physical therapy, shabbat, spring.... ie life continuing

[magid]

i opened a new bag of yeast friday morning. i love doing this, feeling the hard block of vacuum-sealed yeast turn into a mushy bag of little things with a sort of snerk sound. (useful information: i buy 1-lb bags of yeast, which usually last about a year, so this is not a frequent sort of snerkiness....)

in physical therapy yesterday afternoon, not only did i get the dry whirlpool, but also ultrasound. the therapist put some turquoise blue goo (almost the color of blue cotton candy, but more translucent) on the back of my hand, then rubbed a sort of wand over the area. the wand was attached to the device that made the soundwaves, and also had a timer attached. it felt a bit odd, in a slightly unpleasant sort of way, but bearable for however many minutes it was. and the scars do look a lot better now, too. she showed me how to massage them to get the tissue more flexible, less stuck to things internally that they shouldn't be stuck to, and i'm to do that before starting on the usual rounds of stretches. and just because i was curious, she got out the goniometer (protractor thingie) and measured my index finger. so, since last monday, the knuckle at the palm of the hand has gotten 5 more degrees of rotation, and the other 2 joints have gotten 25 more degrees. whoo-hoo! (plus, today i was able to hook my bra behind my back. strides indeed!) on the other hand, though (as it were), when i tried to put my hand flat on the table, then raise the index finger, i couldn't. it just doesn't go that way right now. yet, i mean. so much to work on. some days i just wish i could wake up and have it fixed already...

i didn't figure out the timing properly for what i was cooking, and almost forgot about dessert, but in the end shabbat dinner did happen :-), the first time in ages having people over for shabbat.
the menu:
challah (first braided one i'd made in weeks),
wine,
stuffed grape leaves (thanks to trader joe's)(almost typed graph leaves... i'm sure people would've had fun with that!),
za'atar for dipping,
chicken (marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, with fresh rosemary and garlic, then roasted),
rice with chickpeas and pine nuts,
roasted potatoes and carrots (not on the original menu, but i had room in the oven, and i love roasted veggies.... (they're gone now... yum.)),
a green salad with a lovely dressing made by teddywolf, also used on the sliced cuke i had for him.
also sauteed onion, summer squash, and zukes, with fresh oregano and capers.
and for dessert, angel food cake topped with watermelon and honeydew balls that had been spritzed with fresh lime juice (the melon's now gone, too).
oh, and many options for tea.

i think the guests had a good time :-), including talking to the birds. discussion ranged from bicycling to theater to food (surprise!), and beyond.

today was quieter, eating leftovers, reading, talking to the birds, working on my hand, napping. over to wolf's for a while, ended up playing chez geek. and on the walk over i saw a very pretty flowering dogwood tree, which was red, rather than the usual pink.

oh, and for some reason i was disproportionately entertained when a friend told me her 3-year-old was finally convinced to work on toilet-training when he was promised "big boy" underwear... with blues clues on them!
no clue as to why this struck me as so funny

Comments

[magid.livejournal.com]

thanks... though i think my brother cooks better than i do, b/c he pays attention to details i don't bother with...

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Possibly tho not definitely. You generally do better than I on presentation though.

[magid.livejournal.com]

i think that's b/c i have some nice pottery (see, you didn't even notice the serving spoons were plastic!)... i've gotten lucky at pottery sales, esp the day they put out seconds at the radcliffe pottery show. but with the acual food prep, you're more detail-focussed, always have been (i distinctly remember a tiny bit of carrot going into a red sauce...)

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Oh, I noticed the plasticwares :) I was referring the the physical appearence of the foodstuffs. The arrangement of the grape leaves, for example, and how the chicken was presented to the table. You *know* how Mom would have served it - chicken loaded in one bowl, rice in another, lots of mushrooms in the salad, grape leaves stacked on one plate.

For the presentation's aesthetic (hah! Find *that* in Boggle!) appeal you do quite well. I usually don't put on those little touches, including on Shabbat. Then again I normally cook whole chickens instead of chicken parts :)