Nora:

Get a big wok or deep frying pan. Put 1 cup of steel-cut oatmeal in it with some olive oil & heat for a few minutes, stirring it around so it doesn't burn. Then add a chopped onion, some garlic, 2 cups of asparagus or broccoli, and a cup of mushrooms (chopped roughly, not diced, because they will cook for a while). Then stir in vegetable (or chicken) broth, 1/4 cup at time, over medium-low heat. Stir pretty much constantly. As the broth is absorbed, add more, until the oatmeal is tender and kind of creamy. It took about half an hour, and the first time I made it I used a quart of chicken broth--I think the mushrooms add liquid, too. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

It was much more flavorful than I expected, and makes a lot--easily 4-5 meals for me. I will probably freeze the leftovers.

we made the sword, stupid digimon thing. He is very pleased and impressed that mom really does know how to use power tools. I let him do some of the sawing.

Then I cleaned the whole garage and am now tired. frozen chicken pesto pizza.

Today I fought with Wal-Mart over prescriptions, as usual (because they will never get it right the first time), submitted an FSA claim, signed us up for online access to the mail-order pharmacy, prepared a sold CD for shipping, and filled out the paperwork for my new job. Which I actually have to do tomorrow.

Ultrasound found nothing. Well, aside from the standard organs being in the standard places. Which means it's probably gastritis. So I'm supposed to take Prilosec and call my regular doctor in the morning. Feh.

I suppose I should be glad we ruled out a bunch of stuff that might have meant surgery. But I've still got pain. (Hey, even if it was gallstones, I'd still have pain, but at least it would be for a known reason, right?)

Ooh, that sounds good, Consuela.

I always find that frustrating, Theo, when no cause is determined. I hope the Prilosec helps.

When I had my somewhat similar mystery pain (kidney stones or gall stones were suggested as culprits) the painkillers they gave me at the ER helped immensely, but they couldn't find anything wrong. I stayed on a clear liquids only diet for a week and that seemed to help. IDK.

I'm sorry it wasn't more helpful , Theo .

Good mom, msbelle - I saw the picture of him with the sword . He looks thrilled.

and now I have that recipie bookmarked.

Today I made lamb stew - or very meaty broth with veggies. ( the lamb is very cooked ) . Not sure when or how much of it will get eaten, we spent part of the afternoon at a baby shower with lots of vietnamese food. But part of the plan was leftovers

That sounds yummy, Consuela.

Onesie decorating and bellinis is all any baby shower needs!

My memory no longer is clear on the bellinis, but I definitely recall the onesie decorating.

I did laundry, culled expired things from the Lazy Susan and removed everything to scrub the shelves, culled expired things from the refrigerator and cleaned some of the shelves, I swept, did dishes, changed the air filter, took out garbage, and went through some lessons in the online course I'm taking. That's enough productivity for one day, right?

I am doing another staining sample to double check something. And am impatient.

House is clean.

So one of my high school buddies weirds me out on fb. We were pretty close back then, closer in college, largely because we were some of the few to really leave our hometown with verve, and then we lost touch a few years out. Anyway, fb. An odd feeling about the last series of posts made me look and 99% of his posts are super-posed couple shots with his really hot 25 year old girlfriend (one of them was from a birthday for her, I'm not stalking.) Which, ok. But it's just weird. Him & her in lululemon workout gear red-carpet-style at the gym. Him & her in Vegas in party clothes (and jesus, she can seriously wear the fuck out of slinky outfits.) Him & her on the beach in bikinis (well, her.) Him & her xmas work party.

He was always so damned preoccupied with appearances, we used to give him such shit about it, teasing him he was trying to go into politics and shaking up his crafted facade (not a far stretch, he comes from a politically powerful NM family, and is partner in a firm up north) and I'm just getting such a weird vibe, like he's totally gone for that. OTOH, given his track record of getting his heart broken in college, hope this works out for him.

I dunno, it just feels weird. And sad, maybe? Like my old friend is only sharing his pod-person with me. Artifice?