Richardderus thread three

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun created this portrait of Marie Antoinette and her children in 1790, close to the end of the Queen's life; I can think of few more poignant images in all of art history than this, this, delusion of glory and invincibility created by one of the age's finest technicians...ever tried to work in pastel?!?...whose fate was to be a weird tribute to her love and veneration for the Queen and the ancien regime though lived largely outside France as an itinerant court painter. After she was allowed back into France in 1807, she remained peripatetic though was based in Paris for more than 25 years.

God...look at the gorgeous volumes, the sumptuous textures, and the possibly accidental characterizations of these figures! Lush, lovely, vapid, affectless...what did she know, and did she know that she knew it?

THIS thread is for NEW books read, those published from 2009 to the present.




The Books off the Shelf thread for 2011 is up, though sort of nekkid. My goal there is now 30 books from my shelves read and donated, shared, or generally gotten out of the house.




This thread is for any book I review that was published in 2008 or before, whether I own the book or not, and for whatever reason isn't a book I will get off the shelves.




Books reviewed in post:

1. The New Face of Small-Town America...#289.

Now I'll pretend that I was caught up all along.

>3 _Zoe_: Clever, these Canadiennes. That's the spirit!

I am admittedly art dumb, though I like art. I tend to prefer modern art museums because all those classic art museums contain depictions of only three things:

1) Rich, dead white people
2) Jesus
3) fruit

Despite falling into category #1, the technicals (especially the lighting) in this painting are amazing.

ty, your forgot 4) horses

As a future member of category 1 and a present-day member of category 3, I don't know that I care for the judgment implicit in post #5....

Hello again Richard. I've finally managed to find a thread of yours early enough to follow it all along. Couldn't do that without your personal help :)

Happy new year to everybody.

From your previous thread #246 Kara! Daaahhhling, how faaabulous that you came to my humble soiree!

Richard! Daaahhhling why haven't you visited my humble soiree?! :P

I forgive, you have so much thread maintenance to keep up with :)

you are starred my fine fellow

Richard, I would totally go to a museum full of pictures of you, but that's the exception to the rule.

(And someone explain to me... how could all those rich white people looks so utterly miserable. I mean, they weren't dead yet! Sure there was no indoor plumbing, Nintendo, or Cher, but I'm sure peasants and jesters for fun.)

Ahh horses, true, there were many. Normally, with a dead, rich white guy on them or next to them. (those dead rich white guys were everywhere)

Ricardo... where's my black & white winterscape?!!

grudgingly admits that that's a good picture of Le Brun's portrait of Marie Antoinette .... but i would have leaped in joy if you'd put a b/w wintry pic of central park, or the arctic circle.

Hi Richard!

#10: My theory is that those rich white people are the result of too much inbreeding, and therefore can only look miserable. It's a genetic thing...

Hi Richard, just wanted to let you know I love the artistic touch to your threads lately. I also love your old books-ticker. It's so yummy. Other than that, I just wanted to say hi and how much I appreciate your threads and comments on other threads. It's hard to keep up with your eloquence sometimes (buns and nobiles, is it? :-)), but I think my knowledge of the English language must have improved since I'm following your threads (or at least trying to). It's wonderful what you do for your aunt btw. She's blessed. Greets.

Ah, that is easily my favorite image of Marie Antoinette, although I never knew who was resonsible for painting it. Breathtaking.

You have found a special painting again my dear!
If you look at this painting it is understandable the French Revolution was inevitable.
I like Bente´s suggestion on inbreeding (msg 12) ;-)

On the wiki-link I found some interesting self-portraits of the painter, especially the one with her daughter, so vivid!

Hey Richard! *High-fivin' hand-slappin' thing*

Wow a 3rd thread and I am not at message 50. I will try to follow your threads this year just for all the wonderful banter and to see what books you are reading.

>9 curlysue: Hi Kara! *blithely ignores all other facts in post so as to continue to live in harmony with his illusion of himself as globe-trottin' thread king*

>10 ty1997: I would totally go to a museum full of pictures of you Apparently a) you have never seen my picture or b) you suffer from a dreadful eye disease, but the sentiment goes a long way in your favor.
there was no indoor plumbing, Nintendo, or Cher Bad, good, bad...ultimately, though, being rich, white, and male is no guarantee of happiness. It goes a *really* long way on the comfort scale, but happiness not so much.

Horses rock.

>11 cameling: Winter isn't over, loveycuddles, we'll get there.

>12 Apolline: Hello Bente! I*AM*NOT*INBRED*!!!!

>13 Trifolia: Oh, I *am* glad you're enjoying the art show, Monica! Living in Belgium, you're at the epicenter of some wonderful painting...maybe you can dig up some glories and show us unkulcherd Murrikins what it's all about!

>14 London_StJ: I so agree, Crypto, breathtaking. Vigee Le Brun was *phenomenally* talented.

>15 FAMeulstee: Howdy do Anita! Don't encourage Bente...she needs no extra voices to rattle the ones in her head....

>16 Ape: *embarrassed wince* Oh, er, hello Stephen.

>17 crazy4reading: Remember there are no "should"s around this place! I worry about this...people "should" drop in and out and just make thread-following casual, and do it as a *fun* thing. I'd hate to think it's a compulsory, do-or-die kind of a thing.

Oh, you people are too funny....."dead rich white folks", indeed!

The PAINTING has always been a favorite of mine, too....almost as if she/Marie knew the end was near...trying to put on a "brave" face for the children...and failing miserably

****STARRED***** as usual

;-}

Hi Jude! Hmmm, some stragglers still haven't checked in....

second tread you have been busy!!!!

I'm here, yes straggling in , trying to get caught up, knowing it's hopeless. Love the Marie Antoinette painting.

Richard, I ditto Caro's words in #11. Although, Le Brun's technique is masterful I'd much rather see a more, joyous/uplifting, painting. The winter months are dreadful as is, don't need soon to be dead MA staring at me. :)

#5 et.al. BahHaHaHa

#25 I scrolled all the way down to laugh at #5 only to see you laughed at it in the post before mine!

Hi Richard! Happy New Year!

>22 BBGirl55: This place is a busy place, Bryony, overall...it's amazing how many of the 75ers are chatty and sociable online, when I bet good United States dollars you'd be hard-put to get ten sentences out of 'em all in person!

>23 brenzi: Hi Bonnie! Yeah, it's a beaut. I never get tired of looking at it. I find new things to be fascinated by with great regularity.

>24 Carmenere: ...so dead trees and snow are somehow uplifting...*edges slightly farther away from Lynda*

>25 jmaloney17:, 26 Well, y'all seem to be happy Philistines this evenin'! *smooches*

Richard, thumbs up from me on your excellent review of The Invention of Clouds.

>28 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda! Oh, and I think you'd probably find the book a little pedantic...it covers a lot of territory at a fast clip...but hope you'll check it out because I think the sheer poetry and majesty of the cloud-naming system will fire your aesthetic sense to new heights.

Thanks Richard. I'll see if my local library has this book. I'm ever so glad you are getting a break and that Auntie is in good care in the hospital, which, I'm sure puts your mind at ease.

Opps, I forgot to mention that since I know you enjoy art, you might want to pop over to my thread to read comments about an excellent book I finished yesterday regarding the paintings of Vermeer.

>31 Whisper1: K

My book about the Group of Seven arrived today. It has LOTS of cool color plates... full of suitably wintry landscapes. *blissful smile*

Well, you are one set lady, then. I can think of few group-of-artist bios I'd ever want to read, but this one's on the list for sure!

I did once read a group bio of the Fauves. *snore*

Just checking in . . . ((hugs))

Hi Richard -- I really enjoyed you review of The Invention of Clouds!

#27 overall...it's amazing how many of the 75ers are chatty and sociable online, when I bet good United States dollars you'd be hard-put to get ten sentences out of 'em all in person!

where as you can shut me up, I think its an english thing:P

>24 Carmenere: ...so dead trees and snow are somehow uplifting...*edges slightly farther away from Lynda*

Eeeek, before you sign my papers, Richard, I just want to add that I think MA's expression is more fridgid than the North Pole on the furthest planet from the sun, even a collage of Cleveland in January would be more uplifting.

it's amazing how many of the 75ers are chatty and sociable online, when I bet good United States dollars you'd be hard-put to get ten sentences out of 'em all in person!

...ten sentences? 10? ...SENTENCES!? I'm not even sure I can constrcut one in person.

>35 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Glad to see you!

>36 AMQS: Anne! Lovely of you to come and say so...it's a good book.

>37 BBGirl55: Bryony, I've known a fair few English people...most of 'em rival clams for expressive chattiness, with a few rising to the level of groupers. You're just you, and that's entirely good enough for me.

>38 Carmenere: LOL oh, garcon! Bring more Tension Tamer for the lady, please.

>39 Ape: Oh no, Stephen, I meant out of the *whole group* one might expect ten sentences. Out of you, I'm not so sanguine or so cruel as to expect more than the occasional *murmph* or *nguh*.

I've finished and reviewed the quirky, fun memoir Reading the OED in my thread...post #12.

Enjoyed the review. Sounds like fun. Tho I must qualify, that according to the online nerd test I qualify as an Uber Cool High Nerd.

>21 richardderus:: Another straggler belatedly checking in. I was here lurking yesterday and was glad to see another "purdy" picture.

>41 richardderus:: Ooooh, one of my 14 Christmas acquisitions that I'm excited about. What could be more exciting than reading about someone reading a humongous dictionary? Well, there are 13 other new books that I'm excited about, too.

40: Oh. Uh uh.

* hands Richard a pair of red, white and blue shorts along with a red terry cloth headband for his globe-trottin' experience* ;)

I predict that the most exciting challenge in 2011 will be the race between Stasia and Richard to see who ends up with the most threads.

Good evening Richard Sir. I have a tendency to be more chatty in person than on line. I don't talk much on the phone either.

Hi Richard. I liked both of your recent reviews and have The Invention of Clouds on hold at the library.

Just poppin' in to say Hello before I jammie myself up for the night. Wouldn't want you to think I had fallen out of love with you...

#41: I already have that one in the BlackHole, thank goodness.

#46: Richard will. I do not have any yet and he has 3! LOL!

Richard
Congratulations on two hot reviews!

>42 citygirl: Bow down...*I* am the Uber Cool Nerd King. *tosses ear hair-locks*

>43 Donna828: Donna, I can think of many things AS exciting, but more? Nah.

>44 Ape: Mmmh.

>45 curlysue: LOLOL

>46 kidzdoc: HA! Look who's all shy and stuff, Mr. Twenty Zillion in Twenty Ten! You get crankin' and I'll be left in the dust, scarcely remembered and rarely visited except by one or two pitying cyborgs.

>47 cindysprocket: Y'know Cindy, my dead father-in-law had a saying about kids, animals, and women: "They'll make a liar out of ya every time, you see if they don't." *addresses ceiling* John...example #3,057,506,928!

>48 phebj: Hi Pat! Oh, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

>49 tloeffler: TLo. Well, at lest you remembered I'm alive. I suppose it's good enough for the likes of me, sitting over here in my corner, forgotten and ignored.

>50 alcottacre: No, you only have 4038572 posts on your stubbornly clung to 2010 thread.

>51 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda! And they're both reviewing books I really enjoyed reading! *gruntled sigh*

Are you really on your third thread for 2011 already? Yoicks!
#5: flowers, you forgot flowers

Happy New Year (a bit belatedly), Ricardo!

I'm so far behind but I have found you (again!).

Loved your review of The Invention of Clouds.

I added a 12th thumb to your great review of The Invention of Clouds.

#53: Ha! You wish. lol

((Hugs)) for today, RD.

The way Richard reviews books, I'm gonna end up Wishlist-ing everything he reads :)

Even those books that he dislikes!

>54 tiffin: Yoicks indeed! Now I know how the fox feels. And I'm glad that people are happy enough here to come back.

>55 calm: There is *no* behind, there's only where you are. Readin threads can not be allowed to make it impossible to enjoy your books!

>56 kidzdoc: TWELVE thumbs! Wow! I really liked that book, and I'm glad that others are responding so well to it. Of course, there could be muttering mobs with torches and pitchforks if all those who read it based on that review don't like it as well as I did.

>57 alcottacre: {{{Cyborg Queen}}}

>58 trandism: Well Nick, you never know...I might dislike something perfectly suited to you...I just hope I don't like and convince you to get a book that you don't much like any time soon.

What a delightful day! It's snowing lightly and steadily, not sticking much, and no wind to speak of...not like the Boxing Day Blizzard at all...and the dog and I came in from a sheerly exuberant frolic in the flakes!

*sigh* I batten on this climate!

>60 richardderus:: I wish we had the "not sticking" part. We've got about 4" so far and still coming. Just enough that they did an early dismissal from the kids' schools and I had to go pick them up.

Now, if this could only have come on Monday when I'm supposed to leave on a business trip I don't want to take... :P

Jersey is so much less clement in general than the Island is...I wonder at the general opprobrium heaped on Long Island all over the tri-state. I think the hills and woods of north Jersey are nice, and like visiting once in a way, but my sandbar in the Atlantic is warmer in winter, cooler in summer, and surprisingly less storm-prone than y'all's picturesque hills...and I'm sixteen minutes from a big white-sand beach.

*shrug*

>62 richardderus:: I think the reaction to Long Island is the sheer inaccessibility. Trying to get on and off the island can be...challenging. If you're staying on the island, however, it's got a lot to recommend it.

No fair! My house (Washington DC) has only gotten an inch of snow this whole winter. It's snowed a total of two times, and one of them was only a few flakes. This is the first time I've been home in DC in the winter in 4 years, I want some snow :-(

>63 TadAD: Yeah, that's what happens when you got New York City squattin' across your western access points. Though honestly, the Verazzano-Narrows bridge, the Belt Parkway, and the Southern State are pretty seamless. It's just the Goethals across Staten Island that's a wretched span of hellish bad driving.

When going to New England, I use the ferry to Connecticut. Best $50 investment EVER.

>64 norabelle414: Oh dear! We're hogging all the snow! Tad, go outside and blow southwards, I'll do the same, and we'll see if we can't rescue her winter.

I'm happy to have visitors...especially ones who shovel snow...as an alternative!

Another straggler here. Only two THREADS! behind. How am I supposed to keep up with you AND find time to read my BOOKS?! Glad you had a respite from Aunite care, although I do hope she is improving. Love the art, love the chatter, oh and your book recs aren't bad either! xoxo No snow here.

RD, I've always wanted to take the ferry to New England. But driving all the way out to the ferry from NYC sort of defeats the purpose.

Oh, I see Marie is still here.........taa.

Out here in the Pacific Northwest we've had about three days of solid rain. This morning suddenly the sky cleared to a deep, deep blue and the sun shone down. I am participating in the Readathon later today so I really enjoyed a nice walk in the sunshine. Rain can be depressing at times, but I still think it beats having to shovel!

have I starred you yet?
just ran in through the door.
nightmare out there

eta

rd ..
srsly.. there are children in this thread

hey ho, Richard ....found you at last.

Nothing to say, Richard, just here to distribute daily ((hugs)) and xx smooches xx

Thanks for sending me some snow, Richard! I have about half an inch now.

Why do I still not have snow?!

>74 alcottacre: If it makes you feel better, the aforementioned half an inch has all melted.

Now, that is the kind of snow I like. Only one-half inch, and then it melts. Weather reports here, north of Seattle, suggest we may have a storm of similar proportions: just a little tiny bit, mixed with rain, and then meltage.

Richard, how many books have you read so far this year? You seem to have an unusually low books-per-thread count compared to most! :-D

#75: No, it does not make me feel better - now, we are both snowless! :)

I live near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and we're in the process of getting 30 cm (I think that translates to about a foot) of snow over the course of the weekend. I am more than willing to ship some of it to those who are snowless.

>79 MickyFine: No thanks on the additional snow. I think I've about had enough for this year -- 2 inches earlier this week, 2 inches today, and another 3-5 on the way for Sunday night/Monday. It's pretty to look at, but I think I'm ready for spring -- or at least a trip to the Caribbean.

>79 MickyFine:: we could use some in Ontario, if you wouldn't mind? Send one of those Alberta Clippers this way. ("But it's a dry cold...")

We have a good amount of snow that I would be happy to part with.

>66 Berly: Hi Berly-boo! Auntie's infection is responding nicely to whatever sulfa drug they used to treat it, so that's a good thing. Not coming home until next week at the earliest.

>67 ffortsa: Yeah, Judy, it's just extra driving. Although I myownself think driving through Westchester is something I'll gladly pay $50 to avoid.

>68 Carmenere: I don't plan to send Marie Antoinette anywhere, at least until next thread.

>69 DeltaQueen50: Shoveling rain isn't the commonest solution, true, Judy, but one wants to keep the option open given how MUCH of it y'all're getting.

>70 mckait: ...children...? I am not understand....

>71 cameling: Welcome, Caro!

>72 alcottacre: xoxo back Stasia!

>73 norabelle414: Ooo! Next time I'll blow harder!

>74 alcottacre: Because the Weather Goddess and me, we're like *this*, and I don't want you to have snow. That's why.

Hi Richard- Just swinging by to say hi! Hope all is well and you are enjoying your weekend! But please no Snow Talk!

>75 norabelle414:, 76 The Big Storm predicted for this area was the same sort of fizzle, just dreary snowy skies and wet roads. Big whoop!

>77 pokarekareana: About 10...most in process...but hey, this is the social thread, not the *book* thread.

>78 alcottacre: See comment above. No snow for you!

>79 MickyFine: Oh, hey, sweet of you to offer, but for me, thanks!

>80 thornton37814: I'm down with the Caribbean trip, however.

>81 tiffin: Dry, shmy. When the temps come with little minus signs in front of 'em, it's just too friggin' cold.

>82 brenzi: Huh! Really? How strange for oh-so-temperate upstate! *giggle*

>85 msf59: Oh Weather Goddess my sweet! Cuddle pumpkin, Mark the Mail Carrier in Chicago requests a foot of snow, temps under zero F, and a stiff, 40-mph breeze!

*heeheehee*

Oh good grief. It's barely even JANUARY yet and I've missed two and a half threads already? Can I settle for a big Ricardo-hug for now, maybe get some sleep and steel myself to try to keep up from here? Pretty please?

Not even funny!

uh oh.... poor mark :(

uh oh......

is that, is that a.......

I'll get it! Stomp, stomp.

>91 curlysue: - It's late, I tried to squish it...glad I couldn't. Taking my tired eyes to bed now.

Hi Richard!

We actually have the POSSIBILITY of snow here tonight! I am hoping all the good little criminals stay home if it does decide to come down. I want to watch it, not walk in it :)

Sunday morning hello and it's snowing here.

#91 Love the gif! Before I read the post I was thinking what is that thing crawling all over my screen.

>88 elliepotten: Why, Miss Eleanor Potten! *Imagine* my surprise at seeing *you* here after so very, very, very long! Such a joy! Well, now that you've decided to come and grace us with your presence, please~don't be a stranger.

>89 msf59: *brews a little ice-and-wind potion*

>90 mckait: You know who gets it next, right?

>91 curlysue: Nice try, Kara...your intel is off...not a bug-o-phobe. Kinda cute, that GIF!

>93 Berly: THAT is a GIF I might actully use!!

>94 Copperskye: Hi Joanne!

>95 alcottacre: So, did it snow? I can't imagine how your town would cope. "What's up with the fat, cold rain?" LOL

>96 sibylline: Hiya Lucy! It's sunshiney and cold as a Valkyrie's boob in a brass bra here.

>97 Carmenere: I think that GIF is hilarious! I don't know exactly when or how, but I suspect I'll be using that one.

#99: It is coming down even as I type. LOL - you are right!

It's snowing here, too, but of course, more typical. I wonder if we are sharing the same storm, Stasia. Cold, though, tomorrow high of 14, low -10. Brrr...

Unfortunately, Joanne, my snow is now ice and sleet :( We may very well be sharing the same front. Brrr is right - those negative numbers cannot be any fun! It is not nearly that cold here.

Since you all seem to have so much snow to fling around, can you send some to the UK on the 29th? I'd like a white birthday please :-)

LOL, Jen!

Hi, it's me! Not being a stranger! *waves enthusiastically like an embarrassingly eager auntie at a school play*

Wow! I can't believe you have three threads already. It is only January 9th and I am already behind! I fear there is absolutely no hope for me to keep up with you now.

I still remember having a slumber party for my birthday one year, and having everyone get snowed in. It was quite a party!

My birthday is mid-March. I really hope we never have a March that cold again. ;)

oh i didn't think you were a bug-o-phobe, i was thinking more along the lines of stink bugish

glad you liked it...

it is kinda cute ;)

I'm so sad to report that I am only lightly nerdy. I wanna be a King Nerd.

Drive by Wave!

I am happy to report we got 4 whole inches of snow here in Sherman, Richard! Unfortunately, we also got ice and are expecting freezing drizzle pretty much all night. *sigh*

((hugs)) and xx smooches xx

Looks like it has been a busy weekend for you my friend..
absence speaks loudly at times :) Hope all is well !

Hi Everyone! I send a big wave and a smooch to each and all because it WAS a busy weekend, and I'm having a horrible time with the cold making osteoarthritis hurt inexpressibly. That's the problem with having more than one form of arthritic condition: They have different triggers, but they work together their rough magic to create.

So you're all individually hugged and smooched and thanked for visiting. Now!

Houseguest weekend was smooth sailing, fun, and relaxing. We sat around and drank and ate all day Saturday, mainly in front of a lovely fire that houseguest #2 built and tended for us. Rough life, no? I made a potroast dinner that, for some weird reason, caused a stir. I mean, really, potroast? The Divine Miss and houseguest #2 were so pleased with it, so eager to have more, that the witsy-teentsy sliver left over vanished on Sunday, apparently while I was looking out the window or something. It was too spicy for houseguest #1, and the broiled leeks weren't exactly a hit in that quarter either, but the pineapple upside-down cake seemed to smooth over the sense of hurt and disappointment. It was, if I say it myself, the best one I've ever eaten, not excepting my own earlier efforts. I've annotated my copy of Alice Waters's The Art of Simple Food to reflect the subtle variations I introduced this time.

Sunday was a great fun day. We drove to Sagamore Hill, Teddy Roosevelt's Oyster Bay home, for the house tour and some winter-wonderland wandering. Oh, and there's a bookstore, but we stayed out of that.

*ducks lightning bolts*

The tour was led by a late-middle-aged lawyer called Richard, a man clearly excited by and interested in TR and the family and the history of the time. He confined himself to the Roosevelts about 33% of the time, and he expatiated on the history of this part of Long Island, the late Victorian era's geopolitics and the birth of celebrity culture the rest of the time. I had so much fun that I made The Divine Miss fill out a praise form for him at the bookstore! I learned no fewer than eleven facts that I never knew I didn't know from his rambling talk.

This is my SIXTH house tour. That says it all, no?

So the bookstore, well, we bought stuff, and then we came home and ate. Nothing interesting, just roast pork tenderloin in white wine and thyme sauce, with creamed potato & peas; I got to serve the prune whip I made the night before, which caused houseguest #1 to grow pale and then greenish as the prune is a decided unfavorite. (Hence the pineapple upside down cake, thank GOD!! I have a whole new technique thanks to the fact that I ignore well-mannered protestations of willingness to suffer!) I do love prune whip, and for a wonder, so does The Divine Miss, a dessert-o-phobe.

I know y'all won't care about the book I bought, so i will simply say Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker kept me up until 4am reading. Stacy Cordery, the authoress, had unique access to Mrs. Longworth's papers, so she had some new things to say in this book. Who needs another bio of TR's daughter unless that's the case? Well, it's the case, and the book is excellent.

My hands are *killing* me, so I'll shut up now, and go troll amongst the threads. I leave with a profound thought: I live a life of enviable richness both on and off line. I have very interesting friends in all places, and they pay me the compliment of being at ease in my company allowing me to enjoy them for their delightful selves. It's so good to be me! ;-P

Wow, what a perfectly lovely weekend! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed yourself - and, as always, I envy your table. Mmmm.

Go rest your digits, sir.

Sigh. A good weekend, good visiting, obviously good friends, good people. Many people blanche at prune whip, so #1 must be forgiven for that. I vicariously enjoyed everything.

I've wanted to visit Sagamore Hill for ages and you've been six times!!!! But I guess, during the Phila years, I got to know Valley Forge and Independence Hall that way... not a bad thing at all!

"Prune whip" doesn't sound nice at all. But spicy pot roast would cause a stir with me, too. There's nothing more satisfying to the senses and sensibilities than a good pot roast. Shame on Houseguest #1 for turning up its nose.

That does sound like a lovely weekend, Richard. Sagamore Hill is a great place to visit - when I went there, years ago, I decided I could live in the library alone.

Would you send me your recipe for that roast pork tenderloin? I have one in the freezer that I haven't cooked in part because I've never cooked pork before, so some guidance would be appreciated.

Oh Richard, it sounds like a great weekend! You do indeed live a wonderful life, and I'm privileged to be apart of the online half of it.

Thaw the tenderloin completely. Then remove the thawed meat from the packaging. Separate into its constituent parts...should be two pieces of roughly equal size. If not, no big deal. Preheat oven to 300.

The principle here is a moist roasting environment, with herbal overnotes to the roasting liquid.

Get a deep roasting pan, at least 1/2" deeper than the meat is tall, or possessed of a cover. Into this, pour 1/2 bottle wine (color and flavor of your preference), 1/2c soy sauce or Worcestershire. Add ~1T of your favorite dried herb. As a flavor guide, I suggest lighter herbs for white wine...thyme, oregano...than for red...basil, tarragon. I don't suggest using rosemary on pork tenderloin, the flavor overwhelms everything else. If the pan has a cover, put it on, or if it doesn't, crimp some foil over it to seal the liquid's vapors in. Put the meatless pan in the over for ~3-4min to warm up, remove, don't uncover!

If the meat has a decent fat cover, say over about 20% of the surface, use a dry spice rub like Old Bay or Mrs. Dash (both work fine in white or red wine roasts). If it's got tiny scraps of fat here and there, use an olive oil-based rub of the same spices made into a medium paste with ~2T of olive oil. Cover the whole roast in either case. I also like a soft-butter-and-mustard-powder rub when I'm making the roast in red wine. In that one, I add a head of peeled garlic cloves to the roasting liquid.

Uncover the steeped wine, and lower the roast into it. If the roast is in two pieces, orient them to the big end of one is next to the tapered end of the other. Re-cover, and put in the 300 oven for ~13min/pound for pink-rare, ~16min/pound for white through. NO LONGER THAN THIS!

Take the pan out of the oven, leave it covered, and let everything sit together for 5min. Then uncover, platter the roasts, cover again with foil, and amend the pan juice to be the sauce you want. It can be used as-is, stirred vigorously, if simplicity is your desire.

Slice the pork into 1/2in thick medallions on a slight angle. Pour the sauce over the slices, and serve with the modest air of quiet pride that indicates praise will be welcomed becomingly.

gosh, I took the weekend off to read and do stuff and this thread grows huge! I am jealous of Richard's wonderful weekend. I am a big Teddy Roosevelt fan and have two history books featuring him sitting looking at me...read me, read me, read me! One is The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America which I recommend highly, even though I'm only "into it" and don't know what I'll say when finished. I am sticking the Alice Roosevelt Longworth book on my wishlist right now.

Happy Reading, all!

Sounds like a great weekend, Richard! Hope you are feeling better soon.

People seem to get out of life what they put into it, so yes, it is wonderful to be you - but I am sure you have had a big hand in making it wonderful for people to be around you and enjoy your company. As your thread here is a magnet I am sure in your RL you are also a magnet of warmth and hospitality.

That pork tenderloin recipe sound exquisite. I have copied it to take home to my son. My son loves to cook and I always bring home recipes for him to try. I love to cook but never seem to get the food to taste right.

Your weekend sounded like a great success. I have never visited Sagamore Hill. I enjoy visiting historical buildings I just need to find someone that would enjoy going with me.

I have never heard of Prune Whip. I will have to do some research and see if my son has heard of it.

Happy Reading!! Will stop in again sometime.

Okay, Richard, what should I do with lamb? Not those teeny, annoying little chops, but a tenderloin?? I've been thinking of just marinating it with some herbs and serving with mint jelly. Or...? This is for later this month. First dinner chez moi. Need to practice...

Love the pork tenderloin, too... *gnash teeth in frustration*

Broiled leeks...mmmmhhmmmmm....

What a great cook you are!

Garshk, y'all! Thanks for the lovely reinforcement.

A tragedy has struck my close circle. A dear friend of The Divine Miss's has died suddenly. He was undergoing chemo for a nasty cancer, which was on the retreat; he was feeling *great*; he caught a sniffle, went to the hospital to get it checked out, as one must when undergoing chemo, and while there had a massive hemorrhage and died instantly in his bed.

We'd spoken less than five hours previously, so the suddenness cannot be overstated. His widow and 7yr old daughter haven't yet begun to process their loss. We're all in horrified shock. It seemed as though he was going to beat this! And now he's gone.

Well, that's all, really. Whatever angry screed I might vent helps nothing, makes nothing better, brings no one back to life.

But I have a request: No one mention going to a better place, being at rest, or any of that stuff. It's not true, and I don't feel like being polite. He's dead, that's that, and only he knows where he is now, no one else.

(((((((Richard))))))))
Thats all I can think to do :(

Oh, this is tough stuff. My heart goes out to you.

And like a chekhovian postscript I have copied yr recipe. Thank you. I am terrified of roasts.

Richard, I am sorry for your and The Divine Miss's loss of this friend. Grief is never easy and it is hard to say the right thing but I think you can be assured you are being held gently in the hearts of your friends here.

So sorry for your loss, and the pain his family must (eventually) feel. A triple loss - a man, a husband, a father -and, of course, a friend. Terrible.

((((Richard)))) So sorry for your and The Divine Miss's loss.

(((Big hugs))) Richard. I'm sorry for your and TDM's loss.

Oh Richard. No banalities here; just hugs for you and TDM. You know I'm thinking of you both.

*smooch*

Sorry that you lost a friend... It is true, no words can make loss better.

Glad beyond words that you are a friend of mine..

I'm so sorry, Richard. Wishing strength to the family, and to you and yours.

Sorry to hear that, Richard. I lost my grandfather in a similar way, he seemed to be winning his fight against cancer and had a sudden stroke. He slipped into a coma and we lost him. It's shocking, and so disappointing.

Take care of yourself, and The Divine Miss. *hugs*

A little of the loss is coming home now. I can't eat for being really emotionally volatile...imagine! ME! I can't make myself swallow!

Thank you all for your welcome support. I wish something could make this as unreal as it feels.

Hugs and gentle pats on your and The Divine Miss's backs.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{Richard}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

hand-holding to the D.M.

I've been both routes in the family circle: the sudden and the drawn-out. It's very, very personal, of course, but sudden seems much the best to me, despite the devastation of the initial shock. It's terrible either way, of course. My heart is with you.

I was all set to comment on your lovely sounding weekend, and then came the news of your loss. Words are not much use, but wishing you strength and courage as you deal with colliding reality and unreality.

Richard, I am sorry for you and your friend's family. ((Hugs))

Me, too.

(((Hugs)))

Thanks to each of you...I am now reeling from a new issue...auntie's homecoming on Wednesday, her daily dressing changes, her wound vac, and the rest of the recovery now on me, and the snowstorm starts the same time.

That which does not kill us, makes us stronger, right?

Ah, Richard. You have your hands so full. I wish I could help.

It took fancy pleading and concentrated begging to get them not to drop her at the corner tomorrow! If you were here, I'd let you help. ;-P

Richard sorry to hear of your loss of a friend. You are absolutely right in #144.

If I were there, I would! I know one day will not make that much difference, but I am glad they gave you the day's respite any way.

Oh, I am so sorry. That's simply awful.

I hope auntie's homecoming goes smoothly -- you have a lot on your plate, so please do take care of yourself.

Richard, I am so sorry. Words cannot express. {{{{love}}}}

So sorry Richard. Life sucks sometimes.

I’m so sorry, Richard; look after yourself, too.

I am so sorry for you and everyone affected by your friend's sudden death. Big hugs. Take care.

Richard, I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. There's nothing that can make it not suck, but know that you have copious shoulders to cry on should you desire them.

Pot roast sounds delicious. *Spicy* pot roast? I didn't think such a magical thing was possible, and I'm just envious now (and drooling).

know that you have copious shoulders to cry on should you desire them

Do you know, Tom, that is the most astounding part to me...more than *two dozen* people have come here today, heard me whine and complain, and instead of waltzing on to greener pastures, have stopped, listened, and responded with caring and kindness and sincere support! I am so, so humbled. My petty problems elicit this wave of good tidings! And I know others, with far more challenging issues, receive the same level of emotional connection and kindness.

I'm heartened that so many good people are 75ers, Thingamabrarians, and computer owners.

I've been reading away in Alice, buoyed up in a sea of Bach's suites for unaccompanied cello, with a warm dog draped on different parts of me, for hours (after watching The Darjeeling Limited, which I loved); it almost makes not being able to sleep *desirable*!

I would still suggest that warm cats might be an improvement -- they purr -- but heartily endorse the idea of the Bach cello suites.

Sending hugs.

TY, loveycuddles!

Oh! Lamb roasts! Ix-nay on the int-may elly-jay!!

Lamb doesn't need help from a spice rub. It does need a moist roasting environment. Rosemary, fresh on herbaceous stems if possible, and 375mL of a heavy Zin; also ~1lb FRESH whole creminis, chanterelles, morels, or best of all oyster mushrooms in the roasting liquid; peeled, halved parsnips in there too, plus most of a pound of dried apricots. 325 oven, 15min/lb, covered. Test after the first hour...a little slit in the center-top, dark red=no, light red ok.

Mash the parsnips roughly with a little, little butter and 1/2c cooking liquid, well stirred up but avoiding the rosemary stems which should be put on the covered, resting meat and left there until they decorate the plates. Puree apricots with a lot more of the cooking liquid plus a little fresh Zin, until they're medium heavy. Stir into rough mash. Mushrooms get the rest of the cooking liquid, surrounding the roast.

Sourdough rolls, some peppered olive oil in a dish, frisee with lardons and balsamic/parmesan/bacon fat dressing, and a tailor on speed-dial for the wedding dress you'll need after he wakes up from the food coma.

Oh dear... your thread is always busy, but when I saw some 40 unread posts this morning I thought something must have happened.
I am so sorry about your and The Divine Miss's loss, Richard. And how horrible for the family, when there was so much hope before.
I wish you all the strength you need.

Personally I think warm cats could never give you more comfort than a warm dog (I do like cats, but how I miss our old dog!), but whatever helps most... The Darjeeling Limited is a wonderful movie, I need to rewatch it soon.

#144 That which does not kill us, makes us stronger, right?


In which case, you must be Atlas. {{{Richard}}}

I am so very sorry for both you and TDM - not to mention for the unsuspecting widow and their daughter. :( I find that I'm not very good at words of comfort when something like this happens, but you will be in my thoughts and in my heart today.

Richard, have you ever thought of running an online cooking tutorial? I'm going to try that tenderloin, maybe this weekend, but I wanted to say your instructions are crystal clear, and you so love to cook and tell us what you are cooking - it might be a whole new career!

Richard, I was having such fun reading your thread, your recipes and cooking coups, thinking of all kinds of smart alecky things to say, and then...well...now all I can say is I am so very sorry.

So sorry to hear of your loss. I'll be thinking of you and Claudia (and wishing I was able to do more...) ((hugs))

Would love to try the lamb, but my budget does not make for that kind of fancy eating. Every now and then I can afford a bit of steak, though. Have any favorite recipes for that?

Very sorry to hear what happened, Richard. What a shocker after a great weekend. Thinking of you, TDM, and the widow and young daughter.

Hope it goes well with your auntie, and you take solace in your cooking and reading and many good friends.

{{{Richard}}} ...so sorry to hear of this tragedy... I don't know what else to say other than shake my head and sigh. How devastating.

Good grief: the lamb sounds absolutely divine, except...parsnips. Can't stand them or carrots, the only two vegs. I won't eat. Would potatoes work, do you think? The Zin is a great idea. Yum1

Sorry. Double-posted somehow or other.

My condolences Richard.

Was just about to comment that I should learn never to catch up on your thread whilst at work as I always end up cackling loudly (and, apparently with this thread, dribbling with food envy), to the consternation of the rest of the office.... Then I caught up to the end. I'm so sorry Richard, for you, TDM and the family of your friend. Know our thoughts are with you all and I hope your Aunt's return will go smoothly.

Just now getting caught up here, and wanted to add my sympathy and support. I used to wonder if it would be worse to lose someone after a long illness or suddenly and without warning. After losing my brother so unexpectedly I now know how awful that can be, and this sounds like it was a bit of both. I'm so so sorry and I'll be thinking about you and yours and his.

In ancient Rome, glass was a very rare and valuable commodity, a lot like we think of gems today. When a Roman family suffered a loss such as ours, their closest friends would send very small real-glass bottles filled with their own tears as gestures of shared pain.

The Divine Miss cried this morning when I told her how much support and caring was pouring out for us, and she reminded me of that story. She asks me to thank each of you for reinforcing her wavering belief in the goodness of humanity, and tells us all she will let the family know that they are in the hearts and prayers of many kind and wonderful folks.

RD....just catching up....and cannot offer anything above what my fellows have said above. You know we love you and your entire family and will help however we can--just say the world.

Now my dear, about that lamb!!! We had almost that same din-din for Christmas. Due to weather and choices, we dined a deaux and since I had recently finished one of those gorgeous brunetti mysteries where he was lusting after lamb, we had braised lamb shanks (you're right that a good bottle of zin is essential to a good lamb dish) with fresh rosemary (I keep a plant on the window sill for just such occasions), over a bed of fresh creamy parmesan polenta. The side was roasted gingered parsnips and carrots.

After dinner the amaretto and mocha/almond biscotti (made by these little old hands) were the perfect prelude to settling into our grandma/grandpa rocking recliners with good books...awaiting the snow.

We had enough meat left to make into a glorious morrocan stew with tomatoes and chickpeas and serve over couscous later that week.

And Richard -about books--yes remember books? Try to get your hands on As Always, Julia - the letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. I think you would love the correspondence that covers not only food but also the politics of the 1950's, homemaking mores, international publishing, etc etc. It's a delightful look at life in the Eisenhower days that can be savored slowly. Just the thing for picking up whilst on Auntie duty.
Smooches........

My deepest symphathies to you, TDM and the family of your friend. I cannot even imagine how they feel but hope they are surrounded by love and family right now.

As for your lamb recipe - I have not eaten meat in over 3 years and don't miss it a little bit. I will say that your recipe had me positively drooling on my keyboard!. I am now wondering if I could possibly cook that meal and get it all eaten and cleaned up before anyone caught me eating it!

Just wanted to add my condolences, as well. I am truly sorry for your loss.
--BJ

Richard, I'm behind on your thread as I often am. I am sad for you and your lovely lady. No worry about empty words from me as I am totally bereft of words when death strikes so suddenly. Sending cyber{{{hugs}}} instead.

sudden losses hare hard to cope with for those who are left in life,
big ((((hugs)))) for everyone...

I am catching up on you....

We are not in ancient Rome but through cyber space I send you and The Divine Miss


glitter-graphics.com

Good luck with Auntie and her homecoming. I have worked with wound vacs before, they are a neat gadget and they work well as long as it does not become dislodged from the decubitus . I am assuming a visiting nurse will be taking care of it or at least assessing the wound and the wound vac?

#172 : How do you catch tears into small red glass bottles? Did they cry into a small funnel? I'm trying to think how one is to direct one's tears into a little bottle. One bottle for each eye... cos otherwise I'm thinking the tears falling out of one eye will be wasted if they're busy collecting tears from the other eye.

As you can see, I'm really giving this some thought, Richard. ;-) I like the idea of the practice though..

{{{hugs}}}

Thanks for the lamb recipe!! Now, can I replace the zin with a Euro wine, or would that be sinful? And can I do this without precipitating a proposal? If no to the latter question, how can I get a tall tree indoors to climb up into??

I'd probably end up poking my eye out with the glass... but if it makes anyone feel better, will give it a shot! (the tears, not the poking out of eye, natch)

Judy, a while back I got a suggestion that I start an in-home catering biz to feed well-off older people real home-cooked meals that I'd make in their homes with their recipes, or mine, and I gave it some serious thought until the energy cost of standing up to cook that many meals a week caused me a tremor of fear.

I'd love to see a web series with clickable lessons in technique, short lessons on ingredients and flavors, and timing/measuring principles. My hands are too ugly to make that a good idea for me, though at least I know some film folk who do some of it for me.

In writing, I wonder if it'd be different enough from the gazillion and seven sites that exist already.

Suzanne...if you MUST use some blechhhy Euro-swill, a heavy Burgundy would be okay. If the gent is Greek, try retsina. ;=P I'd suggest ordering a nice tree, frankly.

I suspect the vials of tears were vials of cistern water myownself. But I'm a cynical old cuss.

Tina, that's an item on my wishlist for sure! I love Mother Child. She was such a tactile cook.

Kara, wound care is me until the VNS comes in...I'll do basic wet-to-dry dressings. Then comes the wound vac.

VEGETARIAN ALERT: Lamb is a *VERY* bad place to start back on meat...very, very, very rich and heavy.
;-)

Oh, and potatoes vs parsnips...yes, sure, ya boring ol' fuddyduddy, but then don't use the apricots. Use 1/2 stick butter for rough mash, then stir in cooking liquid and some cream cheese...maybe 2T.

Richard - My oldest son tells me that my body most likely couldn't process meat anymore after not having had it for so long and I would definitely regret it so yeah, no lamb for me. That's ok - I still love reading your recipes since the rest of the family still eats meat and I cook it for them.

A bit belated, I'm sorry to hear about your friend.

I'm also coming in late to give my condolences, so sad.

Richard, how sad. My sincere sympathy to you, TDM and your friend's family.

Hugs to you and Claudia, Richard. Give her a little cheek smooch from me. And one for yourself, while you're at it.

Thanks so much, everyone. We're slowly grasping what this is going to mean. It's so hard to know how to grab hold of the problems and issues surrounding death.

Dinner tonight was yogurt, cottage cheese, and a blakc cherry Jell-o cup. Can't bring myself to make anything. The dog was thrilled! She got about half of it.

I'm glad to hear you're at least managing to eat something, even if you're not up to cooking, and even if the dog got half of it!

I'm just catching up, and so sorry to read of your friend's sudden death. I don't know what else to say, except that I'm sending warm thoughts your way. Words tend to fail me in these situations.

>190 gennyt: Agreed, Genny, it's progress just to get something down my throat. It won't last long, this unappetite. Just so *weird* for me!

>191 tymfos: Oh now, Terri, there's no need to think words fail you! Those are the right words to say. Really, there's nothing anyone can say or do to make it easier beyond those very facts...you're here, you're listening, and you care. What on earth more is there than that?

I was so happy to find your new thread, now that I'm home.

But so very sad to hear of your friend's death. It is so hard to accept when death happens this quickly and unexpectedly. Such a shock to your system.

I'm so sorrowful for you and Claudia, as well as his widow and child. :(
It's the ones left behind who suffer the loss - trying to figure it all out.

(((((RD))))) Wishing you comfort in your good memories.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, Richard.

Richard

I love you dearly. I'm so sorry for the loss. Please tell Claudia I'm reaching out to her and sending gentle hugs.

I know what it feels like to lose a wonderful friend to the nasty C word.

There are occasions when life is simply NOT fair. This is one of those times.

Thank you all very much. It's the processing of a loss of this magnitude that's so awful. Poor dear TDM is barely started on what this means for her partnership! Legal issues. *blech*

When I knew I had to go back to Texas for the long haul, I asked TDM (my former business partner) to throw me a farewell party. I invited Manie, at the time an editor at Random House. When the party was in full swing, I cornered the two of them and said, "I don't have time to be subtle, I'm leaving in the morning, so you two listen up: Time to work together. You're on the same page aesthetically, you know the business's ins and outs better than anyone could expect a partner to know, so hop to!"

Took a year, but they finally did. It worked for ten good and happy years. What are we supposed to do with an amputation of that kind? How does a scar form over that huge a space?

I *know* that it will happen, and I *know* the process is inexorable, but it just feels so...daunting.

Something/ someone will come up... it always does. It will just be difficult until it does. Too bad you can't step back into the role..

Hi Richard. I wish Claudia, you, his remaining family all the best and hope the pain numbs as quickly as it can in these situations.

Thinking of you today, RD. I hope Aunt Vickie's transition back home is a smooth one.

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx

Hi Richard, I always enjoy tremendously reading your thread and the multitude of comments from all.
Sorry to hear about the arthritis and hope that it eases.

I didn't realize Claudia lost a partner as well as a friend. That is doubly awful, in that it means she must pay attention to the change just as she would prefer to pay attention to the loss. It's a real brick through the window. Please send her my best hopes that she get all that she needs to clear the practical problems quickly - the rest will not be quick, alas.

>197 mckait: Bite your tongue! I've got my FT job with auntie, which absent a huge cash infusion we can't afford to pay someone else to do, and it must be done.

>198 TadAD: Hi Tad!

>199 alcottacre: *smooch* to my bestest cyborg pal!

>200 xieouyang: Thank you, Manuel, and glad to see you here.

>201 ffortsa: You've put your finger on the issue, Judy...she can't focus on the loss, she has to focus on the practicalities. It's just grotesquely unfair!

Mary, quite some time back you asked about steak preps...what kind of steak? Most all kinds, except London broil and its various chewy cousins do best with quick marinades and speedy broils. A few more details and I'd be more helpful!

Thinking of you and The Divine Miss and all of you who are dealing with this loss.

((((Hugs))))

Hope everything goes okay with Auntie coming home, and the weather does not get too bad in your neck of the woods.

Hi Caty! We're under about a foot of snow, so no big deal. It's sunshiney to beat the band, there isn't anything more than a light breeze, so the snow isn't mounding high. The snowplows don't even need to come down our street. I *do* need someone to shovel the driveway, though.

Auntie's homecoming is still on, so far as I know. There is no good reason it shouldn't happen today, weather-wise. And now I have a spiffy new air mattress that constantly, slowly shifts her weight around, on top of her other mattress. It should prevent any recurrence of her awful pressure sores, since she doesn't understand why she has to move around...she resists and screams blue murder when I try to shift her manually.

Ah, the trials, the tribulations!

>202 richardderus: Well, I get whatever cut's on sale and generally do something basic, like marinate it in Italian dressing and broil it a few minutes to each side (making sure it stays good and rare, if possible). If you have a recipe for a particular cut (barring the ridiculously expensive, by which I mean buying enough for me and some leftovers that costs more than $5-$6), I could add it to the next shopping list.

Hope everything goes well with your aunt's homecoming.

Ah! Well, that's exactly what one *should* do to steak.

If I've got minute steaks, the skinny little ones, I forego marinade and crush fresh garlic in olive oil (NOT extra virgin, it's completely wasted in cooking since no one, not even "experts", can taste the difference between it and regular pure olive oil!) with some pepper, spoon that heavily over the top, broil ~1min, then turn, spoon, broil ~30sec. Preferably in my little cast iron skillet, because the browned garlic and extra oil make a nice deglazed pan sauce...3T of balsamic vinegar, 1T of Worcestershire, over high heat on the stovetop until everything smells so good you want to faint, gobble everything down without plates or forks, or lick the pan. (Not recommended, the pain is awful.) (I mean, I think the pain would be awful, of COURSE I've never done it.) (It says here.)

Good luck with Auntie today! Party's over... what there was of it!

That air mattress sounds perfect! ((((hugs)))) You have your work cut out for you.

>206 richardderus: Mmm...that does sound good. (Will make a note of it)
Wouldn't have occurred to me to lick the pan, but thanks for the warning. ;)

>207 -Cee-: Hi Claudzilla! Doesn't that mattress sound perfect? I am kicking myself I never thought to ask about something like that long ago. How much nicer for all concerned if we'd avoided this problem instead of fixed it. *sigh*

>208 bell7: Oh, I meant to ask...what do you do with the marinade you use on your steaks? I suggest with some vigor the use of same to make flavory roasted potatoes. It's already got the oil in it and everything!

The air mattress sounds excellent indeed!

Well, my turn to catch up with your thread Richard. I'm very sorry about your loss :(

ETA: Typo

>211 Eat_Read_Knit: It's really comfy! (I hadda try it out.) I'm really impressed with all the stuff that's available to keep people from developing problems even when they're bed-ridden.

>212 trandism: Thanks, Nick.

>210 richardderus: I usually just use Good Seasons Italian dressing. I bet that would taste pretty good on potatoes...hmm...

Sometimes, focusing on practicalities can help get people through the worst of the first few days. I know that being in sole charge of my grandmother and funeral preparations for my grandfather distracted me tremendously from the utter grief I felt. Compared to that, the first few days post 9/11 when there were NO distractions from figuring out who had lived and who had died (and imagining HOW they had died), were even more horrific. I hope it works out that way for C.

As for you and Vicki, well... bonne chance. At least you've had a few days' respite...

Think you should start a food blog.

#202: *smooch* to my bestest cyborg pal!

That statement makes me wonder how many of us there are :)

Coming in later than everyone else on LT, it seems, and everyone has already offered so many kind words and tender thoughts, that I will simply add:
What they said so eloquently already, with a super-big (((hug))) for good measure...

P.S. On a slightly sunnier note, your recipes sound sooooo good. I even favourited the roast pork message, just in case I ever get the urge to cook something someday soon!

I'm so sorry for your loss, Richard. *cwtches* (that's Welsh for cuddles, dontcha know...)

This talk of meat has made me hungry.

Richard, the air mattress sounds like a great solution. I hope it does help prevent pressure sores. How goes Auntie's homecoming?

Richard--I am so sorry to read of the death of your and TDM's friend. Your description of it as an amputation is so accurate. And condolences to his family--my heart goes out to his children especially.

On a lighter note--your recipe has made me decide to rush out to purchase a pork loin roast to make for Friday dinner when my son from NYC is in town. Keep the recipes coming---your instructions are so clear and enticing.

hmmm no late posts.. I am guessing it was a bit of a rough time getting auntie settled back in? Hope that I am wrong and it was other things keeping you away from LT :)

You are in my thoughts as always. .. hang in my friend!

Ah, Richarddear! I'm so sorry on the loss of your and TDM's friend. The suddenness must have made you feel like you were falling down an awful frozen hole, especially after feeling he'd turned a corner and was beating the cancer.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, TDM, his widow, daughter.

I hope Auntie is doing better now that the pressure sores have been treated. I know the work's not over for you. Hang in there.

Be careful shoveling walkways. Pace yourself or get help if you can.

I'd like your input - I'm having my bookclub of 15 years at my house for the February meeting - I've saved your recipe for bread/butter/worcestershire sauce/chutney as one appetizer - what else would you recommend for a dinner-for-12 for moderately discerning women? Personally I don't eat fresh pork so that leaves out the tenderloin mentioned above, but pretty much anything else would work, keeping in mind that my finances are a leetle tight..... so no lobster or truffles or saffron. Typically I have a couple of appetizers, meat or pastitso or an exotic lasagna-type meat/pasta dish, an interesting salad and sourdough or other interesting bread and butter and something easy to make but fun for dessert (angel food cake, lemon meringue pie, cheesecake, etc. all from scratch). I also put out white wine, red wine, my good well water, and serve Gevalia Stockholm roast decaf with dessert. I've been wrapped up in a big project at work and so far haven't had a chance to think about the dinner yet.

XO, Horrible

Good morning, all, and thanks to each for the lovely wishes! I will let TDM and the bereaved family know what kind and supportive thoughts are coming their way.

Auntie came home yesterday. She was in pretty good spirits, but spent most of the transition time sleeping restlessly, wanting water, and generally being unsettles. She slept through the night, thank goodness, but I didn't. I got up and down to check on her, which merely to prove she was snoring, not dying, as the elephant trumpetings and harrumphings led me to believe.

She's still asleep now, in fact, the health aide and I decided that she could have an extra hour and a half.

In the "what fresh hell is this, or Dorothy Parker was an optimist" sweepstakes, my wonderful 23" monitor has decided she will ne marche pas. The sticky on/off button has stuck in the off position. I no longer have an on-call geek, my SiL being in Texas, so I'm a little stuck as to where to go to get it fixed. I don't *want* another monitor, so am foreclosed from the sensible-but-absurd option of going to Best Buy and getting a new monitor. *grump*

In the meantime, I'm using TDM's itsy-bitsy netbook, which is making my hands hurt from squoonching them into bird-claws in order to type on the doll-sized keyboard.

This, too, shall pass. Or I will.

>222 karenmarie: Well, Horrible, I'd go with the lemon-olive chicken thighs for that many. I gave that in one of the kitchen threads, but damned if I remember which one!

1-1/2 thighs per person, skin on and bone in, so 18 in this case
2 cans store-brand black olives in a can, with the juice
4 large lemons, or 6 small, preferable thick-skinned
3T dried oregano
1 bottle cheap Shiraz or Sangiovese wine
1C soy sauce
1T onion powder
3T parmesan/romano blend

After washing the chicken in cold salt water to remove traces of blood and packaging gluck, put it in the biggest roasting pan you have. Use two if you have to. Pour the wine, the soy sauce, and the olives in their juice over the chicken, cover, and marinate all day in the fridge or 2hr on the countertop. If countertopping, start marinating on the pretty side and turn to the messy side at 1hr (you'll see what I mean).

After an all-day marinade, take the pan(s) out the icebox as soon as you get home. Bring them to cool-room temperature, and preheat the oiven to 350. Slice all the lemons into rings, striving for 1 ring per thigh. Put the lemon slices on the thighs, which should be messy side up, top with a healthy sprinkle of oregano, cover again (clearly I don't mean plastic wrap here), and jam into the oiven for 45min.

During your long sleepy wait, mix the onion powder and the parmesan into an even coating consistency, no lumps or bumps or stuff. Don't omit the onion powder, don't use onion SALT by mistake (this was a nasty surprise one dinner, ew) and don't substitute garlic of any description.

At the 45min mark, remove the pan(s) and uncover. Turn thighs to pretty side. Top with cheese/onion powder, return to oiven and crank it up to 450. If the thighs are whitish, use higher heat for ~6-7min, if they're slightly pinkish and clear-looking ~12min.

Remove, cover again, let sit ~10min while you're finishing the veg/salad serving bowls, then uncover, platter atop plain white rice made with chicken bullion cubes and 1 stick of butter, and place various lemon rings atop the pretty side. Olives and juices are meant to soak into rice. Use extra pan/cooking juice to serve as a moistener. Extra leftover juices make a *stellar* cooking liquid for the next rice dish.

The lemon rings are meant to be eaten with the bites of chicken. So are the olives.

Poor RD,
Our Best Buy has a team called "The Geek Squad" which is pretty good for fixing PC problems. Don't know if they do monitors. Perhaps you could check at your store.
Otherwise, how old is your monitor? If it is aging... part with the bucks! This is important to your health (mental & physical). Get a new one. Life is too short to suffer with technological setbacks.
Glad to hear no major problems with Auntie... yet. *heavy sigh*

hugs :)

Would The Geek Squad or similar computer-fixer place know hot to fix a sticky button? It doesn't sound like what they are trained to do. Kind of like having a pothole in your driveway and calling an auto mechanic. *shrug*

But if you are thinking about throwing that monitor out for a new one, it can't hurt to take it apart and see if you can't un-stick the button yourself, I suppose. Or maybe that's just the curious little boy inside me talking. Sorry, just ignore me. :P

I'd be one to try and fix it myself as well. Although the Geek Squad may be able to give you some ideas on how to fix it.

Richard, just catching up and want to add my sympathies to all the above ones. I hope you have many happy memories of your friend to keep him real for you.

>184 bookaholicgirl: - About whether vegetarians can still "process meat properly" - I have been vegetarian for 18 years, without a single slip. For the last few months, I have been in and out of hospital, where it's hard enough to get anything at all decent to eat without worrying about preferences, so I have had to eat some meat just to have anything at all at times. I have had no problem at all (except wishing I didn't have to do it, and of course, it's still hospital food so not exactly to Richard's or my standards). I feel like this is an urban myth to make vegetarians feel like they aren't normal because they don't eat meat. But maybe I've just been lucky.

#228 - Thanks for the info (sorry to hear you have been sick, though). My son said he learned it in biology and it had something to do with an enzyme you produce which I guess some people don't produce when they stop eating meat? Who knows. I don't really have any desire to try and find out if I am one of the lucky ones or not. I don't miss it most of the time and know that I am healthier now than I was when I ate it - my cholesterol levels tell me so! I do sometimes wonder if my son told me that so I wouldn't be tempted to return to my meat-eating ways even though I haven't been.

I was a vegetarian for about 10 years through Jr and Sr High School. I gradually introduced meat back into my diet with minimal stomach issues until it came to pork. To this day, I get violently sick whenever I eat it. Before I was a vegetarian I never had this issue. I'm sure it differs person to person based on how sensitive their stomach is to begin with.

#230 - Weird how people react so differently to things isn't it?

Pork eventually becomes problematic for some people who never were vegetarians. I know my brother has difficulty with it, and so does his daughter, although they both used to eat it without incident. My father-in-law supposedly couldn't eat it either.

I am not a vegetarian, but have always had issues with pork... The only pork I could eat without problems was from the pigs my uncle raised and slaughtered at his place.
I don't know if it was the better food these animals got, or the stress avoided because it was not taken to a slaughterhouse.

GeekSquad is extremely slow and overpriced, so it's much better to find a friend who can look at it or else just buy a new monitor. They charged me $100 and took several days to "recover" my data from a dead computer, using the most basic method that takes five minutes of their time--and they didn't even end up recovering everything; some of it had somehow been deleted and they said there was nothing they could do about it onsite. Nor did they offer to refund part of my money when it turned out half of my data was still missing. Plus it would have been another $70 for them to consider whether the computer itself was fixable--not to actually fix it, just to tell me whether it could be fixed. I definitely can't recommend them.

Fortunately a friend was able to recover the other half of my data and advise about fixing the computer. I just wish I had saved my $100 in the first place.

I think the issue is, meat digestion is so rough on a person's stomach, any person's stomach, requiring lots of acid production, that someone whose system isn't regularly challenged by the stuff can feel very icky after eating it for the first time in quite some time. I had a sister and a daughter do the meat/no meat/meat thing, and each of them had pains and grumbles and nausea.

SO! How 'bout a book discussion! I love love love the heck out of Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, which I bought at the Sagamore Hill visitors' center. I will review it, but not here, over in the orphans thread.

Richard.....don't know the brand of your monitor, but often if you go to website of manufacturer there are customer fora (sorta like LT for non-geeks) where you might get a hint about whether the on-ey/off-ey thingie is fixable and if so, how to do. It's worth a try.

You could always take a common kitchen knife, stick it under the button and try to force it to change its position.....

Okay, thanks for all the thoughts on meat. I will not eat pork in the hospital just in case!

Richard, as always I am way behind on threads. I just read about your friend and wanted to add my condolences. I would also like to add that you are an amazing person, so willingly giving all these cooking lessons on line!!! Bless you.

24 hours, awfully quite Good Evening. Shoot Just remembered you have computer problems.

Many thanks, Regina, and I'd scarcely dignify a little advice dispensed with such a grand title as lesson! I love to make food, so I do my best to share what knowledge I have acquired. What good is it if we don't pass on what we've learned?

Hi Cindy...no, I've got The Divine Miss's dinky little netbook...I've been offline because auntie slept not at all last night, leaving me sleepless until ~6a. Then it was time for dog walking at 9a! Then changing/bathing auntie, then the new home-call physician arrived an hour *early*, two hours with her and her *super*hunky nurse, then I collapsed.

After eating a bowl of cereal, here I am! Auntie has pneumonia, we think. A mobile X-ray unit will have to confirm it next week, meantime I'm giving her Keflex (major antibiotic) and gurgling Ensure down her. SSHe has something called a wound vac for her pressure sore, which is slightly infected again! I saw it when the doc was looking it over today. She paid me the great compliment of talking to me like I was her nurse, and she's one of those people always teaching. I commented on how well the granulation of the tissue was progressing, the good color for a diabetic's wound, and she simply moved the skin a bit...voila...yellowish-white discharge. No odor, thank goodness, so it's not into Yikes, just Uh-oh. And I got points for being able to re-seat the wound vac and achieving vacuum in one try.

But then she said something that I treasure..."You're doing a better job than a nursing home would, she's very lucky to be here with such a good caregiver and not there." This is hard, unpleasant work. Sometimes I feel unappreciated. For the doctor to say that to me was very flattering, and for her to talk to me like I *could* understand her even when I didn't immediately was very unusual and gratifying.

The aide is due shortly to do our night-time change, so I had best get on my horse and get stuff ready. I've had a little more sleep so maybe I won't fall over while we're lifting auntie.

I found this neat little meme in Stasia's thread, where she found it in Joanne's thread, and doubtless the genealogy goes further back but so what here it is: The New York Times bestseller list for the week I was born!

Fiction 1 HAWAII James Michener
Fiction 2 ADVISE AND CONSENT Allen Drury
Fiction 3 THE LEOPARD Guiseppe di Lampedusa
Fiction 4 THE CHAPMAN REPORT Irving Wallace
Fiction 5 THE LOVELY AMBITION Mary Ellen Chase
Fiction 6 WATER OF LIFE Henry Morton Robinson
Fiction 7 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Harper Lee
Fiction 8 THE AFFAIR C.P. Snow
Fiction 9 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST Nikos Kazantzakis
Fiction 10 BEFORE YOU GO Jerome Weidman
Fiction 11 THE SUN IS MY SHADOW Robert Wilder
Fiction 12 DIAMOND HEAD Peter Gilman
Fiction 13 THE VIEW FROM THE FORTIETH FLOOR Theodore H. White
Fiction 14 SET THIS HOUSE ON FIRE William Styron
Fiction 15 THE CONSTANT IMAGE Marcia Davenport
Fiction 16 AWAY FROM HOME Rona Jaffe

Non-Fiction 1 BORN FREE Joy Adamson
Non-Fiction 2 HOW I MADE $2 000,000 IN THE STOCK MARKET, Nicolas Darvas
Non-Fiction 3 MAY THIS HOUSE BE SAFE FROM TIGERS Alexander King
Non-Fiction 4 FELIX FRANKFURTER REMINISCES Felix Frankfurter
Non-Fiction 5 FOLK MEDICINE Deforest Clinton Jarvis
Non-Fiction 6 ENJOY ENJOY!, Harry Golden
Non-Fiction 7 THE CONSCIENCE OF A CONSERVATIVE Barry Goldwater
Non-Fiction 8 THE GOOD YEARS Walter Lord
Non-Fiction 9 I KID YOU NOT Jack Paar
Non-Fiction 10 THE LIBERAL HOUR John Kenneth Galbraith
Non-Fiction 11 BASEBALL IS A FUNNY GAME Joe Garagiola
Non-Fiction 12 THOMAS WOLFE Elizabeth Nowell
Non-Fiction 13 TAKEN AT THE FLOOD John Gunther
Non-Fiction 14 THE STRATEGY OF PEACE John F. Kennedy
Non-Fiction 15 THE NIGHT THEY BURNED THE MOUNTAIN Thomas A. Dooley
Non-Fiction 16 DAUGHTERS AND REBELS Jessica Mitford

I've touchstoned the ones I've actually read, just for giggles.

*immediately runs off to check the meme, only to find out that for persons of my ancient vintage, we can only get the best seller list for that year*

I'm so late catching up with you Richard but add my condolences to all the others. So little anyone can say at a time like this.

Love all the recipes you share especially the pork which I intend to try very soon.

>243 ronincats: Oh rot! Annoying, that. But it's the Times's fault, their weekly records didn't start being recorded-for-posterity for *weekly* lists until 1950.

>244 brenzi: Thanks, Bonnie, and I'm glad to give you a new way to enjoy pork!

I too am one of those chronologically advantaged whose list is only printable in years....and there weren't too many I'd even heard of!

>242 richardderus: I like your list better than my list. Unlike mine, I've actually read a few on your list, including #1 on both fiction and non-fiction. If only I was a couple of years younger...... :)

roni & tutu, I'm with you. Hadn't heard of many of them either.

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx for you today, my wonderful friend.

oh dear... more not good auntie news.. poor thing.
You made me go and look my list up .. Shocking how few I have read.

Richard- I hope things begin to look up for you! You need a break, mister! Hope your weekend goes well!

The problem with having breaks from this kind of elder care is when you get back to it, nothing has changed or gotten any easier. The good effect of having time off wears thin very quickly. Sorry it's all so hard for you, RD. Do you feel like your character is getting stronger? :PPPPPP is what I say.

I, too, have found that I am one of the elders in this LT group. Feeling really old now. Did the NYT thing and was disappointed in what I found. Top sellers for the year are obscure or completely unknown to me. Either the readers didn't have much to choose from - or the good writers were taking a year off. :(

Either the readers didn't have much to choose from - or the good writers were taking a year off.

Or bestsellers are not always the same thing as good writers who will stand the test of time...

True, Genny!

Interesting, Richard. Comparing our lists, I find that we each have a U.S. President, a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and a U.S. Senator on our non-fiction list. I'm going to post mine on my own thread.

no bestsellers in my birthweek :-(

How can that be Anita?

Smoochies Mr. D- hope Auntie is doing better soon. :/

If there is a possibility of pneumonia, why are they waiting till next Tuesday for x-rays ? Sure hope it isn't. You are such a good person 8-).

Daily xx smooches xx and ((hugs))

Pneumonia report: Both of us have it. She's had an x-ray this morning, which will confirm the location of the cloud of phlegm. I on the other hand have a sore chest, a fever, the shakes, and rancid sweat...aka pneumonia.

She'll be off to the hospital soon, I expect, when the x-ray is developed and the report called in to the doc. I will sleep more. I slept all day yesterday without break, except an hour or so for some potatoes at 9p. I also got both my expected ER books yesterday.

I started reading In the Courts of the Sun, which is a lot of fun. I think. I can't be sure if it's as good as I think it is, or if I'm just loopy. I'm about at the limit of vertical time. I need to go make sure that auntie's carers are doing the right stuff.

Oh dear, hope all are well soon. Rest, read, and rest some more.

Poor, RD!
Hope you are feeling better soon... :Pneumonia stinks!
Need lots of rest...

Picked up a little positive energy walking thru the diamond snow this morning - sending you what I can... :)

Oh my, so sorry to hear you and auntie are both sick. I hope you both recover very quickly. In the meantime, rest and take care of yourself!

Oh, no! Richard, you've had a tough January. I hope you take care of yourself, that you feel better, and that things improve. ((((((((hugs))))))))

Pneumonia isn't funny---at any age. Be sure to take care of yourself, Richard. Auntie will be in good hands.

Just finished reading the last thread-and-a-half here and wanted to say...

1) I'm so sorry to hear about the sudden passing of your dear friend. You and TDM are certainly in my prayers.

2) I've saved your recipes for some point in my life when I can actually cook an entire meal for someone besides myself. Really, a blog / book / something of your cooking knowledge would be a wonderful thing. (And un-photogenic hands or whatever are not a reason to not do it. If anything it would be nice to see a real, non-airbrushed person cooking and giving real been-there-don't-do-that advice.)

3) Yet another wonderful picture to ogle over each time your thread loads. I've always loved that particular beauty and am astonished to learn it was done in paste! Amazing the talents bestowed on some people.

4) My regrets to learn that both you and Auntie have pneumonia. On the only potential upside to this situation - since Auntie will be going back to hospital, does that mean that Doctor Hotstuff would be in charge again? Perhaps once you are feeling a little more human you could grab the nearest lap-pillow and investigate?

((((((Richard)))))) and a big old smooch to you for all that you do, Dear. Now get thee back to bed for some rest!

Aw Richard. Pneumonia is so debilitating. Sucks the sap right out of you. Hope you both mend well.

Oh no Richard, it's coming in spades for you all lately (and "it" isn't fun stuff)

Here's to a speedy recovery for both of you.

Oh Richard - here's hoping you're feeling better very soon!

Richard- Now you have pneumonia? Wow, things have not been going your way! I'm hoping for a quick recovery!

I am "holding my thumbs" (Scandianvian version of crossing my fingers, for those of you who do not venture into the Green Dragon territory) for you and your swift and complete recovery. Take good rest, friend.

Get lots of rest and fluids, Richard. Even if you think you are feeling better, don't overdo it. Pneumonia can be sneaky and knock you down again. Warm thoughts and best wishes are being sent to you from across the continent!

?? xoxo

Good grief, Richarddear! What a dreadful start to the year for you and yours. The one positive thing is that with Auntie in hospital you can get some decent rest and so recover from your own bout of illness; pneumonia never goes away without rest, I've found.

Much love and a big *smooch* to you, Sweetie. Know that we all love you.

Richard

I hope you are feeling much better today. I'm echoing Gail....

love and smooches.

This is bad news! I hope you'll get all the rest you need. Take care of yourself!

Oh my darling....Tutu prescribes LOTS LOTS LOTS of rest (should be do-able with Auntie in hospital) and perhaps some sips of chicken soup!!! Needless to say, but will say anyway, good thoughts and virtual hugs are wafting in.

Umm...Richard...

Shhhh, he's sleeping....

Rest, rest, rest...

preferably with a Snoopy-style warm puppy beside you instead of a hot water bottle. In a pinch, Stella will do.

Fluids. Good book beside you for when you feel better. No sitting upright except in emergencies.

Rats. Pneumonia is no small thing. So sorry to hear you are both ill. At least if your aunt goes back to the hospital, you will have a chance to sleep and recover quickly. As Tutu says, rest, chicken soup, more rest, more rest.

Yikes! Rest, yes, and more rest. Lots of sympathy, Richard.

Richard, Sorry to hear about you and Auntie having Pneumonia. I hope your Auntie gets the help she requires and that you are able to rest up. Take it easy and rest when possible. I did that meme with the books from my birth week. There are a few interesting ones that I may decide to look for. I have a few of yours on my list to read sometime. Get better soon!!

Monica

As everyone else said, get lots of rest and drink plenty of liquids. I hope that you feel better soon!

Sorry to hear you and Auntie are both sick: take care of yourself, and I hope you're both better soon.

*consults Thread Police handbook* Hmmmm, can't seem to find anything about pneumonia exempting someone from post count violations. Sorry mister! Now where'd I put my handcuffs...

*Handcuffs Richard to bedpost*

There, as punishment you will stay there and REST, no new threads until you feel better. Or, at least, until you are no longer ill.

Stephen, you should know that usually when strapping young men handcuff Richard to the bedpost......well let's just say I hope you have a cop's uniform with assless pants to adorn.

Review: 1 of seventy-five

Title: THE NEW FACE OF SMALL-TOWN AMERICA: Snapshots of Latino Life in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Author: Edgar Sandoval

Rating: 3.75* of five

The Book Report: A series of newspaper columns written by a Mexican man hired to cover the largely Caribbean Latino population of the Lehigh Valley, this book offers a charming, if choppy and repetitious, insight into the new majority of American cities, the Latinos.

Sandoval was hired by the (Anglophone) owners of the Allentown Daily Call to report on the 25% of the local population that the paper was simply missing. Typically, they hired someone from Mexico! These are *not* the same culture, not even a little bit, and the local Puertoriquenos and Nuyoricans and Dominicans were a little bit wary of the furrin dude with the wild-assed accent. He won them over by dint of his reportorial chops, his charm, and the way he could blend into the woodwork or the crowd, depending on the situational need.

The organizational thread of the book is...well...not very organized. It's all over the town, even the Valley. But it's a collection of newspaper pieces! It's NOT A NARRATIVE, so don't read it as such and you'll find it ever so much easier to enjoy. The book is intended by the author and the publisher to provide an Anglophone audience with a short entree into Latino life and community thought. This goal should be froemost in any reader's thoughts to make the book a successful reading experience.

My Review: Well, Mr, Sandoval and I hail from the same part of the world: Nine miles from Mexico, on the Texas/Nuevo Leon border. He's quite a lot younger than I am, but he was a reporter for The Monitor, the Rio Grande Valley's newspaper of record, so I betcha we know people in common: The longtime mayor of McAllen, Othal Brand, is a cousin of mine, and lots of the staffers at the paper know my brother from his years reporting there. So I started this book with a lot of points given to the writer for commonality of experience.

In the end, that is what gave me the reason to give the man 3.75 stars. Really and truly, the book isn't all that; not because Sandoval is deficient as a writer, but because the origin of the stories is a newspaper. There isn't any problem with that, basically, but it really doesn't make for a deep and hearty stew of a read, rather a tasty, lightly buttered toast-point with a decent pate on it. Not bad at all! Just not something I'll charge about demanding others read instanter.

But do look into it if you're one of the many, many anti-immigrant idiots infecting the body politic. This is the story of your own ancestors, unless you're 100% Native American.

Interesting review of "The New Face of Small-Town America" (um, why does the touchstone link to a book entitled "Spam 2"?). I need to read some of the books I've recently purchased on immigration; maybe I'll make one of them my next nonfiction read, after I finish An African in Greenland.

Richard, ARE YOU IN BED ? If not, get there now ! Get up only when necessary. We do not want you in the hospital,too. I am glad both you and Auntie were checked out.

Hmm Richard being strapped to the bed with handcuffs. . young man in cop uniform doing the cuffing. . . *drool pools* Oh, yes, um hmm *clears throat* do feel better. . . *scuttles off*

Padre, I'm so sorry you're ill (and Auntie, too!). I hope you're able to take it nice and easy so that you can provide us with more thoughtful reviews get well soon.

Yes well, I didn't want Richard to think I had ulterior motives, plus I didn't want anyone to think any funny business was going on if I led poor defenseless Richard to his bedroom with a pair of handcuffs! Naturally dressing up and roleplaying as a cop remedied both problems!

Wait, huh? Did someone say assless pants? *glances behind him* OMIGOSH! *sits down quickly with a startled look on his face*

Richard

Living in the ABE (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) area is an interesting experience. Sadly, Allentown is rife with drugs, gangs and crime. The latino population is often mentioned in the local newspapers in a negative way and are blamed for the majority of crime.

----------------

lol Stephen!

Stephen, I'm still struggling with the concept of you as shy...

Richard, have been doing the "anti-pneumonia dance" here in Brooklyn; has it worked yet??? (Don't ask for the details; very, very, deeply scary.)

Richard, having had pneumonia in the past, I know it is no fun. Please, please, please take care of yourself.

(I am booking passage to NY so I can see Suz's anti-pneumonia dance!)

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx

Really sorry to hear you and Auntie have pneumonia! I know how miserable and scary that can be. I hope you're both getting lots of rest and are recovering quickly.
((hugs))

#297 ohhhh anti-pneumonia dance what are the steps...need some here my sister and her two daughters have it as well......hope you look after yourself Richard

I am meeting up with Stasia to see the sites..
Suz dancing and Stephen showing up in costume etc

for your entertainment:
a video of pgh swat team called because man refused meds.

http://www.wtae.com/news/26514626/detail.html

eta

it isn't as fun as the microwave / ravioli thing but?

Hey Mr. Richard, have YOU seen a doctor? A dose of something-something in the derriere may help to clear up the matter. I'm sure Suzanne would like to stop dancing now and reach for a book.

Wishing you and your aunt a speedy recovery. Take care.
--BJ

Now I'm curious as to what an 'anti-pneumonia' dance would look like...

Get well soon, Richard!

You put your left lung in
You take the streptococcus pneumoniae out
You put your antiviral, anti-fungi and anti-protozoa drugs in
And you shake them all about
Chorus
You do the anti pneumonia dance
and you turn yourself around
That what it's all about

You put your right lung in
You take the streptococcus pneumoniae out
You put your antiviral, anti-fungi and anti-protozoa drugs in
And you shake them all about
Chorus again

All together now, with CB...

Roughly what Tui suggests.... *wink*

But I can't divulge the details. I swore a dark oath never to do so. Nor can it be witnessed -- or it becomes instantly ineffective. Really.

305, 306- Lol!

Richard, I hope you are taking proper care of yourself, and that someone is around to take care of YOU! Sending healing vibes your way with this {{{kiss}}}

Pneumonia report: I spent quite a lot of yesterday horizontal and slug-like. (Yes, I am Queen Slug-for-a-Butt's heir.) (Does anyone else remember "Earthworm Jim"?) I took a filched antibiotic and my chest still hurts, I got too little sleep because auntie was chatting it up with her hallucinations, the dog got sick in my bed, pooped on my floor, and felt terrible so she pressed herself as close to me as she could get and pawed me to comfort her most of the night.

So I got 4 uninterrupted hours after I pitched the dog into TDM's room. It's amazing what some sleep can do. And I have my uber-rich and super-calorific homemade chicken soup, with onions, carrots, cannellini beans, and celery all pureed into it after it's slow-cooked all night long. Nice and salty, rich and hearty, and warmwarmwarm.

I expect that auntie will be headed back to the hospital because *I* wouldn't leave an elderly woman in the care of a hollow-eyed sleepwalker. Dunno about the medicare rules, though.

Thanks to each and all for the get-well wishes. I really am doing my best. Today at least, I don't have to walk the pooch out in the cold, so I have a chance to get stronger. I feel like a rag doll a lot of the time, if rag dolls have achy chests and sweaty uccchy armpits. I don't know if y'all're fully cognizant of the huge blessing of endless hot water, soap, and fluffy towelage. There is no more important achievement of American technology than those things.

Never mind the filched antibiotics, sir - get some of your own. The last thing you need is to leave only the really resistant buggies floating around in your lungs.

Besides, if the doctor can say officially that you have pneumonia, they're more likely to cart Auntie back to the hospital - or at least I hope so.

or if you can't get your own, ( which you hd better !!!)
filch more than one..
and get auntie back in hospital.
Eat More Soup and shower hot often

GET TO A DOCTOR TOMORROW if you are not completely healed by morning.
Antibiotics are tricky - and you are playing with fire.
Claudzilla on a rampage!!!!!!!

*smooch* (Oh, crap. Hope I didn't get any germs!)

Claudzilla on a rampage!!!!!!! ?????

That sounds interesting... not terribly frightening.. ( Sorry Cee)
but..

Comeon, Kath! Help me out here!

Sorry .. but you are kinda cute when you are mad, Cee

Richard

Oh, dear, I'm so sorry that just when you had a break while Auntie was hospitalized, now she is back requiring extra loving care while you are so ill.

Hugs! BIG hugs.

Richard, I can't believe you actually got up to make your Chicken Soup. But that's just me. For me, that level of cooking would be an effort and if I had pneumonia, I'd stay in bed and eat, horrors, canned chicken soup.

I was actually trying to make meatballs today and had a question I'd like to pose: what will caramelized onions actually look like? Will they maybe have a little browning on their little edges? Or was I cooking them too fast?

Now, please feel free to wait until you are all well to tackle this question! And I do hope you are all better soon.

#305: Love the ditty, Tui.

#312 : Claudzilla looks like...zees?

The hospital is the best place for Auntie right now. It would be ridiculously insane for you to attempt to give her the care she needs when you're so very ill yourself!

Love the painting and thoughts along with it in msg 1. As soon as I figure out how, I'll post a pic per your request on mine. I'm just back online. So, though I'm sure the banter and chatter was wonderful, I'm beginning my attempts to keep up with your thread here. xoxoxo

Karen.. the onions would be brown.. for me a darker brown.. yummy.

cute puppy :)

*ahem*

"Earthworm JIM!"

We think he's mighty fine!

"Earthworm JIM!"

A hero for all time!

"Earthworm, earthworm, earthworm, earthworm Jim! Hooray for JIIIIIIIIM!"

*cow moos*

Richard's thread so far:
potroast
house tour
pork tenderloin
awful and sad loss
sick auntie
sick Richard
ritual dancing
caramelised onions

all of which I followed fairly well. But I admit that the chant to the earthworm has me stumped.

Never heard of the Earthworm chant either, Tui.

((Hugs)) and xx smooches xx - but you best get your own antibiotics, mister!

>317 maggie1944: Browned edges, slightly gold-colored middles.

>321 dk_phoenix: YAY FAITH! From the sky a suit did fall

EARTHWORM JIIIIM!

>322 tiffin: Antique video game/Saturday morning cartoon from my daughter's last tiny gasp of innocence. Maybe 1992?

I'm not yet ready to resume leading the local flamenco classes, but I'm not dead yet. Auntie's still here, the nurse said I was giving better care than the hospital would. "What about ME?" I whined. She shrugged and said mothers do it all the time.

May I just add...she's a Catholic nun. Reinforcing my loathing for them. Like it needed reinforcing.

She shrugged and said mothers do it all the time. So there.....take THAT, you sluggard, you. Thought you were Something, didn't you? *whips Mother's Cape around shoulders and marches about with Pride* High expectations, no sympathy---the Mother's Creed. You should have checked that nurse's reproductive history before engaging! Oh...WAIT....SHE's the nun? Yeah, Sisters are even Tougher than Mothers....unless it's Mother Superior, than which there is nothing Tougher.

Linda3rd, exactly...she's the Boss Nun of her little hive. Colony? Infestation!

Nevertheless, nursing nuns make people well...like the cranky old GP that used to take care of my grandmother when I was wee. I'd run and hide behind the sofa when he came in with his green eyeshade, sharp nose and nasty little black pills. But it had to be a germ from another planet that defeated him in the end. He set broken bones just by looking at them, and pulled my dad through a life-threatening burn he suffered as a child. I wish he was still with us.

Proud of you for your caregiving. I hear you on the 'whatabout me' hang in there!

Very sorry about your friend and think it's lovely that you got to speak to him that day.

Praying you guys all get healthy soonest!

Thanks for the carmelized onions note. Please, take as good of care of yourself as you do your Auntie. Maybe the nun should'a reminded you that you'll get some jewels in your crown in heaven for all this. Don't know if they are real, or paste, though....

Take care, Richard.

Richard, so sorry you are so ill. Please take care of yourself (as best you can, given you're taking care of auntie too) and get well soon. Sending warm thoughts your way!

OK, you're capable of going out for meds and groceries; and of making soup----you can probably manage a new thread, eh? Don't make me get out the whistle...

Richard you poor man. What a month this has been for you. I do hope things start looking up for you.

ok. You have had abx for a day now. Time for a new thread my man!

In accordance with the dictates of the Scary Mean Ladies' Brigade (you know who you are, Linda3rd, Claudzilla, Kathleen...), I have, despite my weak and shaky state, even with a wretched fever, and uncertain whether the next breath will be my last, started my fourth thread.