Emergency Room Survival Kit

“What can I do to help?”

How many times have we asked this question of someone who has called with an emergency situation?  During the holidays, we learned that a friend’s child was being rushed to a hospital near where we were celebrating with our family.  The hospital was several hours away from their own family and support network, so it was no question that we were going to support our friends.   Suspecting that bags were packed in a panic (if at all), we put together our version of an “Emergency Room Survival Kit” to take to them.  The kit was intended to take care of a few immediate needs.    I have also included items for the kit that we did not use but that I recommend being added.

Start with the basics – food and entertainment.  Hospitals involve a lot of waiting and the waiting areas are not always blessed with food or entertainment.

If you know the person’s likes and dislikes when it comes to snacks, that is great. I recommend the following items for a starting point:

• Bottled water
• Granola bars
• Chewing gum
• Peanut butter and crackers
• Fruit
• Small packages of cookies
• Roll of quarters – for the vending machines

If you are unsure about any food allergies, then skip the snacks and just include the water.  Remember, this is just for a day or so.  No need to try and feed an army when it is just one or two.

A distraction is sometimes welcome while sitting in the waiting area.  Consider the following items for your survival kit:

• Puzzle books and pencil
• Magazines
• Newspaper
• Deck of playing cards
• Phone card (not everyone has a cell phone or unlimited minutes)

A must-include item is a small notebook and a pen.  This comes in handy for several reasons.   Visitors can write down their contact information.  The family can write down instructions from the doctor or questions for the doctor.  The family can record who came by to visit.  A mother can record her thoughts in journal fashion.  Go ahead and write in the contact information for a local church or organization that the family can contact if they find that they will be at the hospital for several days.

Toiletries are usually forgotten in the rush of getting to the hospital and stress can sometimes wreak havoc on a person’s body by causing stomach upsets and headaches.  Consider including the following:

• Travel size shampoo and deodorant
• Travel size toothpaste and toothbrush
• Antacids
• Pain Relievers
• Kleenex pocket packs

Miscellaneous items to add, depending on the situation:

• Local map – several big hospitals are located in large cities
• Toy or book for the patient

Whatever you decide to put together, be sure that it all fits in one reusable grocery shopping bag. 

Keep in mind that the family and patient will most likely be moving from one location to another, and you do not want your act of kindness to turn into a hassle for them.  All of these items can be purchased at a Walmart, Target, or discount pharmacy.

Planning a Golden Anniversary Party

According to census bureau statistics, about 5% of couples achieve 50 years of wedded bliss – the golden anniversary.  This IS a special occasion!  Whether you are the children or grandchildren of such a special couple, you want to honor them and celebrate with them in a way that will make them happy.

The first step is to talk to the couple and find out what they want.

Ask LOTS of questions of the couple. I do not recommend a surprise party; the couple should be involved.   An anniversary party is not much different than a wedding reception, when you get right down to it.  It may surprise you what details are important to the couple.  Here are some ideas to get you started in your quest for the perfect party:

Date, time,  and location of the party

Come and go reception or sit-down dinner

Formal, semi-formal, or casual dress

Announcement in the local newspaper or invitation only

Food choices

Decorations

Family photos and/or slideshow

Party favors

In the case of our party, my in-laws wanted to have a come-and-go reception on a Saturday afternoon at the same church where they were married.  We sent invitations to their immediate families and also placed an announcement in the local newspapers to invite friends and extended family.  For the announcement in the paper, they wanted to use a family photo with all of the children and grandchildren, which meant scheduling a session with a photographer.  They were not particularly specific about the food to be served, but my father-in-law did request German Chocolate Cake.  The only decorations that they wanted were some photo selections from the session with the photographer.   Most everything else was left up to us.

The second step is to divide responsibilities among the planners. 

Look at your own schedules and see what is practical for everyone.  If your work schedule is such that you will be really busy near the party date, then choose tasks for yourself that can be done early in the preparations, such as addressing and mailing invitations.  Take into consideration everyone’s skills, or lack thereof.  If no one has the confidence or time to prepare the food, then have the event catered.  If you want to make a DVD of old pictures to show but don’t know how, ask a friend who does.   We were fortunate that we were able to do a lot of tasks ourselves.  Be sure to communicate frequently.  Since we were all in different towns, we set up an online location where we could discuss ideas and post photos and questions.

Next – get started!  My intention with this blog is share what we did for our party, since we had a difficult time finding information on the internet for a come-and-go reception for an unknown amount of people. 

Invitations

We researched invitation ideas and invitation wording until we came up with something that everyone liked.  The challenge always seems to be how to invite someone and say “No gifts please!” as tactfully as possible.  The invitations sent to the immediate families were worded as the following:  “Because you have played an important part in their lives, please join us for a come-and-go 50^th anniversary celebration honoring [the couple] [Date Time Location]  Please bring only your love and friendship as a gift. [Names of children and grandchildren]”  It included a photo from their first year of marriage with the phrase “It’s all because two people fell in love” around it.  

 Additionally, a current family photo with all of the children and grandchildren was placed in the local newspapers with the following wording: “The children and grandchildren of [the couple] wish to announce that a come-and-go reception celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary will be held at [location] on [date] between [time].  All friends and family are invited.  Please let your good wishes and warm memories be your gift.”

Food

We had way too much of some things, and just the right amount for others.  Our menu included a two-layer “fancy cake”, German chocolate cake, lemon bars, fruit tray and dip, vegetable tray and dip, assorted cheese cubes and crackers, barbecued smokies, nuts, and mints.  For drinks, we had dispensers of lemonade, sweet tea, unsweet tea, and water. 

I wish that I could give you a fool-proof way to calculate how much is needed, but I can’t.  One rule of thumb I found on a website suggested 1 oz. of an appetizer per person, which worked great for the smokies, but not for the fruit.  If you are planning a reception with an unknown amount of people, I do recommend that you do some research into local charities, churches, fire hall, etc. that would be willing to accept any leftovers.

Decorations

We wanted to keep the decorations simple but elegant as well.  We were fortunate that the room that we used was recently renovated, and we were the first to enjoy the new décor.  We choose to have two tables for the food, one table for viewing the DVD, and one table for family photos that would double as a gift table.  We also added six round tables for guests to sit and eat.   Each of the round tables were decorated as shown below with a white tablecloth and gold runners.

The table for viewing the DVD held the basket of party favors, a decorative placard, and a flower arrangement.

The other table had family photos and a box for guests to drop cards and notes.  Since my in-laws did not have an “official” wedding photo, we went to the local photo center and printed an 8”x10” of our favorite photos from the few candids that were available and framed it.  We used a small shelf to add height to this table and used a contrasting larger tablecloth to drape over.  The lovely flowers that we had on the food table and photo table were sent by a family member.  They added much needed color to our mostly gold and neutral colored room.  We also added a string of battery operated white lights to the photo table since the lighting in that corner of the room was a bit dark.

We also hung lights from the ceiling in the middle of the room along the top of the newly crafted columns using hooks specifically made for clipping onto dropped ceiling grids.  The lights made that area feel like a promenade.

The Making of the DVD

The greatest challenge for making the DVD is picking through fifty years of family photo albums and boxes of photos that have yet to be put into an album.  We also had digital photos to go through as well.  In order to make the job somewhat easier, we had a set of criteria we followed for choosing the photos.

• Each picture had to have one or both of my in-laws in the picture
• The picture had to have my in-law(s) looking at the camera or it had to be very obvious who it was
• The picture needed to be flattering, unless it was really funny.  For instance, we had one picture where my mother-in-law was getting a pie in the face.  Not flattering, but definitely funny!

We chose and scanned all of the film photos that we wanted to use and made multiple backups for the family.  We also added an old photo of the place where my father-in-law proposed (the drive-in theater) and a jpeg of the movie poster (Blue Hawaii).  Several songs were chosen for the DVD and the pictures arranged to fit the songs.

Love Me Tender

Can’t Help Falling in Love (specifically requested by mother-in-law)

Going to the Chapel (wedding photos)

On the Road Again (travel photos)

Life is a Highway (more travel photos)

Stuff That Works

You’ve got a Friend in Me

Stuck with You

What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life

With over 200 photos, each was shown for 4-5 seconds so that the video would play 6-8 times through for the duration of the party.  Since we do not live in the same town as my in-laws, we spent several days during the holidays choosing and scanning the photos. Allow yourself at least 30 hours for this task, depending on the number of photos you have and whether you personally own a scanner.  Time for the assembling of the DVD will vary based upon your level of experience with the software you choose, so be honest with yourself about your skills and give yourself plenty of time.  If you are hiring someone to create the DVD for you, check with them one to two months prior to when you need the DVD to find out what kind of backlog they have.

Location of the party

I wanted to share a few things to remember about choosing a location:

Remember the honorees.  Try to choose a place that holds special memories for them.  For my in-laws, this was the church where they got married those years ago and now have attended for almost 35 years.

Remember who the guests are.  Be sure that it has adequate access for handicapped individuals.  This is a fiftieth wedding anniversary, and most of their friends may not be able to negotiate stairs very well.

Remember the number of people that will be in the space. In our case, we had no idea how many would be in and out at a given time, but as it was a fellowship room at a church, we knew it would be sufficient.

Remember traffic flow.  Be sure that you can have all of your cake and eat it too, literally. Our room was large and four-sided with no obstacles to work around except the columns.  The room allowed for a variety of possible layouts.

Miscellaneous goodies

We wanted to have a few extra-special items at our party as well.  Pinterest is a great site for searching out 50^th anniversary party ideas.

In lieu of a guest book, we found an idea online for a memory book created with notes from the guests.  We placed a glass bowl on each of the round tables with pens and note paper with the following instructions:  “We’re making a book!  We would like to include your note to the couple or favorite memory!”  The papers are from booklets of scrapbooking tags that we picked up at Joann’s in the dollar bin and the pens are from Staples.

We chose to make party favors, that came to be fondly known as the “parting gifts”,  for our guests.  Using 12”x12” colored paper from Hobby Lobby, we cut three vertical 4” wide strips.  We then attached a 3” wide strip with two photos – then and now – of my in-laws along with a paragraph of their history between the two photos.   We printed these ourselves, since photocopies did not look good at all.  A double hole punch at the top along with a 6” length of gold sheer ribbon also from Hobby Lobby added a nice touch. 

We also wanted candid photos of the party, so we had three family members with cameras walking around capturing those special moments of the couple with old friends and family. You could also ask a friend or two to help with this, if all of the family members will be busy talking with guests.

My mother-in-law really liked a decorative placard she spotted in Old Time Pottery that said “All Because Two People Fell in Love” , but it was rather large.  We were able to find a smaller one that was appropriate sitting on the table for DVD viewing.

Don’t forget the corsage!  We asked which florist would be providing the flowers and we dropped in and ordered a corsage to match. We did this the day before the party, but you may want to give your florist more time.

Since we depended on several local friends to help with the arrangements, we make "thank you" gifts for them as well as our hostesses.  This idea was found on Michael's website. 

We had our fun and frustrations with planning and executing this party, but it was all worth it in the end.  I hope that I have been able to help you in planning your special occasion. 

 

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

On March 2^nd, classrooms across the country will be celebrating the birthday of the late Theodore Seuss Geisel.  We know him as Dr. Seuss, the author of many beloved children’s books, including “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Hop on Pop”, and “Oh The Places You Will Go!”  For a short time during my time in first grade, I rode to school with my Aunt Jean instead of the school bus.  My Aunt Jean taught fourth grade at our elementary school.  During this time, I spied books in her possession, but not just any books, Dr. Seuss books!  I LOVED to get those at the library and read them!    She let me borrow a few, and I thought that I had surely attained all that a six-year-old could.

We chose to honor this memory last fall at our annual Halloween party.  My brother-in-law and his family were willing participants, but it was quite the challenge to come up with enough characters from the books that we could do reasonable costumes for.   Below is a picture of our group.

The costumes are not entirely homemade, but we were able to save some money by doing a few things ourselves and shopping around for the best prices online.

Cat in the Hat:

Ordered the hat from Amazon.com

Borrowed the bow tie from a friend

Nose and whiskers drawn on the face with cheap black eyeliner pencil

Black shirt and sweatpants from own closet

White gloves from band uniform

Thing 1 and Thing 2:

Ordered wigs from ustoy.com

Ordered union suits from sportsmansguide.com (they make great PJs!)

Signs printed from computer and adhered with tape

Sam I Am:

Two pieces of red felt cut in shape of a hat and sewn around the edges for the hat

Yellow t-shirt

Silver platter and serving fork - already had, but could use any plate and fork

One white and two green playdohs  make great green eggs and ham

Sign is made from paper and a paint stirring stick or ruler with "Sam I Am" on one side and "I Am Sam" on the other side

Daisy-Head Mayzie:

One large daisy with a long stem from a floral department wrapped around a headband

Coordinating top and skirt

Pocket Wocket:

Just wander the toy store aisles until you find the craziest looking little stuffed animal. This one is supposed to be a primate of some kind, with rubber hair. 

Backyard Bird Suet

Winter is one of the best times of year for bird watching in our backyard.  A few years back we decided to add a suet feeder to our selection to hopefully increase the bird varieties.  I initially used purchased suet, but then I started making my own.  Our birds appear to be quite spoiled now because I had to recently throw away a store-bought version after two weeks, and they finished the homemade version in three days!  The ingredients are items that would be found in the good Southern cook's kitchen: peanut butter, cornmeal, oatmeal, flour, sugar, bacon grease, and bird seed.  Okay, so maybe the bird seed is in the garage instead of the pantry.  I have also been known to pick the chocolate chips out of stale trail mix and throw the dried fruit and nuts in too.

I recommend melting the bacon grease in a large pan, remove from heat,  and then add the other ingredients.  Mix well.  The mixture should have the consistency of cookie dough.

Next, put the suet into a mold or a suet log.  I prefer re-using Chinese takeout containers and placing a plastic knife broken in half in the middle to make two cakes.  I have also re-used the containers from suet bought at the store.

Cover the containers and place in the freezer for about an hour to set.  I prefer using the Chinese takeout containers because they have lids and they stack easily.  After the suet is set, it is ready for consumption.  Just pop them out of the plastic containers and into the feeder. 

 

Now all you have to do is sit back and wait for the birds to find their snack. This is the part that my cats like.  No worries; they are indoor cats.

Backyard Suet

1 c. lard or bacon grease, melted

1/3 c. sugar

1 c. peanut butter

2 c. cornmeal

1 c. flour

2 c. oatmeal

1 c. birdseed

Mix all ingredients in the order listed. Spoon into suet mold. Place in freezer for 1 hour. Remove and  store in refrigerator until ready to use. Makes enough to fill 4 square suet containers. Charge camera and keep near window. 

Chocolate Covered Coconut Balls

This recipe came from my mom's aunt Frankie.  She used to make these at Christmas time, and I always looked forward to them.  The original recipe used chocolate chips and paraffin, but I have changed it to use the chocolate candy coating available today.  In the photo you will notice that I did not dip them 100%.  I was making these and peanut butter balls on the same day, and I did not want to get them mixed up while they cooled and set.

Frankie's Chocolate-Covered Coconut Balls

2 7 oz. cans coconut

1 can Eagle Brand milk

2 sticks butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

2 boxes powdered sugar

1 c. pecans, chopped (optional)

1 pkg chocolate candy coating

Mix coconut, milk, butter, vanilla, sugar and pecans and form into 1” balls. Place balls on parchment paper on a cookie sheet or platter. Place in freezer until firm. Melt chocolate coating per directions on package. Dip balls using a toothpick and place on wax paper or parchment paper.

Recipe-Rocky Road Crock Pot Cake

So I saw this on Pinterest, modified it, and tried it at Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law's older crock pot.  It was awesome!  However, when I tried it at home in my newer crock pot, it started to burn on one side after about 3 hours.  It is probably my appliance, because it seems to do that with chili too. But I turned it down to low and let it finish.  It will cook thoroughly, just like a regular cake, but there will be gooey goodness for those who dig deep. From what I understand, this was originally a Southern Living recipe, so you know it has to be GOOOD!

 

Rocky Road Crock Pot Cake

1 Devil’s Food cake mix

1(4 oz) chocolate instant pudding mix

3 eggs

1 c. sour cream

½ c. butter

1 tsp. vanilla

3 ¼ c. milk, divided (2%)

1(4 oz) vanilla instant pudding mix

½ c. chopped pecans

½ c. miniature marshmallows

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Beat cake mix, chocolate pudding, eggs, sour cream, butter, vanilla, and 1 ¼ c. milk for 2 minutes. Pour into greased 4 or 5 quart crock pot.

Prepare vanilla pudding with remaining 2 c. milk and pour on top of cake batter. Do not stir.

Cover and cook for 5 hours on high.

Toast pecans while waiting and chop.

Turn off crock pot. Sprinkle cake with nuts, marshmallows, and chocolate chips. Let stand 15 minutes or until marshmallows are melted. Serve with ice cream.

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