Books worth mentioning

Although I read a lot, I don't very often come across books that I'd rate 5 stars. It has to be a book that I never forget to rank that high. There were a few recent reads that made a 4 star rating and fully interested me though.

I expected A Man Called Ove to be just another mediocre novel, but ended up loving it. Ove seemed at first to be a grumpy old man but when you stripped away the gruff exterior, there was a sweet, tenderhearted person underneath. At times it was truly funny how cantankerous and rude he acted. Thankfully Ove's heart of gold began to shine through and by the end of the book, he was a much-loved neighbor and friend.

Destiny of the Republic is a nonfiction book about a little-known President, James A. Garfield. It reminded me a lot of Bill O'Reilly's Killing series (Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, etc.) For history fans, this is a great book. It's very informative and tells in detail about the assassination attempt and astounding incompetence of Garfield's doctor, who could've saved his life if he had not been so ignorant.

A book I read several years ago did actually make quite an impression on me, even though I didn't realize it at the time I read it.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story about a poor, unknown black woman, and how cells taken from her body became one of the most important tools in medicine. I find it fascinating to think that those "immortal" cells are still alive, over sixty years later. Truly intriguing for anyone interested in science and medicine. The book is also a story about Henrietta and her family, which is just as interesting.

Gossip? or concern?

In this age of WhatsApp chats and statuses, news and information quickly gets passed around. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. I suppose it's some of both. However, I think it can quickly turn into gossip. 

Messages telling of a tragedy or someone's personal pain are passed around with "Let's keep them in our prayers." We need to be careful we're not using that as a pretense to spread news. If it's someone we're not personally acquainted with, does it need to be broadcasted? When not much is known about a situation and we contact someone who is more involved to find out details, isn't that just to gratify our curiosity? If we really are only passing the message around so that we can pray for the people involved, we don't need to know all the details. God knows the situation, and all we need to do is ask Him to be with them. He knows what the answer is.

Some people seem to thrive on negative news and being the first to know about happenings. It appears to bring them pleasure to tell someone else, "Did you hear about the accident/disturbing condition/wedding announcement in the _______ congregation?" Usually sentences that start with "did you hear" are followed by some kind of gossip.

Possibly I'm in the other ditch of not being interested in and talking about people enough. It never leaves me with a good feeling when I discuss someone else's failings though. I'm all too aware that I have my own problems and wouldn't want someone else discussing them unless they truly cared and wanted to help me. I don't have time for negativity and drama. What if we used all the energy we put into talking negatively about other people and used it to talk about the good in that person? Or better yet, tell the person themself what you admire about them!

It's tremendously uplifting to receive a genuine compliment and makes both the giver and receiver feel good. That's the kind of news that needs to be shared!

The gift of life

We had an intriguing case at the hospital this week. The way I understand, a woman in her 50's came into the ER having a heart attack. They were able to revive her and she was taken to critical care. After a day or so, it was determined she was brain dead - apparently her heart had stopped long enough that blood and oxygen were no longer flowing to her brain.

I was working evening shift when the pharmacist mentioned this lady passed away. Soon after, orders were coming through on the same patient, and the pharmacist realized they were keeping the patient alive so that her organs could be donated to Gift of Life. I made a few IV drips for her, and left soon after. Throughout the night more IV's were sent and she was scheduled to go to the OR the next day. When I came to work, we were sending drugs to the OR to be used during the organ recovery. This was so fascinating to me... I wonder what I'd have to do to watch a case like this! Gift of Life has their own team to organize and make all the arrangements, as well as harvesting the organs.

In this case, I don't know the details of what organs were donated.

What a beautiful way to live on after your body is dead! Although I've never been in a situation where I had to make this kind of decision, it seems it would take away some of the sting of death to know your loved one is giving someone else's loved one another chance at life.

I've heard some people say they don't want to be an organ donor because if they're in a critical condition, the doctors won't try to save them. This is a myth/conspiracy theory. Here is what the Gift of Life website says about this:

Organ and tissue recovery takes place only after all efforts to save your life are exhausted and death is declared. The doctors working to save your life are entirely separate from the medical team involved in recovering organs and tissues.

Also, organ recipients are not selected based on who can pay the most. Again, from the Gift of Life website:

You cannot pay to change where you rank on the waiting list. Patients are matched based on a variety of factors that include medical urgency, blood/tissue type and size match with the donor, time on the waiting list, and proximity between the donor and the recipient.

More than 114,000 people nationwide are waiting for an organ or tissue transplant. Every ten minutes, another person is added to the list.

If you're not already an organ donor, please consider it! For more information or to read stories from donor recipients, visit the Gift of Life website here.

Favorite kitchen tools

In an earlier post I listed some of my favorite home and garden tools. Although I don't spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I have a few favorite items. Here's that list!

11x15 inch nonstick cake pan
Slightly bigger than a 9x13, I love this pan for coffee cake. It turns out with the perfect thickness. I don't know what brand mine is and couldn't find it when I searched online, but this one looks to be similar.

Vapo-seal cookware
Since it's first use, I've been impressed with my cookware, a gift from my parents. One of my more recent "discoveries" was the Dutch oven. For years I only used it as a kettle, until I saw someone else using it as a Dutch oven. I have a huge magnalite roaster and a small splatterware roaster, so the Dutch oven is a perfect in between size.

Oneida silicone spatula 
This was a bridal shower gift from my mom and has been my favorite spatula for 15 years! It's the perfect size, flexible, and dishwasher safe. Alas, I don't think they are made anymore. All I could find was a picture of one that is similar.

Large cookie scoop
I don't know the exact measurement of this cookie scoop - it's the next size bigger than the one I use as a regular cookie scoop. It's perfect for shaping meatballs and muffins.

All the Tupperware 
From mixing bowls to microwave containers, Tupperware is hands down the most used item in my kitchen. Every day there's Tupperware containers in my lunch. We drink from Tupperware tumblers. If you removed all the Tupperware from my kitchen, there wouldn't be much left!

New month, new mindset

The beginning of September always brings a certain melancholy for me. It's not yet full-blown autumn, but summer is winding down. Days are getting shorter, and the mornings are cool. Although I love fall, I feel most alive in summer. My flowers are beginning to decline and the deer have attacked once again.😫 Life feels a little hum-drum and uninspiring. It's time to look at the big picture and remember all my blessings!

Working in a hospital helps remind me how much I take good health for granted. That could be me, dying at 38 after undergoing strenuous cancer treatment, surgery, and all-out efforts to delay the inevitable. Or my husband, on hospice care at 37 because of incurable cancer. But here I am, healthy, able to enjoy food and rest and exercise. I can play hide and seek with my nieces and spend time with my wonderful family. We are financially stable and have good jobs. I can cook, wash, and clean. There's good books to read and inspiration to be found in having devotions. Each day is another chance to live fully and love deeply.