Dried fruit

Today, I went and picked up my dried fruit order that I had ordered through the church. As usual, I over-ordered, and ended up with MANY pounds of wonderful dried fruit, such as dried pineapple, dried cranberries, (sooo much better than craisins), raisins and dried banana chips. The price was too good to be true, but it was, and now my food storage is even better than before. I didn't realize what 25 pounds of dried cranberries looked like, but it is way more than I thought. They taste so good, not so sweet and wonderfully tart. They are much bigger than craisins, and a lovely bright color. I will enjoy these for a long time! I often look at the dried sweetened pineapple at walmart, but never buy as it is too costly. Tonight, I had 12 pounds to bag up, and I nibbled and nibbled! The raisins are plump and sweet, very moist, and the banana chips crunchy and fabulous.
I have a food saver machine, and I put it to good use tonight. I always look at garage sales to find the plastic rolls to make into the food saver bags, and I have several rolls. Martin and I spent an hour making bags, filling bags, and sucking the oxygen out of the bags and sealing them. I love these food saver machines, the food inside the sealed bags are completely oxygen free, and the bags suck down into a hard brick that I guess you could kill something with if you threw it.
Little Joe is crawling. He is getting around pretty good, but he hasn't figured out how to back out of some place if he gets stuck. For instance, he loves to crawl up on the footrest part of his play saucer, but he can't turn around to get out of it, and it really scares him. He howls like a stuck pig, (no pun intended) and I have to unstick him each time. He whimpers at me like it is my fault-and then goes right back and gets stuck again. Maybe he will figure it out. He loves to eat too. Gone are the days when he would spit food back at me, it is all I can do to shovel it in him now. All he has to do is see his little dinner plate, and he lets me know it is time to eat! He recognizes the sounds of the microwave too, because that is how I heat his dinner. In the morning, when I am making his hot cereal, he figits and squirms in his seat as soon as the package comes out of the cupboard. Yes, he is growing and fast!
We still have had no word from the college. They were supposed to contact our attorney on Monday with a plan to bring Martin back, but as yet, no word. They can take their sweet time for all I care, as long as they keep paying Martin.
His lungs are getting worse. Every two weeks, he is supposed to get a special injection to help his immune system and his lungs. These shots cost 2400.00 each, and our co-pay is 480.00, but the manufacturer abosorbs the co-pay for us, and Martin is a test subject for them. He has been taking them for about 9 months, and sadly, they don't seem to be working. We have started the process for him to be approved for the Bronchial Thermoplasty proceedure. If that doesn't work, eventually he will probably need a lung transplant. I pray daily for him. I cannot believe that he continues to get worse. He is on 11 different medications for his lungs and heart, and there seems to be no end in sight. I still have faith that whatever Father's will is, will be the best for us. I can't help feeling so bad for Martin though, his coughing, wheezing and malaise is so hard to watch. The steroids he takes have made his skin very thin, and with the slightest scratch he bleeds like a river due to the blood thinners he is on for his heart. Several times recently I have seen blood streaming down an arm or his face, or from his hands, and it shocks me so much. I always exclaim, "what happened to you now"!! He usually doesn't even know he has been injured. After we clean off the blood, there is usually only a tiny scratch. He has had to stop playing with the cat, as the cat is used to being rough with Martin, and can scratch him. A couple of weeks ago, Martin's hand looked like it had been through a meat grinder after he and the cat went at it. Poor cat, misses his rough play.
There is much to get used to. I am not griping, but it is so new to me to have to make so many concessions.
Tonight someone asked me what I wanted for my 40th anniversary. I said that I wanted nothing, and Martin hooted. He told me that he had been married to me for almost 40 years, and never an anniversary has come and gone that I made sure he knew exactly what I wanted for a gift. But I was being truthful, and the though surprised me because I am so spoiled, and have always gotten a really nice anniversary gift. As I thought about it, I realized that I really don't want a gift. I only want Martin. I am so grateful that he is still here with me, and no gift can match that. I just want to be with him and tell him daily that I love him so much. What a surprise though, it is just not like me to pass up a present!