Seriously.  Managed what is usually a six hour drive on the way up into the mountains in five hours and the drive back down from the mountains in four hours and forty minutes.  No cops.  Lucky, I guess.

It’s just that I needed to get up there and man, did I need to get home.  I am beat.  My parents… Fortunately neither has ever had either surgery or any serious illness so as you might imagine a knee replacement is a brand new experience.

“Why does this hurt so much?”

“Do you think I have a blood clot?”

“Why is my leg so swollen?”

“Why can’t I walk without this walker?”

“Why can’t I bend my knee?”

“I can’t remember where I put my pain medication.”

“Do you think I’ll get addicted?”

“The sheet hurts my big toe.”

“Man, it smarts to get in and out of the car.”

My dad is old school.  Smiles through the pain.  He’s both cute and so incredibly difficult to take care of.  Won’t hold still for a minute.  He’s what I want to be when I grow up.  In damn good shape and stubborn as a mule.

The physical therapist instructed me to massage my father’s leg all the way from his ankle to his groin, to relieve the swelling in his leg.  Yeah, right.  My dad and I rolled our eyes in unison.  As if… There’s a line fathers and daughters just do not cross, even if the daughter is a nurse.

“Not gonna happen,” I said.  ”His foot will have to stay swollen.”

When we lived back in Iowa and took a family trip, I’d spend my time counting horses.  Every farm had at least a couple horses.  Here in California, as I drive I count raptors.  It’s one of the things I appreciate the most about California, raptors.  It was very windy on the way up and I counted only twenty hawks, but the way home, the weather was perfect.  I counted fifty hawks and two, count ‘em, two bald eagles so close to the road I could see individual feathers.  Cool!

Okay, thanks for your good wishes.  Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.  May your Hanukkah be full of oil!

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My son’s birthday falls right around, or on, Father’s Day, so that takes precedence.  I’m baking him a whiskey cake right now – our tradition – and I bought him some amazing used books when I took a break from unpacking boxes and headed to a used bookstore I’d driven by on my way into town.

I was pretty hyped up yesterday, after three days of extreme activity and then driving really fast to get home in record time (avoiding cops and using up far too much fossil fuel), but today I’m dragging.  I actually slept for a couple hours this afternoon.  Unfortunately my parents have two choices for guests, either an old mattress that breaks every bone in your body or a small couch made for an eight year old child.  After an awful night spent on the mattress, I took the couch.  It was the lesser of two evils.  I’d have slept on the floor, but I’m a bad floor-sleeper.

Wish I could be more creative for you, but I’m pretty tapped out.

Tomorrow a better post.  Sorry.

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Prescript:  Captured is out in print on Amazon!  OMG!  http://www.amazon.com/Captured-Publishing-Classic-Rachel-Barrett/dp/1606018582/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274500727&sr=8-2

My baby girl is flying home tonight.

You know how it is.  I love my kids so!  They are my greatest achievement.  I always knew I wanted kids, the husband was optional.  Got a good one despite myself.

Anyway, she’s coming home after having two flights canceled out from under her and since she’s flying from the East Coast, she won’t have eaten for hours -  maybe a pack or two of peanuts.  So…

I put together a cheese plate with Petite Basque, Gorgonzola Dolce, and Brillat Savarin, sliced melon and muscat grapes.  I quick cooked some asparagus, roasted a couple gigantic purple artichokes – still trying to decide if I want to stuff them with crab.

I’ve got fresh bread and I’m baking our favorite chocolate sheet cake – my great gramma’s recipe.  Oh yummo!

I think I’ll chill a bottle of Prosecco.

You all have a wonderful weekend!

Oops!  Here’s the recipe:

Melt two sticks of butter with one cup of water and 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.

Mix together 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda.  Set aside.

Beat two eggs, mix with 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour melted chocolate mixture into dry mixture.  Stir in liquid mixture.

Spray a rectangular cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350′.  Pour in batter.  Bake 35 minutes.  Remove.  Let sit ten minutes and frost.

Frosting:

Mix together 1 stick butter, 6 tablespoons buttermilk, 3 heaping tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 box powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Enjoy!

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