Health update
First of all, thank you, everyone who spotted my additional post this week, sharing the news of my cancer diagnosis, and for your good wishes.
That post, just prior to this one, gives details, and I have also added a new cancer diary page to my blog (tab under main header). Last week I was called back to the Breast Unit and was informed that I have got breast cancer. I’ve got an appointment for an MRI next Wednesday morning (16th) and we will know more after that. More news as and when I have any.
Meantime, I continue to feel no anxiety about this, and am calm and enjoying life.
The eternal God is your refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms;
He will thrust out the enemy from before you,
and will say, “Destroy!”
(Deuteronomy 33:27)
What’s On Your Workdesk this Wednesday?
As you can imagine, not a lot this week! I’ve spent quite a lot of time on the computer emailing various friends and family with my news, and also on the phone, and there have been numerous emails to reply to as a result. Everyone has been so kind, and I’ve been given some lovely flowers, too. (The small arrangement was for my birthday.) (The table is a bit of a mess because I had to move stuff to make room for my birthday cards!)
There have also been the monthly accounts to do and various bits of office paperwork to sort out.
Persian Tiles throw
I’ve done a bit more on the Persian Tiles throw. I’ve completed the fourth octagon – I had hoped to do more this week but haven’t had time.
I am so enjoying doing this project. There’s so much variety, with the change of stitches and colours with each round, and it never gets dull. It grows quite quickly, too.
Food
Yesterday I did a bit of cooking. I don’t really like having to do it on a Tuesday because I’m always very busy putting my grocery delivery away, but my hubby likes to go out on a Wednesday, which means I have to prepare his lunch in advance. I always make him a wholesome salad on a base of lettuce and mixed leafy green salad (with lots of interesting additions for flavour and texture), ready to eat in a bowl container with a snap-on lid, complete with a fork, and a bag of fruit. I leave it in the fridge ready for him to take when he wants – very often he’s off out before I’m up.
I made my favourite roasted sweet potato salad again. This recipe makes enough for the two of us for two days. We have whole-food salads on Wednesdays and Fridays – Friday tends to be another busy day for me with laundry to do, etc.
I first featured this delicious recipe back in April last year as Recipe of the Week. It’s really easy to make, especially if you have a high-speed blender for the dressing, but I expect a regular liquidiser would do it just as well. I use the small cup attachment on the Vitamix to make the dressing – it takes 30 seconds!
The combination of white wine vinegar, tahini and a little onion powder, with some raisins for sweetness, makes a gorgeous piquant dressing that you could use for any salad.
I make a lot of green leafy salads with chopped lettuce (usually Romaine – much more nutritious than regular and certainly a lot better than Iceberg which is mostly water!), young spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, and a liberal sprinkling of fresh herbs, which I love to pluck for this purpose from the garden in the summer months. I also like to add a sprinkling of nori flakes (Japanese seaweed) for the iodine content which may otherwise be lacking in a vegan diet. Sometimes I also add olives or perhaps a diced avocado, depending on what I’ve got in stock. I make up a box of this salad to keep in the fridge so that we can have it with various main dishes I’ve cooked, and we always have it with our wraps, too. Usually, the only dressing I use just before serving is a sprinkling of balsamic vinegar – quick and convenient, and delicious too.
Because my freezer supplies were running low, I also made up more batches of grains – brown rice and bulgur wheat.
These get bagged up in two-portion packs, ready to take out of the freezer when we want them. It doesn’t take much longer to cook a batch than it does a small amount, and this saves a great deal of time in the kitchen. As soon as I take the last bag out, I cook up another batch so we never run out. The defrosted cooked rice is quickly heated by putting it in a sieve and pouring boiling water through it. I find with the other grains that they are best reheated in a covered dish in the microwave and then the grains separated with a fork. Other grains that I cook in this way are quinoa, couscous and millet. This gives us a good variety of grains to accompany our various dishes, and also as ingredients for various recipes.
I haven’t forgotten that I promised to share my falafels recipe with you – we’ve still got some in the freezer and once we’ve finished these, I will make up another batch and take some photos.
Nutrition
Sweet potatoes
The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a brilliant vegetable – versatile and delicious. Like a regular potato, it is a tuber, or swollen underground stem. It belongs to the bindweed and morning glory family, convolvulaceae. It is only distantly related to the common potato which belongs to the solonaceae family which includes the tomato and the deadly nightshade. The leaves of regular white potatoes contain a toxin which makes the plant resistant to herbivores. Because the potato tuber is a stem, when exposed to light it will go green, and it is not a good idea to eat green potatoes. It is interesting that several food plants have toxic leaves, for example rhubarb, whose leaves contain oxalic acid – this is a constituent of oxaliplatin, the chemotherapy drug I received for my colon cancer, along with platinum. The leaves of sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are highly nutritious and good to eat. Unfortunately in the UK I’ve never seen sweet potato leaves on sale in the supermarket.
Sweet potatoes are a native of Central and South America. They are now cultivated in many countries around the world, where the weather is warm enough, and not too dry. They are easy to cultivate in such conditions, and do not require much fertilising and do well on relatively poor soils. They are sometimes called yams but this is not correct – a yam is a different kind of plant altogether.
The sweet potato is a versatile vegetable which can be prepared in a variety of ways – roasting, boiling, steaming, baking, frying. It can even be used in cakes – vegans have found all sorts of unusual ways to use this extraordinary vegetable! It is delicious with a definite sweet taste, and quite nutritious. The starch they contain has a fairly high glycaemic index (GI) which might make them less suitable for people with diabetes, but if you cook and cool them, some of the starch is converted to resistant starch which lowers the GI (this also happens with other starchy vegetables). They are rich in fibre but do not contain very much protein. Other nutrients include beta carotene, potassium, manganese and vitamins A, C and E, and a couple of the B vitamins. Both white and sweet potatoes contain many nutrients, with white potatoes containing more potassium and sweet potatoes containing more vitamin A. It’s a good idea to include both varieties in your diet, and both are nourishing, delicious and versatile. For a topping for a vegan cottage pie, I often mash regular and sweet potatoes together, and add some nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour. The flesh of the sweet potato is orange coloured, compared with the white flesh of an ordinary potato. They don’t take so long to cook as regular potatoes.
I always have sweet potatoes in the vegetable rack in my pantry. Before I cook them, I scrub them really well and then peel them, retaining the skins in a bag in the freezer with other vegetable peelings and offcuts. Once the bag is full, I make stock with it.
Kitties
I thought I wasn’t going to get any photos of the girlies this week, but yesterday we sat outside in the sunshine under our pretty garden umbrella and had lunch. Both kitties were out and about with us, occasionally turning up for a bit of attention and then wandering off again. They do love being outside, playing in the garden.
Here’s Ruby. “My goodness, this grass is delicious!”
Ruby again, later on, relaxing on the steps.
Finally, Lily glooping. This is what we call it when they flop over and show off their pretty tummies! Lily is a past master at the gloop.
Garden
My hubby has been buying bedding plants for the patio again this year. We are hoping for as good a show of colour as we had last year – it was such a joy being able to sit out there so much, enjoying the sunshine and the flowers, and the kitties playing.
The flowers are beginning again!
I love the ferns as well.
And finally…
Since my breast cancer diagnosis, I think I am getting boob obsessed, just as I got poo obsessed with my colon cancer! A thought struck me the other day when I was thinking about my hair and how I don’t want to lose it. I have spent several years getting it this long. As most of us ladies of a certain age would probably agree, when you get older, gravity tends to take over and everything drops and droops! There is a race going on in my body at the moment, and bets are on as to which is going to reach my waist first – my hair, or my boobs?
I told a friend of mine about this the other day and we had a good giggle. She asked me, “What do older ladies have between their boobs that younger ladies don’t?” Answer: “Their belly button!” Lol!
Well, I mean to say, when you are in my situation, you have to keep a sense of tumour, don’t you.
I was so sorry to read about your recent cancer diagnosis. I hope things turn out better than you expect them to.
Your throw turned out great, and that garden is to die for. Beautiful, as are the kitties. You have some [pretty bedding plants and some awesome ferns. Happy WOYWW from # 3.
Well, I’m mighty shocked to hear about the breast cancer but it is so much better managed these days and a positive attitude (and gallows sense of humour) is the way to forge ahead. Good luck with all the tests kiddo, we really are with you on this, I think we all know someone who’s been affected by it. The Persian tiles are really beautiful and the perfect crafting to pick up and put down as and when you feel like doing it.
Take care, sending hugs,
LLJ 6 xx
Dearest Shoshi
Riveting post and very upsetting but we must continue in the knowledge that God knows best . . . a sense of humour always helps!
Now I am back on line I will catch up with all your goings on, you are precious to me and I wish I could meet up with you again, such a joyous day in Torquay . . . .
Take care and remain positive
God bless you both
Christine #24
Oh my goodness Shoshi! I am so sorry to hear your diagnosis, it seems especially cruel that you’ve been through it before too. I know you will remain stalwart with whatever is to come. My best friend was diagnosed with the same one 2 weeks into lockdown last year. She was lucky enough to keep her boob but she did lose her hair because of the corners they have had to cut with Covid – they couldn’t use the cold caps they now use. Her hair is back already though. Her MIL was diagnosed with lung cancer about 3 months ago now and they still haven’t started any treatment which is shocking. Different parts of the country are dealing with things VERY differently and I’m so glad your hospital is moving swiftly for you.
I’ve now got a hankering for sweet potato fries… Great idea on the frozen grains – I need to find ways I can tolerate eating more of these. Bye for now, Lisa-Jane #8
So glad you can keep smiling after your diagnosis Shoshi – it’s the only way but not easy. Your flowers look lovely and I am amazed at your beautiful crochet. I can crochet but just can’t seem to follow a pattern without making strategic errors! xx Jo
Oh Shoshi that totally sucks. But honestly, if a good attitude towards such news matters at all, then you are starting out on the right foot for sure. And as you say, you have experience, having traveled a similar path before. Thanks for all the sweet potato info (I am a total addict, I love them more than white potatoes in any form) and a reminder of the recipe. Summer and salads go together for me. Loving the new project too – stunning colours!
Hang in there, and with a bit of luck all will be well.
here I am again! I did, I think, finally get round to all last week! While I was away, from blogland, dog walking all those years, I was dianosed with breast cancer and then diabetes. I had no signs, no lumps, nothing. They called them ‘bits’ ‘Oh, we’ll get those bits out as soon as we can!’ I take a tablet now that stops my body making too much estrogen, I had the fifteen days of being zapped by a huge alien machine! I think this will be my last year of check ups, and so far, touch my head, its not come back. So I’m wishing you well! Stay safe, Happy woyww!? ((Lyn))#26
A lovely post as usual Shoshi. I had a cancer scare quite a few years ago. While I was waiting for the results I asked my doctor if they would take the same off both sides, my biggest fear was being lopsided! It would be good to have less to carry around too! There used to be an elderly lady living a few doors down and she offered to give me her mastectomy bra! Thankfully the results were clear. I bought two new crochet hooks, but I haven’t tried them yet. Enjoy this nice weather in your garden x Angela #12
I’m so sorry to see this news and hope the treatment can start soon and is effective . Have a good week (if you can) take care. Helen #2
I’m so sorry to hear this, Shoshi – I’d already convinced myself that you would be ok – and of course, you will be. At least they caught it early, they know what it is and it is treatable, right? It’s also lucky that it didn’t happen last year when the hospitals were full of Covid patients and treatments for many cancer patients had to be delayed. And we’ll be here to support you! Good that you kept your sense of humour, I’m sure that helps along with your faith. What lovely flowers you received – and I especially like that birdcage amongst the arrangements. Hope the treatment won’t take too much out of you and you’ll be able to keep working on your projects to keep yourself busy. I look forward to seeing those Persian tiles coming along! And of course, you’ve got those cute kitties to cuddle up with and a supportive husband to rely on, though I do understand his anxieties – I’m a terrible worrier too! Expect the worst but hope for the best! Keep strong, Shoshi! xx
Shoshi I am so sorry to read this today but I am glad to see you are still finding the funny side of life, keep those smiles and giggles coming they will help you through this if only by a little. Fingers crossed appointments, will be soon and you can start to plan what comes next. Your new potting flowers will brighten your days when you see them still blooming in the garden.
Take good care of each other. WoywW Hugs Tracey 13
Thinking of you x
So glad you can put your trust in The Lord with this latest diagnosis/. It just doesn’t seem fair though. You have had enough.
Not to dwell on it so it’s “Belated Birthday Wishes” to you. I was thinking of the Beautiful Persian tiles you are making, this is going to be spectacular and should keep you going for weeks and weeks.
Love the enormous salads you do, so nutritious, your hubby is a lucky man – good wholesome food and a kitty throw to rival any on the planet.
Thanks for the beautiful kittie pictures, always welcome and looked for each week.
Take care, thinking of you
Neet 5 xx
Hi Shoshi, so happy that you are in good spirits. I love sweet potatoes – we had some for dinner last night! I tried baking them in the air fryer this time, it worked perfectly. I love eating the skin when they have been baked, but hubby leaves the skin. I do the same as you with rice and pasta, cook up a bunch and freeze it. So convenient! I should try it with quinoa as well (but hubby isn’t a fan). Your flowers look lovely – what a great idea to take photos of what you bought before putting them in the ground! The kitties look lovely and happy, but I think Mittsy could give Lily some competition in glooping! Keep up the good spirits, and your faith, and I will keep sending good vibes your way. Lindart #33
Hi Shoshi, so sorry to hear about your breast cancer diagnosis but uplifted by your positive response to yet more health problems and treatments. I have recently been freezing various grains, pulses etc so I can grab them from the freezer (faced with having to start from scratch puts me off some nights) – I stupidly hadn’t thought of doing the cous cous and quinoa in portion sized bags, ending up with a solid lump in a container that was far too big. Doh. Next batch will be done that way!! Sorry I missed your birthday, hope you had a good time. Your Persian tiles look lovely. Have a good week, love n hugs Cindy xx#7
So sorry to read about your diagnosis, hopefully the outcome will be better than expected. Love seeing the kitties enjoying the sunshine, your throw is coming along nicely, and your plants and flowers look lovely. Happy WOYWW! Elle #34 this week
The flowers are gorgeous and so is the garden. I hope the news is good for you. Wishing you a happy woyww and a lovely creative week, Angela x17x
Loving your sense of humour Shoshi – my partner Gary and I were watching an ambulance show and the man said for resusitation press hard between the breasts – in line with the nipples – we looked at each other – laughed – we do not want anyone to touch me between the nipples – they will get a shock :).
Chat again soon lovely – Maurs xxx
So sorry to hear about for health problem and sending healing thoughts your way, That throw is going to look amazing love the colours,
its good to stay positive with a sense on humour, great garden and pictures of the cats,
Take care and stay safe,
Well I’m shocked at your diagnosis Shoshi, but will follow your lead and be positive and learn. I can’t educate myself to liking quinoa, but am slapping my forehead with a ‘why hadn’t I thought of this’ motion about batch freezing the cooked grain portions. I can talk myself out of some nice meals on tired nights because the brown rice takes more attention that I want it to! out with the Pressure cooker this very day to resolve that issue!
Your garden is a right old haven of sun and shade isn’t it, you will grant yourself unscheduled time to make the most of it won’t you.
Oh Shoshi I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and pray that the treatment will be kind and let you keep your hair. Meow to the kitties. Much love Sarah #4
Hi Shoshi, So sorry about your diagnosis. I love your belly button joke, though. Glad to see you’re keeping your spirits up.
I hope you managed to enjoy your birthday,anyway, it must be near mine (5th).
A practical matter, how are you managing the different yarns for your Persian tiles? I recommend the sort of bobbin my husband made for me, out of dowelling and corks. Then you can easily have them with you to work on in hospital waiting rooms. there’s a picture here:
http://lynnecrafts.blogspot.com/2020/09/retiring-crochet-and-cat-nursing.html?m=0
I must get back to my own one and sew it up.
Sending. big hugs to you
Lynnecrafts 11
Just had to pop back in response to your comments – please do not buy a todo – you can have this one for the cost of postage if you want it!! I must point I out personally I find it a bit cumbersome because of the size and weight (obviously it has heating elements in it). It is actually a very similar footprint to the bigshot. (Unless you are talking about the pro which I believe is bigger?) Anyway, genuine offer. Cindy x
Dear Soshi, so sorry to hear that bad news, I know all about it since I got diagnosed with skin-cancer last year. It’s indeed good to keep a sense of humour (but not everyone can under those circumstances…) and go on with the daily routines. I send you good vibes and energy! Thanks for your visit to my blog the other day, big hug to you beautiful one! Love from Holland. Marit #20 (P.S. Cataract surgery went very well, I am in the healing mode right now but am able to spend some time at the computer… and I can SEE well, yay!!! )
Sorry I didn’t respond yesterday – had a busy day. Yes I do have your address, and if you are sure you want it I am happy to send it to you. Honestly it is just taking up space here and I would be pleased if you got some use out of it. It does take a bit of getting used to getting the pressures right but it’s an OK machine, just not my fave. As I said, I’ve only ever really used it for foiling. Will probably be Hermes as it’s a bit cheaper and I don’t have to lug it to the PO!! I’ll sort it out next week and let you know when it’s on your way. Could you shoot me a quick email to confirm you want it so I have your e address? cashplant@yahoo.co.uk. Cheers!!