Working Smarter
Several years ago I cared for my friend Lorraine when she was battling cancer. We spent time going to Mankato on several occasions. When she learned she had cancer, she also decide not to undergo treatment as the cancer was quite pronounced in her. Lorraine found out she was ill in February and passed about several months later in the month of May. Lorraine was 86. As her daughter was taking care of emptying her apartment, Louise called me and invited me over to Lorraine’s apartment one last time. Lorraine had left instructions that I was to be given her Kitchen-Aid stand alone mixer. She had
remembered the difficult time I had stirring cookie dough. The difficulty was from a wrist that was not in such good shape after arthritis had rearranged the placement of the 
tendons and joints. The photo on the left would be a normal wrist with the hand being able to be splayed open. On the right is the scrunched together hand. By the grace of God, I still can do most things I always have, just with a bit more patience. When the right hand becomes weary, it is time for a break and tackle Plan B. The mixer has become a priceless gift to me as it came from Lorraine and it allows me to keep the ever-loving cookie jar filled. Lorraine had worked for me years earlier as the secretary in our office.
I have valued the mixer more times than I can count when it comes to stiff cookie dough. The temperatures and humidity are going to rear their heads in the next several days. The cookie jar is getting to look rather sparse. I decided to do the cookie baking in two steps. This afternoon I stirred up the peanut butter dough and tomorrow morning while it is still fairly cool out the oven will be going full bore. Of course I had to start a new jar of peanut butter. Dang lid. Out came the handy dandy tool from 
Kevin and Kersten for just such an event. We would be lost without it. It is of a rubber consistency and it can handle quite a few sizes of lids. Prior to this gadget, I had been known to wander over to neighbor Jan’s if Dennis wasn’t about. There have been some lids that even Dennis’ strong hands couldn’t budge but the handy dandy gadget spun them right off. Tools come along in life that make work smarter than harder.
All is well here. All is well within my soul. Amazing how some hymns come to the forefront of the mind. It’s a good thing.