So...whats for dinner?
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Hi. It's been busy here. The paper chase so I can sign for mom is progressing. And I just finished replacing (2nd time this week) the toilet in mom's house. We are now on toilet number 4. Fortunately the plumbing is done the way *I* like to do it, rather than what is cheapest for the builder, so it's only about 30 minutes for me to replace a toilet. The cleanup of the (fortunately fresh) water soaking into the carpet was, unfortunately, a couple of hours worth of work.
I put on my engineer "propeller hat" and I think I figured out what was happening. And even better, I think I have it fixed. When mom sits down she sits down kind of hard and leans back against the toilet tank. There is about 3 or 4 inches between the wall and the tank and the only thing holding the toilet together is two bolts between the tank and the bowl and there is a lot of leverage between working against the porcelain at that point. So, I got my jig saw out and cut a piece of wood, flat on the wall side and curved on the tank side to brace the tank. The wood extends way out on either side of the toilet tank so the wall studs are doing the major work of absorbing the load. A couple of screws to hold the wood onto the wall and I hope no more floods.
While I was getting paint for the wood, I was telling the lady at the hardware store what I was doing and she showed me a product that does what I needed and would only take 5-10 minutes to install, using only a utility knife...sigh... :-) The box said "better brace the tank before Uncle Frank......". I know it's not "what's for dinner", but if it keeps a dinner from getting interrupted..
Susan, the botched blood draw sucks on so many levels I don't even know where to start. Perhaps bring a hammer with you the next time and tell them that, if needed, you can hurt them back. That or a pair of ViceGrip pliers used in place of tenterhooks. :-)
Auntie, maybe, just maybe, things will settle down you and your dad. I can hope, anyway! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Joyce, I'm smiling at the snow picture. The temperatures have already been in the 90F degree range here. Another six weeks or so and the tomatoes will quit setting fruit.
Special, thanks for the picture of DH and DD. Is this "fisher" daughter? As for the story, I immediately thought of Little Miss Muffet. Sorry....
Minus, it's getting close to prom. but I've not heard of any date plans though. She did get her senior pictures done on Wednesday. She was talking with a photographer the week prior to make arrangements and DD put me on the phone to answer a question. It turns out I've known the photographer for 25+ years.
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My mother injured her left leg last Sunday. It has been swollen and bruised all week with a hematoma on top of the bruise. Today she was transferred by ambulance next door to the hospital. I rode in the ambulance with her, a trip of about 3 minutes. Now she is once again a hospital patient. She is being treated with antibiotics by IV for cellulitis. So while this healing goes on, no therapy and lying in bed will do nothing to help her maintain whatever strength and movement she had struggled to gain.
In the ER when a tech person was searching for a good vein in her left arm, he commented that the vein he was examining had been "blown." I thought of you, Susan.
Our plan is to depart the latter part of May. What I may end up doing this summer is return home at intervals to relieve my younger sister, on whom the brunt of the responsibility will fall in my absence. This sister and my mother have already told me that I should not alter my plans. My dh is 76 and I am 73. He is a cardiac patient and I a breast cancer survivor. As my wise young sister insists, we have our lives to live, too. The irony here is that we chose not to have children because we preferred to pursue our own selfish interests.
Dinner tonight was pizza delivered to the door and along with it, brownies. I enjoyed both. Whatever cooking I have done of late has not been inspired.
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eric - yes, that is the fisher DD - she cleans up well! I found the spider story hilarious, her...not so much. It is one of those "it's funny later" things.
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Oh Joyce, how awful. My grandfather died after a botched suicide attempt. I've never quite forgiven him for it.
Carole, I'm so sorry about your mom's setback. How frustrating for all of you after all of her hard work.
My dad spent the night throwing up after he ran out of his stomach meds. I'm worried about dehydration. He was feeling better this morning but still hasn't eaten or had anything to drink. His housekeeper and visiting nurse are both coming in this morning so I'm hoping the VN can help or send him to the hospital. One step forward, one step back.
On a happier note, today is my beloved St. Louis Cardinals home opener. Go Cards!
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susan - thank you for the compliment for DD and DH, she is looking statuesque - DH is a six-footer. She has some tall wedges on and she did catch the bouquet, but took her shoes off for that, lol! This is the second wedding in a row that she nabbed the bouquet and she isn't even dating anyone, lol! I saw more pictures last night when they got home and there were lots of hats - the ladies had fascinators and big hats, some pretty fancy ones too - even the men wore them - porkpie and fedoras! It just happened that particular pic didn't show any and I wondered about that too! DD said that during the outdoor ceremony a number of people had their hats blow off and tumble around - it was pretty windy - that is how the spider landed in her dress because she was not directly under the tree.
carole and auntie - no rest for both of you with parental emergencies, I remember well and sympathize.
joyce - I am so sorry about your dad, it is so difficult for all, I can't imagine how hard it is to know he felt so low that this was his only alternative. Glad your mom is managing and that she can be with your brother.
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Joyce, how horrible for your mother and for the whole family. My father's brother committed suicide successfully and my aunt came home from a dr.'s appointment and found him. It was a devastating experience for her and the two daughters and for my dad. My uncle had become disabled and was in a lot of pain. He felt he was useless to his family. In WWII he was in the Navy and was on two different ships that were destroyed. I have fond memories of him. In his healthy days, he was a lot of fun.
On the positive side, I suspect my mother is enjoying her return to the hospital as a respite from the rehab. Today she got to watch Price is Right and The Young and the Restless for the first time in weeks. Plus she likes the hospital meals much more than the nursing home fare. I was happy to learn that she did have a visit from the hospital therapists today. They had her stand up several times with assistance.
I was home today and cleaned the back porch and patio and the outdoor furniture. It was good to do mindless grunt work. Since I was at a loss in deciding a menu for dinner, we're having the usual "at a loss" meal, linguine. I converted a lb of ground pork into Italian sausage and put together a tomato sauce this afternoon. I also grated some romano cheese. So finishing up the meal will be easy. Cook the linguine and make a salad and warm up the sauce. DH will be a happy man.
SpecialK, your daughter is gorgeous. And your dh is handsome. I think we need to see what your son looks like!
My youngest brother called today to say he has booked airline tickets for the end of May to come and spend several days with our mother. That will work out great for him to come just as I am departing. It would be great to have him living closer.
Nance, how old is your dad?
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Carole, my dad will be 90 in August. He is doing much better today. The visiting nurse saw to it that he ate breakfast and was hydrated. He had not taken any of his meds since Saturday and she was in a bit of a tizzy about that. As a result, I will be taking my dad to his primary doc on Wednesday to get his med list straightened out. I am greatly relieved that he is better.
Tonight is the dinner that we were supposed to have last night. Because of the dad situation and a coincidental low blood sugar that I had some difficulty rebounding from, last night's dinner was chicken noodle soup. From a can. DH fixed himself some eggs and toast.
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I feel dumb that I am so irritated that my mother can't seem to enjoy a cell phone, and needs me to print boarding passes for her various plane rides. Perspective!
I pulled a chicken breast from the freezer and marinated it in a Greek-inspired marinade. I made a tomato, red onion, and feta salad with rice vinegar. Then boiled a few tiny potatoes and dressed with more vinegar. A few carrots were sliced up, and the tomato-vinegar liquid was used to dress a ton of lettuce with a bit of olive oil. I used the grill pan to cook up the strips of chicken. Our composed salads were very good, enhanced with a small loaf of Seven Stars bread.
*susan*
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carole - thanks! Inthought it was a sweet pic of them - will probably include it on the 2016 holiday card - I usually do a montage. DS is tall and handsome, and yes, I am biased. Here he is, and a pic of all of us.
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Great picture SK, you're a good looking group!
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auntie - thanks! I am not sure how my kids are so tall when I am such a shrimp - I even have heels on in that pic!
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Lovely family pic, Special!
Maybe all that tasty, nutritious food you lovingly served over the years got DS and DD to max height.
And then, of course, there's Daddy genes! 
. Either way, great photo0 -
lacey - thanks! It's interesting as DH is the tallest man in his family but DS is much taller. I am adopted so I may actually be the one short person from a tall family. Both kids look more strongly like me and their cousins look like DH's family, so my genes seem to dominate. I just did a DNA test with Ancestry.com and it was interesting to find out about my origins. I gave a test to DH for Christmas even though he had a pretty good handle on his, it still contained a few little surprises. I wanted the kids to have the complete picture
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Wow - Gorgeous group Special. Glad you said 'shrimp' because it's just what I was thinking. But such a pretty shrimp. I agree with Lacey - maybe all the nutritious food?
Susan - My son gets frustrated w/me over computer issues too, although I can print my own boarding passes. You've met me so you know I'm not completely from the back woods, but I am a luddite. I'm still using my old flip phone and have only a desk top computer. I have no desire to be "plugged in" 24/7. Of course I can see that things might be different if I had grandchildren. I have friends who say that generation won't communicate except by texting.
Relating computer literacy to food... A friend and I went to a play Sunday afternoon & decided to eat at Pei Wei afterwards. (It's a downscale part of the PF Chang's chinese chain). We knew we'd seen one close by the theater. Yup, maybe just around that corner. Nope, one street to the south. Neither of us have smart phones & we did find it after only a few minutes of looking. Prices have gone up & the food was only adequate. Not much different than Panda Express. Kind of too bad we found it. Our alternate was the Cafe Ginger - a truly memorable Asian fusion restaurant with happy hour prices on sushi & all appetizers from 4-6 Sunday through Thursday. Amazing deals like 2 egg rolls or 6 crab puffs for $2.00 and shrimp tempura or a plate of BBQ ribs for $4.00
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Special What a great looking family! My son is 6'5" but expectedly so, since I am 5'10 and DH is 6'4" Daughter got the short gene from her grandma she is only 5'4"
Had roasted chicken last night with salsa rice with black beans. Sole intention was to have leftover chicken breast to make chicken salad sandwiches with cranberries, celery and walnuts on a croissant. Side green salad
Only forty degrees here today and I have seen a lot of "crazy" men attempting to mow their lawns with winter jackets and hats on. Maybe I will put the snow shovels away today!
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minus - thanks! And, yes, I am a shrimp, lol!
carberry - thanks also! I remember when we lived in Washington state, my kids had to play t-ball in parkas. We lived in upstate NY for 4 years and it snowed on us as we were packing our moving truck in mid-May - they had already packed all of our coats, of course.
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Tonight is "at a loss" meal 2, lemony chicken! Side will be steamed broccoli and a small baked potato for dh.
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It was that kind for us too Carole, tamales and Spanish rice.
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Grilled some cheeseburgers, dilled red potato salad and a romaine salad with avocado. Ate outside and watched the Rays game for a bit - DH just returned from a couple of days of briefings at the Pentagon. He came home from the wedding and took off for DC
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Today was all about the condo. There was no hot water this morning. The girl child came to our house to get clean while her Dad headed to the condo to figure this out. The Great Sergio was there and the two of them got the pilot light relit. And then Mr. 02143 stayed for hours to do his "stuff." He fixed the back door bench so the legs don't bump into the baseboard. And he spent hours recalibrating the temperature of the water so it was not above 128º. That is the magic number. Today's inspection was delayed. We can only hope that it happens tomorrow. Tuesday is Taco Tuesday... $1.00 tacos! And Mr. 02143 really wanted a taco. Long story, we had tacos, but evidently we didn't order the $1.00 tacos. Even more annoying, the wait person was horrid. We will not return on Tuesday since she confirmed she always works on Tuesday. When I asked for a napkin, she ROLLED HER EYES!!! She was nicer after the owner/chef greeted us like a regular. After our tacos, we headed back to the condo to tweak the water temperatures. Damn..... took over an hour but the temperature is finally good.
*susan*
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Before dinner, DD's workplace called to have her fill in for someone who called in sick, Sharon cooked her Jenny Craig meal and I didn't feel like cooking for one, so I ate an apple and a grapefruit.
I'm slowly losing weight again, but it's taking running 8 to 9 miles per day, 5 or 6 days a week, to do it.
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Whoah--by the time I saw this thread it had certainly gotten away from me! Had some wonderful meals (nothing fancy this time, though) in Paris and again in San Antonio at the resort & spa. Wed. night in the casual dining restaurant a rather ordinary steak smothered in too-sweet veggies and a fried egg, and a bizarre Benedict (chorizo burgers instead of Canadian bacon, biscuits instead of English muffins, jalapeno Hollandaise) for room service breakfast. But second & third nights we ate at Antlers Lodge (so named because of this chandelier):
Thursday night’s dinner was chicken-fried oysters and a bison ribeye with spinach & brussels sprouts, and bourbon-pecan gelato for dessert. (Brunch Fri. was the leftovers). Friday night was salad, salmon carpaccio and spice-dusted elk with grilled asparagus. (No dessert--we were stuffed). Leftover elk for breakfast SAt., crudites at the spa after my massage & facial for midmorning snack. Went to the RIverwalk but the closest we could park was in La Villita, so lunch was at Guadalajara Grill: nopale salad, carnitas fajitas. We were so stuffed we walked the complete downtown Riverwalk loop, ending up at Rio de Gelato across from the parking lot. We had a bizarre-sounding but wonderful-tasting artisanal gelato, whimsically named Cielo: Madagascar vanilla base blended with 25-yr-old Balsamico, dates and cinnamon. Finally, about 11 pm back at the resort we ordered a room-service “Margherita” pizza that was spectacularly awful. (Basically spongy crust with mozzarella and a few swirls of pesto & tomato puree). On the way back to the airport Sun. we had fantastic brisket & greens at Big Bib BBQ in Alamo Heights. Once we got through TSA, we hung out in Vino Volo, sampling bubblies & Pinot Noir for over 3 hrs, keeping a nice lady from Guadalajara from getting bored while waiting for her indefinitely delayed flight back home (she did drink us under the table). Bob & I shared a blueberry salad and minted lamb meatballs. Home too late for dinner. Last night I ordered out from Jimmy’s for NY pizza--ironically the best pizza I’ve encountered in Chicago. And tonight I grilled some asparagus (orange-lemon-balsamic vinaigrette) and pan-seared some halibut fillets (tarragon-oregano marinade). Fruit-infused water instead of wine. (Done enough drinking for awhile).
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Sandy - your trips sound like a whirlwind of interesting meal opportunities. I expect you're glad to get home for a bit.
Susan - what makes 128 degrees the magic number? I'm sure my ex would know and he's driving me home from the doc today & buying my lunch so I'll ask him too. Hope the inspection is done today.
Joyce - I've loved hearing about your Florida winter. So good to have you back.
Eric - 8-9 miles a day? For real in that Phoenix heat? You are a brave soul.
Had a board meeting last night and too tired to eat when I got home. I considered popcorn, but passed on everything. Still trying to get total gut control back after all the pain meds so breakfast was All Bran cereal with fresh raspberries - 1/2 milk and 1/2 heavy cream. Surprisingly good together.
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All I know is that the temperature must, by code, be lower than 128º. Massachusetts has a lot of consumer protection and safety laws, which is actually a good thing. At 128º, a child will not burn themselves badly washing their hands and an elder won't slip into an overheated tub of water. This water heater doesn't have a thermostat, so the setting of temperatures is very manual and time-consuming.
*susan*
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Dinner tonight will be warmed up linguine with tomato and meat (Italian sausage) sauce and romaine salad with additions including blue cheese and avocado.
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Dinner here was broiled cod with an herbed bread crumb topping and some weird combination of a tomato, thyme and onion sauce over fast sautéed spiraled zucchini and yellow squash. A bit of bread on the side. Not bad. Not great.
I have been craving avocados. Need to get to the market!
*susan*
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Jeez, I just skirted thru all the posts since like the 27th of March???? I haven't checked in and I am still coughing and my dad fell a week ago Tues at assisted living with the aid coming out of the bathroom and then he fell again on that Thursday and the director said he had to go, it just wasn't safe--his transfers were insufficient and so I spent Sat and Sunday moving all his stuff except the beds and the sofa back to his house. then on Monday, he moved to the nursing home......
The food you all have described sounds wonderful, as I have been eating donuts in am and take out at night and no lunch most days. NOT GOOD. Saw the onc today and he wants me to see my PCP about my gut acting up for the past month. My guess is it is stress, and I shared with him what was going on, but he said do you feel good and I said yes, I just have the shits unless I take Imodium. He said get it checked, so I am.
When I broke my wrist, I finally learned to have the butcher at the meat counter slice or cube the meat the way I wanted it, and I bought the expensive, precut fruit unless I had a buddy shopping with me who would do it when I got home. You don't want to slice off a finger or stab yourself over a cantaloupe.......or a tomato....
The house looks great Susan and I hate what they did to your vein. Sending you tummy calming thoughts.
I need something yummy and fast to make for my bowling party Monday. I always take deviled eggs but I'd like something easy. Maybe a bowl of fruit salad or something. Any suggestions?
Bedo, are you ok? Please check in . I wish my Dad would fire me......HAHA.
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An exhausting day with dad ended in carryout pizza. It was good enough.
Good news, the Berkshire Pig has gone to the butcher. I placed my cut order today, yay!
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Red, how about a tortellini salad? Buy frozen tortellini, julienned sun dried tomato, grated parmesan cheese [see note], prepared pesto, red wine vinegar, and red onion. Boil the tortellini for three minutes. Dress with some vinegar and pesto while warm. Mince the onion. Toss with salad with pesto to taste, salt, tomatoes, onions and possibly a little more olive oil if the pesto is too thick. When the salad has reached room temperature, add the cheese. [If you are up to it, slivered parmesan cheese from a larger piece, sliced with a carrot peeler is even better.] This salad takes me about 20 minutes to make start to finish. Much less fussy than deviled eggs.
Nance, some nights pizza is THE answer. The pig cut is done! Wow! So exciting.
*susan*
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Susan--when the salad is made, do I put it in the fridge--make it in advance?
Or should it be served at room temp once made?
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