In search of...

Ever since The Ex took me to the Petoskey I have been in search of the perfect beef jerky. Up there they had a butcher who made beef jerky from brisket and it was meaty and spicy and all very chewy. I am in search of a similar experience but so far have yet to find anything close. There is a butcher shop in Williamston that is supposed to have something not unlike that in Petoskey. So today's find has been bacon jerky and some brisket jerky. Prepackaged of course, not like the butcher's. Ah, for some succulent beef jerky with spice and bite. Yes, every since I have been ill I have been off my feed so I am trying to get foods that sounds good and that I will actually eat. Which is why I ordered a case of Stouffers Welsh rarebit. True comfort food. Oh, I'll share with you all but not too generously. Twelve boxes of rarebit to find space in my overburdened freezer. However, Gastric has offered to keep some for me and not eat any. What a gal! I think I can keep six in the house and eat three right away. So let's hope the Jerkies I have purchase today come closer to my ideal. Until then, ham sandwiches and bread and butter pickles. But at least I am eating once again. I'd still want to lose ten pounds but not like I lost the first twenty. Cheers

Rainy Days and Mondays

Today we celebrated Gastric's birthday with a very wet Lugnuts' ball game. In the sixth inning the skies opened and we departed the stadium, splashing in puddles all he way to the car. Gastric had a good time,,even if we didn't see the end of the game. The rain was gentle at first and then...WHAM! Soaking wet. Luckily no thunder of lightening but my gosh did we get wet. Baptizing as it were Gastric on her natal day. Gastric's granddaughter, The Sherpa, fetched me a hot dog before the rain commenced. It has since stopped raining completely. And the sky...blue. It figures. I got home and changed I to dry clothes and will blow dry my hair in a bit. Basically, I won't need a shower today. Rain water has washed me clean. And it was fun playing in the puddles. Brody's Mom leading the way, splashing and laughing. It was a little tense driving in the rain and some idiot virtually cut us off, but Vicky the. car got us home safely. I think I am going to finish drying off and get me a Coke. In any every...Happy Birthday to Gastric. We are a couple of old ladies now, but raring to go and have more adventures.

In the jungle

Not really. Had another off day. Yesterday I was hungry, actually had an appetite. Today not so much. I am feeling better every day but just off my feed. I think I am going out to breakfast tomorrow but I am not sure. I want to make it to the farmers market. Tomatoes are calling me as is corn. And cakes of course. I haven't had any of my coke salad in weeks. Simcha is following the cursor as it moves across the screen. Rather amusing, until he tries to bat it away. Looks like he is bored. I did get his portrait back and initially I didn't like the background but it has grown on me. The artist tried to blend the color Simcha's eyes to match th background. Here is is now. Hope you like it.

Friday

Had a lovely breakfast at the Soup Spoon Cafe. I was able to surprise Gastric with birthday gifts, and a lavish birthday card. We had a very nice chat. We are very close, I like to say. I will miss her dearly when she retires. She makes work bearable when things are a bit off. Like when the students come back in hoards. I am not used to their youthful rudeness and self centered behavior. They just don't know any better but that doesn't mean I have to like it. But they pay my salary so I must be mor tolerant. So, after I got home I took a lovely nap. While,I didn't eat much at breakfast I did eat more and my appetite is back so I think I am on the mend. Three weeks of hell, preceded by almost two months of feeling "off". Still coughing and waiting for some lab results but basically I am better. Sleeping a lot and getting better every day. Not much going on until Monday when I hope the weather is suitable for a baseball game for Gastric's actually birthday. I think there are seven of us going. That will be great and Gastric deserves a happy day. So the potato diet continues tonight and maybe a hamburger tomorrow. Thinking about eating must mean I am getting better. Yahoo!

Dear Diary

Hello all. Greetings and good morning to you all. I am feeling much better this morning, perhaps due to the fact that it is my Friday and I can sleep in tomorrow. Or that I didn't cough my head off all night as I have been doing, slept like a cool rock, watched over by Simcha. It did get a little cool in the condo last night. Comfortable. I put on a sweatshirt. How aptly name de that item of apparel is. Whilst I didn't sweat it did keep me toasty warm. And as I was wearing running shorts, ere know I don't run, I had the optimal sleeping experience. I am about to indulge in a Coke. I don't have to go to the lab today, and it will be another week until I get my last labs back. Tomorrow Gastric and I will do breakfast. I am looking forward to a properly cooked easy over egg and a piece of toast. My appetite is coming back but not in actual practice. I had yet another potato last night. Yum, yum. So that is the morning report. Mayhap more later.

A sickness unabated

Seems I am still a little sick from my last bout of medication. My gastric (notice lower case...my tummy, not Ms. Gastric) is a cause of concern. Finally called my GI doc and they want samples, which are now lodged in my fridge in appropriate containers and in a Baggie, I will run over to the lab this morning. They want to rule out a number of infectious forms of illness, of which I am being purposely vague. I am still running a slight fever and all the goodies that go with that. Still on the potato diet but Gastric was nice enough to get me to Mickey D's to get a cheese burger yesterday. Of which I could only eat half. Still recuperating. Still coughing and doing other nasty things. Guess I was really a sick puppy. Will be nice to have a four day weekend to rest. Monday we are celebrating Gastric's birthday with a baseball game, the Lugnuts. There will be seven of us celebrating. Hopefully, again, I can eat a hot dog, but if not there is ample liquid for me to consume. It rained like hell here yesterday and will off and on through the Labor Day weekend. Spartans have a football game on Friday and that is a good reason for taking Friday off. Campus will be a madhouse. MSU has gone to opening the football season on the Friday before Labor Day and it is really inconvenient if you are working that day. Easier to take it off. And that will frame my summer, my last Friday off for the season. Then it is work, work, work. I had a good session with one of the archivists for the university yesterday explaining our authority procedure and seeing if we could reach an understanding about authority records and correcting their bibliographic records. She is a great lady and I also gave her a tour of the library. The University Archives is not a unit of the library, even though their bib records our in our catalog. Still it is good to have her on-board with our procedures. And to also know how they are functioning as a cataloging unit. Alright, too much detail. Just like the recent spate of illnesses. I am making it eight hours a day at work, but I come home and go to sleep for an hour or so. I haven't been eating at work because of the gastric issues so I am pretty low energy by the time I get home. I can only practice about a half hour a day this week but I will ramp that up to an hour next week. Baby steps in the process of getting better. Okay, enough about me...what about you? Are you getting enough rest? Eating your veggies? Okay, then, stay week and avoid me at all costs.

Rough night

Still dealing with my new potato diet. Not great but at least I am eating. The students are back on campus in full force and summer, for me, is over. Monday, weather permitting, we are going to the last Lugnuts' game of the year for Gastric's birthday. Hopefully I can eat more than potatoes by then, as it is 50 cent hot dog day at the stadium. Tonight I may hit Mickey D's for a hamburger as that sounds good. I had a rough night...got up around 1:00 a.m. And took some meds and that gave me heartburn the rest of he night. I ended up getting up at 3:00 a.m. Unable to sleep and feeling pressure in my chest. I have had a Coke to help wash the pills down but it feels like it is stuck in my chest. I am working my last short week of the summer and Gastric and I are doing brunch on Friday at the Soup Spoon Cafe. So that will make a nice four day weekend to usher in the school year. Doesn't make sense. Classes start Wednesday and then they have Monday off. Why not wait a week? Who knows. Oh, great, now I am tired. Couldn't have felt this way three hours ago. Must stay awake. Alright, no decent insights this morning, too dark in the morning now for the ducks to come visiting. Sad. We did have a rabbit yesterday. No raccoon riding a garbage truck, though. Yep, summer is long gone.