So...whats for dinner?

SK, great news on no mets.  Good luck with the PT.

Joyce, glad you're safely back to your FL home.

I decided to take a break from cooking tonight.  We have dinner reservations at a restaurant about 3 min. from our house.  Tomorrow is my birthday so we'll call this a birthday dinner.  The menu features steak and seafood.  I'll probably order steak.  Wish they would have prime rib tonight. 

I chopped green onions and garlic and prepped the pork roast by making slits and stuffing them with the seasoning.  I'll cook the roast in the slow cooker overnight and make gravy tomorrow morning. 

Carol Happy B day

Susan how much longer for your trip? Do you have the clothes thing down? (I never know what to wear overseas as I live in comfy clothes and I think that some cultures expect women to conform to societal norms)

I went with the yellow split peas with carrots, onions, celery, veggie broth, potatoes and turmeric. It is smelling mighty good, I think that some rye or dark bread with brown mustard might be good with it. The recipe suggests making the bread into croutons and putting a bit of the mustard on the edge of the soup plate and taking a bit of it with each bite or making a cheese sandwich with the mustard and bread. All sound good.

Looking into the weather in Tennessee end of the month. Will be volunteering in the Appalachian Mountains at two different sites and in-between visiting my old friends in Atlanta where I lived for 11 years. That's one way to get away from this cold.

Might try some grits...and no, they're not cream of wheat, which I thought they were when I first moved there.

Congrats Special, after the worry even pain to come sounds goid, right? Man we are sick people! LOL

I m much better. Cataract Sx is still on for Monday. My DH informed me he'll be here Sunday night so he can take me in. And someday I may take you all up on an *sskicking!

My DGD IS Feeling Better too. My DD2 worked a 12 hr shift. I AM TIRED! LOL Baby was a bit fussy. LOL. But we all made it! Here was one of the great parts.

Insurance pays or an electric pump so there was lots of her milk for the baby.

My DD1 is also pregnant! She is about 3 months along and waited till all the tests were done ,as she is over 35, to tell everyone. She came to see my DIL who is recovering from Her ankle sx. Then we had a visit too. She brought me some braised ribs. I have supper for tomorrow! LOL

Eric, I'm sure you will enjoy the campout. Won't get much sleep but will enjoy it anyway. LOL

Joyce, glad you're through all the traveling.

Bedo that soup smells great even from over here. LOL

LMgoats, so glad DH is improving!

Red I hope your hand improves quickly too.

Susan northerners grill in most any weather. As long as they can find the grill under the snow......

Minus, auntie, Laurie, hello. If I missed anyone sorry.

Much love, stay warm and no more snow for the NE!

Monica....crossed posts....such a cutie pie!!

Best Wishes on a smooth cataract procedure and recovery. The man across the street from us had that done two months ago and his poor wife has been stuck with all the snow removal of our crazy month. Timing is everything. Congrats on the anticipation of another grandchild!

Minus, your love of Prime Rib reminds me of our dear Michelle, who ordered it whenever possible! When she and DH came to visit us at the lake, we planned dinner at a restaurant that we knew offered a wonderful Prime Rib, and sadly found out once seated that they did not have it that night. She enjoyed her sirloin steak tho.

Moon, I could just pinch that baby's cheeks and spend the day smelling that sweet baby smell, But I don't trust that look in her eyes, She looks like she's way too smart and is planning something for when she can walk. lol And she's way too cute. The cute ones know how to get away with things.

Congratulations to your other daughter. I think life is going to get busy and fun.

For dinner the rest of the yellow split pea soup nom nom

Making lunch ahead of time for work, the usual, hard boiled egg and 2 string cheeses organic with coffee on the drive, then pretend crab on spinach with cocktail sauce and veggies for lunch. Then soup for dinner. I have to get away from that fake lobster and crab, I don't think that it can be so good for you, so I'm hoping to get more into the non-dirty list of fish. I remember when I was about to make Swai and I was ssoo enlightened by you ladies that I couldn't do it.

Thanks for all the birthday good wishes.  I had a nice birthday.  The pork roast was very good.  There were six of us for dinner at my mother's house and everyone seemed to enjoy the food.  I had a large portion of cake in my freezer and took it along.  One of my brothers had bought an enormous bakery cake for my mother's birthday at Christmas.  It was a very rich chocolate and yummy.  Now I've freed up that space in my freezer and my mother's leftover birthday cake was mine, too!  

My birthday dinner last night at a nearby restaurant was very enjoyable.  DH and I had each decided on an entrée when our waiter divulged that the special for the night was prime rib.  We immediately changed our minds and chose the prime rib.  It was succulent and cooked perfectly, medium rare.  I also had a soup special, spinach and oyster.  It was sinfully creamy and rich.  I had two glasses of cabernet that went perfectly with my meal. 

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with 7 women who are in my Friday golf group.  So the birthday is being well celebrated with food.

Today was warm and sunny.  The high was upper 60's.  Really perfect.  I guess weather balances out with all regions having good seasons and bad seasons.  About the only area of the US that has good weather year round is probably the San Diego area.  We can't all live there.  It's crowded enough already.   

Carole, I totally missed saying happy birthday!!!!! I apologize for not being more centered these days. And you got your prime rib???? So, the beef gods are smiling on you!

Special, man, you could field a basketball team with all your PT folks... get them some t-shirts. But seriously, having good PT folks can be the difference between a real recovery and just being able to manage. I feel so blessed that I found mine. I don't like needing her, but it is a great relief to know she is there if I need her.

And, tonight, I scored a reservation at one of the hottest restaurants in Barcelona!!!! ^5 to me!

*susan*

Have to agree on being a fan of PTs. It was interesting to learn that DH's VNA PT had just completed a lymphodema course and was able to help him learn to self massage some of the areas needed to drain and reduce the significant swelling in his surgical side leg.

Today I was determined to make the stuffed artichokes, and get back to my kale soup making...and eventually did both. However, the artichokes were not quite as tender as needed, and next time I will definitely bake them way longer than the recipe suggests, so the "petals"(?) fall off easily. Loved getting back to my kale soup regimen. Just did not have time to make it while caretaking. Makes me feel we are almost back to normal, whatever that is. DH is actually doing his shower routine pretty independently now, and makes it down to the basement to do his exercise routine (approved by the PT). Wait until he sees how many more exercises he'll be doing once he starts his outpatient PT! I had a ton of pages over a couple of months.

Sounds like you had a lovely birthday...and yet to be continued, Carole. Nice!

Boy, Joyce, I do hope that your blood work is indicative of something fairly small and resolvable. Hugs to you!

And yes, kudos to you, Susan for your most recent trip planning score! We will definitely need a full report on that restaurant meal. Can I hire you to plan a trip for us??!! You are amazing!

Looking forward to our upcoming almost back to normal week....and with no snow predicted until the weekend....yay! I may have to go give my favorite snow shovels a little hug.

Susan, I thought of you last night when we watched Madam Secretary.  Part of the story took place in Istanbul.  No restaurants, though! 

SK, one more PT in your life will hardly be noticed!  LOL.  You have been through way too much in your bc journey. 

Lacey, you are almost a lady of leisure these days with dh regaining some independence.

This was my first birthday with silver gray hair.  Now I have "almost" decided to go color again.  I'm balancing the extra time and $$$ against the frivolous satisfaction of people being surprised when I tell them my age. 

Carole, you are right, I am almost giddy at some of the caretaker load lightening! And who would have thought that a purple apron would be my best friend. DH is so much more resourceful using that. He loves the independence it grants him...and we share that enjoyment!

Interesting that you mentioned the hair coloring choice. I colored my roots yesterday after totallyneglecting them during this crazy "rehab" month. A part of me thought, why am I even doing this?! Hmmm...probably because I think I'd look tired and haggard as a gray lady with my skin tone. I usually have my hairdresser color it when I get my hair cut, then use a root touch up in between cuts, since I am not a frequent flyer to the hairdresser. I did notice that your hair looked different in your new profile pic. Both good! Interested in what you decide...

Hello everyone! One eye done. Very weird. One eye good one eye bad. Surgery went well. Got home took a nap. DH went back up to his apt already. But not before going downstairs to get something from the freezer. Only to find it quit working a while ago. LOL. Ice was all gone but water was still cold so no mold yet. He Spent a couple hours emptying it out. Luckily it wasn't full f meat. A couple packages fish, some meat. Bread and rolls. All garbage. About the only thing we kept were the girl scout cookies. Only the outer box was wet. LOL

Joyce, hoping your scan shows nothing major.

To all much love

It's Greek night here -- lamb in pitas when tzatziki, oven roasted Greek style potatoes and Greek salad.

Monica, happy your surgery went well. Presumably you are getting the other done in the near future?

Susan, a high five to you! Spain is one place I would love to visit. Looking forward to hearing about that meal. Planning a big trip is about as much fun as planning a wedding in my book.

I will dye my hair until I can no longer lift the bottle or hire someone else to. My natural blonde color looks completely washed out when the gray is prominent. I'll avoid it as long as I can.

Joyce, I feel your pain, my numbers weren't wonderful either. I'm off for an ultrasound tomorrow to confirm that my elevated numbers are due to my fatty liver and not something else. Wish me luck.

Greek night sounds good, Nance.  Is there anything you can do for fatty liver? 

Joyce, I hope your worries turn out to be groundless and there's some benign interpretation of the blood work.   

I'm emotionally exhausted after watching two recorded episodes of Downton Abbey.  One more to go of Season 5.  Last year I thought the story had pretty much played itself out but the writers are very good at their jobs.  The actors are just outstanding.  I heard that this is Maggie Smith's last season with the series.  She was quoted as saying she has not enjoyed her celebrity status that DA has brought.  She always enjoyed being able to go wherever she wanted to go without worrying about being recognized and that has changed. 

The latest Fine Cooking magazine is chockablock full of interesting articles and recipes.  There's one article on English muffins that I found particularly interesting because of our English muffin bakers, Nance and Susan.  I didn't realize that the muffins are cooked on a griddle before they're baked in the oven.  I made them once eons ago when I bought a little kit with aluminum rings and the recipe was printed on the cardboard backing the rings were on.  But I think I just baked the muffins. 

Monica, glad to see that your cataract procedure went well...and that the freezer crisis was averted. I got to feeling a bit sick thinking about rotting fish in a disabled freezer. You dodged that one!

I'm sorry to hear about those elevated numbers, Nance and Joyce....and hope that you can both manage the causes without undo stress in your daily lives...and NOT A TON OF MEDICAL APPTS! Hugs to you both.

Nance, your Greek dinner sounded wonderful.

When I was growing up, my mother always made stuffed artichokes. I saw some for $1 each last week, so was excited to make them again. I have a general idea of how my mother used make them, but picked a video from Utube to guide me, then added extra tomato sauce in which to bake them. Here's the video....he sounds like a Boston local.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wlfhGpDzz-M

Most other recipes I found do not use tomato sauce when baking them. But I prefer that with garlic and some fennel. Also, he does not remove the "choke" (which is sort of a pain when the artichokes are raw, tho I've always done it) so your diners need to be careful not to eat that, and thencut that part out to get to the heart. They are fun and messy to eat. Just be sure to cook them long enough for them to be really tender. The flavor with the stuffing and tomato sauce is delish.

Today I need to get to some sewing....tried yesterday, but had misplaced the electric cord to my machine in one of its many moves out of the dining room. I was so frustrated. Then before I went to bed last night, I decided to look in the d.r. sideboard, and there it was! So to go along with my goal to get sewing tasks done, dinner will be a quick and easy one....kale soup and BLTs.

Yes, Fresh Market is a wonderful place, Redheaded.  I had every intention of going there today to take advantage of the Tues. mark down on chicken breasts and ground chuck.  But I didn't make it. 

I took out chicken for dinner tonight.  I'm planning to make chicken with preserved lemon and olives.  I think I'll also cook some whole wheat orzo with green onions and feta.  In other words try to copy the orzo I had for lunch yesterday but with whole wheat. 

Nance, I envy your certainty on the hair color issue.  Today I've waffled back and forth, one minute ready to make an appointment for color and the next minute deciding not to make an appointment.  I saw my hair stylist at the gym this morning and told her I was thinking about going color again.  "Have your friends been giving you a hard time?" she asked, and I replied truthfully that they had been very complimentary about the change. 

There was leftover birthday cake at my mother's house today and I couldn't resist eating a BIG piece.  It was so-o-o-o good I'm not even sorry I indulged.