So...whats for dinner?

ChiSandy

Sad to say that the ocular oncologist is 99% sure it's ocular melanoma. Going to have a whirlwind of scans to determine whether it's spread (not likely, but never say never), then if it's confirmed to still be "encapsulated," have a needle biopsy to determine "class" and brachytherapy at the same time. The "plaque" goes in on a Mon. and is removed the following Fri. If all goes as planned, 5-yr chance of remaining tumor-free is 95% (knock wood). He says that a cancer patient has a 25% chance of developing a second (primary) cancer w/in 5 yrs. of first cancer dx. Most likely due to an undetermined genetic mutation for which there is as of yet no test.

Sigh. It is what it is. But that stupid "floater" in the other eye may well have saved my life.

auntienance

Oh Sandy, (((hugs))) to you and wishing you the best possible outcome

ChiSandy

Thanks, Nancy!

ChiSandy

Ordered out for comfort food tonight: linguine with mussels in white wine sauce. (Not gonna push it with cannolli or gelato afterward). Back to low-carb tomorrow. (Will devein & cook the shrimp tomorrow--not up to cooking tonight).

MinusTwo

Sandy - sorry for that 99% sure. Hope it's encapsulated and treatment can proceed as you outlined. I have a neighbor who had an ocular cancer and had radioactive seeds implanted. So far - knock wood - she's doing well 18 months down the road.

SpecialK

chisandy - that is craptastic news, and scary for sure. Certainly hoping for the best case scenario with treatment. Hang in there

eric95us

Chi....hope it's contained and the treatment works as planned. I agree with Special...that's crappy news.

No on the deployment. It was put on hold at the last moment for further evaluation.

Reader425

Sandy I am sorry for this news and you are in my prayers. I'm so glad you had linguini tonight. Some days require it. 👐

MinusTwo

Why does this feel like a Saturday night? Grrr for keeping track of things since we're all staying at home.

Dunch was left-over boiled potatoes sauteed with onions and then 3 eggs scrambled & dumped on top. My friend who is from a small town in Texas said her mother made that regularly when she had leftover potatoes and called it "potato eggs", but she just broke the eggs into the pan of potatoes and stirred it like crazy.

ChiSandy

Brunch was a small tuna-salad sandwich on lo-carb bread with lettuce, tomato & red onion. For dinner, I marinated shrimp in olive oil and Penzey's seafood seasoning, then skewered and grilled them, finished with lemon juice. Sauteed sugar snap peas in garlic-ginger oil with sesame seeds.

Reader425

Tonight was Fix it and Forget it crockpot cookbook's "Aromatic chicken". I used thighs. It included coconut milk, water, garlic, low-sodium soy and brown sugar. Good flavor but the appearance of the coconut milk while cooking was unappealing almost curdled looking. I've had no success so far cooking with coconut milk. At least it was tasty, served with rice and a big green salad.

Lacey12

Catching back up here....and I’m so sorry to learn your medical news, Sandy. Hoping for the best possible outcome as suggested by your ocular oncologist. Sending hugs to you.

Minus, I am so with you on the day of the week confusion. Lately, it seems worse, and we’ve even been sort of beyond “lockdown”...for now, at least. It just seems like our days are quite indistinguishable...even more than when we first retired. I might soon resort to having a DAY and DATE sign on my bathroom mirror to stay oriented like the nursing homes provide for their patients. Yikes!

We finally made it to the lake... and have been mired in house set up that we usually complete over Memorial Day weekend. DH worked like a dog yesterday, clearing layers of pollen from our porch and deck, lugging and setting up all the furniture. His new hip really functions well! Our final touch today will be setting out the hummingbird feeders filled with the nectar I boiled up last night. Often when we show up in June, the hummers are hovering about, awaiting their “buffet”. Yesterday we saw none. I think they gave up on us!

For dinners, after arriving Wed evening, we ordered take out from a new Chinese restaurant in our small town. Their hot and sour soup was really spicy, the shrimp fried rice was definitely lighter, and very tasty, and the moo shi pork came minus any condiments, which I happily discovered it didn't need!
Last night, we decided to get more take out (since I never made it to the store to buy a protein for dinner) and ordered lamb burgers from a little Irish style pub, which was our years ago inspiration for making them at home whenever we feel the need for our infrequent red meat fix. They were wonderful!

If I make it to the store today, we’ll grill chicken for dinner. The only other thing on the docket is (Socially distanced) Friday cocktails on the beach, so we will finally reconnect with our neighbors here! Yay! Inexplicably, (but soooo New England!), it is really chilly and damp today. Hopefully the clouds will clear. Forecast was for 90s this weekend. ???

We’re heading home briefly tomorrow night to have a socially distanced back yard luncheon (and wading pool party:) on Sunday with DS2 and crew. With the virus heading up the coast from FL, I fear that MA could end up with a second quarantine, and we will sorely miss our little grandtyke again. Our state was so amazingly compliant with the Covid distancing regulations for over three months, it will be hard to face more isolation as things are finally startIng to open up a bit.
I really feel for what you folks in the surging states are going through right now. Please stay safe.....

SpecialK

reader - I don’t cook a lot with the canned coconut milk, but did do a curried chicken over rice using it that turned out really well. I can post the recipe if that sounds good to you.

lacey - glad you made it to the lake! I too am struggling with what day and date it is - complicated by DH taking random days off during the week to supervise the new fence at DD’s house and then yesterday putting in the driveway pad behind the new gates for her new boat, which will be complete in a week or so - it’s a tad behind schedule. DH leaves for work super early, and I’m usually still asleep. I wake up and try to decide what day it is, lol! I have not left home now for 13 days but am considering a jaunt out to the outdoor produce market. Florida is scary right now, definitely very selective about where I am willing to go. Still have not been in the regular grocery store, DH has been handling that.

minus - I don’t know why but “potato eggs” made me laugh! Makes sense to call it what it is but it hit my funny bone.

Speaking of eggs, here are my first dozen eggs from DD’s chickens - she’s offsetting $3 of rent, lol!

Lacey12

Wild photo, Special! It took me a while to realize that the flesh under the carton was a hand! Great looking eggs!
I really like the idea of “potato eggs” and next time we find white potatoes in our “veggie” box I might try to pass that along with a nice big salad and some crusty bread for a filling dinner. Since DH is always happy with my occasional dinner omelettes, this should be good, too. Of course I’d have to restrain myself from adding onions, peppers, and mushrooms? That would be a deconstructed omelette!

Special, are you using a super mask for your outing? Three layers, or N95, KN95 or a really good filter In your cotton mask?
if I need to head to a shopping place, I use polypropylene filters in my cotton mask...and that’s with really low Covid incidence here now.
I’m worried about you venturing out.....please stay safe!

On a more humorous note, I guess....wait until DH retires....then the days will really blend in together!
I realized last month that the quarantine period reducing both of the work/volunteer activity structure we previously had in our lives, resulted in no sense of where we were on any calendar day...and it continues....

Carole, I think I missed wishing you a Happy Anniversary! Glad it soundslike things are going well for you in MN, despite our weird summer.

CeliaC

Lacey - Your Friday cocktails on the beach sounds wonderful. Enjoy your lake visit - sounds like you have some good food options.

Special K - Love the colors of those eggs. Agree that FL sounds scary. In re: Roth IRA - What I am toying with is rolling over conventional (pre-tax) 401K $ to my Roth IRA & taking the tax hit in 2020. Since I am not filing for SS until 2021, this will be a low income year. I have too many conventional 401K $ that someone will eventually be taxed upon. Either me when I start RMDs at 72 1/2 or whomever inherits. Since the IRS passed the SECURE Act, if DD inherits she can only spread out $ over 10 years (used to be over remaining life expectancy). However, since the Roth IRA I have is not doing too well in the current market, I am reluctant to move the $ in there.

Had to go out twice this week - once for long overdue eye exam on Mon & then initial root canal dental visit on Weds. Now have my AI scrip refill to pick up at Walgreens, but they have a drive through. Next Fri., is MO visit, already postponed from April. Felt pretty safe with precautions at eye Dr & Dentist and MO visit will utilize same precautions - notify when in parking lot, wait for the OK to enter, mask on, enter, get temp taken, hand sanitizer, etc.

DH and I take turns venturing out for groceries & only go to certain stores that are less crowded & have good precautions, or we get Whole Foods delivery. Very happy that KY now requires masks to enter grocery, drug store, etc.

SpecialK

lacey - if DH buys eggs I keep the carton for DD so she can fill it with eggs. This one is clear plastic and had a paper lining that she pulled out. I realize now looking at the photo that my hand looks weird underneath it, lol! I found the month that DH was working from home confused me - I am so geared to the M-F things I need to stay up on - setting up coffee, packing a lunch, getting laundry done and clothes ready, particularly now that the mandate in his office is to wear washable clothing only. When I didn’t need to do those things I struggled with day orientation. I also found I was eating a lot more, DH is more of a three meal a day person, I’m a grazer. Not going to the gym combined with that has been a problem!The masks I have made are three layers, and I actually just received some new yardage of Oly-fun, the polypropylene liner material, from my neighbor In a front porch hand-off. I plan to make some additional masks from it, but had been using the washable shopping bags made from the same material. I have been home for two weeks, have gone nowhere, and my outing on the 4th was to DD’s. It’s probably been a month since I’ve actually been in any kind of retail or enclosed environment, or been around anyone besides DH and DD. I got a call the other day from the car dealer telling me it was time for the regularly scheduled oil change on my six-month old car. I laughed and said it only has 2400 miles, so...nope.

Reader425

Special thank you for the offer. I would love your chicken curry recipe. I'd like to try again. Thanks!

Stay safe everyone. I just bought new masks to add to my collection. Maryland is in an ok place so far but we venture out only very carefully also.

SpecialK

reader - I grew up eating chicken curry but once I left home I didn't make it much myself. I used curry in chicken salad, but not often in a hot dish. This recipe was the result of something thrown together and I was smart enough in the moment to write it down! I don't always and then can't recreate it later, lol!

Chicken Curry

1 Tbsp curry powder, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 c. chopped onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, assorted vegetables (I used julienned red peppers and carrot), 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 can full fat coconut milk, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 2 Tbsp water, cooked chicken breast, chopped cashews, chopped green onion, cooked rice.

Add olive oil to a large skillet and stir in curry powder. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add onion and garlic. Cook until tender, add tomato paste, ginger, and vegetables. Stir in coconut milk, cook several minutes. Make a slurry of cornstarch and water and stir into coconut milk and vegetables. Cook until thickened and add chicken. Heat through, spoon over cooked rice and top with green onion and chopped cashews.

ChiSandy

Brunch was a classic rolled French omelette (1 jumbo and 2 small eggs, Gruyère & Boursin cheese, minced herbs--chives, thyme, parsley & tarragon) and 2 "heels" of a loaf of low-carb bread, toasted with salt butter and a tiny bit of Stevia-sweetened apricot spread.

Had my bloodwork (results came back swiftly: all normal) today and made my CT scans appt. for tomorrow afternoon. All things considered (especially since I've been able to diet down to 141), I decided I deserved to eat what I wanted for dinner. We went to Cellars and dined on the patio (nice lake breeze again, cool enough for me to break in a new pair of jeans). We both started with gazpacho (haven't had that in >1 yr). I had the fish & chips with slaw (packed half of it to take home even before digging in. Bob had the seared ahi with Asian slaw & fried wontons (he snagged their last portion). Came home and for dessert I had a decaf breve cappuccino and small square of very dark Swiss chocolate.

Need to eat breakfast early--likely a single fried egg. As I will be NPO after 11am tomorrow, "lunch" will be oral contrast solution.

Reader425

Thank you so much Special. I'll definitely give this a whirl. It looks delicious.

Sandy in your pocket today for your tests. Glad you had a nice dinner out.

MinusTwo

Special - thanks for posting the chicken curry. I'll put it on my list to try too. Sandy - Hope your tests go well. Lacey - I did add onion to the 'potato-eggs'. It doesn't "feel" like an omelette.

I'm still using my "Buffs" from the days of no hair to cover my mouth & nose. But then I'm not going anywhere except the grocery store every 10 days. And I'm still wearing gloves. I do have one N-95 mask that my brother mailed me when this all started. I'll wear it when I have to go to the medical center for blood tests on 7/30 - the only appointment I haven't cancelled in 4 months. I can't get my Prolia shot in August w/o results of calcium & Vit D blood work.

Today was day #108 of my walking 3-1/2 to 4 miles every day. Yup, I still hate early mornings, but it's marginally cooler than nights. Is 85 cooler than 100 when the humidity is 99%?

Some time ago I bought a bag of "Ancient Grains", but it migrated to the back of the cupboard after one use & I forgot about it. It's a blend of Rice, Bulgar (durum wheat), Barley, Wheat Berries, Oats, Red Rice and Quinoa. Boil then simmer 10 minutes in vegetable or chicken bouillon and add garlic, onion & butter. It's quite good as a side dish or in a salad so I made up a big batch to have cold & ready. Late night I stir fried some with chicken, mushrooms, water chestnuts, more onion & a touch of soy. There's enough for 2 more meals. I took the rest of the un-adulterated grain mix and froze it as a trial. I forgot exactly what you said Special, but after it was cold, I flatted and froze in a zip-lock bag.

SpecialK

minus - that is the operative question, right? Does 85 really feel any cooler when you factor in the humidity. As a fellow Cali person you can appreciate the conversation I have with my BFF as to which of us is hotter - me with 85 F and rain, or her with 108 and dry, lol! Sounds like the grain freezing experiment will work based on something I buy from my frozen food guy - five grain pilaf. Works great - I can nuke it with a tad bit of extra water and a pat of butter, or cook it in a pan on the stove with same

eric95us

I'm installing a new water heater in the garage. It's going to be 110F and that's getting "kinda hot", even if it is dry. :-) The water heater has a 8 year warranty against leaking and it was installed in 2005. It's not leaking, but I'd just as soon do it when I have time rather than having to make time.

Sandy, "in your pocket".

MinusTwo

Eric - no fun!!!

Here's my rant about how things are just not made as well as they used to be... My water current heater was installed in 2008 and (fingers crossed) it's still OK. But I did notice the 8-10 year predicted life. The previous water heater worked like a champ for 30+ years.

Same with my washer & dryer experiences. A washer that I bought used in 1970 when my son was born, made the move to 5 different houses & was still working when he finished college - and some years after. When I had it replaced, the installers wanted to know if it was full of water since it was so heavy. I just laughed. Not made with plastic of course. But then if products didn't have built in obsolescence - the manufacturers & stores couldn't sell more. Buy, Buy, Buy. (can you tell I'm not a shopper?)

eric95us

I'm all done with the water heater. I started around 11:00am and finished around 3pm. The new water heater is about 1 inch taller than the old one and that was enough difference to require I modify the piping to make it all fit. What amazed me was that I only had to make two trips to the hardware store; one to get the water heater and one to get the stuff needed to connect it into the pipes. For plumbing projects, I usually need to make 4 or 5 trips to the hardware store to get "all the little parts" that I either forgot to get or I found they really needed to be replaced.

Today the 1957 truck got to be more than a "toy". The water heater has to be transported upright and the shell on the new truck wouldn't allow the water heater to stand upright. The old truck has no shell so it was an easy fit. Unfortunately the old truck has no air conditioning and it's a cab over engine design...which means that when I'm driving it, the engine is beside me, shielded only by some sheet metal, and the heat from the engine subtracts from the comfort level. :-)

Besides more water, I'm not sure what's for dinner tonight. It was 112F degrees in the garage and in four hours, I went through more than a gallon of water. The gallon obviously wasn't enough as I'm still very thirsty.

Minus, I agree with your "rant" about how stuff is built....don't get me started on my own rant about this!!!!!!!!! :-)

Beaverntx

The rant goes for furniture. We bought a couple of chairs for the family room that the salesperson described as 7 year chairs, saying that's how long they are built to last. Since they were for extra seating and we weren't likely to use them ourselves we went ahead and got them, hoping they would last longer than that. It is looking like they won't unless we get creative about providing better support for the seats.

Dinner here sounds like a winter meal, meatloaf, baked potato, and asparagus. But using the Instant Pot and microwave for all the cooking the kitchen didn't really warm up.

Lacey12

Well, birds and eggs....guess I remaIn on that theme...before joining the appliance rant theme I just read here. I wrote the post below yesterday afternoon before heading to the beach to re- connect with neighbors.

In my last post, I spoke too soon about the hummingbirds giving up on us. Shortly after I wrote that, I looked up to see one fly up to our slider that leads onto the deck and just hover for a while. Hint taken! The feeders are all filled and everyone is happy!

On Friday, when I mentioned Special's fresh eggs to DH he got the urge to hunt some down. Since we knew of one farm stand that was open (Some local ones are more like "stands" with inconsistent hours and offerings, and the private homes who keep chickens seem to change from year to year) he popped over there and got his fresh eggs. He also selected a beautiful head of red leaf lettuce, some fresh onions with great tops, and some garlic since I forgot to pack it. So for dinner, we had leftover hot and sour soup (ordered way too much two nights ago since the restaurant was new to us), and a frittata with caramelized fresh onion, chopped onion tops, and mushrooms and some Monterey jack cheese. The red leaf lettuce made for a great salad once I washed all of the dirt and small inhabitants out of it....obviously organic!

So we will head back home tonight and I will have avoided any trips to the grocery store...quite an accomplishment! DH did head into town twice for some other errands And was happy to note that most folks were wearing masks. That's a relief! Especially since NH and MA have been relatively clear of spread for the past month, and it would be easy for people to employ short memories about how we landed In lockdown in March... AND how hard it was to work our way out of it. But the virus may well travel up the coast and we could find ourselves in the previous situation again. So I appreciate the mindfulness (old meaning) of the residents and visitors here. And our state officials did a great, if unpopular job.

My good friend in South Florida is just about having a stroke that her gov is so relaxed about instituting more preventative measures there. She is basically isolated at home with her disabled husband unable to leave the safety of their small house to prevent the tentacles of the surge from seriously impacting them. They cannot even leave for his specialist doc appts(!) per his PCP's orders due to the danger of becoming infected in public. Today (Sunday) I saw theIr gov boasting about how wonderful it is that he was able to procure tons more drugs (remdesivir?) for the infected folks who are hospitalized (and for those who are going to be!). Did he never learn the concept of preventative measures to curtail the spread of illness?! To me this defies reason! I will get off my soapbox now.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Off to the beach for the first time this summer.

My router is not working, so will post this later if it "gets better".

Lacey12

Sandy....jumping in your pocket again.

We are back home ...late night trip drive after enjoying the day being with our lake neighbors on the beach...and then a quick but satisfying lobster roll dinner on our porch, a car packing, and house close up.
I was glad, and not surprised, to find reasonable social distancing among our beach crew....not so much with some of the families with adolescents and the younger adult crew. I can see how easy it is to feel healthy and out of harms way on the beach, and yet in my chats, I learned of many out of state relatives of neighbors who experienced Covid-19. I guess unpleasant thoughts get carried away with the lake breeze. Prior to this, I have known no one infected...maybe because we were so strictly isolated In MA and not connecting beyond our family and close neighbors. I was relieved to learn that most of my lake neighbors are also experiencing the “What day Is it anyway?” disorientation that we’ve had recently.

Appliance rant...
Our 33 yo refrigerator at the lake house (which had a boost of a new compressor twenty years ago) was sporting two layers of mold on its floor under the empty veggie drawers. So after that was cleaned (credit to DH who is not allergic to, nor grossed out by thick multi colored mold), I noticed that the food wasn’t seeming very cold despite a very cold setting. So I thought, maybe it’s time to bite the bullet and replace the old guy. Oh dear...what a frustrating journey! Our old style unit Is now offered as one that is a couple of inches wider and taller, with smaller cu ft capacity. Jeesh!!! Beyond that every place we looked indicated no current items in stock! DH insists we continue the search, while I am starting to wonder if we should see if our oldie but goodie can finish up our remaining years with a Freon fix?? Am I crazy, Eric? Not sure the larger version of what we have will even fit in our assigned fridge space. Ugh! Fortunately, 33 years ago we were “gifted” an old Fridgedaire (sp?) monster that chugs away in our basement there...so we can take our time deciding how to resolve this (and will burn calories running up and down the stairs).

Temps heading to the upper 90’s here today, and we are heading to DS2’s later for an early “distanced” outdoor dinner and “wading pool watching party“ so we can see their home projects progress and most importantly stay connected to baby Amelia...from six feet.

carolehalston

I have been buying eggs at the farmers market on Saturday. We are vendors and I end up spending money. Last night we had green beans cooked with tiny new potatoes. What a treat. Soon the tomatoes will be ripening.

Today we're having a respite from the heat and humidity. It's cool and windy with sunshine.

ChiSandy

Lacey, sounds like a compressor issue--unless the fridge is still so old that its freon can be refilled. In 2011 we found the same size & width issue--we had to remove one side of the enclosure that the last owners of the house had built in 1985 to house their side-by-side fridge and into which had still fit the two successive top-freezer models we owned, until we decided to get a French door bottom-freezer. In fact, we had to remove the soffit & cabinet above the fridge (which cabinet was so high up as to be unusable).

Today we ordered out for brunch, as restaurant patios were too soggy from earlier storms. Bob had bacon, sausage, eggs, spuds & toast; I had the usual broccoli-cheddar quiche & salad. Dinner will be my leftovers for me, and a Caprese for him (likely supplemented with some roasted broccoli).

My tests & scans came back: no mets! So the ocular oncologist will order the seeds & plaque (must be slightly larger than the tumor) tomorrow, and it'll be ready in 10-14 days. So I'm looking at 2 weeks from tomorrow for the procedures.