Cable Car Ride

It was damp, cloudy, rainy, and grey. And still we explored. The Cable Car ride was short, but UP HILL and well worth it. What fun!

(Sally, San Francisco, January 2010)

(Kat, San Francisco, January 2010)

Schnitzel

I wanted spatzle, but didn't want to put forth the effort. I've been thinking about comfort food a great deal these days and wanting ulany kluski (Don't grade my Polish spelling here!). And kluski led me to spatzle. I was very pleased to discover how similar they are, but the spatzle has more teeth, a sturdier creation if you will. Wanting the spatzle made me think of schnitzel. And the schnitzel made me think of the schnitzel at The Bavarian Inn in Eureka Springs. When I was a wee lass, Tony and Jarka Bloch always made us feel so welcome and they were good friends to my parents.

While I didn't have any veal just laying around the house, I did have some lovely pork cutlets and some pent up frustrations. The pork cutlets were made thinner, tastier, and more tender by my frustrations. Fun! But I still wanted kluski. I chatted with mom this evening had a few really good ideas... Combining her ideas and some of my own, I came up with dinner. And I must say, it was a damn fine dinner.

In case my sister is reading this, I have provided the recipes below. Tree, it didn't take any time at all to toss this all together. Maybe 25 minutes. I know Grandpa Doug would love this meal. I hope I get to make it for him soon.

Schnitzel

What you need:

pork cutlets (or veal if you can stomach baby cow - yum!)
salt and pepper
flour
eggs (as many as necessary)
bread crumbs (I used panko as I only had Italian bread crumbs, silly Kat!)
oil for frying
lemon wedges

What you do:

1. Get some plastic wrap and your meat mallet. Wrap one or two of the pork cutlets (or you can use a boneless chop, you'll just have to pound a bit longer and a bit harder...) in plastic wrap (this keeps the bloody bits of meat from flying all over the kitchen and keeps your meat mallet nice and tidy) and beat the crap out of it. Well, till it is about 1/4 of an inch thick. Place them on a cutting board. Salt and pepper both sides.

2. Heat your oil on a medium high burner. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees and get a plate or pan ready for the schnitzel. Grab the pork (or veal) and dredge in flour. Dip in egg (2-3 beaten). Press into the breadcrumbs. Place in the hot oil.

3. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until golden. Place on paper towel covered plate or pan and keep in warm oven.

4. If you would like to go the extra step, fry an egg for each plate or serving. You may have noticed that I made one sunny side up and another fried, over easy (I'm still learning to eat things that stare back at me or jiggle.). Top the schnitzel with the fried egg, sprinkle with cracked pepper, and toss on a lemon wedge. Yum!

Kluski and Onions

What you need:

A pound of kluski (Amish made is good and available at most grocery stores...)
1/2 stick of butter
2 small onions
caraway seeds
salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Boil the water. Dump in the kluski. Cook to your preferred doneness.

2. While kluski is boiling, slice onions and saute in skillet with 1/2 stick of butter. Yum! Butter! Toss in some caraway seeds for an interesting flavor.

3. Once kluski is cooked and drained, toss with onions, butter, and caraway. Serve hot.

* Note: this is one step from lazy pierogi. Toss in some cabbage and viola... Or some rinsed kapusta (Sour kraut for my non Polish readers!).

Bowling

Last night marked my second week of bowling after a very long hiatus. I have missed my bowling friends. I have missed the feeling that comes with knocking the pins into next week. I have missed the feeling that comes with picking up a tricky spare. I have not missed the feeling of finding myself with repeated splits. I have not missed the feeling of scoring 9 one frame after another. Last week's games were pretty good. Last night's games, not so much. ;-)

02/04/10 107, 92, 100
01/28/10 127, 110, 116

Best part of bowling? There's always next week!

John Muir

Muir Beach

Late Saturday afternoon I met the Pacific Ocean for the first time (Thank you, Sally!). And I fell in love. I couldn't bear to cover the thundering sound of the ocean or my peals of laughter. Turn up the volume. Enjoy.

California

"Goin' to California with an achin' in my heart
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair"

-Led Zeppelin

Two days after the semester started, I flew to Sacramento, CA with my Gal Pal Sal to attend the Annual International Conference of the Association of Science Teacher Educators to present a paper (more research from the "big D"). We spent three days and three nights in Sacramento hobnobbing with brilliant science educators, taking to old friends, planning new venues of research, and making new friends. It was, as always, a fabulous conference.

Saturday, Sal rented a car and we drove to Muir Woods and Muir Beach. Breathtaking. That night we stayed on Lombard Street in San Francisco. Sunday we tramped from Pier 1 to China Town and back again. That evening I dined with my Aunt Bernice, Aunt Mary Anna and Uncle Martin. We ate a delicious meal at Kabul. Sal and I returned to the Midwest at the crack of dawn on Monday. It was a whirl-wind, wild, wonderful trip. And I was without a camera. But I did have a Flip Video video recorder with me. So my goal over the next few days is to sort through the 30 - 90 second videos I took and share some of my experiences. Stay tuned.

Winter's Solstice

Thinking of all of my friends on this shortest day of the year. And here's a little something to get us all in the spirit for Christmas!

Day 62

Many of you have sent email and asked why I my postings this fall have been sporadic and less than creative. I think my trip to the doctor's office today sums it up.

Pneumonia still present.
Double ear infection.
Sinus infection.
A fourth round of Levaquin (another 7 days)!
More Albuterol.
More cough medicine.
More vitamins.
More inhalers.
No more steroids... Yet!
I have had a TB test.
I am going to present my next sputum sample to the lab. Joy!
And the cherry on top?
A CT scan! What? ("Afterall, non smokers can have lung cancer too!" WTF?! Yes, my doctor actually said that to me!)

Joy!

I swear. Not only is this illness draining my check book, it is sucking the creativity from my soul!

Happy Birthday To Me!

What a busy day! Phone calls from friends. Lots of birthay wishes via Facebook. Lunch with my girl friends. Nifty pressies. Friends over for dinner. My favorite holiday on the horizon. And an upcoming visit from my long time friend, Shan. Does it get any better?

Day 34

Better, but not 100%!

I am finally finished with my third round of antibiotics. And I must say, I am feeling much better. My lungs are nearly clear. I only have a bit of crud, early in the morning and late in the evening. I still have some stuffy head, nose, and ear symptoms.

I made it to work today just around 7:00. I had every intention of leaving at noon. I ended up spending the day until 5:15. What was I thinking? I dragged myself home by way of the high school (picked up Orion from wrestling) and promptly sat down.

I am beat. I am exhausted. And I won't do that again! I promised myself HALF days! Does it matter that the ONLY thing I did was wade through 200 unread email messages and clean out my in box?

Day 28

Will this crap ever end? Probably not. At least not any time soon! Today I had a follow up visit with my wonderful doctor. I had both good news and bad news. But I suppose in the grand scheme of things it's really closer to good news and could be worse news, than truly bad news.

The good news is that my lungs are clearing. And I didn't need a doctor to tell me that. I can tell.

The could be worse news is that I am still green. And I still have a slight wheeze or whistle by the end of the day, especially if I push myself. Therefore the doctor has extended my antibiotics- another five days of Levaquin! Hooray! And the Prednisone- (psychotic music hits a crescendo). Yippee! I will also continue playing with the nebulizer as needed.

Overall, I am feeling much better. Last night was the first time I attempted to sleep lying nearly flat. I didn't get much sleep, but it had little to do with my position and more to do with the drugs I am using. I have also been slowly cleaning the house. Each day I pick a room to attack. Two days ago it was the dining room. Yesterday it was the library. Today I think I bit off too much. The Dirty Romance Room was not a terrible mess, but I think the combination of very little sleep last night, waiting two hours to see my doctor, the quick but necessary trip to Wal-Mart, the run by the pharmacy, and making a simple pot of rice to go with Manisha's tandoori chicken did me in. Even with Orion's help I gave up just short of vacuuming the room. I could tell by the slight wheeze and the pain in my chest that if I had reached for the vacuum, I'd be paying double for it tomorrow. So the Dirty Romance Room has been dusted and neated, but vacuuming will have to wait for another day.

Tomorrow's room will most likely include vacuuming of the entire house and cleaning of the hallway closet. The boys will be in charge of neating the kitchen and cleaning their bathroom with the mandatory bleach and fire.

Day 24

I went to work today. What was supposed to be a half day turned out to be about 5.5 hours. I suppose since my usual day is easily 12 to 14, I didn't quite make the half mark!

I woke up at 8:45. After not falling asleep till 3:00 (I love steroids!). I washed my face, brushed my teeth, used the bathroom and returned to bed where I had my first breathing treatment of the day. Even after the treatment I just sat there and wondered why on earth I had decided to attempt work today. Nearly two hours later I found myself in the parking lot at work.

I spent just about two hours in my office catching up, grading, and preparing for my last class of Foundations of Ed. It was a good class. They had many outstanding and creative projects to share and I was surprised that I made it through the entire class without falling over!

But class did take the starch out of my panties!

I took nearly another two hours to get enough mental and physical energy to make the trip from my office back to the car. I could tell I pushed myself today because my chest hurts in that spot, still and again.

I am home now. Showered and in PJs for the remainder of the weekend. Taking another breathing treatment and ravenous (I love steroids!). And wondering if I'll have the stamina for Monday!

Note: I completed my extended round of antibiotics earlier this week, however I still have a great deal of snot and drainage. I continue to take over the counter and prescribed (at night) cough meds. I am still taking Albuterol and Symbicort and I have a little, crinkly wheeze that won't quite leave. Energy scale (1 being low - 10 being great) is about a 2.5. But last week it was in the negative numbers so this is an improvement! My next doctor's appointment is Tuesday.

Day 19

Ten days of illness and isolation (as suggested by the Health Dept. and CDC). Tenth day doctor diagnoses pneumonia prescribes Tessalon & Levaquin. Day 14 sees no real improvement; doctor adds more Levaquin and breathing treatments via a nebulizer. Day 18 brings severe pain when breathing. Day 19 doctor orders Sunday visit to ER for another x-ray and blood work. Breathing improved. Pneumonia still present. Possibly viral. Doctor doubles orders for breathing treatments and adds codeine cough syrup for pain (!) and a month of steroids. Good news: I am not admitted. Bad news: I freakin' hurt like hell and it looks like I am going to miss another week of work.

I miss Andromeda!

Flu Update

Thank you friends for the get well wishes! Every day is a step closer to the light (of daylight, sunshine, and bike riding!). :-)

Tuesday's visit to the doctor and x-rays revealed that the pneumonia is still very present. While there were indications of healing, the doctor extended my Levaquin prescription by five more days and added a medicine to be inhaled via a nebulizer (Thank you V.J. for lending me your nebulizer!) three to four times a day. The Albuterol makes me terribly jittery. Yikes!

I must say that the constant bed rest has improved the condition of my glaucoma-ridden ankles, but my Beriberi is really acting up.

Orion is about half way through with his second round of antibiotics. John has just started his second round of antibiotics and is on his second day of Tamiflu. All this time I was blaming the boys for getting me sick, perhaps I infected them. I just hope they don't catch my Beriberi.

Oink! Oink!

Cough, cough...

Wheeze, wheeze!

Anyway you look at it, pneumonia sucks. I've missed over a week of school and by the looks of it I may end up missing another week.

At least I won't have any STI's after I finish this impressive round of antibiotics AND perhaps the glaucoma in my ankles will improve.

Rice Pilaf

Oh, I wish my camera was working! I adapted the following recipe from The Joy of Cooking (2006) 75th Anniversary Edition. Adaptations included reduced liquid for use in the rice cooker and additions of spices and mushrooms. Tree, you must give this a try. I think you'll love it!

Kat's Rice Pilaf

What you need:
2-3 Tablespoons of butter
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
4-6 green onions, sliced thinly
2 small bay leaves
2 cups rice (I use Jasmine)
4 ounces of angel hair pasta (I use Barilla) broken in to tiny pieces
small handful of dried mushrooms, soaked, drained, and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
3.5 cups of chicken broth (4 if you plan to cook the pilaf on the stove or in the oven)

What you do:
Melt the butter in a large skillet, browning the garlic and cooking the onions until transparent, toss in the mushrooms and bay leaves.
Toss in the rice and pasta pieces and saute until golden. Dump in the rice cooker. Add 3.5 cups of chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste, close the lid, and turn it on!

The result is fabulous! Next time I might reduce the broth and use the water from the soaking mushrooms. I might also include cashews or almonds.

Computer Mishap

A few weeks ago I mentioned the Camera Mishap that left me without a digital camera and feeling quite miserable. Well, it seems my little laptop, Hello Kitty, is seriously ill. Her only symptoms were some odd error messages on Saturday night followed by the Blue Screen of Death (!) on Sunday morning ~sob~. I can only hope that she is able to be fixed.

MKT Trail

Saturday morning found Orion and I hitting the Katy Trail. It was the first time I'd taken Andromeda Dale (AnD) "off road". The trail consists of hard packed pea gravel so it isn't like biking on wet grass or mud. But the gravel does give beneath the tire and made for a most unsettling feeling at first. Once I gained some confidence, Orion and I cruised from Windsor toward Green Ridge for about three miles. We turned around, just past the Pettis County line to make our way back to Windsor to meet John at our predetermined time.

From Windsor we drove to Calhoun and then on to Clinton. With Calhoun only 7.5 miles from Windsor, I think that will be our first one-way adventure with John or another kindly friend meeting us there. Eventually I'd like to make it the 14 or so miles to Clinton.

My brother and his wife have biked the Katy Trail on at least two occasions. (They biked the stretch up near the Missouri River and on to St. Charles.) Listening to their experiences has been a major motivator for my own trail excursions. By spring I hope to be able to bike 20 or so miles in a day (not the 45-55 they did!) which will leave me time to explore, get the feeling back in my rear end, set up camp, make dinner, and rest before moving on the next day. I've got friends I want to bike with!

Ugh!

So this evening's bowling was not nearly as stellar as last week's, much to my chagrin. I must admit, however, that this week has been a trial. From technical issues Monday during class, to sick family members and rude billing folks at the doctor's office. Include a week's worth of insufficient sleep and today's wardrobe malfunction (Dark tea all over my white blouse before I had to observe student teachers for five hours!) combined with a house that is in such desperate need of a good cleaning that it smells funky!

Am I making excuses? Perhaps. But here are this week's scores. You know the motto: "Bloggin' my pain; bloggin' my shame!

Last week's game raised my average to a 108. Tonights games were:
09/17/09 117 101 89

Gobble, Gobble!

It's that time of year again. The bowling season began three weeks ago and each night I have berated myself for not once going to the alley to practice over the summer. I have also found a plethora of new bits and pieces that seem to ache just for the helluvit.

Last season I finished with an average of 106. The first two games this season weren't so promising with scores of:

August 27 100, 105, & 67 (shameful!)
September 8 99, 111, & 97

But I am quite excited to say that I bowled my highest game so far last night (as did a good friend, Ruth, with her score of 193 (!)). My scores for last night were:

September 10 106, 182, & 107 (Holy smokes!)

I like to think that I have been steadily getting better. Most of the time the ball goes where I want it to. Sometimes pins seem to have a force field surrounding them making them impervious to the 11 weight hurling at them at roughly 13 m.p.h. Ultimately, my throws are more consistent. Last night's second game was awesome! I had six strikes (!) and three of them aligned for a turkey. (My turkey dance and gobbles of excitement alternately delighted and frightened my teammates and friends.)

Last night was actually the second time I bowled this week. Tuesday I bowled fora make-up game. Perhaps it was a good thing... I am looking forward to bowling next week and I am actually considering practicing!