THAI "NOT TAKEOUT" FOOD

 I had a hankering for vegan Thai food but I thought "why buy takeout when I can make the food myself?" So, I made my own Drunken Noodles.  I made a double batch so I could eat it for two days.  It was so good and it definitely curbed my Thai food hankering.

I took Lucky for a walk. I wanted to take her to the park but yesterday I tried to get gasoline but my new credit card would not work and I didn't have much cash.  I am so low on gasoline that I am nervous to use any of it to go for a joy ride until I get gasoline.  My plan is to go get some cash and get some gasoline during the hours when no one is out and about. 

My neighbor came by for a plate of treats and I gave her four different things.  She was so happy.

Until tomorrow...

EMERGENCY DENTAL APPOINTMENT

 Okay, it was not an EMERGENCY but an urgent dental appointment.  Turns out my new mouth guard chipped my tooth.  It chipped the back of my front tooth.  My front teeth are naturally separated with a space between my two front teeth.  Think Michal Strahan or Madonna (now not back in the day).  When I was little and had braces I was given the choice to have an operation to remove a muscle that grew between my two front teeth pushing them apart or to get my teeth "bonded" together.  It is not actually bonding but a mesh piece of metal that is cemented to the back of my teeth that holds them together.  It is sort of like a tooth brace.  This is my second or third rendition since every now and then it wears out and breaks while I am eating something I probably should not.  You will never see me eat a whole apple or frozen Snickers (if I ate Snickers) or anything that is hard that I have to bite into.  

So what chipped was the cement on the back of my teeth or that is what I thought.  The cement was chipped but also I have a super small filling in my front tooth.  The mouth guard broke the filling and it felt like a chipped tooth.  The dentist filed down the chipped cement and then filed down the chipped filing.  I haven't looked at it yet but at least my tongue is not getting caught on my front teeth anymore. She also filed down the mouth guard.

Yesterday I made a wonderful Chickpea Pasta Salad.  It is so tasty and I am glad I made enough for a few days.

Lucky and I went for a long walk this afternoon.  The weather was nice.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-FOUR OF COOKING COURSE

I started my day early so I could get this dessert done in one day.  It had many components.  First I had to cook the sponge cake.  Then I had to get the coconut milk in the fridge.  After the cake finished, I was able to take Lucky for a walk while the cake cooled.  

Then I decided to make another recipe for lunch and started boiling pasta.  Once the pasta was done, I made a chickpea pasta salad.  I ate that with an heirloom tomato.

Then I got back to the cake by making the whipped coconut cream.  It tastes amazing.  I spread that on the cake and put strawberry slices on top.  Then I added a glaze on to the strawberries.   

 

I did a little research online.  I searched some of the big medical sites and I found some folks who have had flares after taking the vaccine.  Turns out I am not alone.  There have been folks with rheumatoid arthritis who have been on my type of medication who had to go off the medication to get the vaccine and who then had flares when they returned to their medication.  I feel better now knowing I am not alone.  "The American College of Rheumatology issued guidance regarding COVID-19 vaccination on Feb 8, 2021, and acknowledged a theoretical risk of flare of autoimmune disease after vaccination with moderate consensus."

"Research based on data from the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR)-COVID-19 Registry and recently presented at the EULAR 2021 Virtual Congress. A 2021 study followed 1,519 people with arthritis and other musculoskeletal conditions, including RA, psoriatic arthritis, and other forms of arthritis. Of the participants, 78% received the Pfizer vaccine, 16% received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, 5% received the Moderna vaccine, and 1% received an uncertain vaccine type. After vaccination, 5% of the participants experienced arthritic flare-ups, and 1.2% experienced severe flare-ups."

Okay, so I am not crazy.  We all know if there is something out there for me to have or get, I will get or have it.  Now that I know it is a possibility, I can relax and let it run it's course.  I am not sure if I will take the extra prednisone.  I will give it more time to see what happens.

Until tomorrow...

 

DENTAL MOUTH GUARD

 I am so happy!  I finally got my dental mouth guard.  After five weeks of grinding my teeth after I broke my mouth guard, I will finally be able to sleep all night through.  Five weeks ago I cracked my mouth guard by grinding too much.  Then after going to the dentist to get fitted for a new mouth guard, I tried to wear the cracked guard and I woke up and the guard had a piece of plastic missing where it was cracked.  Now it was actually broken.  I decided that since I could not find the broken piece, it was best that I didn't wear the mouth guard anymore.  

Now I have a new mouth guard and I am so happy!  

Lucky and I went for a long walk today.  It was super foggy so it was actually cold.

I ordered groceries from Whole Foods and I was supposed to have them delivered from 6-8pm.  I waited.  I got a text at 7:34 pm saying the groceries were delivered.  Nobody delivers anything without Lucky knowing.  In fact the UPS guy delivered something the other day and rang the bell.  He inquired where Lucky was because that was the first time he got to ring the doorbell without her hearing him and barking when he pulled up in his truck.  He was worried she was sick or passed on.  She was at the vet getting dental work done.

When I got the text from Amazon I went and looked for the groceries.  Both doors, nope.  I looked up and down the street, nope.  I called Amazon and the woman called the delivery guy.  He said he didn't know where he delivered the groceries.  What??  What do you mean you didn't know where you delivered the groceries less than 30 minutes ago?  

Amazon is replacing my groceries but can't deliver them until tomorrow night.  As my brother said "24 hour delivery".  Luckily I don't need the groceries tomorrow to make my recipe. 

My neighbor came to get a plate of goodies.  He was so happy seeing a plate full of sweets.  I really like putting smiles on people's faces.  

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE OF COOKING COURSE

 I cooked a Marbled Gulgelhupf today.  What is a Marbled Gulgelhupf?  It is a bundt-type cake.  It has a specific mold (that I did not use because mine was too big) that makes it stand out.  It is marbled with white cake and chocolate cake.  

It is really light and super tasty.  I really like this cake.  I would make it again in a minute.  It just took a lot of utensils and bowls.  I would need to perfect it to make clean up easier.  Boy is it good!

Lucky and I went for a walk.  I took a wrong turn because I was trying to get my Audible book working and I let Lucky steer and she took me on the wrong street.  We worked it out but didn't go our regular way.

Until tomorrow...

USED UP EXTRA DOUGH

 I had some dough leftover from making the apple pie so today I made two mini apple pies.  The are so cute and probably delicious.  I am probably going to give them away since I have 1/4 of the original pie still in the fridge.  I also have 1/2 the galette.  

I spent some time today doing the end of the laundry.  I cleaned dog towels, rugs, blankets.  I washed a tablecloth from so long ago.  Everything is clean including the washing machine that I scoured and put through the cleaning cycle.  All before the 4pm deadline.

I then reorganized and cleaned part of my bedroom.  I am finally taking out one of the dog cages in my bedroom.  I had two because I had two dogs but I haven't had two dogs for a year so it is time to remove the second cage.  This gives me so much more real estate in the room.  I can also get in my drawers without moving a cage.  Once I get some boxes removed from my garage, I will have more room in my garage to access and reorganize things.

I made a fun dinner so that took up a bunch of time.  I made huli huli sauce to put on cauliflower.  I also put it on some tofu.  It is really tasty.  

I didn't get to walk today with all the other things going on.

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY JULY 4TH!!

 For July 4th I, of course, woke up and watched the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest.  Yes, I am a vegan but this is an annual sport that I watch.  Plus one of the winners is from the West Coast and we all cheer for him.  Joey "Jaws" Chestnut is scarily amazing at competitive eating.  I find it so interesting.  Even if they were eating pounds of broccoli I would still find it fascinating.  

Then I started more laundry.  I got four loads of laundry and drying done today before the 4pm deadline. 

Lucky and I went on a walk.  We did our regular walk backwards today to try something different.  

I decided to use up a banana that was soft.  I made Vegan Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They taste amazing!  So good and banana-y!!  

I watched a Boss Baby 2 and The Queen's Corgi in between the cooking, walking and laundry. 

Until tomorrow...

TOMATO AND ZUCCHINI CASSEROLE

 I put the laundry in first thing this morning.  I wanted to make sure I can get all the laundry I need to get done this weekend.  I have my regular laundry plus sheets and towels plus my comforter plus a ton of dog towels.  I have dog towels stacked up from dog baths, dogs in the rain, dogs getting sick, dogs on furniture, dogs in beds, dogs just needing a "blanket".  They all need to be cleaned and I have been lazy and not cleaned them.  It is past due time to clean them and then clean out the washer.  It will take time and I was going to do it three months ago but then I decided to put in solar and decided to wait.  Why not clean them when I was paying a lot less for electricity?  The towels were not going anywhere.  They aren't wet or anything; just smelly like a dog.  

This weekend is the weekend.  It is fairly sunny and I can wash them over the holiday once I finish my towels and bedding.  Then the whole washer and dryer gets cleaned out.

I made a Tomato and Zucchini/Squash Casserole.  It has yellow squash and green zucchini and tomatoes with vegan cheese and spices.  It tastes delicious.  It was a Pillsbury recipe that I changed around. 

I can't wait to eat dinner.  I haven't decided what to eat with it.  

Lucky and I went out for a walk and ran into a neighbor I haven't seen in 9 months.  She is a pediatrician and her husband is also a doctor.  They have two small kids around the ages of my niece and nephew but their daughter is the older one.  Their daughter LOVES Lucky and she is so gentle with Lucky.  Lucky is so good with her.  We talked for 1/2 hour.  Then Lucky and I walked our mile.

I finally finished season 2 of The Umbrella Academy.  I watched season one while commuting on mass transit and in doctor's waiting rooms.  I used to download the episodes and watch them on my phone.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-TWO OF COOKING COURSE

 Christmas Apple Pie!  I did call it 4th of July Weekend Apple Pie.  But the course called it Christmas.  It was SO good.  It had a pie crust that was just like I like it.  Super thin crust with no ends.  I don't like thick pie crust ends.  It was also not dry as some pie crusts can be.  It was mostly insides.  It was made with a tart ring so there were no "crusts".  It was basically just the structure and then fillings.  Inside was a cream made from vanilla pastry cream and marzipan so it was sweet.  Then on top were apples that had been steeped in a syrup made from cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, rum, cloves, and raisins.  The apples tasted so delicious.  I can't wait to eat more of it.  I have some leftover dough, cream and apples so I may make some tarts.

It was a busy day and an overcast one so I decided to stay inside and walk my mile on the treadmill.  I got some unexpected phone calls today.

I am still learning how to use my electricity to my advantage with the solar.  I know I need to use my big appliances before 4pm to get the best rate.  This has so far been a challenge for me since in the past I have been used to doing things later in the day.  Running the dishwasher is easy because I can do that really late.  But laundry is the biggest challenge for me.  Laundry needs a good 2.5 - 3 hours to clean sheets and towels.  That means I have to start them early in the day and remember to move them from the washer to the dryer at the appropriate time.  This may sound easy but my washer and dryer are in the garage and I can't hear the buzzer when the washer is done.  I have taken to setting my alarm on my phone.  Because if I don't move the wash to the dryer in time, I run out of time to do the next load of laundry before it is 4pm and I am into the "high cost" zone.  I never thought about this before.  Now I have to.  It reminds me of the olden days of cellphone usage before unlimited plans when you had to be careful not to go over your minutes.  You only went over your minutes once when you saw how much it cost you!  I had a family member get charges from a foreign country and I am sure that person will not do that again!  Anyway, I am re-learning how to use electricity.  It is a very good exercise.  

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE OF COOKING COURSE

 I finished my first pastry.  I am really happy with the way it turned out.  It tastes amazing.  Yesterday I made the dough and the pastry cream.  Today I put it all together.  I rolled out the dough, put on the vanilla pastry cream, cut up some strawberries and shaved a tonka bean.  Then I rolled up the edges and put on a wash.  Then in the oven it went.  I made a Galette with Strawberry Tonka Filling.  It came out so golden and delicious.  It is a tiny galette for three maybe four people with little pieces.  I ate a quarter of it already.  

I spoke to my Rheumatoid Arthritis doctor today.  He said he has not seen other patients who have had my reaction to either the vaccine or not bouncing back after going back on the Orencia.  But he said he only sees so many patients and it has only been weeks since many have taken the vaccine.  He said time will tell if others are in the same boat as me and research will tell in months or a year if others have had the same issue.  He, of course, wants me to increase the prednisone.  He always does.  I need to think about it.  He caught me rolling my eyes when he said it.  I forgot we were on video chat.  I will see how it goes.  He sent the meds but I want to wait longer and see before I increase the prednisone.  

For those of you new to this blog, I have increased prednisone before and I am very sensitive to prednisone.  I have a very hard time decreasing it.  I can increase it really well.  I eat like crazy and gain weight.  But then I can't get off it.  Even decreasing 1/2 mg takes me years because I will get thrown into a flare and/or I get sick.  So I usually want to plan when I decrease during a time that nothing is happening like a trip or work or holidays or I am sick.  Pre-Covid those times were few and far between.  Now I don't want to flare during Covid because I am house-bound and I don't want to flare when my access to doctors, friends, and everything is limited. I have to wait 48 hours for a prescription.  I don't want to get sick and having a bad flare leaves me open to that.  

Anyway we agreed that I would think about taking the prednisone and he agreed to send me a prescription.  We will check in in three weeks if I am not better.  He then seemed exasperated that I might have to change from Orencia if it is not working since it took him jumping through medical hoops to get me on this medication.  I am so limited on the medications I can take if I have to get off Orencia, I don't know what I will do.  This is one thing people don't talk about.  What happens when you have a disease for so long, you outlast the effectiveness of the drugs available??   I think people think you get on a drug and you stay on it forever.  That unfortunately is not the reality in my case.  I seem to run through drugs and get weird side effects, reactions, etc. But I am sure there will be a new drug created soon and I will be the perfect candidate.  

I did walk with Lucky today.  She walked 3/4 of the way and vomited.  She ate right before we left for the walk and I think it was all too much for her.  

Until tomorrow...