Midweek Update Nothing Special

How are we doing this Easter week?  Is everyone planning a feast on Sunday? 

At my house we will not celebrate with a lot of rich food.  We will have a special meal, which may include mac and cheese for Husband, and dressed eggs, but no family get-togethers.  Maybe a little something late in the afternoon in the neighborhood.  There is a child who is just 1 year old so he shouldn't be too hard to keep up with. 

After going to sunrise service and church, Easters were always celebrated with my mother's family at my grandparents' house in the country with all the kids hunting boiled eggs and candy eggs over and over as long as someone would hide them for us.  I remember baked ham and fried chicken, along with homemade yeast rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes, and a fruit salad.  With lots of sweet iced tea.  And always lots of desserts, usually pies. 

How different it is now.  The only things of this menu that I would eat now are a small portion of ham, green beans, and I would pick at the fruit salad.  Definitely no fried chicken or mashed potatoes, bread or dessert.  No sweet tea, only water for me.  If it was potluck, I would bring a huge broccoli salad, made with olive oil mayonnaise and half the sugar the recipe calls for.  Indeed I did enjoy those childhood meals at Grandma's, but now I'm glad I don't have to navigate the minefield that was my family's cooking practices.  However, my grandmother lived to be 98, so the good food didn't affect her longevity.

My one (I hope it's only one) restaurant meal was yesterday with a couple of friends I used to work with.  We had Mexican buffet (1 trip).  I know that was not a wise choice at all.  But I did try to choose protein and veggies.  Only a few chips.  Lettuce, pico, guacamole, but not much.  No dessert.  Water to drink.  It's a shame to pay buffet prices for such a small plate of food, but at least it puts the portion size within my control, and I can choose no cheese.

I did go back to my doc Tuesday about complications from this bronchitis and such.  He confirmed that now I have pleurisy.  Which is a fluid pocket which develops between your rib cage and lung, usually caused by repeated coughing.  It hurts!  Mainly when I breathe deeply, cough, and oh my goodness, the sneezing is the most painful, like a knife stuck in my side.  So I got prednisone, more antibiotics, stronger anti-inflammatory, and 3 weeks worth of nasal spray.  Now I feel like a dopehead without the narcotics.  I guess steroids are even worse (for my body, anyway).  I know the prednisone will make me hungry.  I know the anti-inflammatory will make me retain fluid.  It's all okay.  I am the only person who can control what I put in my mouth, so I need to focus, focus.  I just hope it doesn't make me crave carbs or sweets.  That is the worst.  This is the second full day back on the meds and so far so good, but I did eat a big-ass bowl of vegetable soup for lunch.  Maybe not too much harm done.

The weather is beautiful, perfect for gardening, in the 70's every day.  And I have done nothing except clean up one perennial bed.  But I am hoping to be able to be out this next week and get fresh mulch on my main color bed, which doesn't show from streetside, so I'm not so worried about it looking shabby.  I'm not making big plans on expanding my beds this year, just adding some color to what I already have.  My neighbor and I are making plans for a small vegetable garden and some container gardening.  That will probably more than enough to keep me busy.

Okay, I hope everyone has a great Easter weekend.  I will catch up with most of you on Sunday evening or after.  Be safe!