1. Family dinner got off to a roaring start at 5:30 this afternoon. I had mixed a carafe of a variation on the cocktail Ward 8. A Ward 8 is a combination of rye whiskey, fresh squeezed lemon juice, fresh squeezed orange juice, and grenadine. The other night, Debbie and I gave this cocktail a test drive, enjoyed it, and then I recommended we try the same drink with gin. We both preferred the gin, so tonight's cocktail, I just learned a few minutes ago, is called a gin & sin. We all enjoyed the gin and, well, the sin, too!
Carol and Molly were responsible for putting together an appetizer plate roughly guided by nibbles that comprise a Greek Maze Platter and they nailed it. Carol spread out feta cheese, domas, a pickle mix, cheese bread sticks, artichoke hearts, and other delights. I wish I'd written it all down, but you get the idea. Our evening got off to a boisterous start with gin, sin, and this platter!
2. I boiled a pot of spaghetti while everyone noshed on the nibbles in the living room and around 6:00 or so, having drained the pasta, I got out bowls and dished out everyone a helping of spaghetti topped with the Cincinnati Chili I made yesterday and heated back up today. From this foundation, everyone could decide what to add to their bowl: any combination of black beans, chopped white onion, grated sharp cheddar cheese, and oyster cracker. I also put sour cream on the table in case the chili was too spicy for any one (it wasn't!) and Frank's RedHot Sauce in case any one wanted to add heat to their dish (I did!).
Cincinnati Chili is a unique dish. For starters, until I heard of the restaurant Skyline Chili, I'd never heard of putting chili sauce over spaghetti. The chili's spice combination is also unique, Mediterranean, in fact. I love the way the cloves, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, sugar, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder work with the water, vinegar, tomato paste, unsweetened chocolate, and ground beef to create layers of flavor.
In assigning each family member's contribution to tonight's family dinner, I thought vanilla ice cream and a cookie would be a suitable way to finish our meal.
Christy brought vanilla ice cream and baked cookie bars featuring chocolate chips and other ingredients that I heard Christy mention, but that have now slipped my forgetful mind. The cookies were superb and I found the ice cream a refreshing complement to the Cincinnati Chili.
3. Once again tonight, conversation over dinner bounced between many topics. After Paul, Carol, and Molly left, Christy stayed for a while. Christy volunteers her services to Debbie's class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so she and Debbie had a lot to discuss. By now, I was worn out after working on Cincinnati Chili for a couple days, so I rested and listened to Christy and Debbie talk about working with third graders.
Christy had a phone call to make and returned home. I didn't really see what happened next coming, but I'm glad it did. Debbie and I had a long talk about my kidney situation, about the tests I have taken and those coming up, and about the process of determining whether I'm healthy enough to stay on the transplant list.
We also talked at length about our meetings last week with the three members of the transplant team and what we were thinking about now, four days later, after Dr. Zafar made such a strong appeal to me to be transplanted as soon as possible.
By the end of our conversation, we agreed that, for now, everything is on hold until my heart tests on Feb. 21 and until the committee at Sacred Heart meets to discuss whether I am healthy enough for kidney transplant surgery.
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