Life has returned to normal . . .

I love being off work every Friday. But, then that's not the correct wording. Maybe I should say I enjoy not having to go into the office on Fridays.

Bob left early this morning. Ryan and Lisa and the children are still away on vacation (they should be arriving sometime today). So that leaves me to decide all by myself what I should do. I do have a few errands I need to run today, but that will be this afternoon.

However, there is a small problem. My leg that got poked on Monday evening when I was chasing the chickens has become infected and is very painful. It's red and swollen and I'd take a picture to show you, but I don't want to gross anyone out. So just take my word for it. Bob told me to call the doctor, but I sure hate to spend our money on a doctor's visit. Then Bob reminded me about his leg about a year or so ago that started out like mine and then he ended up in the hospital. He said it would be cheaper to go to the doctor now than to end up in the hospital, so I told him I would call and make an appointment.

With the kids arriving home today, I wanted to make sure we had lots of goodies because I knew they would be hungry when they got home. What to make? Then I saw the zucchini from the garden on the kitchen counter. I can't let that go to waist. I'll make zucchini bread.

I made seven loaves of zucchini bread.

A batch of chocolate chip cookies. I like using the mini chocolate chips. And, Francie taught me a new trick for making your cookies stay soft. When you take the pan out of the oven, you drop it on the counter and the cookies flatten immediately making them stay soft. I thought she didn't know what she was talking about when she showed me that trick when she and Natalie were here a few week ago and made cookies, but the cookies she made were soft, so I gave it a try.

While the cookies were baking I made a batch of bread. Here they are in the oven. They are almost done. When I started the bread, I called my doctor's office to see if I could get in. The receptionist said they could see me at 10:30. I explained that I had just started making bread and I needed to let it rise and then bake. The receptionist gave me a 1:00 appointment. That meant I had to leave by 12:00 noon to get there.

The boys love lentil casserole, so I quickly put together the lentils and cooked it on the stove. It doesn't take long to make. I put it in jars to keep in the refrigerator so it would be ready for supper when they arrived home.

Before Bob left, he requested that I make some granola. I mixed up the granola and as soon as the bread came out of the oven I put the granola in to bake. It has to bake for 8 hours at 200 degrees. It baked while I went to my doctor's appointment and ran errands.

With the laundry finished, the house cleaned, and the cooking and baking completed, I quickly got ready to leave for my appointment. I took a loaf of zucchini bread and regular bread for my doctor and the receptionist.

The doctor told me that I have cellulitis and gave me a prescription and told me that if it's not better in four days to come back. I'll be out of town next week, so I'm hoping my leg gets better soon.

When I drove into the driveway I was so happy to see tarps, camping gear, the canoe, camp chairs, towels, bags of laundry, a big tube, and four kids running all over the place!!! Life , as I have grown to love, had returned to normal.