Baby let's cruise....

So... did I mention we were going on a cruise? It's true. We're going on a cruise (Venice, Italy to Athens, Greece) - in the hot hot heat of the hot hot summer in the hot hot Europe - in my hot hot hair. True! 

My inlaws are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary so we are meeting them at their half-way point (Venice) to spend the second part of the the trip with them through Croatia, Crete, Turkey and ending in Athens on the 4th of July.

Cruising isn't our normal travel choice - but..... we're game, and it's the Cunard Line and we're on the Queen Elizabeth... and I'm currently about 100 years old, so the pace should be about perfect for me.

Also, my mom is coming too, which makes me very happy! Should be a lot of fun hanging out with her so I'm pretty excited about that. What I'm not that excited about is what a sloth I am right now and how actually getting from point A to point B should be interesting. I have been feeling pretty good through this round of chemo, but overall, I'm just T I R E D - so if you wonder where I am, I'll be with all the little old ladies in the shade at the pool. Seriously. Maybe they will teach me how to play canasta? 

Here's the old broad!

Here's my seat by the pool

Our digs

It's pretty interesting to travel plan in my current "situation". I'm packing the strangest stuff, it really feels like I'm packing for my grandmother if I had one. I've got meds and creams and all sorts of supplements and potions. Plus I'm worrying about how I'm going to carry my carry-on and how I'm going to wear or not wear my hair on the flight. Jeezzzzz- I'm a treat right now! But, overall, I'm pretty excited to get away from here for 10 days and enjoy of view from somewhere else. And super happy to revisit Croatia if even for a day. 

We leave on Thursday - back on July 7th. If I have the opportunity to post anything I will, but count on some good photo's when I get back. 

Buon Viaggio!

Instant Gratification

If you're looking for a little instant gratification, get out your pressure washer and go to town. Our patio at the farm was looking pretty shabby after the winter, so I got out there and got this done. Kit got me all set up, because I was feeling pretty much like standing there with the hose was about all I could manage. Luckily it's a pretty straight forward point and shoot operation, so........ here are some quick before, during and afters...

Looks good now - just need a little sunshine and to get the rest of the patio furniture set up, and we're ready for summer.

Before - see how dirty and streaky - bleck.

Another before shot

At the halfway point - look at the difference. Ahhhh- gratification!

And after it's done. Beautiful!

Mother Nature Gets it Right

Peony season is upon us! I've had these in the garden for the past 5 years. This is their best year yet. I'm tempted to move them to a better location, but they are finally so gorgeous I actually hate to disturb them. Mother Nature - awesome job lady!!!

I'm not French.....

....but my radishes are! These beauties are fresh from the garden. I don't even really like radishes that much, but they are so beautiful I have to grow them. Look how pretty!!!

Too lame to post!

Hey - sorry! There were a few weeks there where I was just too lame to post anything - I just couldn't lift my heavy heavy arms up to the keyboard. Here's a quick update on the (say in whisper) .......cancer.

I just finished 8 weeks of A/C chemo. It sucked. There really isn't a nicer way to put it. You go into chemo feeling pretty good, and come out of there like someone punched you in the face with a large bag of drugs. So, for the last 8 weeks I've been a drugged up mess - I tried sleeping through most of it. That particular chemo round was every other week, so 4 infusions over 8 weeks. The first week after chemo was the worst, just groggy, druggy, flulike - then it got better in the second week, and by the end of the second week, just when you are feeling almost normal - it's time for the next sucker punch.

I had a lot of weirdo side effects - but luckily not all at the same time. I had mouth sores, I had headaches, I had tingling, numbness on my nose and skin, super dry inside of my nose, upset stomach, nausea, dry skin, no tastebuds.... name it, I had it.... but.... more than anything else I was so tired I could barely pick my arms up. Knuckle dragger for sure. 

BUT WHOHOOOOOOOOO - THAT'S OVER! 

Now I'm onto the second phase of chemo, which is a 12 week course (every Wednesday) of Taxol, along with Herceptin and Perjeta (every third Wednesday). This week I had another PET scan and MRI and MUGA heart scan - which are all tests they did at the start of this ordeal. These were updates to check progress. I don't expect to get the results myself, I think those things go directly to my doctor, and part of that testing that I get is extra because I'm part of a research study - so... test test test, and then proceed. Since Wednesday was the "new" chemo, and because some people have pretty serious allergic reactions to Taxol, I was watched pretty carefully during the first part of my infusion. Those nurses at SCCA are so great though - it went really well. I didn't have any reaction at all. It was an extra long day because on the first appointment you get all three drugs and they administer them more slowly in the beginning to make sure you can tolerate them. Next time it won't take as long. I was there from noon to almost 6:45pm. the next time the Herceptin and Perjeta will take about an hour less. And I'm not complaining because I FEEL GREAT! 

Here it is two days later - and I still feel almost normal! So, now I have so much less dread of the next 12 weeks and can start thinking about some other things, like golf, projects, getting out of bed.... you know, normal stuff.

Other details: Hair still gone, but fingernails look pretty good. Red blood count a little low, but whites are good. We had big red steak last night and a pile of spinach - should fix that right up. My eyebrows are starting to look a little sparse - alas. And, the lower lashes, especially on one side, well...... they are losing the battle. I think I have a total of about 2 lashes left on the bottom outer edge. Pathetic. But, I did buy some fakeys, little individuals for the bottom and some full ones for the top. I haven't used them yet.... I'll let you know how that goes. At this point, because I finally feel good, I almost don't care. Well, that's a lie. I do care. Just not that much.

Anyway, there it is - and because things seem to be going well, I should be back to posting more often and complaining about all the usual subjects. 

Today's complaint: Summer is just starting, I don't want to discuss the fall, or fall fashion. Can we please just enjoy summer! 

Lasagna

This is the best recipe for Lasagna ever. It comes from a cookbook called Culinaria Italia (see pic)

This cookbook has as many pictures as recipes, but it's not exactly laid out like a recipe book, it's organized by regions of Italy and the foods popular in each region. The recipes are all really delicious and traditionally Italian, not American-Italian, so you really get the local versions, and I would say the better versions of all things to do with Italian cooking.

I come back to this Lasagna recipe all the time. It's really rich and creamy, without all the cheesy gooey American way we think of it. And if you go the extra step to make homemade noodles, it's even better and totally melts in your mouth. 

This time I took the easy way out and bought the noodles, but it was still really good. You can make this, and here we go step by step:

Important note. Don't let the pages stick together or you will end up with this. Oops. Luckily I know how to put it all together. Duh. 

Carrots, celery, pancetta, onion. oregano - saute til soft.

Add a little white wine. Once it's cooked down, add 2 T tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce. Then add beef stock and some salt and pepper. Use the beef stock as it simmers to keep it from getting too thick.

 Let simmer for at least an hour. Once all simmery and good, set aside. Secret note: sometimes I will add chicken liver to the meat of this ragu, and sometimes I will add some anchovy. You don't need to tell anyone you did it, it will taste really good, and all the people who say they hate liver will wonder why this is the best sauce they ever tasted.

Next best thing for a good traditional lasagna, bechamel sauce. Sounds fancy, not fancy. Just butter, flour, milk and salt. You may add pepper at the end which I did, some people like to add a little nutmeg, whatever, it's just the best addition to your lasagna. Your're welcome.

Start your noodles. The water takes forever to boil, and your lasagna noodles take a while to cook, especially if they are store bought. Watch that they don't clump in the bottom of your pot, or stick together and break up. Pull out when al dente - dont let them get too soggy.

Parmesan cheese - grate. Have enough for the top layer of your lasagna, don't put it between layers, it's rich enough without it.

Start layering. Bechamel fist, then pasta, then meat. Then repeat til your lasagna is as tall as you want it.

I made one and a spare for the freezer.

Ready for freezer or oven. Cook at 375 I think, for about 30 minutes, everything is already cooked, so you are just melting the cheese and reheating til it's all bubbling away.

Now you're ready to serve it up.

Enjoy. If you would like the exact recipe, see Culinaria Italia or shoot me an email and I will send it to you.

Quit it please!

And no, surprisingly, I'm not going to yell at you about selfies. Sure, I think you took 800 selfies to get the exact selfie right so it appeared to be the perfectly timed and perfectly perfect selfie that all your friends would love admire for your natural beauty... but that's not what I'm yelling about today.

Today, friends, it's about the posed photo of you, you and your mom at mom's weekend at college, you and your friends at the party pool in Vegas, you and whoever, where-ever, whatever. Can you please find another pose beside the one where your outside arm is so severely akimbo that you might poke someone's eye out with it. It's getting really old and tired. Maybe you could come up with a couple of alternative options. Let's try the arm down maybe? See how that goes. Throw in a couple of others, change things up a bit. 

These gals may have started a trend that is so annoying that it's right up there with, "I know, Riggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggght!"

Betty Grable - look what you've done!

Julie Newmar - stop it!

Wonder Woman - pull in your elbows lady!

Ok, now let's get back out there on Facebook and post a summer full of awesome pics without all the elbow nonsense. Other than that, you look really great!