So...whats for dinner?

Carole, so glad you and yours are ok. I was worried about you.

Hsant, thanks for reminding me that I'm need to make brioche buns.

Love the counter tops Susan. So envious. Only of the materials, not all the work you're having to do.

Oh Carrie, I'm so sorry about your dad. At least he can still make his own treatment decisions. Going through this with my dad, all I could think about was having poa for him sucks. He can make decisions, but his decision is always no.

Kiks, how pretty!

Carole you're safe. Chisandy that storm is missing us. Yes!

Bedo, i hope you're ok.

Susan keeping insanely busy as usual.

Eric on call agajn? Hope it's a smooth oncall for you.

Specialk glad the problem wasn't that bad.

To everyone else, hope all is well. My new computer is sent in for work already. So still poking along on the phone.

Saw my PCP he upped one of my diabetes meds, said he'd leave the other alone for now. I was doing real good til the dang kidney stones. Still have to contact the PS. Don't want too. LOL. That will make 5 Dr visits in 2 weeks if i don't count the dentist. LOL. Ach!!!

Supper tonight will be sweet potato and white potato scallop. Might serve meat with it. I think i have a ham slice in the fridge. Maybe, maybe not. Been trying to start a small crochet project for myself. Wanted to do it before but felt kind of bad and wiped. There's no excuse now. LOL. Except of course the book I want to read. LOL

Much love to all.

Eric: My brother gave me a subscription to Arizona Highways for Christmas. Thought this fact was amazing... "On March 14, 1930, the Planning & Zoning Commission in Phoenix laid out plans for the city to accommodate 226,000. Current population is more than 1.5 million today." I know several people who's parents moved there in the 30s through the 50s when the dessert climate was what doctors prescribed for lung problems. Now I think you have major humidity. Not to mention all the changes in medical treatments.

Gorgeous cupcakes--might take some mango chunks out of the freezer and blend them with almond milk & Greek yogurt for a dessert smoothie. That way I get the taste of mango without the starch and with far less sugar.

Storm largely missed us too--we got a dusting that melted and now another dusting. Not even worth putting out ice melter. Oak Lawn got less than 3", so Bob'll come home tonight--even though his Cooper's Hawk dinner was cancelled by the drug company out of fears of snow. Maybe we'll go out tonight, maybe i'll just do Buffalo wings & celery sticks, or perhaps cacio e pepe using zoodles rather than noodles. (I still like the al dente texture of the real thing, though--zucchini can be made to look real but it'll never taste or chew right).

UPDATE: Bob brought home linguine frutta di mare and salad from Calo. Had some salad (ate the tomato and cuke, since Gordy--who is off working lights & sound for a standup open mic--is a salad purist and wants leafy stuff only) and a small piece of the tomato foccaccia. Portions were huge, and Bob brought two. Knowing that scallops and mollusks don’t reheat well, I ate mostly scallops, mussels, clams and a little calamari and we both left our jumbo shrimp for Gordy. I had about half a cup of linguine aglio e olio (garlic & oil sauce)--and it was mushier than zoodles would have been! Good thing I left the vast majority of the pasta over. It might work crisped up as part of a brunch frittata tomorrow. Bob wanted to open the Etna Rosso wine we brought back from Sicily, but it would’ve been a gross mismatch for the seafood linguine. So I chilled a bottle of CA rose bubbly (Mumm Napa) instead. That Etna Rosso is more appropriate for steak, lasagne, or spaghetti in meaty, a long-simmered "Sunday gravy" (Pappardelle alla Bolognese would be an easier and acceptable substitute--and I could give Bob & Gordy the pappardelle with the sauce while I put it over sauteed thinly-shaved wide ribbons of zucchini for myself).

Carole, and others who have dodged this dastardly storm, I'm glad to hear that you are all safe. I think that we are not slated for the twisters, this far north, just heavy rain and wind all night....the front is hopefully pulling off shore by tomorrow morning. Such bizarre strong weather with high temps here.....for February!

Nance, I'm hoping that your "personal tornado" calms down. Yikes! No wonder you aren't feeling well. I wish there were an easy way to de-stress during this challenge.

And Carrie, I am so sorry for you to be dealing with your parents' medical decline....am including your mother in that since she obviously is losing her ability to enjoy being nurtured as she faces your dad's illness, so is also failing. Oh dear......(((HUGS))) to all of you.

Bedo, I do hope that you had your doc appt., and addressed whatever brought you to the ER.

Hi to everyone else. If I go back a page for specifics, I'll be tempting "erasure" fate....and will most likely need to start over.

The chicken with Meyer lemons dinner was wasted work....not a fan. If I make it again I would zest the lemons but not use whole pieces.

Last evening, I made a wheat penne, sausage, chicken, and broccoli rabe toss with a balsamic finish. Tasty! We'll have it for leftovers tomorrow evening before heading to see "1984" in Cambridge. Again glad it won't be raining. I won't have time to cook or eat out beforehand since I have to see the foot doc, in the late afternoon after my teaching. My collapsed arch seems to be acting up (or down!) and I think I need at least a new orthotic fitting....hopefully, not, at most, the foot brace I wore for 6months several years ago.

Susan, that marble is lovely!

So there are more "turning" bananas calling to me, thus I will make more of those Hawaiian muffins. I gave the last little loaf to my housekeeper whose visit here after two months required ourpre-visit scramble to make surfaces available to clean. We need that more than her cleaning help....but it is nice to have a shiny kitchen floor after two months of sloppy melting snow being tracked in, especially by our little granddog the week we cared for him.

I have to say, all this parental talk is making me feel so very lucky that my mother is so very healthy, and that my father's decline was so graceful. His dementia meant that he didn't fight, and his love for my mother meant that he trusted her implicitly. This was not trust misplaced either. In fact, my mother, now that she has resigned from her job in protest, has asked me to book her some plane tickets. She wants to spend Easter with her cousin in Ham, which is a farm at the northern most point of mainland Scotland. And so I will. She will spend some time in London, head to Ham with her cousin, spend a few weeks, return to London to attend some of the Spring museum exhibit openings before returning to New England almost a full month later. How cool is this?????

We have selected every, single paint color. In the morning, I will go to the Benjamin Moore store and have them all mixed up. Then I will place the cans in the proper rooms, and they will start the painting! More conversations with insurance people. The day was over, but I made chicken schnitzel for the whole family. The pregnant girl wanted a lemon cream sauce for her pasta, and so a lemon cream sauce was made. The rest of us had sautéed mushrooms with lemon and a plain pasta. A huge amount of asparagus balanced out the meal.

Tomorrow is a real hospital day. Looks like I will be there for at least four hours since I am getting my first Xgeva shot. Dreading this shot to be honest, but there it is.

So, the marble is a white Carrera, but she selected a very grey version. Turns out this is "out of style" so we go it for a song. Seriously. The price was less than for formica! Just a lucky break for us.

Love the cupcakes. I am not so artistic with my baked goods. The girl child however, does beautiful work like this. Takes more patience and care than I seem to possess.

*susan*

Eric Also crossing fingers for your Mother's ER visit.

Susan - good luck w/the Xgeva. I hope the SEs are easy, but will be interested to hear how it goes. i've been trying to get my mind around Prolia (same drug but I think not quite as strong), but I've been so worried about possible dental issues - ONJ. Found out today that two teeth must have crowns. One of them was damaged by radiation decay or chemo dry mouth and now has a cavity, but it may break off while they're prepping for a crown. If I have to have an extraction & implant, the Prolia will be delayed once again.

And I refuse to put these crowns in front of all the plans I've already made for spring. I've been putting off various trips for 5 years and just not going to put them off any longer. So dental work will wait until May.

Sending calming hopes for all the parental issues to be resolved. Susan, how neat that your Mother will take this trip.

Lacey - great to see you writing long posts again. Sandy - you have the most interesting meals.

Special - thanks for the Prolia review.

My goal for today is to find a good Cobb salad somewhere around the Medical Center - where I will be stuck waiting between morning & afternoon doc appointments. Weird - I've lived here for over 40 years and none of the places I know serve this anymore. Dr. Google has given me a number of places to try & one is only 4 blocks from my afternoon doc. Reviews to follow.

minus - I was osteopenic, but stable, prior to BC dx, couldn't tolerate the oral bisphosphanates due to reflux surgery in '95. Chemo and six months of anti-hormonals took me to brink of osteoporosis. After the fifth Prolia injection I had a DEXA done and I have normal density now. In 2015 ASCO released positive info regarding Prolia and reduced fracture risk in BC patients.

Eric, hope Mom is ok? I get it, my Mom is 79 and was in the hospital with GI surgery right before my dx. Seems like there is so much more complications as we age. Her cardiologist now wants her to do a stress test because the surgery caused a clot in her leg. But she has other health issues as well and that may pose complications with treatment. My grandmother (her mother) lived till 101, kicking and not worrying about a darn thing, passed in her sleep. Best way to go. How old is DD? Mine is 16 and we are planning a college visit in March between my chemo. Didn't seem this complicated when I went to college. Seems like we get information overload and decisions become muddled.

Carberry, wishing your Dad well. I believe it is always so challenging to watch them as well as for them to see us go through this.

Everyone, thanks for the compliments on the cupcakes, it did keep me busy through the morning. I started baking( and I love to bake because there is less clean up then preparing a meal) about 5 years ago as a way to connect with my heritage. My mom, an excellent cook and baker, was highly encouraging. However, now, at least after chemo, I am going to try doing it with sugarless recipes. Will let you know how it all turns out.

Susan, white carrera out of style? Really? I just heard Nate Berkus (the designer) proclaimed that it is the hottest greatest trend in kitchens on the Oprah show. I think it is timeless, I was going to do the same with my next kitchen.

Spent most of the day at the med center w/no break for lunch (so no Cobb Salad). They couldn't get any blood from my port at the infusion center in spite of numerous drugs & attempts. I am so disgusted that I didn't even want to stop & eat. Dinner (along w/late lunch) was a can of smoked oysters, two tomatoes with HEB ranch dressing and 1/2 a potato w/lots of better.

Susan - Great news. Thanks for the update. Hope you don't get the flu symptoms. I too love your countertops.

Minus, so what happens next with the port? Sounds like an exasperating experience for you.

Susan, hands raised in a YAY motion for your good news!

Eric, hope the trip with DD and Sharon worked out well. I must have missed the news on Sharon's arm.

The potluck lunch buffet yesterday had more selections than I could sample. I enjoyed what I put on my plate. We had leftover chicken salad and each had a portion of that for dinner.

Dinner tonight is in the ??? phase.

Thanks for asking about the port Eric & Carole. No, they could never get blood even w/two injections of Activase (dissolves fibers or clots). Supposedly I will have to go to Interventional Radiology to have dye injected. That's an outpatient procedure & unfortunately their appointments are not "next day". And even worse, the surgeon who implanted the port is on vacation so I can't get orders for IR. And then if that still doesn't work, I'll have to decide about having the port replaced or ditching in. The infusion center nurses tell me no blood return is no big deal. I hope they're right because I am going to see my son the day my BS returns. As my mother used to say "come hell or high water", I'm going. Airline ticket purchased, rental car pre-paid, hotels booked, airport parking pre-paid, arrangements to meet 4 different people set - and I'm tired of having to change my plans for the last 5 years due to BC.

Sorry for the rant. Crying didn't help so now I'm mad. And determined. Thanks for listening & also sorry for hijacking the thread away from food.

Dinner will be something with a 1/2 pork loin that I froze after cooking last month. I did buy brandy so maybe I'll try that brandy cream sauce I didn't have on hand last time I wanted to cook this dish.