So...whats for dinner?

I have to say, all this parental talk is making me feel so very lucky that my mother is so very healthy, and that my father's decline was so graceful. His dementia meant that he didn't fight, and his love for my mother meant that he trusted her implicitly. This was not trust misplaced either. In fact, my mother, now that she has resigned from her job in protest, has asked me to book her some plane tickets. She wants to spend Easter with her cousin in Ham, which is a farm at the northern most point of mainland Scotland. And so I will. She will spend some time in London, head to Ham with her cousin, spend a few weeks, return to London to attend some of the Spring museum exhibit openings before returning to New England almost a full month later. How cool is this?????

We have selected every, single paint color. In the morning, I will go to the Benjamin Moore store and have them all mixed up. Then I will place the cans in the proper rooms, and they will start the painting! More conversations with insurance people. The day was over, but I made chicken schnitzel for the whole family. The pregnant girl wanted a lemon cream sauce for her pasta, and so a lemon cream sauce was made. The rest of us had sautéed mushrooms with lemon and a plain pasta. A huge amount of asparagus balanced out the meal.

Tomorrow is a real hospital day. Looks like I will be there for at least four hours since I am getting my first Xgeva shot. Dreading this shot to be honest, but there it is.

So, the marble is a white Carrera, but she selected a very grey version. Turns out this is "out of style" so we go it for a song. Seriously. The price was less than for formica! Just a lucky break for us.

Love the cupcakes. I am not so artistic with my baked goods. The girl child however, does beautiful work like this. Takes more patience and care than I seem to possess.

*susan*

Eric Also crossing fingers for your Mother's ER visit.

Susan - good luck w/the Xgeva. I hope the SEs are easy, but will be interested to hear how it goes. i've been trying to get my mind around Prolia (same drug but I think not quite as strong), but I've been so worried about possible dental issues - ONJ. Found out today that two teeth must have crowns. One of them was damaged by radiation decay or chemo dry mouth and now has a cavity, but it may break off while they're prepping for a crown. If I have to have an extraction & implant, the Prolia will be delayed once again.

And I refuse to put these crowns in front of all the plans I've already made for spring. I've been putting off various trips for 5 years and just not going to put them off any longer. So dental work will wait until May.

Sending calming hopes for all the parental issues to be resolved. Susan, how neat that your Mother will take this trip.

Lacey - great to see you writing long posts again. Sandy - you have the most interesting meals.

Special - thanks for the Prolia review.

My goal for today is to find a good Cobb salad somewhere around the Medical Center - where I will be stuck waiting between morning & afternoon doc appointments. Weird - I've lived here for over 40 years and none of the places I know serve this anymore. Dr. Google has given me a number of places to try & one is only 4 blocks from my afternoon doc. Reviews to follow.

minus - I was osteopenic, but stable, prior to BC dx, couldn't tolerate the oral bisphosphanates due to reflux surgery in '95. Chemo and six months of anti-hormonals took me to brink of osteoporosis. After the fifth Prolia injection I had a DEXA done and I have normal density now. In 2015 ASCO released positive info regarding Prolia and reduced fracture risk in BC patients.

Eric, hope Mom is ok? I get it, my Mom is 79 and was in the hospital with GI surgery right before my dx. Seems like there is so much more complications as we age. Her cardiologist now wants her to do a stress test because the surgery caused a clot in her leg. But she has other health issues as well and that may pose complications with treatment. My grandmother (her mother) lived till 101, kicking and not worrying about a darn thing, passed in her sleep. Best way to go. How old is DD? Mine is 16 and we are planning a college visit in March between my chemo. Didn't seem this complicated when I went to college. Seems like we get information overload and decisions become muddled.

Carberry, wishing your Dad well. I believe it is always so challenging to watch them as well as for them to see us go through this.

Everyone, thanks for the compliments on the cupcakes, it did keep me busy through the morning. I started baking( and I love to bake because there is less clean up then preparing a meal) about 5 years ago as a way to connect with my heritage. My mom, an excellent cook and baker, was highly encouraging. However, now, at least after chemo, I am going to try doing it with sugarless recipes. Will let you know how it all turns out.

Susan, white carrera out of style? Really? I just heard Nate Berkus (the designer) proclaimed that it is the hottest greatest trend in kitchens on the Oprah show. I think it is timeless, I was going to do the same with my next kitchen.

Spent most of the day at the med center w/no break for lunch (so no Cobb Salad). They couldn't get any blood from my port at the infusion center in spite of numerous drugs & attempts. I am so disgusted that I didn't even want to stop & eat. Dinner (along w/late lunch) was a can of smoked oysters, two tomatoes with HEB ranch dressing and 1/2 a potato w/lots of better.

Susan - Great news. Thanks for the update. Hope you don't get the flu symptoms. I too love your countertops.

Minus, so what happens next with the port? Sounds like an exasperating experience for you.

Susan, hands raised in a YAY motion for your good news!

Eric, hope the trip with DD and Sharon worked out well. I must have missed the news on Sharon's arm.

The potluck lunch buffet yesterday had more selections than I could sample. I enjoyed what I put on my plate. We had leftover chicken salad and each had a portion of that for dinner.

Dinner tonight is in the ??? phase.

Thanks for asking about the port Eric & Carole. No, they could never get blood even w/two injections of Activase (dissolves fibers or clots). Supposedly I will have to go to Interventional Radiology to have dye injected. That's an outpatient procedure & unfortunately their appointments are not "next day". And even worse, the surgeon who implanted the port is on vacation so I can't get orders for IR. And then if that still doesn't work, I'll have to decide about having the port replaced or ditching in. The infusion center nurses tell me no blood return is no big deal. I hope they're right because I am going to see my son the day my BS returns. As my mother used to say "come hell or high water", I'm going. Airline ticket purchased, rental car pre-paid, hotels booked, airport parking pre-paid, arrangements to meet 4 different people set - and I'm tired of having to change my plans for the last 5 years due to BC.

Sorry for the rant. Crying didn't help so now I'm mad. And determined. Thanks for listening & also sorry for hijacking the thread away from food.

Dinner will be something with a 1/2 pork loin that I froze after cooking last month. I did buy brandy so maybe I'll try that brandy cream sauce I didn't have on hand last time I wanted to cook this dish.

Minus, first of all, thanks for the continuing support with info to help those of us who have struggled with lost posts. I do have to say, that somehow, all of my posts have worked fine since my last complaint on our thread, even before I attempted to check with the mods. So odd....

Next, Minus, I know very little about "problem ports" ( for which I feel very fortunate), but do hope that your situation gets resolved with a minimum of trouble for you! That said, I am now wishing you a wonderful BC FREE (!!!) trip to see your son. I would choose to believe the nurse who said "no problem", and employ some "functional denial" about the whole situation so that you can enjoy your trip. I am not one to use the term "deserve" lightly or often, but you deserve this trip to be worry free so you can have a wonderful time with your son and DGF.

Yesterday, I saw the foot doc who thinks that my arch problem is probably just an arch fascia problem which he thinks will resolve with rest (free ticket to skip the gym for a week) and ibuprofen. We'll see. I still want to order another super duper orthotic from him....super duper b/c the are now over $500. Oy! But it does help my arch function, and I will not bore you with the long story of how my foot got in this condition. Anyway....

After my doc appt we headed into Hvd Sq. to see "1984" performed. Well! Important a performance as it was, and how unbelievably creative the staging was, it was so painfully gruesome in it's graphic torture scene that I would not recommend it to most of my friends. It also struck me that there must have been people in the audience who were trauma victims, and how awful it must have been for them to sit through this. There was a "warning" about this, but I was still unprepared for what we saw. DH and I did have an interesting discussion on the way home, as a result of the high impact of the performance.

Today, I had my haircut, (I keep trying to work through the "old women should not wear long hair", so made it a bit closer to shoulder length, to avoid any witchy look) and did my routine international shopping trip since my hairdresser is near my favorite stores that have wonderful ethnic prepared foods, dry food and produce. Also stopped into mt favorite "junk store" and lo and behold found bottles of my new favorite Lucini pinot grigio white wine vinegar. I love this stuff for my salad vinegar and could not recall where I bought it....and it is quite expensive online, even without the shipping costs. So could I be happier??!! No! I bought four bottles of that , one of their pinot noir wine vinegar, and one of their olive oil. Does any one else use this Tuscan brand?

I found some fresh tumeric at Alna Bazaar which the check out gal said I could peel and cut ip to put in my salads. Really?! Tom Brady would love that...maybe I'll invite Giselle and him over for kale soup and salad! That reference is for those of you who have read about their insane healthful, anti-inflammatory diet.

So for dinner tonight, we are having a variety of lahmajun ( maybe Inshould not be referring them all as that..just the meat one), meat, chopped onions and peppers, and a spicy one made with a spice unknown to me, but it looks pretty, and HOT, with some cheese on it. I also picked up a couple of meat filled round items whose names I forget. They look like kibbeh. He will be a happy camper.

Before heading home, I stopped into the kids consignment store where I pick up tutus for our little DGD, and got a purple one with lots of sequins....so sparkly...she'll be over the moon with it! I had texted my DDIL to check on any size changes for her, and leatned that she was headed to the kids' pre-school where they were celebrating "international day". The pix she sent sure documented how multicultural their classes are...and I felt in tune with them as I cruised my ethnic stores.

So tonight, a big salad with several of the lettuces I picked up today, and those Lebanese items will be our dinner.

Kiks, those cupcakes were sooo tempting!

Eric, I hope the college visit went well. I am a total college search/application/admission junkie, so love to hear about people's experiences in this process. It is such a punctuated time in both parents and their kid's lives! And visits are possibly the most fun times since their is no pressure, you are the buyer, and just get to tour with your kid. Enjoy these!

And Susan, (saving the best for last I am so glad to see that you are medically heading in the right direction, especially after you have been such a trooper dealing with all the SEs of your new drugs. I love that your MO agrees to be a friend to your hands and feet. Hoping for some pretty quick relief for them!

Okay, if this post does not disappear, I will be a very happy too long poster

Minus, no apologies, please. We all do our share of hijacking the food talk around the kitchen table. Hope your trip to CA is wonderful.

I made chicken stock yesterday afternoon, using the skeleton from the rotisserie chicken. I threw in skin and all and it wasn't clear and beautiful but it will be labeled "chicken stock" nonetheless. I also found three gala apples in the refrigerator. They were a bit wrinkled and past the "eat raw" stage but I hated to throw them away since apples are pricey. I checked out recipes for baked sliced apples and sprinkled the peeled slices with some splenda brown sugar and cinnamon. Drizzled with a little maple syrup and scattered some small chunks of butter. Into the toaster oven for 30 min. at 350 degrees. Then I poured some apple juice into the dish and back into the oven for 30 min. more. The texture was a little spongy but the taste was good enough that we ate the cooked slices for dessert with a scoop of ice cream. .

Dinner tonight will be leftover linguine and tomato meat sauce. Side will be a romaine salad with cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and avocado.

Bought some beautiful eggplants this afternoon at the supermarket so tomorrow I'll make eggplant casseroles. Haven't decided if the tomato sauce will include meat. I have a lb. of pork sausage thawed out that needs to be turned into Italian sausage and cooked.

Waiting for a report on Eric's trip with DD and Sharon.

The visit went well. I like the place, but the decision is totally up to DD. Northern Arizona University. versus Arizona State University and right now we're at NAU. I think we are scheduled for a tour at ASU in a couple of weeks. She's looking at a business degree. Her two dream jobs are working in the back office at a sports franchise or opening her own pet care business. This brought back a lot of memories for me too.

Sharon fell outside back in late December. She cracked her right humerus, just below the head, Enough of the bone was intact that it didn't move, but that didn't stop it from hurting.

Dinner tonight is going to be some restaurant food. We stopped by a drive through local coffee place that DD found on the Internet. I'm drinking my black coffee and she's drinking some "coffee with this, that, some other stuff and who knows what else". :-)

Artichokes are DD's fave food!  I grew up eating them in California, along with many other excellent types of fresh produce - I was a lucky kid!

minus - port issues are such a pain.  I accompanied my young TN friend to chemo and her did not work half the time - she had the injections, did windmill movements and did what they call the Marilyn - threw her head to the side - don't know why the onc nurses named it that, but one - or a combo - of these things usually worked.  I don't recall they ever had to use a vein, but man is it frustrating.  I had a significant delay between BMX, when my port was put in, and chemo and nobody remembered that I should have it flushed.  It sat for 3 1/2 months, but worked like a champ first try.  I have been lucky with it - just had it flushed yesterday.  My only problem is that sometimes it bleeds after a flush - with no apparent reason.  My MO says it can be removed but he ordered a BCI test to determine if I can stop anti-hormonals at 5 years.  This test was run on my original tumor sample.  The result was disconcerting - high risk of recurrence and no benefit from anti-hormonals, so maybe I will keep the port.  Have not discussed this with the MO yet.

I had a weird college tour with my DS and his buddy.  Me and two 17 year-old boys on a long 5-day road trip through Florida - illuminating for me to say the least!

Dinner tonight was baked potato salad and French Dip sandwiches - yum!

Susan, your enthusiasm over the evolving wonderful home is infectious! I hope you and the kids are happy with the finished product.

I had a busy morning in the kitchen. First, I peeled and sliced the three glossy and firm eggplants, brushed the slices with olive oil and browned them on top of the stove using a griddle. Then I assembled two eggplant layered dishes with bottled marinara, the remainder of a jar of Sal & Judy's Heart Healthy sauce and half a jar of Rao's sauce. I also used a bag of bought grated Italian cheeses. I had cheese to grate but went the easy route. The Sargento 6 Italian cheeses was on sale for $2.50 for 8 oz. so I tossed a couple of bags into the cart. Both the eggplant dishes are in the freezer.

I also added seasonings to a lb. of pork sausage to make Italian sausage. I cooked the sausage and stored it in the refrigerator to be used in frittatas and maybe a pizza next week.

Dinner will be pork chops and asparagus and leftover cauliflower/potato mash.

Tomorrow's Sunday dinner will be boiled picnic ham, mashed potato salad (eaten room temperature), and home-made baked beans. DH is doing the beans. He cooked a lb. of white beans this morning, either navy or great northern. I'm not sure which. He was looking up recipes yesterday and has a Cook's Country cookbook on the table. He's a big fan of baked beans and took my suggestion that he make them.

It's another gorgeous spring-like day here, high in the 60's. I think spring has arrived.

Lacey, what a Lacey kind of gesture!! You are, indeed, a really good friend. Now you get to plan some meals to go with the games.

Carole, those eggplant sound delicious. I used to do rolled grilled eggplant planks, wrapping them around all kinds of things. I should get back to making that. Lots of work, but so delicious!

<boring house update> It was not possible to "move" into our second floor today, but it is okay. I spent three hours in the house this morning, and it was worth every minute. I was able to direct the painters, buy them some more paint, remind the carpenter of several projects he had "forgotten" about and would have required the painters to come back later, and a plumber showed! He installed two toilets! [I like working toilets a lot it turns out!] and when I came back from the paint store, he was looking for more to do in order to fill a day. Why yes, I did have shower and faucet fixtures. When I left, they were going to move the vanities into the baths, hook in the faucets, and install the shower and tub hardware. The painters were doing additional coats of paint in the hallways and kitchen. I will head back tonight, I think to see if the second floor is indeed all mine to start my stuff. </boring house update>

Dinner tonight is some kind of pork tenderloin with potatoes and a large green salad. For some reason, I am drawing a blank on what I want to rub the tenderloin with or marinade it in. This is not a cut of meat I have my experience with, so I am still learning.

*susan*

today I gave my mom the much needed individual attention she needed. Took her to the second hand store to find some fun red carpet attire that she and dad will attend at the senior center. spent a couple of hours in there and got some cool stuff, a fedora hat for dad and a blingy sweater and boa for her. Hope they can go on Friday, Dad is sick after just 3 days on the new med, I had to encourage him to take the anti-diarrheal meds the doc gave him (not sure why he is so hesitant) anyway time will tell.

came home and made tomato soup with open faced ruebens done in the oven ( a weight watchers recipe) was not thrilled with the low fat swiss cheese, melted kinda rubbery, but overall edible. I also got some ham slices and will be looking forward to eggs benedict for Sunday breakfast.

Carole so jealous of you 60's weather. High of 52 here tomorrow and will be making a plan for the grill!

Susan Loving the "boring house updates" my kinda talk! Need to get back on track and get some stuff going for the NC house, cant decide on ceiling fans and cabinet pulls. I am stuck.