Photo by Susie Nelson
I enjoyed Susie’s ridiculous version of a normal day yesterday once again. Having a doctor’s appointment at 1:15 I got organized early. On scheduling the appointment originally, the receptionist indicated I would need to arrive a half an hour early to fill out paperwork. Ach. Armed with my novel and I.D., I arrived and signed in at the appointed time.
After sitting there for twenty minutes, it occurred to me that I hadn’t been handed any paperwork to fill out. As interesting as my book was, reading another chapter would not get me any closer to getting out of there before bedtime. Approaching the front window I found myself behind a very expectant mother who looked like she had about one minute to countdown. Not eavesdropping but close enough to hear, I was privy to her exchange with the receptionist indicating that there was more than one mouse in the cupboard, if you get my drift. Not surprised at all, as she needed a back brace to hold up what was blocking her view of her sandals. My feet were swelling just looking at her.
My turn at the window, I inquired about the paperwork to find that I was already in their system. She further explained that actually I shouldn’t have been asked to get there early, but early I was, so I returned to my seat and picked up my book where I left off. An hour later, now numb from the waist down from shifting in the hard chair, and nearly comatose from boredom my name was called. A lovely nurse with a pleasant smile apologized for the wait and explained that the doctor had just left to perform an emergency surgery and I would need to reschedule my appointment. Another day in the life of.
On a brighter side, did you see the “super moon”? What a sight. Sometimes the world as it is, without Photoshop enhancement or special lenses, offers up beauty that simply cannot be captured by the most gifted camera buffs although many produced amazing shots around the globe.
With the Mayan Calendar ending in 2012, I think a lot of citizens are getting a little squirrely as the year moves forward. News casts filled with strange weather occurrences and constantly reportable happenings of a bizarre nature. Everywhere I go on my trips around town someone adds to the list of odd weather forecasts and unusual undercurrents circling in our atmosphere lately. Headlines state that 1 in 7 people worldwide believe that we are on the precipice of the end of the world. If true, an incredible statement standing alone.
While purchasing cat litter and cat food the other day, the lovely lady pushing mice, gerbils and rabbit pellets tossed another thought in the pot, that, God bless her, hadn’t yet entered my mind. Along with the other disturbing happenings globally she mentioned the passing of Dick Clark has a lot of people on edge. Not that he was a young man, nor certainly not one without health issues, more that this, of all years, he left us to celebrate the upcoming New Year’s Eve without his familiar face standing in Time Square. Okay I’m mentioning this because I’m not going to be studying the ceiling by myself late into the evening. I need company, and lots of it.
My mother tends to grab these items and go berserk. I’m surprised we didn’t have a bomb shelter when that was swelling in popularity back in the day. Dwelling on what was, could be, or even at times, is, can make you crazy. Better to compartmentalize life like a family size pizza. If you try to eat the whole pie at once it will definitely result in a stomach ache. If you break it off a slice at a time and concentrate on a single piece, it will be easier to digest and more enjoyable. You’re probably staring at your screen at this point and thinking “what the hell is she talking about”. Can’t say that I blame you, and on top of that you’re probably pushing the “Papa Murphy’s” number you have on speed dial. Basically I’m trying to say that sitting around worrying about something happening, or feeling guilty about what has really gets in the way of living in the moment you are in. I’ll have pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage and extra cheese please and I have a coupon.
Today I have to concentrate heavily on finding a spot to relocate, so will put thoughts of half of Japan’s coastline floating in our direction, global warming, wars heating up here and cooling down there, and put my energy into facing another life change with an open mind and staying on the positive side of my world.
Our fans are already circulating as spring is pushing into summer quickly and we’ll be dipping into the 90 degree bin today. For me spring and fall are the perfect seasons and although I love being in the water when the temperatures start to accelerate, not so much heating up without it.
Last night I was looking for something cool and refreshing and came up with this. My granddaughter asked me often during her time with us why I fussed so much about the “look” of my plates as well as the taste of the food served on them. For me there is an art to food that when it is presented beautifully actually enhances the pleasure of the food itself.
At any rate, give this a try and let me know what you think. The dressing is to die for. We love shrimp so this worked for the two of us.
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” Diane Ackerman
Shrimp Louie
1 lb. cooked shrimp
2 hearts of romaine, chopped
6 small tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 lemons halved
2 hard-boiled eggs
8 spears of cooked asparagus
Arrange your ingredients artfully on a bed of lettuce divided between two plates. Serve with Louie Dressing.
Louie Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. ketchup
2 1/2 Tbsp. chili sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Light squeeze of half a lemon
Mix well and refrigerate until ready to serve.
What a day you had … but what a fantastic treat you had yesterday – that salad looks great. – love you headline quote.
I like that one too. It just said everything I wanted to say. Luv shrimp louie – one of my favorites. There’s a restaurant in San Fran that has the best. It’s enormous – could feed a family of twelve.
feed 12 – everything is big in America … my grandpa always said. Some times we have to adjust to reality even if we don’t really want too. Have taken a copy of your Lemon Chimichurri … because I will have lamb cutlets on Saturday. Never had it before.
Oh yea. Must tell me if you like it.
Of course I will …
Your posts are so great: a humorous reflection of the day – beginning and ending with great quotes AND yummy food ( with pictures). Just a great buffet of a blog.
Aren’t you nice – I appreciate having such great and loyal readers
I’m with you about hot weather requiring being in the water. We have had two warm days and I have not quite adjusted to them yet.
I live in the water during the summer months – our pool, however is having filter problems which caused algae imbalance or some such thing so can’t dip in it at the moment.
Unfortunately we had cloudy skies for the super moon, so I missed out. Having a bit of experience with Maya archaeology, I tend to point out that this is the end of a specific calendar cycle, not the end of the world. The current cycle began in 3114 BC. Yes, there were probaby rituals associated with such an event, but it was not viewed as the end of the world. Sorry, folks!
Hey, I am certainly not the 1 out of the 7. People get caught up in the hype and the media is quick on the trigger to keep pushing it out there. One little thread can make a quilt with enough people holding a needle. It’s creepy almost. I am truly surprised at how many comments are fed back in my direction about this particular subject. Interesting world these days. Glad to be a fly on the wall.
Oh, I didn’t think you were one of the 7! My last line was just meant to be a tongue-in-cheek apology to those who really MISunderstand these things! I’m in no hurry for the world to end. I’d rather see us devoting some of our wasted time and energies to fixing the problems we’ve created.
Oh goodness, I knew that. You are the nicest person always. I’m sorry if I came off as defensive, certainly didn’t mean to. Yes, let’s move forward instead of waiting for the alien ship to land. It is so much easier for us as humans to not look at the elephant in your lap and rather focus on the fly in the window – this in Susie-ese, but I feel you’ll understand what I mean. 🙂
Oh, yes, I understand! And the elephant and fly is a great description of it. Perfect illustration of “show, don’t tell” in writing. 🙂
That’s it exactly 🙂
Really enjoy your blogs! And the shrimp Louie looks yummy! Must try that! 🙂
Thank you so much and let me know how it goes if you do.
Really interesting combo for a dressing – will have to give that a try!
anne
It’s my favorite – a little tangy with a bite.
My mouth is watering for this salad. Scrumptious looking.
That’s what I mostly hate about appointments is that numb feeling from the waist down…
Truly it was so delicate. I was planning on having with something the following night but we ate the whole thing.
I’m not a good waiter I’m afraid, nor a good sitter 🙂