Just need to talk to my friends (211)

Lorita - I'm glad you've turned a corner on your diverticulitis. It sounds so painful.

Double chocolate muffins don't sound bad. 🙂

HB - about the cuccidati — it might be that they're mostly a Sicilian thing, so not as well known with northern Italians?

Another traditional Italian-Catholic thing - Saint Joseph's Day on March 19. There's a special spaghetti sauce, plus cuccidati, plus as many cookies as you can make. Our best year we made 108 different kinds. There's an alter with fruits, breads, etc on it, which the priest blesses. Then you invite everyone over - including many people you don't even know. At the end of the day whatever is left over goes to the church to give to people who need it.

We did that for as long as I can remember. Does your friend celebrate that day?

Thinking good thoughts on your knee!! Several of my cousins have had that done and it sounds unfun.

There's a lot to love about Portland.

We had a bit of sun today, but fall is definitely here, and I think our warm weather is just a memory. I'm back to wearing sweaters.

Today was an early gym day - my trainer had an MRI scheduled - he's also getting one of his knees done.

The big thing I did at the gym today was assisted pull-ups. He had me do 10 reps at level 10 (complete assist, so pretty easy), 9 reps at level 9, 8 reps at level 8, etc. Then finally 1 rep at level 1, which isn't quite pulling up your full body weight, but it's getting close. This means I'm getting close to being able to do a legit pull-up. Since I've never been able to do one in my entire life, I'm kind of excited.

Cuiccidati means "little bracelet" in Sicilian! I found one recipe showing the cookies in a crescent shape. The secret seems to be very COLD butter and dough. But, it showed a total time of 2 hours from start to finish. Too much for me to tackle. Recipe called for orange marmalade and zest, figs and dates, And walnuts, so no Cuiccidati for Lorita.

My late MIL was of Italian descent. She made the very best sauce. The first time I cooked sauce for a visit, she was stirring the pot and tasted. I mentioned I had put in a pinch of sugar (I mean the amount you can get between two fingers and your thumb) and she said "I know, I can taste it". Ugh. I never did that again. Over the years, by telephone, she taught me many of her recipes. "About a handful, about a cup, about a teaspoon" - never precise amounts because she didn't measure. She was wonderful and I have a few of her bowls, spoons and a HUGE pot that I use all the time.

Lorita, I hope you continue to feel better. I also like Cream of Wheat.

Eagle, several years ago I had an elevated Hgb A1C and was diagnosed as having diabetes. I told the endocrinologist that I didn't accept that diagnosis and that I would work on my diet. He told me not to eat juices, soda or desserts. At that time I drank about 4-6 glasses of apple or orange juice, also sweetened juice drinks. I didn't drink cola but I occasionally drank a non-cola soda. I rarely ate candy but I did eat a lot of bread, pastries, cookies, muffins and brownies. I cut all of that out and my A1C returned to the normal range. I also lost thirty pounds, so I believed diabetes was not a concern for me.

Last year I was diagnosed as having heart failure. I thought my nocturia was due to fluid retention. Recently I began having pain and tingling in my feet. I put these symptoms together and thought to recheck my A1C, and it was elevated again. At my neurologist appointment yesterday the neurologist diagnosed me as having neuropathy, because my toes are a bit numb.

I am going to be diligent about changing my diet. I will be eating a whole food plant based diet that focuses on unprocessed carbohydrate foods and low fat foods. I bought a glucose meter and I am checking my blood sugars to monitor myself. I am looking forward to positive changes! Diabetes is a disease that can be present with mild symptoms but has a lot of serious complications. I am taking this very seriously!

Iris

I think I could still dance if I had the right woman beside me. Like a nurse or chiropractor. 😀

GG, you're right, I'll be mostly in the produce section of the store.

Lorita, the neurologist prescribed a nutritional supplement and said it might help the neuropathy. Fortunately it already has been improving; I think once my blood sugars get under control the neuropathy will resolve.

We've had three days of no hot water in my section of my condo complex. I was told that a plumber had "switched" the pipes, meaning putting the hot water onto the cold water line. I don't know how that would be possible, but apparently it happened. But finally tonight, we have hot water again.

I decluttered a bit today, yea! Now to bed. Good night.

Iris

Good morning. We have a sunny and warm day on tap here today. Perhaps I'll spend a little time in the garden cutting down some of my perennials. My peonies look awful currently and I haven't watered my pots, so I should probably get them stowed ahead of the handyman coming tomorrow.

Ron— That's quite a proper fry-up there. It would have been better with biscuits for sure. Would you consider a good toaster oven to spell you over? When my range's oven kicked in early-Covid-times, I borrowed mom's Cuisinart toaster oven. It, along with my air fryer, got me through for about 2 years. While I couldn't roast a turkey in it, it did a decent job with small batches of biscuits and cookies. I made bread pudding and pies it as well. I will say, too, that it broils more evenly than any range I've ever owned. I saved the air fryer for meats because of ease of cleanup. Theoretically, you could bake with it, but it's convection and very easy to burn things. Mom's was similar to this one.

Lorita— There's an old joke that cats are proof that the earth isn't flat. Where the earth flat, cat's wouldn't have knocked everything off it by now.

I wonder if Grandpa Gus will keep Rusty out of your car being that they are also rodents.

Gothic G— My friend's families come from Rome and Naples so far as she knows. She's no longer a Roman Catholic after her divorce but still goes to the St. Joseph's Day Mass in South Philadelphia and buys herself a Zeppole at Isgro's. She does her cookies at Christmas using a spreadsheet to organize and devoting an entire week to baking in her Cookie Cave (a basement kitchen with a commercial oven and racks).

Yay on you in the pull-up department. LOL, I always watch those scenes in movies where someone is dangling off the side of a building and thinking I'd be dead were it me.

Bummer about the tariff, but at least the package cleared customs. I ordered a used book from an Amazon reseller in the UK 3 weeks ago and the delivery date keeps being pushed forward. The book is no longer in print, and I really want it for my godchild's twins who are at an age where they love sing-songy books. Fingers crossed they don't outgrow it.

Iris— I suspect that sticking to a healthy way of eating should improve things. DH's fasting blood sugar has risen a bit over the years, but his A1C is still in a normal range. Suggestions to watch his diet fall on deaf ears. Literally.

Jerilynn— Lucky you to have had a MIL who was a good cook and generous with her recipes. My MIL (an anorexic) was a legendarily awful cook who had a hate-hate relationship with food. She did have one fudge frosting she made that her sons loved. She did share it with me, but I was never able to replicate the gritty texture. I even had my friend who baked professionally for a time try to reverse engineer it with no luck.

Have the grandchildren stopped by to talk?

Eaglemom— That's kind of odd about the recipes. My MIL has given me a few she claimed were DH's favorites. He swears they were things one of his brothers liked. She was widowed young and went back to teaching and served a lot of casseroles. I have never seen DH willingly eat a casserole in the 42 years I've known him. My mom's mom was a fabulous cook; she almost always followed recipes and gifted her daughters a copy of the book most of her recipes came from. This means we can have most of her specialties whenever we want them. Except for the scalloped fish pie.

What's so special about the Hospital for Special Surgery? The doctor who did my right knee was a big gun with Rothmann Institute at the time but he has since moved on to HSS which is about an hour and a half from my home.

My former neighbor has a knee she's had replaced twice and had several revisions on. She has some skeletal differences which we addressed and then she was in a car accident which undid it all. She's a construction engineer and finds site visits very difficult.

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DS is off to work the Fall Foliage train today. He had a 12-hour shift on the steamer yesterday but is only working 8 on the diesel today. DH and I went out to a movie yesterday evening. We saw the Downtown Abby movie which was pure cornball fluff but pretty and fun.

Catching up on laundry today after I do my Sundy Xword. I hope all have a pleasant day.

HB

Carl and Ron— you guys are too funny.

Lorita— Ugh what a couple of months you have had. I hope Billy will be OK.

My cats were a mixed bag. The last himmie was remarkably nimble on his feet, the one before was very dainty despite being the most athletic of the 3 and the Persian was a lummox. The recent himmie wouldn't accidently knock a glass over but in the right mood he'd swat it off the edge for his own amusement.

Iris— DH's A1C is fine, it's his fasting blood sugar that's crept above 100 even with a 12-hour fast. I doubt he'd change his diet at this late date. He's 78 and eats like an indulged child. He has Frosted Flakes with whole milk most mornings; he tends to do something easy for lunch. Today was a PB&J with a diet Fanta and some Milk Duds (yesterday was a bowl of ice cream) for dessert. He likes nice dinners and tends to eat a decent meal if I'm cooking. There's a disconnect— I take Synthroid and need to wait before I eat while he takes a handful of cardiac meds that need to be taken with a meal.



HB

Is a spread sheet anything like a cookie sheet?

I hope Billy will be okay!

I like for my cereal to get soggy. In fact, I've had to let it sit for several minutes to allow the milk to absorb into the cereal. But don't start me craving cereals now, I'm sticking with steel cut oats until I get my blood sugar under control.

The moon here is full but not shiny, perhaps tomorrow night.

Good night.

Iris