So...whats for dinner?

Regarding scary falls. A few days ago we received an email from the son of DD 's Godfather.

DD's Godfather's wife fell while going into a lab for blood work for her annual routine physical. She hit her head on the sidewalk and died a few hours later. :-(

They (now he) live in Phoenix in the winter and, in the summer, about 40 miles from where we are staying in Northern Michigan. We visited him yesterday.

Special, I'm glad to hear the surgery went well.

Tonight was the last of the KFC

Tonight was tacos and beans. Hot and humid here so seemed like a good summer meal.

My internet is down again, so it ate the beginning of what I was trying to post (having to tether to my phone's cellular internet). Lacey, ouch! "Falling hard" is supposed to be a metaphor. I'm now gonna try ever so much harder to stay hydrates. Eric, so sorry about your DD's godmother--that, and the similar way my friend died at the end of Feb., tells us that life is capricious and tomorrow is never a given.

Tonight we grilled a flank steak to go with leftover salads from yesterday. Dinner tonight and will also turn into a steak salad on Friday.

Echoing the wish for everyone to stay as upright as possible!

Last night the outdoor gas grill became the oven to cook a meatloaf and small potatoes. Salad was coleslaw. Everything was good.

Hot weather continues.

Scary happening with the fall, Lacey. Adorable grandchild.

Glad the surgery is done, SpecialK. Hope the recovery brings great improvement.

Officially my last meal request, Berryhill original fish tacos and a frozen margarita!

Mommyof2, hope you get relief from the pain. Sounds awful.

Last night was leftover meatloaf and yellow squash.

Special, I hope your surgical healing is starting off well. I'm impressed with how well your DH will be eating as you recover! Yes, the ER staff gave initial dx of vasovagul syncope, and my PCP decided to further look at cardiac functioning since I tend towards low heart rate and BP. Ruling out a need for pacemaker.

Eric, what a terrifying story about your friend's wife's tragic fall. I'm glad you had the chance to visit him.

Until yesterday, it's been beastly hot here and I've tried to prep simple dinners since my noggin is definitely "not right". One evening we even ordered from Bertucci's. I had their grilled salmon with veggies (their roasted potatoes that come with it are good but white potatoes are rarely served in our kitchen) and DH ordered shrimp scampi. Fortunately, there was so much of that leftover that last night (when the temps were about 20 degrees cooler), I sautéed some veggies to add to it, and topped it all with cheese, which we enjoyed with a big salad.

Today, DH will head to the grocery store (my face is still too unsightly to share it with the masses) with a long list of needed supplies, and I’m guessing we’ll grill chicken tonight to have with salad and microwaved sweet potatoes. Tomorrow, local son and crew are coming over here to celebrate my 76th birthday. Given my physical state this year, I do finally feel old. And the arthritis in my spine facets can take the most credit for that. Not being able to exercise for so many months has not been a good thing. I will change my thoughts to more positive ones and enjoy having family here to celebrate. We’ll order Captain Marden’s delicious seafood for dinner, where a hamburger can also be ordered for the fish aversive guest.

Meanwhile, DS2 just let us know that little toddlerette was home with a slight cold two days this week, but returned to daycare today. He thinks she’ll be fine for tomorrow, but wanted us to know in case we’re not comfortable having her here. Yikes! Could her outdoor party and “bouncy house” activity have been a kiddie super spreader event? The children attending were all below the age of vaccine eligibility. Ugh! Our state is now mask free, especially for all outdoor events, but with kids being yet unvaxed who knows where the virus lurks! Tho I guess maskless faces can result in all sorts of less lethal viruses being shared. I’m guessing that we may well see toddlerette wearing her mask if they still come tomorrow. Fortunately, she is really compliant about that newly learned ritual, and we will be outdoors. I may ask them to have her tested, tho I suspect her viral load must be pretty low. Again...GH!

Minus, I am eagerly awaiting news of you finally “breaking up” with your daily work crew!

Carole, if you are ever motivated to, I’d love for you to post some pix of your DH’s woodworking creations.

Once again, I’ve carried on too long, and my head is letting me know....so off the screen I go!

M0mmy, glad your pain is easing up. May it continue to do so. Lacey, hope you find some answers as to the cause of your vasovagal syncope (orthostatic hypotension?) and that you continue to heal from your own fall. Worn facet joints seem to plague us all as we leave middle age. First thing I do in the morning even before sitting down on the toilet is to hit my back muscles with CBD-menthol spray. Seems to help. I notice my upper back muscles get tight late in the day, especially if I've spent extended periods of time standing & walking--like today at Costco and then assembling dinner at home. Bob's bane is his bone-on-bone R knee (flashing back to my own, pre-2012).

Heidi's followup today went well. The vet approved of my discontinuing her pain meds after Wed. night. She does have the feline equivalent of a "dry socket," so she got a shot of long-acting antibiotic. Her next followup is Tuesday. She put up no resistance today as I eased her into her carrier; maybe she'll be similarly docile on Tues. Happy, OTOH, was not pleased that I was taking so long to remove the new Costco undies from their packaging--you know how cats are about boxes of any size. He registered his displeasure at my not giving him his "toy" fast enough, by scratching & nipping me simultaneously. So after the usual first aid procedures, I'm walking around with a gauze-pad bandage on my arm again. At least I know what to do and not have to involve Urgent Care. I think I can switch to a large Band-Aid tonight. (Thank goodness it wasn't my face this time).

Last night was Cellars' Fess Parker winemaker dinner. (Yup, that Fess Parker--the display magnum of Pinot Noir had a tiny 'coonskin cap atop the cork). Appetizer was seared scallops with corn, avocado & bacon relish. Next came a Thai summer veggie curry ("zoodles" and Fresno chiles in a red curry cream). Fish course was honey-glazed salmon atop farro & mushrooms. Then came cassoulet--yup, in June. (To me, that's the quintessential winter dish). The air conditioning inside (and the lake breeze outside) made it delightful. Finally, dessert was chocolate lava cakes with vanlla bean gelato.

Tonight, I "enfoiled" Wed.'s leftover BBQ (chicken, spareribs, pulled pork, corn cobbette) and reheated it on the grill. Since we killed off the slaw Wed. night, I took broccolini that had begun to flower--I trimmed away the blossoms--and steamed it on the grill in foil, with olive oil, kosher salt, lemon, garlic & red pepper flakes. Also had some baby bok choy that was about to "turn," so I trimmed it and stir-fried it in garlic-ginger-infused oil with sliced shiitakes (from the farmers' mkt) and coconut aminos. For me, three ribs plus the veggies sufficed; I served everything else to Bob, including the pulled pork (heavily sauced) on Natural Ovens keto burger buns I got at Costco today. (They now have keto hot dog buns as well, so I may grill sausages tomorrow night--or defrost a packet of Luke's Lobster meat and make lobstah rolls).

I feel human enough to make the pork chops

Last night was grilled pork steak and tossed salad.

Bread part 2. I'm making a larger amount of dough to better fill the bread pan. This will be DD's last "made by dad" bread for awhile.

DH did some ribs, so I added rainbow chard and cauliflower Mac n cheese, which is one of my favorites.

Last night (Sat. as I type this), Bob got home too late and I was too wiped out from shopping and preparing for the online dulcimer workshops I had to teach today to either go out or do much cooking. Bob had that steak taco kit from the farmers' market, supplemented with guacamole & cheddar, plus grilled veggies I brought home from Whole Foods. He left me the slices of grilled eggplant, so I took those and layered them with olive oil, grated Parm-Regg., Rao's marinara, sliced provolone, basil from the garden, and the "heel" end of a ball of fresh mozzarella, and voilà ("ecco?"): eggplant Parm, sans breading.

He brought me brunch this morning from Cellars: my usual broccoli-cheddar quiche & salad (I was too nervous to go out, and I ate just a bit of the quiche, sans crust). After making it through the workshops (see the "How about drinking" thread for the gory details), I had the rest of the salad & quiche (leaving the crust to Happy). We did want to go out for dinner, and found that Swift & Sons steakhouse in the west Loop's Fulton Market restaurant row had a patio table open. Been lusting after that place ever since seeing it on WTTW's "Check, Please." It was delightful. Appetizer was a cold seafood platter (oysters, king crab legs, prawns and smoked whitefish rillettes). We were about to order the Wagyu tomahawk ribeye to split, but our waiter suggested the Beef Wellington...thereby saving us about sixty bucks. It was delicious--I left most of the pastry crust but zeroed in on the slice of foie gras between it & the spinach. It was the best Beef Wellington I've ever had--on two continents. Sides were grilled asparagus with bacon & remoulade, and a medley of wild Michigan mushrooms. We killed off the beef, but brought home most of the veggies. I'm thinking mushroom gratin for tomorrow night (I have some really nice Gouda, and will put panko crumbs on Bob's half), as well as wrapping the asparagus in prosciutto. Tomorrow is farmers' market day--hoping for a ripe cantaloupe to tuck into the wrapped spears.

Sign of the times: posted by the host stand was a sign declaring that they were no longer requiring masks for fully-vaccinated patrons--and that their entire staff was vaccinated. As the sun set on a perfect balmy evening, along with a crescent moon rose a hopeful sense of normalcy.