dfish

Enjoy your dinner!

Today I was able to walk a mile without stopping. That is a major improvement. Before I had to stop often! I am excited because that means I will probably do just fine on our Jordan Pond hike next month. Time to celebrate! @Cruising-along You can easily leave out the cilantro. Only one of the recipes called for it. The others use parsley. Heat can be adjusted to the palate or left out. I'm glad I'm having less pain, too! Now to just figure out the right hip. @StLouisCruisers Happy Birthday to Morgan! I hope her day is the best ever. @JazzyV @Quartzsite Cruiser Vanessa and Lenda, no one is happier that the nerve ablation made such a big difference than I am. All I can say is WOW! The other benefit is that I don't wake up in the middle of the night with uncomfortable heaviness and aching in my knees and ankles like I did before. I'm sure that was related. I was using lidocaine patches at night to be able to sleep. I'm going to stop the Aleve and see how I do without that. The fewer pills, the better. @ger_77 Enjoy the time with DS while he is "home". @RMLincoln I hope the pressures stay down. It sounds like things are all going in the right direction. @marshhawk I don't know how you do it. I couldn't. Or wouldn't. @smitty34877 I'm glad you got some respite last night. Bless all of you for taking such good care of Tana and her teenager. The stability you are providing for him must help Tana rest easier. @kazu Please don't overdo things. You don't want to jeopardize your recovery for your cruise coming up. And, selfishly, I am hoping you'll be well enough for a meet and greet in Saint John next month. Off to CELEBRATE!

Good morning, everyone! It is a bit of a nippy start to the day, but that is fine by me. We have abundant sunshine in the forecast with temperatures in the low 80s by mid-day. A great day for working outside or relaxing on the deck with some iced tea. After the gym, of course! I am happy to report that I had very little pain in the left leg yesterday - less than the day before. Some of the pain is from the injection site and may be needle trauma. I've had that before. What I like best is not waking up with horrible back pain. The fire department was out at the house with the family yesterday. I'm sure they were investigating cause. There is still one cat unaccounted for. The grandma has a house about 20 minutes away and there is a son in town. So the homeowner and her daughter will have some options on places they can go. I wonder which ones took the snake. I would eat today's meal in a heartbeat. Sue would probably turn her nose up to the chimichurri sauce, so I just won't tell her what is in it. This one marinates the meat beforehand, which I think is a great first step with flank steak. I would do it overnight. Steak With Chimichurri Sauce This one does not have a marinade for the flank steak. Chimichurri Steak This one doesn't marinate the steak first either. I think I would. But this recipe and the last one have some good tips for grilling the steak and making the chimichurri. Flank Steak with Chimichurri Wishing you all a wonderful day!

The Fire Department is here now. Most likely they are conducting their investigation of the fire to determine the cause. The homeowner's son is at the house as well. The biggest disruption is for the homeowner. She can't stay in the home right now. Where does she go? DS Mary Jo invited Sue and me out to dinner tonight. We gladly accepted. We're going to an upscale Italian restaurant downtown. You can make a meal off the appetizers there and I've heard that many do!

Good morning, everyone! We can still smell the smoke from last night's fire across the street. They were here working till late last night to make sure nothing was smoldering and then to secure the house. Firefighters had to cut several holes in the roof to get to the fire. There were some windows blown out and the front door was destroyed. I am going to yoga this morning and then have a hair appointment at noon. After that, I am free to do what I like. Today's meal would be a great side dish to a lean protein. I would probably shy away due to the potatoes, or at least pick out around them. The starch in the potatoes sends my blood sugar way up. Nicoise Salad It sure looks good, doesn't it? This next one is a vegan one, so no eggs. Vegan Nicoise Salad This one adds in some feta cheese for protein and uses a lot of greens for the bed of the salad. Vegetarian Nicoise Salad That looks so nice and fresh and I bet it would be very refreshing to eat. Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Good evening, everyone! We had some excitement on our street this evening. A house across the street caught fire. The homeowner is in North Dakota on vacation. Her mom was staying here and she was out walking her dog when the fire broke out. They brought out two cats and a snake. There are two more cats that haven't been found. One is a large orange cat and it roams the neighborhood. There are reported sightings of it. The other one is a white cat and typically an indoor cat, but firefighters could not find it in the house. There was extensive damage inside the house according to the firefighters on the scene. My left leg is pain free more than not, so I am considering that a win. I do think it is a nerve problem as I can induce the pain if I move the leg in certain ways. We'll see what they say at the Pain and Spine Clinic. I am happy that the pain is only occasional now. It was every time I stood up before.

Good morning, everyone! It looks rather dreary outside right now. No rain in the forecast, but that doesn't mean we won't get any! It looks like the sky could open up and pour any minute now. Temps will be mid 70s, so I am happy with that. No pain in the left leg this morning, so that is a good thing. The best thing is that I didn't wake up with back pain this morning. I do still have pain in the right hip and that will have to be investigated. That will probably turn out to not be related to the back issues. The right hip only bothers me in the early morning hours and generally can be alleviated by changing positions. @StLouisCruisers Clement and Declan sure are cuties! Congratulations to the family! @aliaschief I hope the meds help clear up the ear for your DGD. Ear infections are the worst. @kochleffel I fear you are correct that the vegetables are what would lose weight. Probably all water loss. I enjoyed seeing the pictures of Red Bay. We were supposed to go there last year but the port was dropped when the town council disbanded and everything in town was a mess. Next time! This first weight loss soup does not contain cabbage, surprisingly. Many "weight loss" soups do have a high cabbage content. Vegetable Weight Loss Soup I have made a cabbage based vegetable soup in the past and eaten off it for days. I don't know that it resulted in any weight loss, but I was also in the height of my Cushing's Syndrome then. Here is one with cabbage. Weight Loss Vegetable Soup I used to make up the broth and then add the vegetables when I heated up enough for a meal. Veggies like green beans and zucchini get kind of soggy if they sit in the soup. The sturdier vegetables like carrots can go in from the start. Of course, I'd leave carrots out entirely. Here is the miracle cabbage soup diet plan. Lose 7-10 pounds in a week, it says. Cabbage Soup for Weight Loss Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Sandi, that is wonderful news about the twin boys. Can't wait to see the pictures. @JazzyV I sure hope they find the source of your problems. Enough already! @marshhawk I wish the news were better and that I could wave my magic wand and make it all go away. Hugs to you and Chuck. Whenever you need one, I'm sending it to you. And I did just take it easy today. I did go see our friend Ellamary, but I can relax in her rocker as easily as I can in mine. @Vict0riann I'm glad the nurse could shed some light on your report. I think whoever said that surgeons were just the surgeons and you really need to get the information from your oncologist is correct. They will devise a treatment plan that will be the best for you.

Thank you everyone for your concern and comments about my nerve ablation. There is a little pain in the left leg. The lidocaine is wearing off from the injection sites. They did say it could take a few weeks for full effects from the ablation, so I am not going to give up yet. I will say that it is much less than what I had before. The bottom line is that I have lived with it for so long, I can continue to deal with it if I have to. My goal is to hike Jordan Pond Trail when we are in Bar Harbor this summer. I have wanted to hike that trail for ages. Last summer we couldn't even get near the place because it was so over run with people. I totally understand why the people of Bar Harbor want to limit cruise ships. We're hoping since we're later in the season this year that the crowds will be smaller. The time before that when I tried to hike it we had to turn back because of the pain from the stenosis. I am determined I will make it this year if I have to scoot along the trail on my rear end.

Good morning, everyone! Nerve ablation went very well and the pain radiating down my left leg is gone at the moment. Let's hope it stays that way. My instructions from the nurse said to sit on the patio and drink coffee all day. I can manage that. We went out to breakfast after the procedure and stopped by the store to stock up on vegetables. Lots of good brussels sprouts to tide us over. @summer slope Hope it is a great one! @kazu great to see you posting! We missed you and hope things are improving. Well, zucchini bread. I told you zucchini was the new butternut squash. Here is a recipe for one without nuts. Better than ever zucchini bread This one adds in some walnuts for flavor and texture. Zucchini Bread Ok, chocolate lovers, here's a double whammy. Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread And this one is special for @kochleffel. I know Paul has been longing for butternut squash. Butternut Squash Bread Wishing you all a wonderful day!

@marshhawk You are amazing, but we all know we do what we have to do. Take care of yourself. @smitty34877 I'm glad Tana ate today. Keep making rice pudding for her. I remember making ice cream sundaes for breakfast for my mom. @superoma Eva, I am glad to hear you are feeling better. Some of us don't have an excuse for our afternoon naps. @JazzyV I sure hope the doctor can help with the vertigo and the gait problem Happy Birthday to your BFF! @kazu Take it slowly and I hope things progress in the right manner. Probably not as fast as any of us would like, but bit by bit..... Dinner will be fashionably late tomorrow as I have nerve ablation scheduled for 7:30 am. After that Sue and I are going out for breakfast, so I'll post the dinner recipes when I get home.

Good morning, everyone! I am so happy @StLouisCruisers Sandi and Dennis made it home safely. I don't think I can do that kind of drive with no sleep anymore. Sure would like to hear from @kazu Jacqui on how she is doing. Nothing on the agenda today except the gym. We hit the grocery store on the way home from brunch yesterday, so that chore is taken care of. It is supposed to be a nice day with partly sunny skies and a high temperature of 81F. There is a chance of rain early pm, but we shall see. It seems like we just had coleslaw as a recipe, but here it is again. That is ok! Put some burgers on the grill - real ones, not those zucchini imposters - and mix up the coleslaw and you have dinner. Easy Coleslaw This next recipe adds in scallions and celery seed. Both provide great flavor. Creamy Coleslaw Here Chef Dennis offers his favorite coleslaw recipe. Homemade Coleslaw Happy Birthday to @NextOne's DS! Wishing you all a wonderful day.

@StLouisCruisers I am so glad to hear that you made it home safely. Take your time unpacking and getting into your normal routine. That is one of the joys of retirement.

Thanks, Graham!

Brunch was lovely! At first we had the place to ourselves, but eventually two other tables joined us. I guess they had moved all the people that were there before us to the inside because it was raining. The rain had stopped and sun was coming out when we got there. These are some of the flowers in the courtyard where brunch is served. That second bunch would go well with our house. Not to be outdone by @grapau27 Graham, here is brunch. Sue had the smoked brisket frittata and I had the courtyard benedict. Welcome to the daily, Vince! My doctor prescribed a small dose of hydrochlorothiazide for me as that tends to prevent kidney stones from forming. My grandmother had a kidney removed because of having so many kidney stones. They are really vicious. Glad you are enjoying the Zuiderdam. I feel for all the people who were caught in this mess. Hopefully they will all make it onboard either in Bar Harbor or in Sydney. @StLouisCruisers Let us know when you make it home safely. We will be worried until we hear from you.