Archive: May 2007

This week I've been under the weather. Started Sunday night with cramps and let's call it "liquid bowels." Tuesday and Wednesday I felt better, but the coughing got worse. Wednesday night my coughing spells got so bad that my abdomen and my chest started hurting bad. So I spent Thursday and Friday mostly in bed running a slight fever.

So was it a cold or a flu? At this point I don't really care. I just want to be in good shape for next Tuesday's CAT (CT) scan...

I came across Jessica's blog today. Jessica was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease in 2006. This blog is worth reading!

Hang in there, Jessica!!!

Had my CT (CAT) scan today. Should have been a year ago, but both Dr. Holmes and I missed it. The previous one was in March 2005.

Went by myself, as I knew I was not getting sedated. Left the house about 7:20AM for an 8AM appointment. After changing, I drank my 2 litres of contrast fluid during the next 45 minutes. The actual scan took less than 10 minutes, so I was getting dressed around 9:30. As I was dressing there was this "woosh" into my colostomy bag. So off to the bathroom to empty it. My thoughts 2 years ago that it was the 2 litres of fluid being the cause may not be correct.  I am now thinking that it may be a reaction to the intravenous contract dye injected a few seconds before the scan.

Anyway, the "liquid bowels" over with, I made it home without having to stop for a pee.

Went back to work for the afternoon. Found that my PC was giving me "issues" with Outlook and Internet Explorer. So my email was pretty much hooped for the day.

A place to read more about CT scans: BUPA

No, for a change not the personal plumbing, but the household plumbing...

Had the toilet upstairs and the bathroom faucet in the downstairs bathroom replaced. The appointment was for 8AM but the plumber did not show up until 2:30. He had an emergency to attend to before he came to see us.

The faucet took the longest. Thirty-year old taps seem to have a mind of their own, especially when you have to crawl in a cupboard under the sink... Poor fellow was moaning and groaning and sweating buckets. Compared to that the toilet was easy, although some parts were missing from the box and he had to run out and get them.

Three and a half hours later we can now flush again. Almost a shame I have a colostomy bag. LOL

I have made a deal with my son to move my websites to a hosted service. One site, LAMP Development, is already on the new server. I hope to have all sites moved before the end of the month.

If you find you cannot reach a site, please be patient.

When all is done, overall access to the sites should be faster. 

Spent an enjoyable day outside. Planted some Impatients and Lobelias just for fun. I hope they don't freeze...

Also planted a few lily seedlings from Jan de Vries and Joe Halinar. If there is a chance of frost, I can bring them inside as they are in planters. Last year putting them in planters worked very well. Produced nice bulbs.  

A few more domains have moved over, including Parkland Perennials, a commercial site.

NALS 2007 and Suriname People have moved also. I hope to get the majority done this weekend, now that I get a better handle on what's required.

I am excited that I have received approval at work to move our intranet to a similar hosted service.

Got the recipe from a friend, but made some modifications. I'll show my version first, then add some comments. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 8 skinless chicken thighs
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 can fat free chicken broth (10 fl oz = 284mL)
• 3/4 cup salsa, your choice of mild, medium or hot
• 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
• 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (ketjap manis=sweet soy sauce)
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Optional ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp dry-roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation:

1. Put chicken in slow cooker.
2. Add onion.
3. In a bowl, mix remaining ingredients together, except cilantro and chopped peanuts.
4. Cover and cook on LOW 8-9 hours (4-5 in newer cookers) or until chicken is cooked through but not dry. (internal temp 180°F-190°F)
5. Remove some of the liquid to cook the rice in.
6. Skim off any fat and keep warm until rice is done.
7. Remove chicken to a platter and served topped with sauce. Sprinkle with peanuts and cilantro, if you wish.
8. Serve over rice.

My comments:

• Phil was right about not tasting the peanut butter, but the salsa flavour was there. The overall sauce was a bit tangy, probably because the original recipe asked for only 2 tbsp of lime juice.
• Using some of the extra sauce to cook the rice in made the dish different too.
• I used some cilantro paste for garnish, but that was a mistake. It did not taste well, and it looked like a goose had flown over the plate, if you know what I mean...
• I will make this again but perhaps cook some red peppers along. 

Grrr... Drupal seems to be a b!tch to move. One move went fine but LDIS gives me a headache. I can log in, but Drupal does not remember that.

Well on to the others first... LDIS and the Lily Register will have to be last. 

The blog is now on the new server. Slowly I am moving all sub domains over. Currently uploading photo.danen.org which has a huge number of photos. Will have to do some housekeeping once all the moves are done.

I signed up for an identical hosting account for our company intranet. Already experiencing some startup issues, but that's only temporary.  

Received a letter today from my uncle Albert (Ap) whom I have not had contact with in about 30 years. Him and my uncle Anton were my favourite uncles on dad's side.

Some time ago, when I started working on the family genealogy, I thought I'd write him and see what happens. He expressed surprise at receiving my letter, and honestly, he was sending Christmas cards that we were ignoring. Some of that was due to family friction passed on by my parents. At the time, I had no interest in trying to figure out who was right and who was wrong, so we just dropped communication.

Ap is only 9 years older than I am, so I think we can pick up communication, despite that I disagree with his sexual orientation. But as he said, he and Henk have been together 25 years, although not married, which is a better record than some regular relationships.

I am looking forward to picking up contact again, and expect new opportunities for sharing information, experiences, and family information.

Phoned Ap today and we had a pleasant conversation. He still sounds like before, just speaks a bit slower. He has taken early retirement 6 years ago and he likes it. So would I...

Ap is putting some more information together for me. Most important the marriage book of my grandparents, but also some photos. Looking forward to seeing that package arrive. 

As it turns out, he and an aunt (his sister Jantje) were wondering how I was doing and then a week later my letter showed up. Imagine his surprise...  

Planted all my containers with annual flowers yesterday and today. For a change I did not buy too much.

This year the primary colour is red/pink, Was not planned, just turned out that way...

I think some Impatients for the shady corner and that's it!