Joan on the Road

Thanks to Grandson Jim we got a great family pix before we feasted.

We do food real good !! It was a family effort with everyone contributing in some way to a wonderful meal. Tom and Renee hosted this Thanksgiving and cooked up a couple of totally delicious turkeys. Tom smoked one in the Weber and another 23 pounder roasted in the oven.

Stuffed mushroom appetizers prepared by Hilly started off the feast along with an assortment of fresh veggies and dip. About 4:30 we gathered round and toasted our family and good health. Then the dishes started around the table. I served up my signature spinach – artichoke casserole. I made two big pans and got rave reviews. Funny, because I put in too much salt and it really tasted great!

Jimbo made golden mashed potatoes with butter, cheese and secret spices. Jim prepared asparagus with mushroomes, thyme and garlic and a cranberry chutney. Renee, of course, did the dressing and gravy, which passed the Dad test. She also made candied yams and fresh cranberry sauce. Naomi and Brad brought the condiments and the entertainment! That would be Evan.

After relaxing a bit we teamed up and played an X-Box game (new adventure to me) called Scene-It. I think everyone else had played before. It’s a trivia type game that’s all about movies. Bryan, Jim and I were the winning time! We had the advantage of a wide age-spread and varied movie tastes. It was fun and on the way home Jim read my mind and said…”you’re thinking of getting an X-Box…right?”

Dinner settled and appetites ready, we tackled the pies. Bryan made pumpkin, Jim brought pumpkin chiffon, Mary did her signature French Pear Pie and Jim added his delicious wheat-free apple pie. All topped with fresh whipped cream or homemade ice cream.

Jim and I really didn’t have to do much except sit back and marvel and be thankful that we’d raised such a wonderful family and a great bunch of cooks.

Posted by Joan at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Amidst all the medical appointments I was able to squeeze in a perm with my favorite stylist, Carla. Of course our stylists have to hear everything going on in our lives and Carla was a good listener and friend. She recommended that I fill my brain with trivial and fun things, keep occupied and watch comedies. Simple solutions!

So I did the laundry, found a few people to chat with and then we picked out our first movie, starting at 4 PM. You may remember how funny I think it is that Jim would like Legally Blonde but he does and that was his pick. We followed that with the sequel, Legally Blonde II and noticed that the closing shot is of Elle Woods driving by The Whitehouse. They really should have done a third movie!

I made a really delicious stir fry for supper (or is it dinner? What’s the difference?) Saute 4-5 chicken tenders in hot olive oil. Push aside and sauté an onion, red pepper, zuchinni and box of sliced mushrooms for maybe 10 minutes, until they reach the crispy stage you like. Oh, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a stir fry sauce. I use maybe ½ cup of House of Tsang Classic Stir Fry Sauce. Use enough to make it really moist and if necessary add a couple of tablespoons of water. Serve over Basmati Rice (start that cooking before you start the chicken.) We ate the whole pan full:)

Dessert was As Good as It Gets with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. All three movies brought belly laughs and giggles…a good thing for a stressed body. We finished up our movies about 11:30 and went to bed to the sound of rain. Looks like a good storm moving through but hopefully the sun will shine on our Thanksgiving feast.

Posted by Joan at 09:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our neighbor down the street has a little front yard banner that reflects my mood..."Wine a little, you'll feel better!" Anyway you read it that works for me :) I'm not whining too much but all this internal picture taking is getting a bit old. I have to have another mammogram (enhanced) before surgery so we're doing that tomorrow.

My doctor and hospital are in Newport Beach which is a two hour drive each way. The upside is that we usually eat out. I think tomorrow if the weather is clear I'm going to vote for late lunch on the beach....and wine a little, just a glass :)

When we go in to Newport Beach we drive the 91 freeway which goes through one of the burnt out areas from the recent CA fires. I'd have to say that it is incredible so few homes were lost in this area. The hillsides are black right down to the backyards in many areas. What a job the firefighters have!

The weather here in Hemet/SoCal is really beautiful, hovering around 75 to 80 daytime and 45 at night. Looks like we'll get some needed rain in the next few days but a little rainy day will be nice. Another excuse to wine a little :)

Posted by Joan at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In mid October I had my annual physical check up and the doctor found a lump in my breast. OK….mammogram confirmed that and recommended a biopsy. By this time it’s four weeks later and I’m stressing the whole time. The biopsy result is cancer.

When I got these results a couple of days ago I was able to talk to a surgeon immediately who gave me some reassuring words. It is small, caught early and will likely require just a lumpectomy and possible radiation.

Behind this brief description of what happened are days and weeks of anxiety, dark thoughts, and depression. I did not want to talk to anyone or have anyone know what was happening, including family. My friend Vickie says this is my way of controlling the world. Dummy me! J I felt great relief when I shared my news with family and friends. Today I feel like the black cloud over my head may just be gray and the sun will come out tomorrow!

Part of my despair was something else I haven’t told you. Back in January we found out that Jim’s bladder cancer (2005) had metastasized to his lungs. It was an incidental x-ray finding after he had a cold and cough. He still feels perfectly fine and is doing all kinds of alternative therapies to ensure he stays fine.

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we both have cancer. I look at people around me and wonder what kind of “issues” they have going on in their lives and how do they manage to keep on going.

Livestrong! That’s what the yellow band on my wrist says. (Thank you Zach!) So time to put on my big girl panties and just deal with it.

Posted by Joan at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)