So...whats for dinner?

The car got backed into in a parking lot....the damage was confined to the bumper.....one more thing to add to the list.

Sigh.

Oh I hope we have a Bowling Green meet up!

Bedo, spaghetti is certainly an option, but you might also enjoy making a eggplant parmesan, or sub out some zucchini, etc., bake with the sauce and some delicious cheese on top. Another favorite is a vegetable lasagna. Remember that these freeze well before baking.

Tonight I made an almost-dan dan noodles. My new container of Tianjin vegetables had gone bad. And then the greens were too old, so I used some fermented black beans, chili peppers, and a lot of scallions. Not perfect, but not bad in a pinch. This is my last week of this cycle and it is catching up with me. Today's nap was deep and I was still exhausted. Went to two open houses, neither of which will get an offer from us. The kid has arranged FOUR open houses tomorrow, one of which is just one street over. They got a number 7 in the affordable housing lottery for a really nice condo, so we are back to the open houses. This was their last lottery since my son-in-law gets his promotion this week.

*susan*

I needed something cheery after my week of sorting photos of people who are all gone, so went to a movie this afternoon after water aerobics, something I usually only do once a year. Saw "Spy" with Melissa McCarthy. Funny parody of James Bond films but the women are in charge in this CIA spoof. I laughed so hard I used up all my napkins on tears running down my face & almost wet my pants. Warning - not for children. Lots of language & extremely suggestive word play. But really funny if you don't mind that & it provided just the silly mood I needed.

So dunch was leftover rotisserie chicken pieces, a can of Bush Navy beans, drained & rinsed, and topped with leftover Hatch green chili stew. Quite tasty even though I forgot the cheese on top.

Lacey,

You haven't really forgotten the details, they are just wildly murky. At the moment, there are two options on the table.... 1. we buy a condo, let the kids live there until we [he] is ready to downsize, or 2. we buy a two family in a town with a decent school district and the kids live in the rental unit and we rent out the owners unit until we/he is ready to downsize when the kids would move into the owners unit and we/he would move into the tenant unit. This is exhausting.... and it turns out the idea of moving out of my urban oasis is not sitting well. I love where we live. Even the west part of Arlington seemed like the middle-of-nowhere to us, and it actually was.

Oh well. Planning for when I am not here is really turning out to be hard emotionally, even though my practical self knows that it is for the best,

*susan*

Susan - my heart goes out to you. I don't remember how old your kids are, but they are grown - right? If your home doesn't have too many medical drawbacks (stairs you might not be able to manage or bathroom that can't be adapted), I think you should put SUSAN first and stay right where you love living. I agree with Lacey, it's beyond admirable that you want to make it easier for your family in the future, but now's the time to grab what chances you have to enjoy your days & family & friends & cherish every good moment. Tamp down that practical self. There are enough exhausting things that you have to do w/o taking on the whole future.

That said, when my son bought his last house in the SF Bay Area, I tried to convince him to find one with a 'mother-in-law' house in the back. That didn't happen so I continue to worry about what arrangements I will make so as not to be a "burden". I'm attempting to sort through years of stuff & memories, and place treasured things with people now - a hard enough task w/o contemplating moving too.

Now that I've written this, I'm worried that I might be sticking my nose in where not needed. However one thing I seemed to have gained from cancer is the ability to put myself first (sometimes) & not feel guilty about it (all the time) and it's a feeling I've been trying to share with women friends. So take into consideration what makes YOU happy.

It is so hard to draw the line between taking care of ourselves and taking care of others. I wish that I had the answer, but I do know that my friends have given me good advise about my situation and family members, and I trust the ones that I know and love dearly to advise me on what's right for me.

Well, as I lie around all rainy day with the robot vacuum vacuuming the house and the new litter robot taking care of the litter box, I know what's good for me. As little housework as possible.

I'm making broiled bluefish basted with real maple syrup tonight. Just bought the bluefish yesterday at the Farmer's Market. I don't have allspice, which the recipe calls for so I hope it turns out alright.

Minus how do you think of these things?

"Bush Navy beans, drained & rinsed, and topped with leftover Hatch green chili stew. Quite tasty even though I forgot the cheese on top"

Maybe like me by looking at what I have and thinking of putting it together...ugh ugh ugh, yeah! those crackers would taste mighty good with butter and a touch of hot sauce! :O

Raining again.....time to start growing webbed feet if you live here in IL ........

Bedo I fo und Rao's at Fresh Market and also at Meijer's Foods, and target. 

The hotel I'm at has a small, moderately well equipped kitchen in my room so I won't be doomed to two weeks of rrestaurant good.

A bunch of other folks have the same idea...since we can use the government vehicles to go eat..12 of us piled into a van went to the nearby grocery store instead of a restaurant.

It won't be fancy, but will be good and it won't eat up the per diem money. :-)

Spaghetti with chicken and sauce from a jar, plus a salad.

We have arrived at Pine Hollow Resort and are settled in our spot.  I now have internet, as of this minute but as more people arrive for the holiday weekend and more electronic gadgets are logged in, the speed will bog down, I'm sure. 

The door and windows are open and the camper a/c is not turned on.  HEAVEN!!!!!  We've visited with some of our Pine Hollow friends and this afternoon were invited to go out on the lake with our next door neighbor on their luxurious pontoon boat that they bought last August.  I saw several loons, one of my pleasures in being out on the lake.  Tomorrow we will go bicycling on a portion of the extensive paved bike path network in the area.  And I have a tee time on Thurs. for afternoon golf at one of our favorite golf courses.  We play the afternoon (twilight) time because it's more affordable, though still not cheap at $37 each.  That actually is extremely reasonable but we are cheapskates.

Nance and I did not get together this time in Bowling Green but I'm hopeful we will do so in the future.

I would like to put in my two cents worth (though probably worth less!) about your real estate interests, Susan.  I think you should live in the house you love in the neighborhood you enjoy.  The daughter and her husband are not top priority at this time.  You and your dh are.  People most appreciate what they earn for themselves. 

I'm chuckling as I think about bedo's remarks concerning putting whatever is on hand together for a meal.  I think she had crackers and hot sauce.  I have black beans, 3 small cartons, and some jarred salsa that would be fine for Laurie's chicken salsa.  Only no chicken thawed out.  I do have frozen corn and fresh red bell pepper.  I'm thinking of making some kind of black bean dish to go with brown rice that will have to be cooked.  I have salad makings, too, including two gorgeous tomatoes that I bought at a produce stand near Hannibal, MO.  They were grown by the Amish in greenhouses and were pricey at $3 a lb.  At the same stand I bought cucumbers and green beans.

We will not see tomatoes at the farmers' mkts around here until August.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts on our house search. Though we didn't expect to, we found a condo that all four of us liked this weekend, but by the time we had an agent, etc, on Tuesday, it was sold with 5 over asking price offers. It went on the market on Saturday. I have lots of thoughts, but, Ibrance is kicking my ass and I just can't seem to muster the energy to post something meaningful. The short version, which will have to be enough tonight, is that this search is all about my husband, in a way that also helps the kids.

Dinner was a pizza, but I did prep a Malaysian satay marinade and chicken is hanging out in the stuff for tomorrow night's dinner. Did I mention that I am having some fatigue issues with this drug?

*susan*

(drooling helplessly over some of the meals listed) I don't have the energy to do some of these things, and I'm still in the "surgery" stage of treament. Tonight for me: grilled steak, onion, red (bell) pepper, which my husband is cooking for me. Not that he loves grilling or anything.

Hello Queen!

Fresh, my daughter gave me three meals after she said it was "too hard" Haha, They were good, but I don't have that kind of money. Free food is good!

Susan I hope you feel better.

Carol, your meal with the beans sounds good. No one can ever be as bad a cook, as I am, and sometimes I enjoy it.

For dinner tonight: Not really hungry, but making the usual, fish in a foil packet ,tilapia, which I am so sick of, but bought a huge amount of which I will take to lunch and eat tomorrow I covered it with some sauce leftover from a Chinese restaurant which appears to by tamari sauce brown sugar and garlic or some such. Plus I put Brussels sprouts in the packet.

I found the RAO sauce. It was very good. Kind of like gazpacho. Unfortunately not kidding. I ate it with French bread and butter.

Eric - did you say you were in Maryland? So you drove home from NY and immediately turned around & headed back east? Yes, having any kind of cooking apparatus in a hotel room or dorm makes a big difference. How long will you be back there? Can you tell us what you're doing? Or would you have to kill us if you did? (LOL - I have a nephew who works for the FBI so that is our standard joke)

Wading through 3 months of magazines and came across this recipe in HealthMonitor - copied from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz. Sounds like something I'll be making a regular dinner.

Easy Eggs in a Cup - 4 servings
1 Tblsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely dices red onion
1 tsp minced garlic
4 cups tightly packed baby spinich
washed & thoroughly dried
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
4 eggs (organic)
Pinch of freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat olive oil in saute pan - add onion & saute until translucent (3 min)
Stir in garlic & saute 30 seconds more.
Stir in spinach & pinch of salt. Cook until wilted & tender (30 sec)
Remove from heat & stir in nutmeg.
Lightly grease 4 small ramekins w/olive oil.
Spoon in 1/4 spinach mixture then sprinkle 1 Tblsp cheese,
Gently crack one egg on top of the cheese then sprinkle w/pepper & salt
Repeat for other 3 servings.
Bake for 12 - 14 minutes until very little liquid remains.
Cool 3 minutes. Run knife around the inside edge to loosen the eggs.
Transfer to plate & serve immediately.

Tonight I finished the first cycle of Ibrance. I have managed to do this without fever or infection. Tomorrow I meet with my oncologist and am eagerly looking forward to hearing what she has to say.

Tonight we had a delicious dinner, a family meal. In the afternoon, the kid made a Thai peanut dipping sauce. That is what the two of them like for Malaysian satay. I made some Javanese carrot and cucumber pickles. And as they cured, I started the Malaysian eggplant curry. I found two lovely Japanese eggplant at the Indian market. You dust them with turmeric and then soak some tamarind in hot water. Some garlic and shallots, lots of spices, and then you add the coconut milk and water and let the curry simmer. The sautéed eggplant is added at the last moment so it doesn't get too mushy. Meanwhile, Mr. 02143 grilled the chicken satay pieces that had been marinating for 24 hrs and I made the soy-lime dipping sauce that we prefer. A pot of jasmine rice completed the meal. I have no idea why, but this was the best tasting food I have eaten in weeks. Full of flavor, but not heavy and dense. I ate more than I have in ages, and enjoyed every single bit of it. But, at the moment, it is 10:30 and I am still full. I should be headed to bed, but need to digest a bit more before that is possible.

The best news is, we have enough for dinner tomorrow night as well.

*susan*