Taste Like Chicken, WE 8/17-18

Good Morning Chicks,

Just getting us started, going to go back and read up on your posts.  Be back shortly!

Thanks for the start, Liz. Working in the recliner seems like a more comfortable option to me, but then I guess it depends upon what chair you're using in the dining room. So sorry to hear the sciatica flared up. Good that it will be easier to track time going forward. How sweet of Zoe to stay home to take care of Mama. Is your avatar her pre- or post-surgery? I know you enjoy walking the pups, but it may be too much. Do you have a place where they can go out on their own for potty trips and a little exercise? SM will be in her new place in less than a week, so maybe that will decrease the drama. Probably good for all that your aunt was so insistent. Going forward, the situation should be better, even though it won't change some of the behaviors such as her falling prey to scammers. I don't know why my knees have been a problem for the past few days. Yesterday the right one had the support but today it's the left one. It's good that the physiatrist removed some fluid and your knee isn't giving you the same level of pain, given everything else that's going on with your body right now. I made your tomato, cucumber, onion, and garlic salad this morning and it's sitting in the fridge marinating. Looked and smelled good with fresh picked basil and spicy oregano.

Linda, it's good that you're able to spread out the antihistamine a bit. Based on what you've read, how much longer it might be before you won't need it? YAY for Micki's output. It's the little things. That anesthesia can relly mess them up.You've done well getting the furniture inaccessible. Did you get anything else at Sprouts other than your Nordic? How were the enchiladas? I'm so glad I grow my own basil.

Did you and Iggy go to the market this morning, Chele? Any other running around? I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy done at the same time in 2018. They called it a "combo", so I guess they must do them that way frequently. Other than a little bit of a scratchy throat, it was nice to get both over with and not have 2 separate appointments, since I was already sedated. I also made your cucumber dill salad, so I'm well veggied for the week. I checked on the garden this morning and have 2 Armenian and 1 bulb cucumbers on vines. If I don't get another Armenian for the fair, I'm trying to find out if I can exhibit more than one variety. How are your peppers and tomatoes doing?

Becky, yout body battery has definitely been running low for the past few days. Do you have 100% when you wake up in the morning? I wonder if it's allergy related. I have been low for me but nowhere near as low as you have been and I think that's been my issue. DMIL never did WW online. She was barely computer literate. It's a shame online people get treated differently. DMIL died in 2013, and I don't think she went for WI the last 2 or 3 years of her life.

How's your weather, Kathy? More rain? What's on your agenda for the weekend? They have a hot air balloon festival in Gatlinburg today, so I hope we'll see a couple of them floating our way, given that we are so close as the crow (or the hot air balloon) flies.

I saw something on the lake a little while ago that I have never seen-- a group of 17--yes, SEVENTEEN--jet skis all. Talk about noisy! I won't be going out on the lake even after Dale gets home. I placed our order online and Dale was picking it up. So, I'll have salmon tacos for dinner. He usually gets peanut-crusted catfish but it wasn't on the menu (hopefully he'll ask why), so he ended up with North Carolina catfish, whatever that is. The catfish he usually gets is always available, so I wonder why it wasn't available today. I'll have my tacos with one (or both) of the salads I made. Arya has finally settled down, probably because I finally sat down. I had a bunch of little things I needed to get done this morning and she was none too happy with me. As a result, she wanted to go out multiple times and kept interrupting me. When Dale gets home, he can deal with her. He's stopping at the Goodwill close to where he grew up, so no telling what new wardrobe items he will find.

Liz, thanks for the start. Cute picture of Zoe! There is something about those band experiences that just stays with you. Publix has really expanded their prepared meals lately. They've had sushi, Chinese, and lunch salads for awhile, so it's nice to have the other options too. I don't think we're going for a theme for DM's BD, but to tell you the truth we haven't really had time to discuss it. The wife of one of DBIL's brothers passed away this week and DS and DBIL are in MI this weekend for the funeral. She had been ill for awhile, so I guess it wasn't totally unexpected, but still very sad.

I worked from my dining room table my last few years and I could see where that wouldn't be as comfortable as your recliner. I needed the bigger monitor though since working on just the laptop caused too much eye strain. I'm glad the physiatrist was able to help some with the knee pain. I'm so glad you're able to do some telecommuting. That should help make things a little easier. Hope you can rest up this weekend.


Waving to Becky and Chele. Enjoy your Saturday!

Becky, I hadn't heard about the new kids' app. I agree that children don't need to be on diets. Parents just need to feed them decent food instead of junk. But that can be said for a lot of adults on WW as well. Your body battery sounds pretty good for today. Do you have more energy than you had yesterday? I started at 95 this morning (I'm usually 93-100) and am down to 41 right now. 102 and humid is awful! Sounds like August in Central TX. The salmon tacos were really good. They have a signature sauce that is like a pico de gallo but has a kick to it. It's really good with the salmon. I'll bet that new calf is adorable! I hope he does well.

LOL on band experiences staying with you, Kathy. Very true! That was one of the few parts of HS I enjoyed. My condolences on DBIL's SIL passing. It's never good, even when it's expected. There will be plenty of time to get things set for the big event. The meals at Publix probably have lots of oil in them, even if they are technically vegan. The quesadillas with black beans and rice sound good. I haven't had a quesadilla since I gave up dairy because cheese is one of the primary ingredients. We haven't seen any balloons yet. I think I will be out on the kayak in the morning and maybe I'll see some then. That would be really cool. Did you get more rain?

Linda, we were watching the AZ feed of the Giants and Diamondbacks game and they had a commercial for an Italian restaurant called Oregano's. It looked really good. Is it as good as it looks?

When Dale picked up the food, he asked the manager about the peanut crusted catfish no longer being on the menu and was told that they have discontinued it because of the number of people with peanut allergies. It's a shame they couldn't find a way to offer it but still make it safe for prepping other dishes. It was one of their original specialty dishes and the chain has been in business since 1992. So Dale is going to have to figure out what else on the menu he wants. He got another catfish dish today and said it was ok, but not as good. He did quite well on his shopping spree. He got me several pair of pants with zippers on the legs that I wear when I walk down to the lake for a swim. He also got me several sleeveless t's that I can wear in the gym. Even with AC and fans going, it can be a little warm in there. Problem is that Goodwill is quite liberal with the fabric softener, so they stink. I have washed them twice and hung them outside and will wash and hang them out again in the morning.  I got some biking shorts there a few years ago and it took months to lose that fabric softener stench.

Good Sunday, All. My fingers typed Sinday at first. I wonder what my subconscious was thinking.

Liz, I am happy you can telecommute but so sorry the pain is so much. I am sure it is nice having Nurse Zoe to keep you company even when it is walk time. Be careful walking the dogs and going up and down the stairs. When I was forced to work from home die to the office closing, I was fortunate we had a desk from the old Convention center when they remodeled. Iggy took me to get a comfortable office chair to go with it.Your recliner seems like a good option with all the achy breaky parts you have and sciatica to boot. One of my old bosses used to say “ Whatever doesn’t kill you, hurts like hell.”  I hope the hip surgery can be done soon. Like Karen said, it’s probably for the best that SM will be in an apartment at her age. I hope that the allergies, at least, improve soon. Iggy had an endoscopy and colonoscopy done at the same time about 5 years ago, bit that was a different doctor. 

Kathy, I am sorry to hear about the death in your family. My condolences. It is never easy. Your Publix is deluxe. Our Kroger has a small area where you can order a sandwich or salad with a couple of tables. The Kroger on the other side of the ‘burb has a Starbucks. Meijer just put in a coffee shop. It is a locally owned coffee shop and I haven’t tried it yet. Walmart has a limited service Mc Donald’s. I guess that is the trend. 

Becky, 8 is a little early for dieting. A switch to healthier eating and more exercise by the entire family sounds like a better plan. Congratulations on the new bull calf. It got more humid and in the 90s again bit not hot like Texas or Arizona.

Linda, as hot as it is in Arizona, I am sure Micki can’t wait to lose the T-shirt. Glad to hear he is back to normal functions. Our area is a lot hotter than it used to be. Summer lasts longer. Spring and autumn seem to last a couple of weeks only. Thanks for the heads up on the basil. Like Karen, we grow our own basil in the summer. In the winter I use dried.

Karen, how are the knees today? Did you get out on the lake before the hordes of jet skis? They ought to outlaw those things. The salmon tacos sound delightful. Too bad Dale’s favorite is discontinued. I never heard of peanut allergies until I met someone in college who is allergic. It seems to be more common now. Arya sounds just like Teddy used to be. He never cared to let us do anything around the house without him. The salads sound good. Iggy is making tabbouleh today. The cherry tomatoes are doing well. We just picked two Brandywine tomatoes but the larger tomatoes aren’t going to produce much. The leaves are already dying back even though we kept the plants watered. The peppers were really hurt by the hail in May. We have one Cubanelle ready to pick and 2 more in the way. The other peppers get flowers but nothing forms. The recently planted green beans are flowering.

Allergies went crazy this weekend. I feel like I have a cold but it’s not. Even Iggy has some congestion and he hardly ever is affected by pollen. We only went to one farmer’s market yesterday and found the usual. Iggy did yard work yesterday and I watched from inside. This morning I feel a tad more energetic, TG.

Linda, the pizza on the Oregano's commercial did look good. They also had a dessert that looked like a big, thick chocolate chip cookie with 3 or 4 scoops of ice cream surrounding it. That looked even better than the pizza. I hope your floor repair will remain viable for quite a while. Yes, getting up and down off the floor can be a challenge. I realize that every time I do yoga. Will Micki have to wear his shirt at all after the stitches come out? I don't blame him for being uncomfortable, given that his black fur already absorbs the heat as it is. Climate change? What climate change? Just ask the White House! Where I grew up close to Pittsburgh, it was unusual not to have several heavy snows during the winter, starting around Thanksgiving and going through Easter. Now they are lucky to have one. We have had one really cold snap here in winter 2017, but things have been otherwise mild in the going on 4 years we've lived here. We pay for that with extra bugs in the summer.

Sorry the allergies continue to plague you, Chele. The Rootology still seems to be doing a decent job controlling the moderate weed and mold counts we are having right now. Good that you were able to get what you needed from the farmers in only one stop. Dale went to the local farmers market a couple of weeks ago and said there were only about 3 farmers there and only one of them had any variety of produce. The rest of it was crafts and other stuff. Pickings are a bit slim from the CSA this week as well, so I don't think I'll make an hour round trip for just tomatoes, even if they are very good tomatoes (which they are). Still hoping that our cherry tomatoes will start to produce, but have just about given up on the others. The fall stuff looks good. What will you do with your Cubanelles? The beans should do fine as long as you don't get an early frost. I did get out on the lake before 8 and just had a couple of fishing boats to contend with. No jet skis.

Liz, what days do you work this coming week? I'm happy you get to work from home some, but that may make the commute seem even worse when you have to do it. Hope I'm wrong about that. I wonder if elimination of the bone spur will be similar to what they did with shaving down what amounted to bone spurs on the bottom of my feet that necessitated my surgeries. Did you get your shopping done? I can barely see Zoe's cute little stubby tail in your avatar. I'm glad she's doing well and that Wally is keeping the neighborhood safe.

I saw a little of the Weather Channel this morning, Kathy, and I think you may be getting some rain today and there appears to be a system along the Gulf coast that is affecting the FL Panhandle, DB/DSIL and on into NO. I guess that could be coming your way as well. They also said something about FL being ahead on rainfall this summer. With that being the case, I kow you don't miss commuting in inclement weather. We might get rain on Wednesday, but not much chance until then. I guess I'll be doing lots of watering this week.

Becky, I'm feeling a lot less pain since I started wearing the itBandz on a regular basis. It's especially good for going up the stairs. I used to have to do the single leg up technique and don't have to do that now as long as I have it on. I found them on Amazon if you want to give it a look to see if it might help with your problem. How's your body battery doing today? I'm supposedly at 51 but I feel kind of worn out so I'm surprised it's not lower. How's the baby bull doing? Will you keep him or will he go to auction when he's old enough?

I found a peanut crusted catfish recipe online, so hopefully I can make it as good as the restaurant does. I will bake it, of course, instead of deep frying. They do some kind of flash fry technique, so it's not greasy. It's a laundry day here. With the new to us clothes that Dale bought yesterday, I have 2 full loads of workout clothes plus our everyday stuff needing washed. I also had to cook beef for Arya's breakfasts. It's hot and Dale is working at his "barn". He came up about an hour ago and was a ball of sweat. Heat index is 89 and going up. I know it doesn't compare to the heat several of you are dealing with, but we have had something like 11 straight days of 90+ which is pretty warm for this part of the country.