1. I'm so proud of my neighbor, Bea. Her husband (my distant cousin) was in the hospital over the weekend. He's got heart trouble. They ran some tests, sent him home, and told him to see his cardiologist right away. Well Bea, being a sweet little old lady, called the office and they gave him an appointment on March 8. When she told me, I was a little stunned. I told her that I was pretty sure when the ER said to get in to see the doc "ASAP", they didn't mean "in a month". I suggested she call back and push a little. I told her the receptionist probably isn't allowed to hang up on her unless she's being verbally abusive (not something Bea is capable of), so to just get on the line and keep saying "that's not acceptable" until she gets something that IS acceptable.
But I wasn't sure she'd do it, y'know?
I told her my Grandpa-Lee-and-the-doctor story.
The next morning, as Gunnar and I were getting back from our walk, Ralph and Bea were pulling out of their driveway. On their way to the cardiologist! Way to go, Bea!
2. My Grandpa-Lee-and-the-doctor story. My Grandpa Lee lived (independently!) to the age of 94. He was one of the calmest, kindest people you could ever meet. One winter he got really sick. Bronchitis, maybe? Well he was a little tiny guy, not even a hundred pounds soaking wet. And old! He called the doctor and they told him the doctor could see him in a couple of weeks.
Grandpa Lee wasn't having that.
"Two weeks? Two weeks? I'm ninety-two years old. I'll be better or I'll be dead!"
They worked him right in.
3. Bea is trying to teach me to knit. She's got her work cut out for her. She got a little piece started for me (a dish cloth) and knitted a row while I watched, and then turned it over to me. Good heavens. Where did all those holes come from? And how come it keeps getting wider with every row?
Pretty sure I need another lesson or twenty.
4. The youth group and a Burmese dinner. A friend from church (Katlyn) went all the way to Myanmar to visit our other friends from church (Jim and Breanna) who are missionaries there. Since the youth group has a special friendship with them, Katlyn offered to cook a Burmese dinner and show them all her photos. (We ended up having it here, because our house it a little bigger, but it was her night :D )
She was a cooking maniac! Three curries, rice, and a special salad. The vegetarian lentil curry was mild (but... vegetarian), then there were the two meat curries. Since she didn't have the goat or water buffalo they might use there, Katlyn (being a native Alaskan) substituted caribou and moose - yum! Her "non-spicy" curry was... pretty spicy... and delicious! The spicy one? I just touched it, licked my finger, drank a large glass of water, and called it good. ;D Then there was the salad...
Apparently Burmese people just love to eat fermented tea leaves. They'll make a salad with that as the centerpiece, and add little bits of other things... shredded cabbage, chopped tomato, cilantro, garlic, lime, fried peanuts, dried shrimp, and probably more. To make sure no one got sick from the fermented tea leaves, Katlyn seared them in hot oil to kill any bacteria.
We all tried it. We really tried. I loved the fried nuts - peanuts and something else - cashews? lentils? I don't know, but delicious. The actual pickled tea leaves? Well, I suppose that's an acquired taste ;D (And a very unique smell, by group consensus somewhere between wet dog, stinky feet, and urine.)
It was a great dinner, and a fun time seeing all the photos :D We miss our friends and are looking forward to their visit this summer :D
5. Katlyn also brought a special chart. We all know there are cultural differences to deal with, and this chart highlighted a great many that have to do with food. Titled
The Food That Shouldn't Eat Together
it was full of food pairings one should avoid, and the consequences of ignoring advice. For instance, you thought you might have something with...
* honey and coconut? Think again! NAUSEA.
* How about mango and "musk deer" (the photo showed a raccoon)? NAUSEA again.
* Pork and curdled milk? DIARRHEA!
* Some kind of pepper and sesame? NECK OR BACK STIFFNESS.
But I really think I'm doomed because...
* Bamboo shoot and "edible globular fungi" (mushroom?) DEATH.
* Chocolate and ground nut (peanut, right?) DEATH
Of course, it's a lot easier to avoid things like
* A black "ice lolly" and mole (photo looks like a rat). DEATH
But of course, if we took it literally...
DON'T LET THE CHOCOLATE EAT WITH THE PEANUTS.
6. Meanwhile, now it's nearly 10pm and the wind is still crazy, and... LIGHTNING! Notice that it's not "lightening" (thought it is lightening up the sky), but it's lightning. Which means I'll probably shut down and unplug, because power surges.
7. But first... I promised Kerry I would make us each an "adult beverage". Seems like the perfect night for a hot buttered rum.
Hope your weekend is fabulous!
1 comment:
Good for Bea! And I'm so excited about you knitting! I hope you grow to love it.
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