how about drinking?
Comments
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In honor of Jimmy Buffet RIP
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Hot springs in southern NM
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Jazzy, that looks wonderful!
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Oh wow Jazzy - lovely. What town is this?
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Jimmy is finally having his Cheeseburger in Paradise. Little-known fact: his buddy (and occasional co-writer) Steve Goodman had been invited to perform the National Anthem before the Cubs' first playoff game in 1984 (out of gratitude for having written "Go Cubs Go" to atone for the far superior—IMHO—"A Dying Cubs' Fan's Last Request" which he debuted, to the team owners' chagrin, in 1981). But Goodman succumbed to his 18-year odyssey with leukemia a day before they clinched the division pennant—so Buffett stepped up to the plate (literally). Now they're playing together in the afterlife—wouldn't be surprised if John Prine were to sit in.
Tues. night with tapas I had Segura Viudas Brut Riserva cava, with an after-dinner drink of espresso & no-name Spanish brandy. Wed. at the Cubs game a Michelob Ultra (same price in the stands as a bottle of water and only a little more carbs); and at dinner afterwards a Portuguese Vinho Verde (with oysters). Friday night with BBQ delivery 2019 Mas de la Dame Provençal red (mostly Grenache & Mourvedre). Last night at a steakhouse in St, Charles (where I stayed in order to get to Geneva early enough to score close parking for the Fox Valley Folk Festival), with prime rib a 2020 Grapesmith Pinot Noir (WA). Water tonight—a necessity after being outside in the heat all day.
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Hi all,
As you all know, I've been MIA. Thank you to all who asked about me and sent good wishes. I needed a break from all things cancer. The past 6 months have been quite a roller coaster. It seemed like there was one thing after another health wise - or at least to worry about.
Regarding the MM - treatment was stopped early due to toxicity from the meds. I'm not in total/complete remission :( but overall my light chain numbers are okay. My calcium is rising again so that is a concern if it keeps rising. Due to the chemo I had for BC (TAC) I am limited on treatment options for the MM.
DEXA scan - still osteoporosis after 4+ years on Prolia and two infusions of Zometa (while on chemo). Endocrinologist is not going to put me back on Prolia. She says Zometa lasts for a year - I see her again in May - she is not sure if she will continue with Zometa or something else. I forget what the other category of meds she was talking about as I didn't write it down. I will talk to my medical oncologist in October about this. Hematologist said to talk to my endocrinologist about the bone density. I was hoping for improvement as after two years of Prolia there was improvement. But both my PCP and my endocrinologist said stable is good - there was no change in my DEXA scan from two years ago. Endocrinologist says after the first couple years there is generally no improvement so they look for stable.
I have a bulge in my right groin area - PCP thought it was a hernia - but ultrasound showed it was a cyst and evidently I had it in March (not sure what scan it was on as I've had so many) but it is larger. No treatment. I was really worried if it was a hernia and if so the need for surgery, so cyst is good news.
I will see my Nephrologist in a couple weeks. My kidney function is more or less stable - stage 3 CKD. Hope it stays that way.
Medical oncologist in October and Hematologist in November. I'm hoping medical appointments are slowing down as I had so many in the past several months and too many scans. I'm surprised I don't glow in the dark.
My endocrinologist said I'm complicated and the transplant doctor said I have lots of nuances (I'm not a candidate for stem cell transplant due to previous chemo as too much of a risk for AML).
In between all the medical appointments and treatments, we did get to Toronto twice to see our granddaughter. She is 3 1/2 months old. My daughter updates us on changes - she found her feet yesterday! We also spent 12 days in Israel. We need to plan our next trip to Toronto (Israel too). DD#2 is coming for the holidays and will go visit her sister and meet her niece while on this side of the pond!!
The school year is back in full force. I went back August 14 and the kids started August 21.
Today is our 46th wedding anniversary. We spent the week-end in the mountains hiking . My husband grilled steak for dinner (with half a sweet potato each). The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to get out of the heat.
I hope everyone is doing well. I'm still overwhelmed with everything but I'm okay.1 -
At Joe's Steak & Seafood, Dopff & Irion brut cremant d'Alsace with the cold seafood tower; and Ch. Margaux 2016 (by the glass) with ribeye.
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Illimae - a great way to honor Jimmy Buffet.
Jazzy - Wow! The pictures are spectacular. I really need to go out west. It is a whole different world to see.
Karen - You sure have a lot on your plate right now. I am so glad you got to see your daughters, it is exciting that your daughter is coming home for the holidays. Keeping track of all the appointments and different doctors is a job in itself. Keeping you in my prayers.
ChiSandy - I love to read about your drinks and food, it always sounds wonderfully delicious. Did you perform at the folk festival?
Hello to all of you here.
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Yes—I was part of the Chicago Songwriters' Collective showcase, which opened the festival: four of us "in the round" doing 3 original songs apiece, plus the president of the group doing only 2 because he had laryngitis. He & his wife had returned from Scotland—where his bagpipe team performed—earlier in the week and had caught "colds" (I asked if they'd tested and he replied that all the symptoms "felt like the usual cold" (SMH). We were outdoors, but he was adjusting the mics for each of us (since it was the "Storytelling" stage tent, there were only 2 mics—1 ea. for vocal & guitar—so we had to stand and take turns at the mics; the men were six-footers, and the two women were under 5'3". So he was sort of "in my face" that hour. Not having symptoms now, but definitely gonna test Wednesday regardless. Learning that Jill Biden tested positive today after visiting Chicago earlier in the week is giving me major "it's BAAAACK" vibes. I desperately want to avoid catching it, because if I do I'd have to wait 3 months after recovering before I could get the new shot. I'm >4 mos. out from my second bivalent booster, so my "hybrid immunity" has waned considerably.
Today we caught the last day of the Art Institute's special exhibition "Van Gogh & the Avant-Garde." Bob's & my feet were killing us from all the standing. (Didn't help that the foreign tourists kept taking pictures of the paintings—including selfies & videos, the latter definitely slowing down the line. I don't understand why anyone would need to take a video of a painting: why not just snap & scroll)?
We walked to Russian Tea Time (whose website said they were serving 11-6pm today), only to find it closed. So we went to Joe's Steak & Seafood instead. We'd planned to have stone crabs, but they cost as much as the seafood tower (so we had the latter).
After we got home & fed Heidi, I began to unpack—first thing was my iPad Pro & power supply. Unfortunately, the iPad slipped out of my hands and fell…on to my already dicey L foot. I am now the proud owner of 2 severely bruised—if not fractured—toes. Gonna be fun trying to sleep tonight—I can't fall and stay asleep w/o a blanket and I'm not looking forward to the blanket touching my toes.
I also began having a weird neuropathy in my L index fingertip Sat. night—with the slightest touch if felt like an exquisitely painful paper (heck, razor-blade) cut or splinter, but the skin's unbroken and the pain is random & intermittent. Firm pressure doesn't hurt—so playing guitar kept it at bay for a few hours afterward.
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Karen, mazel tov on your anniversary! And "stable" is the next best thing to "NED"/remission. "No progression" is a very comforting phrase. I'm in the same boat with my ocular melanoma as you are with MM—because the tumor is inoperable and there is neither chemo nor immunotherapy for it, "stable" after plaque brachytherapy radiation is as good as it gets. There's a 50-50 chance of mets w/in 5 years, and there are only two immune-checkpoint inhibitors (new w/in the past year) for metastatic OM, one of which treatments requires a biopsy to genomically analyze the tumor, which in my case was too small to safely sample. Sorry so many treatments for MM are contraindicated for you—but you definitely don't want to get AML.
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Twofer Tuesday! The weekend and holiday on-call has been very busy, especially yesterday. My phone and messaging app were constantly going off, I'd be on the phone with one person and get another call and at least a couple of messages coming through. And, of course, my home internet is slow, and I kept getting kicked out of the work system, making it take forever to do even the simplest things. I am exhausted, and never left the house! I will be very glad to go off call today. At least I had the puppers for cuddles and pets whenever I started getting frustrated.
Ill--live the Jimmy Buffett memorial!
Morning, Teka!
Jazzy--beautiful!
Morning, Sunshine!
Chi--Yummy sounding meals!
Karen--glad you see you back! I can see where you needed a break from all things cancer, you have been through and are going through a LOT! Glad to hear the bulge is a cyst and not something ominous. A trip to Toronto is something to look forward to, as well as a trip to Israel. The hiking trip sounds like a wonderful time, good for you and your DH!
Morning, Misty!
Chi--the festival sounds like it was fun. COVID reporting certainly is coming back. The virus never went away, we just stopped hearing so much about it. I wondered if we'd start hearing about COVID again when it got close to flu shot season. Oh my, your poor toes! That is going to be so uncomfortable for a while, I hope you can find something that gives you relief.
Ruby Relaxer
Ingredients
- 1 ounce vodka
- 1 ounce coconut rum
- 1 ounce peach schnapps
- 3 ounces pineapple juice
- 1/2 ounce cranberry juice
- 1 splash grenadine
- Garnish: orange wheel
- Garnish: umbrella
Steps
- Add the vodka, coconut rum, peach schnapps, pineapple juice, cranberry juice and grenadine into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
From <>
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Karen, Mazel Tov! Nice to see your post.
Sandy, hope no covid in your future. I need to start thinking about vaccines again too…need my pneumonia shot and a covid booster. No idea if/where the RSV will be available here.
DH is having a rough time with the third treatment, which is very unsettling for me. Hard to watch those we love struggling—-I know we all know that.
I had a Bogle Petite Syrah 2019 last night. May do the same tonight.
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Happy belated Labor Day!!
Karen, I hope all your challenges come out with you on top. I'm glad you're getting to enjoy time with your family though.
NM, I hope your job and your Mom all get settled soon. It sounds like there's a lot of hope on both fronts.
Sandy and WallyCat, here's to your and your loved ones' health.
Sadly, we have learned that my old franchiser has declined to renew the lease for our studio and is closing the doors at the end of September - despite the mass of trouble that will cause him from the NLRB and the Feds. He also never applied for a Massage Business License, after a year of reminders and grace periods, so he will likely never be allowed to expand his businesses into Denver ever. He is being given one more chance to settle with the NLRB on our wrongful terminations, which is now complicated by there not being a studio to be reinstated to. This will likely incur a damages payment or something similar on top of the backpay owed.
Our little union held a wake of sorts, mourning the loss of "our garden". But at least we got to see another massage spa in Florida decide to unionize - they stated that they were inspired by us - and their aestheticians and front dest teams are planning on unionizing as well. We broke down the door and fell, but hopefully cleared the way for the next wave of empowered massage therapists.
And we may get some nice schadenfreude out of it too. Our franchiser owns seven studios including ours that he's closing. However, he did not keep his LLCs distinct and separate, allowing therapists to work at multiple locations, having managers cover more than one studio, and moving supplies and property between studios. This means that when damages and fines get tallied, he won't be able to claim that our solitary studio is bankrupt and can't pay. His other locations may be vulnerable to liens and seizure, depending on how hard the judge wants to make things for him. Considering how egregious his union busting and retaliations were, he hasn't made any friends in the NLRB. Oh, and he also fired another lead therapist for talking about unionization and another one after she won a worker's comp lawsuit against him. So, yeah, no friends from labor for him.
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MIA here too, but been busy. Got to MI on Thursday, looked at 10 houses on Friday and bought the last one we looked at! It's a little smaller than what I would have liked, but it will work. Inspection is tomorrow. Saturday is a shower for my neice (Nora's mom) and my DD gets in tomorrow as well, but not until 12:30 peeyem.
Happy Anniversary Karen, good to see you back.
Wally, sorry about the travels and DH not doing quite as well this time, but we know how that goes.
Carole, your trip will be amazing, no doubt!
NM, I don't think you really even got a summer this year and sorry you were so busy over the holiday weekend.
BabyGirl, the Beach Bar looks so inviting. Cheers with a Mai Tai and a Margharita!
Sorry to not address everyone. Here is my new house, if you want a tour.
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Lori - the house is lovely
Sandy - stable is in regards to the osteoporosis, not the MM. I still have MM - I have not reached total/complete remission.
Thanks for all the anniversary good wishes and welcome back!
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Karen - nice to see you back. Sorry for all the medical issues.
Goldie - that house is adorable. How far is it from your family?
NM - I'll bet you are really ready to get back to the office. Hope you're Mom is still moving up on the list for the place she likes.
Wally - RSV is available her at the pharmacies. My PCP's office says they aren't carrying it. She recommended I wait until 10/1 to get my flu shot so it will last through the winter. And of course no date for the new Covid vaccines yet. Sorry to hear your DH is struggling.
Miriandra - I hope this horrid man gets everything that's coming to him!!
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Thought this looked yummy, but no name!
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Hump Day! Dragging my butt out of bed this ayem. Didn't get home until almost 9 peeyem after making an after hours visit to a patient who lives almost an hour from the office and more than an hour from home. I am so looking forward to not being on call tonight. I originally thought someone else was on call last night, but that person was still on scheduled time off, so I covered. And yesterday was the first day back after a holiday weekend with all the craziness that entails. On top of that it's hot and humid with heat indexes in the 90s which is unusual for us around here. I gave in and turned on the AC in the bedroom last night and I'm glad I did. Another couple of days like this and then the humidity should break. I really for sorry for the kids who started school this week, very few schools in this area have AC, and temps in the rooms can get into the 90s to 100s quickly in weather like this. Many schools have windows that can't be opened and only a few fans.
Wallycat--it is hard to watch the people we love struggling.
Miriandra--I'm sorry to hear about the franchiser not renewing the lease. It does sound like they are in for a lot of trouble from that move, but maybe they don't care. The guy really does seem to be burning bridges left and right.
Goldie--Congrats on finding a house! The pictures look like it's a great little place!
Morning, Karen!
Minus--Mom isn't on the list yet, she still needs to take the application in and they are still closed due to COVID. She should be able to do that soon, though.
Goldie--if I could drink cold coffee, that drink would be wonderful!!!
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Cute house, Goldie. Glad you found a house you like.
My goal for today is to clean the gut hut, including the small chest freezer, used for the "guts." It's not badly soiled since there's a good supply of plastic grocery bags in the hut . Then the freezer will be unplugged until next spring. The fishermen do a fairly good job of cleaning up after themselves but the on site owners are spick and spanners so I will mop the floor.
I'm also taking inventory of my kitchen cabinets. I've done a good job this summer of not over stocking so there won't be a lot of pantry stuff to take home. No liquid that will freeze can be left behind.
During the next few days I will also clean the small laundry room, which like the gut hut won't require a lot of cleaning. The few people who use the laundry room are quite neat.
The leaf color is early this fall mainly because of drought stress. We did get some rain yesterday and last night.
Happy Wednesday.
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Hi everyone- I'm new here and just catching up on the thousands of pages of threads😂
Is this a newbie-friendly group? Do I just jump in feet first to join the fun?
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Hi Klrtts! Welcome, welcome. This is a great group to stumble upon. Amazingly lovely ladies here.
Goldie, congrats on the new house! I hope your move and settle-in is quick and easy.
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Wallycat, I’m sorry your husband is suffering and that you have to watch and can’t help him. I do think that it’s harder to watch someone we love suffering than to be going through it ourselves. I’ve have Bogle wine before. It’s been a while, but I remember liking it.
Mirilandra, I’m sorry your franchiser is shutting down. It sound complicated. Sorry if I missed this, but is this a massage studio?
Nativemainer, glad you’re home, sorry you’re exhausted. Why is it that the start of school always seems to bring hot and humid weather with it?
Good morning to all I’ve missed. I love this group!
MO appointment and Zometa infusion. Going to discuss Ibrance. I’ve been off it since July and am quite gun-shy about taking it again. The last two times sent me to Urgent Care with vomiting and dehydration. No desire to repeat that!
Carol
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Welcome, kirtts. This is a jump in type of group.
Cool weather has returned to north MN. Actually it's on the cold side this morning, 40's. Such cozy sleeping under covers.
We have a sad occasion this afternoon. Attending a funeral visitation. Otherwise the packing up continues. Our little cargo trailer is parked outside.
Hello to everyone and best wishes for your day to go well.
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Carole, enjoy the cooler weather. I do love the cooler days. I'm sorry about the funeral.
I hope everyone's week is wrapping up well.
Carol
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Yes, Sunshine, it was a massage studio. And a darned good one, until we got reamed by a shady owner. Here's an article about us!
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Wow, miriandra, what a crazy story. I'm sorry it's been such a pain.
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Stocking up the freezer and baked this afternoon - 2 cakes (honey in a bundt pan, nut cake in loaf pan - my grandmother's recipe and mandel bread cookies. DD#2 arrives late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning. Rosh Hashannah starts Friday night then a month of holidays. DH and I eat sweets but not a lot. A bundt cake will last us over a month. I cut it in 5 pieces, wrap each in plastic wrap and put in zipper bag. I used to bake weekly and I miss baking but we just don't eat enough. I used to bring my mother cookies and mailed my MIL cookies. I miss being able to do that for them. Tonight and tomorrow is my MIL 4th yarzheit.
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Well, it appears that hitting the "post comment" button is required for a post to post!
Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Thirsty Thursday! Waking up to heat advisory warnings for this afternoon. When I got in the car after work yesterday the car thermometer said it was 101 degrees in the parking lot, which I totally believe. Dew points in the upper 60s, low 70s, and it feels very muggy. Lots of our patients with breathing problems who don't have AC are really suffering. It was such a relief to get home and not be on call last night. I finally slept really well and actually feel pretty perky this ayem. The puppers like the AC in the bedroom, they were both asking to go in just as soon as I got home and got them fed last night! So we spent the evening lounging on the bed while I played on the tablet! I expect we will be doing something very similar tonight.
Carole--your cleaning up goal sounds a lot like the closing up of camp at the end of the summer around here. It's amazing how little liquid left behind to freeze can cause big amounts of damage!
Welcome, kirtss3P! We love new people! What's your favorite tipple? We'll have the tenders stock up. Pull up a bar stool and tell us about yourself.
Morning, Miriandra!
Sunshine--I don't blame you for not wanting to go down the Ibrance road again. I hope there is an alternative for you.
Heat Check
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Gilka kümmel
- 1/4 ounce Tapatio blanco tequila
- 3/4 ounce grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/2 ounce rich cinnamon syrup (2:1)
- 1/2 ounce egg white
- 8 drops árbol tincture*
- 1 ounce club soda, chilled
- Garnish: dried chile de árbol pepper
Steps
- Add all ingredients except the club soda into a shaker and vigorously dry-shake (without ice).
From <> rning, Loungettes! Happy Thirsty Thursday! Waking up to heat advisory warnings for this afternoon. When I got in the car after work yesterday the car thermometer said it was 101 degrees in the parking lot, which I totally believe. Dew points in the upper 60s, low 70s, and it feels very muggy. Lots of our patients with breathing problems who don't have AC are really suffering. It was such a relief to get home and not be on call last night. I finally slept really well and actually feel pretty perky this ayem. The puppers like the AC in the bedroom, they were both asking to go in just as soon as I got home and got them fed last night! So we spent the evening lounging on the bed while I played on the tablet! I expect we will be doing something very similar tonight.
Carole--your cleaning up goal sounds a lot like the closing up of camp at the end of the summer around here. It's amazing how little liquid left behind to freeze can cause big amounts of damage!
Welcome, kirtss3P! We love new people! What's your favorite tipple? We'll have the tenders stock up. Pull up a bar stool and tell us about yourself.
Morning, Miriandra!
Sunshine--I don't blame you for not wanting to go down the Ibrance road again. I hope there is an alternative for you.
Heat Check
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Gilka kümmel
- 1/4 ounce Tapatio blanco tequila
- 3/4 ounce grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/2 ounce rich cinnamon syrup (2:1)
- 1/2 ounce egg white
- 8 drops árbol tincture*
- 1 ounce club soda, chilled
- Garnish: dried chile de árbol pepper
Steps
- Add all ingredients except the club soda into a shaker and vigorously dry-shake (without ice).
From <>
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Today's the final day of prepping to leave. Tomorrow we get up early, get antifreeze into all the pipes and drive away. I'm ready to go despite not being ready for the Louisiana heat and humidity.
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday! Friday was a very long day for work, in the office by 6:30 get things ready for the big, every-other-week meeting, still in the office at 7 peeyem trying to get the last few things for the meeting done, finally on the computer at home at 9 peeyem doing the last of what could be done yesterday. Still have one person to chase down for paperwork today to complete the meeting stuff. I realized during a conversation yesterday that we all feel totally stressed out because there are 2 of us to do the work of 4 people, with only one of us (NOT me) ever having gotten any training. No wonder nothing is going smoothly. But it makes me wonder what is going to happen when a new Patient Care Manager is hired. How is that person going to get trained? Time will tell, I guess. 5 months to retirement age.
Karen--I can imagine you do miss the cooking and sharing out all the goodies. Hugs for your MIL's memory.
APPLES & HONEY COCKTAIL
INGREDIENTS
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 packets Nektar
- 1 1/2 cups sparkling apple cider
- 1 1/2 shots whiskey
- 1/2 cup ice
- Apples for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix cinnamon with 1 packet of Nektar and dip the martini glass into the water and then the mixture to rim the glass. Garnish glass with apple slice.
- Then mix the whiskey, apple cider, and remaining Netkar packets with ice in a shaker. (Stir slowly so the cider doesn't overflow!)
- Pour and enjoy!
From <>
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