Cuban Food

I made some empanadas (meat pies top pic), frituras de malanga, (malanga fritters) black beans, white rice and pierna asada (roasted pork shoulder). All very traditional Cuban faire, this is what we served for Christmas eve dinner, I know I knida late with it all but, you know better late than never, I took some pics of the empanada and fritura. These are made with picadillo (ground beef in sauce) and dough for the crust the frituras de malanga are made with malanga ( I can't find a translation for this root vegetable) that is grated seasoned and fried. Both of these are yummmy!! (not for those of you on a diet) yikes!! If you want the receipes email me and I'll be happy to send them to you.

Knitting progess and some good news

In other news, I started working on some craft items. I've been knitting a sweater for over a year now the cable sweater, which I did the cables wrong and they look like braids, but I was not about to frog that monster.

Of course I notice after I finished the second panel. The top is the hoodie, and a close up of the cables. I finished one arm have started the second arm, I've been knitting this only at lunch time at work I using my 36" fine gauge knitting board that I got from framenitter.com (Marla Richards) this was one of my first boards and I've always loved working on it.

Sock loom, I have given up on that thing I will be posting it for sale on the yahoo groups sock loomers I can't handle the pegs are too small the knitting is too tight no matter what I do it doesn't seem to work out.

We will be going up to NC once again the week of Jan 22 - 26, since we were called back home in December the really great folks we rented from are crediting us the time we didn't spend at the cabin, only this time it will be just hubby and I. Truthfully I'm kind of glad because we will be able to relax and not have to do too much of any touristy thing, just be for a week, which at this point sounds like heaven to me. I know I will feel guilty for a bit, since my mom and kids can't come along, but the change of scenery will be great. Hopefully I'll have some pics for you to see.

UPDATES

I know that some of you are praying and wondering how things are going. Thank you for the prayers and emails I appreciate them.

Grandma is receiving a feeding tube today through her stomache, and according to Social Services will be transfer to a 24/7 facility sometime this week. Since there are no beds available anywhere we have to wait and see which facility will accept her. She is in a state that she can't walk, talk, chew, swallow or even knows who we are, but yet she's hanging on. At 94 she's still fighting, I can't explain it, we all have ask each other why, but only she and God knows why. I guess that her state will be long term and we have to accept what we cannot change or understand.

Well I haven't done any knitting, looming, well especially no looming since the shawl that is on there now was the one I was weaving specifically for my grandma. I look at it every nite and wish I have the heart to take it down or finish, but I just star at it. I've never been so out of whack in my life, everything is disorganized, in disarray that I just sit there helpless. I think this is depression, I don't really know, I've never had it. I feel guilty for being so useless, but then I really don't care either. I have been back to work with minimal effort, and going through the motions at home I seem dazed.

Bad News, No Pics

Just to you all know that the vacation that my family and I were going to take didn't happen, well sort of. We drove to North Carolina on 12/26 arrived at 1:00 p.m. unpacked, did some groceries and were starting to settle in, when my cell phone went off and on the other line was my aunt. My grandma had a massive stroke and they weren't expecting her to survive the night. Well we re packed, threw out the food, slept the night and drove back to Florida. Got stuck in Atlanta for 2 1/2 hours, because of James Brown's Funeral, which we didn't know about until we got back. I took only one picture of the mountain the morning we left, but it's 35mm and not digital can't even share that with you guys. ;o(.

Grandma is still alive, in the hospital and trying to hang on. We are exhausted and worried, the doctor's have nothing good to say, so we are in a holding pattern, no being able to make any choices, we have a DNR and no tubation order, but all that can be done now is to wait.

Only God can make the decision now, I hope that He will call her home, some have said that was a cruel thing to say, but I know it's what she would have wanted, and quite frankly there will be no quality of life for her, my mom and aunt and my grandfather who is still alive and suffering along with her. My grands have been married for 65 years and they have had a great life together, we really can't ask for more.

Please keep my family in your prayers, thank you.