So we’ve got great new St. Patty’s emoticons to play with… :kite:
As well as a newly updated (right) sidebar chock-full of ha-has, ho-hos, & oh-no-she-didn’ts. ‘Cause oh, yes, she did. :kissme:
(Don’t worry, the Hunk of the Month will be turning Irish very soon, too. :irish: )
Let me know what you think once you’ve had a chance to read & peruse everything. :potofgold:
And even though there’s almost a month left until we actually get there, don’t forget to have a very :happystpat: !

an apple crisp a day
A couple of years before he died, my dad planted two apple trees in the back yard. For the longest time, all they did was grow without producing any fruit. Then about a year ago, apples began to appear, but they weren’t great ones; tiny & green, sour if you tried to eat one. But this year they suddenly started to produce big, beautiful red apples. We didn’t quite know what to think, but who could resist at least giving them a try?
Well, it turns out they are freaking DELICIOUS!!! Firm & tart, but also sweet.
So wouldn’t you know, this is also the year we decide to move, & it’s a little hard to pack up two full-grown apple trees & bring them to the new property. Of course, that may not stop us. We’ve got this brilliant idea to gather as many apples as we can from Daddy’s trees &…well, we’re still trying to decide exactly how to go about it, but it’s going to involve either dumping the inedible ones in the yard of the New House & hoping they grow OR burying them & hoping they grow OR saving a ton of seeds & planting those.
But we only decided we couldn’t bear to completely part with Daddy’s apple trees after Madame Mommy Dearest started using them to make apple crisp—& it is amazing!!! I like apple crisp, but I’ve never wanted to dive head-first into a giant batch of it before. With the apple crisp made using my dad’s apples, I CANNOT GET ENOUGH!
I know they say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but do you think an apple crisp a day can do the same?
FYI, MMD makes them in single-serving bowls, so I’m not eating an entire lasagna pan of the stuff at each sitting. At least not yet.
But think about it:
Apples — good for you
Cinnamon — good for you
Oatmeal topping — good for you
Brown Sugar — ??? (but, hey, not as bad as plain white sugar, right?)
I only wish I could share this yummy new treat with you—everyone should be able to taste what a delicious dessert my dad’s apples make!

Happy Sunday (+ prize winner)
Let’s kick things off by announcing the winner of a signed copy of Aftershock from Jill Sorenson’s visit last week!
Debra G.!!!
Congratulations, Debra! :potofgold:
Please contact me with your full name & mailing address, & I’ll forward the information to Jill so she can get your book to you!
So Happy Sunday, everyone! Did you enjoy your Valentine’s weekend when we took a break from the usual to celebrate the year’s most romantic holiday? And did you run out the very next day to stock up on half-price candy?
I’d love to hear about it, as well as whatever else is going on with you right now that you’re happy about &/or thankful for. It’s all about gratitude & spreading positive vibes! :kisses:
As for moi, I AM HAPPY about one giant thing this week: that I finally know what’s going on with my knee. The orthopedic specialist was fabulous, & after some x-rays & an exam, he told me I’ve got something called Chondromalacia Patella or Patellofemoral Syndrome. It’s a GENETIC CONDITION, not something caused by injury or my weight. *happy dance* Of course, every extra pound can exacerbate any health/joint problems, as we all know, but even the doctor’s thin-as-a-rail 19-year-old daughter has this, & we both get to thank our parents for their weak-kneed genes. :dancin:
Basically, my knee caps are moving around in there when they should be staying perfectly aligned within the track provided between my thigh & shin bones. I’ve got it in both legs, but the right one (which has been giving me so much trouble recently) is worse than the left. (See the pic? Instead of being in the normal position, my right knee cap is all the way over where the farthest black dotted line is, & the left one is more where the inside black dotted line is.)
I’m nowhere near needing surgery, or even cortisone or “faux cartilage” (I don’t know what they’re actually called) injections. I do need some Physical Therapy, though, to get the muscles straightened out & the knee cap working properly again. The doctor assured me I won’t have to live in “Physical Therapy Land”—I’ll go regularly for a month & we’ll see how much progress I’ve made. Hopefully I’ll also learn some exercises I can do at home with both legs to improve the condition & hold off future problems. After a month of PT, if all is going well, he’ll see be again, but likely release me from his care; if things aren’t going as well as we hope…well, we’ll take the next step, but it’s probably just going to mean an MRI, more PT, & maybe a temporary brace.
But I am so glad to finally know what’s truly going on & that it’s not an injury, not degenerative, not related to age or weight, & not something related to missing cartilage or bones grinding together, etc.
And that makes me plenty happy enough this week, so now it’s your turn… :ohwayoh:
Take a minute to share any good news from your week, or simply a couple of things you’re happy about or grateful for… :cuckoo:
