Clearing the Decks at the Rockhouse in the Midwest

The last five articles clear a backlog of items which were interesting to me but which didn't really fit anywhere else.  The Easter article is one I intended for this day but the others have been floating around like the last kid they pick in school for the soccer team.

There's not much science reported on the weekends so, hey ho, let 'em rip.


That gets back to the more salient aspects of the day since I must teach Tactical about acquiring avocados.  Don't get the squishy ones, mate.  If they have any squish then they're too far gone.

Ed:  is that important?

If you're Yevette and you like avocados then it's highly important.  How do you think I learned?


Yevette was doing better this evening and I saw she was watching "The Brady Bunch" so I was tempted to ask, "Girl, what are you doing?  You will make yourself sick again!"

Mystery Lady compared notes with Yevette and it turns out Yevette has found the channel ML was recommending and it has loads of old-timey TV shows.  I wasn't a huge fan of Raymond Burr but Yevette loved him and he's part of it.

Ed:  I thought you don't watch TV??

I don't but I see Yevette enjoying it since Tactical got that working reasonably well for her also.


Tactical made a big score with a pot of butter beans and it looked like he had put them in with some mashed potatoes but it was all the beans and Yevette said it was delicious.  Any other time and maybe you think, yeah, yeah, glad you liked it but she hasn't eaten much in the last few days so this was a big, big win.  Nice move, Tactical.  Delicious was a beautiful word to hear.


There was another big one since I asked Yevette about a symptom which had been troubling her but she said the radiation had now stopped that.  Then the biggest words of all, "I can feel it getting better.  It makes me so sick and nauseated but I can feel it getting better at the same time."

I didn't get misty when said it since I was mostly stunned but I do confess it's misty now or there's some dust in the air at just this moment.  I had no idea of this part since I thought it just sucked horribly and that was it.  Deal with the suckage and shut up.  In fact, that's not true and she gets some real encouragement with signs of improvement.  It still sucks horribly but it's not as empty as I thought it would be.  Wow.

The weekends give a respite to build a little strength before going into the round next week.


Mothers know about Pedialyte since it's used to replace electrolytes after they have been lost due to illness, etc.  Those mothers may not know what it tastes like and it's not horrible; you just know you don't want to be drinking it.  Yevette originally got this stuff for me when I was down but she wanted some Gatorade for electrolytes and that sort of thing so Pedialyte came back into it since that stuff almost certainly does it better.

There was some thinking about how to make the Pedialyte if not good then at least more palatable and here's the wizard thought on that:  Kool-Aid.  I don't know if it's still possible to get it without a sweetener in the mix but that would be almost perfect since I could use that but then I wouldn't add the sugar.  I think that might even work.  Maybe you remember the Black Cherry Kool-Aid from when you were a kid.  All experts agree, that was the finest kind.


Ed:  you're getting off on the challenge of this

You know, that might even be true.  This is certainly a suitable challenge for bringing out the white knights so how may we serve you, dear lady.

That's actually the hardest part for her since she doesn't want to be served.  It broke her up that she needed to ask me to fix her some food and of course I was fixing it because this is Texas and it's how they do.  For me it was the opposite since I hear she wants some food so, fuckin' A, Bubba, let's fix some food.  I told her the payoff for me is to see her eating it.

Cat ist ein Deutscher und auch ein Kuch and that makes it funny for me to hear her say she will fix some food.  She spent some time living in Virginia and that's where she learned it.  You won't hear anyone in the North speak of fixing food.

Ed:  Virginia is in the North!

Well, some of it (larfs).


Mystery Lady said to be sure to take care of the caregiver and she knows plenty about caregiving but no worries on it.  I don't eat much but I don't anyway and there's Pepsi plus some good smoke so I'm really not wanting for anything of that nature.  It doesn't take much to keep that covered for me although the wobbling may mean I'm due for these electrolytes as well since I can't think what else would cause it.  I'll catch a nice buzz but that doesn't make me wobble and never did so I may join Yevette's club with that stuff.  That's the only thing I see as a deficiency in a big way just now so no worries as I do get my chow.

I'm up for a good food fantasy, tho, so how about pork and apricots in a Mystery Lady special sauce over boiled white rice.  Do feel free to insert the rice varietal you fancy since hipsters can always name their rice.

That was one special meal and it was a one-of-a-kind.  Mystery Lady, you know better than anyone that my memory has sprung a few leaks but that dinner was so deliciously delicious.  You know I don't care all that much about food unless it's fantastically excellent and I still remember that dish, oh, thirty years later?


Ed:  you're fookin' delerious!

Yah but I'm aware of the delirium and if that ain't trippin' then what is it (larfs).