So...whats for dinner?

Dana Farber just needs to put the phone ID's in the physicians name. My dad's PCP does that, but 1/2 the time when they call, it is showing one of his associates names and not even his doctor, so the first time they called, we didn't answer cause the name meant nothing. We have however, gave explicit instruction s to leave messages on the home phone, so we are good. We also have a patient portal where messages can be left and sent to the doctor. I'm sure the nurse reads them instead of the doctor but it at least avoids being on hold for something as routine as a refilled script.

Susan, you have some big decisions to make, but having a top doctor who you like and will spend time and all is worth its weight in gold. I would struggle so much with leaving my MO, but if I was up against what you are, you can bet I would be going away from here to where the best doc was and screw the environmental factors. Certainly not what I would have imagined of a place with such a great reputation.

Lunch today was Liver and Onions, mashed taters , green beans and cottage cheese. Started to go to McDonalds, the line was wrong and I remembered the pink slime discussion from the nutitionist, so I went to the resturant downthe road, planning on a burger and the special was Liver and onions....not as good as my grandmothers but still delicious. Somthing I refuse to ever cook myself.i

Susan - thanks for sharing your journey. Sounds like Dana Farber is like MD Anderson. I chose to stay with Methodist & Baylor for the time being, but my surgeon did a fellowship at MDA and told me she would be the first to tell me to move over there if/when the time came or if there were questionable results. I've been through MDA with two friends. Excellent docs but 'hurry & wait' for clinics and not much personal attention.

Sorry not to address everyone's posts but I enjoyed reading them & catching up. Trying to get the normal & holiday stuff completed in case the weather cooperates and I can drive to my niece's house outside of San Antonio next week. It's 3 hours, so I won't go if there are bad storms. Since all my stuff had to be mailed early and now all the holiday stage & musical performances are over, I find myself not in a very holiday mood. Maybe we'll play Chickenfoot on Friday, but probably not since everyone else is bombarded with last minute stuff. Oh well, this isn't my first rodeo. I'll probably perk up after I hear CT results tomorrow.

Oh, Red, have I ever been there before! I had bought a spiffy new shiny red RFID-proof hardshell credit card case; went through the drive-thru ATM one day and freaked when I couldn't find it in my a-pocket-for-everything theft-proof travel purse. Drove home, cancelled EVERYTHING. The day after the last new card came, I was parking and noticed a flash of red between the center console and passenger seat. D'OH! On this trip, I have taken every precaution, including not just that purse (steel cable in the cross-body strap. steel mesh embedded in the ballistic nylon fabric, RFID-proof pockets, locking zipper pulls) but also an RFID-proof neck wallet for bills, change, ID, stateroom key and passport (worn beneath a zippered jacket beneath, in turn, a zippered leather jacket--storing passport in the safe whenever possible). Yet I am constantly panicking that I've lost one or another essential item!

Put ashore at Messina this morning, took the "Taormina on Your Own" tour. Lovely drive up there, but had no idea it was over a mile above sea level! Clouds parted, and we could see Mt. Etna. (Saw Vesuvius yesterday). Saw St. Nicholas Church. Strolled the town's main street (like Spacca Napoli without the crowds) and bought some local specialties (flavored sea salts, a bottle of Etna Rosso, marzipan, and torrone--both orange and pistachio). For lunch, hit a snack bar called "Strit FUD" (say it with an Italian accent)--had arancini (better than I had when a kid in Brooklyn) and Sicilian breakfast pizza (egg and prosciutto). On the way back, bought two cannoli, filled to order. Alas, I put the bag down so I could get a good pic of Etna--and when I turned around, a feral kitten (so cute it almost made my head explode) had stuck his head inside and was happily licking one of them (smart kitty--he knew to leave the chocolate chips, which are toxic to cats). When I got back to the ship, I had to cut off and flush that half of the cannolo down the loo. The remainder was the BEST cannoli I've ever had--and I've had pastries from Ferrara in NYC's Little Italy and Chicago's Oakley Ave., Taylor St. and Elmwood Park Italian bakeries.

Dinner onboard tonight (the regular dining room, not the specialty restaurant) was wedge salad, tournedos Rossini with foie gras, and a sugar free chocolate-mousse-filled profiterole. Champagne, an Alsatian Pinot Noir, and Sandeman's ruby Port. Gonna chase it with a couple of Tums. Very early call tomorrow for an 8-hr trip to Monreale, Palermo and back. And then the gym!!!!!

Speaking of that elevation at Taormina: hadn't realized I was in danger of lymphedema at only a mile high--because there was no pressurized airplane cabin. Felt my bicep tighten as we got into the bus to descend to the Autostrada, but it eased once we hit sea level. To be safe, will keep my LE sleeve & gauntlet in my purse, just in case.

ChiSandy, your tour and culinary delights sound wonderful! You got me at marzipan and torrone....both orange and pistachio!?! Yum!

I have fewer worries about losing cards and passports than starting up any lymphodema symptoms....so I am less "armed" for the cards than I am with the LE sleeve! Good luck!

This has nothing to do with food, but I have to share since Christmas will be here before you know it.....

My dad's visiting nurse has a 3 year old son. She is currently going to college for her RN and working practically full time. He is home with older siblings and his dad. She had his gifts in her closet, but not wrapped, as she does the Santa left them for him.....Well today he comes up to her at breakfast and says MOMMY DO YOU KNOW THERE ARE DINASOURs in your closet????? It is like all of his gifts.......

She said he has been taking last years toys and putting them under the tree and trying to tell her Santa came already.......

CT results were good today. The "ground glass opacity" that showed 6 months ago is gone. The MO thinks maybe it was infection or inflammation. I talked him into a PET/CT just before my next 6 mo appointment. If that shows no "hot spots", I guess I'll bite the bullet & get the port removed. But oh the thought of blood work & blood pressure with LE arms!!!

Stopped on the way home from the medical center and had a huge plate of "spaghetti works" - pasta, meat sauce, meat balls, mushrooms, cheese on top & melted under the broiler. Came with wonderful garlic bread. But then I don't really "know" any bad bread. I brought more than half of the pasta home. Tonight I celebrated with a gin & tonic. Supper will probably be a glass of red wine and the rest of the See's Victoria Toffee. Throw caution to the winds.

The Meyer Lemon site looks gorgeous. ChiSandy - what a neat trip. Oh Special, that freezer mess is the last thing you needed. Glad you're getting away for a couple of days. RedHead - I expect that poor nurse if fit to be tied. Maybe she can move the stuff & convince her son that it was a dream. Or a preview? Lacey - the description of "spirited" for the kiddos sounds more than rambunctious. Eeek.

No breaks..just *BADLY* bruised and hurting a lot.

Minus, yay on the clear imaging!

Eric, sorry to hear about Sharon's fall but good that she didn't break a bone.

SpecialK, maybe an electrical problem? Doesn't sound right that two appliances that new would both quit. Whatever the cause, what a mess.

Lacey, hope you feel better and can make those pizzelles. I've never eaten a pizzelle but have enjoyed home-made Italian cookies that are about walnut size and have icing in various colors. My SIL Deanna is Italian and her family bake hundreds of cookies at Christmas. My mother usualy is gifted with a Ziploc bag of them and she shares.

ChiSandy, thanks for checking in and letting us experience your holiday trip. Just the description of the pastries is packing weight on me!

Today I will pack up some of the crocheted hats I have been creating and take them to a cancer treatment center. I'm hoping they have some free counter space where I can display the hats with a little Free Hats cards. Too bad that we're having such a warm winter! Some of the hats are really cute and stylish. I've been having fun making them.

The chicken stir fry dinner was postponed until last night. I printed out a recipe from an internet search and the sauce was delicious. Ingredients were brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar and ???? thickener. I stir fried the chicken, then the veggies, added fresh garlic and ginger and cooked briefly before adding the sauce and letting it thicken, dumped the chicken back in and also the cooked and rinsed soba noodles. LOVE soba noodles. Thanks you, Nance, for encouraging me to try them.

I questioned dh about the "soba" he ate in Japan when he was in the army. It was street food. He said it consisted of a bowl with soba noodles and two little strips of cooked pork and pork broth ladled over the noodles and meat.

Meyer lemons aren't as much in evidence so far this winter season as they usually are. I see the trees in back yards when I play golf and am SO tempted to help myself. Many of the people whose yards border the golf course never bother to pick the lemons or the satsumas. We had an abundance of satsumas this year from our neighbors trees. I picked grocery bags full and took them to my mother. They are sweet easy-to-peel tangerines.

Minus, Yea from me too! Good news is wonderful.

Special, Sort of behind in reading this thread, but happy to hear the surgery went well (minus the wait), and you are on your way to new boobs! Ha Ha, not funny, but I will tell you, I was sure happy when I got my exchange in September. Glad you got it over before Christmas.

I enjoy reading all the posts here! Thank you

Lacey. Hope you feel better soon!

Long day today--ate just a little smoked fish, berries & cappuccino for breakfast knowing there'd be a big lunch & dinner. We put in at Trapani, Sicily this morning and took the all-day tour to Palermo & Monreale. The latter's partly-Moorish-style cathedral had amazing mosaics (all Bible stories in chronological order: the people were not only illiterate but the printing press hadn't yet been invented. So they had no access to Bibles had they even be capable of reading them--so pictures were the way they learned)! We then inched our way down to Palermo (traffic was insane) for the nickel tour & lunch. Lunch was antipasti of caponata (eggplant relish, like a chunkier ratatouille), arancini (stuffed deep-fried rice balls), and panelle (chickpea fritters). Second course was the official pasta of Palermo: anneletti al forgo, or "little rings" baked in a timbale with meat sauce, topped with cheese and then turned out on to the plate. Looked strangely familiar....and then we all shouted, seemingly at once, "uh-oh, Spaghetti-Os!" Bet there was at least one Sicilian food developer at the Franco-American division of Campbell's. But these were al dente and tasted a helluva lot better. Third course was roast pork in gravy with potatoes, but most of us couldn't finish...we needed to leave room for cannoli. We then walked though the old section of town, including the Teatro Massimo (where the opera scene of "Godfather Part III" was filmed, the church & convent across from City Hall--for which the city fathers bought a used fountain--statues included--not realizing all the figures (some of which were pagan gods) were buck naked and fully visible from the nuns' cloister windows. Then we saw the main cathedral, a mix of Byzantine, Moorish, Norman, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. We also got a brief history of the Mafia (duh).

Back on board in time to arrive in the middle of the sermon for Shabbat service (the ship's chaplain is a rabbi from outside Jerusalem). Some of the best bread & wine I've ever had for Kiddush. (Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Galilee & Golan Heights). Dinner was in the Chef's Table, the ship's nouvelle-molecular gastronomy restaurant. Lots of foams. dusts, and interesting Provencal, Spanish (both white & rose grenache/garnacha), tempranillo (the main grape of Rioja) and a vin santo (Tuscan sweet wine aged in lofts). I liked it all, though the beef was marinated till nearly mushy and the seasonings--while unusual--were a bit too conservative to fit their descriptions. Still, it was nice to not have to ask for the check.

My blister has grown a companion blister. (to paraphrase McCartney in "Helter Skelter." "I got blisters on me blisters")! Running out of band-aids. May have to visit sick bay to get more!

So much happening in this group! Special, ack! Lacey, hope you are well enough to travel this weekend. Chi, you are living a dream for most of us. Great way to celebrate the end of treatment. Eric, how is she doing?

I know that I have missed someone and for that, I apologize.

Over the past three [four?] days I have been obsessing about my next treatment plan, managing the house projects, and of course, making meals worth eating. The other day, I bought some lovely pork from the Korean market. This market sells Berkshire pork that has been sliced for tonkatsu, a Japanese fried pork dish. I pounded three of the six slices, dredged in flour, then egg, and finally panko. Mr. 02143 made some Jasmine rice, and I prepped a salad. After the pork was cooked, I made a wine-butter-lemon sauce. Can I say this was delicious??? On Friday, we met with our contractor at noon and by 1:30 we were ready to eat dirt! We headed to my favorite Turkish restaurant. I wanted soup. It must be Christmas. There was not a single parking space to be found, anywhere!!! We kept working our way down Mass Ave and eventually decided that there was a parking space at the Summer Shack, so that is where we ate. This was a huge lunch, so for supper, I made my Turkish soup [that I had hoped to have for lunch.] Tonight, I made the remaining pork into a pork-cabbage stir fry.

I am slowly coming to a decision about my future treatment. It is a painful process. It includes acknowledging a new reality, while trying to maintain my sense of humor. I have so many close friends that are helping. Each of them has been in my shoes. They have made different choices. I am so lucky to have such people in my life.

*susan*

Minus is right...Hugs, Susan.

Eric, glad Sharon is feeling better.

Hugs Susan. You have so much on your plate. I'm sorry you have to make treatment decision s as well.

Here is something to hopefully make everyone smile. Happy Holidays from Mr. Chrisapillar. Making his annual appearance.....

Try NOT to smile.

Don't worry, the next pics will be of the grands at a later date. LOL

PS. If you look to the right, the poinsettia is made from crawdaddys claws. I bought that when we were in NOLA once. LOL

Pop quiz. What's the strangest thing on your tree?