So...whats for dinner?

eric - what is funny is that we actually had a bearded dragon and my daughter fed her with reptile tweezers - that is where I got the idea, but I went and bought a new pair and sterilized them, lol! I should have had someone film it - it is pretty ridiculous!

lacey - sorry about DDIL's dad and the surgery - went through that with my dad. Here's hoping he does well with the surgery and whatever treatment is prescribed.

Right after I hit “submit," the callback came--not from the doc on call but from my derm. She was skeptical it was anything but lymph drainage...which can be yellow and confused with pus; and was surprised that the Immediate Care nurse didn't take a culture swab. I replied that the nurse there just changes the bandage for me as a free favor, and I don't see the doc or P.A. there lest Medicare get billed and deny payment. She said that sutures need to stay in from 10-14 days, and since today is day 12, come on up and have her take a look and possibly remove them. Which is exactly what happened--both she and her nurse said it looked fine, was normal drainage, and removed the sutures and re-dressed the wound--telling me to keep doing the daily changes with Tegaderm for another week. She also took a swab, but said she'd be very surprised if it came back positive for anything. So I can go ahead and schedule my dental cleaning (and maybe get that cortisone shot Thurs.--after which I'd meet Bob at Christ Hosp. and we could go out to dinner down in Oak Lawn...or caravan it up to the Palm downtown for their lobster special). I've given up on getting my cortisone shot up in this neck of the woods.

SpecialK, I don’t have “lizard tweezers,” but I do have a foot-long pair of fish tweezers, which I use to pull the pin bones from salmon fillets. Maybe I should rinse them off with alcohol or peroxide and keep them in the bathroom instead of the kitchen. (The tweezers, not the pin bones or the salmon). Love your description! I had Googled a couple of weeks ago, and the suggestions included lying supine on a white sheet or towel, seeing where the blood spot is, and without shifting position, placing the bandage--face up with any ointment applied--on the blood spot and slowly lowering myself back down; then getting up and leaning against the wall to make sure the bandage adheres fully. (They weren’t at all clear about how to remove the old one).

About to fire up the grill and put up a nice bone-in ribeye, accompanying it with grilled asparagus, sauteed broccolini or garlic greens and maybe a sweet potato. Gordy’s coming home from rehearsal at 10, so I will cook it only to rare and then slice half of it off before putting the remainder back on, so he can nuke his portion of it to mid-rare. Same with the veg--I will deliberately undercook his. (He accepts that his inevitable response “put it in the microwave” when I tell him dinner’s ready will result in something that’s not going to taste optimal, so I’ve grown to meet him halfway on that).

Today was quite a day! Since I have tax id number for my b&b, I joined Restaurant Depot- a true mecca for anyone producing food for others. We spent about two hours walking all the aisles. Oh my goodness! I am now convinced that no restaurant actually makes their own soup after seeing the huge variety of pre-made and starter soup mixes.

I bought very little this time. Mostly, this was about scouting what products I can get here. Some of my ideas are a bit more high end than Restaurant Depot aspires to, but the wild caught Gilf shrimp, branzino, and lots of the proteins have prices that can't be beat. The place is a bit nuts. Fork lifts, big men carrying cases of lettuce, lots of activity. I will go back to do some damage next week.

Dinner tonight was a green salad. I also had some "cured" cucumbers, pickled red onions, sliced breakfast radishes, and some carrots. Served this with some cheese tortellini with a "sauce" of sautéed garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and some pesto. Neither of us had a huge appetite so there is lots of the pasta leftover.

Today's blood draw didn't cause any blood collection under my skin. Whohoooo!

*susan*

Lacey,

A good friend did all of this recently..... wasn't easy. Hope your son's FIL has a better outcome. Lung cancer is pretty damn rough. Thoughts to your son and his family.

*susan*

Bob slept in too late this morning to come home early enough for the $59 3-lb. lobster special for Nat’l Lobster Day at the Palm, and I didn’t want beef two nights in a row, so I made sausage & peppers with chicken Italian sausage (griddled it on my flattop), tricolor peppers, mushrooms, diced garlic-greens stems and a little tomato paste for dimension. Drinking seltzer on the rocks with lime--vintage 11am today. If I get hungry again, gonna saute some broccolini while it’s still good.

lacey, hugs. Grandparents and grandkidshave a special relationship. Nice when ots needed. Prayers for the whole family.

SK, and Sandy, putting bandages on your back by yourself is not easy. I do have a neighbit who can help if its needef, but i admit to some strange antics to avoid calling ger over the years..

On the stone front, it seems to have quieted down a bit. A small ache and small backache are all thats left right now. Of course it can go completely away or come roaring back. But right now, not too bad. They are waiting for a CT (cant have an MRI because of my pacemaker) on the 20th. Because they couldnt tell what kind of stone i have, they cant do any thing. The breaking up only works on crystals. So until it gets realky bad or the CT, whichever comes first, i wait. LOL. On the other hand, no snot in my head right now. Well see jow that goes tomorrow. Supper was chili. Much love to all.

Lacey, terrible news about your son's FIL. I wish him the best of care. The little grandson will experience loss early in life. But he has also experienced much love.

Same scenario with my mother as with Nance's father. She has made much progress with the help of her therapists but has reached a plateau. This week my sister who lives away came to visit my mother. She and my younger sister brought my mother to her house and the three of them were able to determine that my mother cannot live by herself. She couldn't transfer to the sofa nor was she able to handle trips to the bathroom. She will be able to stay at the same nursing home but in the resident area. My middle brother is trying to use connections to get her a private room. One of the owners is a good friend of my brother's and is on the board. There would be extra cost in addition to what Medicaid would pay. My mother's six kids would have to chip in for the extra. Nursing homes are very regulated and this one operates with two-occupant rooms. So getting a private room isn't just a matter of agreeing to pay extra.

The big revelation has been waiting lists at all the nursing homes in the area. It turns out that best way to get a room is to be in the home's skilled nursing/rehab program. Then you get priority for transitioning to resident's status.

Susan, hoping for good news with your blood work.

My former office manager (from when I last practiced law) died suddenly last night at only 80. She & I shared the same PCP and MO (she had a lx but no rads or chemo, and we were both on letrozole), and other than chronic kidney stones there were no other health issues. Had to be either an MI or stroke--spoke to our receptionist who said she’d been at work on Tues. and seemed just fine. Will know more after the funeral tomorrow and shiva on Sun. or Mon. Saddest thing is that her husband, 87, had a massive stroke of his own 4 years ago and had to stop practicing law because of severe speech difficulties that made it impossible to use the phone except on Skype (he is anti-Mac, so no FaceTime). Have no idea who will take care of him now, or how he can remain in their Lake Shore Dr. co-op; he will either have to go into assisted living or move in with one of his grown kids in the ‘burbs.

I am back!!!! Up to my eyeballs in AirBNB and cleaning the house, preparing for our first guest on Monday. Today, I baked six "mini" sour cherry and pecan breads and another six sour cream coffee cakes. They are in the freezer, except for one sour cream coffee cake, since Mr. 02143 thinks he needs to do some quality control tomorrow morning. Funny man, eh?

For dinner, we grilled a ton of chicken. Now that I am willing to eat chicken wings [long story], he bought a ton of them, and then grilled them slowly over a cherry wood fire with Inner Beauty and just a bit of Worcesthire sauce. He also did a few thighs at my request. I made some potato salad and steamed some haricot verts. Since we had a huge green salad for lunch, I thought another salad might be too much. I suspect we will enjoy these leftovers for a few days. Yea!!!!

So back to this Airbnb thing..... what a ride! I am getting inquiries at a rapid rate. Of those, about half the inquiries are inappropriate in some way. However, the other half are interesting people. Assuming these last two interesting people actually book, I am booked through the end of July! I am still trying to find a house cleaner to help with the work. I need to make my photos more compelling I think, and I need some good reviews so that I can pull the nightly rate up into the "market value." In case this would amuse you, here is the post: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13156765 I love arriving at a place that isn't filled with clutter, but the flip side of a de-cluttered space is that it photographs as spartan. Maybe I just need to get some flowers in a vase. Knowing that we will downsize in a few years, I don't really want to invest in art. And all the artwork that I own is in the spaces that I use.

lacey, I am a bit gobsmacked that you grandson isn't being given space to be sad. May I be "out of line?" Is there any chance that your grandson could come to stay with you this summer for just a bit without his parents and grandparents? I know that he is a handful.... but I remember how important some time I spent with my Aunt was for me one summer.

Sandy, your restaurant adventures are becoming legendary. Way out of my league, but fun to read about.

Carole, I think of you and your Mom often.

Special, have you healed from both the breast surgery and your skin work?

*susan*

The zoning regulations in Somerville allow for up to five people to live in a house who are not related. By only allowing three people, I am well within the current regulations. If my town decides to charge a hotel tax, so be it. The only Airbnb target around here are all of these apartments that are taken off the market and rented in total on Airbnb. Whatever. I need some income. Airbnb can provide it. Right now it is legal and so I will continue until it is not tenable. I don't do Uber or Lyft..... but that is a different discussion.

*susan*

Sorry to be so lax about posting, but I have been reading. Susan - love the suite. Lacey - so sorry about your children's other FIL. Sandy - I'd love to discuss trigger thumbs with you once I get caught up. Good luck w/your upcoming concert. Bedo - I can't remember if you've left yet, but check in when you can. Special - sounds like the surgery is healing like it should this time. Nance & Red & anyone else trying to care for aging parents - Been there, done that, my heart is with you. Eric - I can't believe your record heat. How's the DD's job going? Does your DW take off summers or teach year round?

So - my port quit working in February. I ignored it to take my spring trips & then ignored it due to broken arm (which is still healing & I start 6 weeks of PT next week). Saline & heparin still went in so I wanted to have interventional radiology check to see if I could still use it for a final PET/CT before my MO appointment. My BS wasn't on board with that idea. Canceled PET/CT. I'm really afraid to have nuclear contrast put in my arm. Not to mention the right side LE has flared because I haven't been able to do MLD with the broken left arm. (whine, whine) I spent two weeks trying to find someone to draw blood from my foot. I live in a city with one of the largest medical centers in the U.S., and I'm surely not the only person with lymphadema. URGH!!!. Finally one of the hospital labs took pity on me and arranged for the doc in charge of the hospital Blood Donor Center to draw it for me. Then I saw the MO. After trying to get me to have my port removed for a year, he has not ordered IR to see what the problem is. If the contrast will still go where it should, I'll have the PET/CT and then have the port out. Funny, after fighting me for year about the PET instead of a plain CT, he's now on board for this test.

Also have to have final dental work before Prolia shots start in July. Chemo put me into full osteoperosis of the femoral neck of the hip. Darned if I want to be stuck in some nursing home w/a broken hip. The next few weeks will be REALLY crazy. Hopefully after that I can swear off all docs for awhile.

Dinner is cleaning the fridge. Since I spent much of last week at the medical center (45 min away w/no traffic) lots of veggies that are turning. The parts that are good need to be eaten tonight. Salad w/red leaf lettuce, radishes, cauliflower, Armenian cucumber, Mexican Mini tomatoes, asparagus tips. I threw away a package of mushrooms 2 weeks ago. The next package is one breath from turning so I made a brandy cream sauce with finely sliced 1015 onions & the mushrooms, brandy & heavy cream. It will hold until tomorrow when I cook either chicken or pork chops. That will go with the fresh corn that was no longer fresh & I've now cooked & sliced off the cob.

Sorry for the length. I'll try to be more current.

This morning, brunch was a classic French herb omelette from the America’s Test Kitchen recipe. Normally, I follow the recipe and make it with two eggs+one yolk, but today the first egg I cracked was a double-yolker. (Second day in a row). So I thought, “Good--all I need is one more egg.” Surprise--that second egg was also a double-yolker! (Is there a superstition associated with this)? Grated some cave-aged Gruyere (about 2 Tbs) and chopped a mix of herbs: chives and thyme from my garden, plus parsley & tarragon. The mechanics of it are kind of tricky--must be done on low enough heat for the butter not to brown and the eggs not set too quickly (stir them in the pan at first with a pair of chopsticks), but the result was a perfect pale-yellow cylinder without a speck of brown. Not too runny, not too dry.

After going to LensCrafters, stopped at the Freshens frozen yogurt kiosk in the mall’s food court. I had some of the sugar-free pecan praline....and I found it surprisingly vile. (Before I discovered the “plain/EuroTart/Greek” self-serve fro-yo, I actually liked the Freshens stuff). It was at once both sickeningly sweet and with a bitter aftertaste. (Why I hate stevia...or maybe have lost my taste for any kind of sweeteners).

Dinner tonight was at Sullivan’s Steakhouse in River North. (We had a gift card). Started with a blue cheese iceberg wedge salad (other than taco-meat cushioning, lining dim sum steamers or as the vessel in “lettuce cups” about all iceberg is good for). Bob had a filet mignon (which I find boring--tender & lean but not very beefy) and I a bone-in ribeye. I always get a big one, eat a little bit and take the rest home either for Gordy or to make a couple of more meals from. This was not one of the better ribeyes I’ve eaten, which is surprising in a steakhouse this pricy. It seemed to have, instead of marbling, actual concentric bands of fat--as if there were a membrane or silver-skin that hadn’t been trimmed, but not just on the outside. And there were tough veins of gristle throughout as well. Packed the lion’s share to go. Not sure how much of the rest of it will be usable. It didn’t hold a candle to the ribeyes from the Palm, Ditka’s, Fleming’s, Jameson’s Charhouse, or--of course--Peter Luger’s. (I think Luger’s uses Porterhouse--you can’t choose the cut of steak, only the size). For that matter, the grass-fed ribeyes from Whole Foods, that I grill myself, were better!

Minus, goodness you are going through some medical madness. Will be glad for you when serenity returns to your life. Hope all is well medically after tests are done.

This forum is educational in many ways. I had no idea what AirBnB meant when Susan brought up the subject. I have gleaned that it's boarding people in your home, as in bed and breakfast accommodations. So interesting because I would have thought Susan was the last person to have strangers in her home! The last person to have time enough to put up with a stranger in her home! It's true that busy people get more done than not-so-busy people like myself. Please keep us posted, Susan. If you're providing food for these strangers, there will be a line of people outside your house!

Meals are very basic here at our camper. Last night was hamburgers on buns and potato salad. Everything cooked on the grill. I used the burner to boil eggs first and then boil the diced, unpeeled little red potatoes. Later the hamburgers were grilled to perfection.

Tonight will be hot dogs with buns and leftover potato salad. Basic and healthy often aren't the same.

We're having a hot, humid day in northern MN and may end up turning on the a/c this afternoon. Thunderstorms are forecast for tonight as a front comes through and cools things off again. We do have a safe room available in case the weather gets really violent.

Hey Carole, what part of Northern MN are you in? I'm originally from Northern Wisconsin!