how about drinking?
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Wow—bulk truffle salt? Are you sure it contains real black truffle pieces? I've only encountered real truffle salt in tiny bottles, jars or packets at super-upscale grocers, Sur La Table or Williams-Sonoma. You do need to be really careful about truffle oils—I know of only two (Urbani's premium label and DaRosario) that are made by steeping truffles in olive oil, without adding the synthetic “essence" ester. And they are insanely expensive, sold in bottles no larger than an ounce or two (they fade or go rancid w/in a few months of opening). If you see a can of La Tourangielle truffle oil at WF, rest assured a real truffle never came within miles of it. It wasn't till I tasted a real black Perigord truffle (tuber melanosporum) freshly shaved, in season (winter, whether in France, Tennessee or Australia) that I realized why Anthony Bourdain sneers at the use of truffle oil. (Truffle fries, truffle mac & cheese, truffle popcorn are so 2012 anyway. And time's almost up for truffle honey). If you see black truffles sold in little glass jars without refrigeration, they also aren't authentic—they are preserved “summer truffles" (a different species) which have little to no flavor. You get what you pay for—a real black Perigord truffle will go for $85-150/oz. (and a white Alba truffle in season will set you back even more). Fresh truffles are barely usable after about 10 days, even under refrigeration. When the season is over, it's over for the year.
Another word of warning about true foie gras pate (especially the “aux truffes" variety): most supermarket pates (even Trois Petits Cochons or D'Artagnan) are usually duck, chicken or goose liver mixed liberally with pork liver; and the truffle pieces tend to be so tiny that they can't really be tasted, and not tuber melanosporum but the inferior Chinese tuber indicum which is cheaper (though often fobbed off as the real stuff) and practically tasteless. Cheese-counter or deli-counter shrinkwrapped pate works well in a banh mi sandwich, though. For pure pate de foie gras, you need to read labels carefully—it usually comes in a jar or a triangular tubular can, as a molded “torchon" en bloc. (Look for those words, as well as geographical provenance such as Perigord). The most reliable brands are Rougie, Petrossian Paris, and Maxim's. And they command commensurate prices.
When it comes to foie gras, I prefer it as a whole lobe or slice of the duck or goose liver, grilled or seared rather than pureed into a pate. The flavor is more complex that way. And I leave it to the pros in restaurants. (No consumer butcher shop I’ve encountered carries whole fresh duck or goose livers anyway).
Gourmetfoodstore.com is great foodie porn though. Every now & then they have an affordable (relatively) luxury or two for sale.
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Yep, sea salt and Italian black truffles, $60 a pound at Whole Foods. Dried morels were also offered at $250 per pound, right there out in the open. Crazy. I stay away from truffle oil. Most are not made from truffles. Paolo (the hubs) grew up on fresh truffles. His family had a vacation home near Lake Como, and there was an abundant of truffles on the property. Truffle farmers would go on his land with the pigs and dig up copious amount of truffles. In exchange, my father in law would get bushels of this. So, I'll ask the hubs, does this taste authentic? And it's always no with respect to oil. Typically, yes with truffle salt.
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I do the salt too (Urbani, DaRosario). A 1-oz. bottle of DaRosario white truffle oil (no “aroma” or “essence”) I sprinkle on scrambled eggs. $15. The LaTourangielle is 8 oz. for $17. Second ingredient after olive oil? “Truffle aroma.” Thanks but no thanks. Will have to check my WF and see if they have the black truffle salt. I have some dried morels I have yet to use (like porcini, they keep forever). Once I bought fresh morels…and two days later they were full of larvae. Eeeuw. Nothing like picking up a ruffled ‘shroom and seeing little worms wiggling in all the folds & creases. Yuck.
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Good Morning, Loungettes!Nice half day of work yesterday, nice half day of lounging around and ketchuping on sleep after grocery shopping. Not sure where I'll get sent for work today, but we'll see. Looking forward to the dinner with the cousins tomorrow. Not looking forward to the funeral on Sunday, but needs to happen and be done with. Then need to get seriously restarted on my own decluttering and cleaning project. Sadie is missing all the attention she was getting, she'll be happy to get it again this weekend.
Goldie--Yup, did get a taste of what work USED to be like, all the time. Glad I wasn't around for the fall out yesterday, will be interesting to find out what that was today, though. Another chance to sit and giggle to myself. Pig cooked in the ground? Sounds very yummy!
Jazzy--holidays do bring out the strange in some patients and families. Glad I kicked that one up to the clinical manager on call to decide, I've heard that family has a very entitled attitude and expects instant attention when they call, no matter what the time of day or the issue. Hope those toenails got cut yesterday! Good for you with the swimming and weight loss!
Illi--Hooray for 2 drains out! Praying the last one comes out as planned.
Dara--don't worry, that was my LAST on call with Hospice. And what happened was exactly WHY it will be my last. Now back to the usual 3 times a week that I have come to like so well.
Chi--those taxes designed to encourage healthier eating can be very confusing. Same here in Maine, there is a Snack Tax, and what qualifies as a "snack food" and what doesn't is practically random. No one can figure out the rules. Love the seltzer with mint idea! Sounds like you had a nice 4th outing, except for the band leader's speeches. The upside down rainbow is WILD! Never seen anything like it!
Hsant--thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Mom is doing ok, Dick is actually getting better, finally. Glad you had a good 4th and BBQ sounds great!
Chi--wow, I never knew how common true truffles are. Can't wait to spend some time on the gourmet food store sight.
Ewe, worms, yuck!
Princess Leia of Maine's DOTD:
Drunken Worm Cocktail
+ 1 oz. (30ml) Passion Fruit Vodka
+ 1/2 oz. (15ml) Peach Schnapps
+ 1 oz. (30ml) Cointreu
+ 1/2 oz. Coconut Rum
+ 1 oz. (30ml) Sweet & Sour
+ 2 oz. (60ml) Cranberry Juice
+ Gummy Worms Candy
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Jazzy, we are still hitting triple digits here, 107 yesterday! Nice to have a swimming buddy.
Ilona, I only assumed it was a pig. However, it was not. It was a beef brisket, but still very good. Yay for saying good bye to the drains.
Dara, you probably have the humidity too? Sounds like you are doing a lot to your yard. Don't you wish it could be summer all the time? Except for the hot flashes!
Sandy, sounds like you had a great weekend, with all the fireworks and music. We hardly ever drink soda unless stopping at a fast food place. We always just get water with lemon.
Hsant, I agree with you and Logan being a little model. He is soooo photogenic. Cooking in the ground, I've never done it, but something like a big hole, the meat is put in the hole and it's buried with the hot coals. I did not watch when they dug it up. It's called pit cooking. Sort of layered. They use rocks too, as they hold a lot of heat. Guests from Taiwan are gone. They left Monday. Sounds like you are doing pretty good with getting on with life. Mary and I had discussed those migraines, maybe not the same thing tho. She said, I think, her husband gets them. There is no headache, but we get this like twinkling in our periphial vision. She called it an ocular migraine…again, I think!
NM, we shall sit and giggle with you. Again, I am sorry for your loss and yes Sunday will be hard. Hugs for you girl. I'll have a drunken worm, minus the worms. My DD used to call them ooms.
Cami, I hope you are doing well.
Sue, I hope you are enjoying your visits. Well, of course you are!
More triple digits here today. I love summer, and these temps are not common for this time of year. June yes, July no. WHERE ARE THE MONSOONS?????
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Hi friends- will make this a short one today as my stomach is a bit off and trying to take it easy this afternoon after having to be out and about for awhile.
Goldie- we have a fire here in the Sandias and some rain may be coming by tomorrow. It is in the mid ninties here.
Hsant- the other fellow here is the same age as me (57) and someone I have known for a number of years. A very successful IT professional. He has always been very nice to me. I am also meeting some men at the pool!
NM- I want the drunken worm cocktail but would rather have a bunch of fresh fruit on top?
More later ladies!
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I have not posted any music for you lately. This is my favorite boy band out of Sweden, a jazz fusion group by the name of Dirty Loops. A newer song of theirs I have not heard before. Very talented musicians (cute too!)
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Feel better, Jazzy! Gonna pick some mint to put in my cherry-lime seltzer, after a really long workout, the first time I was able to hit 20 min. on the rower—went a bit over because I didn’t want to interrupt one of my favorite songs on my iPhone: a Celtic hip-hop tune called “Sleepy Maggie,” by Cape Breton fiddler Ashley MacIsaac. Sadly, his biggest claim to fame was having a wardrobe malfunction on the David Letterman show. He performs wearing a kilt, and sometimes leaps as he fiddles…and you can figure out the rest.
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Good Morning, Loungettes!Feeling a bit tired this ayem. OK, feeling a lot tired. I will be glad when this weekend is over (Aunty's funeral is Sunday afternoon). I really want to spend some time here at home and get back to decluttering and cleaning. Which will happen next week, so I just need a bit more patience. Got my replacement activity tracker (Jawbone UP Move) yesterday, and have that up and running. Says I got 2 hours 41 minutes of sound sleep, 5 hours 20 minutes of light sleep, maybe that's the problem?Nah, I just need to get back to my normal routine.I don't expect to post over the weekend, going to be busy with family stuff, but will be back Sunday evening and back here Monday ayem.
Goldie--sounds like the Clinical Managers had to pick up a lot of "extra" work on the 5th, One of the CM's did go out and cut that patient's toenails. I did giggle to myself at that one.
Jazzy--When it comes to the DOTD any and all substitutions are acceptable, allowed, even encouraged!Personalize them dwinkies, Ladies, that's the deal! Those guys are cute, and sound really good, too!
Chi--ah, wardrobe malfunctions! I guess that answers the question of what, if anything, is worn under a kilt!
Princess Leia of Maine's DOTD:
The Obituary Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- 1/4 ounce dry vermouth
- 1/4 ounce absinthe or pastis
Directions
Combine ingredients with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Sorry for the downer DOTD, feeling mournful today.
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Check out Bryan Bowers' recording of Mike Cross' "The Scotsman." Should be on YouTube
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Sandy, my local Whole Foods carries Urbani black and white truffle salt. It contains essence, and at $30 for a 3.5 oz container of the black, it seems kind of steep. I found a truffle salt at our local Italian deli that has a healthy amount of black truffles in it. It does contain "flavor" (last ingredient listed after Italian sea salt, black truffle), but it's $9 for a 5 oz bottle. The hubs gave it 2 thumbs up, but I'm sure the cost had something to do with that.:) it's called Borgo de' Medici.
My issue with Three Little Pigs pates is that they're a little carby for pates. The foie only contains 51% foie gras. I like the duck rillettes (0 carbs). Have you tried Hudson Valley products? I have not, but am considering ordering from them.
There is a gourmet supermarket here in Santa Monica that used to sell foie gras pate in their deli case by the pound. Not anymore. I also love the liver grilled. Mmmm....
Native, I'm so happy to hear that Dick is on the mend! Your mom must be so relieved!
Funerals are hard. Period. I view it as the harder the funeral, the more love I had for that person (if that makes sense). Enjoy tonight with your cousins! It will be good for you to be around loved ones, who loved and knew your aunty as well as you.
That gummy worm cocktail brought me back to my college days. We would eat a gummy bear and chase it with a shot of vodka. I like Jazzy's idea of substituting fresh fruit.
Jazzy, I hope you're feeling better.
You go! Look at our Jazzy with the boys a buzzin'! Please keep us posted!
Goldie, that technique of cooking sounds sooooo good! Brisket....yum!
Hope you're staying cool. Sounds very, very hot. It's dry heat, though, right? You don't get the humidity that folks on the east coast/mid west get. Dang, you can cut the air with a knife.
Ilona, great that those nasty drains are out. I had one per "breast" and even though mine were in for only four days, it was a very long four days.
Ok, gotta get my thass in gear. I have a bunch of errands to do for the hubs, and I need to stop at Home Depot. Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend!
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Cami, I hope you're feeling well, and will be home soon
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Jazzy, still no rain for us. So many times it just goes around us. We were in town yesterday (hour away) and UPS calls me and says the driver is afraid to come out here. I told them that I had a 2nd day and a 3rd day that had to go out. That the driver could also try coming in the other way. Well, we get home and it's as dry as a popcorn fart, all the way in!I hope your tummy is feeling better. The fires are horrible. Is that one very big?
Sandy, LOL on the wardrobe malfunction and the kilt.
Hsant, some of the foods and drinks that you, Sandy and Jazzy talk about, I have never heard of! I had to look up truffles. I have heard of them, but had to look it up to see why they are so expensive. Sort of like a mushroom? Correct it is dry, unless we happen to get some of those monsoons, then it gets humid. I can remember getting off the plane in OK, when I was going there for my treatment. And like you say, could cut it with a knife.
NM, thinking of you this weekend. I hope you all can share some wonderful memories.
Sure is quiet in here, my goodness. Went to the movies yesterday, saw Wonder Woman….no not Jazzy!
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quick check in (Hi Lori)...
wondering if anyone has heard from Cami again???
will try (amidst the insanity) to catch up over the weekend. I just took my first test and got a 92, passing is 70 so pleased I am. but they get harder, so I am told.
Have a great weekend loves and NM, glad no more sweat-shop-like work assignments for you! too many hours is not good for ya babe!
chEErs all!
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ps- I think most of you don't mind gross pics if they are comical. I have a story and maybe some pics! I was looking on ebay for my favorite aerosole sandal (or as the beotch prior boss called them, flip flops). Well I ran into a lady who is selling used shoes that are so effing nasty! I could not believe my eyes as the more I checked her out, the worse things got. She displayed some of the shoes for sale in her own feet with a month old pedi, warts on the toes and just plain nasty ass feet. So I went into her reviews (all for fun, as if I had time hehe)... and found where someone wrote that they found old food crushed onto an item she sold. lemme find that stuff and send it, sorry if it grosses anyone out. If I was neausiated, I mighten be sick from it but I am so amused, I cracked up and can't wait to show Cheryl!!!
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***Grossosity warning to my fellow loungettes, bypass if easily grossed out. Like WTF????
and how disgusting is this??
If anyone wants to check her profile or view more grossness, I can PM you a link to her page. I found her on facebook by her name and and and, well all I can say is that she has the yuckyest effin feet I've ever seen including an old friend who has six toes, yes SIX (I might add six finely manucured toenails too)!!!!
over and out, rant over! back to my back yard oasis!
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Dara, that's horrible in a hilarious way. LMAO!
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Good morning friends- I had the BEST day up in Santa Fe yesterday. Started my morning with some early swimming, came home to do a few things and then was on my way up to the city different. Did a bit of shopping (summer sales, cute pair of sandals) and then met a friend I had not seen in awhile for drinks at one of the resort hotels. Some sparkling rose from Gruet, and some apps too. Then off to the SF Bandstand to see the acts there.
There was a blues band that was really outstanding, and then saw my friend play with her band for awhile. As I don't like driving back on the long dark stretch of road between ABQ and SF, I left around 8 p.m. and witnessed the most beautiful colors to the west as the sunset and the moon rising up behind the mountains here in town. The day had already been pretty perfect but those visuals in the sky topped off an otherwise perfect day.
I also got a call about our pending CA project and the last of the info is in for the funding and heard a planning session is to be scheduled soon. There will need to be contracting, etc. but we may be going in the very near future on this!
Goldie- still bone dry here. There were clouds around yesterday, especially in SF but no rain. I could smell some when I got home last night, perhaps up on the mesa behind me, and hopes for some later. I have more outdoor music tonight but am cool with rain there and will bring my umbrella. Rain has never stopped me from those shows before.
How did you like Wonder Woman? Thanks for saying I emulate her too....
Dara- congrats on doing well on the test and wishing you continued success with the next ones. I have not heard anything from Cami either, not since her posts here. Maybe her family will be back in town this weekend and will get her the phone so she can keep in touch with us?
NM- sounds like things are calming down with the family. Time for you to refocus on your decluttering project. My mother came to me in a dream the other night about finishing up cleaning up around here. A message from the other side to get things finished before I go back to work.
What is Sadie up to these days?
Wishing everyone a good day. Photo of the evening sky just south of Santa Fe for your viewing pleasure.
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Goldie, truffles are grown under ground. Pigs and dogs are trained to sniff them out, which is why they're so pricey.
Jazzy, nice photo!
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Truffles grow on the underground parts of the roots of certain oak trees—wild in the Perigord region of France (black, winter and a lesser version in Burgundy in summer), the Alba region of Italy (white, autumn), and parts of coastal Oregon (white). They are “cultured"—the true black Perigord spores are inoculated in oak stands in Australia (our summer, their winter) and TN. For awhile, most of the black truffles in top U.S. restaurants (including those owned by Thomas Keller) were in fact bought from Tennessee Truffle outside Knoxville—but the owner e-mailed me last year to say a blight had killed his oaks and he has to start all over again, which could take 5-10 years.
What a gorgeous sunset, Jazzy! When I lived in Seattle and got my first 35mm cameras (a Minolta rangefinder and then a Chinon SLR), I would go out to Alki Point & Golden Gardens beaches so I could shoot sunsets over the Olympics with Puget Sound in the foreground. I think I used every filter in my arsenal. They're all on slides, which I have yet to digitize. Later, driving from the Joplin, MO airport to a weeklong artist residency in SE KS, I saw a particularly gorgeous orange/pink/blue sunset, with oak & walnut groves and tall windmills silhouetted against it. I was so happy I began singing along with the radio—and I'd never even heard the song before (“Complicated," by Avril Lavigne). Ended up writing a song about it, “Orange & Pink Prairie Sky" and recorded it on both the first Andina & Rich CD (I don't recommend it because my intonation & lyrics were way off—my cuts were intended as “scratch" recordings so my singing partner & the session cats could learn them, but the label rushed the album out and my scratch tracks got mastered against my wishes), and “SASS! Album One." (Better, but Stephen Lee Rich & I are going to find a flawless performance of it in our video archives and put it up on YouTube).
Dara, those pics are gross! Eeeuw!! I would NEVER buy used shoes, even if they were Louboutins or Jimmy Choos and my feet could take it. May I suggest, if you’re looking for spongy-soled thong sandals, FitFlops? Reasonably priced and pretty cool (I have plain black cloth and both silver & bronze sequined ones from back when I had a stress fracture but still needed to dress up—and though I tend to blister from thongs, I still wear them home from pedicures. For slides, I have huaraches by Finn Comfort (crazy-expensive, but they look great, have pretty good cork & suede orthotics in them, and I can put Rx orthotics in if I want), and black dressy ones by Vionic (also orthopedic but non-removable footbeds). I have a pair of bronze Clarks slides I wear around the house, but the footbeds are getting rough and can’t be replaced; and red faux-snake ones by Alegria (rocker-sole w/removable cork & suede orthotics) that I wore so much over the past two years that the metallic part of the cross-foot-strap lining is coming off on my feet.
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And now for the not-so-hot news: anemia is beginning to accelerate. In less than a month, Hgb down from 11.7 to 11.5, ferritin from 13 to 12, and though it's normal, my PCP isn't happy with the slow rate at which I'm making reticulocytes (which become red blood cells), though it's technically "normal," not just "normal-ish." On Monday, we will have the GI-imaging talk. Because my poop is normal and isn't dark (sorry about that), and my 'rhoids haven't bothered me or bled in over a year, he thinks we can wait on the repeat colonoscopy till 2021 when it's due. But we will probably need to do another upper-GI endoscopy (though my GERD is under control and I have no gastritis symptoms), and if it's normal, a capsule endoscopy to check for an intestinal AVM. He cautions that it’s the pattern, not the absolute values, that concerns him—“you’re not very anemic” and “the ferritin suggests blood loss” were his words. I faxed printouts of the results & my PCP’s note to my MO. Will see what she says too.
He also asked about my “anemia history,” which might give a clue. As a kid (even a couple of years into puberty) I was rail-thin and so pale that I had to wear long sleeves & jeans at the beach when all my friends (and everyone in my family except my dad) were happily slathering on the suntan oil. My mom kept giving me liquid iron (sort of pediatric Geritol), which she thought she could sneak into Pepsi to hide the taste—to this day I cannot abide Pepsi in any form. In my 40s & 50s, I often got rejected at blood drives because either my BP was too high or low, or my H&H (while statistically “normal”) were too low. Haven’t successfully donated since 2014. And in 1996, when I was in rehab recovering from OR/IF surgery for a tibial plateau/fibula fracture (got hit by a car crossing the street), my Hgb dipped into the single digits. But iron pills & a shot made a transfusion unnecessary.
Bob says that because my platelet count and WBC/RBC are perfectly normal, we probably don't have to think about bone marrow yet, but that I should ask about starting iron & C (which I did). But mention of reticulocytes scares the crap out of me. I think I will not deprive myself of a small glass of wine with dinner so long as it's very good wine. (Not gonna drink wine just because it's there, and I don't need the buzz). Bob also says that at our age, especially if we’re asymptomatic, it makes no sense to completely give up the stuff that makes life worth living (or even bearable—if pain is awful and caused by inflammation, take an NSAID occasionally if it doesn’t give you heartburn).
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ChiSandy- concerned for all you are sharing here. Blood loss without any other evidence (I assume you are not having any pelvic bleeding, indicated possible reproductive issues down south.....) Did they tell you stay off the wine until they figure out what is happening with the anemia numbers? Maybe you have an ulcer but know usually those are pretty symptomatic with pain. Oh here I am trying to diagnose you sister. I hope you get some answers soon.
I have bought some used shoes at consignment stores, but usually they are either brand new or hardly worn. Most consignment stores want something that has been carpet worn, meaning you bought them and they did not work but never got worn out and about. Cowboy boots are different, people here like them suckers broken in. People's feet are gross. I feel for people who do pedicures.
Going to more music tonight but it could rain, skies are grey but they do have the concerts rain or shine here in the summer at most venues. The venue is attached to the art museum so we can scoot inside if it gets too wet. We SO need the rain and will take it even with the music tonight!
I plan to drink wine tonight but probably did not need to tell you that....
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Jazzy, nothing I know of going on in the abandoned baby factory—no pelvic pain or visible bleeding. Pretty sure it’s a GI issue (maybe slowly leaking hemorrhoids, which bleed briefly for about an hour every year or two). No point in giving up the wine, since that wasn’t the problem (I never drank enough to get esophageal varices). Of course, no reason to drink unless it’s something really worth drinking, and in very small quantities at that. Speaking of which: worst…wine…pun…EVER!
Haven’t opened it yet—Bob’s working late and I didn’t feel like drinking alone, even though it would’ve gone well with the leftover duck & Chinese broccoli. So it’s still in the fridge. It’s from S. Africa—the label doesn’t mention the varietals (though Mulderbosch uses Cabernet Sauvignon and Graham Beck uses a blend of that and Pinot Noir in its Brut Rosé).
Had a bit of an adventure: reheated the duck, along with a couple of dim sum, in the steamer insert of a Calphlon pasta pot. Poured in a pint of water, put a piece of oiled parchment on the bottom of the insert and topped it with the food, covered the pot and turned the heat on to Power Boil, intending to turn it off when steam began to escape. Got sidetracked, and then…Beep…Beep…BEEP!!!! Yup—the steam set off the smoke detector two rooms away. Reached up with my cooking tongs and tried to press the button, and the smoke detector clattered to the floor. Ooops!
But the dim sum & duck were perfect. (Did the veg in the microwave, though).
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Good morning ladies. I hope everyone is enjoying a nice weekend. It's hot for my area. Was 82 yesterday, and supposed to go up to 89 degrees today. It's been in the triple digits inland (112 degrees where friends live). We don't have A/C, so I've all the windows open.
I had a low key weekend. Took a 3 hour walk, and bought a pair of thong Birkenstock's and a cute off the shoulder summer shirt. We went out for a nice dinner at a new place near our house. The hubs and I split grilled octopus and mango skewers as an appetizer, and I had grilled ahi tuna salad as an entree. We sat out side and it was too warm for heavy or hot food. Oh, almost forgot to mention Bloody Mary's were the drinks.
We watched The Tour de Pharmacy on HBO, which is an Adam Sandburg mockumentary on the Tour de France. I'm a huge Adam Sandburg fan. I loved his spoofs when he was on Saturday Night Live, so I found it hilarious. Lance Armstrong participated, but really, I'm sure he's not busy.:)
Native, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers today. I'm sending you a hug.
Jazzy, your weekend sounds perfect. You inspire me to get my thass out walking. You are diligent with yoga, swimming, etc. Beautiful pic!
Dara, I will never be able to get those pictures out of my head.:)
Goldie, I'm confused (per usual) why was the Ups driver scared? Isn't it his J-O-B to get packages out per UPS? I thought of you and the other ladies yesterday when I picked up home grown tomatoes at the Farmers Market. I know you grow a bunch of herbs and veggies. I have a black thumb.
Wishing everyone a happy Sunday!
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Good morning friends!
I had another outstanding evening of music last night, with the women's concert here with the local jazz organization. My favorite of their summer series, and they seem to top themselves every year with what they do! Five really great and different singers, two whom I personally know, a couple others I have heard before, one woman who did jazz skat and was amazing! Ran in to some friends I had not seen in awhile and between the people, music, and cooler temps (clouds moved in, some rain around), it was a perfect evening.
I moved to NM 21 years ago this week and although this place has it's moments, between the lovely sunset and moonrise on the drive home from Santa Fe Friday evening and then the experience last night, I feel very blessed. Moving to NM was one of the single best decisions I ever made for myself. Deep feelings of gratitude this weekend!
Hsant- I just got off the phone with my sister and she was up in Palm Springs yesterday checking on the other house and said it was 112 there. They are getting ready to travel back east so she did a quick drive up and back to check in on things. She said the heat is brutal. She said they also have a heat wave in Newport Beach where the primary residence is. I will say this is the hottest summer here in awhile.
ChiSandy- totally funny, Goat du Roam. Well, it looks like it could be interesting? I have been trying some of those south african rose's and like them. I am still working on my large bottle of Charles and Charles Rose. I had drinks out and about the past few nights and feel done for now. Drinking too much works against my swimming goals.
Speaking of swimming, going to the outdoor pool to get some laps in during their lap hours that begin in an hour. Have a good day ladies!
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BTW, my PCP messaged me that we need to talk about my anemia…but that wine is OK again.
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Yay to the wine, cheers!
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Good morning, Loungettes! Happy Monkey Day! I have to admit I am glad to be home and to have Aunty's funeral done with. It still doesn't seem really real, I'm sure I'll get hit hard with the whole thing soon. My cousin is going back to Vegas in a couple of days. She'll be back in August to finish cleaning out the house and taking care of all the loose ends. The granddaughter is moving in with her paternal grandparents until the paperwork goes through for a subsidized apartment. Her son is 12 and has Autism/Asperger's spectrum disorder and was really getting on my nerves. If I was as disrespectful to my mother as he is to his I'd have been black and blue all over all the time. Thing is, he can be a good kid at other times. Sadie was a very, very good doggy this weekend, calm and gentle with everyone, got lots of treats and attention, especially yesterday. It felt really good to sleep in my own bed and be able to cuddle with Sadie last night, though. Met more family that I didn't know existed and still don't know how they are related. I'm actually ready to go back to work where things are simpler!
Hsant--Mom is pleased with Dick doing better, but his memory is definitely slipping. He's having trouble with depth perception, especially when he backs up the car, and has hit several things recently. No real damage, but Mom is not happy with the scuffed bumper on her car and wishes he would drive his own more often! He only drives to the end of the road they live on now, does not drive in traffic or on the highway at all anymore. Lord but I am beginning to dislike all the signs of aging I'm seeing in family members. Had a great dinner with the cousins, reconnecting after way too long. And we are all starting to sound like our parents when we get together! It's freaky.
Goldie--we did have some good talks and lots of good memories shared!
Dara--no more long days at work like that. I kept the 4th of July on call as a favor to management and the team. It was a good reminder why I don't take call anymore!
YUCK!
Jazzy--Wow, I can just imagine the sunset colors out there. And good news about the project! I'm ready to get back into a "normal" at home routine and restart the decluttering. I even have a goal of cleaing out more than 15 cubic yards of junk by the end of the year!
Great pic!
Chi--I would love to seeyour pics someday. The anemia news isn't the world's greatest, is it? I hope you can find an answer and it turns out to be nothing serious, or at least easily fixed. I'm with your hubby on not completely giving up the stuff that makes life worth living. LOL at the picture of the smoke detector falling to the floor, still beeping, no doubt!
Hsant--thanks for the hug.
Princess Leia of Maine's DOTD:
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Dara OMG on those shoes/feet. What was she thinking? How many of these tests do you have to take?
Jazzy, when our guests were here from Taiwan, we went out for a drive and hit some rain, and something was said about smelling the rain. Well, they were quite shocked by that. How can you smell rain? Said they couldn't smell it in LA or Taiwan. I thought that funny. Love a beautiful sun set or sun rise. We enjoyed Wonder Woman. Sounds like you had a fab weekend.
Hsant/Sandy, I did Google the truffles. Just never have had them. I live 6 miles down a dirt/clay road, so when it rains it can get slicker than snot. UPS trucks don't have 4 wheel drive and the road has some steep hills and washes.
Sandy, will you be sharing your video with us? Sorry about your continued health problems and hopefully they can get it figured out. LOL at the "abandoned baby factory", too cute!
Love your little avatars Ilona, they are so cute.
NM, our grand son is the same way. So disrespectable and also has Aspergers. And they just don't do much about it. And the younger one just picks up what the older brother gets away with. My DH doesn't even care to go visit them. My MIL says there is no such thing as the "Golden Years", they lied! Glad you had some good times with your family, and that Dick is doing better.
Monday Monday, busy Monday. That's about all I can say b'out dat!
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Good morning friends- up early and going to head to Sam's Club early this morning. I love having the early hours with my biz membership and it allows me to get through the store quickly as well as the dreaded check out line (where it all can go south quickly). Got a few other errands to do on the way back and then will be settled in here to work on some things around the house. I need to get focused to finish up some decluttering and purging and going after that garage reorg this week. My six month follow up process begins on Friday too.
I went to swim yesterday (four times this week!) at the outdoor pool I checked out recently. They have lap swimming on sat and sun mornings, and did a short swim (45 laps) yesterday and then relaxed in a chair with my book and caught a few rays. This pool is a nice option for a weekend swim. I plan to hit my big indoor pool tomorrow and Thursday morning, and this pool again on Sat. Pic of the pool below. Jazzy loves her swimming!
Goldie- I could smell the rain around yesterday, there were storms to the west of here that passed north to south and missed my area. I never could smell rain either until I moved to the desert. When I lived back east, it was the rise in humidity as well as the sky that usually told me if rain was coming. The news says we have a better chance of rain the next few days, but the % chance still looks low. The monsoon season is not starting out strong here.
NM- I am sure that your head must be spinning from how fast everything happened with your auntie. Services are often quite exhausting, mostly from having to talk to everyone I think? I am glad Dick is doing better, but it sounds like there are cognitives changes. Both my parents had car accidents as time went on (we had to take the keys away from my dad, and it was my job to have the conversation with him too). I hope you can settle back into your own life again this week and get to your decluttering work you have started. Dumpster still there, right?
Chi- glad the doc gave the okay on the wine. Keep us posted on your anemia and next steps please?
Have a good Monday friends!
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