Saturday, October 30, 2010

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.

22 comments:

  1. Oh Ali, let me know how you enjoy The Alchemist. It's one of my favorites. :)

    xoxo,
    LJ

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  2. What an action-packed day! (filled with good eats!)

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  3. LJ,

    That it good to know. If you have any other reading suggestions I would love to hear about them.:-)

    hugs,
    Ali

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  4. JL,

    There could have been a little less action in the feline dept. But I guess I shouldn't complain since no one was hurt this time.

    I seriously enjoyed that glass of vino. You have no idea how much I have missed my wine, LOL.

    Ali

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  5. I second the recommendation for The Alchemist. It is a wonderful, memorable book. :)

    Your day was packed full of busyness, wasn't it? My days are generally that full, but it made me a little tired to read your post. lol!

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  6. Aisling,

    It is good to hear so many of you like this book. If you have another book suggestions I would love to know about them.

    The feline activity was the worst and set the tone since it was the first "event" but it was all good after that. The wine was my personal hightlight, LOL.

    hope you have a good Sunday,
    Ali

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  7. I hope you don't feel bad about drinking that glass of wine....your diet is so fantastic that I can't imagine it hurting you. I also love wine and have been drinking a glass every 2-3 days, which I know is too much, plus my diet has gone to pot the past couple of days. Too many carbs and sweets are causing havoc with my digestive system. It feels like more of a nervous/emotional yearning than a physical urge. Anyway, I'm trying to stick with fruits/veggies today, but I'm craving other things...and it's only 10am! I'd better get out of the house soon! And I need to start reading nutrition books again. Too much to do and not enough time to do it! Enjoy your Sunday.

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  8. Laura,

    I did feel a little guilty over the wine mostly because I know Dan would have liked some too. But at least it wasn't a Masi red which he might have had to have ordered. But overall I think one or two glasses of wine a year isn't going to hurt me. I do still miss it though which will probably never change. ;-)

    I like your idea of reading nutrition books to get back on track. That is one thing that keeps me eating healthy. It is hard to eat the bad stuff when you realize how bad it actually is for your health.

    Thanks, enjoy your Sunday as well. We are heading for the mountains of Western MD to do a little hiking and take pictures of the autumn foliage.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  9. Well if nothing else you deserved the wine just from the vet trip alone ;-) I think it was just meant to be. Hope you're having a nice Sunday!

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  10. I love the story about the cats. Animals are so funny in how they can get bent out of shape just like us humans! Very funny. :-)

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  11. Heather,

    Taking the cats to the doc is always an adventure to say the least. ;-)

    We should have a good Sunday. We are heading to the mountains in western MD for a little hiking. I am hoping the leaves are still gorgeous.

    Enjoy your Sunday,
    Ali

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  12. Blessed Mama,

    It was not nearly as funny in person LOL. Nicco turns into 6 pounds of snarling teeth and toes at the vet. I always leave apologizing for his inappropriate behavior. *shakes head*

    I hope you have a good Sunday. We are off to go hiking for the day.

    Ali

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  13. Sorry to hear about the stressful vet visit. That is just never fun! I also have a wonderful husband/wife vet team that I bring my kitties to 40 minutes away from home. They are so wonderful and the long drive is worth it (though I'm not sure the kitties agree!).

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  14. Sarah,

    That is a wild coincidence. I thought I was the only one that would drive by 30 vets to see my favorite. Thanks for letting me know it isn't just me. ;-)

    Thanks fo the sympathy on the bad cat behavior. I am always so embarassed when Binky acts up. Thankfully he didn't bite anyone this time. He still has time though since he needs to have his teeth cleaned this month.
    *rolls eyes*

    hope you are having a good Monday,
    Ali

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  15. Forgot to mention that I am shocked to read that Nicco is only 6 pounds! From the photos I imagined all of your cats to be on the larger side. Maybe it's all of that long fur. I consider my cats to be on the small side and they are around 12 pounds each, but perhaps that's more of an average size.

    Regarding the long distance vet, I found them after I had a very bad experience at a local vet. I had Arnie for less than 48 hours and he managed to eat 2 toys. Arnie made it through the ordeal without having surgery (passed the toys naturally), but the experience at the local vet was horrifying. After that I drove around and stopped in several vets to get a general feeling about their offices, and one not far from my work ended up being the winner. I could tell by how thoughtful the receptionist was that I would be much more comfortable with my kitties there. They have been great, especially in the last 6 months as we have been working with Evie on some food allergies and the not fun side effects that have come with that. Poor girl has needed to go in at least once a month and as many as 3 times in one month. I can tell they really care about their furry patients and they have been so gracious about keeping my costs down through it all. As far as I'm concerned though, a good vet is priceless :)

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  16. Sarah,

    Turkish Angoras are a small breed of cat. They all have small frames. Nicco (Binky) is 6.4 pounds, Masi is 7.2 and Luca Belle is the big one she weighs 10 even.

    Sorry to hear about your bad vet visit. I think vets are like internists you really need to take your time and find one that fits. I was very lucky to find our vet when I was in grad school. For years I said I wished I could find a doctor I liked as much as I liked the vet. ;-)

    Good luck with the food allergy problems with Evie. I hope you get that worked out soon.

    Ali

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  17. What a day! I know how you feel about your vet. . . ours also feels like part of the family. Your restaurant meal looks great, too--oh, go for the vino! It's fairly good for you and you really need to enjoy these things once in a while. ;)

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  18. I would drive that far for a good vet. I hope the furkids know you are doing what is best for them!

    I hope you enjoy The Alchemist. It seems very popular among your readers, including me!

    I'm catching up on your previous post as well and Alex sitting next to me mentioned how good the baked tofu looked. So I guess that will appear soon in our home!

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  19. Jenny,

    Thanks, I thought it was great too! ;-) My buddy Louis knows me too well.

    Ali

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  20. Ricki,

    The fur babies were not happy campers on Saturday. Can't say I am looking forward to the first dental procedure this Thursday.

    I have known our vet for over 30 years. He is so great to us and the fur babies, he even used to make house calls when we had more than 3. He is a wonderful caring doc and very skilled. I wish all medical doctors were as compassionate.

    I do love my vino but since I dont' want Dan to have it I try to stay away from it too. Giving up wine was harder than anything else I elminated from my diet. ;-)

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  21. Jessica,

    The fur kids have no idea that going to the doc is for their own good. But they forgive us within the day so I guess that is all I can ask. ;-)

    Thanks for letting me know you like The Alchemist too. If you have any other suggestion feel free to share. I am always looking for new things to read.

    I love making baked tofu. The recent version was a mild flavor, sort of like the chicken of tofu it would work in any application if that makes sense. I hope you both enjoy it. :-)

    Ali

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