Monday's Road Trip

I woke up to my usual alarm, but today isn't all that usual. I've got a doctor's appointment in Richmond at 9:30 AM, and I want to stop and see my Mom before then. So, I hurried up and left the house just before 7:00 AM.

I got to Mom's just after 8:00 AM. Her room was empty, so I walked down and saw her still eating breakfast. I didn't want to bother her, so I went back to her room and read the Michigan Catholic paper until she came back.

When she got there, she told me Uncle Jim and Uncle Joe had interviewed a woman as a live-in companion this weekend at her house, and then they drove her over to meet Mom. Mom seemed to really like her and the lady doesn't mind spending the summer out at Lake Orion, so it looks like it's a go.

I asked if she had a new tentative date to go home, but she said no, the therapist told her she can go home when she can walk 1 step per year of her age or 100 steps. Mom laughed and said at the rate she's going, she'll have to stay another 10 years or so! She does walk in the hall twice a day, but they have to follow behind her with her wheelchair, because when she gets tired she has to sit down immediately.

She was very thrilled at getting a card from my daughter Amy and insisted I read it. And, then it was time for me to leave.

I stopped at the house afterwards to get a picture of my cousin Bobby she wanted and saw that my brother Joe and Kathy are making progress. The cabinet with the desk is now in Mom's room and a small dresser is in the library for the lady. The toilet has been replaced with a handicap one. The old sink is out of the bathroom and a new one is in a box, waiting to be installed.

I got to the doctor's just in time. Visit went well, I think. I lost almost 10 pounds since my last visit and my blood pressure is 110/77; Cholesterol at 144 (HDL at 47 and LDL at 59). She's not happy with the new medication for diabetes, though. She was aiming for a Hemoglobin of 7% and it came in at 7.3%. So, she changed that prescription. She drew some more blood and then mentioned the "C" word - colonoscopy screening! I said I'd think about it and we agreed to get back together in three months.

I got back in the car and headed back to Livonia. Traffic was light, due in large part to the Martin Luther King Holiday in the US and I made it back in time to go to lunch, lol! Then I finally went to work.

On the way home coming down I-96, I was almost to my exit when traffic ground to a halt. A cop car and a Fire Department Rescue truck went by on the shoulder and I knew we were in trouble. But eventually it cleared enough for me to go the last lousy 1/2 mile I needed to get off. I turned off on Inkster and, just as I got to the railroad track, the lights started flashing and the gates went down (sigh). Long train (they mostly are around here); so, all in all, I got home about 1/2 hour later than usual.

When I go home, I changed clothes and then scanned the picture of my cousin Bob for my Mother. My brother Carl told her Jake looked a lot like Bobby and she wanted to see for herself. So, I printed it off and will mail it to her tomorrow and return the actual picture to her house next time I'm out there. I posted it so you can judge for yourself.

I was going to eat leftovers from yesterday (both the Blissful Rosemary Chicken and the Turnip Mashed Potatoes were excellent, as I might has said), but I noticed the two medium sized eggplants I'd bought last week were starting to soften. So I got out two of the breading pans (thanks, again!) and filled one with flour and one with three eggs, scrambled. I peeled the two eggplants and cut them into 1/2 inch slices. I filled my 9-inch frying pan about halfway with canola oil.

Trying to keep the mess and resulting cleanup to a minimum, I didn't get my thermometer, but used a trick Carla showed me years ago. You heat the oil on medium high and keep testing it by sticking the handle of a wooden spoon in it. When it starts to bubble around the handle, you are good to go. From there, I usually adjust the heat, depending on the time it takes to get whatever I'm frying to golden brown outside.

I put the egg plant rounds on paper towels to drain and immediately seasoned them with salt (best to do right away on anything you fry, BTW). I fixed a plate and went off to watch some TV (but I confess I came back for seconds, lol!) I went to sleep about 10:00 PM.