@usefewersyllables

retina. I suggest shaving only with an electric, if at all, until you're off the anti-coagulants. Thanks to a lifetime excess of prednisone I'm a very ready bleeder (and bruiser - try not to bump into shit), so I sort of know whereof I speak. Know at all times the exact whereabouts of any and all pointy shit in vyour vicinity.

get and be well and have the best one you can.

again today, and I'm actually back home instead of being in the crash house. So there will be non-hospital turkey in my future as well. And I am very, very thankful indeed.

Brief organ recital: I had an ocular stroke. My vision is unchanged, unfortunately: I apparently pitched an embolism (either fatty or clot), and it has blocked one of the branch arteries in the retina of my left eye. I'm now on asskicking levels of anticoagulants, to try to get blood to perfuse through the blockage and keep that part of my retina alive. So at the moment my Indian name is "hemophiliac", and all the places where they set up IVs and did the unending series of blood draws every 4 hours for a week make me look as if my arms have been gnawed by badgers. Suffice it to say that this is not a good week to have hemhorroids.

The good news is that I'm scheduled for a hyperbaric oxygen treatment tomorrow in a recompression chamber, at my insistence. That'll be fun. I haven't had one of those since I developed decompression sickness after a scuba dive about 20 years ago, and they do a fantastic job of getting O2 to places that need it, and in promoting healing. It's a bit late in this case, but it can't hurt- and if it helps restore my vision, I'm certainly okay with that.

I'll be marching through more doctor's offices than I can count in the next couple of weeks. The doctors are all agog to find out where the clot or fat embolism came from, and I've caused a couple of them some pause when I asked, "Hey, any chance that the Covid vax contributed here?" That's also been good for a laugh or two.

In any case, I read all the responses to my initial post from the crash-house, and I'm so grateful for the support that you folks demonstrated. Many thanks to all, and to the community as a whole! I'm still pretty limited WRT screen time, because my whole visual mechanism is a little challenged at the moment, but I'll be around as time and squinting permits. Getting cleared to drive again is going to be a process...

To make up for any distress I might have caused, here's our favorite recipe for garlic-leek mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot (which is a great sous chef).

Ingredients:
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thoroughly rinsed and sliced into thin rings
3 cloves of garlic, minced (at a minimum: there is no maximum, of course.)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 4 tablespoons, plus more for garnish (optional, but is it really?)
1/4 cup dry white wine, there or thereabouts
3 pounds yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into six pieces each (i leave mine unpeeled, but you can peel depending on your personal preference)
3/4 cup chicken broth (you can substitute vegetable)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons (heaping) kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 handful finely chopped chives or scallions for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Set your multi-cooker to the sauté setting. Once it’s hot, cook the garlic and leeks in 1 tablespoon of butter until they begin to get translucent, about 3 minutes. Deglaze with the wine, and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes and broth and give everything a stir. Cover and set to pressure cook on high for 9 minutes.
Once the pressure cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally for a few minutes before utilizing the instant release function.
When the pressure is released, uncover and add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Begin to mash the potatoes in the pot. As you do, drizzle in the buttermilk and cream, then mix in the salt and pepper. Mash to your desired smoothness. Adjust seasoning to taste. To serve, garnish with more butter and chopped herbs if using.

And if necessary, add more butter. Hey, what's a fat embolism between friends? (;-)

Thanks again! And be safe out there.

@usefewersyllables

I gotta say that is something we can all cherish what with Biden doing his best to tick off Russia! Americans should be damn thankful that Putin is in charge instead of some other hot head.

Maybe not…

Getting cleared to drive again is going to be a process...

If your right eye is okay you can still get your drivers license. My left eye was hopeless, but my right was fine and I passed.

Good luck with your recovery and I’m glad that it wasn’t worse for you!

again today, and I'm actually back home instead of being in the crash house. So there will be non-hospital turkey in my future as well. And I am very, very thankful indeed.

Brief organ recital: I had an ocular stroke. My vision is unchanged, unfortunately: I apparently pitched an embolism (either fatty or clot), and it has blocked one of the branch arteries in the retina of my left eye. I'm now on asskicking levels of anticoagulants, to try to get blood to perfuse through the blockage and keep that part of my retina alive. So at the moment my Indian name is "hemophiliac", and all the places where they set up IVs and did the unending series of blood draws every 4 hours for a week make me look as if my arms have been gnawed by badgers. Suffice it to say that this is not a good week to have hemhorroids.

The good news is that I'm scheduled for a hyperbaric oxygen treatment tomorrow in a recompression chamber, at my insistence. That'll be fun. I haven't had one of those since I developed decompression sickness after a scuba dive about 20 years ago, and they do a fantastic job of getting O2 to places that need it, and in promoting healing. It's a bit late in this case, but it can't hurt- and if it helps restore my vision, I'm certainly okay with that.

I'll be marching through more doctor's offices than I can count in the next couple of weeks. The doctors are all agog to find out where the clot or fat embolism came from, and I've caused a couple of them some pause when I asked, "Hey, any chance that the Covid vax contributed here?" That's also been good for a laugh or two.

In any case, I read all the responses to my initial post from the crash-house, and I'm so grateful for the support that you folks demonstrated. Many thanks to all, and to the community as a whole! I'm still pretty limited WRT screen time, because my whole visual mechanism is a little challenged at the moment, but I'll be around as time and squinting permits. Getting cleared to drive again is going to be a process...

To make up for any distress I might have caused, here's our favorite recipe for garlic-leek mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot (which is a great sous chef).

Ingredients:
2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thoroughly rinsed and sliced into thin rings
3 cloves of garlic, minced (at a minimum: there is no maximum, of course.)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus 4 tablespoons, plus more for garnish (optional, but is it really?)
1/4 cup dry white wine, there or thereabouts
3 pounds yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into six pieces each (i leave mine unpeeled, but you can peel depending on your personal preference)
3/4 cup chicken broth (you can substitute vegetable)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons (heaping) kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 handful finely chopped chives or scallions for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Set your multi-cooker to the sauté setting. Once it’s hot, cook the garlic and leeks in 1 tablespoon of butter until they begin to get translucent, about 3 minutes. Deglaze with the wine, and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes and broth and give everything a stir. Cover and set to pressure cook on high for 9 minutes.
Once the pressure cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally for a few minutes before utilizing the instant release function.
When the pressure is released, uncover and add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Begin to mash the potatoes in the pot. As you do, drizzle in the buttermilk and cream, then mix in the salt and pepper. Mash to your desired smoothness. Adjust seasoning to taste. To serve, garnish with more butter and chopped herbs if using.

And if necessary, add more butter. Hey, what's a fat embolism between friends? (;-)

Thanks again! And be safe out there.

@earthling1

I feel your pain. I spent the first half of my engineering career being entirely caffiene-powered. I could never drink coffee, because my palate is miswired and I seriously cannot deal with that much bitter. As a result, my preferred embodiment of the invention was a can of Jolt Cola with two No-Doz dissolved in it...

As a result, the day my cardiologist told me that I was to become decaffeinated stat! was a very bad day that lasted several months. The withdrawal process is altogether too real. Keep the faith, though, because it does get better. Eventually.

Finish OT.
Finish coffee, Doctor forbids caffeine. Gotta learn to live without it.
Finnish menu, turkey thawing on top of Vette in garage.
Move a Forrest of houseplants into spare room. Taller ones (6' to 9') to back patio.
Clean house!

Edit: It's been two weeks without a lifetime of caffinated coffee, so I'm still in withdrawal. The fake coffee (decaf) is mentally comforting, but the physical boost I miss. But I'm finding it easier than giving up sugar. Of which I'm a total failure.
The one good thing is I'm not substituting more sugar to make up the energy difference.

Edit2: Will have 20 family guests this time. Each year the rsvps gets smaller and smaller do to grandkids pairing off and getting married or finding significant others, and consequently we have to share them with inlaws or there families (boo hoo).
It's getting complicated keeping track of who is coming to Thanksgiving in lieu of Christmas dinner and vise versa.
Sharing......bah humbug.
No great-grandkids yet but......
We used to have up to 50.

@earthling1

Each year the rsvps gets smaller and smaller

Back in the good old days our family celebrated every holiday and the whole extended family of in laws and friends would get together or stop by during the day or night and a good time was had by all.

Now my cousins do their own first family and my brother does his…so it was just Abby, Charlie and now Sam and me doing our own thing. Weather is going to be nasty on T day so no trip to the island this year. I don’t think Sam would enjoy herself being cooped up in the trailer…maybe Xmas. Sometimes there are perks to being an orphan…other times not so much, but it is what it is.

Finish OT.
Finish coffee, Doctor forbids caffeine. Gotta learn to live without it.
Finnish menu, turkey thawing on top of Vette in garage.
Move a Forrest of houseplants into spare room. Taller ones (6' to 9') to back patio.
Clean house!

Edit: It's been two weeks without a lifetime of caffinated coffee, so I'm still in withdrawal. The fake coffee (decaf) is mentally comforting, but the physical boost I miss. But I'm finding it easier than giving up sugar. Of which I'm a total failure.
The one good thing is I'm not substituting more sugar to make up the energy difference.

Edit2: Will have 20 family guests this time. Each year the rsvps gets smaller and smaller do to grandkids pairing off and getting married or finding significant others, and consequently we have to share them with inlaws or there families (boo hoo).
It's getting complicated keeping track of who is coming to Thanksgiving in lieu of Christmas dinner and vise versa.
Sharing......bah humbug.
No great-grandkids yet but......
We used to have up to 50.

@enhydra lutris

20 mouths to feed huh?

doing spatchcock turkey
marinating in the fridge
sides of smashed taters
dirty rice dressing
red cabbage, squash and greens
plenty pies, appetizers and wine
only 10 mouths to feed this time

PS. love to cook

cheers!

major deluge we recently went through. Tanksgibbons creeps closer and closer -

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

...
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches across the country to be born?

What indeed but tanksgibbons. Vast hordes shall travel hither and yon
and gargantuan volumes of food and other edibles will be consumed. Cooks
and householders will be frazzled and there shall be runs on BevMo.

I however must trundle off not in search of thees guy:

but to get my veins pumped full of strange fluids and pcik up, along the way, a couple of choice Tri-Tip roasts to grill come Thurbsdai. Somewhere I have a photo of a US main battle tank and one of some species of gibbon. I always contemplated putting the gibbon on the tank as a glyph for Tanksgibbons, but came to realize that Tanksgibbons ends in s, so instead of a gibbon I need a gibbons, obviously this one:

so, thass it fer now
be well and have a good one