A Good Day

It started out early...a call from my sister at about 7:15 AM - was just contemplating a first cup of tea. Dad's urostomy pouch was leaking..."OK, be over in a few minutes." Shaved, washed, etc... Zip over to the elders. Put a new bag on dad. Mom's leg hurts. My sister has a belly ache (literally).

Got the folks' Christmas tree assembled which put me in a better mood. Then a half-assed workout. Then shopping. And then I got cooking! I will cut-and-paste from an email I sent to a pal this afternoon in this regard:

I'm making "pot roast" for the elders. Cook it today...let it soak overnight in the sauce. Then slice it, put it into a baking dish and spread the juicy goodness over it for reheating tomorrow night.

Ingredients present that I may not disclose: Anchovy paste, capers, lemon juice, lemon zest.

Ingredients present that cannot be denied: Figs, apricots, prunes, black olives, green olives, zinfandel.

And, of course, Uncle Elmo's famous homemade beefstock which is DAMN good, if I do say so myself.

As usual, I'm sure the reviews will be mixed (at best). Oddly enough, my dad is becoming quite adventurous. I've now got him gobbling stuff that he NEVER would have even tried before. The secrets to this success are twofold: 1) His eyes and sniffer are no longer operating at anything approaching peak efficiency; and 2) I just don't tell him about a lot of stuff...until after he says something is really tasty. Then I tell him what's in it.

This evokes (in rapid succession) looks of betrayal, anger, resignation and amusement.