So...whats for dinner?

I start back to bowling tonight---so I guess it means bowling alley burger for dinner every Monday till April......YUMMO....

I went to an Open House and kinda love the house. It would take a huge chunk out of my savings, double my taxes, but give me the room (almost more) that I need. And I have a lot to do before m my house could go on the market, and that would mean paying heating/electric/water for both during the winter months. Not much moves in Central IL once cold weather arrives... What to do, what to do......

Even tho I'm still tired, it felt good to get my routine done at the gym as well as our exercise class. DH stayed even beyond that and took the hour long muscle conditioning class. He could barely get up from his chair after dinner. Haha...overachiever pain Before the gym, I got the ratatouille started, then ended up putting it in the oven on a low heat while I was gone. It is pretty mushy, but tasty.

For dinner since DH would be coming back from gym later than I, I ended up doing a stir fry with the chicken including lots of veggies and fresh corn, pea tendrils and a nice bunch of cilantro. Red rice and cuke salad rounded out the meal. Fortunately both DH and I like cilantro. I recall reading an article about why some people cannot stand the aroma/ taste of that herb. For the life of me, I can't recall the theory. ;/

The ratatouille will be for another night...tho probably not tomorrow since we plan to head for an ocean beach tomorrow, which means we will probably stop to eat seafood on the way home. Our weather is forecasted to return to summer starting tomorrow.

Not sure if I mentioned that we will be heading to Chicago and South Bend a week from Thursday. So the nightmare task of deciding what to wear and packing begins.....I wish I had the packing gene!

Queen, I went to undergrad there and my father and bro are ND alums. I got my degree from SMC since women weren't allowed to matriculate in ND's undergrad programs until a couple of years after I finished my degree...altho I did my major coursework in ND classes... Go figure.....So there is some personal (rather than just male familial) loyalty.

Anyway, ND is playing UMASS on the 26th and our DS2 is a very loyal UMASS alum. He convinced us to make the trip to Chicago (and head to the game from there)and my brother and his wife will also be making the trip there from LA. My brother has recently been dxd with dementia, (likely related to head injuries he sustained while a marine) so I am eager to see how he is doing. After a rendezvous in Chicago, we will be sitting on opposite sides of the stadium and I will be a coward dressed in neutral colors with the UMASS crowd. This is actually the first ND home football game I will be attending since graduating in 1967! I hear that the stadium is even larger than it was when I attended my SMC reunion three years ago. Those alums just keep on giving! The game won't even be a competition. UMASS is just graduating to this league level...and look it! But DS2 is a patient fan as they develop....:)

OK - trip is coming together. Looks like we'll fly into Boston Thurs night 10/1. We'll stay at the Wyndham Beacon Hill because I have a ton of points from overnight stays at the Med Center Wyndham here during chemo and get a free night. (cancer must be good for something, right?)

We're going to take a comprehensive tour ('total experience' - LOL) on Friday so we can get an over-view and pin point what things we just MUST spend more time doing Saturday. My BFF has never been to Boston before & I haven't been in 25 years when I mostly stayed down by Brookline for work, except for some tourist stuff when my then high school son came to meet me one summer. She's thinking about walking the Freedom Trail on Saturday. I'm listing things I'd like to see/do in more detail but not making firm plans yet. Sunday afternoon 10/4 we board the Royal Caribbean ship for Portland, ME; Bar Harbor, ME; St. Johns NB; and Halifax NS. And the next Sunday we'll go directly from the ship to the airport & home.

Susan, Lacey, Bedo - anyone else have some recommendations about what we MUST see or where we MUST eat? First day's tour has lunch stop at Quincy Market ??? Is there a good hole in the wall place? BFF wants to at least have a drink at the Parker House. Since Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, we want to skip anything that's a chain which we alreadt have - like Ruth's Chris or Eddie V's or Mortons, or Smith & Wollensky, etc. I want to eat fish & fish & more fish - crustacean & otherwise. My BFF doesn't really like fish that tastes like fish, but she eats sole & fried fish & most other things. We both love Italian. She wants bakery treats, I want real bagels. We've been friends since 1973, but never traveled together since her DH just died last year. Should be hilarious since we're both strong, controlling women.

If anyone has time to meet for a meal,or even a quick glass of wine or dessert, please PM me and we'll see if we can get a group together. Would love to meet some of you. We figure we're OK Saturday for breakfast or lunch or dinner, or Sunday for breakfast or brunch. We're clever enough to figure out the "T" as long as we're not schlepping around our luggage, so can meet anywhere sort of central.

Sorry to hijack the thread. If nothing else, everyone will get to see the yummy restaurant recommendations. Dinner was the last Hatch Chili scone and cut watermelon.

OK I'll put this on today. My DD is flying to Boston on Friday (Southwest) for a week. She met a guy online last year and he has been to see her twice here. DH and I have met him, he went on the April cabin "camping" trip with us. He is Chinese, 1st generation American. Susan you may know something about this company. He works for Cogo Labs in Cambridge and lives very near Harvard. This is my baby so I'm more worried about her flying than anything about Boston and her friend. He is very nice, polite. Participated in all of our silly cabin antics. They have talked semi-seriously if she could find a job in Boston - she works in logistics. But she says she can't see herself in Boston. Maybe they will settle on Austin if it becomes serious. DD does work for a Fortune 500 company (retail) but all the corporate stuff is here. She has a degree in operations/supply chain and 6 years in logistics. She knows the shipping of hard goods in and out. Anyway - back to food. He has made reservations at some place with appetizers only that you need reservations at least a month in advance. I'm sure they will eat out mostly though he does have a nice condo that is equipped with a kitchen lol. DD barely cooks some slow cooker stuff. I told her I expect pictures of anywhere they go. I've been as far as the Boston airport (1975) and the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in ?Waltham maybe. DD is looking forward to y'alls cooler weather. It will be at least 97 here on Friday. I get to drive/pick her up in Dallas. Shopping here I come. Only problem is she leaves at 8:40 on Friday. Means getting her to Love Field by 7 I think. I dread driving in rush hour. I haven't driven in Dallas proper in 8-9 years and not anywhere near Love Field. I asked why she didn't fly out of DFW which might be 10-15 min from her apt. "Cheaper flight mom".

Susan - your condo problems sound unbeleeeevable! I live out of the city limits, don't think you need much permit to do anything except septic stuff.

Moon - I'm so sorry to hear about your SIL. Echo the cancer sucks.

Not much cooking going on. Made a black bean enchilada casserole that the remainders have languished in the fridge. Mushed up garlic, olive oil black beans (supposed to be refried beans) with some salsa. Stuffed tortillas with that, bit of cheese and some ripe olives. More salsa, cheese over the top. I could see a bit of leftover chicken in there too. They were good but it was too much for us. Otherwise it's been brats and premade potato salad. Summer has returned.

My dad's 83 year old sister arrives on Thursday to spend a month with him. I am leaving Tuesday to go the Shipshewana/Middlebury Indiana area for 5 days of totally unplugged time among the Amish. Wouldn't you know that yesterday the visiting nurse said his legs were leaking...So today I went back and checked and the one is still doing it, so I called the Wound Clinic and the nurse said, YOU ARE GOING ON VACATION. I will talk to Dr. tomorrow a.m. and we will call you back with a plan.........

I can assure you if you can fry it, roast it or top it with gravy, I will be eating it.....just saying.

And one of my all time favorite places to eat has 40 kinds of pie.......lets just hope if I have any sugar loving mutated cancer cells anywhere in me they are in a comatose state for a few day while I binge...

Red, maybe you can kill those sugar living cells with an extreme overdose. :-)

Susan - so sorry for nasty fever & nausea. I sent you and Lacey both a PM. I can't remember who else is in Boston. Oh yes - congrats again on the coming event.

Thank you Grandma Susan. I am so glad you're feeling better by bits and bits. Maybe with that condo nightmare out of the picture for good it will help. Sometimes just that nagging/ragging on your spirit is enough to drag you down plus adding in your chemo drugs. Well yes a local # would be good. She certainly has no relatives in Boston lol. Though DD is pretty smart/resourceful. I really don't think anything will happen. He treats her like royalty. The furthest she's been from home was a school trip over spring break her 8th grade year to Washington DC. Nowhere on her own, maybe driven to Austin. She's 28, never lived anywhere but the DFW area.

Yes he has told her to bring her walking shoes and be prepared to walk a lot - no car. Not sure how he's getting her at the airport. I assume mass transit runs to Harvard. Plane comes in early afternoon.

Yup on the saved clothes. I have things back in the spare bedroom closet hanging. Things I did cross stitch on, MIL painted an adorable Winnie the Pooh jumper, not so much sunsuits, more dressy things. Funny how we all have girl things saved.

Sorry you're on the draggy end to Nancy. The ragweed is just awful here. DH and I harvested some dead branches Sunday and I pulled up giant wild ragweed plants to feed the goats. Mine are in the just about to bloom stage.

Monica, I have 3 apple trees and most years squirrels eat every one. They eat them before they're ripe so there's no saving them. They're too far away for the bb gun to be effective so I feel your pain.

Minus---

First day's tour has lunch stop at Quincy Market ??? Is there a good hole in the wall place?

ANWSWER: Quincy Market is the center of tourist central! There are no "hole in the walls" anywhere near there.Inside the market, there are small booths with acceptable food. I like Steve's which is a Greek spot, and there is Boston Chowder that lots of folks think is good as well. The couple of sit down restaurants are big chains, mediocre, and/or very expensive. Buy your lunch, find a bench and eat while doing some people watching. The new covered food market is about three blocks away if you want to get a freshly made salad, apple pastries, sandwiches, or other local goodies.

FF wants to at least have a drink at the Parker House. Since Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, we want to skip anything that's a chain which we alreadt have - like Ruth's Chris or Eddie V's or Mortons, or Smith & Wollensky, etc. I want to eat fish & fish & more fish - crustacean & otherwise.

Fish and crustaceans.

The best fish and chips in town will not be in this area of the city. My two favorite spots are a pub and family restaurant which are difficult to reach on public transport. But to be honest, Summer Shack or Legal Seafoods would do a fine job But, unlike so many places in the country, you will find good fish at almost any restaurant. Lacey and I agree to disagree about the Seaport which I think feels a bit like a food disneyland with the exception of Babo [which we both love!]

So let's talk Italian food. Do you want the Italian-American version or Continental, i.e. the real thing. Different answers depending on what you need/want.

Bagels are, well, hard to find but we have some acceptable versions here. The best of the best are the Bagelsaurus bagels, but you have to travel to Porter Square for those. At Whole Foods which is right by your hotel, you can find Iggy bagels which are more Montreal than Jewish. Around town, you will find Brueggers which is a small regional chain, and they are pretty good indeed. There is one along the Freedom Trail right by the Old South Meeting House.

If you want a delicious sandwich, big enough to share, consider Sam LaGrassa's. It is a Jewish style deli in the style of Katz or Carnegie's in NYCity. Their pastrami is excellent! It is also on Bromfield Street which runs between Tremont and Washington.

And for a really excellent cocktail, consider going to liberty bar which is right near your hotel. It is located in the old jail and they are quite the scene. It is now a hotel, and they do artisinal cocktails. They have restaurants, but be warned..... VERY pricey. A cocktail and maybe a bowl of nuts should be enough to spend I bet.

Minus, I would choose a gyro sandwich over the Whole Foods pre made myself, but then walk the couple of blocks to the food market and get a special pastry. :-) You will need to keep your strength up after all. *susan*

Haven't been to Quincy Market since a school trip back in my Junior year of high school.

Lots of great food in Providence! Glad you can partake in those delights, Susan. Enjoy your time

Have a great time susan.

Supper tonite. Nothing maybe Mrs grass soup. But I'm not hungry. Got the flu.or at least a version of it. Oh well.

Much love to all.