4 Dentist Appointments and a Recipe

Steven, Colby, Gracie and I had dentist appointments yesterday. Mine was simple. Back when I was so morning sick and had trouble brushing my teeth and the taste of the stuff they clean your teeth with and the water touching the back of my mouth made me gag the dentist and the hygienist decided to clean my teeth in quadrants. It is about all I can sit through without becoming completely ill. I have the lower left side to go. Sounds silly I know but you imagine gagging over and over and you'd hope the dentist would do the same for you. Steven, on the other hand, was not so simple. The past years since his divorce and until we married last summer, Steven would grind his teeth at night. It sounded like he was crushing rocks. He would wake up with his jaw sore from the grinding all night. I had asked him on several occasions what his dentist had to say about the damage to his teeth and he said, "Nothing. He has never mentioned it." I found this hard to believe. I was very sure his teeth must be ground down to nubs. Well, the first trip to our all new family dentist and he asks Steven, "Do you grind your teeth at night?" Steven told him that I said he did -and very badly. The dentist (whom we like!!) told him that at the rate he was going his teeth would not last 20 years. He had worn the point of his canine down until it is flat. He has broken the enamel on 9 ofhis teeth and that is why his mouth is sensitive to hot and cold. He took a full set of x-rays and the panaoramic view and found more. Two of his teeth were chipped. One had a pit from brushing too hard and he had torn away his gum from some of his teeth in the process. One place was to the point the dentist was sure it would cause a cavity to form and he would need to have it filled as well. The dentist did all the repairs yesterdays! He resurfaced 9 teeth, fixed the chips and filled the one tiny spot. Thank heaven for dental insurance because if I had had to write the check for the total amount they might have had to call the EMT's to bring me some oxygen! When he walked out from the back exam room I was shocked -frightened for a moment. One side of his face was red. His eye looked droopy, the corner of his mouth was hanging and he looked like hell. I swear I thought he had had a stroke! However, that is just how his face reacts to all the novocaine. As it wore off his face began to return to normal. Poor Colby. I know she wishes she had stayed home. She had her cleaning but also was told her wisdom have to come out. Yes, she is getting oral surgery next month. Then a trip to the orthodontist to see if he reccommends braces. Next was Gracie's turn. She is getting oral surgery, too. But it is simple. She has 2 little baby teeth that are not coming out on their own but are in the way of 2 permanent teeth trying to come in. So the baby teeth have to go. Once again can we all say thank heavens for a thing like dental insurance! Pork Roast in a Crockpot 1 pork shoulder or boston butt roast 1 large onion, chopped 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper Place in crockpot the pork and the onion. Cover with water. Set on low and cook 8 - 10 hours. Remove the roast when cooked -it should be just falling from the bone. Set aside. Place some of the broth and the onion in a saucepan on the stove top and adding white rice (measure the broth and cook the rice in the broth according to cook directions on the package). When the rice is done taste it. Rice always needs salt. This rice should be a little wet, not drowning in broth, not soupy, but moist and delicious. Slice some of the pork roast, dish up a serving of rice and a steamed vegetable. The rest of the roast, using 2 forks shred the meat. Line a muffin pan with paper liners and pack each cup full of the roast. OR before filling the cups mix with some of your favorite BBQ sauce then pack in the cups. Freeze until solid. Put all of the cups in a large freezer bag, lable and date. Each cup is the perfect serving for a BBQ sandwich. Simply remove the number of BBQ cups you need and thaw. Remove paper cup. Heat till piping hot and pack onto a nice bun. I would serve the sandwiches with slaw, bread and butter pickles, chips and nice big glass of iced tea. My recipes are simple. They are not gourmet. They don't take a lot of skill to prepare and come out great every time. Steven likes simple foods. I do too. Sometimes we venture into more exotic or complicated food, things I need a recipe to follow but most things I cook off the top of my head, sort of instictively, like my grandma and my momma. Any of you who prepare these recipes I sure would appreciate some feedback on what you think. I know we like them but other people may have ideas to make them even better.