how about drinking?

I just got back from Boston and an incredible photoshoot with the STILL Project. (I got to wear a $5K necklace that was little more than beads sewn onto felt. It was pretty, but not $5K worth of pretty.) It was an amazing experience, and I'm so excited to help increase the visibility and acceptability of aesthetic flat closure. The production crew were so together, and the energy of the whole day was thrilling.

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Hump Day! Tomorrow Mom and I go to look at the apartment that is open in the facility she wants to be in. I am so hoping she'll be able to get it, but trying not to get my hopes up. At the same time I’m dreading the process moving her will be. She wants to keep everything, but won't have room for it all, and doesn't need it all (especially the must be near 100 plastic tub lids she has piled up in one corner of the kitchen counter) and will want to sell what she does decide to not take with her, but very few things are actually worth trying to sell. So I'm trying not to think about that part, too. And the trip to North Caroline is in a couple of weeks, getting Mom packed for that is going to be a real challenge. I think I 'm going to have to start sneaking clothes out of her place and packing them in my suitcase, or they'll never get washed and packed. Either that or do all her packing the day before. I'm staying at her place after dropping the puppers off at the kennel as we have to be at the airport by 4 ayem.

Techa--pecan oatmeal cookies sound wonderful!

Carole--good luck on the trip to Louisiana! How long does it take you to get back?

Morning, Wally, Minus!

Miriandra--glad you had such a good time! How can some beads sewn on felt be worth $5K? I hope it was fun wearing it, at least. Great pics!

Morning, Rischaller!

Celebration Royale Cocktail

Ingredients

• 3 oz champagne or sparkling wine
• 1 oz orange liqueur (e.g., Cointreau or Grand Marnier)
• 1 oz fresh fruit purée (raspberry, strawberry, or mango)
• ½ oz fresh lemon juice
• Fresh berries or a citrus twist for garnish
• Ice (optional, for pre-chilling glass

Instructions

1. Chill the glassware: Place a coupe or flute in the fridge for a few minutes, or fill it with ice water and let it sit while preparing the cocktail.
2. Combine fruit purée and citrus: In a shaker, mix 1 oz of your chosen fruit purée with ½ oz fresh lemon juice and 1 oz orange liqueur. Shake gently to blend.
3. Pour into glass: Strain the mixture into the chilled flute or coupe, avoiding seeds or pulp.
4. Top with sparkling wine: Slowly pour 3 oz of champagne over the fruit mixture to create a gorgeously layered effect.
5. Garnish and serve: Add a few fresh berries on a cocktail pick or float a thin citrus twist for a festive touch. Serve immediately while bubbly and fresh.

NM, I don't envy you with your job of moving your Mom to another place, but it seems as though the change will be good for her once she adjusts. I hope everything goes well with the trip to NC. You are a person to take on worthwhile challenges.

Our trip from MN to LA takes us two days and part of a third day. We were on the road at about 7:30 am each day because we like to arrive at our motel by 4 or 5 pm. We got home yesterday at 3 pm. We don't drive over 70 mph, towing a small cargo trailer. DH has a new Ford 150 pickup he bought last October that is great to drive and very comfortable.

We stayed at Drury Inns, which have the Kickback from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. The food buffet suffices as dinner and we combine our three free alcoholic drinks per person to one drink per person, a vodka martini for me and a gin martini for dh. Hold the vermouth. Extra olives.

It will be good to be home once we get settled in and everything is put away.

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday! I woke up to frost Thursday ayem, yesterday ayem and today, so I finally gave in and turned the heat on for a little while yesterday and today. 45 degrees is just too chilly, even if it is going to warm up pretty nicely as the sun comes up! Yesterday Mom got herself worked up into quite a tizzy going back and forth between getting packed for the NC trip and waiting to hear about the apartment. It's going to be a long, long week until we find out about the apartment. I updated my brother and sister-in-law about the apartment situation. SIL immediately went into General mode (her words, not mine, but very true!) and gave me a whole list of what has to be done and how it has to be done from what moving company to use to how to sell Mom's car. I learned a long time ago to just smile, thank her for the great ideas, agree with everything she says, and then go do what I think is best. So General SIL doesn't bother me at all with her orders, but she gets Mom really wound up, so I can see that I will be doing a lot of refereeing during our visit. Oh well, that's why I didn't plan the 2 week visit that Mom was expecting. I know I can't handle doing that for that long!

I finally got an ottoman to use with the new rocking chair, and it's now comfortable so I sit in that a lot more and not just the oversized chaise. The puppers join me in the chaise, one at a time or both together, but only bog boy Colt climbed into my lap in the rocker yesterday! It was kind of nice having his legs and back end over my feet keeping them warm and his head in my lap. Funny looking, though.

Carole--Mom getting this apartment would be the best thing in the world for her. I've seen situations like this before, once the person moves and gets settled they usually blossom and thrive. Having people around that have similar life experiences will be so good for her. I'm not crazy about her being an hour and a bit drive away, but she'll actually be closer to getting help in a crisis than she is with me 20 some minutes away, not to mention having access to all kinds of social events and activities. And as her needs for help change, her service package can be adapted to meet it. Its good you have a comfortable vehicle to drive back and forth in. And it sounds like you have the whole trip worked out to be nice and relaxing rather than stressful! It always feels good to get home after a trip.

Teka--Happy October! The tree leaves are beginning to turn here, looks like we'll get a pretty good foliage year.

Red October Cocktail

Ingredients
• 151 proof rum: 0.5 oz(15ml)
• Goldschlager: 0.5 oz(15ml)
• Jagermeister: 0.5 oz(15ml)
• Cinnamon liqueur: 0.5 oz(15ml)
• Rumple minze: 0.5 oz(15ml)

To craft the Red October, you'll need to:

1. Chill a cocktail glass.
2. Pour 0.5 oz of each ingredient into a shaker filled with ice.
3. Shake vigorously until well-chilled.
4. Strain into the chilled glass.
5. Garnish with a cinnamon stick, if desired.

From https://www.cocktailwave.com/recipes/red-october

There's a Total Wine not too far from my house too. They carry a substantial selection of all sorts of interesting spirits. DH is a scotch whiskey guy, and I can reliably find fine brands there if I can't think of anything else for a birthday/Christmas gift. 🤣

The thing that was the most fun for me about Total Wine was the classes. I went for a couple of years. They do education about wine areas with tastings. Sometime during the year they may do bourbon or scotch classes. Snacks are always included - fresh fruit, cheese & crackers, mini sandwiches, etc. While the teacher is presenting - with slides - the assistant comes around & pours tastes of the variety the teacher is discussing. Since I have bought all my alcohol from Total Wine in the last 10—15 years, my class fee is $10.00. If you're a new member the classes are $20.00. Still worth it.

The few times I've been to Total Wine, I feel like a kid in a candy store!! Wish ours weren't so far away. The classes sound great.

Marlegal - sorry you have to return - but welcome!!! We're here to share.

I'm 12 years past my recurrence. And I pretty much have two drinks every night. Gin & Tonic in the summer. Bourbon & water in the winter.

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday! We finally got the call yesterday, Mom did get the apartment we looked and she wants so badly! We go on Tuesday to do the paperwork. Then Thursday we go to North Carolina for a long weekend, then as soon as we get home we get to start the moving process. It's going to be a rather busy time for Mom for a while! Mom is over the moon. I'm having mixed feelings. It's going to be a bit of a job getting her moved, and she's going to be further away than she is now, but she's going to be much happier and much safer. I feel a bit guilty that I'm looking forward to being able to spend more time at home. The move is going to be a bit of an adjustment for both of us.

Total Wine sounds like quite the store! There don't seem to be any stores closer to me than Boston, though.

Marlegal--Welcome to the HTL! So sorry to hear about the recurrence. I can imagine it does feel very odd coming back to BCO. I, too, found the info and support during active treatment time to be invaluable. What is your favorite libation?

Miriandra--that is a great article, and such wonderful pictures!

Floral Rose Champagne Cocktail
Ingredients
• 12 oz Brut rose champagne
• 12 oz grapefruit juice
• 6 oz vodka
• ½ oz mint simple syrup
• Edible flowers for petal garnishes

Instructions
• Combine the vodka, grapefruit juice, rosé, and simple syrup in a shaker and shake over ice until chilled.
• Strain and fill glasses.
• Garnish with edible flower petals.

From https://sugarandcloth.com/eats-rose-cocktails-and-floral-sprinkles/

That's one of the things I like about that web site - they have stories from women (and men!) who made all sorts of stories: implants, DIEP flap, lumpectomy, explants, prophylactic. I am vocal about AFC, because it doesn't get nearly as much attention as mound reconstructions, and some doctors still push back against women who choose flat. But I try to make the point that many women have very successful breast replacement procedures. Every choice makes you roll dice on the statistics. BreastReconstruction.org wants people to have a broad range of experiences to read about, so they can make as informed a decision as they want.

Jazzy,

I like Humpty Dumpty Hot Air Balloon!

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Sunday Funday! Not going to be quite so much fun today. I'm taking Mom to her sisters interment this ayem. It's going to reminder her that she is the only sibling still alive from her family. But she's got the appointment to sign the papers for the new apartment on Tuesday, and the trip to North Carolina on Thursday to look forward to and keep her busy.

Carole--I do expect to add to the Mom Saga over the next few weeks. It's going to be quite the adjustment for both of us! It's in the 40s overnights here, now. I gave in and turned the heat on the other ayem when the inside house temp was 45 when I got up. 55 I can handle, knowing it will warm up as the sun comes up, 45, nope, not doing that.

Miriandra--there is a decided bias in medicine toward mound breast reconstructions and breast conserving treatments. I hope that is changing over time as more options become available and society recognizes the diversity of people with breast cancer more. Every choice does involve some rolling of the dice, as you point out, but not all of us value exactly the same things, so each choice has to be individualized to get the best outcome.

Jazzy--great pics! I really love the one with the moon. The first one made me laugh so loud the puppers came over to check it out!

Morning, Teka!

Minus--Yup, moving mom is going to be an experience, and being further away will be hard to adjust to, but she will be much, much happier and safer and that will make things alright!

House of Balloons

Ingredients
• 1 1/4 oz. vodka
• 3/4 oz. Aperol
• 3/4 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. rich honey syrup (2:1)
• Chilled club soda

Preparation
Shake the first 5 ingredients with ice, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with a splash of club soda, and garnish.

From https://imbibemagazine.com/recipe/house-of-balloons-vodka-cocktail/

That must be quite a sight, the sky full of balloons. We could have gone one year when we were doing rv travel but didn't.

Hi ladies:

Winding into our third week on the hospital opening and mostly doing okay. Still working on a few areas we need to finish up that couldn't be done for opening but need to be completed.

The more exciting news is that I am now working on my final planning to see if I can retire in early 2026. It has always been my plan to leave after the project was done (and also when I got to 65, which happened this year) so end of this year was a goal when I started. I am to Medicare age, fully vested at work, and done with this project mostly (good enough to leave soon). As of yesterday, I have started my process to review my final readiness to go beginning with my financial planner. Things are looking good, some more work to do between now and end of the year. My hope is to give my 2 week notice right after the beginning of the year. Then onward to the next chapter!

MistyEyes- those most recent pictures I took are actually off some of the ABQ and other local threads from balloon fiesta. I should have included a disclaimer that those were not my pictures. Some of the ones you do see from me are mine as the balloons do fly over my house a lot. I saw less of that this year during the fiesta, but also a lot of the events ended up cancelled (about half) due to rain and/or wind.

Heading to CA in another 10 days for my first vacation in awhile (since March) to visit family, walk on the beach, shop, eat and do some hot springs out that way. You might see some fun pictures from me too.

Have a good rest of October and swing into November. The end of the year going quickly now….

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Thirsty Thursday! Mom and I are home from North Carolina, and we are both exhausted. The trip itself was pretty good but has made it pretty clear to me that another trip with Mom is going to require a second caretaker to go along with. The first night at the hotel, after a long discussion about her not using the shower at the hotel since it was a tub/shower just like she has and cannot use at home, at 2 ayem she gets up to take a shower, falls trying to get into the tub, and whacks the back of her head. No real injury, just a bit of a bump, and I was able to get her back up and out of the tub myself. After that I woke up every time she started to get out of bed, which turned out to be 3 or 4 times, every single night except the last night, when she was getting up almost every 2 hours thinking it was time to get up and head for the airport. I got her home and got her settled (thank the Good Lord for grocery delivery services!) and got home myself 8 peeyem, sat down on the chaise and passed out, woke up an hour later, went to bed, and tossed and turned all night until time to get up and pick up the puppers. Brought the puppers home, cuddled and napped for a couple hours, then went and picked up Mom for her doctor's appointment, which was a horrific experience itself.

Mom's primary doc referred her to a hematologist because her platelet count was high while she was in the hospital for the gall bladder episode. Had an appointment in August, had blood drawn, was told she was anemic and started on iron and B12. I got a robotic voice call a couple weeks after that stating she had an appointment on Oct 22 that she needed to arrive at 2:15 pm for. No indication what it was about, couldn't get through the phone tree to a real person who could actually answer a question. Got another robotic reminder call while were in NC, same info, arrive no later than 2:15 pm. So, we arrive, check in by 2:15 pm, the person at the registration desk mentioned we were quite early for a 2:40 appointment. Huh? I was told she had to be here by 2:15, why so early? Registration person had no idea. So, upstairs we go and sit and wait. At 2:45 I go to the desk and ask what's up, how much longer is the wait going to be, trying to decide if I was going to take her home as she was getting really uncomfortable in the wheelchair and very tired. The lady at the desk says it’s a follow up appointment with a Nurse Practitioner that I've never heard of and they are waiting for the blood test results. I told her that the last blood test was in August and they had those results. Come to find out, Mom was supposed to get blood drawn before the appointment, but it wasn't showing up, until the lady finds the order for blood work for Oct 23rd! I had a mini-meltdown right there at the desk. The desk lady is very kind to me, gets a complaint form, calls the office manager and will talk to the Patient Advocate when she gets off the phone. I go back to mom and start to ask her if she wants to stay or go home when the tech comes out to get her. I decide that it's time to really make some noise, so we take Mom back, go through the whole story again, discover that there isn't much the NP can tell us without the blood test results, and I ask how to file a formal complaint. The tech says I have to talk with the NP about that (which I know is not true, but more time it's documented that a complaint is made, the more likely it is to get paid attention to and I was working on making a point that couldn't be swept under the rug, which is this hospital system's specialty). So in comes the NP, again with the whole story, plus my stated expectation that she is going to do something about it, and that I expect her to give me a way to reach a live person in the office when I call with questions or arrange transfer of care to another system (magic words for making sure to get attention from the people high enough up the hospital system food chain to actually do something about a problem). So now I have a direct line phone number to the back office phone, and a name of the nurse to ask for. I leave a written complaint on the way out to go downstairs and get Mom's blood drawn, and get a Patient Experience phone number to file a formal complaint. Which is the first call on my long list of phone calls to make today to get Mom's move started. Needless to say, I was so frustrated and angry, and still am. And Mom is upset because I still can't tell her what the problem is or what the plan is or what is going to happen next--and the NP talked about taking a chemo drug which wound mom up big time. And the NP said she is NOT anemic, just iron deficient. So who the hell knows what is really going on?

Sorry to dump all this on you guys, thanks for listening and I will be fine once I get this phone call made and a second cup of coffee.

Jazzy--congrats on the fully opened new hospital! It must be exciting to be in planning stages for the next chapter. Yoga teacher training sounds amazing! Yup, got lots going on with a goal of getting Mom out of the current apartment by Nov 1st so she doesn't have to pay another month's rent on that one. It's going to take some organizing, but it can be done. I swore up and down that the next time Mom needed to move I was going to make my brother and his wife take care of it all, and I really, really wish I could do that, but it's not an option.

Morning, Carole!

Misty--the visit was good, even if my brother did get sick in the middle of it! I'm not sure he realizes that this is probably the last time he and Mom will see each other, but Mom sure does. My mom likes the old music too I hope your mom will find a senior place to move to, there are a lot of advantages plus more contact with people her own age. So good of you to spend time with your friend. Lots of times people avoid someone with a diagnosis like that. Good for you for trying out new drinks! And I think it's fair to call yourself not much of a drinker when you are drinking WIND!

Jazzy--turning in that resignation will probably feel pretty exciting! Good for you for getting some vacay time, too.

Minus--I think all PCPs are required to say exercise more and drink less in order for insurance to pay for the visit!

Whiskey and Frustration

2 oz Rye, Rittenhouse 100
2 ds Fernet Branca
2 dr Eucalyptus tincture
4 dr Bitters, Fee Brothers Rhubarb
1 rinse Scotch, Bowmore
Instructions
Combine first four ingredients in mixing glass, no ice. Rinse old-fashioned glass with Bowmore, depositing excess into mouth. Pour educated rye into center of glass.

From https://kindredcocktails.com/cocktail/whiskey-and-frustration