tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37862297693317147262024-03-05T09:21:17.812-05:00Inspiration Nation -The Later YearsThis is a blog with a back story. It focuses on food, family, fiber arts, pets, friends, and fibromyalgia. It's about life at a certain age, the joys, the sorrows, the backaches, the mental confusion. There's a lot of kvetching, complaining, occasional profanity, righteous indignation, political incorrectness, knitting exhortations, and really good, original recipes. Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.comBlogger695125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-29644375325879194752019-11-27T09:51:00.000-05:002019-11-27T09:51:08.817-05:00Happy Thanksgiving A lot has happened since I last posted here. My health continues to wobble; I cook less and I cry more. I hurt frequently and I curse a lot more. Out loud. I watch a lot more CNN and a lot less FOX.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YWVXKh1jG_AGgNhMISmfJ1jvGIXzOfuHQdnc2bT6a4jVurQFalGX_8V1LqOImorSqoSMETrXSwmk_Tmuu0LYF16kp-yEzU9dBcSF7_-WnkPm1bjMEpf4JLedmbZHxNn4axGiObgk8209/s1600/IMG_2383.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YWVXKh1jG_AGgNhMISmfJ1jvGIXzOfuHQdnc2bT6a4jVurQFalGX_8V1LqOImorSqoSMETrXSwmk_Tmuu0LYF16kp-yEzU9dBcSF7_-WnkPm1bjMEpf4JLedmbZHxNn4axGiObgk8209/s320/IMG_2383.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
On the other hand, we adopted a new Yorkie girl and a very classy girl cat to join our aging band of Yorkie boys. My head is clearer than it has been for quite a while. We’ve been doing more traveling and even made it to Alaska this past September.<br />
<br />
So while life isn’t terrific, it is better than a slap in the face with a wet monkfish, and certainly better than the alternative. I am thankful for too many things to enumerate, but most especially my husband Robert and my son Cory.<br />
<br />
May this coming weekend with its emphasis on family, friends, and food wrap each of you in its loving arms. May your health be good and may your hearts not be heavy. <br />
<br />
With love from my family to yours,<br />
Cindy,<br />
Brkexpat, the Bear<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-52810111802636426402018-11-12T11:29:00.000-05:002018-11-12T11:29:05.512-05:00The Bee’s Knees 🐝 In the past few days, I was working feverishly on a blog post in which I explained in excruciating detail, my personal medical epiphany to include a full page list of symptoms, links to medical articles, and photos of knees, for God’s sake.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And then I stopped. What was happening reminded me of the intense looking-inwardness episode I experienced some years back, when I finally, and quite accidentally, located my paternal relatives. It was if I had cracked some other-worldly code, and it was all about me - my feelings, my anger at the secrets, my joy over learning the truth at last. Okay, a big deal for me, but not something I needed to bore you with. For one thing, finding family is not that unusual today, and we all have our stories. Also, a lot of stuff is just too personal to share, and should remain en famille.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This time, I thought long and hard before going off into That Place where it is All About Me and I enthusiastically but wrongly assume you out there on the net are waiting breathlessly for my next word. What I discovered about my medical condition was earth-shattering - for me - even though it doesn’t change my course of treatment one whit. I realize that for everyone else it is just a lot of hooey. Most people, especially around my age, are facing multiple health issues and other family crises, and have neither the time nor interest to go delving into mine. Too many of those I care about are dealing with illness far worse than I have ever known. So I am going to shut up about myself for now and move onto more important things.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But I am going to indulge myself one little bit and share this old photo. Just because it is unbearably adorable, circa 1930-style:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu0CAcjY9xBXG1373nwW3OjVS5KQRzZWhq7nabi6jnZZlzAb_bV5_dcXPIYb15gZ8Hdx8-u6k8ruvgyjFyCDjuOTZ2-3hRdClCHlx2jd75WGewKNPsNt-7FbQAnFH8BjPOCmd0mtq0LbL/s1600/78F6E2A3-CB79-4203-B166-CC91F9D6D24D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1165" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipu0CAcjY9xBXG1373nwW3OjVS5KQRzZWhq7nabi6jnZZlzAb_bV5_dcXPIYb15gZ8Hdx8-u6k8ruvgyjFyCDjuOTZ2-3hRdClCHlx2jd75WGewKNPsNt-7FbQAnFH8BjPOCmd0mtq0LbL/s320/78F6E2A3-CB79-4203-B166-CC91F9D6D24D.jpeg" width="233" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div>
Down here in sunny Florida we are still counting ballots. Shades of the 2000 election (I recently saw a meme that stated “all the ballots in Florida have finally been counted . . . Al Gore was declared President.”). There are mandatory recounts in place now, and soon-to-be ex-Governor Voldemort is melting down daily. This is theatre, folks - whatever happens, the other side is going to cry foul, so sit back and enjoy it. The next big election is in 2020, and don’t forget to vote.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Let me just leave you with this thought - if GWB, with the assistance of the Supreme Court and his brother, then-Florida Governor JEB! had somehow not managed to steal the election, what would have been the difference? Most likely, we would not be in the 17th year of a war, started in bad faith and at least in part responsible for the destabilization of the entire Middle East. Maybe California would not be burning so fiercely, nor shoreline waters rising so precipitously.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Who knows? I’m not a prophet, just a blogger with an attitude problem.</div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-85644218140270648282018-11-07T08:46:00.000-05:002018-11-07T08:46:17.040-05:00A gentle blue wave lapped against a small red-brick wall . . .Midterm elections are finally, FINALLY over. How the results impact the 2020 election is a work in progress, but as a Purple State voter with No Party affiliation, I wasn’t surprised at the endgame. This time, no one gets to gloat. At least here in Florida, there were just razor-thin differences between the candidates despite intense campaigning, a cautionary tale for both sides.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
From the Winners and Losers Department:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Winner: Keeping in mind that how I voted is between me and the ballot box, I am very pleased that Laura Shaffer handily won the election for Circuit Court Judge for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Big Winner: Chris Wallace of Fox News, for neatly biting off Laura Ingraham’s head and spitting it out onto Sixth Avenue.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Big Loser: Donald Trump. Assuming the House follows through on the promise of more investigations, the next two years of his presidency are going to suck. And yes, I know Robert Mueller’s self-imposed communications blackout is coming to an end.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Biggest Loser: Nancy Pelosi. I’ll leave the reasons as an exercise to the student.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Biggest Winner: The American Democracy. This time, you got out and voted in record numbers. Keep up the good work.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdOrUwHDj2dBwmaeBALmSJfBK2iwm5D62DeNlbCj3bbhSBpmvHkdZzPaZLoSjtxcaWsEOmDxKslayxqQE7heChLUZNZZa490oAafup5a1H_J8drHUVPo6WswrqCRu_MQEXKgRFO-Sk76K/s1600/9F8FF450-AA70-4E2A-9420-2B746FC04386.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1209" data-original-width="821" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdOrUwHDj2dBwmaeBALmSJfBK2iwm5D62DeNlbCj3bbhSBpmvHkdZzPaZLoSjtxcaWsEOmDxKslayxqQE7heChLUZNZZa490oAafup5a1H_J8drHUVPo6WswrqCRu_MQEXKgRFO-Sk76K/s320/9F8FF450-AA70-4E2A-9420-2B746FC04386.jpeg" width="217" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-59160630159441936672018-11-04T13:13:00.000-05:002018-11-04T13:15:51.347-05:00Sorta Smiling While Trying to Unskew My Chi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86_Syw3wpU0CZ-CCj8wWyKUoPrT__v1wDFgfxuszVTzhKPrO8wpGoE9lq7l1EvuHWWVh7SCCqcwv4Sf_ZDpq0pi528EiXW-vS-uc-hUJwRyL8utZrX0Rjueb4SjWoj9zvGnPEJ-DxUfj3/s1600/404DD8F1-B584-44FC-92DA-FD53F4EFCDB9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg86_Syw3wpU0CZ-CCj8wWyKUoPrT__v1wDFgfxuszVTzhKPrO8wpGoE9lq7l1EvuHWWVh7SCCqcwv4Sf_ZDpq0pi528EiXW-vS-uc-hUJwRyL8utZrX0Rjueb4SjWoj9zvGnPEJ-DxUfj3/s320/404DD8F1-B584-44FC-92DA-FD53F4EFCDB9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As authorized by the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, yesterday I headed to the Kissimmee Civic Center and voted. It was the only thing I could do to try to overcome the feeling of helplessness as I continue to watch my country fracture, and then sink. Voting is an imperfect solution to an overwhelming problem, but it should never be overlooked or ignored. I am enough of a cynic to believe that “honest politician” is an oxymoron, but still I persist in the voting ritual. It is, after all, the American way.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I haven’t been feeling great lately, as my fibromyalgia continues to bubble. It’s been an even burn, meaning there haven’t been any acute localized sharp pains, but instead a chronic medium-level pain everywhere. Tai chi has been at least as helpful as Meloxicam, and much kinder to my digestive system, although my hyper mobile knees have been fighting back lately. No matter how carefully I position my lower spine so that I can gently bend my knees, that nasty old Ehlers-Danlos gene insists on snapping them backwards. That, my friends, is bad tai chi. When I can’t get rid of the negative chi that inhabits my physical body, I have headaches, mini-panic attacks, nightmares, breathing problems, and some really stellar muscle pain. Then I have to rely on certain prescription medications, which I am convinced are playing havoc with my endocrine system, instead of relaxing to Chinese music while Playing The Lute, or White Crane Spreads Its Wings.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We have our annual before-tax-season-cruise coming up in just a few weeks. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Carnival Sunshine had a bit of a balance problem last week caused by a stabilizer malfunction and precipitously tilted over at an angle not normally reserved for 100,000 gross ton ocean-going vessels. Now I’ve had my share of cruises through near-hurricane conditions, including one terrifying trip trying to steer clear of Super Storm Sandy, and I usually wear Sea-Bands to effectively deal with motion sickness, but I have never seen dinner settings fly off the tables, nor watched most of the water slosh out of the pool. I certainly have never thought we were having a Titanic-like experience, but that is exactly what occurred to a number of passengers. Fortunately the tip over was short-lived, but there was some minor injury and major cleanup. Apparently everything was back to normal within a few hours. Boy, I wish my personal stabilizer problems could be cleared up by the ever-efficient crew of the Carnival Sunshine.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzFopEI_mowJvFLkln7A8GY0Hp8S4GdO9Vq1C_0w8riuU-fGpDG3GntPQAaoTwTwYebHCfTGvn-SqQk6AiA2sHeOtGhWt-dM_YY_M2Hsv70IRJ3dDhhChXbLim_8z0ULyDrNetR_-C9ICC/s1600/68206EF9-CFAF-4737-A29A-C84C4E4BB919.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzFopEI_mowJvFLkln7A8GY0Hp8S4GdO9Vq1C_0w8riuU-fGpDG3GntPQAaoTwTwYebHCfTGvn-SqQk6AiA2sHeOtGhWt-dM_YY_M2Hsv70IRJ3dDhhChXbLim_8z0ULyDrNetR_-C9ICC/s320/68206EF9-CFAF-4737-A29A-C84C4E4BB919.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Romeo and I are not looking forward to Monday’s vet appointment, because as we both know, there will be pain. He’s been unhappy since Friday, when I brought him in to Hunters Creek Animal Hospital to have his teeth and tummy checked, and the subsequent home administration of antibiotics, probiotics, and steroid medication. He even peed on the bed, which he never does, to register his protest.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuQs3Fq1fZGJXZ_YZAegwt4ZyI3zwSm-DBk3qzUwW1u1j5DGLnSS7UUX4YmCxs00Q2y1F0VcY0HcKXffmF564rVk2OgVlmlYDWaknQgLYbB07bFov-RI1iiNAbOFMn6bhtoyQRJqcPpva/s1600/56015A31-0F21-4434-9CEC-A5F58D7C0AC9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWuQs3Fq1fZGJXZ_YZAegwt4ZyI3zwSm-DBk3qzUwW1u1j5DGLnSS7UUX4YmCxs00Q2y1F0VcY0HcKXffmF564rVk2OgVlmlYDWaknQgLYbB07bFov-RI1iiNAbOFMn6bhtoyQRJqcPpva/s320/56015A31-0F21-4434-9CEC-A5F58D7C0AC9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Very satisfactory side dish</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcW4bWxryhQxyo3FnVnUU-lbgMH3MyOdNY3TmVEcxpZo7N4uV1Gp2eVduRzcl-J5d4_cwzuAerfzwgrwhQrboAIYbm0DIVAcMgAP9amg-t8LWbQ9UcTtKz1E-iF-0NmTuHuMtLAeb-J8E/s1600/D1890C2C-436A-40F7-A394-0D5FC15C8B00.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcW4bWxryhQxyo3FnVnUU-lbgMH3MyOdNY3TmVEcxpZo7N4uV1Gp2eVduRzcl-J5d4_cwzuAerfzwgrwhQrboAIYbm0DIVAcMgAP9amg-t8LWbQ9UcTtKz1E-iF-0NmTuHuMtLAeb-J8E/s320/D1890C2C-436A-40F7-A394-0D5FC15C8B00.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Field of Greens</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: left;">Other than cleaning up after our nominally pad-trained bunch, things here are pretty normal. We’ve managed to establish a holding position against The Great Ant Invasion of 2018, the occasional pesky palmetto bug, and a small rodent visitor with very sharp teeth, who fortunately limited his forays into a single cabinet under the kitchen sink, where we keep two large containers of dry pet food. No, he hasn’t managed to break into them but it isn’t for want of trying. And on that note, I’m heading out to check on my garden. Yesterday I harvested a variety of greens - mustard, collards, kale, and one other I can’t remember - and cooked them with good stuff for a very satisfactory side dish. Today, maybe a baby romaine salad.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Always nice to catch up with you all. Be well, and VOTE 🗳</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoj8s_2b9Mkx8VwaKcxNP3d-fB1JseRorzdOo_OV9xaSrjJXThigNmJcqkUGHVhOvcykKF-dj8OZKPxFd0GzFtX52zBV_M8mlz8xUCF34s1cvZLT6BVqZbkmcRMwdkjePZ0CszDWWC3TtC/s1600/BC82A8BB-FB38-422C-8653-C571D83C09BE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoj8s_2b9Mkx8VwaKcxNP3d-fB1JseRorzdOo_OV9xaSrjJXThigNmJcqkUGHVhOvcykKF-dj8OZKPxFd0GzFtX52zBV_M8mlz8xUCF34s1cvZLT6BVqZbkmcRMwdkjePZ0CszDWWC3TtC/s320/BC82A8BB-FB38-422C-8653-C571D83C09BE.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
By the way, those are teen tiny micro mini GREEN BEANS!</div>
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-1823964010816731312018-10-28T16:15:00.000-04:002018-10-28T16:15:19.260-04:00PittsburghThe worst part of yesterday’s massacre in Pittsburgh was the realization that I wasn’t surprised. Heartsick, yes. Surprised, no.<br />
<br />
Because anti-Semitism, like racism is everywhere. It is in the fabric of American culture, the warp to the weft of freedom, democracy, and all those other high-flown words about the greatest nation on<br />
Planet Earth. Here is the dirty little secret of the United States: at our very foundation, we are little more than conglomeration of dirty little secrets like malignant xenophobia and sexual perversion, glazed over with a thin veneer of civility. <b><u>The current Occupent of the Oval Office is entirely responsible for shredding that veneer like a Banksy painting, and by doing so, emboldening the scum of American society to act out on their worst, most evil impulses.</u></b><br />
<br />
There is so much more that I could write but the stress of the grief and anger has triggered a fibro flair so that my brain, along with every muscle in my body, is a mess. I need clarity to write well, and my thought processes are as clear as mud. Even as I am typing this I am losing words and the ability to string them together to form sentences. My head feels as though it is going to explode. I have to stop now.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFs7q0w-Dc-AeBc1vZDaCzM15LO9P28bKIgRHe8HiAh5kJ1nPwLKy2oCJMLxEecP3Syx4zvK8tmJdCO1NNVSK6seth6JIMQp6DB4mm9shkUcx2WcAU6mv8OojOplDY4Lr-_LPXzPo9Gss1/s1600/E75114AA-674D-4CB9-ACC4-A58C750608B9.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFs7q0w-Dc-AeBc1vZDaCzM15LO9P28bKIgRHe8HiAh5kJ1nPwLKy2oCJMLxEecP3Syx4zvK8tmJdCO1NNVSK6seth6JIMQp6DB4mm9shkUcx2WcAU6mv8OojOplDY4Lr-_LPXzPo9Gss1/s320/E75114AA-674D-4CB9-ACC4-A58C750608B9.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Just one more thing - from the bottom of my heart I want to thank all of my non-Jewish friends and relatives who have publicly expressed their outrage at this anti-Semitic attack, along with their love and support.Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-7155111836816210642018-10-24T10:26:00.001-04:002018-10-24T12:02:39.663-04:00Well, Fibromyalgia <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJ9x0DPqWbBK_umZ1SjdkvQFuuMK67csuVnn-MDrsL8UlbwdRoLzpLJ4-UZg5otgx92hGqk9e_LPIiuT6ewRqtn0csr9Hvxbidj5pZaM5bXQt5oRExd8cwWFu0l5amV0dikpL_UU5VzVB/s1600/IMG_0019.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJ9x0DPqWbBK_umZ1SjdkvQFuuMK67csuVnn-MDrsL8UlbwdRoLzpLJ4-UZg5otgx92hGqk9e_LPIiuT6ewRqtn0csr9Hvxbidj5pZaM5bXQt5oRExd8cwWFu0l5amV0dikpL_UU5VzVB/s320/IMG_0019.HEIC" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I don’t yet have a recipe for you because, well fibromyalgia. I did quite a bit of cooking over the weekend, in between watering my raised beds and planting cucumber seeds, but nothing special nor original to post. There’s that copyright thing again. I do have one dish left to prepare, which I am aiming to finish sometime today before limping off to tai chi class. I was going to try a riff on my Hot German Potato Salad recipe using Italian-type flavors, but I think I’m going to stick with the original. That recipe I can post here, as it is a family heirloom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfXt54zzE9jOU2A_r1ohMMmG-ijUELGc3Z_7sGhVYHQnca61WR7vSzxu3h5yUZ9DjREA9_dQidJtx1PeQyiQWGuiVntevzzgK17sPC5Bby66gUIOvSSFd9cyV6lP9Dbvn-nOemfHf_zdS/s1600/IMG_0271.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1600" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNfXt54zzE9jOU2A_r1ohMMmG-ijUELGc3Z_7sGhVYHQnca61WR7vSzxu3h5yUZ9DjREA9_dQidJtx1PeQyiQWGuiVntevzzgK17sPC5Bby66gUIOvSSFd9cyV6lP9Dbvn-nOemfHf_zdS/s320/IMG_0271.HEIC" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Speaking of recipes, the sock I am currently working on is coming along fine, probably because I am using a 9 inch circular needle instead of the five 7-inch double-pointed needles I worked with on the previous and now finally finished number. If you are a sock knitter you can get this recipe (pattern) for Heart Vine Socks as a free download on Ravelry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBwUgoYJxNC6pcJoA0b9xjuMmh4FtYGLPk7sbA2K8qNXIF13af_qDxmGWsWrUlqaBKT0CssA50qfU7fvJOSa74EHugEUHD3tvO9bPGE0NjfFmXIcx16xi6q2E-r_9YYqvM7rNXhsj7tkk/s1600/IMG_0023.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfBwUgoYJxNC6pcJoA0b9xjuMmh4FtYGLPk7sbA2K8qNXIF13af_qDxmGWsWrUlqaBKT0CssA50qfU7fvJOSa74EHugEUHD3tvO9bPGE0NjfFmXIcx16xi6q2E-r_9YYqvM7rNXhsj7tkk/s320/IMG_0023.HEIC" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Last week I told you how I was trying to better organize my Knitting UFOs by giving all my attention to two major projects and sticking to them like white on rice. Without patting myself on the back (which I can do rather nicely thanks to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) I have to admit that the sock progress has been gratifying. We haven’t spoken of the second Big Project yet, and I feel that now is the time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No, not shawls. If you know me well, you know that I love to knit shawls. I own a bunch of them (wore one just this morning) and they are probably my favorite knit to gift. I think of those shawls I’ve given to friends and family as portable hugs. Shawls are always appreciated. People seem to understand hand-knit shawls, but don’t always understand hand-knit socks. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdTepobVKzhWbWxr6hiKwiaV0J5EYwxJR_h6IoDm7zocutR22VijWCJWLgDkPGxco4T4qO9c0C_PlUgSKhDKbVLj-7v2lXD8v4LzjqwxS2vtSGm4tS9u2ajDEXeph0Pe134nUVwLjX5d6/s1600/IMG_0270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="941" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdTepobVKzhWbWxr6hiKwiaV0J5EYwxJR_h6IoDm7zocutR22VijWCJWLgDkPGxco4T4qO9c0C_PlUgSKhDKbVLj-7v2lXD8v4LzjqwxS2vtSGm4tS9u2ajDEXeph0Pe134nUVwLjX5d6/s320/IMG_0270.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do have a good number of unfinished shawls, but I am steering clear of them, especially the one in Orlando Magic colors. If I pick up those needles, my socks will languish for another six or twelve years. No, my resolve must be as hard as that rock in that old rock-and-roll. Besides, determination is good for my self-esteem and Lord knows I can always use an extra dose of that.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So instead, I am determined to also finish a different major undertaking which I call “The 90 Square Project.” Terribly original. When it is completed, this afghan/blanket/bedspread will fit a queen-size bed. Right now there are 27 blocked knit squares tucked away in a very big box, and I’ve got the 28th square on the needles, ready to grow. If for no other reason than to give my hands some respite from size 1 sock needles, a size 7 needle project sounds practically dilly dilly.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisETFSfun3wx5R17fXyuPb43eIyMgw1YiNu0JYtoC_-O5KfDeVe8cO6R1Gu-Sl9-3nPgKr-pRxA_uaeIqztnEt-sYI_iDKQKrL-_ROHQJVMj5tbHn6nhn3hBk2YMyqDFMGRVb_uM1n_zzk/s1600/IMG_0024.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisETFSfun3wx5R17fXyuPb43eIyMgw1YiNu0JYtoC_-O5KfDeVe8cO6R1Gu-Sl9-3nPgKr-pRxA_uaeIqztnEt-sYI_iDKQKrL-_ROHQJVMj5tbHn6nhn3hBk2YMyqDFMGRVb_uM1n_zzk/s320/IMG_0024.HEIC" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There’s no set completion date, which takes off any lingering pressure to work fast, because let’s face it, my fast knitting days are over. But in the past I’ve managed to knock off quite a few of these squares for smaller projects. BABIES!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbITnirhM5Xyx2v8cuMiho_9xmfMN1JmHMITNEZJl70Lk30SbmmcJCEm2IZKxbsoH2oWwRC6v5FukhwrmQ8MztRUFOKw0HO7_ds2YfiaI4i1evSfoLKapSrnrjpJstfJiLaxL9z7i1T_SZ/s1600/IMG_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1298" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbITnirhM5Xyx2v8cuMiho_9xmfMN1JmHMITNEZJl70Lk30SbmmcJCEm2IZKxbsoH2oWwRC6v5FukhwrmQ8MztRUFOKw0HO7_ds2YfiaI4i1evSfoLKapSrnrjpJstfJiLaxL9z7i1T_SZ/s320/IMG_0028.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They are probably the most fun a knitter can have, and a great way to learn being much more interesting than say, a scarf.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So that’s where I am hobby-wise, at least until my new coloring markers arrive from Amazon. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-40319847280302698532018-10-23T09:50:00.000-04:002018-10-23T09:53:35.654-04:00El Cielo Esta Nublado. Muy Nublado.*Saw this article today, which got me thinking about stuff:<br />
<a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/family-harassed-for-speaking-spanish_us_5bcdc521e4b055bc9482d380?utm_source=main_fb&ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_medium=facebook" target="_blank">Confrontation in Virginia</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_0q_8v-nFr5uxFxZxgAoBhuujYQDxTCy2mMVopnJ_k0z2exdQ0rX96Yk2WJ_aL7_BQDzJiuyp8aEaH09PlfJ_EQdItBz-OBRwh61NpmDgdKcX1N9V5HcjAyvYHC8uXo9NN7qUQPErARz/s1600/IMG_0018.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1600" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif_0q_8v-nFr5uxFxZxgAoBhuujYQDxTCy2mMVopnJ_k0z2exdQ0rX96Yk2WJ_aL7_BQDzJiuyp8aEaH09PlfJ_EQdItBz-OBRwh61NpmDgdKcX1N9V5HcjAyvYHC8uXo9NN7qUQPErARz/s320/IMG_0018.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div>
When I was in sixth grade, around spring of 1966, along with all of my classmates I had to make a decision whether I wanted to study Spanish or French in junior high school. I thought about this as seriously as I could, taking into consideration my future goal of becoming a nurse. I chose to learn Spanish.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Now I lived in North Woodmere at the time, a part of the Five Towns which sit along the border with the New York City borough of Queens, coincidentally the birthplace of the current President of the United States. My reasoning was thus: I expected to work as a nurse, most likely in the City, at least to start. Many of my future patients would likely be speaking Spanish, so to be most effective as a nurse it would make sense for me to be able to speak Spanish.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I was 13 years old. I spoke English with a Brooklyn accent and I knew the barest smattering of Yiddish. It never occurred to me to resent the fact I would need to learn some Spanish to effectively communicate with some of my patients.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I figured this out when I was just a kid, so can anyone tell me what the f*ck is the matter with this woman? She’s not the first to stage a confrontation because perfect strangers were speaking Spanish in their shared air space. In fact, it’s become a regular feature in the news, along with white folks calling 911 on black folks for some really stupid reasons. Why has it become acceptable, in some people’s minds anyway, to openly and aggressively display racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism, and the most malignant form of nationalism?<br />
<br />
Hint: It has something to do with that guy born in Queens, NY. That gonif, the self-proclaimed nationalist.<br />
<br />
<div class="xpdxpnd vk_gy" data-mh="-1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; color: rgb(135, 135, 135) !important; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
noun: <b>nationalism</b></div>
<ol class="lr_dct_sf_sens" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; caret-color: rgb(60, 64, 67); color: #3c4043; font-family: Roboto, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">
<li style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="vmod">
<div class="lr_dct_sf_sen Uekwlc XpoqFe" style="line-height: 20px; padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="margin-left: 20px;">
<div class="PNlCoe XpoqFe" style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px; margin-left: -20px;">
<div data-dobid="dfn" style="display: inline;">
patriotic feeling, principles, or efforts.</div>
<div class="vmod">
<table class="vk_tbl vk_gy" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(135, 135, 135) !important;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="lr_dct_nyms_ttl" style="font-style: italic; padding: 0px 3px 0px 0px; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;">synonyms:</td><td style="padding: 0px;"><span class="SDZsVb" data-term-for-update="patriotism" data-ved="2ahUKEwiO3Z-g0JzeAhXNq1MKHcTeDNoQ_SowAHoECAwQCg" jsaction="dob.uwt" role="link" style="color: #1967d2; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="0">patriotism</span>, patriotic sentiment, <span class="SDZsVb" data-term-for-update="flag-waving" data-ved="2ahUKEwiO3Z-g0JzeAhXNq1MKHcTeDNoQ_SowAHoECAwQCw" jsaction="dob.uwt" role="link" style="color: #1967d2; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="0">flag-waving</span>, <span class="SDZsVb" data-term-for-update="xenophobia" data-ved="2ahUKEwiO3Z-g0JzeAhXNq1MKHcTeDNoQ_SowAHoECAwQDA" jsaction="dob.uwt" role="link" style="color: #1967d2; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="0">xenophobia</span>, <span class="SDZsVb" data-term-for-update="chauvinism" data-ved="2ahUKEwiO3Z-g0JzeAhXNq1MKHcTeDNoQ_SowAHoECAwQDQ" jsaction="dob.uwt" role="link" style="color: #1967d2; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="0">chauvinism</span>, <span class="SDZsVb" data-term-for-update="jingoism" data-ved="2ahUKEwiO3Z-g0JzeAhXNq1MKHcTeDNoQ_SowAHoECAwQDg" jsaction="dob.uwt" role="link" style="color: #1967d2; cursor: pointer;" tabindex="0">jingoism</span><div style="display: inline;">
<div style="display: inline;">
<div class="vk_gy">
"their extreme nationalism was frightening"</div>
</div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: -32px;">
<ul style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="vmod" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="lr_dct_sf_subsen" style="display: list-item; list-style-type: disc; margin-left: 25px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-top: 5px;">
<div class="PNlCoe XpoqFe" style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">
<div data-dobid="dfn" style="display: inline;">
an extreme form of this, especially marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries.</div>
<div class="vk_gy" style="color: rgb(135, 135, 135) !important;">
plural noun: <b>nationalisms</b></div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
<br />
As it happens, I never did become a nurse, but my fractured Spanish was useful after all. Practicing law in Osceola County, which ranks right behind Miami-Dade as having the greatest number of<br />
Spanish-speaking residents, I was able to communicate sufficiently with my clients, at least to direct them to my office where I always employed a Spanish-speaking paralegal or clerk. Most of them spoke some English anyway, so we managed the case just fine.<br />
<br />
My personal belief is that multi-lingualism is a blessing, not something to be scorned or scolded. I was never great at foreign languages, but I always tried. Traveling in foreign countries I am always pleasantly surprised at the number of people who speak English. To me that was a great kindness, and made me feel welcome. Let’s face it, I don’t speak Italian (although I can understand a little because of its similarity to Spanish), nor Greek, Creole, or Korean (okay, I can follow the taekwando commands and say good morning and thank you in Korean but that’s it.) I can count to 15 and tell you my dog’s name in French (assuming my dog’s name is Fifi), follow tai chi Chinese, pray in Hebrew, and insult you in Yiddish.<br />
<br />
I’m gonna stop here before I get preachy. Anyway, early voting has started here in Florida, so please take the time to vote.<br />
<br />
*Translation: The sky is cloudy. Very cloudy.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-49957735238402207412018-10-22T18:32:00.002-04:002018-10-22T18:32:35.934-04:00A Perfect Day For BananafishPart of my morning routine, intermixed with a double dose of caffeine and lavish application of The Best Pain Cream In The World, involves an inquiry of the electronic imp known as Siri:<br />
<br />
“Hey Siri, what’s the weather today?” This being Florida, her usual response is a depressing mixture of over 90 degree temperature and over 90 percent humidity. This morning, though, she blew me away with “It’s currently cloudy and 75 degrees in Kissimmee. Expect mostly clear skies starting in the afternoon. Today’s high will be 80 degrees and the low will be 68.” In other words, although late to the party, it is finally autumn here in Central Florida. Monsoon season yesterday, and today I might need a sweater by evening.<br />
<br />
(The weather this time of year is a little something we keep secret from the tourists. Since Robert and I spent our honeymoon at a pre-EPCOT Disneyworld exactly 44 years ago, we sort of figured it out, and since even monsoon season in Florida is better than frostbittten toes on the Long Island Railroad we moved here, lock, stock and a barrel of kitties, 27 years ago.)<br />
<br />
After hearing the weather report, my very first thought was that it was a perfect day for cucumbers. Yesterday, despite high humidity that left me sweating like an NBA player in the last 2 minutes of the fourth quarter, I managed to make some preparations to the beds for starting cucumbers from seed. This happens to be adjacent to the space that was overtaken by a couple of rogue cucumber plants this past spring. The original space has been filled in by slow-growing and annoyingly fruitless strawberry plants. I’m ready to see if I can recreate last season’s cucumber razzle-dazzle, starting on this perfect day.<br />
<br />
You may know that from time-to-time my brain plays silly tricks on me (like interpreting the mechanical whine from a small desk fan as the sound of Joe Garagiola announcing a Yankee’s game) and today was no different. I thought “a perfect day for cucumbers” while my brain took an unlicensed time jump back to the late sixties and brought up “a perfect day for bananafish.”<br />
<br />
J.D. Salinger - more than just <u>The Catcher in the Rye</u>.<br />
<br />
I’ve been playing catch-up with my cooking this weekend and damn if I don’t hurt like hell. I <b>am</b> going to plant the damn cucumber seeds and I <b>am</b> going to finish my last bit of cooking, if it kills me. Assuming everything goes right, I’ll have a recipe for you later today, and maybe cucumbers for lunch next month.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSywNnNqPuTcW2KdG9tNWnDKX7FGhPaiogteCyiMf7i4DBMvjjGuDklodhvcGm8prZH-wLaNhnbzRTaIYTRKm3Yxlgoec2E_9jjknb-DVp-F92qptDdWliGWpKbs65n1zG7tT1c_9QM24U/s1600/IMG_0267.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSywNnNqPuTcW2KdG9tNWnDKX7FGhPaiogteCyiMf7i4DBMvjjGuDklodhvcGm8prZH-wLaNhnbzRTaIYTRKm3Yxlgoec2E_9jjknb-DVp-F92qptDdWliGWpKbs65n1zG7tT1c_9QM24U/s320/IMG_0267.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-1380197128888332772018-10-20T20:27:00.001-04:002018-10-20T20:27:40.229-04:00Forty-Four YearsIt’s called marriage.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVWq-6OYuvilGBUPYJ1Vopo8glHCssozCXixP0ruICTkv1EIP_3aqggEPc4DrvH09S2n0HHt7GSEA-J5D8tMnwZaqvzn9gClIhwrS4aG1Ex-SCK3slvqHlr4sBLyrjKdajMjQI5afjmLp/s1600/IMG_0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="504" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnVWq-6OYuvilGBUPYJ1Vopo8glHCssozCXixP0ruICTkv1EIP_3aqggEPc4DrvH09S2n0HHt7GSEA-J5D8tMnwZaqvzn9gClIhwrS4aG1Ex-SCK3slvqHlr4sBLyrjKdajMjQI5afjmLp/s200/IMG_0005.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76Nxv58NvX18-OwQ6HCiMqF8Xv4F5elu3Zm0wY2Y4iJW03zED0bPdjOZVh6OEDqrRTbLzMdYeqlOba-K_017CscorMKV0go10a7kAyCAXtp6zrX0f1CsoRaJcLsdRjgfZcYcuEZhVR7px/s1600/IMG_0006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="604" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76Nxv58NvX18-OwQ6HCiMqF8Xv4F5elu3Zm0wY2Y4iJW03zED0bPdjOZVh6OEDqrRTbLzMdYeqlOba-K_017CscorMKV0go10a7kAyCAXtp6zrX0f1CsoRaJcLsdRjgfZcYcuEZhVR7px/s200/IMG_0006.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc46i2GJxs6DBvt3yYYS3WFQhLI9Th0VgLzfJ0_HIdC8DJhyiotA4W9IZA_AvZSita-H3YDT4A_9G7KOzX3A4mdVVcxcyu2azTJ7oYtOgYK51h7xySyNs5TT2z_nTzlbYarFYMhV6qiG4G/s1600/IMG_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="604" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc46i2GJxs6DBvt3yYYS3WFQhLI9Th0VgLzfJ0_HIdC8DJhyiotA4W9IZA_AvZSita-H3YDT4A_9G7KOzX3A4mdVVcxcyu2azTJ7oYtOgYK51h7xySyNs5TT2z_nTzlbYarFYMhV6qiG4G/s200/IMG_0007.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXNa84EPAO7FU45d7Z5QqdeC5sSU0PGPXf0ZLSEUe0gXT7qWLO1C4SFPbbREM7vhyphenhyphenN-2pnOIa4OF9NWDuCEJoQswTCl0V7FgpQaZOoMsyTBHAZOk-XG5HsmnFbU6mMwESGXiPt_ITiL2X/s1600/IMG_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5vi-ignE3qGvdMc2VbtL1CJPvUf5j9zCPqf1FzpBPacwOKPgrALhjyTikYKFhxkoexQZlfsq-G6Lv257S67MSonhF27VbIQrP1zpmpwk7G6hh77pnG1Tp2pMqOtkdwPZ8PvWrRyNK5pv/s1600/IMG_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="604" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio5vi-ignE3qGvdMc2VbtL1CJPvUf5j9zCPqf1FzpBPacwOKPgrALhjyTikYKFhxkoexQZlfsq-G6Lv257S67MSonhF27VbIQrP1zpmpwk7G6hh77pnG1Tp2pMqOtkdwPZ8PvWrRyNK5pv/s200/IMG_0015.JPG" width="200" /></a><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="604" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXNa84EPAO7FU45d7Z5QqdeC5sSU0PGPXf0ZLSEUe0gXT7qWLO1C4SFPbbREM7vhyphenhyphenN-2pnOIa4OF9NWDuCEJoQswTCl0V7FgpQaZOoMsyTBHAZOk-XG5HsmnFbU6mMwESGXiPt_ITiL2X/s200/IMG_0008.JPG" width="200" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhbYWkvrITa3yiLPgO0UtltSGwzDKRdrSuqTdgDL3_yrYFkW4i76nNCsk8ZZS1T9iSUY5r6Iz1zaMkMDk9x7QeaDGOfTXtSPzmZogWG7r-c0YLkaso7HuFj6EHJznek_Qe05tVgMajeSk/s1600/IMG_0009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="1600" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUhbYWkvrITa3yiLPgO0UtltSGwzDKRdrSuqTdgDL3_yrYFkW4i76nNCsk8ZZS1T9iSUY5r6Iz1zaMkMDk9x7QeaDGOfTXtSPzmZogWG7r-c0YLkaso7HuFj6EHJznek_Qe05tVgMajeSk/s200/IMG_0009.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrrxjzTl7hATmqOQOkq8cQt10AdgNlMS-xapQ3bKhQu3n1bcqOJV6PVVuhqG2jZcR9F3b8CtklTjZIpnmJmUiZuPzodWYgbrUIl7SteD15bjQ-K6eJlj-AdKhSD7ljq-KQ2SmCzXooRaN/s1600/IMG_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1209" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrrxjzTl7hATmqOQOkq8cQt10AdgNlMS-xapQ3bKhQu3n1bcqOJV6PVVuhqG2jZcR9F3b8CtklTjZIpnmJmUiZuPzodWYgbrUIl7SteD15bjQ-K6eJlj-AdKhSD7ljq-KQ2SmCzXooRaN/s200/IMG_0010.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4h7j6HywA3sdQ81a1uUuJABFZw11dakRLwKS4sBhhXOh4QGFvwX58nWQWnESYBVfjCc3QofGxTQDAIV8vvm7lZzDF9Byhw1s7PaV0lqMh28G4-EtsPiniMhadjWG-CKHWV9xlmQFbIl8/s1600/IMG_0011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4h7j6HywA3sdQ81a1uUuJABFZw11dakRLwKS4sBhhXOh4QGFvwX58nWQWnESYBVfjCc3QofGxTQDAIV8vvm7lZzDF9Byhw1s7PaV0lqMh28G4-EtsPiniMhadjWG-CKHWV9xlmQFbIl8/s200/IMG_0011.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8W_cOaz8XVppoStuz9XP1M_SIxl_HD5t7FmvcaOATglzYvz2QYoBgA6SZ9QCaVTRt1ktheOM8R9Thtup2dHPNqfELqogAxl0qP4S_CkF4QLwKUkMtSK7V3uncwpxVNCU_nvtIn3POJXQ/s1600/IMG_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8W_cOaz8XVppoStuz9XP1M_SIxl_HD5t7FmvcaOATglzYvz2QYoBgA6SZ9QCaVTRt1ktheOM8R9Thtup2dHPNqfELqogAxl0qP4S_CkF4QLwKUkMtSK7V3uncwpxVNCU_nvtIn3POJXQ/s200/IMG_0012.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Happy Anniversary to my bashert, the love of my life.Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-86906365349650738992018-10-19T17:55:00.002-04:002018-10-19T17:58:00.373-04:00Fibromyalgia FridayIt all catches up to me on Friday. This Friday is no different. It took an Act of God, two different prescription medications plus a caffeine tablet, deep breathing of one essential oil, careful application of The World’s Best Pain Cream, sitting-down tai chi, and the gentle ministrations of one deeply concerned cat to get me out of bed without crying.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZnLxHYiZcNrW6Oy2FeTiagHxs68GIjy-OSjkVE91tXlsJib3nlvrrZEDgYehW6Xc4kxjcWKRW8lEc1MPWL-qeh03V59xaWEX17nBczqHw_NsDbi5nd3t4opJh8nh85bc3XLkTpL05tc0/s1600/IMG_0252.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSZnLxHYiZcNrW6Oy2FeTiagHxs68GIjy-OSjkVE91tXlsJib3nlvrrZEDgYehW6Xc4kxjcWKRW8lEc1MPWL-qeh03V59xaWEX17nBczqHw_NsDbi5nd3t4opJh8nh85bc3XLkTpL05tc0/s320/IMG_0252.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
After such a difficult morning, I now find myself stuck on how I should color the Daleks. That should be the worst of my problems, but it is exacerbated by the fact that I dislike Daleks, almost as much as I dislike Cybermen. Maybe I’ll just ignore the damn Daleks and move on to something else, like my almost-complete cat picture.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQj7tzZG7VJZnneFi9GL4YIde8RVm4JVFwJP8iXlIKjCcBFpQr6UCMhd3dr2Y3m_cKMV5pEVrZ1NIgC5gR6MMXiE0ztVz07wG2Cxo7vLFjKihj2d9Rz9gd1fP_p7Sa-HdFQbDBhFOjB9i/s1600/IMG_0002.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1463" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQj7tzZG7VJZnneFi9GL4YIde8RVm4JVFwJP8iXlIKjCcBFpQr6UCMhd3dr2Y3m_cKMV5pEVrZ1NIgC5gR6MMXiE0ztVz07wG2Cxo7vLFjKihj2d9Rz9gd1fP_p7Sa-HdFQbDBhFOjB9i/s320/IMG_0002.HEIC" width="292" /></a></div>
<br />
(I also dislike most stinky cheeses, beets, beer, tattoos, swordfish, Twitter, racists, Fair Isle knitting, and Rick Scott. I won’t bore you with the rest; we all have our lists. I think that is part of being human.)<br />
<br />
As a whole it was a good week. Last Friday we drove to St. Augustine for a family birthday party. Saturday I had a thoroughly enjoyable tai chi class, and later that evening I watched an episode from the new season of Doctor Who. And so on with the good stuff. Monday I completed planting my raised beds with tomatoes, peppers, peas and green beans, kale, collard and mustard greens, parsley, and romaine lettuce plus one yellow squash plant (hope springs eternal.). Being able to do the work while standing is miraculous! My new iPad (courtesy of my Apple insurance policy) arrived in the mail, as did the Otterbox to help protect it from my ever-fumbling hands. My son arrived safely in Boston, the Orlando Magic won their first regular season game against the Miami Heat, and I spent another lovely Thursday on a Girl’s Day Out with my mother-in-law. I discovered that dill pickle potato chips are a satisfactory substitute for the fried green tomato potato chips, which have disappeared from grocery shelves everywhere. So mostly very good, and then came a rough Thursday night and a wicked Friday morning.<br />
<br />
But this is my attitude: see all that good stuff in the paragraph above? Well worth a bad day and a couple of bad hours, I think. And compared to some people, I’ve got my health. (I’ve also got vermin problems with ants, a couple of palmetto bugs the size of a teacup Yorkie, and one rotten rodent under the kitchen sink, trying to gnaw his way into a large container of cat kibble. Climate change seriously scares me, even more than the petulant pretender to the throne occupying the Oval Office. I am positively gobsmacked by Kimberly Guilfoyle’s transformation into a Stepford Sycophant. You know, just stuff. Annoying stuff, that’s all.)<br />
<br />
I hope your week has been at least as good as mine.<br />
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-44342304951196080482018-10-16T11:09:00.001-04:002018-10-16T11:09:19.877-04:00I’m Knitting As Fast As I CanFirst let me apologize for the font fight that overtook Sunday’s post. I tried to fix it several times to no avail. When the Blog makes up her mind that there will be no further editing, she is more stubborn than Siri. Yes, I saw The Matrix. Damn.<br />
<br />
Last week, I was making progress knitting this sock while watching Doctor Who. This week I was still knitting this same exact sock while watching Doctor Who. I’m pretty sure I used to knit a lot faster. Heck, I could knit a sweater while standing up on a subway platform waiting for the A-train. A baby sweater. And maybe I was crocheting it. I crochet much faster than I knit. But I don’t care for crocheted socks.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gGZDEXb37u6Plf2a0S7-wnaWkBs21T19y3b2b-58OmCOsjhvCPO6kFI15Eb3VmvUv88dFn0j2C8DG-nuAJb7J74-K00w87g_dJldpixNLweIpo4myoyFExgLJZNjJZlA8DShH3s86MYt/s1600/IMG_1974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gGZDEXb37u6Plf2a0S7-wnaWkBs21T19y3b2b-58OmCOsjhvCPO6kFI15Eb3VmvUv88dFn0j2C8DG-nuAJb7J74-K00w87g_dJldpixNLweIpo4myoyFExgLJZNjJZlA8DShH3s86MYt/s320/IMG_1974.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To make matters worse, now that I finished the damn sock I can’t find a needle to finish it with.<br />
Somehow I am missing every single metal wool needle I own. We’re talking 3 regular and at least 2 extra long needles. I checked out every project bag on my desk without the slightest luck. No wait, I think I missed the bag with the blue socks; not there, check the denim bag with the unfinished blanket ... Got ‘em.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnZU0LfV6klUPp2uuE0TWl5_HXsVL9fLBskDiNScn1-mhyJ2yzxvv1Fby5FZZwDUvA_8i1wdu8W4bH_8QPNjOmgvRrncLU7ArTrmdBzZUKk5qZ3Gt3YPtthA0VKteBffMHaBd7puRoTVx/s1600/IMG_0234.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnZU0LfV6klUPp2uuE0TWl5_HXsVL9fLBskDiNScn1-mhyJ2yzxvv1Fby5FZZwDUvA_8i1wdu8W4bH_8QPNjOmgvRrncLU7ArTrmdBzZUKk5qZ3Gt3YPtthA0VKteBffMHaBd7puRoTVx/s320/IMG_0234.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Being “retired on disability” creates a conundrum of sorts. Certainly I have much more time to enjoy my hobbies, with knitting being at the top of the list. But having this type of disability means my annoyingly weak hands no longer move as quickly as they once did. In fact, there are times I am simply unable to support the weight of the knitted project. To paraphrase my father, my knitting now has 2 speeds - slow and stop. This really sucks, because a year or two into this banishment/retirement, I decided to limit the number of UFOs (Unfinished Objects) in my closet. I picked two big projects to concentrate on, and I resolved not to buy more yarn, and not to cast on any new projects. I haven’t bought more yarn mostly because I have no more room to stash it, and I haven’t cast on any new projects (with the notable exceptions of three rather cute baby sweaters, but they don’t count because, well, BABIES!)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LQuEhYYhQKiEhfODlUJnSrqUdaL1B5sn2C5SwWhULl6_aS1n5TeP7b2GZt80chavIf0JLSGFHX9rZnpxW9UihiyT_vHvS_76IOlI_adBEEwiG03UGnbEnFhPv_tJzzDv-p82vJhRSzjH/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="812" data-original-width="1600" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LQuEhYYhQKiEhfODlUJnSrqUdaL1B5sn2C5SwWhULl6_aS1n5TeP7b2GZt80chavIf0JLSGFHX9rZnpxW9UihiyT_vHvS_76IOlI_adBEEwiG03UGnbEnFhPv_tJzzDv-p82vJhRSzjH/s320/IMG_3309.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The leftover multi-project I have been concentrating on, with variable success, is socks. Somehow, awhile back, I kept casting on new socks until the number approached a statistical universe, or at least nine pairs. Bad idea. Really bad.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19OJaChKLANrAR_2vum10qmulTyYwzLeqw6LImjPLhPMk7b6dR2pJMIqIbRcvjZ_fzSLZRWZ4tiQ4_Q2tEUm8cx7zkmK2hs26M6rVv7ah7WXnEwTlCDxta-BEIBRHaVTT1Vny_IXGehys/s1600/IMG_0239.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19OJaChKLANrAR_2vum10qmulTyYwzLeqw6LImjPLhPMk7b6dR2pJMIqIbRcvjZ_fzSLZRWZ4tiQ4_Q2tEUm8cx7zkmK2hs26M6rVv7ah7WXnEwTlCDxta-BEIBRHaVTT1Vny_IXGehys/s320/IMG_0239.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
So I came up with a new strategy: two of those were not too far along nor worth finishing, so they were put aside to be frogged for future use. The other seven would be worked for each project to finish one whole sock, then go back to the first project and in the same order finish the second sock. I thought it would break up the boredom of working the same pattern twice in a row, and I was right. I now have six lovely unmatched knit socks, and I’m working on the last of the first socks, and then ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslktKI8DY6t_Fe4il_YUyPJKSfC_kiWowZbQ5-cYNHgRT7Plz2KfzlsodWz-b6dHDxbA4Vy0na2UcI9LpC6PmJERndKOb1P6GKJi-NaHFKZpGyXP30DQVX0tVVqmwmHHZ8rpnAp0uJulB/s1600/IMG_1977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslktKI8DY6t_Fe4il_YUyPJKSfC_kiWowZbQ5-cYNHgRT7Plz2KfzlsodWz-b6dHDxbA4Vy0na2UcI9LpC6PmJERndKOb1P6GKJi-NaHFKZpGyXP30DQVX0tVVqmwmHHZ8rpnAp0uJulB/s320/IMG_1977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I’m gonna need more room in my sock drawer, and that’s A Good Thing.<br />
<br />
In the event I’ve inspired you to learn how to knit and/or learn how to knit socks, I recommend that you head right over to Ravelry, the most amazing yarn-based site in the galaxy ... or at least on the Internet. And it’s FREE.<br />
<br />
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-1030776141978390982018-10-14T11:55:00.001-04:002018-10-16T11:04:38.908-04:00Know Thyself and Thy Dill Pickle SoupIf you can’t bend your thumb back to touch your wrist, congratulations. Seriously, it’s a parlor trick not worth having, and worse, it is a symptom of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wNk1uhzuA-FE-ocGSCnws6oNgFizLAnOf_4aI11Na_lNQj2mhzfLxuSVyAKiyaV6HQh0z0iYsT_IvLAW7IFqPVYY05kOxT64jOw88qNdmAiuyhUS3FwBNhZxuWVsNLEItVQyWPJLgCGc/s1600/IMG_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3wNk1uhzuA-FE-ocGSCnws6oNgFizLAnOf_4aI11Na_lNQj2mhzfLxuSVyAKiyaV6HQh0z0iYsT_IvLAW7IFqPVYY05kOxT64jOw88qNdmAiuyhUS3FwBNhZxuWVsNLEItVQyWPJLgCGc/s320/IMG_0099.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
Same with knees that bend backwards, or being able to touch the floor with both palms on the ground, or bringing your hands to the namaste position behind your back. I can do all that and more. But I can’t wear high heels, or ice skate or shoot a gun. No matter how often or how severely I fall, my amazing elastic ankles never break or sprain. As a kid, I was the number one gym class zero, being unable to climb ropes or hold myself up to work on the rings, and I was hopeless at volleyball. To my mother’s despair I turned out every single pair of shoes long before I actually out grew them.<br />
<br />
I could go on but you get that I’m going somewhere with this self-diagnosis: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare disorder of the connective tissue. Besides explaining a number of minor failures that afffected my childhood (because at that age, nobody likes to be different), this epiphany is helping me to know myself and more importantly, to forgive myself for a life full of physical, emotional, and even dental ailments that plague me to this day. I bruise easily and I heal badly. I drop everything. My dental situation borders on tragic.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #141414; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">“</span><span style="font-size: small;">The problems resulting from a body built with defective collagen are widespread and variable. Persons with EDS Hypermobility often exhibit symptoms of dysautonomia, a dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates unconscious organ function including heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, respiration and digestion. Chronic pain, sleep disorders and fatigue are common in persons with EDS Hypermobility...</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #141414; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Structural abnormalities of the gastrointestinal track are also common, resulting in a variety of conditions including Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Chronic recurrent headaches and eyestrain are also common, as a result of abnormal intracranial pressure and enlargement of the dura, a membrane of fluid surrounding the brain and spinal column. Patients frequently suffer from allergies and sensitivities.” </span><a href="https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2016/07/01/chronic-fatigue-fibromyalgia-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-diagnosis/">https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2016/07/01/chronic-fatigue-fibromyalgia-ehlers-danlos-syndrome-diagnosis/</a><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #141414; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
What about the fibromyalgia? So many symptoms overlap, it seems to me that fibromyalgia itself is most likely a symptom of the EDS, or at the very least, a prominent comorbidity, which explains why I feel I’ve had fibromyalgia for many years prior to the 2012 diagnosis. Back to childhood, in fact. Those weren’t growing pains!<br />
<br />
Having had this revelation you may ask how it affects my current course of treatment. Well, I had the opportunity to put that question to my neurologist, endocrinologist, orthopedist, and rheumatologist. All agreed it was a fact worth knowing, but it would not change a thing. And the source of all this? Genetic, possibly from the paternal side. Predestined, you might say. Maybe that little bit of knowledge would have resulted in kinder treatment during my growing years. Who knows?<br />
<br />
I’m okay with that, really. Because when I resolved the chicken-and-egg issue and realized the EDS was the source of so much, if not all of my health problems, I felt a lot better about myself. I only wish I could tell my mother I wasn’t turning out those shoes because I was too lazy to walk the right way.<br />
<br />
And now because you’ve been so patient listening to my endless health problems, here is one of my crazy-ass recipes to try:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;"><u>Dill Pickle Soup, My Way</u></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">This is my recipe, inspired by the recipe created by Cathy Pollak for NoblePig.com. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1 stick of butter, divided</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1 bunch green onions, sliced thin, white and light green parts only (about 3/4 cup)</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">3 carrots, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1 small clove garlic, minced</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">kosher salt, white pepper</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 3/4 pounds)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1 - 49 1/2 oz. can Swanson Natural Chicken Broth</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">3 large dill pickles, chopped (about 1 generous cup) - purchase a large jar of dill pickles, as you will also be using most of the pickle juice; I use Batampte, found in the refrigerator section. Also, I like the pickles chopped fine, but you may like them not-so-fine.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1 cup sour cream</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1 cup all-purpose flour</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1/4 cup water</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">2 cups dill pickle juice</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1/2 teaspoon white pepper</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">In a large pot, melt half of the stick of butter over medium high heat. Add the green onions, celery, carrots, and garlic clove. Season with a small amount of salt and white pepper to taste. Lower the heat to medium and sauté the vegetables for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are softened.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">Add the potatoes, the remaining butter, and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Do not overcook the potatoes. Add the pickles and continue to boil for 10 more minutes. Reduce the heat to medium. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;">Combine the sour cream, flour, and water, and then add 1 cup of the boiling soup liquid, and whisk together until smooth. Gradually add this to the soup, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the pickle juice, the Old Bay, white pepper and cayenne, then cook for another 5 minutes. The pickle juice is pretty salty on it's own, so don't add any more salt until you taste the finished soup. I like salty foods, and did not need to add any more at the end.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".sfuidisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="color: #e4af0a; font-family: ".sf ui display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-top: 9px;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-73687526623941156672018-10-12T09:06:00.000-04:002018-10-12T09:06:56.525-04:00The Gift That Keeps On GivingOn Monday I had absolutely nothing on my schedule, so I set out to do stuff. I organized my calendar and made a lab appointment. (My brand new endocrinologist wants to get to know me better so he has given instructions that involve collecting and testing the majority of my bodily fluids.) I knit quite a bit while watching the Orlando Magic lose in preseason. One point, just one damn point. I also took my regular afternoon nap, which I really needed because I’d been playing in the dirt for about an hour.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love naps. Always have, but the fibromyalgia made them a bitter necessity rather than a lovely luxury for weekends and cruise ships. During the last year that I was working, there were times I locked my office door so I could take a quick snooze. At least twice, I curled up under my desk. I still need a nap almost every day, but the state of my retirement (as opposed to my former employer, the state of Florida) allows me to stretch out on my own bed, among gentle breezes from room fans and the comfort from proximity with a couple of carefully positioned pets. Anakin has taken over Chelsea’s spot nearest me, except when he decides to emulate the late, great Ira and sit on top of me to make sure I’m still breathing.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I really did play in the dirt quite a lot as a kid - I was sort of a tomboy - but now I call it gardening. I really like to get in there and do the dirty work. Never mind that I had my nails done on Friday, I rarely wear gardening gloves unless I am handling the bougainvillea or the roses. Or picking cucumbers, now that I think of it. My garden was in need of some serious attention, and for once, the weather was not too awful, if you ignore the rain shower that arrived with little notice.<br />
<br />
I wanted to accomplish three specific tasks - to clear the overgrown beds on the west side of the house, to straighten up the strawberry bed, and to start some seeds in my porch rail boxes. Just 10 minutes into pulling dead tomato plants from the dirt, my back gave a twinge to remind me that people with fibromyalgia don’t generally make the long haul when it comes to stuff like gardening. That’s why you have a terrific handyman, the same one who built the terraced beds for you, my back told me, with a big sigh because we’d had this same conversation numerous times in the past.<br />
<br />
So in the end, I got just one of those garden tasks done, and the other two are sitting out there getting beaten up by the fringe storms from Hurricane Michael.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47xpFZ8MRM2VNDs2Riup9neHu1XvRnYcNTJxAvva8AvMVCLetSSCseF1U9cPq5SzZBePvfrV9L-CaUHeD8hUX1krm7NZVRNerbyX_OkYcjYsPiq2-IL1N3UWG4rbDLX9WjPjPP2raxhhZ/s1600/IMG_0199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47xpFZ8MRM2VNDs2Riup9neHu1XvRnYcNTJxAvva8AvMVCLetSSCseF1U9cPq5SzZBePvfrV9L-CaUHeD8hUX1krm7NZVRNerbyX_OkYcjYsPiq2-IL1N3UWG4rbDLX9WjPjPP2raxhhZ/s320/IMG_0199.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
My urban garden, started some months after the end of Life-As-I-Knew-It, has brought me much enjoyment, as well as countless vegetables. I don’t get the really high yields, but what I do get I use in my cooking. As I was clearing the beds and pulling out dead tomato plants, I noticed that there were 3 kinds of peppers and one Japanese eggplant waiting to be harvested. In October! From an early spring planting! And let’s not forget that perennial herb, rosemary. This is her third season in our herb garden, outliving the rest of that Simon and Garfunkel song.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjinWvhm3bc5Tv2G6V6ZvtMgHpF_BjMHAY7T-ydhKes92VFLg33aMmZZweGboCTjCPbZp3FkyTp1dx71of-uyonXe7hyphenhyphenue3jNDzw8Jw8ta_gjldCJMzei7Q_AlInX76wVfeAWVmSms9vft/s1600/IMG_0201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjinWvhm3bc5Tv2G6V6ZvtMgHpF_BjMHAY7T-ydhKes92VFLg33aMmZZweGboCTjCPbZp3FkyTp1dx71of-uyonXe7hyphenhyphenue3jNDzw8Jw8ta_gjldCJMzei7Q_AlInX76wVfeAWVmSms9vft/s320/IMG_0201.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Simple pleasures. Life is good.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mgAND6iwHaduybHzzXux1_Vu_OLMwhAGXaCFXLYNlBDZK4eCxAg6KNCmpkqPDjtUQ2_z_fYVpkB-umrRFJRBUMcoGTirGMHoaJMMzg8DfxqEUBk-IXshEWhOSBmxOqc6ryli4B1goJRh/s1600/IMG_0188.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8mgAND6iwHaduybHzzXux1_Vu_OLMwhAGXaCFXLYNlBDZK4eCxAg6KNCmpkqPDjtUQ2_z_fYVpkB-umrRFJRBUMcoGTirGMHoaJMMzg8DfxqEUBk-IXshEWhOSBmxOqc6ryli4B1goJRh/s320/IMG_0188.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I left a couple of those pepper plants and the two eggplant plants in place, just giving them a much-needed trim. Will they gift me with more veggies? Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkWAXXLkKq6Rt3fn_0n0FCTInYsJEgQZv3gsBrxP1RBYqrYeAok8igXhS1xmyRJ-um5xVuyb6yyNgmjRiQRl0ix8_lYx1aEvnc8DXEI1eEpBOapu_p6fhWi12okjbwQi4-oO6-reSYklS/s1600/IMG_0196.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkWAXXLkKq6Rt3fn_0n0FCTInYsJEgQZv3gsBrxP1RBYqrYeAok8igXhS1xmyRJ-um5xVuyb6yyNgmjRiQRl0ix8_lYx1aEvnc8DXEI1eEpBOapu_p6fhWi12okjbwQi4-oO6-reSYklS/s320/IMG_0196.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-52030890113438878782018-10-09T11:10:00.000-04:002018-10-09T11:10:55.309-04:00A Post Which Definitively Answers The Question “Which Came First ...”Most of my regular readers know I have fibromyalgia. While I’d been complaining about muscle aches and pains for years, 2010 was the watershed year, a culmination of encroaching symptoms that would gradually but definitively destroy most of my life as I had known it up to that point. It didn’t help that my former primary care physician was an unprofessional imbecile. By the time I realized I had to augment him, and then replace him, I’d run the gamut of all the ways the state and federal governments screw around with a disability application. In all fairness, the PCP did have help - the psychiatrist I had used on and off for a decent number of years had suddenly taken leave of her senses as well.<br />
<br />
Once I had gotten my medical care back on track I was, with the assistance of a social security firm, able to retire on disability (albeit 5 years before I had planned on retiring), collect my pension from the state, and get down to the business of daily life with a dreadful disorder. Fibromyalgia is a terrible disease that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, if I had one. But it is part of who I am at this stage of my life, and I really do try to make the best it. I can’t hike up the side of a Korean mountain during monsoon season, but I can make it to the cruise terminal at Port Canaveral, so I consider myself pretty lucky.<br />
<br />
If you are unfamiliar with fibromyalgia, here’s a quick overview: I am in pain all the time; the only thing that changes is to what degree of pain I am experiencing that particular day. I do NOT take opioids. I experience brain fog far too often to allow me to practice law or hold down any kind of job. You get the idea. My social life is limited by my disabilities, and I spend much more time with my medical providers (PCP, rheumatologist, (new) psychiatrist, mental health therapist, neurologist, orthopedist, endocrinologist, gynecologist, dental specialist, and let’s not forget those early-morning appointments at Quest Labs) than with my friends.<br />
<br />
One question that has popped up over the past few years is “when did I get this disorder? What triggered it to explode in my late fifties - was it menopause? Unusual levels of stress at the office? The gastric bypass surgery I’d had in 2003? I had no answers, although my old nemesis stress seemed the most likely.<br />
<br />
And then, a month or two ago, I had an epiphany, brought about by something that popped up on my Pinterest feed, with a picture that left me staring. I haven’t been able find that damn picture since, but it had reminded me of an old photo, and then I knew that the egg had indeed come before the chicken.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLusfk2tZuwrNdofj0q1Hyl9pmSBYMPgOGZ8yoWyk9-i-053OR3Oz9xgosp6sPqvVMYco5iTc6Gyi-XN-vVDs1vnaCPTHzQ-OhYDHQ83gCyLMaJSIwTJUVKVWQuP32VXESijeZc0MwCTyr/s1600/IMG_0101.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1435" data-original-width="1053" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLusfk2tZuwrNdofj0q1Hyl9pmSBYMPgOGZ8yoWyk9-i-053OR3Oz9xgosp6sPqvVMYco5iTc6Gyi-XN-vVDs1vnaCPTHzQ-OhYDHQ83gCyLMaJSIwTJUVKVWQuP32VXESijeZc0MwCTyr/s320/IMG_0101.HEIC" width="234" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF1cCz9os46WSvUDHWnpl0R_Bkz1fA02mt2vanbq45xIYgd2yHU81_vQ7uPQ2MVY4Q14b4DFXi-tRHyI5c2F49lJ0ga5FZShyphenhypheniIRFdVvbEsVir4kDwR7uZJvHwoFs8zOpJXFipWYIhHwo/s1600/IMG_0099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRF1cCz9os46WSvUDHWnpl0R_Bkz1fA02mt2vanbq45xIYgd2yHU81_vQ7uPQ2MVY4Q14b4DFXi-tRHyI5c2F49lJ0ga5FZShyphenhypheniIRFdVvbEsVir4kDwR7uZJvHwoFs8zOpJXFipWYIhHwo/s320/IMG_0099.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
Can you see it?<br />
<br />
Do you get it?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
By the way, can you bend your thumb so that it touches your forearm?</div>
<br />
Work on it. I’m going out to play in the dirt before the storms come.Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-65639798631204466922018-10-08T09:35:00.002-04:002018-10-08T09:40:01.460-04:00It’s A Girl! After this week’s bone-chilling, depression-inducing, government-sanctioned attack on women, at least the BBC got it right. <b>#She’sMyDoctor</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp40hRebrhKpQlm81vbqg0WZie_Qa0SWKDCvTPCUMHQpN7JvTLHEMsbq6V9m9skMdYbn08f5YOL0mbdTT8N2tdhODnsM7KbO9IuEJxVD00rpCA3Zo3ZdSKyTFIvQDl4W0hFjEM3jZs9FeD/s1600/IMG_1972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp40hRebrhKpQlm81vbqg0WZie_Qa0SWKDCvTPCUMHQpN7JvTLHEMsbq6V9m9skMdYbn08f5YOL0mbdTT8N2tdhODnsM7KbO9IuEJxVD00rpCA3Zo3ZdSKyTFIvQDl4W0hFjEM3jZs9FeD/s1600/IMG_1972.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
This isn’t over. We <u>will</u> have a female U.S. President in my lifetime. We will put a stop to the crushing misogyny that seems to exist deep in the souls of too many people We will be believed and respected. We will become and remain totally individually autonomous in our own minds and bodies.<br />
<br />
Today the newly-regenerated Doctor rates a Global Simulcast. That’s a hell of a lot of viewers for the first female in what has been an all-male franchise for over 50 years. Great start!<br />
<br />
Beat those numbers, Donald Trump!<br />
<br />
<u>Slow Cooking Madness: Barbecue Sunday Sauce</u><br />
<br />
I decided it was time to clear out my kitchen freezer, which was stuffed to the gills, assuming any kitchen appliance actually has gills. I pulled out deeply frozen Italian sausage, turkey drumsticks, beef chuck ribs, about half a bag of meatballs (I didn’t make them, but they’re not too bad) and a bag of mixed color frozen peppers. From the pantries (I have 3 floor-to-ceiling, plus additional cabinets) I salvaged 2 jars of spaghetti sauce, 1 large bottle of Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, garlic cloves, and canned mushrooms.<br />
<br />
Before I get to the next step I want to assure you all that I still love to cook, passionately, and although my fibromyalgia has stolen much of the cooking joy from my life, I still manage to have fun while keeping my family well-fed. Sometimes that involves my dumping all the ingredients into my largest crockpot. Nothing that a haute cuisine chef would approve of, but hey, it usually works.<br />
<br />
For this, I added the ingredients in the following order into my 8 quart crockpot: frozen peppers, drained bottle of garlic cloves, drained can of sliced mushrooms, Angus beef meatballs (from B.J.’s), whole sausages, turkey legs, and the beef chuck ribs, all the proteins still frozen. Except, there is an extra step you don’t have to take, but this is how I do it: sprinkle the frozen meats (no meatballs!) with granulated garlic and slip them under the broiler just until they pick up a little color and are easy to separate with a pair of tongs. Pour some of the spaghetti sauce and some of the barbecue sauce over each layer in the crock. Make sure to collect all of the sauce clinging to the sides of the bottles by swishing with a small amount of water. I like to do the same with any meat juices in the bottom of the cooking pan.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-f_NrW6klvRT5zbGkBFajz5pVnvWLXwtfhb6Dv1Y6QyzsCGmliEM8RaCE-TeNG4DPA_xU99OaDmC631IuhYzwN0lKAmJn1j1I8eV0sl3IviepoUl3__bWWoUu461vBBrvqASik4gIzD-/s1600/IMG_0183.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB-f_NrW6klvRT5zbGkBFajz5pVnvWLXwtfhb6Dv1Y6QyzsCGmliEM8RaCE-TeNG4DPA_xU99OaDmC631IuhYzwN0lKAmJn1j1I8eV0sl3IviepoUl3__bWWoUu461vBBrvqASik4gIzD-/s320/IMG_0183.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Building the layers</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLKdvQa5abQQl_yLRHh6Ba1FO3rDN0rqdZQEIftaTD67ELUwoTDRiQPnMIzNTCcAEe6l3ltHYqtFl8epZ1ejJwe3yJmpHl74fDi0NvpkNJhPtneOAraIHfSl-C4buaVZA8aiufx6mPh5e/s1600/IMG_0185.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLKdvQa5abQQl_yLRHh6Ba1FO3rDN0rqdZQEIftaTD67ELUwoTDRiQPnMIzNTCcAEe6l3ltHYqtFl8epZ1ejJwe3yJmpHl74fDi0NvpkNJhPtneOAraIHfSl-C4buaVZA8aiufx6mPh5e/s320/IMG_0185.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
So now you’ve got everything in the crock, all the sauces have been poured over the top, and you put on the cover. Cook on the low setting until the beef is tender and the drumsticks are cooked all the way through. Except I did something different because of the late hour. I cooked it on low for 3 hours, 7 to 10 pm, then let it cool a bit and moved the crock to the refrigerator for overnight. Next day I got rid of the excess fat, rotated the position of the meats, and went back to cooking on low for about another 3 hours. I then moved the meatballs, sausage, and turkey legs to some baking pans while the beef chuck got more time to tenderize.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijisDfYNokGF0FGjyjMPFbXUyCBTYU-KmXpxB4svHkFXrpfs1IYYliLdB_9JD8bf2QwWQ7UVuuOVGZdVLap8t5S6gP8DG6Tih4P94tmsOY7j8VUAlrXB7LbnePexT7sgJsIN3SJgy-sGj5/s1600/IMG_0186.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijisDfYNokGF0FGjyjMPFbXUyCBTYU-KmXpxB4svHkFXrpfs1IYYliLdB_9JD8bf2QwWQ7UVuuOVGZdVLap8t5S6gP8DG6Tih4P94tmsOY7j8VUAlrXB7LbnePexT7sgJsIN3SJgy-sGj5/s320/IMG_0186.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
You can serve it over a huge platter of spaghetti, or go rogue and pass on the pasta. I plan on adding frozen corn fritters to the air fryer. One small step for dinner, one giant step for,clearing out my freezer.Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-9502793982007324512018-10-06T16:30:00.001-04:002018-10-06T16:39:59.416-04:00Political Dissonance So the farce that was the investigation into allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brent Kavanaugh is over and now We The People will wait for the final and meaningless full Senate vote. If I sound bitter, it’s because I am. All that I, a patriotic American, held dear to my heart has been rototilled into the ground by a series of bad Presidential administrations and worse Congresses. This is still the greatest country in the world, but that grand distinction has been slowly unwinding since Clinton’s second term, even possibly since the assassination of JFK in 1963. Let’s face it, Ronald Reagan was no saint, and while Jimmy Carter appears to be a truly good man, he was a dreadful President. If Gerald Ford hadn’t pardoned Richard Nixon ... who knows, right?<br />
<br />
If I wasn’t already on prescription medication for depression and anxiety, I would be a mess. There is a great sense of wrongness that permeates our society. I am relieved to a certain extent that my retirement due to disability has given me a reasonable excuse to withdraw from the broad social milieu. I belong to no political party, because they all make me gag at their hypocrisy. I don’t miss going to court, because after 24 years of unwarranted blame and egregious verbal abuse, I finally admitted to myself that the majority of judges in all jurisdictions and at all levels of government are entitled, egotistical little demigods.<br />
<br />
We The People are getting what we deserve. There exists a huge swath of bigoted, racist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, misogynistic bullies, who are now totally unrestrained by conscience or social convention from expressing and acting upon their worst instincts. The soulless and dishonorable head of state has set a pernicious example and too many Americans have fallen into a joyful lockstep with his nasty ways.<br />
<br />
So now it’s over, proof positive that there is no honor among thieves. But what the hell ... we’ve had an accused sexual offender on the Supreme Court since 1991. What’s one more?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-aUDd9HiC9VMVfjqyLxsOJjKSaiZtdkBlLBqBXSANLn_iuf41VMDBofWdNHvll0AayxPkIXJltDoZJCzbKwNmspWrEiLwXOqzqHsr-HB4jWyvznFIkyxm0YUZdgcbDrxdIOeZ_5mL5NLq/s1600/IMG_0116.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1256" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-aUDd9HiC9VMVfjqyLxsOJjKSaiZtdkBlLBqBXSANLn_iuf41VMDBofWdNHvll0AayxPkIXJltDoZJCzbKwNmspWrEiLwXOqzqHsr-HB4jWyvznFIkyxm0YUZdgcbDrxdIOeZ_5mL5NLq/s320/IMG_0116.HEIC" width="251" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And the Angels wept</div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-29317327763350297102018-10-05T14:49:00.000-04:002018-10-05T14:49:45.532-04:00Life Is An ArtSo I went to Home Depot looking for herbs and vegetables, and walked out with nothing. There was no cilantro, no turnip greens, and no decent specimens of flat-leaf parsley. Even the strawberries looked limp. I have a small strawberry patch on the side of the house, and I wanted to expand it a bit, but no such luck. Winter squash seems to be available, right alongside the summer squash. I know that doesn’t make sense but this is, after all, Central Florida.<br />
<br />
When the weather ignores the calendar and continues to creep into the 90’s, gardening has to remain on hold. I have little control over body temperature, and a few minutes too many weeding vegetables will send me to bed and keep me there for two solid days.<br />
<br />
On Thursday my mother-in-law and I had that rare perfect day where both of us felt pretty darn good and were able to make a number of stops before getting lunch. (I could write volumes about how lucky I have been these past 45 years, but let me sum it up in one sentence: I have the Best Mother-in-Law in the world.) One of those stops was at Lowe’s to check out their herbs and garden plants. What they had looked better - tomatoes, peppers, collards, romaine, and flat-leaf parsley - but there was still no cilantro worth buying, no turnip greens, and no strawberries whatsoever. I have some seeds I ordered, so I’ll go ahead and start those, but until I find some decent fruit and vegetables ready to plant, I’ll be spending my time indoors doing stuff.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to my knitting. I’m pretty sure there is a small group of people in Russia who follow me here or on Pinterest because of my interest in knitting, especially socks and lace knitting patterns. To them I say “hold tight” for another day or three, I promise to get back to the fascinating topic of the Fish Lips Kiss Heel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTMS3SI3EMZFj0AQ2EdWHJ47esUezTJJAm3syi29nulBM1xX8mSEW6QSbLp_AOE612WtIhIGR6-2o9DQt_S49uOBKp5FGoR_X32G1FSndSHGToXpWjvj4m6YqccTzEHUyAJhMaTnmuJFZ/s1600/IMG_0155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwTMS3SI3EMZFj0AQ2EdWHJ47esUezTJJAm3syi29nulBM1xX8mSEW6QSbLp_AOE612WtIhIGR6-2o9DQt_S49uOBKp5FGoR_X32G1FSndSHGToXpWjvj4m6YqccTzEHUyAJhMaTnmuJFZ/s320/IMG_0155.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
But today I want to tell you about one of my other favorite air conditioned activities, one that I recommend highly for those seeking tranquility while having to spend inordinate amounts of time sitting around the house.<br />
<br />
Coloring books. A favorite from my kindergarten days at P.S. 217 in Brooklyn. I was a little hyper and not well-socialized back then, to the despair of my teacher, but sit me down with a bunch of crayons and some construction paper, and I was entranced. I always colored inside the lines, by the way. Still take pride in that accomplishment, along with graduating law school.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0ToGxOrkoz4CUeucR2rwJAgTfMcxgKdU-04ONMf8LrvasDtpiN0L4_7y7xD3EhvQO-Y9zBvHBNeZbeyLRPYp2tLVNh-N_l2oAHQ5ti6ZGlJxUNrrwZx-D3E4sRGFpEWwJAfNHBnfuyoK/s1600/IMG_0114.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1140" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg0ToGxOrkoz4CUeucR2rwJAgTfMcxgKdU-04ONMf8LrvasDtpiN0L4_7y7xD3EhvQO-Y9zBvHBNeZbeyLRPYp2tLVNh-N_l2oAHQ5ti6ZGlJxUNrrwZx-D3E4sRGFpEWwJAfNHBnfuyoK/s320/IMG_0114.HEIC" width="228" /></a></div>
<br />
These days there are coloring books for adults, and I am hooked. I blame/thank my former supervisor Raquel, who gifted me a cat coloring book and some colored pencils back in the early days of my banishment/retirement from the practice of law. Since then I’ve expanded my collection of supplies, including today’s delivery from Amazon.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWbrqGLWorXOC9ZEvuwC8-h6VYKBwiahhsVJ3pr1JQZiX8ftKBdmF1uEvth-Jd9pNLk79fSGN1dxA4IinocR2xv2P_7niq3c87dJM0T_u7UcJWPKAGqzFKxvpEMr96a7_UhSbVycK-Arh/s1600/IMG_0149.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWbrqGLWorXOC9ZEvuwC8-h6VYKBwiahhsVJ3pr1JQZiX8ftKBdmF1uEvth-Jd9pNLk79fSGN1dxA4IinocR2xv2P_7niq3c87dJM0T_u7UcJWPKAGqzFKxvpEMr96a7_UhSbVycK-Arh/s320/IMG_0149.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjEx7cd72I9ejd18T7HO8TtaGwLofx44aAyN5Sl0-MCmOd4t099gdIvFa2Vqkt8ldZm5SGF02gPCwW00dJIxaQDMIufdrvDELuoCTz8vv1AHa7Z-NnzmzjY9_Y6lj4Gl0fkV1_7nFw7RH/s1600/IMG_0153.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjEx7cd72I9ejd18T7HO8TtaGwLofx44aAyN5Sl0-MCmOd4t099gdIvFa2Vqkt8ldZm5SGF02gPCwW00dJIxaQDMIufdrvDELuoCTz8vv1AHa7Z-NnzmzjY9_Y6lj4Gl0fkV1_7nFw7RH/s320/IMG_0153.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I love color, especially as it presents in nature. I find the peace in my soul as I stare open-mouthed at a perfect flower, or a bright red cardinal, or a ladybug. And even though the monarch butterfly caterpillars consumed a great deal of the dill and basil in my garden, I forgave them because observing their rich colors was a fair exchange for the tzaziki sauce and Caprese salads that were never prepared.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis578lhyphenhyphenK3UbKDBHcfP5TS8osN4bgKpcf1BxmU7JwlYPbAsEssVVNHHx5BTxVRMSHTGKkDnXVFj1A5ITPPQ5iL7wOzf-swfc-wEQHvbnO7Tp0XHUeI9zKdJ4eKcMyDU2jVlgpQrM9w92Fy/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1376" data-original-width="1600" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis578lhyphenhyphenK3UbKDBHcfP5TS8osN4bgKpcf1BxmU7JwlYPbAsEssVVNHHx5BTxVRMSHTGKkDnXVFj1A5ITPPQ5iL7wOzf-swfc-wEQHvbnO7Tp0XHUeI9zKdJ4eKcMyDU2jVlgpQrM9w92Fy/s320/IMG_0117.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ46hqua33kM6jFTV5xaXB52jq9RT2-QEml3oAA_4dFK11peulS5zl7Cbzc48r448_Fk3RSakfhTBFgDkN0pfn9faneNpVtvi9aKcP47S4q6BixDTyesM38-wBMBACJEHhyphenhyphen_76iwpiq3as/s1600/IMG_0115.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ46hqua33kM6jFTV5xaXB52jq9RT2-QEml3oAA_4dFK11peulS5zl7Cbzc48r448_Fk3RSakfhTBFgDkN0pfn9faneNpVtvi9aKcP47S4q6BixDTyesM38-wBMBACJEHhyphenhyphen_76iwpiq3as/s320/IMG_0115.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
So I color, in every medium I can get my hands on. I even have the 96 crayon box from Crayola, because I always wanted it as a kid. The best, most peaceful, tranquility-inducing medium remains the colored pencil, however. Practically hypnotic, endlessly relaxing. I might even add “therapeutic” to that list. The airy repetitive movements are so very soothing. You can start and stop how ever many pictures you want; no one will be grading you on your coloring completion skills or color realism. This is truly for fun. In today’s world of harsh reality, economic upheaval, and mind-blowing political shenanigans, any fun we can find is precious.Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-12385582180098619552018-10-01T12:06:00.001-04:002018-10-01T12:06:03.883-04:00Two Whole DaysThat’s two whole days lost to fibromyalgia. Crap.<br />
<br />
And on the third day, I was able to get out of bed without crying. Yes, I still had to swallow certain pills, breathe in the vapors from a particular essential oil blend, and rub some pain cream on my hands and at the junctions of my neck and shoulders before attempting to remove my aging carcass from my bed. That’s just daily reality, my new normal you might say, but there were no tears, or deep groans, or fear of putting my feet on the ground. Just a couple of well-placed profanities, and I was off to the Keurig.<br />
<br />
Hope springs eternal that I will be able to make it to Lowe’s or Home Depot today to pick out the plants for this season’s vegetable garden.<br />
<br />
During that 2 day hiatus I wore the same pajamas, threw up almost anything I tried to eat, and watched countless episodes of Doctor Who. I slept a lot, too. Napped with the cat, who has apparently quietly taken on the job of nap partner. That honor used to belong to my little girl Yorkie, Chelsea, but she crossed the Rainbow Bridge about 2 months ago. It’s interesting to watch how pets react to the loss of a sibling, and as you might imagine, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to observe that.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I also indulged in my newest obsessions: perfecting my use of the Fish Lips Kiss heel on the sock I was knitting, and researching something called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. I’m torn as to which one I should babble about.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcnowLi7YaGNN5PjOrn8N5Z_2DeiOBChcZ1Y0gbL3S4u8-xgtP0u7Yak2ZZrcEppfLISHmHQ3bVYaDfB36rp_ux5yqwjfat9MRq1I91yKOaeleYcB1KlBWzzRuU3PrgFipIZ72Bwrde7i/s1600/IMG_0095.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcnowLi7YaGNN5PjOrn8N5Z_2DeiOBChcZ1Y0gbL3S4u8-xgtP0u7Yak2ZZrcEppfLISHmHQ3bVYaDfB36rp_ux5yqwjfat9MRq1I91yKOaeleYcB1KlBWzzRuU3PrgFipIZ72Bwrde7i/s320/IMG_0095.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I need to get a bit political. About this whole Supreme Court fiasco - perhaps the prosecutor-for-hire was correct when she stated that no prosecutor would file criminal charges against Kavanaugh, but .... wait let me put on my lawyer hat. As you might imagine, I don’t wear it much these days. But, that’s not the applicable burden of proof. Even if criminal charges can’t be filed, the victim could conceivably file a civil suit, with its much lower burden of proof.<br />
<br />
And that’s all I’m going to say about that. For now, anyway.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-25250232078365653442018-09-28T14:08:00.000-04:002018-09-28T14:08:11.340-04:00Be Here Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzJBKQzpgk7fLYNec7lzG4bU1pbjzE393KfI-OQf9n1VD5B240DmMOfwFeGSQ8-2HvBDlLitoi8T2H7DBUpD2SuheZzy6Yo0xdOvL-haVL0rd4botjYp8Bi-Mrr-VCq8sS96Q6TveWLwB/s1600/IMG_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvzJBKQzpgk7fLYNec7lzG4bU1pbjzE393KfI-OQf9n1VD5B240DmMOfwFeGSQ8-2HvBDlLitoi8T2H7DBUpD2SuheZzy6Yo0xdOvL-haVL0rd4botjYp8Bi-Mrr-VCq8sS96Q6TveWLwB/s320/IMG_0078.JPG" width="240" /></a> I’m back.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Don’t know why I am doing this now, don’t know how long I’ll be here. Over the past 8 years, I’ve been trying to enjoy the good moments whenever they happen. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So what if it took me over an hour to get out of bed? Who cares if my inability to self-regulate my body temperature had me pulling on warm knitted socks and huddling under one of Cory’s woolen baby blankets while the thermometer is set for 78 degrees? What’s the difference if I ate fried green tomato potato chips for lunch because I’m unable to navigate a treacherous flight of stairs to the kitchen?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I’m here now, like Baba Ram Dass, and that’s the best I can manage at this time. The pain is, for just this moment, delightfully underwhelming. Is that me or is that Flexeril? Who cares?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Anyway, don’t be fooled by my overt mellowness. Just this morning, to the thunderous cyber-applause of my Facebook friends and relatives, I referred to Lindsay Graham as an “Insincere, lying little f*ckweasel ... Graham has crawled so far up Trump’s over sized ass he can tell you what The Donald ate for breakfast.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
To celebrate my return to the blogosphere, here’s a recipe I’ve probably published before, but what the hell, it’s worth another look:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 4px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay-Semibold"; font-weight: bold;">Cindy's Spectacular Jambalaya</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">This is totally my version of jambalaya, so I have no one to blame but myself if you find it displeasing. But if you love one-pot dishes with everything and then some, please try this.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">6 slices bacon, quartered crosswise</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">2/3 cup canola oil, divided</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1-14 oz. package Johnsonville New Orleans Brand Andouille, sliced</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">10 cloves garlic, chopped</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">3 onions, chopped</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">4 stalks celery, chopped, including leaves</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">2 large green bell peppers, chopped</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">3 stalks of fresh thyme, with multiple stems on each</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">2 bay leaves</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">2 cups uncooked rice</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1-14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with garlic, basil, and oregano</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1-10 oz. can Ro-Tel Original Tomatoes with Green Chilies</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1/2 pound chopped ham</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1 quart chicken stock</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1-8 oz. container fresh oysters, drained and rinsed (optional, but we love oysters)</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">Seasoning: kosher salt, coarse black pepper, Emeril's Original Essence. No exact amounts are given, so season to taste. Remember that the sausage and the Ro-Tel tomatoes will add quite a bit of spice to the dish.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">1 tablespoon light brown sugar</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">Tabasco sauce, to taste</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">Slap Ya Mama white pepper blend seasoning</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">You will need a large, deep, very heavy pot for this dish. Cook the bacon until crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined dish. Add about 1/3 cup canola oil to the pot. Add the sliced andouille and saute for about five minutes, then remove to the same dish as the bacon. Season the chicken with Emeril's Essence, using your fingers to distribute evenly, and saute in the same pot till the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, but not completely cooked through. Remove and add to the dish with the bacon and the andouille. Crumble the cooled bacon with your fingers.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">Add another 1/3 cup of canola oil to the pot and bring up to heat. Add the garlic, and once it becomes fragrant (within a minute) add the onions, celery, bell peppers, bay leaves and thyme (throw in the whole stalks). Season well with kosher salt, coarse black pepper, Essence, and 1 tablespoon of light brown sugar. Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.</span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";"></span><br /></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">Add the rice, stirring to coat with the cooking liquid. Add the tomatoes and the ham. Pour in the chicken stock. Add back all of the cooked bacon, andouille and chicken. Stir, bring up to a boil, reduce to low, cover and cook until the rice is tender and the liquid almost gone, about 25 minutes. Check about halfway through to make sure the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the oysters, cover and cook 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook another 2 minutes until the shrimp are pink and the oysters firm. Discard the bay leaves and thyme stalks. </span></div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 26.3px;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";"></span><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
</div>
<div style="color: #454545; font-family: ".SF UI Display"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay";">Taste to check the seasoning. I added more salt and pepper, Slap Ya Mama seasoning and some (quite a bit) Tabasco. We like ours spicy but not painful. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: ".SFUIDisplay"; font-size: 22.05pt;"><br /></span></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-65897321073215087912017-04-28T17:21:00.000-04:002017-04-28T17:21:49.985-04:00"Fish Fingers and Custard" - Happy Heinz and Honey Beef Chuck RibletsStill on about Alton Brown ... I told you he was a geek. So I was looking through his new cookbook and saw this recipe:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY07p8Dj7U_9kNbraQA4L-xFgWAoNCZcBDRxuVPFU6O86x3Oc9f6xgCNQhyphenhyphen2dEkYIEoCoTGWS2Ftrcwtce-Fd3Z2WOrEo_0M7DQtpAckm00Jn_bM6BolDC7VsJarPE6RUgSC_DZ98D410/s1600/IMG_0856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY07p8Dj7U_9kNbraQA4L-xFgWAoNCZcBDRxuVPFU6O86x3Oc9f6xgCNQhyphenhyphen2dEkYIEoCoTGWS2Ftrcwtce-Fd3Z2WOrEo_0M7DQtpAckm00Jn_bM6BolDC7VsJarPE6RUgSC_DZ98D410/s320/IMG_0856.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In my opinion as a Whovian and super-annuated geek myself, you can't get much geekier than that. I suppose I'll have to try it one of these days.<br />
<br />
Lately, there are a lot of things going on in my life, or so it seems, involving family. Specifically, family I never knew I had. In the very recent past, I have been contacted by two entirely separate branches of family, seeking information I might have about mutual relatives. Having taken the same path some years back, culminating in discovery of my birth father's family, I have been more than happy to help where I can. Through one of these recent inquiries, I was also reconnected with family, this time on my birth mother's maternal branch, after 40 or more years. I realize I have a bit more to say on the subject of family, long lost and otherwise, but that post will have to be a couple of days down the road. At this moment, I am in the throes of a nasty fibro flare, and after the last 3 days getting up too early to run to too many places to take care of too many things, all I can think of is sending this post off for publishing and taking a nap.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>Happy Heinz and Honey Beef Chuck Riblets</u><br />
<br />
2 pkg. beef chuck riblets, about 1 3/4 lb. each package (Walmart carries these. Look for a sale, and you will really have good cheap eats)<br />
<br />
1 bottle Heinz ketchup<br />
<br />
1/4 cup Heinz 57 sauce, plus enough honey to bring level in glass measuring cup to 1/3 cup total<br />
<br />
Any seasoning blend or spice rub that you love on beef. I chose Mild Jamaican Jolt, which I have used on chicken and goat in the past. You can find the recipe on the blog.<br />
<br />
This is the method of cooking Emeril used for his Pork Candy Ribs. <br />
<br />
Each package has 2 half-racks of the riblets. Remove them from the packaging and pat dry with paper towels. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil, large enough to wrap each half rack snugly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbmE8Fs_-C4hXYk8tV3fYkU4-FNBF5qX8sCIGhJjbUMa3VwnmZHaPoVTl4vNKh0CKZzuJWud5scppqnmouo585_ISEBgFWvsNqD6t4lJvTZDa89wJNl4VxoNz7lNJMEzcdXzvkn6mX-k/s1600/IMG_2693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKbmE8Fs_-C4hXYk8tV3fYkU4-FNBF5qX8sCIGhJjbUMa3VwnmZHaPoVTl4vNKh0CKZzuJWud5scppqnmouo585_ISEBgFWvsNqD6t4lJvTZDa89wJNl4VxoNz7lNJMEzcdXzvkn6mX-k/s320/IMG_2693.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Lay each slab, bone side up, on a piece of foil. Spread a small amount of ketchup across the backs, using a spoon to smooth the ketchup around. Sprinkle some of the spice rub onto the ketchup. Turn the rack over and repeat on the meaty side. Wrap the ribs in the foil as air tight as possible. Repeat with the remaining racks of ribs, then place all of the packets in the refrigerator and allow them to chill overnight.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sZMVmw-6m1GL2-ZYd4uamWOrkqpfZVz8jjwLNX8nGi3r2sHM6UMpKQUm83h26rgTOBakz9C9tHeqotUvoiyv1Q9TS49xgn6geV9XYzr6UFLNLqeD0E3UaBS-AiMUrxWyMIFuJJPupBo/s1600/IMG_2694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9sZMVmw-6m1GL2-ZYd4uamWOrkqpfZVz8jjwLNX8nGi3r2sHM6UMpKQUm83h26rgTOBakz9C9tHeqotUvoiyv1Q9TS49xgn6geV9XYzr6UFLNLqeD0E3UaBS-AiMUrxWyMIFuJJPupBo/s320/IMG_2694.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The next day, preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place the packets in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 3 hours, reversing the baking sheet front to back one time at the halfway point. After 3 hours, open each foil packet but do not remove from the baking sheet. The meat should be very tender.<br />
<br />
Divide the combined Heinz 57 sauce and honey evenly over the ribs. Return the uncovered ribs to the oven for just 10 more minutes to set the sauce. I did not cut into individual ribs, but if you want to do so, let them cool at room temperature about 15 minutes.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7mfGbAg3tM/WP-z5yg84II/AAAAAAAAbeg/pCZ_4WjItDUBXjGj0YOCHA0DrfOrYB93wCPcB/s1600/IMG_2700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7mfGbAg3tM/WP-z5yg84II/AAAAAAAAbeg/pCZ_4WjItDUBXjGj0YOCHA0DrfOrYB93wCPcB/s320/IMG_2700.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-51860843199564594412017-04-24T14:52:00.001-04:002017-04-24T14:58:52.137-04:00The Fifth Season - The Easiest Chicken and Chorizo TamalesLike the late John Hurt's numberless War Doctor, Tax Season is not included on the cardinal list which governs the ebb and flow of human activity. You've got your winter, spring, summer and fall. Even in a seasonless place like Florida, our schools start shortly before the leaves start turning brown in upstate New York, and end just before spring turns into summer in the Garden State. Never mind that all we Florida-dwellers really have is the summer season. Okay, we have winter; it lasts for about 2 weeks at the end of January. Don't hate me because I haven't had to worry about snow since 1991.<br />
<br />
But if you happen to be a spouse or spawn of a Public Accountant, you know good and well that Tax is The Fifth Season, and the normal regimen and routine of family life is thrown completely out of whack. I suppose I should be used to it after 30 something years, but I'm not. Too many strangers traipsing through the front door, too many reasons for the dogs to bark their furry little heads off, too much stress sneaking from the office into the living quarters. Too many notes. <br />
<br />
The Fifth Season totally controls our cruising schedule, which maybe isn't such a bad idea. We recognize how important those cruises are to our well being, which is why we like to sail just before Tax Season starts, and then shortly after it ends. Having survived yet another Fifth Season, we are set to sail on our current favorite, the Carnival Sunshine, early May. Stay tuned. <br />
<br />
Speaking of The Doctor, I've now watched the first 2 episodes of the new series (BBC-speak for season) and I am reasonably assured that my favorite, the Twelfth (not Thirteenth) Doctor is going finish up his term amidst much better storylines and much-improved writing. <br />
<br />
Saturday night we got to see Alton Brown and his new show "Eat Your Science" at the Dr. Phillips Center in downtown Orlando. Wonderful! And in addition to the food science, the jokes, and the music, he turns out to be a dyed-in-the-wool geek. Quite the multi-tasking genius. In fact, he was quite excited that his show was trending first on Twitter, despite there being a new episode of Doctor Who on at the same time. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m8rt2XPM43U/WP5EG8a-_xI/AAAAAAAAbWw/t6obz-rRtjkVRKDUADRtm26zNm7Fu4uqQCPcB/s1600/IMG_0855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m8rt2XPM43U/WP5EG8a-_xI/AAAAAAAAbWw/t6obz-rRtjkVRKDUADRtm26zNm7Fu4uqQCPcB/s320/IMG_0855.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
It is Alton I am thinking about during these very moments as I begin to construct the tamales. Having previously prepared the various elements, this morning I set up my mise en place, organizing everything I needed to stuff, wrap, and tie up the bundles without having to run across the kitchen each time I needed something. Thanks to Alton though, I now have an ear worm, composed of him singing a rather uncomplimentary song he calls "Mise En Place", sung to the tune of "Edelweiss" from the Sound of Music. Thanks, Alton. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nz1r7JLpotM/WP5EGyz584I/AAAAAAAAbWw/dHeCVostHLcpFUVPZ8EgeEiRQLT32fy6wCPcB/s1600/IMG_0854.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nz1r7JLpotM/WP5EGyz584I/AAAAAAAAbWw/dHeCVostHLcpFUVPZ8EgeEiRQLT32fy6wCPcB/s320/IMG_0854.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
And now today's recipe!<br />
Easiest Tamales Ever: Chicken and Chorizo Tamales<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NsJIwxh7JVs/WP4jRTHcNsI/AAAAAAAAbVA/4y-gKYsAM5gnugJ18cjH0d30jFvK52bhgCPcB/s1600/IMG_0848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NsJIwxh7JVs/WP4jRTHcNsI/AAAAAAAAbVA/4y-gKYsAM5gnugJ18cjH0d30jFvK52bhgCPcB/s320/IMG_0848.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The inspiration for this version came from Alice Guadalupe Tapp's second tamale book, to which I applied my technique for short cutting from my Midnight Tamales recipe. It is really important that you read through the entire recipe before starting! I also highly recommend starting this at least one day before you plan to serve them. I found some reheating directions on the net, and added them below.<br />
<br />
I want to be real honest about the authenticity of these tamales - there isn't any, or not much at all. But they are so very tasty, and I saved myself so much time during which I would have had to stand on my feet. I've tasted real tamales at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, and I've even made real tamales from scratch, so I know the difference, but nevertheless I am quite happy with these.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Filling:<br />
oil for cooking<br />
1 white onion, chopped<br />
3 large garlic cloves, chopped<br />
4 links Ole' Mexican brand chorizo sausage (100% pork)<br />
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin<br />
1/4 teaspoon oregano<br />
1/4 teaspoon thyme<br />
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper<br />
1-8 oz. bag Tyson Grilled & Ready Fajita Chicken Breast Strips, larger pieces cut into cubes<br />
1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped<br />
1 - 15 oz. can Old El Paso mild red enchilada sauce<br />
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped<br />
Fresh mozzarella slices, Galbani brand, cut in half<br />
Grated cotija cheese, to taste (optional)<br />
<br />
"Masa":<br />
1-18 oz. tube San Gennaro brand precooked basil and garlic polenta<br />
<br />
24 dried corn husks (you probably won't use all of them, but just in case any rip during soaking)<br />
24 pieces kitchen twine, 12 inches each (you may need to cut more)<br />
No-stick spray<br />
<br />
You need to soak the dried corn husks for a couple of hours at least. Place them in your largest pot and fill the pot 3/4 full of water. Weight down the husks with a heat-proof plate, cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Immediately shut off the heat, leave the pot covered and the husks to soften, preferably overnight.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ilJV0NOYa3E/WP4jRU5RfKI/AAAAAAAAbVA/g_9vWmFSSAMiyFptxF1A11IbsDeY-Jg7QCPcB/s1600/IMG_0840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ilJV0NOYa3E/WP4jRU5RfKI/AAAAAAAAbVA/g_9vWmFSSAMiyFptxF1A11IbsDeY-Jg7QCPcB/s320/IMG_0840.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Prepare the filling - over medium heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chopped onion and garlic, season with kosher salt, a pinch of sugar, and Emeril's Essence, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chorizo and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add the chicken, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, thyme and black pepper, and stir. Add about half a can of the enchilada sauce and half of the chopped cilantro. Simmer for not more than 5 minutes, and remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add as much more of the cilantro as you like.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8UB2-YorM80/WP4jRVaZebI/AAAAAAAAbVA/Gi62xvXkTN8rqrQ99lM2Inv25-e98N4jQCPcB/s1600/IMG_0841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8UB2-YorM80/WP4jRVaZebI/AAAAAAAAbVA/Gi62xvXkTN8rqrQ99lM2Inv25-e98N4jQCPcB/s320/IMG_0841.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Set aside and allow the filling to cool to room temperature, or even better, refrigerate overnight. Before constructing the tamales, remove some but not all of any excess fat, then stir the filling to incorporate the remaining fat (which is mostly from the chorizo and is full of flavor.)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0v9ogmgey2I/WP4jRevgrOI/AAAAAAAAbVA/Rfwrrw_KZog89eVBvbcZUN6xQ2EYEGX2wCPcB/s1600/IMG_0844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0v9ogmgey2I/WP4jRevgrOI/AAAAAAAAbVA/Rfwrrw_KZog89eVBvbcZUN6xQ2EYEGX2wCPcB/s320/IMG_0844.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Remove the polenta from the tube and slice into 1/4 inch slices. An electric knife works really well here.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
Create the tamales: I work two at a time, on a cutting pad which I line with some paper towels to absorb excess moisture from the husks. Lay out two of the corn husks, smooth side up. Hit them with a shot of no-stick spray across the top half of the husk. Place two slices of polenta, shingle fashion, on the husk.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-at1mSMkk1Lk/WP4jRenNyXI/AAAAAAAAbVA/y2e_FP4DtBscTmXdvgNe_nowLCuYq3V9gCPcB/s1600/IMG_0846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-at1mSMkk1Lk/WP4jRenNyXI/AAAAAAAAbVA/y2e_FP4DtBscTmXdvgNe_nowLCuYq3V9gCPcB/s320/IMG_0846.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Next, put two small scoops of the filling on the polenta and flatten slightly. Drizzle a small amount of the remaining enchilada sauce down the middle of the filling. Sprinkle with as much cotija cheese as you like. Place one piece of the mozzarella over the filling pulling apart the cheese with your fingers for more length.<br />
<br />
Wrap and tie each tamale using the twine. Sounds easy, but it isn't - you want to bring the sides up and over the filling and then turn up the bottom. Depending on the size of the corn husk, this may end up feeling like you are practicing a juggling act, but do not despair. Patience and practice succeeds every time. If it turns out the husk isn't wide enough, you can try adding another small husk. One piece of twine may be enough, but feel free to use two pieces to avoid leakage.<br />
<br />
I can't tell you exactly how many tamales you will get, but it is somewhere between 12 and 24. Towards the end, after I had wrapped about 18 tamales, I found myself with 5 more, fairly small husks. For each one I used one slice of polenta, one scoop of filling, and one slice of mozzarella, along with the cotija and enchilada sauce. When I was all done, I had used up all the ingredients except for a few small pieces of mozzarella (lunch!) and about a quarter cup of the enchilada sauce.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W0atTPme0qI/WP4jRTok51I/AAAAAAAAbVA/qFsr38hXDQct4EXisevElHFEI08ktjPAgCPcB/s1600/IMG_0847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W0atTPme0qI/WP4jRTok51I/AAAAAAAAbVA/qFsr38hXDQct4EXisevElHFEI08ktjPAgCPcB/s320/IMG_0847.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Place the finished tamales, open end up, in a steamer. I don't own a fancy steamer, so I placed the tamales in an old fashioned metal colander, tucking the smaller ones in the middle so they wouldn't overcook. I put on inch or so of water in the bottom of my deepest pot and then placed the filled colander in the pot. My colander has handles, so it was suspended from the top of the pot, rather than standing on the colander's legs.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-njT4nB8JZZs/WP4jRaNEkDI/AAAAAAAAbVA/_P2xxyOdWxgEfEW4ka88Dzr4bSj1v5E1gCPcB/s1600/IMG_0849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-njT4nB8JZZs/WP4jRaNEkDI/AAAAAAAAbVA/_P2xxyOdWxgEfEW4ka88Dzr4bSj1v5E1gCPcB/s320/IMG_0849.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Spoon some of the remaining enchilada sauce over the top of each tamale. Place the pot on the stove, and cover with aluminum foil. Bring the water to a boil; put the lid on top of the foil, lower the heat to simmer, and steam the tamales for 50 to 55 minutes. The interior temperature should be around 165 degrees.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pj_4j7RWkg8/WP43rX3FCyI/AAAAAAAAbWI/gKpH0kFczm8ufTZUaDWhD2tgxJBEQkfeQCPcB/s1600/IMG_0850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pj_4j7RWkg8/WP43rX3FCyI/AAAAAAAAbWI/gKpH0kFczm8ufTZUaDWhD2tgxJBEQkfeQCPcB/s320/IMG_0850.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Serve with my Guacamole-Corn Salsa:<br />
<br />
1/2 cup Herdez brand Guacamole Salsa (medium heat)<br />
1 ripe Hass avocado, halved, cut into squares and then scooped from the shell with a spoon<br />
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro<br />
1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped<br />
1/2-3/4 cup dairy sour cream<br />
cumin, to taste<br />
granulated garlic, to taste<br />
1 cup frozen corn kernels<br />
<br />
Combine the guacamole salsa and avocado in a bowl. Stir to mix well, then with a potato masher, mash the avocado to your preferred texture (or leave it chunky). Stir in the remaining ingredients, excluding the corn.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNc4WTPITg1oZG_u9g5pCr_NweikpAe3KYbfClPu8DryX0pjbM2s05XuBEsrPD8GmR0pRoFsw1kc6j7q0vwN8QUtui69lY0UPBEH0N67evGqVTIFiquA6GePRYqJZIYRt4mrT1R5JJFAEP/s1600/IMG_0842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNc4WTPITg1oZG_u9g5pCr_NweikpAe3KYbfClPu8DryX0pjbM2s05XuBEsrPD8GmR0pRoFsw1kc6j7q0vwN8QUtui69lY0UPBEH0N67evGqVTIFiquA6GePRYqJZIYRt4mrT1R5JJFAEP/s320/IMG_0842.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Put the corn in a rimmed baking dish, and spray with some butter no-stick spray. Season with freshly ground salt, pepper, and 2 pinches of sugar. Place the pan under the broiler to char the corn. Watch it carefully, and stir the corn around to promote even charring. Not all of the kernels will char, so be careful to pull the pan before the corn dries out. Cool completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator, and then add the corn to the avocado mixture. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to mellow.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--5h7ovFiNJQ/WP4jRcm-MNI/AAAAAAAAbVA/CDiBE_a7PekVmbCily_Q2reKM8jBmyVAQCPcB/s1600/IMG_0843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--5h7ovFiNJQ/WP4jRcm-MNI/AAAAAAAAbVA/CDiBE_a7PekVmbCily_Q2reKM8jBmyVAQCPcB/s320/IMG_0843.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The Herdez salsa is rather spicy, and even with the avocado, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup sour cream added, it was still a bit too spicy for me. I added about 2 more tablespoons of sour cream, which worked rather well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p1BdrNhW8Hk/WP43rTCVqDI/AAAAAAAAbWI/3TMqonCvJd0H7FjZsQaPmu02aX8dn5yvACPcB/s1600/IMG_0851.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p1BdrNhW8Hk/WP43rTCVqDI/AAAAAAAAbWI/3TMqonCvJd0H7FjZsQaPmu02aX8dn5yvACPcB/s320/IMG_0851.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Reheating:<br />
<br />
Fill a pot with a couple inches of water and set the steamer insert in it. Bring the water to a boil. Stand the tamales in the steamer rack, open end up. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.<br />
<br />
Steam refrigerated tamales for 10 to 15 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.<br />
<br />
Steam frozen tamales 15 to 20 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 165 F.<br />
<br />
You can reheat tamales in your microwave, but it produces a drier texture. Cover the tamale with a damp paper towel and microwave it on high for 15 to 20 seconds. Turn the tamale over, replace the paper towel with a new damp one, and microwave for another 15 to 20 seconds. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-69046540764962677522017-04-22T06:56:00.002-04:002017-04-22T06:56:56.027-04:00Just Another DaySomedays it feels like getting up and out of bed is a highly overrated activity. Yesterday was one of those days, and darn it, so is today. Without going into painful detail, for days such as these, I have come to rely on a small cornucopia of medications on my night table, within reach so that I can take what I need.<br />
<br />
Yes, it is true that I have to take a caffeine tablet to wake up sufficiently to walk to the Keurig and to make my first cup of coffee. Yesterday it was all about trying to sort laundry and pick up after the dogs without screaming. Even the medications were not really helping, and I ended up doing what can only be described as a half-assed job. My feelings on the matter are that a half-ass is better than no-ass-at-all.<br />
<br />
Today is barely better, despite reaping the benefits of last night's tai chi class. I was supposed to go out to see one of my nieces today, and unfortunately that isn't going to happen. If I had a nickel for every time I had to turn down or back out of a social event, well ... I would have a lot of nickels. Throw in the number of times I've had to leave early and there you have it. Lots of nickels. I don't get nickels. They are too big, too heavy, and too clumsy to carry around in a wallet. I always try to use them up at fast-food drive-throughs, but when I least suspect it, they find their way back into my wallet. My purse is heavy enough as is. Who wants to shlep around a handful of nickels? Not me, my friends, not me.<br />
<br />
So here I am, limping through the world of unfolded laundry and messy floors and all the usual household stuff I usually don't mind attending to (at least since I retired), knowing full well and good that my nerve endings will begin punishing me even before my tasks are done.<br />
<br />
There will be no cooking today, as my fridge is full. There will be no recipes today, as I have neither the time nor fortitude to type one up, and besides, it occurred to me that most of you would not appreciate my recipe for Chicken Paw Fricassee.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-moNUwkEA_FA/WPpRUuDW3RI/AAAAAAAAbOo/BrOfYDN6nw4cTmj116qTqyGqNCR-P7AHwCPcB/s1600/IMG_0835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-moNUwkEA_FA/WPpRUuDW3RI/AAAAAAAAbOo/BrOfYDN6nw4cTmj116qTqyGqNCR-P7AHwCPcB/s320/IMG_0835.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-85298324638019548102017-04-19T11:46:00.000-04:002017-04-20T11:46:03.218-04:00Back in the Saddle - Prosciutto-Wrapped AsparagusI don't know if I mentioned this before, but I am in the process of copying all of the recipes from this blog to an offline location. It's been a revelation to not only discover dishes I had completely forgotten about, despite having developed them myself, but to read what I wrote about my struggles with fibromyalgia. Sometimes I surprise myself; I hadn't remembered being that open, and angry, and sometimes even funny. I wrote like a madwoman because it helped to put it all down in black-and-white. I cooked like a madwoman as well, because it also helped, until the time came I did not have the strength to do either on a regular basis.<br />
<br />
So, if anyone tells you that fibromyalgia is not a progressive disease, you have my permission to <strike>spit in their face</strike> <strike>tell them to go to hell</strike> correct them firmly but politely.<br />
<br />
I still cook, less frequently, and I still type, a lot less frequently. The latter is a real blog-buster, as you may imagine. I do scribble down notes about the recipes I am working on, and I even take pictures, but then find I am too tired and too restless to sit down and type them out. And I really think I needed time to recover a bit from the election. For a while, all of my spare energy went to sharing anti-Trump posts on Facebook. I am (mostly) past that now, although I admit to planning a list of different foods to snack on during the impeachment proceedings. My guilty pleasure.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So I would like to try to get back in the saddle that is this blog, and share some more of my culinary <strike>travesties</strike> travels. Just not as frequently, nor energetically, and certainly not as dramatically. Unless our current administration succeeds in provoking North Korea into a nuclear war, in which case all bets are off. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Before we get to that, I want to share some photos from the April 3rd cattle drive. You know the one that started a block from my front door. Only in Kissimmee:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5ROHSlU7q4/WPe3T-UCZVI/AAAAAAAAbIE/yz8Z7luMHOkvJO8-ki6Gtrsew2OsHOlmACPcB/s1600/IMG_2618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5ROHSlU7q4/WPe3T-UCZVI/AAAAAAAAbIE/yz8Z7luMHOkvJO8-ki6Gtrsew2OsHOlmACPcB/s320/IMG_2618.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is a cow. Or a steer, this one has horns. Nothing unusual about cows in Florida.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TcKRGxgDEy8/WPe3TyP0eOI/AAAAAAAAbIE/u6YxRHUtcLM-cTy3aims80KbYDsYvi3WgCPcB/s1600/IMG_2617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TcKRGxgDEy8/WPe3TyP0eOI/AAAAAAAAbIE/u6YxRHUtcLM-cTy3aims80KbYDsYvi3WgCPcB/s320/IMG_2617.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is a multiplicity of cattle, and is that the Historic Old Osceola County Courthouse I see in the background?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y14wDRw4WBc/WPe3T7TOyaI/AAAAAAAAbIE/Uit9lul5JpkZAZ4KDlTbatUDyecvq_x3gCPcB/s1600/IMG_2601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y14wDRw4WBc/WPe3T7TOyaI/AAAAAAAAbIE/Uit9lul5JpkZAZ4KDlTbatUDyecvq_x3gCPcB/s320/IMG_2601.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Clydesdales chose a more modern backdrop.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYnn8DClEq4/WPe3Tw3ui7I/AAAAAAAAbIE/fxFPjjk42KggCpIIyLFbc-b18WihDO_dQCPcB/s1600/IMG_2597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYnn8DClEq4/WPe3Tw3ui7I/AAAAAAAAbIE/fxFPjjk42KggCpIIyLFbc-b18WihDO_dQCPcB/s320/IMG_2597.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Round 'em up, move 'em out ...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
1 pound asparagus, woody ends cut off</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
1 pkg. thinly sliced prosciutto, (about 8 slices), cut in half vertically</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
1/2 cup mayonnaise</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
1/2 cup grated Parmesan </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Fresh chives, chopped</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Finely ground pepper</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Olive oil for brushing </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OqlGFbA0rsU/WPeRQ-IAVmI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/VJq3si8_mQ0z0VCqIZtW-Spak_AzTy73QCPcB/s1600/IMG_2630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OqlGFbA0rsU/WPeRQ-IAVmI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/VJq3si8_mQ0z0VCqIZtW-Spak_AzTy73QCPcB/s320/IMG_2630.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Combine the mayonnaise, Parmesan, and chives. Place a piece of prosciutto on a flat surface, and top with 3 or 4 asparagus stalks. Cover the middle of the stalks with some of the mayonnaise mixture and use the back of a spoon to spread it just to where the prosciutto will cover it when rolled.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OenCGoJhr6E/WPeRQ5pDGbI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/jswFPIgIG78w-Dn-BQQvZDiiMYwiYj6NgCPcB/s1600/IMG_2636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OenCGoJhr6E/WPeRQ5pDGbI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/jswFPIgIG78w-Dn-BQQvZDiiMYwiYj6NgCPcB/s320/IMG_2636.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Roll up each asparagus bundle and place seam side down on a rimmed baking pan. Brush each bundle, especially the exposed asparagus very lightly with olive oil, and season with pepper. I also used a very small amount of a new spicy seasoning blend (mango habanero) but it is not necessary to this recipe.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0woMn6RpmPw/WPeRQ1SUgCI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/FVCe2ewFxR0LeB2jsJn6AQQHxkYZJ823QCPcB/s1600/IMG_2635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0woMn6RpmPw/WPeRQ1SUgCI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/FVCe2ewFxR0LeB2jsJn6AQQHxkYZJ823QCPcB/s320/IMG_2635.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Place in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes until the prosciutto is a bit browned and the asparagus is tender. Do not overdo the baking or the asparagus will shrivel unattractively and the prosciutto will be tough. If any of the mayonnaise mixture is visible, it should look a little puffy and lightly browned.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i_a6iQTm0QY/WPeRQ-og6bI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/tF8st6LTOJk6HRq3V1NgdraWO6aB_qODQCPcB/s1600/IMG_2637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-i_a6iQTm0QY/WPeRQ-og6bI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/tF8st6LTOJk6HRq3V1NgdraWO6aB_qODQCPcB/s320/IMG_2637.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FPbRXKJuQIg/WPeRQy29dWI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/9lYMc6yh4tIvDP3FH8KaOEFblVYdHn2ywCPcB/s1600/IMG_2638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FPbRXKJuQIg/WPeRQy29dWI/AAAAAAAAbEQ/9lYMc6yh4tIvDP3FH8KaOEFblVYdHn2ywCPcB/s320/IMG_2638.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
With a metal spatula carefully remove the bundles to a wire rack set over paper towels so that any excess grease can drip off. Serve these as an appetizer or side dish. This recipe makes about 16 bundles.<br />
<br />Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-53984082229291740372017-04-03T11:40:00.001-04:002017-04-03T11:40:49.460-04:00A Trying Day: Emeril's Slow and Low Pork Candy Ribs<span style="font-family: inherit;">How about I spend the day not writing about my disappointment in the current White House occupant and his administration? I can already sense the sigh of relief emanating from certain parts of my cyber universe. Besides, the Lidocaine patches are actually working today, so I'm going to take full advantage of that tiny little miracle and go to work on a recipe from Emeril called Slow and Low Pork Candy Ribs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hLRqWKv9g7A/WOFwOqMLgwI/AAAAAAAAaLE/p3Duw_xVbDsnmL4nb52qm5nI_Ac0wNWrACPcB/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hLRqWKv9g7A/WOFwOqMLgwI/AAAAAAAAaLE/p3Duw_xVbDsnmL4nb52qm5nI_Ac0wNWrACPcB/s320/IMG_0692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wish I could spend more time here, cooking and writing, but fibromyalgia blah blah blah. You know the story, I've certainly complained enough about it. I have, however, been spending a good deal of time here behind the blog, having committed myself to a major project which does not involve any heavy lifting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I've been blogging about cooking, some times on a daily basis, since February of 2011, and there are in excess of 500 recipes just sitting out there in Google's cloud, or wherever such things are stored. For a while now - probably since I realized that I was getting an unusually high number of visits from Russia and the Ukraine - I have been worried that the whole bloody electronic system was going to go down and take a good part of my life's work with it. Admittedly, this had something to do with memories of a show I used to watch, called Dark Angel, which was broadcast just after the Turn of the Century Y2K Scare that fortunately never materialized, intruding on the reality of 2016 and forward contemporaneous reports of major computer hacking.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">From Wikipedia:</span><br />
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>In 2009 a genetically enhanced nine-year-old female <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersoldier" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Supersoldier">supersoldier</a> designated as X5-452 (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Locke" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Geneva Locke">Geneva Locke</a>) escapes along with eleven others from a secret U.S. government institution codenamed Manticore where they were born, raised, and trained to be <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldiers" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Soldiers">soldiers</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Assassination">assassins</a>. On June 1, 2009, months after X5-452's escape <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Terrorist">terrorists</a> detonate an <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_electromagnetic_pulse" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Nuclear electromagnetic pulse">electromagnetic pulse</a> weapon in <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_atmosphere" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Earth's atmosphere">the atmosphere</a> over the U.S. which destroys the vast majority of <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Computer">computer</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Communication">communication</a> systems, throwing the country into chaos.</i></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Ten years later in 2019 the now 19-year-old X5-452 (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Alba" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Jessica Alba">Jessica Alba</a>), who calls herself Max Guevara, struggles to search for her Manticore brothers and sisters. In a recovering United States which is now barely more than a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_World" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #5a3696; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Third World">Third World</a> nation she tries to live a relatively normal life and evade capture by Manticore, who wish to recover their lost asset. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Don't tell me life doesn't imitate art, folks. Especially if you've ever owned, in your pre-smartphone days, a cell phone which flipped open like a Star Trek communicator.)</span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-image: none; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 0.5em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, having lots of time on my hands, I've been transferring copies of all my online original recipes to a safe place from which they can be printed and slipped into plastic sleeves alongside the rest of my personal recipe collection. And hey, already 138 down, only 400+ to go.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DlD5H10bvwo/WOFVz5M3HdI/AAAAAAAAaKI/q_etQoz4dk4y8QGsyDfFT-4q12kXvXXwQCPcB/s1600/IMG_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DlD5H10bvwo/WOFVz5M3HdI/AAAAAAAAaKI/q_etQoz4dk4y8QGsyDfFT-4q12kXvXXwQCPcB/s320/IMG_0689.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't do much recipe development these days, relying more on old favorites and bursts of whimsy, neither of which I record for posterity anymore. Cooking without a recipe is enormously liberating. You'd like the recipe for this pasta salad? There is no recipe, just basic guidelines. Pasta, fresh vegetables, canned beans, canned vegetables, salami-type meats, firm cheese, and a vinaigrette-type dressing, homemade or store bought. Salt, pepper, dried herbs. Voila!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tfk10c0_VnA/WOFVz9OfETI/AAAAAAAAaKI/G2Uut4uuT3AvHw0QIqYzPBwYARDWGG5wwCPcB/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tfk10c0_VnA/WOFVz9OfETI/AAAAAAAAaKI/G2Uut4uuT3AvHw0QIqYzPBwYARDWGG5wwCPcB/s320/IMG_0691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cooking from a recipe created by Emeril Lagasse is just plain fun. This particular recipe is from his latest book, Essential Emeril. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately the recipe isn't available online, but based on the wonderful way my kitchen is smelling as those ribs slow-roast in my oven, it is well worth the price of the book. Copyright laws notwithstanding, I can show you a picture of the finished product.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SHc9ILFOmhU/WOJjSWvnZyI/AAAAAAAAaL8/l1jVOv66TJokXLJiEEGOYoeTTBbB7se4QCPcB/s1600/IMG_0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SHc9ILFOmhU/WOJjSWvnZyI/AAAAAAAAaL8/l1jVOv66TJokXLJiEEGOYoeTTBbB7se4QCPcB/s320/IMG_0696.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jy3Co4mLpjg/WOJjSV4kxmI/AAAAAAAAaL8/8y-zjVGzqIARbZIUzh3grCvyqkIgnCAmQCPcB/s1600/IMG_0695.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jy3Co4mLpjg/WOJjSV4kxmI/AAAAAAAAaL8/8y-zjVGzqIARbZIUzh3grCvyqkIgnCAmQCPcB/s320/IMG_0695.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Arrrgh! These were so impossibly tender and delicious that they brought a tear to my eye ... or maybe it was the fibromyalgia. Lidocaine can only do so much, and those damn patches don't stick to skin all that good.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There's a cattle drive through downtown Kissimmee on Monday, April 3, 2017. I'll be taking pictures from my front porch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3786229769331714726.post-86436222825476002392016-11-25T17:52:00.000-05:002016-11-25T17:52:52.331-05:00QuestionsToday is the ominously-named Black Friday, the official beginning of the winter holiday <strike>feeding frenzy</strike> shopping season, and I am spending it as I have spent every other Black Friday of my adult life. In my own home, doors locked, blinds drawn, avoiding anything that even smells like a holiday advertisement. The things I want for Christmas and Hanukkah and even my Boxing Day Birthday, aren't really things at all. I can't purchase them at Walmart or Target, and I know I won't be able to find them even on Amazon.<br />
<br />
While I've been recovering from my mad spoon-spending spree (I blew all my spoons on Thanksgiving cooking) certain questions have been floating to the top of my consciousness, causing me a real amount of anxiety. The only thing standing between me and half of a Xanax is my considerable dislike for dependence on any kind of drug. So while I have a perfectly legal prescription, I prefer to save them for something a bit more catastrophic. Like a Donald Trump inauguration.<br />
<br />
Which brings me back to those floating questions. At the top of the list:<br />
<br />
What happens if Jill Stein successfully demands ballot recounts and it turns out that Hillary really did win the election, both the popular vote and the Electoral College? Does The Donald then have to concede? Will he line up all of his (mostly pathetic) Cabinet choices and bellow out "You've been fired!" Will his whole terrible "transition" dissolve into a mist, to be forgotten like a bad dream?<br />
<ol>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMXeCB15GS8lagmg9NdszDZtmTRTbOlxVxpLcFKOHvLEV5qHlfRosIW6XWSdRpeupNaqfoNwG2xr5sHb66ZwailWvDBIKrnNjr4g6kaP4MT92a-cnN1eDixWPH1ML6yMfSoJ3Wrz8L1aN/s1600/IMG_0603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMXeCB15GS8lagmg9NdszDZtmTRTbOlxVxpLcFKOHvLEV5qHlfRosIW6XWSdRpeupNaqfoNwG2xr5sHb66ZwailWvDBIKrnNjr4g6kaP4MT92a-cnN1eDixWPH1ML6yMfSoJ3Wrz8L1aN/s320/IMG_0603.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Will Peter Capaldi continue to portray The Doctor after the upcoming season? Will he be getting better scripts and a companion who hasn't totally confused the Whoniverse with 4 different major storylines, none of which really fit together?<br />
<div>
<br />
Could it be that this is the last Thanksgiving for which I will be able to do all the traditional cooking? (Damn fibromyalgia. There was a time I could prepare all the food for 20+ people, work full time while commuting 2 hours each way, and never break a sweat. I don't mind (well, not much) getting older but I do mind getting physically feeble.)<br />
<ol>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXChHNN6OMfyyA1wscu2N8WJW0UXXnUxuavh3Z4u_62VZ2x7O4_YkTx6AXW4ejkDlYHDH-EhwBOobFrFqzm5otk68GXpK5RrGjhi2y4T7DyjkMVYFpsv_7uRZe4emumASyHghnXMxKYTLD/s1600/IMG_0628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXChHNN6OMfyyA1wscu2N8WJW0UXXnUxuavh3Z4u_62VZ2x7O4_YkTx6AXW4ejkDlYHDH-EhwBOobFrFqzm5otk68GXpK5RrGjhi2y4T7DyjkMVYFpsv_7uRZe4emumASyHghnXMxKYTLD/s320/IMG_0628.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tiny Turkeys</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOT_g_qTNyr76Be0r5vvUQqLkdwhBCpRpEk20jkKY0WYBRfLYmh1VfUJjBmZDfSC-HEpPFqqpq-KoasC9ZbtldWLLP78vgBs9AyXTbxEYw36vZ7LiyZCrs3UE-fYxOkcCrtX-s_MhDSWq/s1600/IMG_2127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiOT_g_qTNyr76Be0r5vvUQqLkdwhBCpRpEk20jkKY0WYBRfLYmh1VfUJjBmZDfSC-HEpPFqqpq-KoasC9ZbtldWLLP78vgBs9AyXTbxEYw36vZ7LiyZCrs3UE-fYxOkcCrtX-s_MhDSWq/s320/IMG_2127.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Tiny Tomatoes</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4L0j3-97K1VUew-1pSTv_XsPZyU1Q5SwqFYzoZeDJtnf0CvGscjzkA2JF6bRgqWRVM_H5gBUYDPJdb0N8htFTGc7Eo_FKoM6jaou6YfFTCoW_LnOJ5HqMicnP5TD4QFFUKyTwSrFIz4e/s1600/IMG_2128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV4L0j3-97K1VUew-1pSTv_XsPZyU1Q5SwqFYzoZeDJtnf0CvGscjzkA2JF6bRgqWRVM_H5gBUYDPJdb0N8htFTGc7Eo_FKoM6jaou6YfFTCoW_LnOJ5HqMicnP5TD4QFFUKyTwSrFIz4e/s320/IMG_2128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And The Stuffing</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Yes, you are correct, I have entirely too much time on my hands.<br />
<br />
Something I did for me, just recently but many months in the making: I rather neatly replaced two of my main doctors. Both my primary care physician and my psychiatrist lost their damn minds, somehow triggered by my disability claim. Not only did they not help me, they damn near sabotaged me.<br />
<br />
I guess that means it was my turn to holler "You're fired!"<br />
<br />
I'm still knitting lace patterns into squares. It is very restful except when it's not. Frogging back rows of lace is a royal pain in the psyche, but the good news is that each square is no more that 41 stitches across.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5jB0WVPf1Gw-68YiNzZz0aynryrV0TwZrgpa-mzo2CGisx840sppv1LKtzolGNUnFEVkezBTmuAm3CaSHEt7wRYvXFgwGTzn4hamww0yCSynjwG7P8FXoak7wntot5_XrP9Y9_R_dsKD/s1600/IMG_DDD3E70016D5-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5jB0WVPf1Gw-68YiNzZz0aynryrV0TwZrgpa-mzo2CGisx840sppv1LKtzolGNUnFEVkezBTmuAm3CaSHEt7wRYvXFgwGTzn4hamww0yCSynjwG7P8FXoak7wntot5_XrP9Y9_R_dsKD/s320/IMG_DDD3E70016D5-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The name of this pattern is "Panicles" but it should be called "Life In The Fast Lane." Wild knitting ride, cables AND lace together!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
Brkexpathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11879761888091182536noreply@blogger.com0