Heart Strings

Hello again. It has been  a while since my last post, as I am recovering from our loss of Nick B., my grandson.

Since that time, we have had signs that his spirit is still amongst us. One example of this was my being directed to the page for St. Therese of Liseux, for the quotes I used at Nick's celebration of life. I found this one today: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.” 
― Thérèse de Lisieux This is #WWND.

My son Brian, who held it all together for his brother, wife, and niece during the time of immediate grieving, was having a tough time in the subsequent week. He visited the cemetery, to " learn more from Nick". The following day, there was a big thunderstorm, with a lot of lightning. He went outside to photograph some of this action. 

Upon looking at the photos, over 300 of them he took, only one showed up and it was this: 

Clear as day, in the darkness of the storm, the only photo was our sign, a heart on a string. This photo struck me to my core, and also reminded me of this:

This is an EKG symbol, or a Heart on a String, showing the rhythm of the beating heart. Wow!

Another week goes by, and I hear Nick in his #WWND way, not in words, but suddenly I was compelled to write this:

‪#‎What  Would Nick Do~~~Heart Strings

The calls came in, they said you were gone.
No! No! No! This cannot be, not my grandson!
We screamed, we raged, broken as we cried
We don’t believe, we question why, and how could you have died?
We still see you, we still hear you, and we still feel you at our side.

What would Nick do? What would Nick do?
Friends and family were notified, all of them were called.
One by one, two by two, three by four, hundreds came, none of them had stalled.
They held up your family with memories they shared.
Our hearts were lifted with love, prayer, and laughter, and they showed how much they cared.

What would Nick do? What would Nick do?
You showed us your heartstrings shining in the darkness light!
We saw your heart strings, in the storm, shining above oh so bright!
Through your life you showed us the way
To live our lives with love each and every day.
Flash that smile, make a friend, help someone, and make a funny face!

What would Nick do? What would Nick do?
He would love the human race!
Your heartstrings will bring us all together, and brighten up our day
Through your life you have shown us the way.
We shall strive
To keep you alive...
We will do
What Nick would do!

Love Grandma~~~ #WWND

I wrote this in just a few minutes after hearing Nick. I never "heard" him, but, I know I did. In fact, I think he wanted me to put it to music, his passion, or have me do a rap version! That is #WWND!

Our lives go on, but Nick is always here with us, and I am so grateful for that!

Today I continued with me Meals on Wheels group at my church. I was head cook and chose Beef Stroganoff to prepare for our 61 local residents who cannot get out of the house, or prepare a hot meal.

I used a product called Steakeze for the beef as beef is very expensive, and this was more affordable. They are " breakaway" style, made from sirloin, so they are very quick to prepare, and perfect for this dish. They are also perfect for making Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. We made mixed vegetables, and noodles. They also got a fruit cocktail, dinner roll and pastries.  I got the recipe from Campbell's Soup:

What You'll Need

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
1 pound boneless beef sirloin steak or beef top round steak, 3/4-inch thick (about 1 steak), cut into thin strips  ( we used the steakeze)
1 each medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup) 
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup or (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup or Campbells® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup 
3/4 cup reduced fat (2%) milk 
1/2 teaspoon paprika 
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
1/3 cup sour cream or plain yogurt 
4 cups whole wheat or regular egg noodles, cooked,drained 
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley 

How to Make It

• 1
  Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until well browned, stirring often. Remove the beef from the skillet.  Pour off any fat.
• 2
  Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion to the skillet and cook until it's tender.
• 3
  Stir the soup, milk, paprika and black pepper in the skillet and heat to a boil.  Stir in the sour cream.  Return the beef to the skillet and cook until the beef is cooked through.  Serve the beef mixture over the noodles.  Sprinkle with the parsley.

You all take care of each other. This is why we are here.