This has been a really rough month for Allan. He had surgery in January for the shoulder injury he suffered in the auto accident in December, and a few days later took a fall and injured his hand on the other arm. Both arms were in slings for awhile. No sooner did he start to recover than he came down with a monstrous cold, insuring that he would continue to sleep in his recliner in order to be able to breathe. While recovering from all of this, he broke a tooth one evening while eating dinner, requiring a tooth extraction. We took the pickup truck to physical therapy one day so that I could pick up some supplies, and getting in and out was very difficult with both arms being weak, resulting in pulled muscles in his thigh, most particularly his groin, making it almost impossible to walk. Ugh! We think he is on the mend, but it has been a tremendous challenge.

Allan had committed to buying a Border Collie pup prior to all of this, and while all this was going on we went up to Wyoming to pick her up. After having her for a week or so, we began to suspect she had some hearing issues. We did some noise tests which revealed she was completely deaf. What a huge disappointment. We called our vet to see if there was anything we could do, which of course there wasn't, but the vet said his veterinary assistant would like to have her. She already has an Australian Shepherd deaf dog, had another prior to that one that had been killed, and was challenged to help these dogs to thrive. So of course we gave our pup to her.

I know this sounds like one of those emails that you see that in the end say, "Just kidding," and remind you that life is so much better than you thought, but this is really all true. We are confident that God has our back, and that through all of this we will not only be stronger, but better than ever. Your prayers are much appreciated while he recovers from each of these trials.

We are so proud of our son-in-law, Garret Hammer, Lisa's husband. He was just promoted to the Pagosa Springs District Manager for the LaPlata Electric Association coop (LPEA). What a great honor this is, and a testament to what a hard worker and outstanding individual he is. Congratulations, Garrett!

Hopefully you have found a good use for all of the boxes and liners you have accumulated from your orders. The liners themselves are pretty expensive, so if you would like to recycle them we would love to get them back. However, because of the UPS shipping changes made in January, we cannot use the 18 inch cube liners, just the 16, 15, 14, and 12 inch ones. If you could pack them in a large box, 3 or 4 sets at a time, we would be happy to pay the shipping costs to return them. Just let me know when you have them packed and how much the box weighs, and I will send you a UPS shipping label.  

There are so many great ways to cook Top Round Steak, most all of which are pretty darn easy. This lesser expensive cut is very versatile, and quite tasty. Check out some great ideas below.