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West Virginia
When I started my retirement travels in 2009, I wanted a way to share it with family and friends as it was happening. Hence, "My Travel Journal". However I realized I wouldn't always be on a trip and wondered what to do with the blog in between times. My daughter pointed out, wisely, that travels can also include trips to the kitchen to try a new recipe, trips to visit family, trips to my neighborhood Starbucks, or a fun day trip with a friend. You're welcome to join me on any of these journeys! I've set up individual pages for each of my major trips (see tabs above).

Also, I have an Etsy shop where my current needlework resides. The last pieces I posted here were in 2013! So if you'd like to see what I have accomplished recently, go to (and I apologize for having to copy and paste):

www.etsy.com/shop/thedollhouseneedle

I recently added an "Italian Word a Day" thingie which shows up at the bottom of every page. You see the word and can click to hear it pronounced. I've been enjoying it and I think my accent is improving as time goes by.

May 17, 2017

2 Visits - Part 2

When I went to the urgent care center the Monday after the Flower Market, I told them that I had been pretty sure it was a sprain but now I was beginning to wonder because it was my foot that was so swollen and turning black and blue rather than my ankle plus which in addition to just a general all-over hurting foot, there was one spot on the side that gave me sharp pains when I walked.  I had finally Googled on Sunday to see what the bones in the foot were and made my own diagnosis of a broken 5th metatarsal bone.  I didn't tell him that because I imagine doctors get tired of folks diagnosing themselves on Google.  But they X-rayed it and that's what it was.  So they wrapped it with two ace bandages and sent me home after referring me to an orthopedist and telling me to call them early Tuesday and hopefully get an appointment in the next day or two so that's what I did and I got an appointment for Tuesday afternoon!  I won't go into the trauma of their parking lot...and how much wandering around with my really hurting foot I ended up doing trying to get in and out of it.

Here's my ugly foot Tuesday evening... people who know me know that if I'm going to wound myself I want something to show for it and this was very satisfactory. :)


The orthopedist had me fitted up with a Cam boot which up until yesterday I pretty much violently hated.  It was causing me pain in places the broken bone hadn't bothered with so that around 5 in the evening each day I was desperate to get out of it.  But as of yesterday, it seems to have settled down pretty much.  I still don't like using it and sure hope he says I don't have to at my 3-week checkup but I'm walking about as normally as is possible with it on and I think that's helping both my feet.

And having it feel somewhat better and doing better with the walking, etc.,  here is how my ugly foot looks now...

So aside from all that, I've been having a nice time.  Have been working on my embroidery some and now that I'm feeling somewhat better will probably do more of that.  And we've done a nice amount of eating out, hitting a couple of my favorite places and then for Mother's Day Chris has made reservations (prior to the foot business) to take me to a small Italian restaurant that he had never been to but that had good reviews and is popular.  They had a special brunch menu where you made your selections for antipasti, primo and secondo and then a choice of sweets, along with bottomless strawberry bellinis, bloody Mary's, or mimosas.  Since it was all included in the total price, I decided to try a bit of the bloody Mary since I had never tasted one and I like tomato juice.  One taste was enough - it was really spicy - even Chris agreed that it was spicier than he liked and didn't finish his.  So that was just a real nice experience - the service was good, everyone there was happy because they were either being mom, or taking good care of mom.    We basically didn't eat again that day! :)

Friday we went for lunch to Cheese-tique.  There are three of them now in the DC area.  They started out as a cheese shop in Alexandria which I visited every now and then and then they opened up a very small eating area in the back of the shop and now, the rest is history as they say.  That was also a very delightful.

And Saturday, Chris had an appointment for a haircut and called and got me one too since I had planned on getting one as soon as I got home.  Then we went out to lunch at a place called Bistro Bistro and, once again, it was quite a pleasant meal.  The standout item was their French fries!!  We had ordered a bowl of mussels in a wine, butter and herb sauce and it said on the menu "served with French fries" and neither one of us had ever heard of that so we asked for some bread too.  We used the bread to sop the juice but oh, those French fries - they truly are, I think, the best I've ever had.

It's fortunate both Chris and I (well, my daughters too) like to eat and drink wine because if one of us did and the others all just wanted to eat at fast food places, the visits sure wouldn't be as enjoyable.  Although I have to say that by now, with very little exercise what with my great boot and "stay off your feet as much as possible" orders, I'm beginning to feel pretty much like a walrus with all this good eating.

Another thing that's going on is that a friend of Chris's gave him a coupon for three free Blue Apron packages.  Blue Apron is one of those places where you can sign up and get shipments consisting (in this instance) of supplies to make 3 meals for 2 people or 3 meals for 4 people.  He opted for the 2 people, of course, and got his first 3 last Sunday so has been out in the kitchen chopping, mixing, stirring, and I think enjoying it.  I had one portion which was a wonderful Tuscan chicken breast with a really delicious couscous side dish.  And they're so neat, everything comes in its own sometimes very small wraps (they send everything called for except salt, pepper and olive oil) and I think it's probably all good quality.  One night it was a Vietnamese (one cuisine I don't care for) burger of all things with whatever was accompanying it and when he was frying the burger it smelled absolutely wonderful - just like beef used to smell and doesn't much anymore.  So it will be fun to see how the next 3 go...

Last night I made a pot roast with potatoes and carrots and it was good but, again, I think grocery store beef just is not the quality it used to be.  And I noticed at home and here too, that the meat they're selling for pot roast now (or chuck roast) is much thicker than what I'm used to and usually kind of misshapen.  I sure miss my bladebone-in chuck roasts which I haven't seen in years - they're all boneless now.

I'm realizing as I type that this is really a very boring blog post for anyone who visits, so if you've reached this point, I apologize.  But a year or two from now I'll be wandering through my blog looking for something and will come across this and get to relive the whole thing again.  That happens periodically and when it does, I'm always glad I started the blog.

If I post more about my adventures on this prolonged trip, it won't be "part 3" - it will just be the first one on the screen as usual.

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