Sourdough

Peggy started making sourdough bread.  Philomena learned that sourdough bread is easier to digest for people with IBS and asked me to get some starter from Peggy so we could bake bread.  I've had to throw away a bunch of fails but now I've gotten the hang of it.  I can make a good loaf of bread, a pizza crust, and pancakes with the sourdough starter.  They all taste good!

 

Outside

I was eyeing a birdbath at Earl May but couldn't justify buying a want when we have things we need.  Philomena bought it for me as my birthday/Christmas/Mother's Day gift for the next 2 years which I told her was just fine!

I've also started composting.  I watched a youtube video on how to make my own cold compost.  I bought a $20 trash can and drilled holes in it.  The main thing I'm composting is the dirty hay and poop from the guinea pigs.  It's been a big portion of my trash and when I learned I could compost it, I thought I've got to learn how!  It was starting to get full and difficult to mix, so I looked on marketplace where I happened to find someone selling the trash can for $12.  I drilled holes in it and was able to move compost from the first one to the second one which enabled me to mix it up better.  So I'll keep adding to this one until it is fuller before I start filling the other one.  It is supposed to take 2-3 months to turn to usable compost and you don't have to regularly mix it; you can just leave it sit.  We'll see!

 

Broken Bone

Nope, it wasn't one of the kids; it was me!  I was driving DoorDash and tripped on a curb going into a restaurant.  I wore a wrist brace for a week thinking I'd just sprained it.  Then I went in for a blood draw to check my prediabetes and cholesterol.  While there my doctor thought we should x-ray my wrist just to be safe.  I broke the tip off one of the bones so I went to Nebraska Orthopedic and they put me in this brace which I have to wear 24/7 for 4 weeks.  Hopefully the bone heals by that time so I can be without the brace when school starts!

 

Well Child Checks

 Both girls had their Well Child Checks this week.  Both are healthy kids.  Philomena is 5 foot 3.8 inches and Maggie is 5 foot 6.3 inches.  Philomena's been at the same height for the last year.  Maggie seems to be still growing just a bit, but that bit has pushed her taller than me and Philomena which Maggie loves!

Grandma Olson moving to Assisted Living

We're cleaning out Grandma's house because she's moving to assisted living.  Maggie brought home some decorations that she set up in her bedroom.  She also brought home Grandma's spoon collection of the cities and states she visited with Grandpa.  I brought home the plants that Grandma wasn't keeping.  I planted a succulent in the green truck she had with her empty pots.  I've been doing well at selling plants I've grown from my bigger plants.

 

Wisdom Teeth Removal

Philomena handled the wisdom teeth surgery like a pro!  They had to give her more sedation when she started waking up during the surgery!  She remembers some of it.  She only needed to take Tylenol and Advil alternating to stay on top of the pain.  She never had any complications and the gums are healing well.

 

College Visits

Philomena and I visited Peru State College, Bellevue University, and Nebraska Wesleyan University.  The visit to Peru was great.  They were very welcoming and able to answer all of our questions.  She met with a professor in the psychology department and they were able to get us a visit with the ADA coordinator.  Her only concern was how far away it is from Boys Town and from me if I were to need to pick her up and take her to Boys Town if an episode were to occur.

Next we visited Bellevue University.  The guy who schedule the tour for her and gave the tour wasn't as prepared as the other schools.  We didn't get to meet any professors in psychology.  He wasn't able to answer our questions and never followed up after the visit to give us the answers.  Philomena quickly ruled that one out.

Then we visited Nebraska Wesleyan University.  It was like putting Peru into the city.  We met with a psychology professor and the ADA coordinator.  A student gave us a tour and we were able to get all of our questions answered.  This is her top pick.  As of July 1st, she's been accepted to NWU.  Now we just need to figure out the financial side of things.