Another Friday, five weeks have passed thus far. It seems much longer than that to me.  Got the phone call from the oncologist office confirming my appointment on July 7th along with the social distancing questions, have I had any exposure and have I been tested for COVID-19. She said she would be calling again 48 hours prior to my appointment to confirm the information is the same. I don’t know about you but I am so over the questions for everything being done more than once.

I prepared one of the side dishes from the Cancer Fighting Kitchen Cookbook last night. It was Basil Broccoli though I did tweak it slightly. In their version, they had either grape tomatoes or red peppers. I’m a huge fan of both so I did both. Why not?  The fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and basil made the dish incredible. It was visually attractive and tasty, that’s a win.

I’m using the left overs in a frittata today, going to add some mushrooms and kale. I can’t wait until our window opens for eating. We’re also doing the intermittent fasting, we only eat during an 8 hour window, the remaining 16 are all liquids with no calories. Which is great for me since I drink my coffee and tea straight. I’m a purist when it comes to both beverages.

Let’s discuss the next on our list of culinary helpers for the letter-c battle.

Apricots are anti-inflammatory and potassium rich so they help re-balance our bodies chemistry especially for anyone whose electrolytes have been depleted because of dehydration issues. Also their iron content is beneficial for oxygen transport, keeping hemoglobin and energy levels steady. That’s a good thing when you are in treatment or having heart issues.

Argula promotes detoxification, it’s a cancer pathway inhibitor. Greens (cruciferous vegetables) are in general a reducer of cancer but argula has an extra bonus it contains sulforaphane which slows the enzymes that increase cancer progression. The chlorophyll in argula also limits the damage from carcinogens created by cooking on high temperatures when we grill meat, fish or chicken. I know I always loved having my meat charred on the edges but now knowing the danger I’ve chosen safer methods for meat prep.

On the crochet front the band is complete and I’ve switched to the magenta color from the rose to work on the body of the shirt. Once I get a few rows up with the double crochet cluster I’ll share a picture.

Olyvia and Amanda ( my granddaughter and daughter) did a video call with me.. Amanda discussed Olyvia’s new school policies for the fall. Many of the parents are in an uproar about the proposed plan of children attending 2 days and doing 3 days distance learning and these days varying week to week. How would anyone arrange the necessary daycare and would the distance learning actually happen.  She says they need a better plan this one is nuts.

My daughter is also a teacher and she knows all about chasing students down to do the work in distance learning. It was challenging enough but add in the parents who didn’t follow through checking to make sure their children did the work the situation became a night mare. Amanda home-schooled her first-grade daughter and chased down 75 high school students every day for her classroom assignments. Kids didn’t respond to email or text messages.  Parents saying the work was too hard when she called them because the child wasn’t doing the work.

Amanda said after I told her that I was hoping to go to Maine but don’t dare,  “Mom, it’s too dangerous for you to be exposed to people from all different places just to get to Maine from here because there’s no way you can do 10 hours without a restroom. And then once you’re am in Maine, same issue it’s more than just being with John and Debbie, it’s also who has they have been in contact with as well. ” She didn’t have to remind me, I had already considered all the risks.

After the video call, I read for awhile in the diyMFA and basically took a much needed break.   I think the disappointment of not going to Maine really is hitting me harder because I just couldn’t get into a creative mindset let a lone any mindset. I know it’s the right decision health wise but I miss my son very much.  So, after dinner, I decided to vege and watch a Hallmark movie while rolling yarn skeins into balls before crashing. Pretty much a no-brainer day. Sometimes, we just need them.

I know I’ll get to Maine… just not next week which made me think of Blue Bayou.  One of the nicest part of going to Maine besides seeing my son is watching the boats on the ocean. John lives on an island on the coast of Maine. From time to time Billy Damon ( a friend of my son) sends me sunrise and sunset pictures as he goes out to collect his lobster traps. I love seeing them. In this picture you can see the lobster traps as well. Maine has the best seafood ever.

“I’m going back someday
Come what may
To Blue Bayou
Where the folks are fun
And the world is mine
On Blue Bayou
Where those fishing boats
With their sails afloat
If I could only see
That familiar sunrise
Through sleepy eyes
How happy I’d be”~ Linda Ronstadt