Month: August 2008

The Omnivore’s 100

Ganked off a blog I read – Feminary. 

How It All Works:
1) Copy the list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional: Post a comment at Very Good Taste, linking to your results
The 100

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes [I used to drive thru a fruit winery twice a day in central MA]
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters [maybe someday]
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl [I’ve had chowdah but not in a sourdough bowl]
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac
37. Clotted Cream Tea
38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects [does accidental count?]
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe [someday I’d like to try it!]
74. Gjetost or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky with a fat cigar

84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee [ya mahn]
100. Snake

 

 

I had to look some of these things up… and am not in a big hurry to try some of them…

 

 

Airport Observations

On the way home today, I observed some things along that way that made me smile…

On the bus to the airport, the young woman I sat next to told be she was headed to Washington, for a three day Dave Matthews concert at The Gorge.  I said “Oh THAT Washington! I am SO jealous!”  I’ve never been to the Gorge but hear it’s amazing – and Dave Matthews on top of that!?!?

The United staff at Logan Airport were NICE!  That’s all, they were just nice.  Smiling.  Helpful.  Nice.

I walked up to the Dunkin Donuts counter and ordered a “medium coffee regular,” and that’s what I got!!  I was psyched!  If you have to ask why that is something that made me smile, you don’t travel to New England enough…

Finally, I take an empty water bottle with me whne I travel and fill it once I get thru security.  I asked an airport employee when the bubbler (pronounced bubble-ah) was and she directed me right to it.

Simple things for simple minds…

The young lady on the bus asked me (after we talked about Seattle and The Gorge) if I was going someplace fun – and I said “Yes, I’m going home.”

We wait a little more…

I think we’ll call it “BT” (bad thing).  So, BT has got to go – the doc said that so he knows it can, so that’s good.  There’s also a little something in her left lung that did not take up the isotope so he doesn’t know what it is but it warrants watching.  They said it could be a mucus plug – now, did I really need to hear that?!?!?!  There’ll be another CT scan in a couple of weeks to see if things have changed or remained the same.  If there is no immediate need then I think surgery will wait until we get to VA in five weeks.  Yes, only five weeks!  Anyone with an awesome thoracic surgeon out there – we need their name stat!

As for me, I think I’ll come home for a bit then head back up after ShrineMont to prepare for the yard sale and cleaning out of the house!  Every little bit we do helps, but geez there’s tons to do!  What doesn’t get done before the packing, will get done on the unpacking – I’m not all that concerned.

Folks ask how I am thru this…  I guess I’m sort of numb.  It is what it is and it sucks!  There you have it, gotta deal with it and keep moving.  Being home for a bit will be a little bit or normal and I’m craving that right now.

Still working on the logistics of the final days of the move.  Getting two cars from MA to VA… It’ll happen, I know that…  D says we should be able to move this hibiscus that my mom has that is pretty magnificent (I’ll post a photo later)…  She thinks it should move ok, so that’s one more thing to fit in the car…  M’s head is spinning over everything and I guess I’ve gone in to Project Manager mode, don’t go anywhere without my notebook.  I know where we are and where we need to get to so I’m planning each step along the way so we get there…  In times of stress we fall back on what we know…

Again, thoughts and prayers are appreciated and felt…  Peace.

What’s next? We’ll see…

So, the diagnosis is not what we wanted, let’s see what the treatment plan is…  Tomorrow we meet with the thoracic surgeon.  The bad thing has to go, and then we’ll see what’s next.

On a lighter note – well, it turned out that way…  Massachusetts has a wacky thing called Title 5 which has to do with septic systems and code around their structure and support.  Two years ago, M put in the required Title 5 improvements in preparation to sell the house.  The contractor left the basement sink running into a dry well, not the septic system.  After he inspected the system to provide its certification for selling the house – he said the sink has to go.  That word went back to the buyers and at first they were fine with it but then got upset…  The house was shown and sold with the sink so it has to be there…

M’s realtor got involved and was here today – she talked to the contractor and said, “You never should have left the sink in there – what are you going to do to make this right”  After a few minutes he called back and said he would have a plumber here in the morning to put in the required pump to make the system compliant…  He’s taking care of it because he messed up in the first place – so that’s saving about $700-$1,000 for M.  Now that’s a victory…

The rest we will deal with as it comes.  We both said that for selfish reasons, we’re both happy that this “inconvenience” has happened when she’s going to be close by when she moves to VA. 

I don’t really believe that all things happen for a reason, I beleive that sometimes things just happen.  Today she said, it’s not fair – that’s true it’s not fair.

Just finding things to worry about, she also said – maybe the place I want to live won’t take me with a pre-existing condition…  I said – please show me one 77 year old person who doesn’t have a pre-existing condition for something?!!?  Like I said, if life doesn’t give us enough to worry about, she looks for things…

R called today and asked how I’m doing…  While I do have my moments, overall I’m feeling really good and positive – we’re gonna do what we have to do and move on.  Naive, maybe but I’m not going to borrow trouble…  This is a speed bump, reality check and perspective focus…  One foot in front of the other is all we can do right now…

A favorite quote from a movie we showed the kids on Happening weekends – “Let the day’s own trouble be enough for the day.”

More information

That’s the name of the game right now.  “Nodule” size – 1.6 cm (about .5 inches) – “small” they say, upper right lobe – apparently that’s good – might/will be “easily” removed – as if any of this is easy…  Waiting for next round of tests to be scheduled.  I guess there will be a lot of waiting and gathering of information. 

I sorta feel like this was a message/lesson/whatever from God…  I feel the message went something like this – “You want something to worry about, I’ll give you something to worry about!” 

It’s all a matter of perspective…  I gots me some new perspective now, I think so does M…

Smooth ride…

… well, maybe not.   A new wrinkle in the mix is something showing up on M’s x-ray and a closer look showing that it’s something that needs an up close and personal look – PET scan and needle biopsy.  So, it still could be not really bad (but it could still be very bad).  Facing that uncertainty while selling a house and moving 500 miles away and not having her own place to hang her hat is just adding to the stress…

To top it off, I’m on the “left coast” and feeling more than helpless.  I’d probably feel helpless anyhow, but being this far away makes it worse.  I’ll be in New England this weekend and for a few days so that’s a comfort.

Right now, prayers are needed – of all kinds…  For Peace in so many ways…  Peace for worried hearts, for those who are sick, may be sick, are recovering from illness, those who are off in far away lands serving our country and those preparing to do so…  Prayers of thanksgiving for friends who call, write and pray…