kidzdoc is living the highlife in 2016, part 6

These are two recent photos of Ponce City Market, the new mixed use development in Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward that opened last year at the site of the former Sears & Roebuck building. That building opened in 1926, and at the time it was the most spacious one in the South. Sears, one of the major department store chains in the US, sold the building to the City of Atlanta in 1990, and the city operated it as an annex of City Hall until 2010, and it was sold to Jamestown Properties (who also designed NYC's Chelsea Market) the following year. Jamestown revamped the complex, and it opened in 2014, anchored by a coffee bar. Since last year it has become one of the most popular venues Intown, with numerous restaurants and shops, and it also is home to several small scale companies and residents who live within it.



    

Tram 83 by Fiston Mwanza Mujilla
It's All in Your Head by Suzanne O'Sullivan
Roads to Santiago by Cees Nooteboom

Completed books: (TBR = book acquired prior to 1/1/15)

January:
1. My Struggle: Book One by Karl Ove Knausgaard (TBR) (review)
2. Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery by Holly Austin Smith (review)
3. Ru by Kim Thúy (review)
4. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (TBR) (review)
5. Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss (review)

February:
6. Stokely: A Life by Peniel E. Joseph (TBR) (review)
7. Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock (review)
8. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
9. How to Be Drawn by Terrance Hayes
10. The Weight of Shadows: A Memoir of Immigration & Displacement by José Orduña
11. Ready to Burst by Frankétienne (TBR)
12. Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

March:
13. And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile
14. Lighthead by Terrance Hayes (TBR)
15. A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa
16. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
17. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

2016 Reading Globally Themes and possible reads from my TBR collection:

First quarter: Writers from the Caribbean



Alejo Carpentier, The Lost Steps
Patrick Chamoiseau, Solibo Magnificent; Texaco
Edwidge Danticat, Claire of the Sea Light; The Farming of Bones; Krik? Krak!
Frantz Fanon, Black Skin, White Masks; The Wretched of the Earth
Frankétienne, Ready to Burst
Marlon James, The Book of Night Women
Linton Kwesi Johnson, Selected Poems
Peniel E. Joseph, Stokely: A Life
Oonya Kempadoo, All Decent Animals
George Lamming, The Emigrants
Earl Lovelace, Is Just a Movie; Salt
E. A. Markham, The Three Suitors of Fred Belair
Paule Marshall, The Fisher King
Shiva Naipaul, Fireflies; North of South
V.S. Naipaul, The Enigma of Arrival; The Loss of El Dorado; India: A Wounded Civilization;
The Writer and the World: Essays
Orlando Patterson, The Cultural Matrix: Understanding Black Youth; The Ordeal of Integration
Caryl Phillips, The European Tribe; The Lost Child; The Nature of Blood
Claudia Rankine, Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric
Monique Roffey, Archipelago
Simone Schwarz-Bart, The Bridge of Beyond
Lyonel Trouillot, Children of Heroes
Derek Walcott, Omeros

Second quarter: Writers at Risk

Third quarter: Soviet and Post Soviet Writers

Fourth quarter: Dictators, Dictatorships and Other Forms of Tyranny

Books purchased or acquired in 2016 (purchased books in bold):

January:
1. Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi (4 Jan, gift book from brother)
2. The Sea by Blai Bonet (4 Jan, gift book from brother)
3. Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery by Holly Austin Smith (6 Jan, Amazon Kindle e-book)
4. Ludwika: A Polish Woman's Struggle To Survive In Nazi Germany by Christoph Fischer (20 Jan, Amazon Kindle free e-book)
5. Snowball in a Blizzard: A Physician's Notes on Uncertainty in Medicine (23 Jan, gift from MichiganTrumpet)

February:
6. Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock (1 Feb, Amazon Kindle free e-book)
7. Christopher and Columbus by Elizabeth von Arnim (2 Feb, Amazon Kindle free e-book)
8. Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women by Elizabeth Blackwell (3 Feb, Amazon Kindle free e-book)
9. The Weight of Shadows: A Memoir of Immigration & Displacement by José Orduña (8 Feb, LT Early Reviewers book)
10. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (8 Feb, Barnes & Noble)
11. Soups, Stews and Casseroles (Food Writers' Favorites) by MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) (13 Feb, gift from Mom)
12. Negroland: A Memoir by Margo Jefferson (13 Feb, Amazon)
13. The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes by Anupy Singla (22 Feb, B&N)

2015 Booker Prize longlist:

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
The Green Road by Anne Enright
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy
The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota
The Chimes by Anna Smaill
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

2016 Man Booker International Prize longlist:
José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola), A General Theory of Oblivion, translated by Daniel Hahn
Elena Ferrante (Italy), The Story of the Lost Child, translated by Ann Goldstein
Han Kang (South Korea), The Vegetarian, translated by Deborah Smith
Maylis de Kerangal (France) Mend the Living, translated by Jessica Moore
Eka Kurniawan (Indonesia), Man Tiger, translated by Labodalih Sembiring
Yan Lianke (China), The Four Books, translated by Carlos Rojas
Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo/Austria), Tram 83, translated by Roland Glasser
Raduan Nassar (Brazil), A Cup of Rage, translated by Stefan Tobler
Marie NDiaye (France), Ladivine, translated by Jordan Stump
Kenzaburō Ōe (Japan), Death by Water, translated by Deborah Boliver Boehm
Aki Ollikainen (Finland), White Hunger, translated by Emily Jeremiah & Fleur Jeremiah
Orhan Pamuk (Turkey), A Strangeness in My Mind, translated by Ekin Oklap
Robert Seethaler (Austria), A Whole Life, translated by Charlotte Collins

2016 Booker Prize longlist:

  

2015 Wellcome Book Prize shortlist:

The Iceberg by Marion Coutts
Do No Harm by Henry Marsh
Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being by Alice Roberts
My Age of Anxiety by Scott Stossel
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

2016 Wellcome Book Prize shortlist:

Playthings by Alex Pheby
It's All in Your Head by Suzanne O'Sullivan
The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink
Neurotribes by Steve Silberman
Signs for Lost Children by Sarah Moss
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot

Books about Medicine and Public Health:



1. Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery by Holly Austin Smith
2. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Literature from the African diaspora:
Ready to Burst by Frankétienne
And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile

Nonfiction from the African diaspora:
Stokely: A Life by Peniel E. Joseph

Poetry from the African diaspora:
How to Be Drawn by Terrance Hayes
Don't Let Me Be Lonely: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine

Possible reads for the ABC (AmBritCan) Challenge:

Am=American Authors Challenge/Pulitzer Prize Challenge (A, P)
Brit=British Authors Challenge (B)
Can=Canadian Authors Challenge (C)



Planned reads:

January:
Anne Tyler, A Spool of Blue Thread (A)
Robertson Davies, Fifth Business (the first novel in The Deptford Trilogy) (C)
Kim Thúy, Ru (C)

February:
Stephen Leacock, Literary Lapses (C)
Tracy Smith, Life on Mars: Poems (P)

March:
Ali Smith, How to Be Both (B)
Paul Harding, Tinkers (P)

April:
Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin (C)
Michael Crummey, Galore (C)
Hanif Kureishi, The Black Album (B)

May:
Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven (C)
Robert A. Caro, Master of the Senate (P)

June:
Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith (P)

July:
David Levering Lewis, W.E.B. DuBois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919 (P)
H.G. Wells, The Time Machine (B)

August:
Joyce Carol Oates, Black Girl/White Girl (A)
Ian McEwan, Amsterdam (B)

September:
Doris Lessing, Martha Quest (B)
Miriam Toews, All My Puny Sorrows (C)

October:
Michael Chabon, Telegraph Avenue (A)
Lawrence Hill, Someone Knows My Name (C)
Caroline Elkins, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya (P)

November:
Michael Ondaatje, In the Skin of a Lion (C)
Rebecca West, The Return of the Soldier (B)

December:
Alice Munro, The View from Castle Rock (C)
Rawi Hage, De Niro's Game (C)
Caryl Phillips, The Lost Child (B)

Books to Read in March (highly likely to change):

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
Black in Latin America by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat
Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being by Alice Roberts
The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier
Roads to Santiago by Cees Nooteboom
Texaco by Patrick Chamoiseau

I guess you are done with the preliminaries. Happy New Thread! I must try this Ponce City Market!

>10 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori! You're right, this thread is open and ready for business. The Ponce City Market (PCM) is a true gem, which reminds me of the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco, which I adore. PCM has much more space, though, and since many more shops and restaurants will be opening there this year I may end up liking it even better. I'll start going there on a regular basis, as there were at least half a dozen restaurants that I was eager to try today, and numerous stores, such as Williams-Sonoma, West Elm and a neat hat shop, that I want to visit. As I mentioned in my previous thread, it's only a 10 minute drive from where I live, so I can go anytime I want. *happy dance*

Happy New Thread, Darryl! Hope you had a fine Sunday!

Thanks, Mark! Yes, I had an very enjoyable Sunday, as I met Lisa (@labfs39) and a friend of hers for lunch today, on an absolutely glorious day in Atlanta (it hit at least 70 degrees here, which is perfect weather IMO).

Hey Darryl, the Ponce City Market is quite impressive. What is the significance of the word Ponce? Street market sits on perhaps?

>14 Carmenere: The Ponce stands for Ponce de Leon Avenue, Lynda, which is the street that formed the main entrance of the former Sears & Roebuck department store. It's one of the major Intown streets, which separates Midtown (my neighborhood) from the Old Fourth Ward, where this building is located.

Happy new thread and congrats on the new car Darryl!

Happy new thread, Darryl, and what a nice new car!

>16 The_Hibernator:, >17 DianaNL: Thanks Rachel and Diana!

Lovely topper and happy new thread. The market looks very tempting.

I'm tempted by the Claudia Rankine you read as I liked Citizen: an American Lyric a great deal.

Happy New Thread, Darryl! New car??? Looks like I've go and catch up on the old thread immediately! :)

Edit: so I scrolled through 100 unreads and found the car - love it!! Both my mum and my ex have the older X3 model and it's super-reliable and hasn't had any issues in many years. Generally not a great BMW fan (as a German you grow up dreaming either of a Mercedes or a BMW or nowadays an Audi of the bigger ones - it's like being a fan of a football team), but the X3 has been my exception since I first saw it.

And I added the mushroom spinach soup to my soon-to-make recipes.

Happy new one, Doc! Love the looks of that new market - reminds me of the North Market in Columbus, OH, which I super miss.

Happy new thread Darryl! I am hopelessly behind on thread reading and missed the new car discussion on your last thread. I'll have to go catch up.

I hope you do find time to read The Farming of Bones this month. I love the writing in that one.

Congrats on the new thread, Darryl. Excellent news up in >1 kidzdoc: about the Ponce City Market. I love stories like that.

Happy new thread Darryl.

Yum to the Mushroom-Spinich Middle Eastern spice soup. I'm just finishing my bowl (and have three portions to freeze).

I took your advice to use a vege stock. The only other difference was I had cardamon, as I use a cardamon and cinnamon mix for my porridge and I used that (of course there may be cardamon in allspice too). A hit, already passed on to my sister.

ETA: oh, and I didn't blitz it this time, as I fancied chunky, but I'll blitz it next time.

>19 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. Ponce City Market isn't yet as extensive as Borough Market in London, but I anticipate that it will approach that market in the next couple of years, as it grows and gains in popularity.

>20 Deern: Thanks, Nathalie. I'm glad to hear that your parents have had a good experience with their X3. I like the way it looks and handles, and after I drove it yesterday to meet Lisa and David for lunch I feel more comfortable driving it.

Let me know what you think of the mushroom-spinach soup. It's a winner, IMO.

>21 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. I looked at photos of the North Market in Columbus, and there are a lot of similarities between it and Ponce City Market.

>22 cbl_tn: Thanks, Carrie! I finally bit the bullet and bought a BMW X3 SUV, while I was waiting for my 1999 BMW Z3 convertible to be serviced. I had decided to buy an X3 at least 18 months ago, but I keep putting it off because my Z3 was running so well and because I was loathe to part with it. I've decided to keep both cars, as the Z3 is a perfect car to drive around town on sunny spring and fall days such as the ones we had this weekend.

I definitely plan to read The Farming of Bones this month; hopefully Katie will be able to join me, as we discussed earlier this year.

>23 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. I love when historic buildings are put to new uses, rather than having them torn down completely and replaced with new ones. Ponce City Market has a lot of character, and it's one of the few things about Atlanta that I'm very proud of.

>24 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I'm glad that you liked the mushroom-spinach soup as well. Good idea to use cardamon in it.

Interesting use of the word blitz. When Americans use that word, we usually think of this:

Any news with BabyR?

>25 kidzdoc: pfffft re your US blitz! Men on grass chasing after balls....

Happy New Thread, Darryl.

"I definitely plan to read The Farming of Bones this month; hopefully Katie will be able to join me, as we discussed earlier this year."

Planning on it! Have a book to read for a new RL book group I joined which is meeting on Sunday, and then I plan to pick up the Danticat :)

>25 kidzdoc: Interesting use of the word blitz I definitely use it in the same sense as Caroline - you 'blitz' something in the food processor. Don't think I'd use it in a sporting context though.

Darryl, I can understand that you like the Ponce City Market. For me it would be nothing. Only the very idea that I want to eat something specific and it takes queuing a half an hour, shudders me. Then I would have keeping an eye out for an alternative, which I might not be convinced and perhaps wouldn't get also no table, then my hunger would have passed and I would be frustrated. I love eating out, but I reserve a table in advance.

>26 RebaRelishesReading: Baby R. is holding her own, and now that her cardiac function is being mechanically supported she is not unstable (I hesitate to refer to her as stable) any longer. She's still waiting to get a new heart, though.

I saw Jen yesterday, for the first time since we sent Baby R. to the PICU, and we gave each other a huge, warm hug.

>27 Caroline_McElwee: Men on grass chasing after balls....

I know! Best. Thing. Ever.

>28 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

>29 katiekrug: Great, Katie! I didn't finish And After Many Days, as I thought I would this past weekend, but once I'm done I'll start The Farming of Bones.

>30 SandDune: I don't think I've ever heard the word blitz used in the manner that you and Caroline did, Rhian. In the US, that word commonly refers to American football, in which the defense rushes the quarterback to try to sack him, or tackle him in the backfield, as that animated GIF demonstrates.

Do any other Americans use the word blitz in the British fashion?

>31 Ameise1: Ah. You were clearly following the comments on Facebook made by my partner Nadeen and our former business operations coordinator Ann Margaret about Ponce City Market, Barbara. Lisa, David and I did not have to wait to be seated to a table at Mileno, although I think we scored the last table for four. Ann Margaret went there for dinner on Sunday and had to wait 20 minutes to be seated, and Nadeen hasn't been able to go yet, due to the crowds. However, there are at least half a dozen restaurants that you can order from the front counter without having to wait for a table inside, and there is plenty of seating, both indoors and outside (the following image shows some of the seating, but there are dozens of other tables nearby).



The other nice thing about that set up is that the individuals in a group of people can go to whichever place they prefer, and still be able to dine together. PCM is, IMO, the best thing that has happened to Intown Atlanta since I moved here in 1997. Because it's so popular I'll probably go on weekdays and early on weekends, as it will probably be too crowded at other times (it was starting to get that way when the three of us left early Sunday afternoon, whereas it was far quieter when I arrived there at 11:30 am).

I will have to see if the PCM restaurants take reservations in advance, though. Thanks for that idea. My group is thinking of going there on Sunday afternoon.

Hi Darryl! Yesterday, The International New York Times arrived on my doorstep for the first time. It's rather thin, but my first impression is good.

*performs a happy dance*

>33 DianaNL: Awesome, Diana! You'll have to tell me which articles in it you like best, as I'll be curious if the same articles are in the National Edition of The New York Times. I get the NYT seven days a week, and I usually read it when I take the metro to and from work.

>32 kidzdoc: The Ponce City Market sounds wonderful. Like you, I love places where everyone in the group can find something to suit their taste and their wallet, as we did at the South Bank Food Market last autumn.

Morning, Darryl!

>34 kidzdoc: I try to tell something about it in my thread every day, but it's really thin these first two days.

Yesterday, there was a good article about Hillary Clinton's actions in Libya. Today's most remarkable articles are about Trump's penchant for conspiracies and about the refugee crisis in Europe, with border riots in Greece. This last article is a nice completion to the news in my Dutch newspaper. Obviously, here in Europe the refugees are daily news.

>34 kidzdoc: I get the NYT seven days a week
I caved to NYT nagging w/ teaser articles passing through my Facebook feed, and subscribed to the electronic version.

Morning, Darryl.

When I think of "blitz" in the UK, I think of the heavy German bombing in WWII. I'd never heard of its food processing use before.

I think of a sudden attack when I hear "blitz" -- certainly nothing to do with a food processor

Happy new thread, Darryl! That market looks wonderful.

>24 Caroline_McElwee: Actually allspice is one spice, not a blend - it's supposed to taste like a mix (of cinnamon and other stuff), but it just tastes like itself to me.

I'd say I'd whiz the soup. I'd use blitz for an attack or quick action - we blitzed through that store. I wouldn't use it to refer to football because basically I don't refer to football - not an interest of mine, at all. What little I know mostly comes from doing crosswords; they (far too) often have clues about team names or particular players.

PCM looks great! In the unlikely event that I visit Atlanta any time soon, I'd definitely go there.

"Blitz" is the German word for lightning/ flash, which I guess is why they used it for Blitzkrieg - a war to be over in a moment, and then they blitzed for years and years.
I've seen it used much on US food blogs lately and quite like the expression in that sense.

So, is it definitely Trump against Clinton now or can that still be changed? Probably the best thing that could happen to her as it might activate the lazier part of the Democrat voters while a part of the Republicans might stay at home in November?

Edit: just read some comments in the NYT saying that nothing is decided yet, so my local sources might have simplified things.. Clearly they're hoping for a Trump Clinton showdown as both names are well-known here already. Was impressed that the Italian TV had a "US primarie maratona " live show all night. I slept through most of it, but whenever I woke up I saw a grinning Hillary.

>1 kidzdoc: that building might seem quite brutal to some, but I find it really interesting and- it is so cool inside as well! I love the idea of there being people living in it, and it being shops and cafes as well.
The high ceilings woo me....I dream of a house with high ceilings and a mezzanine bedroom. Me and my lovely other are going to sort that out once the noise-restriction-areas that are necessary with children in the house are no longer needed. :)

>43 Deern: It's probably Trump against Clinton, but it's not a guarantee.

On the Democratic side, I see two possible causes for change:

1. Trump assumes it's done and starts focusing on the general election, attacking Clinton and saying all the things that Sanders has been too nice to say. Her support shrinks by just a few percentage points, enough to make a noticeable difference in the head-to-head match-ups. Current polling shows that Clinton beats Trump by three percentage points, while Sanders beats Trump by eight percentage points. There will be a vast number of new Clinton vs. Trump polls going forward, and if she starts to show more frequent losses there, the Democrats might eventually reconsider.

2. Clinton gets indicted by the FBI, or is caught up in some other scandal.

Basically, I don't think it's so much about Sanders gaining votes as about Clinton potentially losing them. Given her current negative favorability ratings and their trend, that still seems well within the realm of possibility.

I heard yesterday that someone on Cape Breton Island had written a piece (in jest I think) inviting Americans who decide to leave to come there as they're losing population and could use some immigrants. He was flooded by serious enquiries about schools, jobs, cost of housing, etc. Talk of "where are we going to move if Trump wins" is dominating conversation among my friends. In reality, I'm not leaving the grandkids (who live about 15 miles from me) so, much as I might like the idea, I'm afraid I'm stuck no matter who wins. Much as it turns my stomach, I think I'm beginning to prefer Trump to Cruz, however.

>46 RebaRelishesReading: - I was texting with my boss last night during the voting returns and asked if I could put in for an inter-company transfer to one of our overseas offices. I'd take the cold in Calgary, the high cost of living in London, the dust in Dubai, or the humidity in KL in a heartbeat. I think the only office location that would rival one in Trump's America for sheer awfulness would be Moscow :)

I was hoping for a picture of you in your new glasses, Darryl. Those are pretty classy, I think.

>48 laytonwoman3rd: Seconding that request.

>42 jjmcgaffey: do you know Jennifer, now you mention it, I think I did know that, so cardamon was definitely an addition.

I love how we all speak the same language, without speaking the same language sometimes.

Hi, everyone! It's been an unusually busy week at work so far, but fortunately I'm on the teaching service this week with an excellent team of one second year pediatric resident (who I jokingly referred to today as the female equivalent of Donald Trump), one pediatric and one family practice intern, and a very interested and personable third year medical student. My long call on Monday was hellish, but it was tolerable because of the good team, and the rest of the week should go well.

I'm off this weekend, work Monday through Sunday of next week, and then leave for London the Monday after next.

>35 Sakerfalcon: I had high expectations for the Ponce City Market, due mainly to the raving reviews I'd heard from a couple of my foodie partners, but the experience was even better than I expected. I've asked other people at work about it, and the responses have been either gushing praise from the people who have been there, or an eagerness to go there from the people who haven't gone yet. I was thinking of getting a group from work to visit the Market this weekend, but now that I've learned that I only have two days off from work between now and the time I leave for London the week after next I think I should use those two days to prepare for my trip, especially since the inpatient census is unusually high this week (which I assume will continue into next week).

I was surprised at how inexpensive the meal at Minero was. The huge plate of chilaquiles was only $10, and the tacos cost $4 each. I got two meals out of my chilaquiles and the pig's head taco I ordered, so it was more than worth it.

>36 scaifea: Hi, Amber! Sorry for the delayed response. I'm glad that you're feeling better.

>37 DianaNL: I haven't read either of the two articles about Hillary Clinton's role in Libya yet, which appeared in Sunday's and Monday's editions of the National Edition of the NYT. I didn't read the other articles you mentioned from Monday's paper, which I mostly read yesterday on the trip home after work.

>38 qebo: Well done, Katherine. I feel out of touch if I don't read a newspaper every day. I'll always get the NYT if I'm in the US, and when I'm in England I'll buy The Guardian, and El País when I'm in Barcelona (although it takes me longer to read that paper in Spanish). I normally don't buy the NYT when I'm in London, but I may do so this month, to keep abreast of the election year and Supreme Court nominee shenanigans. I could read the NYT online for free, of course, but it isn't the same for me.

>51 kidzdoc: I feel out of touch
I feel bombarded by more news than I can do anything about.

>39 jnwelch: Right, Joe. In the UK I would think of the London Blitz from 1940, but definitely not in the context of preparing food. In other words, we're right, and Caroline and Rhian are wrong. ;-)

>40 RebaRelishesReading: I agree, Reba!

>41 tymfos: Thanks, Terri! None of the photos I saw online do justice to Ponce City Market, so I'll probably take some myself (I noticed at least two people doing that on Sunday). I'm not sure if I'll get there this weekend, but I may go back one day after work, since it's a short drive from where I live.

>42 jjmcgaffey: You're right, Jennifer. According to Wikipedia, "The name 'allspice' was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who thought it combined the flavour of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves." I'd agree with that assessment of it.

I'd still give a nod to the Ferry Terminal Marketplace over Ponce City Market for now. I love Cowgirl Creamery, Acme Bread Company, Blue Bottle Coffee and Hog Island Oyster Company, along with the farmers' market in front of the Ferry Building on Tuesdays and Saturdays. One of the farms makes a delightful organic strawberry rhubarb pie, which is my favorite type of fruit pie.

Back to Caroline's comment in >24 Caroline_McElwee: ("I didn't blitz it this time, as I fancied chunky"): several people who commented on the recipe on the NYT web site also didn't use a food processor or immersion mixer to break up the mushrooms into smaller pieces. I did use an immersion mixer, but only for 20-30 seconds, as I also prefer chunky soups and stews.

The Food section in today's NYT had two or three enticing recipes in it, and I may try one of them this weekend.

>43 Deern: I've seen it used much on US food blogs lately

That's interesting, Nathalie. I've never seen blitz used to refer to food preparation here.

So, is it definitely Trump against Clinton now or can that still be changed?

Trump and Clinton are in command of the Republican and Democratic races for the presidency, but there are still many more states that haven't voted yet (well more than half in each primary), and many Republican leaders are actively strategizing to try to somehow keep Trump from being nominated as their party's representative. There is no such talk on the Democratic side, so whomever has the most delegates, Sanders or Clinton, will likely be the nominee. Another wild card, as I probably mentioned in the last thread, is the possibility that Michael Bloomberg, the former Republican mayor of NYC, may run as an independent candidate if Trump is chosen as the Republican standard bearer. So, there is still a lot to be decided between now and this summer, when the Democrats and Republicans will hold their national conventions and choose their nominees for the presidency. Stay tuned.

>44 LovingLit: I don't find that building to be brutal at all, Megan! The original Sears, Roebuck building that was constructed was expanded two or three times after it originally opened in 1926. The designers kept many of the old elements of the building, including exposed beams, unfinished walls and a spiral staircase that sits in the middle of the Food Market. Jamestown did a fabulous job designing it, and I suspect that Ponce City Market will soon be one of the landmark buildings of Atlanta, similar to Pike Place Market in Seattle.

I love high ceilings, too.

>45 _Zoe_: Good points, Zoë. Trump will come after Clinton (or Sanders) hard after the national conventions if he is chosen president, but I expect Clinton to match him blow for blow. I'd like to think that Sanders would do the same thing if he wins the Democratic nomination. I think it's unlikely that Clinton would be indicted by the FBI in an election year, but there could be a bombshell that comes out between now and November that would sink Clinton's chances to win the election. I could live with a Bloomberg presidency, although he wouldn't be my top choice, and hopefully he would enter the race if it looked as though Trump might win.

>46 RebaRelishesReading: I despise both Trump and Cruz, but I'd prefer an intensely dislikable man (Cruz) over a megalomaniacal bigot (Trump).

>47 katiekrug: Wow...Putin vs Trump. As horrible as that choice would be I'd prefer to live in the US than Russia.

>48 laytonwoman3rd:, >49 charl08: My glasses aren't ready yet! I hope to have them by this weekend, or early next week. I'm sure that there will be photos later this month when I travel to London.

>50 Caroline_McElwee: I love how we all speak the same language, without speaking the same language sometimes.

Right, Caroline. I imagine there are more differences between British English and American English than between British English and the English spoken in most Commonwealth countries.

>52 qebo: I feel bombarded by more news than I can do anything about.

I don't, Katherine. I learned how to process large amounts of information in medical school, and I'm able to quickly rip through the NYT and read the articles that are of most interest to me. My problem is that I'll often read newspaper articles too quickly, and not give them the critical attention that they deserve.

>54 kidzdoc: - I am still mostly confused as to the workings of your electoral system but is it even remotely possible that if Bloomberg isn't in the race at this point, that he has any chance at all of winning if he were to jump in late? Is there no cut-off date after which new candidates can't jump in?

I watched a bit of the news and Trump jabbering on Tuesday evening and to be perfectly honest, I had to turn it off within half an hour or so. I have a friend visiting from out of town this week and I probably wouldn't have had the patience to listen to him at all if she hadn't wanted to.

He may be a businessman and a tv star and a loudmouth, but does he actually have ANY political experience at all? Shouldn't that be a prerequisite, especially for the highest position in the land?

>54 kidzdoc: maybe not so much brutal, as industrial...or...is it a fact that I am it an architect or a design expert? That could be it ;) Either way, I like it still.

A little political experience would be nice. On the other hand, we now have career politicians and I don't think that was the original vision either.

I think this explains how Candidate Trump came to be. It makes total sense to me. LOL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OemqVWi_R0k

It makes my blood run cold to think that a schoolyard bully may be our next president or even has a remote shot at it.

>53 kidzdoc: Mm strawberry rhubarb pie, one of my favourites especially if it is tart rather than sweet and, of course, homemade.

>54 kidzdoc: etc. The recent GOP debate with the three children baiting rather than debating each other was worse than pathetic with nothing seemingly beyond the pale. I don't think Trump's genitalia is relevant other than to ask exactly whose pubic hair is he wearing on his head! All three of them are completely unfit to stand as candidates and the Republicans with any level of common sense must be mortified. Clinton is IMO a dreadful candidate and some of her inane sound bites in the wake of Super Tuesday leave me glum for the future and if Bernie couldn't win Mass. how is he going to carry elsewhere?

Have a great weekend, mate.

When I hear the word "bllitz" I think of war. As in blitzkrieg, and the London Blitz. I also think of Blitz the famous fire horse from back in the days of horse drawn fire engines. I don't think of blending food.

I have not been to the Ponce market, but am going to try to get a carload of friends from T-town to go with me someday. A friend of mine and I talked about it ever since we heard about it opening, but we just haven't made it over there yet. I think it will be a large sized version of Eatily. (the Italian market in downtown Chicago) However, I suspect that the Decatur Farmer's Market will be hard to beat. I like the foundational philosophy of the Decatur Market and for that reason support it with my business whenever I am in Atlanta.

Happy weekend, Darryl. Only seven work days to go until London. (hooray)

Happy Saturday, everyone! I'll relish these two days off, since I'll work all seven days next week. I hope to finish two or three books by Sunday, and I'll cook a couple of meals on Sunday, as usual. The weather will be nearly as nice as last weekend's was, so I'll go out later today and tomorrow.

>56 jessibud2: is it even remotely possible that if Bloomberg isn't in the race at this point, that he has any chance at all of winning if he were to jump in late?

Yes, Bloomberg or any independent or third party candidate could enter the race for the presidency and win, although it's too late for him to enter and win the Republican Party nomination. In the 1912 presidential election, Theodore Roosevelt (the former president from 1900-1908) and his successor, William Howard Taft (the incumbent president) were both seeking to be the standard bearer for the Republican Party. Roosevelt represented the progressive wing and Taft the conservative wing of the party, and although Taft was Roosevelt's Secretary of War and his choice to succeed him, the two wings and their leaders fell into disfavor with each other. After Taft was chosen as the Republican Party nominee Roosevelt formed his own party, the Progressive Party, and ran for the presidency, along with Taft, Woodrow Wilson (Democratic Party) and Eugene Debs (Socialist Party). Roosevelt (27%) and Taft (23%) split the right wing vote, and Wilson won the election with just under 42% of the vote.

So, Bloomberg could enter the race before, during or after the Democratic and Republican Party conventions this summer. I think he would have to get the signatures of a certain number of people in each state to be eligible for the presidential election, or he could be chosen as a write-in candidate. I'm not as sure about this process, and if it differs from one state to the next. The election is eight months away, so there is plenty of time for a Bloomberg candidacy to take shape.

Is there no cut-off date after which new candidates can't jump in?

The answer is definitely yes, but I'm not sure what that date would be. I'll check in a bit.

Oof. A half an hour of Trump is at least 29 minutes more than I could stomach.

There was an interesting Op-Ed piece in Wednesday's or Thursday's NYT about this week's Republican pissing contest presidential debate, which analyzed the intellectual depth of the comments made by the participants. Most comments were around the 5th or 6th grade level (11-12 year olds), but on several occasions Trump deteriorated to a 2nd grade level (8 year olds).

Trump, if elected, would almost certainly be one of the least experienced (and, IMO, least qualified) presidents in American history. He has never run for political office, and although he claims to be a successful businessman he has failed at many if not most of his business ventures. I can only hope that the Democrats (and possibly also the Republicans) are fervently digging into his past dealings, and uncover some financial improprieties that would make him drop out of the race or cause him to lose the support of most voters.

>57 LovingLit: I'll agree with you on industrialist architecture, Megan. Brutalist architecture leaves me cold.

>58 Berly: I would certainly want a president with significant domestic and foreign policy experience, and preferably one with some political background. Trump has none of this. The thought of him standing alongside David Cameron, Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Xi Jinping and other world leaders as the representative of the United States government is a nauseating one.

>59 avidmom: Thanks for posting that awesome video, avidmom! I didn't have time to reply, but I posted it on my Facebook page a couple of days ago. That explains everything, I would say.

I'm also waiting for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's head to explode before the end of the year, either because Trump is chosen as the Republican nominee, President Obama is able to successfully install a replacement to Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court, or a Democrat is chosen as the next president. The photos I've seen of him make me think of an aged, terminally constipated tortoise whose head and neck have grown too large for its shell.



If that happened it wouldn't make much difference, unfortunately, as Mitch talks out of his ass 90% of the time.

>60 Familyhistorian: Right, Meg. Strawberry rhubarb pie should be tart and not overly sweet. The best pies I've had were from a farm about two miles from where my parents live which are made on the premises from strawberries and rhubarb grown there, and from the Napa Valley farm that sells its goods at the Ferry Terminal Farmers' Market in San Francisco.

>61 DianaNL: Happy Weekend, Diana! I fell asleep after dinner last night before I could reply to your Happy Friday greeting.

>62 PaulCranswick: Don't underestimate the depths to which the Republican presidential nominees will plunge to gain the votes of their poor white trash supporters, Paul. Now that Carly Fiorina is out of the race I predict that the highlight of the next debate will be an actual measurement of each candidate's genitalia, on stage, to see which of them has the largest one. The one who does will immediately leap to the top of the polls, especially in the southern and midwestern states that haven't voted yet.

>63 benitastrnad: After the football use of the word blitz that would be the second one most Americans would think of, I'd say.

You should definitely visit the Ponce City Market and the Krog Street Market, Benita. I haven't yet been to the Decatur Farmers' Market, in part because I can go to the Piedmont Park Farmers' Market, which is within walking distance of my home. I will go to that market not long after I return to Atlanta, though.

>64 Ameise1: Happy Weekend to you too, Barbara! You're right, I only have seven work days (and nine total days) before I leave for London on the Monday after next.

Morning, Darryl! Enjoy your weekend!

A work colleague of me sent me some photos of her holiday by WhatsApp. She was at New Orleans, Natchez, Vicksburg and Atlanta. She left Atlanta yesterday, flying back to Zürich.

>65 kidzdoc: - There was an interesting Op-Ed piece in Wednesday's or Thursday's NYT about this week's Republican pissing contest presidential debate, which analyzed the intellectual depth of the comments made by the participants. Most comments were around the 5th or 6th grade level (11-12 year olds), but on several occasions Trump deteriorated to a 2nd grade level (8 year olds).

This is something I have noticed many times. I would not permit my 7-year-old students to speak or behave the way most politicians seem to, these days. I'm not just talking about the current crop south of my border, but in general, so many politicians don't seem to have the social skills or intelligence to be allowed off-leash in public. In the not-so-distant past, Toronto had the most disgusting, disgraceful mayor - I'm sure you must have heard of him, Rob Ford - who, like Trump, had money and a foul potty mouth, was a bigot and worse. Thankfully, he was only a mayor, not running for federal politics, and our current mayor is lightyears better.

>68 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! I hope that you're completely back to normal and that you have a lovely weekend as well.

>69 Ameise1: That sounds like a nice trip your colleague had, Barbara. I know New Orleans and Atlanta well, but I've never been to the Mississippi towns of Natchez or Vicksburg.

>70 jessibud2: I agree, Shelley. The political discourse in the US has been increasingly shameful for the past two decades, with this year's Republican contest being especially bad. I do remember Rob Ford, and hopefully he won't enter public office ever again.

I haven't seen anyone mention it yet, but it was announced late last night that the American author Pat Conroy, who was born in Atlanta and lived most of his life in South Carolina, died yesterday at the age of 70. He was best known for his autobiographical novels based on his domineering and abusive father and the difficulties that his family faced, including The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, and The Lords of Discipline.

NYT: Pat Conroy, Author of ‘The Prince of Tides’ and ‘The Great Santini,’ Dies at 70

>72 kidzdoc: - Oh no! I had not heard this news. He was a very good writer. He wrote another book that I adored, called The Water is Wide which was made into a movie called *Conrack*. I also have another of his memoir books, which I am now going to bump up to my baseball reading, as a tribute: My Losing Season

So sad

Oops. Edited to add that My Losing Season is not about baseball, but rather, about basketball. I will probably read it anyhow, sooner rather than later, but maybe not now, as baseball season nears.

>73 jessibud2: I don't own and haven't read anything by Pat Conroy, Shelley. I look forward to your thoughts about My Losing Season.

I just had my first bowl of the Mushroom-Spinach Soup With Middle Eastern Spices that I made on Sunday: mmm.

Here's the recipe, in case anyone didn't see it on my previous thread or can't access the link:



INGREDIENTS:

*6 tablespoons unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil
*1¼ pounds mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, oyster, chanterelles and shiitake), chopped
*½ pound shallots, finely diced
*1 tablespoon tomato paste
*2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
*1½ teaspoons ground cumin
*1 teaspoon ground coriander
*¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
*Pinch ground allspice
*2½ teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
*1 teaspoon black pepper
*5 ounces baby spinach
*Fresh lime juice, to taste
*Plain yogurt, for serving (optional)

PREPARATION:

Heat 3 tablespoons butter or oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add half the mushrooms and half the shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are well browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a bowl and repeat with remaining butter, mushrooms and shallots.

Return all mushrooms to the pot and stir in tomato paste, thyme, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and allspice; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in 5 cups water, the salt and the black pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook gently for 20 minutes. Stir in baby spinach and let cook until just wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.

Using an immersion blender or food processor, coarsely purée soup. Mix in lime juice. Thin with water, as needed. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve with dollops of yogurt if you'd like.
______________________________

I didn't purée the soup for long, as I prefer a thick, chunky soup. I added a heaping tablespoon of Greek yogurt to the reheated soup. After sitting in my refrigerator for six days it was thicker and tasted even better than it did after I first made it. This recipe makes four full bowls, and I'll add it to my regular rotation of favorite stews and soups.

>66 kidzdoc: LOL!! Perfect description of Mitch McConnell, Darryl. I'd love to see him thrown out on his ear (or shell).

Good Afternoon, Darryl! I came by to steal the Aloo veggie recipes. Couldn't find them but I'm still sneaking out with the Mushroom-Spinach Soup. Thanks!

That's sad about Pat Conroy, and so young! I have been thinking of reading his memoir as well. I should bump that up the list.

The Great Santini was also made into an awesome movie with Robert Duvall.

>76 jnwelch: Same here, Joe. He's the face of Republican obstructionism, and I'll celebrate madly when he retires or is voted out of office.

>77 Carmenere: Hi, Lynda! I'll post the Aloo recipes tomorrow after I make one or (likely) both of them. The mushroom-spinach soup is excellent, and very easy to make. I hope that you like it as much as I did.

>78 banjo123: I'll be eager to get your take on Pat Conroy's memoir, Rhonda.

Darryl, I'm planning to make that soup tomorrow and just realized I forgot to get yogurt when I went shopping this morning. It's no problem to get some tomorrow, just looking for your thoughts on how important it is to the overall dish. Thanks ...

>81 lauralkeet: The (plain Greek) yogurt added a nice tangy flavor to the soup, Laura. I wouldn't say that it's essential, but I'd strongly prefer to have it in the soup.

>75 kidzdoc: That soup does look good! I'll have to try it some time soon.

>83 foggidawn: I love this soup. It's perfect for me, as it's thick and meaty, filled with aromatic spices, and very flavorful and filling.

Darryl, I was in a Chinese supermarket the other day and saw a bag of dehydrated mixed mushrooms. I didn't get it but wondered if that would work for this soup? I haven't seen mixed mushrooms at my regular shopping venues and just assumed that I'd have to buy a variety separately. Not that that would be a hardship as I love mushrooms and can always find a way to use them. But I hadn't considered the dehydrated and wonder what your thoughts are on this

>85 jessibud2: Hmm; good question, Shelley. I've never used dehydrated mushrooms, but I would think that they would be okay in this soup. Anyone else care to chime in?

BTW, these are the gourmet blend sliced mixed mushrooms that are available at Publix, my preferred local supermarket:

Thanks, Darryl. I will look around again. I live fairly equidistant between quite a few supermarkets so I do the rounds. Maybe they actually do have mixed mushrooms but maybe I just never noticed because I never specifically looked for them. I am aiming to try this recipe next week as I am still finishing up 2 other soups in my fridge at the moment.

>87 jessibud2: You're welcome, Shelley. Kroger, one of the other major supermarket chains that I frequently visit, sells mixed mushrooms in the produce section, along with Publix, and they are also referred to as gourmet blend mushrooms. I know that the supermarket my parents often go to in suburban Philadelphia sells them as well, as I used them in the caramelized onion, mixed mushrooms and Gruyere quiche that I made for Thanksgiving last year.

That soup sounds so wonderful. I'm putting it on my list of recipes to try very soon.

Very sad about Pat Conroy. He had announced not very long ago that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer---that one just doesn't give you much room for hope.

>89 laytonwoman3rd: Excellent, Linda! Please let me know how you like the mushroom-spinach soup.

You're right about pancreatic cancer. Sadly, with all of the advances made in the treatment of many cancers, particularly childhood ones, other ones, particularly brain, ovarian and pancreatic cancers, are often as deadly as they were 25 or more years ago.

>82 kidzdoc: thanks Darryl. I'll pick some up later today.

>91 lauralkeet: You're welcome, Laura. Do let me know how the soup turns out.

Good Sunday morning, everyone! And Happy Mothering Sunday to those of you who celebrate it. I've gone to Publix and had breakfast, and today I'll try one and probably two recipes from a new cookbook I received last month, The Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla, as I mentioned on Amber's thread yesterday. I'll definitely make Aloo Baingan (Spicy Punjabi Eggplant with Potatoes), and I'll probably also make Aloo Gobi (Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes), unless today's warm weather tempts me to go back out this afternoon. I'll roast some Brussels sprouts in garlic while I'm at it, and if I have time I may make another quiche for the residents who worked with me this week.

Uh-oh. Book bullet with the Indian cookbook. Of course it didn't help that several Ammy sellers have publisher overstocks of it. :-)

One of my resolutions is that if I get a new cookbook, two on the shelf must leave. I immediately marched over to the cookbook shelf and pulled out three to discard. One was so battered, I threw it away. And then I thought about it, pulled the (unsoiled) book from the top of the garbage can and looked at all the recipe notes in it from when the kids were little. Sigh. Back on the shelf. It's amazing how many memories are tied up with food.

I love the look of the spinach soup. I buy the big Costco packs of spinach and then have to work hard to use it up. :-)

I have not seen the mixed mushrooms. I was curious and had to look up dried mushrooms vs fresh. Here's a NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/04/dining/just-add-water-the-case-for-dried-over-...

>93 streamsong: - Thank you for that article! This is just the sort of knowledge I need in my tremendous attempts to scale the learning curve of cooking.

>93 streamsong: Excellent, Janet. I hope that you pick up The Indian Slow Cooker soon.

The Aloo Baingan is going now, which will be done around 5 pm; I'll have it for dinner. That will give me enough time to prepare and cook the Aloo Gobi by mid evening. The recipes are very similar to each other, with the same base of spices, potato, and onion. I bought naan to have with both dishes, and I'll cook some basmati rice later.

I just finished having two prepared salmon burgers from Publix for lunch (sans bread), along with yogurt and a banana: mmm. I almost never buy prepared foods, but the salmon burgers from Publix are delightful, and I pick up a package of them whenever they are available.

It's amazing how many memories are tied up with food.

I couldn't agree more. My best memories come from my late great aunt, my maternal grandmother's sister, who lived in New Orleans and was, hands down, the best cook in the family (everyone agrees to this, including my mother, who can cook). I've probably mentioned this before, but I'll never forget the first time I met her and my other NOLA relatives, when they visited us in North Jersey when I was a young teenager. She made a pot of seafood gumbo, which I had never had before. After I tasted it, I thought I had died and gone to heaven; I had never tasted anything that good! I was fortunate to experience her amazing cooking dozens of more times when I attended Tulane University in New Orleans, as her house was within walking distance of the campus.

The mushroom-spinach soup is superb. I hope that you decide to try it.

Thanks for that great article on dried mushrooms! That's very helpful.

>94 jessibud2: Same here, Shelley! I'm getting progressively more comfortable in the kitchen, but my knowledge base and experience are still quite minimal.

Not much to add today, just catching up.

>96 FAMeulstee: Good to see you here, Anita!

regarding the dried or dehydrated mushrooms- I have used them before.

Typically they are reconstituted before using in a recipe. There are several ways of reconstituting them. Boiling water can be poured over them and then wait about a 1/2 hour to use them in a recipe. Warmed red wine or sherry can also be used. I have done that and left them to sit out under a cover of plastic wrap overnight to use them the next day. After reconstitution they can be used in many recipes but work best in recipes that call for long cooking times.

Dried mushrooms were often the only mushrooms I could get in the past. Now fresh mushrooms, in many varieties, are much easier to find. Even in local supermarkets.

I cooked yesterday as my supper group met last night for a fantastic meal celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the "Southern Living" magazine. I made a molded cranberry jello salad and twice baked potatoes with blue cheese. The main course was Imperial Chicken which was so good. The highlight of the meal was the three layer coconut cake. I really enjoyed cooking the food and it tasted so good. It was great fun.

>72 kidzdoc: I just saw this Darryl, I read a few of his books, and still have a couple to read. I liked Beach Music and a book he wrote about his favourite books.

>75 kidzdoc: I may be making a batch of that again myself Darryl. I took some to my dad last week, and he really liked it. I used close cup mushrooms, mixed with shiitake mushrooms.

I see Nancy Regan died. Like many First Ladies, she was as well known as her husband.

>99 benitastrnad: That meal sounds amazing. My MIL makes a wonderful coconut cake, and I'm hoping it will be on the menu for Easter dinner.

#101
It was a very good supper and the company was genial. It was great fun to cook, eat, and converse over.

One of the main topics at supper was the final episode of Downtown Abbey which lead to a conversation about some of the great BBC productions over the years. Foyle's War, Upstairs/Downstairs, and Poldark were all on the list. The big surprise was House of Cards. Many people didn't know that was a BBC show first.

I finished making Aloo Baingan (Spicy Punjabi Eggplant with Potatoes) a little over an hour ago, and it turned out well.



Ingredients:

* 3 large eggplants, diced, about 12 cups
* 1 large potato (russet or yellow), peeled, diced, about 2 cups
* 1 medium red or yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
* 1 piece (2 inches long) ginger, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch matchsticks
* 6 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
* 3 to 4 Thai or serrano chilies, chopped or sliced lengthwise
* 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
* 1 tablespoon red chili powder
* 1 tablespoon garam masala
* 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
* ¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions:

1. Put the eggplant, potato, onion, ginger, garlic, green chilies, cumin, red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric and oil in a slow cooker. Cook on low, 3 hours.

2. Remove the lid; cook, 2 hours (to dry up some of the moisture released by the eggplant).

3. Add the salt and cilantro. Serve with roti or naan, or stuffed inside a pita pocket.

Note: You will need a 5-quart slow cooker to fit all the vegetables. If your slow cooker is smaller, try cutting back on the quantities by one-third.
_________________________________

I used one russet potato and four serrano chiles. I tasted it after I took the lid off, and was worried that it would be too hot to eat. Fortunately mixing it into basmati rice tempered the spices and provided a nice balance to it. I think I would cook it uncovered for 60-90 minutes instead of two hours, as it's a bit on the dry side, and use half of the sea salt. This recipe makes seven cups of eggplant, and with a roughly equal amount of rice I'll get seven servings out of this. This didn't knock my socks off like the mushroom-spinach soup did, but I do like it and will definitely make it again.

The Aloo Gobi (Spicy Cauliflower with Potatoes) is going now in my slow cooker, and it will be ready in about two hours.

>98 benitastrnad: Thanks for that good information about dried mushrooms, Benita. I've never used them, or seen anyone else do so.

>99 benitastrnad: That meal sounds great! I'd like to try a recipe for Imperial Chicken; if you have a good one I'd appreciate it if you would post a link to it here.

>100 Caroline_McElwee: I'm glad that your father liked the mushroom-spinach soup, Caroline! I had to look up closed cup mushrooms; in the US we call them button mushrooms, which I believe are the same as the common white mushroom.

>101 laytonwoman3rd: You can have the coconut cake, Linda! I'm not a big fan of that type of cake; I'd rather have red velvet cake, carrot cake, or, even better, my mother's sour cream coffee cake.

>102 benitastrnad: Your day sounds perfect, Benita. I'd be completely lost during any discussion of those television programs, though.

We had the mushroom spinach soup this evening, Darryl -- with yogurt as you recommended. It was a hit with all three of us (Julia is home on break). We even thought it might benefit from more spices the next time.

>104 kidzdoc: I'll happily share any one of those luscious cakes, Darryl. And once again, I am reminded to ask my mother for her sour cream coffee cake recipe, which seems to have fallen out of the rotation...

>105 lauralkeet: I'm glad that you three liked the mushroom spinach soup, Laura. What spices do you think would taste good in it? (I'll have to think about that myself the next time I have it.)

>106 laytonwoman3rd: Same here, Linda. My mother hasn't, to my knowledge, made her sour cream coffee cake in years. I'll have to ask her to show me how to make it, or I'll make it myself under her supervision when I visit them next month.

The Aloo Gobi (Spiced Cauliflower with Potatoes) is ready:



Ingredients:

* 1 large cauliflower, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups/1.89 L)
* 1 large potato (russet or yellow), peeled and diced (about 2 cups/473 mL)
* 1 medium yellow or red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
* 1 medium tomato, diced (optional)
* 1 (2-inch 5 cm) piece ginger, peeled and
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped, minced, or grated
* 3-4 green Thai, serrano, or cayenne chiles, stems removed, chopped or sliced lengthwise
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) cumin seeds
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) red chile powder
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) garam masala (see Notes)
* 1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt
* 1 teaspoon (5 mL) turmeric powder
* 3 tablespoons (50 mL) vegetable or canola oil
* 1 heaping tablespoon (20 mL) fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients except the cilantro in the slow cooker. Mix well.

2. Cook on low for 3 hours. Mix once or twice during cooking, especially in the beginning. Eventually the cauliflower will release enough liquid to prevent anything from sticking to the sides of the slow cooker.

3. Add cilantro. Mix well but gently so as not to break up the cauliflower. Serve with roti or naan and a side of onion and cucumber salad.
______________________________________

I did add a tomato, as Anupy Singla in The Indian Slow Cooker said that her foodie father liked it that way. I used three serrano chiles instead of four, but it is still very spicy, too much so to eat by itself (and I love spicy foods). I was too full from the Aloo Baingan I had this afternoon to have more than a teaspoonful of Aloo Gobi, so I'll make more basmati rice tomorrow or Tuesday and try it with rice then.

I picked up 2 cookbooks in a Little Free Library this afternoon: one (rather ancient looking one) on just soups and one on Thai cuisine. I was dropping off 3 books when I decided to have a look at these 2.

Good morning, Darryl. >103 kidzdoc: & >109 kidzdoc: looks delicious. Only seven days to go.

The food looks wonderful Darryl. I've never tried making Aloo Gobi but this is tempting. I made a simple chicken stir fry last night, but the fresh chilli was stronger than I was expecting - I was glad I only put half in the pan.

>107 kidzdoc: Darryl, I like the spices used in the recipe, but might add proportionally more of everything except salt next time.

Just heard on the radio that there is a releases of Fela's rare tracks from pre Afrobeat.
http://www.okayafrica.com/news/fela-kuti-highlife-recordings-koola-lobitos-new-c...

I've only got a best of album (plus a mix that makes me laugh, remixing Colonial Mentality with Pharrell's 'Happy')but this sounds interesting.

Howdy, Darryl! Hope you had a good weekend. Come on! Easy with the foodie images. I am trying to shed some winter weight here! Grins...

I do recommend King Leopold's Ghost. A document of a horrific time in history, that is mainly overlooked. Beautifully done.

Catching up here with all the food! I took the lazy way out at lunch. I got a deli pizza and stuck it in the oven. I'm making a fruit salad at supper and need to decide what main dish I want to make to accompany it.

I have quite a lot of recipes requiring dried mushrooms, but they are usually used in a different way from fresh. They have a very intense taste, and quite a different texture from fresh.

Catching up and seriously hungry now! as much as I love having my parents here, I miss my cooking and the resulting vegetarian meals. My parents both avoid vegetables, claiming they can't digest them - which is normal if you never eat them. So for two weeks it's either bread and cheese or restaurant food. I eat my fruit and salad in the Office, but it's not the same.
I should already plan something for Sunday, but I can't decide yet. It all looks too good! I don't own a slow cooker though, but I guess it will also work with a normal pot, low heat and a long cooking time.

" an aged, terminally constipated tortoise whose head and neck have grown too large for its shell." PERFECT! You pegged it!!

What an entertaining thread you maintain, Darryl. I admire your ability to keep the discussions fresh, given your profession and all your interests. Thank you, thank you.

I scanned through about 75 posts to get here, and I don't recall mention that Bloomberg has formally announced he will NOT run. I won't let myself get started...

Hey Darryl I just finished The Book of Memory, Petina Gappah's first novel. Definitely recommended.

Happy "newish" thread, Darryl. I like the picture of the Ponce City Market. In Victoria they have converted the historic Hudson Bay Building into a condos with a public market in the ground floor, giving the place a rather urban chic appeal. I love the market. It has some food stalls, some farmers market stalls (in season) and a wonderful mini shopping market that carries some unique items.

Going back to your previous thread, congratulations on your new car purchase.

>75 kidzdoc: - Snagging a copy of the soup recipe for future reference. ;-)

Oof. Too tired to post any coherent replies to earlier messages. One more day to go...

Take care.

Looking forward to you getting a rest dear chap.

I had a lentil soup/stew tonight that you would have definitely approved of.

Hey Darryl! My gang loved the mushroom spinich soup. It was perfect and I wouldn't change a thing.
Glad to see you've posted the Aloo recipes. I'll try those sometime soon.

Woo! My hideous work stretch is over (twelve 12-16+ hour work days in a two week period), and I'll be off for 16 days in a row starting today. Unfortunately today has already been an exciting day, even though it's only 7:30 am. I put off getting my medications for atrial fibrillation and hypertension refilled, and I hadn't taken any for the past couple of weeks. After sleeping for a couple of hours I woke up early this morning mildly nauseous and light headed, and when I checked my pulse I realized that I was back in A-fib. Fortunately I managed to find a small number of my anti-arrhythmic capsules; I took one, and then a second one an hour later, but I didn't return to NSR (normal sinus rhythm). So, I made an early morning trip to the ED of the hospital that I usually go to. I was in A-fib in Triage, but by the time I was checked into a room I had converted to NSR. They watched me for a couple of hours, and discharged me home a little less than two hours ago. Needless to say that was a good lesson, and I'll be sure to fill my prescriptions before I travel to London tomorrow. I moved up my flight by a day, as I thought I would be too exhausted to get everything done in time to catch a flight tonight. I'm especially glad that I did that now!

I'll go back to sleep now, and catch up here later today.

I was so tired on Saturday night that I couldn't remember why I wanted to post the message in >124 kidzdoc:. I had meant to mention that Baby R., the 10 month old with irreversible heart failure who I saw last month, received a heart transplant on Saturday. She's still critically ill, but so far she is holding steady.

OMG, please be careful Darryl! I admit I don't understand all the abbreviations (and wouldn't understand the conditions if you wrote them out), but it sounds like you need some rest!I hope you'll be able to catch up on your sleep. Have a safe trip tomorrow!

I'm glad you're doing OK. How lucky that it happened today instead of on your way to London! And how wonderful that you recognized the symptoms.

It's interesting to know that even docrs can also be tricked by the "I'm feeling better, no problems, I'll skip the medicine for a few days' syndrome.

Thanks for sharing the good news on Baby R. All good thoughts to her and her family.

Take care, Darryl. Don't overdo. Sending good vibes your way.

Ohmygosh, Darryl, I'm so glad that you're feeling better! Whew! Take care of yourself, please.

Wow, that was scary. Why is it that doctors are even allowed to do such long, fatiguing stretches, anyhow? There was recently an investigative program on tv here about just that. In my humble opinion, doctors, airplane pilots and anyone, really, who has a job that impacts others, should never have to get to the point of such fatigue. For your own health, if nothing else. I'm happy that you recognized what was going on and were able to get it resolved quickly and easily.

Do you wear a medic alert bracelet?

Good news about the transplant! Wishing her well

Have a wonderful and well-earned trip!

OMG!! "I put off getting my meds for a fib and HTN refilled, and I hadn't taken any for the past couple of weeks." OMG!! And we KNOW what "past couple of weeks" really means!! I wasn't going to say - you know better - but I will. That's my NP rant for the day.

>128 kidzdoc: Yikes!!! And what would you say to a patient who put off getting a medication refill? :-)

>128 kidzdoc: Take care of yourself, Darryl, good care - the group needs you!

A few weeks off will obvious help you but you need to try and slow down just a wee bit buddy.

>136 qebo: My thoughts exactly! Physician, heal thyself!
I'm really glad you're okay Darryl but that was too close for comfort.

Thanks for the update on Baby R as well, it sounds promising.

Yeah, do you need another big sister (I'm really not old enough to be your mother) to yell at you about taking your meds? No? What if I TELL your mother what you did? Huh? How about that? Seriously, Darryl, please be well. We wouldn't know what to do if something bad happened to our favorite kids' doc---and what would the KIDS do?

I've finally caught up here, Darryl, and been drooling over your food pics. Good news about Baby R. And good news that you are ok after that episode this morning. I won't lecture you - my compatriots have said everything I would!

I've still got our shared Danticat read slated in for later this month... Just sayin'!

I'm a bit more awake now after I slept for four hours. I'm still fried, though, so I'll probably go back to sleep in a bit. I'm so glad that I'm not leaving until tomorrow, as I still have a lot to do.

I'll start, and hopefully finish, catching up on earlier messages before I start to nod off. First, though, two literary award announcements. First, the shortlist for the 2016 Wellcome Book Prize, the UK based prize for the best books that have a "central theme that engages with some aspect of medicine, health or illness", was announced earlier this afternoon:



Playthings by Alex Pheby:

Playthings, Alex Pheby’s second novel, provides a compelling and original take on one of the most influential psychological case studies in early-20th-century history: the mind of Daniel Paul Schreber.

Daniel Paul Schreber was a judge who lived in Dresden – and in later life wrote Memoirs of My Nervous Illness, an autobiographical account of his battle with mental illness. This extraordinary book, based on Schreber’s first two confinements in an asylum, became a foundation stone in the psychological history of the 20th century.

What Schreber was not able to write about was the final part of his story: his third episode of delusion and paranoia and subsequent incarceration, from which he did not return. Playthings provides this dark final chapter. Along the way, it plunges deep not just into the mind of Schreber, but also into the society in which he struggled to live – because his rigid upbringing, and subsequent breakdowns, is the story not just of one man, but of Germany as whole.

It's All in Your Head by Suzanne O'Sullivan:

Up to a third of people who go to see their GP have symptoms that are medically unexplained; in many of these cases an emotional cause is suspected. And yet, when it comes to a diagnosis, ‘It’s all in your head’ is the very last thing we want to hear, and the last thing doctors want to say.

In It’s All in Your Head consultant neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan takes us on a journey through the world of psychosomatic illness. We meet patients like Pauline, who has been ill all her adult life, Camilla, the lawyer with the perfect life – except for her unexplained seizures – Yvonne, who was blinded at work by cleaning spray, and Rachel, a once-promising dancer now stuck in the purgatory of ME.

The Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink:

In the summer of 1990, Cathy’s brother Matty was knocked down by a car on the way home from a night out. It was two weeks before his GCSE results, which turned out to be the best in his school. Sitting by his unconscious body in hospital, holding his hand and watching his heartbeat on the monitors, Cathy and her parents willed him to survive. They did not know then that there are many and various fates worse than death.

This is the story of what happened to Cathy and her brother, and the unimaginable decision that she and her parents had to make eight years after the night that changed everything. It’s a story for anyone who has ever watched someone suffer, or lost someone they loved, or lived through a painful time that left them forever changed. Told with boundless warmth and affection, The Last Act of Love is a heartbreaking yet uplifting testament to a family’s survival and the price we pay for love.

Neurotribes by Steve Silberman:

What is autism: a devastating developmental condition, a lifelong disability, or a naturally occurring form of cognitive difference akin to certain forms of genius? In truth, it is all of these things and more – and the future of our society depends on our understanding it.

Following on from his groundbreaking article ‘The geek syndrome’, ‘Wired’ reporter Steve Silberman unearths the secret history of autism, long suppressed by the same clinicians who became famous for discovering it, and finds surprising answers to the crucial question of why the number of diagnoses has soared in recent years.

Going back to the earliest autism research and chronicling the brave and lonely journey of autistic people and their families through the decades, Silberman provides long-sought solutions to the autism puzzle while casting light on the growing movement of ‘neurodiversity’ and mapping out a path towards a more humane world for people with learning differences.

Signs for Lost Children by Sarah Moss:

Set in the 1880s, Signs for Lost Children carries on from Bodies of Light, which was shortlisted in 2015, following a newly married couple who are separated and change in each other’s absence.

Protagonist Ally is now a prizewinning doctor, one of the pioneering group who, against fierce opposition, fought to open up medicine to women. Only weeks into their marriage, she and her husband Tom embark on a six-month period of separation. Tom goes to Japan to build lighthouses, while Ally stays and works at the Truro asylum. As Ally plunges into the politics of madness, Tom navigates the social nuances of late-19th-century Japan.

With her unique blend of emotional insight and intellectual profundity, Sarah Moss builds a novel in two parts, painting two distinct but conjoined portraits of loneliness and determination. Signs for Lost Children is a powerful enquiry into the workings of the human mind and heart.

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot:

Amy was shaped by the cycle of the seasons, birth and death on the farm, and her father’s mental illness, which were as much a part of her childhood as the wild, carefree existence on Orkney. But as she grew up, she longed to leave this remote life. She moved to London and found herself in a hedonistic cycle. Unable to control her drinking, alcohol gradually took over. Now 30, she finds herself washed up back home on Orkney, standing unstable at the cliff edge, trying to come to terms with what happened to her in London.

The Outrun is a beautiful, inspiring book about living on the edge, about the pull between island and city, and about the ability of the sea, the land, the wind and the moon to restore life and renew hope.

The winner of the Wellcome Book Prize will be announced on April 25th.

I own Neurotribes, which I plan to read for Autism Awareness Month in April, and I was already planning to buy Signs for Lost Children this week, as I loved Bodies of Light. The other four books sound fascinating, so I'll buy all of them while I'm in London, and start reading one of them this week.

I'm a Neurotribes fan, Darryl. I'm glad it made the list.

Becca loaned me In a Different Key, which she liked very much.

Treat yourself to a slice of your favorite pie, Darryl. It's National Pie Day (3.14)!

>128 kidzdoc: testimony that docs are the worst patients. I'm with Linda, do it again and we tell your mom!

The format of the Man Booker International Prize has changed, starting this year. It used to be a biennial award for the lifetime accomplishment of a writer, and now it is an annual award for the best work of fiction translated into English, replacing the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. It has a similar format to the Booker Prize, with a longlist of 12 or 13 books, and a shortlist of six books. The inaugural longlist was announced last week:



José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola), A General Theory of Oblivion, translated by Daniel Hahn
Elena Ferrante (Italy), The Story of the Lost Child, translated by Ann Goldstein
Han Kang (South Korea), The Vegetarian, translated by Deborah Smith
Maylis de Kerangal (France) Mend the Living, translated by Jessica Moore
Eka Kurniawan (Indonesia), Man Tiger, translated by Labodalih Sembiring
Yan Lianke (China), The Four Books, translated by Carlos Rojas
Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo/Austria), Tram 83, translated by Roland Glasser
Raduan Nassar (Brazil), A Cup of Rage, translated by Stefan Tobler
Marie NDiaye (France), Ladivine, translated by Jordan Stump
Kenzaburō Ōe (Japan), Death by Water, translated by Deborah Boliver Boehm
Aki Ollikainen (Finland), White Hunger, translated by Emily Jeremiah & Fleur Jeremiah
Orhan Pamuk (Turkey), A Strangeness in My Mind, translated by Ekin Oklap
Robert Seethaler (Austria), A Whole Life, translated by Charlotte Collins

"The judges will announce a shortlist of six books on 14 April with each author and translator receiving £1,000. The winner of the 2016 Prize will be announced on 16 May at a formal dinner at the V & A, with the £50,000 prize being divided equally between the author and the translator of the winning entry."

I already own A General Theory of Oblivion, which was published by Archipelago Books last year, so I started reading it this morning when I was in the ED (ahem). I read a compelling review of Mend the Living, which was published in the US as The Heart, so that was already on my wish list. I'll definitely look at all of these books while I'm there, and I may end up getting all of them, although I may choose to buy the Kindle editions of the ones that are available to US customers.

It's time to catch up...

>110 jessibud2: Well done on picking up those two cookbooks, Shelley. I look forward to hearing what you decide to make from them.

Oh...I didn't mention that I was far more pleased with the Aloo Gobi and the Aloo Baingan on the days that I've had it since I originally made it two Sundays ago. They both tasted good, but not great, immediately after they were finished cooking, but since then I absolutely love both dishes. Needless to say I won't do any cooking before I leave tomorrow night, but I'll have two days off after I return to Atlanta the Sunday after next, and I'll probably try one or two recipes from The Indian Slow Cooker after I return.

>111 Ameise1: A very belated good Monday to you, Barbara!

>112 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. I would highly recommend the Aloo Gobi to you, as I mentioned above. Chicken stir fry sounds good, as long as it doesn't contain broccoli, which is one of the very few vegetables that I won't eat.

>113 lauralkeet: Ah. Adding more amounts of spice to the mushroom-spinach soup sounds like a good idea, Laura. I'll keep that in mind.

>114 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte! I'll check out that link about Fela Kuti's hidden gems later this week.

>115 msf59: Belated hello, Mark! The weekend before last was a good one, and although I had to work this past weekend the service wasn't as busy as it had been during the past two weeks, although it was a struggle to get through those last three days.

Those three dishes were all healthy meals! They would be better for your waistline than beer. ;-)

>116 thornton37814: I'm very picky when it comes to pizza, Lori, which comes from growing up in the NYC and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. I almost never order it, especially in Atlanta.

>117 SandDune: Ah. Thanks for that good information about dried mushrooms, Rhian. It sounds as though they are far from an equivalent substitute for fresh mushrooms, which I have no problem finding here.

>118 Deern: I know that adjustments need to be made when using a soup pot in place of a slow cooker and vice versa, but I've never tried doing that, Nathalie.

>119 RebaRelishesReading: I can't claim credit for that characterization of Mitch McConnell, Reba. If you Google his name and tortoise you'll see images of him side by side with a turtle or aged tortoise.

>120 weird_O: Thanks for the compliment, Bill! However, equal and probably greater credit goes to the 75ers who contribute to this thread. Without them this would be a very dull place.

I did read that Michael Bloomberg has decided to not run for the presidency as a third party candidate, the week before last if I remember correctly, but I was probably too busy to comment about it. His reasoning made sense, as he was concerned that his entry into the race could split the vote and hand the election to Donald Trump.

>121 charl08: I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed The Book of Memory, Charlotte. I bought a copy of it in London last year, and hopefully I'll get to it in the summer or fall. I wonder if it's eligible for this year's Booker Prize?

>122 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori. The Ponce City Market is definitely a gem, and urban chic is a good descriptor for it. Atlanta has too many sparkling new buildings for my taste, especially in Midtown where new skyscapers are continuously being built to house the people who want to live Intown rather than commute from the suburbs. Unfortunately, due to this influx and the poor public transit system we have the roads in and outside the city are becoming progressively more congested, and commute times are climbing as a result. I'm very glad that I chose to live and work in areas where taking the metro is a feasible and desirable option.

From your description I'm sure that I would love the renovated Hudson Bay Building.

>123 DianaNL: Thanks, Diana! I'm glad that the work weekend is behind me, and that I won't have to go back to work until March 30th.

>125 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara.

>126 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I'll bet that I would have approved of the lentil soup. Did you make it?

>127 Carmenere: I'm glad that your crew enjoyed the mushroom-spinach soup, Lynda! It's definitely a winner, as are the two Aloo recipes.

>129 Deern: Thanks, Nathalie. Atrial fibrillation is a pretty common heart arrhythmia, or abnormal rhythm, which is caused by uncoordinated electrical activity within the atria, the two chambers which receive oxygenated blood from the lungs (left atrium) or deoxygenated blood from the body (right atrium). Once the atria fill with blood they contract, and that combined with the opening of the valves between the atria and the ventricles allows blood to enter the ventricles. Once the ventricles fill with blood they contract, and force oxygenated blood to the body (left ventricle) or deoxygenated blood to the lungs (right ventricle). In a normal sinus rhythm, an electrical signal begins at the top of the heart, in an area known as the sinoatrial (SA) node, which spreads from there in a coordinated fashion to the atria, which causes them to contract, and then to the ventricles, which subsequently causes them to contract. In atrial fibrillation this electrical activity is uncoordinated, which makes the atria fibrillate, or contract rapidly and ineffectively, and the ventricular contractions are also disorganized. As a result, a person (such as a clueless, noncompliant doctor) who is in A-fib experiences a rapid heartbeat, heaviness in the chest, and lightheadedness, as the heart is not pumping efficiently and blood is pooling in the heart. That pooling can also lead to clot formation, and people with uncontrolled A-fib are at risk of having strokes. Uncomplicated A-fib can be controlled by medications designed to control the abnormal electrical signal, although cardioversion (an electrical shock of the heart) is sometimes necessary (I came close to having that done when I was hospitalized last year), and in the most difficult cases surgical ablation is required. Fortunately my A-fib responds to medication, so as long as I remember to take it — and from now on I will remember to take it — I should be free from any other attacks (touch wood).

>130 streamsong: Thanks, Janet. Yep, I fell into the trap of being less compliant with my medication with time. My two prior attacks of A-fib followed viral upper respiratory infections, and since I haven't been sick with a URI in months (touching wood again) or had an A-fib attack in nearly a year I became progressively more lax. Doctors are as human as anyone else, and we're probably less compliant than lay people when it comes to taking medical advice, although there is no excuse for letting myself get into that situation. Fortunately it won't affect my trip, and I view it as a good wake up call to take better care of my own health.

>131 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara. I feel fine, and completely back to normal, and fortunately it didn't take much for me to return to a normal sinus rhythm, only one additional capsule of diltiazem. If I had been a bit more patient (or more lax) my attack of A-fib would have resolved at home, but it hadn't nearly two hours after it started, and I didn't feel comfortable waiting any longer.

>132 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. I will do better from now on!

>133 jessibud2: You could argue that I do this to myself, Shelley. I ask my partner who makes the schedule to bunch my days together, so that I can have long stretches off from work to travel. This 16 day break from work is one I've earned by working a concentrated schedule from November through mid-March, and I'll be off for the entire month of June as well; I won't have to use any vacation days this month or in June. Sometimes these long stretches are necessary, though, as we need more staff to cover the inpatient service during the busy season (November through March). Even my younger and healthier partners say that they are exhausted after working 5-7 days in a row, especially during our busy times of the year.

I don't wear a medic alert bracelet, although either having one of them, or a card that I can put in my wallet that list my medical problems and the medications I take would be a good idea.

>134 jnwelch: Right, Joe!

>151 kidzdoc: I suppose your long work sheduldes didn't help to relax. I'm glad to hear that you feel much better.

>135 catarina1: Ha! I was waiting for a (deserved) rant from someone. It's been a little over two weeks since the last time I took diltiazem and HCTZ, but I've been taking those medications on an irregular basis since the beginning of the year. I'm guilty as charged, though.

>136 qebo: And what would you say to a patient who put off getting a medication refill?

Well, in my case it would generally be the parent I would talk to, and not the child. I try to be sympathetic and understanding, especially in the usual case in which a mother is already beating herself up for not giving her child a medication, which causes him to be admitted to the hospital as a result. These moms feel bad enough, so they don't need me dogpiling on them. Less commonly the mothers are actively neglectful and don't seem to give a damn about giving their kids necessary medications, and those are the ones who I chastize, or in the worst cases ask for a report to be made to protective services.

>137 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I sorely need this break, and although I have tentative or confirmed meet up plans with LTers every day that I'm there I'll make it my business to not overplan this trip.

Unfortunately I can't slow down when I'm at work. We're all slaves to our work schedules, the inpatient census, and the patients we're asked to admit when we're on call, from the ER, outside hospitals, primary care physicians, or our PICU. Fortunately my Friday long call wasn't a bad one, with eight admissions in a 10 hour period, compared to 19 admissions on my hellish long call the week before.

>138 lauralkeet: You're right, Laura; that was too close for comfort. I'm grateful that it didn't happen on a work day, in mid air from my flight from Atlanta to London, or while I was in London.

I haven't checked in on Baby R. yet today; I'll do so after I finish catching up here.

>139 laytonwoman3rd: Actually I'm far less afraid of my mother than the wrath I'd receive from the nurses I work with, Linda! I didn't dare mention this episode on Facebook, and especially not that it was due to my noncompliance, as I would have been verbally beaten to a pulp by them. I got an earful from several of them last year after I was admitted for a second time after an A-fib attack, even though at least six years had passed between that one and the first one, and I can only imagine what some of them would say if they knew about this third attack. Their concerns would be out of love, though, and they would do the same thing to their closest nurse or physician colleagues.

>140 katiekrug: Hi, Katie! I have a lot of catching up to do as well, although that probably won't happen until later this week. Those last three recipes, the mushroom-spinach soup and the two Aloo dishes, were all outstanding (thanks entirely to the recipes; I give myself no credit for making them). They were all easy ones, IMO.

I'm definitely planning to read The Farming of Bones this month. I had hoped to finish it before I left for London, but I haven't started it and I've read almost nothing in the past two weeks. I won't bring it with me tomorrow, but I should have time to get to it after I return, as I'll be off for two days after I return to Atlanta on the 27th.

>142 jnwelch: I was hoping that Neurotribes, and Signs for Lost Children, were both chosen for this year's Wellcome Book Prize, Joe. Those six shortlisted books look scrumptious, and I'll look for them as soon as I can, either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

I look forward to your comments about In a Different Key. I'll have to see if Becca reviewed it.

>143 weird_O: Thanks for the π pie, Bill! (Hmm, my iPad doesn't seem to recognize Greek symbols.)

>144 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! I'd say that nurses are equally bad as doctors as patients, Caroline. One of the two very sweet nurses I met in the ED at Piedmont Hospital this morning said that I was a "model patient", as it wasn't busy and since they knew that I was a doctor (from my past records) they came in and chatted with me when I wasn't busy. I did get in trouble with the triage nurse, though, after I commented that it didn't seem to be busy there at 4 am. (We are a superstitious bunch, and it is expressively forbidden to make any comment about how good a work shift is until it ends, as you will ultimately jinx yourself and your colleagues.) She shot me a look, and said something like, "Shame on you! You should know better than that. Don't make me smack you." That was said in good fun, of course, and both nurses and I had a good laugh after she made that remark.

You can tell my mother, and even my physician colleagues, about my noncompliance. I will pay all of you handsomely to keep it from the nurses at Children's, though!

>152 Ameise1: You're right, Barbara. I kept meaning to go to the pharmacy to refill my medications, but I either kept forgetting, or felt too tired to make a trip there after a long day at work. (That's not an acceptable excuse, though.)

All caught up! I didn't take an afternoon nap, so I think I'll stay up as long as I can, since it's 6:30 pm, and turn in early.

Both those lists look great Darryl - many new to me, and others (Four Books) that I am really keen to get to.

Hope you have a good flight and a fun trip.

>151 kidzdoc: - I don't wear a medic alert bracelet, although either having one of them, or a card that I can put in my wallet that list my medical problems and the medications I take would be a good idea.

Yes, it is a good idea, especially since it would probably take you 5 minutes to write out such a list and stick it in your wallet. You can do it at a commercial while you watch the news on tv tonight, before you go to bed.

You can do it so all your friends here will sleep better tonight...;-)

Safe trip tomorrow. Have a lovely week

>156 charl08: I agree, Charlotte. The Wellcome Book Prize is right up there with the Man Booker Prize in my list of favorites, and I suspect that the new version of the Man Booker International Prize will be as well.

I'm hoping for a smooth flight with a quiet seat mate (or, preferably, no seat mate at all). My flight doesn't leave until nearly 10:50 pm tomorrow, 26 hours from now.

>157 jessibud2: I'll do it tonight, Shelley! I ordered my prescription refills online from CVS tonight, and I'll pick them up later if I'm still awake, or early tomorrow morning.

I'll only bring two books with me tomorrow, A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa, which was longlisted for this year's Man Booker International Prize as I mentioned above, and Roads to Spain by Cees Nooteboom, along with my Kindle.

Too much drama, Darryl. One of the pleasures of mail order pharmacies is the automatic mailed refill, which limits my opportunity for gaps. The one medication I can't order by mail is not related to life threatening symptoms, just a chronic insomnia, and I do scramble to get a refill on time twice a year.

Enjoy this early spring trip.

Wow, Darryl, you certainly had a wake up call yesterday, in more ways than one. It's just human nature to slack off prescriptions when you're busy and feeling well but we just have to be mindful of the fact we were prescribed them for a reason.

Happy and safe travels to you. have a good time!

>141 kidzdoc: I've had Neurotribes on the radar for some time and The Outrun (although I have to admit that's more because I love Orkney rather that the subject matter.

>160 ffortsa: You're right, Judy. I equate "drama" with "unnecessary nonsense", and that was definitely the case yesterday. I ordered refills for my medications online yesterday and went to CVS late last night to pick them up, but the pharmacy, which had been open 24/7, decided at the end of last year to close at 9 pm on weekdays. That was a pretty stupid decision on the surface IMO, since it's directly across the street from the hospital and it would make sense for there to be a 24 hour pharmacy there, for people who are seen in the ED in the late evening and early morning hours. I'll pick up my prescriptions, and my new glasses, shortly, and I'll switch to a different CVS pharmacy that is closer to me after I return to Atlanta.

>161 Carmenere: Right, Lynda. It's easy for me to remember to take Prilosec (for GERD), as I'll have acid reflux symptoms later in the day if I forget to do so, but that isn't the case with my anti-arrhythmia and hypertension medications. I'll have to come up with a strategy to ensure that I take these medications every day.

>162 SandDune: The Outrun sounds interesting, although a bit less so than the other five books on the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist. I'll still get it, though.

New specs! Can't wait to see them. Safe journey tonight!

>164 katiekrug: Well, it will be a while before you or I see those new glasses, Katie. I ordered them nearly three weeks ago, and they were supposed to be ready on the 6th. The first set of frames were found to be broken, so they had to be reordered. I received a phone call yesterday from LensCrafters while I was sleeping, but no one left a message. I called back today, assuming that yesterday's call was one to confirm that the glasses were ready before I left home. I'm glad I did that; after speaking with a young woman who was completely useless, I asked to speak to her manager. He was able to help; the glasses are in, but the right lens was not made correcly by the central lab, so they had to be reordered. So, I won't have new glasses after all. I politely expressed my extreme displeasure with the manager (as it isn't his fault for this massive f**k up), and told him that I would probably cancel the order after I returned from vacation and had a chance to speak with the store manager (who isn't working today). Needless to say I am royally pissed off.

Oh, UGH! How frustrating. I don't blame you for being pissed off.

>145 kidzdoc: Fascinating list buddy and I have precisely none of them! Of course I am familiar with a few of the writers and will keep an eye on this one.

>148 kidzdoc: The soup was made by Erni our wonderful house maid.

>163 kidzdoc: it's called a pill box

>151 kidzdoc: On the topic of medical alert bracelets, lists in wallets, etc. ... the iPhone's iOS 9 comes with a "Health" app that includes a Medical ID feature. You can specify medical conditions, allergies, medications, emergency contacts, blood type, etc. The information can be retrieved even if the phone is locked, in the same way that you can make an emergency telephone call.

>160 ffortsa: my healthcare plan requires me to use a mail order pharmacy for any recurring medication. And they will happily refill automatically every 90 days. I agree with Judy, it's a great way to make sure I always have a supply.

>168 catarina1: it's called a pill box Yup. It made me feel old but I finally gave in and started using something like this:


There are many other styles available to suit different needs & schedules. :)

Have a great trip, Darryl.

>169 lauralkeet: Exactly what we use at our house....his and hers! And we both have a card in our wallet with our own med's AND our spouse's med's on a separate list. It would take me a couple minutes to find anything in Craig's wallet, and he would NEVER find my list in mine...hence we keep duplicates for each other.

Thanks for the update on BabyR. I hope she takes the transplant well and lives to have a great life. I also hope you'll take better care of YOUR heart(!!) and have a great trip. I look forward to hearing about it.

Wishing you safe and efficient travels . . . Oh, and have fun too!

Have a great trip!
I just got new glasses and if you are ever in Toronto, can recommend a great independent optician and glasses store. -that would be my suggestion- find a good independent in Atlanta

>170 laytonwoman3rd: the duplicate lists are a real good idea.

>128 kidzdoc: I am happy your heart beats normal again.

Frank used to have episodes of supraventricular tachycardia, he got surgery where they burned away the extra bundles of His. But he had so many they could not remove them all...

Safe travels!

Hello from London! I arrived here late yesterday morning, after an uneventful but quite uncomfortable flight from Atlanta. I decided to sleep in yesterday, and I'm feeling much more rested today. I'll meet Claire for lunch in Marylebone, and then join Rachael and her husband Rupert for an early dinner at a Szechuan restaurant in Bloomsbury.

I'm a bit more than halfway through my current novel, A General Theory of Oblivion by the Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa, which was chosen for the recently announced Man Booker International Prize longlist and tells the story of the country from its independence in 1973 to the current day, centered on an agoraphobic woman who lives alone in a walled off apartment in a high rise building. It's superb so far, and I'll probably finish it today.

Catching up:

>166 katiekrug: LensCrafters sent me a very cheery text message yesterday to inform me that my new glasses are ready. That made me even more cranky, since I'm now here in London. Fortunately my old glasses still work just fine.

>167 PaulCranswick: Other than the Agualusa that I'm reading now I don't own any of the other books, either. I'll meet Claire at Daunt Books, and I'll look for the longlisted books there. Although I'm interested in reading Elena Ferrante's novels I'm not inclined to buy The Story of the Lost Child now, as I understand that I should read the novels in order (and this one is the fourth in the series, I believe).

Ah. I had forgotten that you had a house maid.

>168 catarina1: Ha! I'm not sure that a pill box would work for me, as I usually take my medications after I have breakfast, which is at my desk on work days. For now I've decided to use an empty medication bottle to store my three medications, which I'll keep in my shoulder bag.

>169 lauralkeet: Thanks for that great advice about the iPhone, Laura! My work phone is an iPhone 5S, but my personal one is a Samsuny Galaxy S6, so I'll have to look to see if it has a similar app.

>170 laytonwoman3rd: That's also a good idea, Linda.

>171 RebaRelishesReading: I'll have to check back on Baby R later, Reba. From what I read on Monday she is doing well, relatively speaking, and she may get to go home soon.

>172 brenpike: Thanks, Brenda!

>173 torontoc: That's a great idea, Cyrel. I'll look into that after I return to Atlanta.

>174 lauralkeet: Agreed. I should suggest that to my parents as well.

>175 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I had a brief run of A-fib shortly after the flight left the gate in Atlanta on Tuesday night, but fortunately it didn't last for long.

I'm hopeful that I won't need surgical ablation for my case of atrial fibrillation, similar to what Frank had to go through, and that medications will keep it under control.

I think I'll turn in for a few more hours of sleep before I meet Claire for lunch. Back later.

Enjoy your first day in London.

>176 kidzdoc: re: Ferrante, I've now read the first three and can't imagine reading the fourth as a standalone book. I'm sure it's well written and readable, but the story has much more impact in context of everything that has gone before.

Also glad to hear you've come up with your own version of a pillbox. whatever works for you is all good!

I'm happy to hear that you made it to London safely - have a *wonderful* time, friend!

Hi, Darryl! Big waves from across the pond. Have a terrific time in your Second Home!!

I finished The Dew Breaker. My very first Danticat and I was very impressed. Looking forward to reading much more of her work.

Ah, London! One of my favorite places. Enjoy :)

Thanks, everyone! The hotel WiFi is wonky, so I'm typing this on my cellphone. I met Claire for lunch in Marylebone, then went with her back to Daunt Books, where I bought 10 enticing books, including five from the Man Booker Prize International longlist, and one from the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist. I'll meet Rachael and her husband Rupert for dinner in Bloomsbury in two hours, and I'll spend the day with Bianca tomorrow. I'll post the titles from my book haul here later tonight or tomorrow.

Only ten books! I'm looking forward to the list and subsequent book reports. Glad that you are getting a chance to visit everyone there. Enjoy. And remember to take your meds!

Whew!! So much to catch up on here. In order of importance (and not chronologically). Good God, Man!! Take care of yourself. Please?! I am trying to make up for the beating you avoided by not posting on FB. You are welcome. : ) Seriously, I am glad you are feeling better and even well enough go on your trip. Have a fantastic time and tell us all about it. And thanks also for the recipes. I come here now looking for good books AND food ideas. Also, from way back in >66 kidzdoc:, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell=Turtle made me LOL!

>103 kidzdoc: I have copied this recipe down as love the spicy eggplant that the local Turkish Kebab House does, I here this comes out similar, it looks great.

Re: the pill boxes, I gave my mum a set 18 months ago when my mum was really ill with pancreatitis. Now that she is on medication for ever....she uses them and finds it good as it also , by glancing at it, reminds you when you have forgotten a section!

Happy travels, Darryl! Isn't it fun exploring new and old to you places, you will make quite the tour guide for other visitors to London, I am sure.

Have a wonderful London time, Darryl.



Happy Weekend!

Hey, buddy. Seeing Claire! Daunt Books! London! Glad you're having such a good time. It's nice to be able to picture your adventures.

Ooh ten books. And a book bullet for A General Theory of Oblivion.

I came over to see the London news and found that you are dealing with a-fib, Darryl. What a nuisance! (It always seemed like more to me.)
My DH lived with it mostly controlled by flecainide for 30+ years, but then, after a depressing beginning of the year when that old stand-by was ceasing to work, had an ablation done in September at Duke. We were both petrified, but it was a smooth procedure as predicted and has been smooth sailing since. He has a LOT of energy these days, and I am profoundly grateful for modern medicine. Hope your recurrences are few and far between!
I've marked the international Bookers and am looking forward to more travel reports. I'll also be interested to see what you think of Ferrante when you get to her. I read the first and won't be reading the next anytime soon.
Safe journeying and all the joys of vacation time to you!

Glad you're London trip has got off to a good start Darryl. Looking forward to seeing you and Claire next week for the theatre, and maybe others for the dinner before.

This evening I was at the V&A for a very special lecture by the potter and writer Edmund du Waal.

Passing thru for a rare visit .... Great to hear you are back in London - will enjoy travelling vicariously - do look after yourself ...

Happy Saturday, everyone! Bianca and I had a splendid day in Whitstable, a seaside town about 1-1/2 hours from London by car. There is a photo album and photos from lunch and dinner on my Facebook page. The hotel WiFi is still wonky, so it may take me until tomorrow to post photos and catch up on messages here.

I'm now in East Dulwich, a neighborhood in South London, and I'll meet Bianca and Claire shortly for lunch, and visits to the Horniman Museum and the Dulwich Picture Gallery. I'll check back in later today or tomorrow.

>193 kidzdoc: Wonderful to see you settle in to English life so seamlessly these days, Darryl!

Ten books from Daunt and I am turning green as I type. I didn't go to Whitstable for thirty years but I would guess that I have changed more than Whitstable. Give our regards to dear Bianca (and to Claire of course) and tell Bianca she should visit the group and her thread every so often!

It wouldn't be England if the wifi wasn't dodgy. Have a great weekend.

>193 kidzdoc: I hope you enjoy your day. You are in the area where my grandmother was born - Lambeth, Upper Norwood. Some day I'll get there to do some genealogy work.

Stopping by to say I hope you are having a wonderful time in London, Darryl.

I had another nice afternoon out in the company of Bianca and Claire in East Dulwich today, starting with a superb vegetarian lunch at the Duck Egg Café, on North Cross Road near Lordship Lane, which was followed by an invigorating walk through Dulwich Park and a visit to the Horniman Museum. We had a quick drink at the museum café before it closed, and called it an early night before 6 pm.

I'm back in my hotel, and will stay in for the night. I'll take a break from any meet ups on Sunday, as next week (Monday through Saturday) will be filled with get togethers, with LTers and my work partner Laura, who will visit her sister in Islington, North London next week and hang out with us when she can.

The hotel WiFi is still troublesome, so I hope to be able to post at least one or two messages tonight, and catch up fully here tomorrow. Here are the books I bought from Daunt Books on Thursday:

2016 Man Booker Prize International Prize longlist:
The Vegetarian by Han Kang (currently reading)
White Hunger by Aki Ollikainen
Tram 83 by Fiston Mwnza Mujilla
The Four Books by Yan Lianke
Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan

2016 Wellcome Book Prize shortlist:
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot

Other books:
I Think You'll Find It's a Bit More Complicated Than That by Ben Goldacre
What Happened, Miss Simone? by Alan Light
The Interior Circuit: A Mexico City Chronicle by Francisco Goldman
The Last Days of the Spanish Republic by Paul Preston

>178 avatiakh: Thanks, Kerry. My first three full days here have been good ones, in the company of Claire, Rachael and Rupert for lunch and dinner on Thursday (I'm especially glad to finally have been able to chat with Rachael's husband, as he is also a physician), a day trip with Bianca yesterday, and an afternoon outing in South London with Bianca and Claire today. It would be nice to be in London even if I didn't know anyone, but having great friends like them and the others is priceless.

>179 lauralkeet: I think I'd like to at least give the first Ferrante novel a try, Laura, but there is no way that I'll read all four books in the series this year. I saw a nice story about the mystery behind the identity of the author on BBC One this morning, just before I left to meet Bianca and Claire.

I think that this improvised pillbox will work for me, as I can keep it in my shoulder bag in a small medication container. Now that I've had two significant episodes of A-fib in less than a year (and a shorter one during the first hour of Tuesday's flight) I can no longer assume that these are widely sporadic episodes, which will also help me to treat them more seriously, considering that I would need to be hospitalized if the episode isn't correctable in the ED, as Monday morning's thankfully was.

>180 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! Debbi, Joe and I can attest to the almost innumerable attractions of London and England, and the warm and friendly LTers who live here.

>181 msf59:

>197 kidzdoc: - I saw the documentary film of the same name, What Happened, Miss Simone. I will assume the film was based on the book?

Good to hear that you are having such a great time. Did you buy an extra piece of luggage, for all the books bought (and yet to be bought)...? ;-)

>181 msf59: Thanks, Mark! If our fellow Americans elect Trump to office this may end up being my first home. Rachael and Rupert promised to sponsor my application for asylum to the UK if I choose to flee our increasingly backwards country. A common theme of our conversations this week has been "What the hell is going on in your country?"

>182 RebaRelishesReading: As always, Reba!

>184 catarina1: Yes, ma'am! Given Monday morning's episode, and the brief scare on the flight on Tuesday night, when I seem to have had another attack (which was harder to discern on a moving airplane), I don't think I'll forget to take these medications, and certainly not during this trip.

>185 Berly: Thanks, Kim! I'll try to post photos from Whitstable here later tonight or tomorrow (the WiFi seems to be cooperating at the moment, touch wood).

Here's a photo of Bianca and Claire that I took just before we had lunch at the Duck Egg Café today:



>186 LovingLit: I look forward to your comments about the spicy eggplant, Megan. I was very pleased with it, and the spicy cauliflower, and I'll make more recipes from The Indian Slow Cooker shortly after I return to Atlanta.

I think a more traditional pill box would work fine for me if I took my medications at home. I often leave by 6:30 am to go to work, and have a working breakfast at my desk while I pre-round on my patients on my computer and catch up on e-mail, and my primary medication for atrial fibrillation is supposed to be taken with food on your stomach. If I worked a fixed Monday-Friday schedule every week I'd consider leaving a pill box at work, but because my schedule is so variable that wouldn't work well for me, as I would run the risk of leaving medication at work on my off days.

>187 DianaNL: Thanks, Diana! I hope that you're enjoying your weekend as well.

>188 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! I'll get to see nearly everyone on this trip, and hopefully I can catch up with the others later this year. A return trip to Europe in June is all but definite, as I'll be off for the entire month again this year, and September is equally (>90 kidzdoc:%) likely.

>189 charl08: That's just a start, Charlotte. I still need to get the other books on the Welcome Book Prize shortlist, and several others from the Man Booker International Prize longlist. I'll probably review A General Theory of Oblivion tomorrow, as I've promised it to Claire.

>201 kidzdoc: Nice to see the photo of Claire and Bianca! Please say hello for us.

>190 LizzieD: Hi, Peggy! I'll certainly treat my case of atrial fibrillation more seriously, now that I've had one major and two minor episodes in less than a year after going for 6+ years since my first one. Hopefully it can be controlled by medication alone, but I'm prepared to undergo surgical ablation if it isn't. I'm glad to hear that your husband had a good result from his procedure.

Daunt Books had five of the Man Booker International Prize longlisted novels on one table near the front of the store, so it was easy to nab them. I won't get the latest Ferrante, and I may only buy the other ones which aren't available in the US.

More travel posts will be forthcoming! Other than a trip to Cambridge for Fliss's and Rachael's book club on Monday and a possible day trip next Saturday I'll be in London for the rest of this trip, though.

BTW, if I didn't mention it earlier it's considerably cooler here than it is in the southeastern US. The high temperatures have mainly been in the upper 40s to low 50s F, which is as much as 25-30 F colder than it was before I left. Fortunately I brought warm clothes with me, along with foul weather gear for rain (although it's done very little of that since I arrived on Wednesday).

>191 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I'll have to keep you posted once dinner and other meet up plans become more defined next week.

I may go to the V&A tomorrow, depending on my mood, as I'm staying in a hotel adjacent to Gloucester Road station and can walk to the museum from there.

>192 roundballnz: Good to see you, Alex! I should make at least two more trips to London this year, and visits to Amsterdam and Iberia are also in the works.

>194 PaulCranswick: Ha! Thanks, Paul, although I wouldn't say that anyone who was around me for more than a minute would think that I am an Englishman, especially once I open my big fat American mouth.

Whitstable probably hasn't changed significantly since your last visit here. Bianca and I had a nice visit there yesterday.

I don't want to speak for Bianca, but based on our conversation about LT yesterday I suspect that she'll be back here in short order.

>195 catarina1: I hope that you are able to visit Lambeth soon, catarina. I mentioned to Claire as we walked back to Forest Hill station today that I've become particularly fond of South London, with its diversity, hills and genuine neighborhood feel as compared to the posh and often pretentious areas of some parts of Central and North London. It isn't as well served by the Underground, unfortunately, but the Overground, Transport for London buses and National Rail services south of the Thames nearly make up for this.

>196 souloftherose: Thanks, Heather! Your name was prominently mentioned today (did you join Bianca and Claire at the Duck Egg Café the last time they went?), and all three of us are hoping to see you next week.

>197 kidzdoc: The Dulwich Picture Gallery and Horniman are two of my favourite places. You are walking in Vincent Van Gogh's footsteps too, he visited the gallery two years in a row when he was living in England, and mentions the visits in his letters.

Glad you, Claire and Bianca had a lovely time.

I like Whitstable too. Peter Cushing used to live there.

>199 jessibud2: You're absolutely right, Shelley; the phrase "Inspired by the Oscar-Nominated Netflix Documentary" appears at the bottom of the front cover of What Happened, Miss Simone?

I usually bring an tote bag with me, whose sole purpose is to bring back books and other loot from travels to London and other sources of literary treasure. I suspect that I'll buy at least 10 more books before this time next week, so it will be put to good use.

>202 jnwelch: Bianca and Claire are both looking forward to seeing you and Debbi again this year, Joe! Your names were mentioned several times by them this week.

>205 Caroline_McElwee: We will eventually make it to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, Caroline! Bianca has certainly been, and probably Claire as well. We walked past it on our way to the Horniman Museum, but after our visit there and a quick pit stop at the museum café we didn't have time to return to the gallery.

Today's meet up was a near last minute decision, as we didn't make definite plans until late last night, after Bianca and I returned to London from Whitstable.

I'll look up Peter Cushing shortly. I assume that he isn't the physician who is known for discovering the disease process that is now known as Cushing's syndrome, or the symptoms of increased intracranial pressure that all medicai students know as Cushing's triad.

What a wonderful list of books. I quickly hopped over to Amazon to order The Outrun - its actually coming from the Book Depository.
And the V&A is one of my favorites. I'm so jealous. Be sure to see the ceramics collection on the top floor. You will be blown away. And btw, my best friend's daughter is an assistant curator of photography there. I'm pretty sure that she has a show up now on Paul Strand. Her show of Julia Margaret Cameron is touring the world right now.

>176 kidzdoc: For a good medicine reminder app for Android, try Dosecast - it's worked very well for me when I was on timed medication (antibiotics and the like, where I needed to take them at a particular time several times a day). I don't use it daily because my daily medication (so far) is just vitamins - relatively unimportant.

>199 jessibud2: >206 kidzdoc: I know you do not watch a lot of TV Darryl, but the Nina Simone documentary was very good. Great footage of Herself and interesting commentary . . .

>201 kidzdoc: I have the eggplant dish in the slow cooker as we speak, Darryl! It is very dry as yet, and I am loathe to even remove the lid at all for the second part of the cooking. I actually came in here to check if I had missed some liquid off the ingredients list! (coconut milk maybe, or tinned tomatoes). But I see thre is none listed. I may have to add some tomatoes just to get it moving.

Have fun in Cambridge for a RL book club meeting!

I hope you are having a great time in England, Darryl. Just remember to take care of yourself!

>207 kidzdoc: hahaha, no Peter Cushing was a great old actor, often doing Hammer House of Horror movies, Darcula's/Vampires. I met him briefly once, in his old age, at the National Theatre. He was very smartly dressed, but people were mistaking him for staff. When we spoke, he took my hand and kissed it. One of my friends was all for cutting my hand off and preserving it for posterity :-)

(yawn) Good afternoon, everyone! It's 2:30 pm in London, and I'm still in my pajamas, having finished my second nap of the day. I thought I would need today as a day off, to catch up on rest, and that definitely was the case. Now that it's this late, and because I'll probably take another nap after lunch, I'll stay inside today, finish I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the book Fliss and Rachael's book club will discuss tomorrow night, weep over my floundering March Madness brackets (West Virginia loses to Middle Tennessee in the first round??? And Michigan State is out, too?) and probably go to bed early.

>208 catarina1: I probably won't read The Outrun until next month, but I'll take a peek inside of it later today.

I won't go to the V&A today, but I'll pay at least one visit there one morning this coming week, since it's within walking distance from my hotel. I think I've seen the ceramics exhibition, and I'll have to see what's on this month, including the Paul Strand exhibition that you mentioned.

>209 jjmcgaffey: Thanks for mentioning the Dosecast app, Jennifer. It may not be useful for me, as I take all of my medications once in the morning and not again during the day, but it may be helpful for parents who have to give their kids medications throughout the day. I'll definitely check it out.

>210 brenpike: I love Nina Simone (What Happened, Miss Simone? is the second biography about her that I've purchased, along with Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone by Nadine Cohodas, which I read and reviewed in 2011), so I think I would love to see that documentary of her life.

>211 LovingLit: Well done, Megan! I initially thought that the eggplant was too dry after I finished cooking it. I mentioned that to Erin, the nurse practitioner on the Psychiatry service who is in the same office space as I, but she didn't think so when I brought her a serving of it the following day, and neither did I when I also had it for lunch that day. Those two aloo recipes are perfect for me, as they make plenty of leftovers, particularly if served over basmati rice, and they are amenable to being stored in individual Tupperware containers. Even though I had them preferentially in the nine days after I first made them I still have at least two servings of each dish left over in the freezer to have when I return to Atlanta next Sunday.

>212 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! Taking medications is priority #1 while I'm here, and I'm sure that it will continue after I return.

>213 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! A finger maybe, but an entire hand?

>214 kidzdoc: - I am a member of a documentary film theatre here in Toronto and the Nina Simone doc screened last year for the Hot Docs Festival. I saw it then and learned so much. I actually didn't know much about her, other than the music (I have a couple of her CDs) but it's definitely worth seeing if you get a chance. Another really good one I saw was the doc on Mavis Staples, simply called *Mavis!*

>216 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. I may try to get those two documentaries by next month, so that I can watch them with my parents.

Ha, Darryl, after the first round, there were NO perfect brackets out of all the millions submitted! So you've got lots of company. After two years of being knocked out in the second round, my Jayhawks are safely into the Sweet Sixteen this year.

Glad you are having fun and taking care of yourself. Hug everyone for me.

It looks like you have great but busy London holiday. Good to hear that you're able to take a break today.

>218 ronincats: Ha! I just looked at my current standing in the mega-Cardiology March Madness pool, and I'm in an eight way tie for 275th place, out of 322 entries. That's where I usually am in the first and second rounds, barely ahead of the delusional entrants who choose their mediocre alma mater (such as Pitt) to win it all, those who choose an all-Catholic Final Four (e.g., Villanova, Seton Hall, St. Joseph's and Gonzaga), and those who forget to complete their brackets before the deadline. One of my Final Four teams is already out, as I chose the despicable WVU Mountaineers to join Kansas, North Carolina and, I think, Oklahoma. Normally I would be laughing maniacally at any West Virginia loss, especially a massive upset such as the one they suffered at the hands of Middle Tennessee (seriously???), but that upset all but completely wrecked my bracket, as I had them losing to KU in the championship game. My chance at winning the pool is slightly greater than the likelihood that I will be selected as the next Mayor of London.

>219 Ameise1: Right, Barbara. My biggest decision for today will be to determine if I'll go out at all for dinner, or order room service. I'm leaning toward going out, as I haven't had fish and chips yet, and one of my favorite shops is only a couple of Underground stops away, close to Paddington Station. I can also pick up the Sunday paper while I'm out. However, this hotel has excellent room service fare, including an Indonesian and an Indian restaurant on the premises, which are just as appealing.

>250 Hey Darryl, hope you're having a great time in London...good to take a day off...and I'm so envious, as I LOVE the V&A. Never heard of the Horniman, but my next trip (??) I'll have to check it out.

Re: NCAA--just to set the record straight, it was mighty Michigan State that lost to lowly Middle Tenn., and West Virginia lost to the Stephen F Austin (SFA) Lumberjacks (apparently that team plays a very strong defensive game...and they play Notre Dame later today). So I think just about everybody's bracket is toast at this point.

I had Holy Cross winning the whole thing and then they up and lost to #1 Oregon by 39 points :-P

>221 kac522: Thanks, Kathy. The Horniman Museum & Gardens are located in Forest Hill, a neighborhood in the South London borough of Lewisham. It was founded by the collector Frederick John Horniman in 1901, and it specializes in anthropology, musical instruments, and natural history. It also includes an aquarium, and it's quite kid friendly.

Ah, thanks for correcting me. Needless to say it's been a bit difficult keeping up with March Madness here, as the games aren't on the TV stations available in my hotel room and the WiFi continues to be very dodgy.

>222 katiekrug: I am shocked, shocked, by Oregon's upset win over the Crusaders.

Sri Lanka is absolutely destroying West Indies in cricket, 78-5. I think I'm finally starting to understand this sport.

>220 kidzdoc: Glad to hear that your hotel has such a good service. Probably you get the paper also at your hotel.

Oh. Now I get it (at least in part). The "5" in that 78-5 score wasn't reflective of the number of runs that West Indies had scored; I think those are the "outs" that West Indies earned against Sri Lanka. One of the batsman for the West Indies had a field day, scoring 84 runs, and his team handily beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets, in a tournament taking place in India. (I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about, right?)

I still get a chuckle when I think of an episode in the past year or two, when Claire and I saw an exhibition at the British Museum. I've forgotten the exact details, but as we were chatting, a woman nearby overheard our conversation, as we were discussing cricket. I saw her smile at a comment one of us made at first. Claire tried to explain the basics of cricket to me, as I recall, as the woman looked at me to see if I was understanding her. I must have had a blank look on my face, and when I asked Claire if she was speaking English the woman burst out laughing, and Claire and I laughed along with her.

>225 Ameise1: You're right, Barbara. For an upgrade of £20 per night I get a substantially larger room, a free copy of the Financial Times on my door handle, free WiFi and free breakfast. I'd be much more unhappy if I had to pay £10 per night for an unreliable WiFi signal.

>227 kidzdoc: Sounds good. :-)

>204 kidzdoc: Nope, I don't think I've been to the Dulwich Cafe but from the photos you shared on facebook, I want to go there! Looking forward to seeing you this week - would be lovely to see Claire and Bianca too if they can make it.

I am on the road back to Alabama after my Spring Break trip to Kansas. I can tell you that the Southeastern U.S. is returning to winter weather. Yesterday, on my trip across Missouri and into Kentucky the temperature never got above 43 degrees. Today on my way south through central Kentucky I drove through snow for about an hour. It was that heavy wet snow typical of spring, so it won't stay long. It did turn the ground white. I finally crossed the front between Clarksville and Nashville, TN and am now in a Starbucks at the south end of Nashville (the suburb of Franklin) and the temperature is about 50 degrees. I hope that I can stay ahead of the wet cold weather that is now behind me, but I don't think that will happen, and am sure that Alabama will be cold and wet for the next few days.

>229 souloftherose: I'm looking forward to seeing you too, Heather! So far this coming week consists of a mixture of fixed, flexible and as yet undetermined plans. Tomorrow afternoon I'll go to Cambridge for Fliss and Rachael's book club, but I have no fixed plans during the morning and afternoon. Margaret (@wandering_star) and I are going to the Calder sculpture exhibition at Tate Modern at 15.30, and I'll meet Caroline and Claire for dinner somewhere around Southbank Centre before we see "Ma Rainey" at the National Theatre (and hopefully Margaret can join us for dinner). I'm free on Wednesday until 18.30, when I'll meet Margaret at the Menier Chocolate Factory for dinner and a play there. Bianca may be able to join us for "coffee or something", according to her message last night. Bianca and I were going to meet up during the day on Thursday, my birthday, and my work partner Laura, who is flying to London tonight to visit her sister (who lives in Islington), wanted to take me out to dinner that night (and I hope that we can see the play "Les Blancs" at the NT). I'll spend Friday afternoon and evening with Fliss in London, as we'll at least have dinner and see "The Painkillers" by the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. Finally, Bianca, Claire and I will probably meet up again during the morning and afternoon on Saturday.

>230 benitastrnad: Wow...what happened to spring in the Deep South? It was 82 F (28 C) when I left Atlanta on Tuesday.

Happy Spring Darryl! Sounds like you've had quite a fantastic trip. :)

>232 The_Hibernator: Thanks, and Happy Spring to you too, Rachel!

Always amazed how much you manage to pack into your trips Darryl. I look forward to your theatre reports. The book acquisitions so far look good - of course. Hope you have reasonable weather for the rest of your visit.

>231 kidzdoc: - the Menier Chocolate Factory for dinner

For me, that could/would be deadly. Delicious but I thinks all bets would be off, as far as *healthy eating*....

;-)

Happy Monday, Darryl!

You're sparking memories. Good one: I bought the copy of Dubliners I'm reading at Daunt Books this summer.
Bad one: I lived in Europe during the Nixon years. Got really tired of the "what's up with you people?!" question.

>231 kidzdoc: What?! Menier Chocolate Factory for dinner? OK. Now I'm jealous! LOL

>235 jessibud2: and >238 avidmom: sorry to disappoint you, they don't make chocolate any more! It's a theatre and dinner place. If they made chocolate, no one would be watching the plays.

It's nearly half past midnight in London, and I'm just getting back to my hotel, after a very enjoyable evening spent in a pub in Cambridge with Fliss and three members of her book club over dinner. We discussed I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, which I liked but didn't love, although I appreciated it more after comments by Fliss, Kate, Miriam and Viv. The three of them couldn't have been any nicer, or more entertaining, and I felt as if I was amongst old friends within minutes of meeting each of them. Cambridge station is a little less than an hour by train from London King's Cross station (KGX), and on the return journey I finished The Vegetarian by Han Kang, which was chosen for the Man Booker International Prize longlist earlier this month. Rachael said that it was "great", and since our tastes in books closely overlap I chose to read it after I finished A General Theory of Oblivion, which also made the MBIP longlist. As usual, Rachael was right; I'll give it 4-1/2 stars.

>234 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. Tomorrow (I guess actually tonight, since it's already Tuesday in the UK) will start my theatre visits, starting with Ma Rainey's Black Bottom at the National Theatre. I'll try to post short impressions here shortly after I see the plays, and longer reviews after I return to the US.

>235 jessibud2:, >238 avidmom:, >239 Caroline_McElwee: As Caroline said, the Menier Chocolate Factory, located on Southwark Road close to the south bank of the Thames near Borough Market and London Bridge station, is now a 180 seat theatre and restaurant. In its former life it did manufacture chocolates and other sweets, though. This will be my first time going there, so I'm particularly looking forward to it.

>236 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>237 RebaRelishesReading: Daunt Books is an absolute treasure (and a danger to anyone's bank account who enters its lovely doors), and it's one of my two favorite bookshops in London, along with The London Review Bookshop.

D--Thanks for posting the picture and all the updates. I am so glad you are having a wonderful time in England, although you should not have been so surprised that Oregon knocked the Crusader's out. Just saying. ; )

Your trip sounds so amazing so far! I'm so glad that you're having a good time, friend.

>241 Berly: Thanks, Kim. I was kidding about Holy Cross, of course.

>242 scaifea: Thanks, Amber.

I'm watching BBC One's coverage of the terrorist bombings in Brussels. Horrible.

Crying for the victims in Brussels :'(

Came to check on you, Darryl. Feeling great sadness and concern for everyone in Brussels and for all friends everywhere who have to travel.

Good morning, everyone! I had a splendid day yesterday, which I'll recount in the new thread that I'll create shortly.

>244 FAMeulstee: Right, Anita. Many people feared that a terrorist attack in Brussels was imminent, after the capture of one of the masterminds of the Paris bombings last week, but I doubt that anyone truly expected it to happen, and so soon.

>245 laytonwoman3rd: Yesterday was an otherwise normal day in London, Linda. Claire and I talked briefly about the bombings yesterday before dinner, but not after that.

ETA: Actually, the WiFi in the hotel is so unreliable that it's probably better if I create a new thread in a café this afternoon.