Wyoming....here we come!

Every time I hear someone say, "I am going to Jackson Hole Wyoming", I cringe. I want to respond, "why not just go to Aspen, in Colorado?" Same damned thing. Jackson Hole is not "Wyoming"..but the Tetons are!!

I grew up in Montana and Wyoming. Jackson Hole is "a mall" for tourists. It is like another "Aspen, Colorado". If you go, get out of town!

I grew up near "The Big Horn Mountains".....where area folks decided they wouldn't sell to people not born in the four counties surrounding our mountains. The land was to be passed down, or sold to family.... as it always had been. I remember when it was a huge deal at the city council meetings in Worland and Ten Sleep, Wyo. They didn't want "no Californians" coming in and buying up the land.......like what happened in Jackson Hole.

Well, I went home to visit. My brother, John, took us to the trout creek we'd always fished..for many years. This "farmer" stopped us saying that the road was now owned by him and nobody could cross to go fish. This idiot farmer from CA actually had on overalls...and no shirt underneath. He was an architect from California who had built this opulent "suburban home" on the hill. Hello? This is Wyoming! How about build a log cabin-type home? The ass would not let us go fish. I hope he was so "snowed in" that first fall and winter. Doubt anyone helped him...but then, I imagine he was in CA at that time of year.

One great memory for Dave and I was when my brother escorted us, and my sis Pat, to a private golf course outside of Ten Sleep. He knew the guy from his Catholic Church in Worland. So here we are...on this gorgeous private golf course in the Big Horn Mountains..carts and all! Trout streams meandering thru the course. We had the best-ever day! Dave scored a 33 ft. put! Sweet. I've heard since... that they sold the property and there was a resort built there. Crap. The new owners are probably from California and the previous owners probably moved to California!

Just go vacation and enjoy....it is sooo gorgeous. Don't stay too long...okay?

We're Getting Canned!

What a bounty of tomatoes eh? You know what I'll be doing next week! These were picked today..along with some flowers and herbs. So far I've harvested 8 cukes from my potted climbing cucumber plant.

Freeze Frame Photography

How is this for one fine meal? Mike, my son, made the steak and took the photos. I made the other stuff. I think they look great! He shoots raw and then transfers to jpeg. He had his umbrella and flashes and super groovy camera. It was so much fun stylin' the food to be photographed...and it was delicious too! http://www.ffphotog.com/ to see his body of work. Click on galleries and go to portfolio.

For more pics of Mike's food photo's, go to http://www.eatatroses.com/ and watch the slide show. Roses has several locations in Portland, Oregon.

Mike is interested in doing corporate work like this, pics for cookbooks, magazines, etc. He also takes fabulous photos of people, places, and even flowers. (photos by Mike Harris)

If you go to his site, leave a comment and ask him when he is going to send me the video. :)

Start Em Young!

Cookin' in the kitchen with Elaina and Ethan, my grandkids. As you can see, Elaina is the Master Chef and Ethan is her Sous Chef. I played the instructor role...although Miss E caught on very quickly! She loves to cook...and she really likes healthy eats. Ethan loves milk and peas.

(photos by Mike Harris http://www.ffphotog.com/)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly...and Portland

Roma tomato from my garden, suspect tomato from store, baked "rotten" potato!

I am off to Portland to see the grandkids! I got Elaina this cute chef's hat and coat and I got Ethan the cute little Tuxedo! He'll be the food critic at the high end restaurant we'll 'make believe' in!

Lab Tests--the bottom line

I saw my primary doc today. BTW, if you want one great and concerned professional, she is it! She, Lee Lipton, PA, and works for my primary care doc, Jeanette Frei,M.D. She is so concerned for my care..maybe cause she is only in the office on Fridays! She is not a "burnt out" doc..and spends 30-45 minutes with me each time I see her. Her office number is 691-6622. She is a great health professional. Lee Lipton, PA. She is the bomb!

Bottom line...my lipids are going down each time I see her. She was happy with my labs. She also said that the ENT I went to is "the best in Sacto"...and whatever she was ordering for me she would back up 100%. My ENT was Nancy Appleblatt! She is respected for sure.

My doc said, "I am not okay with a major surgery like gastric bypass or lapband. You have been losing weight slowly and steadily..and your labs show that you are working hard. I am proud of your efforts". I told her that I was joining a gym, when I get back from Portland, which only costs an $80.00 member fee and then just $9.99 a month to work out 3X a week. My friend Lori is going to join me..to help motivate me. It is a month-to-month deal with no contracts. I like that!

I still have to go for allergy tests, an endoscopy, and finally a colonoscopy. Long story short, the colonoscopy was re-scheduled to the point that they told me they never got a referral from my primary care dr. I got a copy of the referral today..which was dated 9/12/07. They re-faxed it today! I go for that on 9/17/08/...more than a year from when it was referred!

So, the referral process sucks..but I am so happy to have Lee Lipton, PA as my doc, and for seeing Nancy Appleblatt as my ENT.

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Su Su Sushio

I LOVE Akebono II on Freeport..same shopping center as Rite Aid is in. The sushi is soooo fresh, and the people are so much fun.

Yesterday, after about 90 minutes at Quest Lab (ugh), I was starving. I had fasted for 16 hours and I wanted something healthy. Sushi!

I walked in and was welcomed with a great big Japanese "Hello..welcome!" They greet everyone that way. I sat at the sushi bar. I felt like royalty. The server remembered me from when the Sac Food Group went in there one Sunday, a few months back. We all lined up at the sushi bar that day too.

I asked William (not his Asian name) to conjure up something for me. I did begin with some raw oysters that were topped with the most amazing light spicy oil and pinkish salt. Perfect. I asked for sashimi and was given the slightly seared white tuna, some fatty tuna, some salmon, and some yellowtail. He also made me a mini roll...with thinly sliced/fried lotus root..which was like a thin potato chip. The design of it was almost too pretty to eat. The sauce (on the outside edge of the plate was spicy and sweet). The roll was in rice paper with a tiny bit of ginger and a mixture of shrimp/crab. Across the bottom of the plate was a sprinkle of fine pink bonito..which was sort of sweet. It was so delicate and melted in my mouth. I never smelled fish...not once.

While all of this is going on, the server suggests some frozen premium sake. Okay! She said it was like a super slurpee. Well, after one tiny glass..I knew I couldn't finish the rest and drive so I offered some to the sushi chefs and to a couple of ladies sitting behind me. They accepted! We toasted to summer. It was fun. I really treated myself to one fine lunch.

I give this place two thumbs and two toes up..way up! Everything about the place is just fantastic. Go there..often. Akebono II..on Freeport in Sacramento!

Just Because it's Purdy

When Will My Tomatoes Get Ripe?

I am thinking they'll all ripen the week I am in Portland! I have 3 Roma plants, 2 Beefsteaks, and 1 Cherry. We have eaten a few cherry tomatoes on our salad recently, and I have picked 4 cukes! My lemons look like limes right now...but they will be lemons one day!

You Make Me So Happy..you make me so happy!

I keep this picture of my grandkids on the inside of my pot and pan cupboard..so I get to see them every time I open it. I open it about 10 times a day..so I smile really big that many times a day!! I hope my grandchildren get to see me that many times a day! I taped my pic inside their pantry door, in Portland. I know that Elaina opens it lots!

Alton Brown's Oven Ribs..sort of

I didn't use any marinades that had "high fructose corn syrup" in them. Why we have not banned that crap in the USA, I'll never know. They have banned it in Europe! The ribs were great...I plopped the ribs down on a cookie sheet..on top of a (canola) oiled foil sheet. I added several marinades from the frig which did not contain HFCS. I put more foil on the top and steamed at low temp (275) for 3 hours. I then drained the marinade off, and returned the meat into the oven on broil...for about 8 minutes each slab. I "degreased" the marinade and put it in a pot to simmer on the stove. Right before I broiled the meat, I mopped it with the marinade.

It was sublime!

Update on Sleep Study...ah shit!

Today, I met with an ENT..Nancy Appelblatt. I asked to be referred to her after my sleep apnea study..back in late April. Hell, it took months to get in to see her! The cute thing is, my MIL asked if she could drive me to the appt. She knew where Nancy's office was, as she had taken her own MIL to her in the late 80'S. My MIL knows her way around Sacramento...and drove very well to the doctor's office. Joyce is almost 79 years old! I told Nancy that she had seen my MIL's (MIL) back in the 1980's. Nancy replied, "I must have been three years old!"


It was difficult..bottom line: I have horrid sleep apnea. I am not a candidate for surgery..to correct the problem. The dr said, "you either use a CPAP machine or you buy diapers... because if you don't get a CPAP machine you will have a stroke in short order, it is your choice".

Dr. Appleblatt then stuck a long, lighted thingee down my nose, which then went down my throat! She told me that I had horrid reflux. So, she ordered a test to find out if I have a parasite. She told me that many people have parasites..they just don't know it. Ugh. So ugh. Ick. Yuk.

Bottom line...she told me to lose lots of weight, to get and use a CPAP machine, and to let my family know that is is important..that I do these things. I also have to have lots of allergy tests. She and her nurse agreed with me that "we" have horrid insurance. She suggested that we get a PPO as soon as possible. Right now, we have a Blue Cross HMO thru SMUD..which isn't much better than having MeciCal..welfare insurance. Hill Physicians Group is Crap!

All I know is, that I want to live until I am at least 79..like my MIL and FIL.