No Bloodshed at the Vet, Shopping and Dinner Out

Is that what it looks like?  You will need to read on to find out.  ;-)

Have I said recently that I don’t like mornings? Nothing has changed there. This morning I had to be ready to leave the house much earlier than normal which is very tough for me.

We both had a quick breakfast of oatmeal with mixed berries and nuts. My breakfast included: ½ cup oatmeal, 1 cup water, 1 cup mixed frozen berries (no sugar added), ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon powdered ginger, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and 2 tablespoons sliced almonds.

What a day we had today. It started early with a trip to the veterinarian. We were both grateful that Nicco (aka Binky, aka Danger Kitty) didn’t bite anyone. He did his best impersonation of Exorcist cat but no one got hurt, including him. All three of the felines need to have dental procedures soon. Can’t say I am looking forward to that process. But we all have those moments we don’t look forward to in life. When we got home from the vet to say all three cats were ticked would be too mild. The vaccinations and residual muscle pain resulted in chaos. There was nothing but hissing, swatting, and running around. It was a zoo at our place. The fur children were upset for over an hour after we got home and that was after a 45 minute ride back from the vet.

I know it sounds crazy that we go that far to the vet but he is practically part of the family. I have known the vet since right after he became a DVM and before he had his own practice.  Actually I have known my vet longer than husband which says it all.  Since the vet and his wife, also a veterinarian, started their practice we have made the drive to the suburbs to have them care for the cats. Earle is so wonderful with the cats I can’t imagine anyone else taking care of my fur babies. 

When we got home my father had left a message that he overslept this morning and would still be exercising when we normally get together to eat so he needed to cancel. That was a relief since I was not actually in the mood to cook and wanted to take it easy today.  I guess you could say I was being lazy. Then our friend Louis called to see if we were available for dinner tonight. Wow I get the entire day off from cooking. Woo hoo! I am too happy about that aren’t I? LOL

We had the end of the smoky black-eyed peas with shitakes to tide us over for a couple of hours while we ran a few errands

After the three amigos calmed down Dan and I ran out for a while. We went to the health food store.

While at the health food store we got a fresh juice or carrot, beet and romaine. Since our juice at home contains kale, ginger and lemon this was almost too sweet. It is amazing how much our taste buds have changed.

I found a few interesting things at the health food store including: real powdered wasabi, natto miso, hatcho miso (aka Tekka), raw granola without added oil, and vanilla/nut flavored Teeccino. It was a productive stop.

Next we stopped at the library because I had books on hold. I picked up Tracy Anderson’s “The 30-Day Method” and “The Alchemist” by Paul Coelho. I have heard good things about the exercise aspects of “The 30-Day Method” so I am anxious to read it. Jill recommended “The Alchemist” so I am also looking forward to that too.

While we were in the neighborhood we stopped at Wegman’s. I took the opportunity to replenish my bean inventory since I don’t think you can ever have too many beans on hand.  ;-) We also needed more raw sesame and pumpkin seeds. Since they had organic walnuts in the bulk section (I think this is new) we grabbed two pounds of those and Dagoba organic cocoa powder.

Mid-afternoon we had a salad of marinated mustard greens, shredded carrot, dried blueberries, raw sunflower seeds and apple cider vinegar. We were both a little hungry and I felt like we hadn’t had enough produce today.  But I guess you can say we always feel like we need more produce. ;-)

I decided to cook a pound of great northern beans to turn into some type of bean dip or spread for tomorrow. I am not sure exactly how I am going to flavor it yet. That is something I will ponder later.

For dinner we met Louis at our local hangout. Ian was off tonight apparently being a good dad and doing something festive with his little ones.

Dan and I split a plate of roasted veggies (cauliflower, potato, sweet potato, portabella, carrots, beets, artichokes, red peppers and red onions) topped with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and a few pine nuts.

To accompany the veggies we ordered a whole wheat pizza with black olive tapenade, sliced potato, roasted red peppers, red onions and rosemary. This was good but more like a foccacia than a pizza. Next time I will add roasted mushrooms to the topping.

For dessert we eat got a small cup of fresh fruit (cantaloupe, honey dew, strawberry and Granny Smith apple).

Here is the shock of the evening. There was a Masi Pinot Grigio on the menu by the glass and I could not resist it. I “had” to order a glass for myself. Dan enjoyed the bouquet and one tiny sip. One of us has more self control when it comes to wine and it isn’t me. I love my Italian vino. Masi Amarone was our house wine which is where Massimo got his name. There was no way I could not order a glass of Masi tonight. See, I am not always good. ;-)

However we did also have green tea which you can just see peaking in on the side.  Besides we had our share of antioxidants today.  Since I haven't had a glass of wine is I don't know how long I do not feel too bad about this, though maybe I should. ;-)  But I will leave that for another day.

My buddy Louis found a Deruta platter for me today when he was shopping and knowing my addiction for that particular type of pottery he picked it up for me. Isn’t it adorable? I love that it isn’t the traditional colors. Thank you Louis! You are too good to me.

Signing out:

That is going to be it for us tonight. Tomorrow starts early with a trip to the market. It was a good day but a long one. I hope you all had a good day too.