Hopefully lumpless

So I had my plastic surgery today to -- please, please, please -- finally get rid of the damned stupid lump. First of all this doctor was NOTHING like MacNamara & Troy on Nip/Tuck. But he DID draw on me, just like in the movies and on TV, only he used all different colors ("just like a Christmas tree" he said.

I see him again tomorrow to see if anything is going wrong. I'm also drugged because it's really sore. This should be the last surgery from the truck hitting me. Well, when I eventually have to have my right knee replaced, which seems inevitable, it will have happened earlier than it would have if the truck hadn't hit me, but it's not a direct cause and effect.

Rob and I pretty much have this whole surgery thing down now, after all between the two of us we've had surgeries in the past 18 months. It's a damned good thing we're both so healthy.

Dena was great and took me to and from the hospital. Lindsay couldn't because she had school. She's studying to be a teacher. I wish her the best of luck, although I think she would be well suited to going into politics. I keep bugging her to make a run for city council because she's smart, charismatic and she has a great heart.

My thought for the day (bear in mind it's narcotic fueled, but ask Coleridge, sometimes the best art comes from opiates) In these bleak economic times it is the friendships you have that become even more valuable. There is a sense of comfort in knowing we're all afraid, but if we stick together, we can get through it.

Speaking of hard times, it's time to plant a garden and some more fruit trees.

THIS is how real people entertain

One thing that always gets my goat is the image food magazines and television shows give of people entertaining. If you've ever seen one of the "real people" spreads in Sunset magazine or Bon Appetit, you know what I mean. All those glossy, beautiful people making all of those impossibly intricate and wonderful meals.

To be fair, I actually know some people who were the subjects of one of those shoots for Sunset magazine, and they are for the most part, pretty normal people, although they're all innovative cooks. Their thing was for Thanksgiving and I go whole hog for Thanksgiving, so to speak, so they never seemed, to me to be out of reach.

Martha always used to have these elaborate setups for even the simplest gathering, and I always felt real people don't do that. This was especially true the other night when Colin and Tracy said they were coming over. Then we asked Lindsay and Ryan if they wanted to come too, and Chris was already here.

So I bopped out to red barn Market because Mexican groceries have much better deals on chicken legs, which is what I was making. I grabbed some broccoli, a head of iceberg lettuce, a green pepper, a couple of grilling onions and I was good to go.

I zipped home. Started up the grill. Got the chicken legs marinating in some Trader Joe's Teriyaki sauce, which is just like Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce, but costs $1.99 as opposed to $5.99. Then I put them on the grill on the lowest setting along with the green onions -- they really add flavor -- for 15 minutes a side.

I poured a half cup of heavy cream into a small saucepan and melted about a cup and a half of shredded colby/Monterey Jack cheese into it over medium low heat. I sprinkled just a hint of nutmeg, because as annoying as Rachael Ray is, it does takes good, as long as you're really careful not to add too much.

(She always says on her show, "It's that little thing in the background that makes you go hmmmm what is that?" Every single time she puts nutmeg in something. So now Rob says, "It's that little thing the the background that makes you go why does this taste like eggnog?" So make sure your cheese sauce doesn't taste like eggnog and add just a touch of nutmeg.)

I steamed the broccoli. I made a salad with the iceberg lettuce, which I abhor, but everyone else loves. I added chopped farmers market celery and chopped green pepper. Rob says its one of the best salads he's had. Chacun a son gout.

When the chicken was done, we had dinner: teriyaki chicken legs, broccoli with cheese sauce (I didn't make the traditional flour based cheese sauce because I'm doing Atkins), but I really liked the heavy cream cheese combo because it's easy to get the constancy right, just add cream or cheese until you find a nice balance and it reheated nicely.

We served it on paper plates and everyone had a great time; simple, inexpensive, unpretentious fun. It was the night before the inauguration and we were all pretty excited. The dogs even had a great time. Why don't magazines show that?

I went back to Ohio

OK, so one funny story about my air travel. Since I have a knee replacement, I have to be hand-screened to get on a plane. The TSA ladies so far have been very pleasant about the whole thing. I explain that I was hit by a truck and have a titanium peg in my right ankle and a new knee. Then, I have to warn them that I have a lump on my hip because it looks as though I have something in my pocket. Of course, they then have to feel it up. Seriously. I think that's more than reason enough for Kaiser to pay to have it removed.

It was great to see Courtney and we had a really great time hanging out. Dave had to leave for a couple of days and it was just the two of us and the boys. I don't think we've connected like that for a long time, and it was great. It was also wonderful to bond with my grandsons, who are just adorable.

Cody has rejected Me-ma as a grandmom name and is sticking with the more traditional Gramma. He totally cracks me up. He's so eerily like the boys in my family, especially my brother Rodger, and very much like Rodger's son young Rodger (We tried calling him "little Rodger" but when he grew to 6'5" we all looked stupid). He's got that same piercing loud Gamblin voice that cuts through metal and he's headstrong and passionate.

Alex is a carbon copy of his dad. He's a sweet, pleasant little guy who just wants to smile and play. He's developed a justified insecurity about possessions because his brother takes pretty much everything away from him. He's not as big as Cody was at his age, but I don't think it's likely he will be small, given his genes. His dad and both granddads are all big men.

Courtney and I spent Saturday watching Lifetime movies, chatting and taking care of the boys. We ate all kinds of treats I bought and made. It was decadent and fun. Courtney also took me to the place she works as director of marketing. She showed me her office and gave me a tour of the assisted care facility. It's huge, and really quite nice. I was duly impressed and proud. My girls are my big So There to the world.

But I'm glad to be back in God's country here in Southern California, where we still have flowers in our gardens and leaves on our trees. The skies are blue and our lawns are green. In Dayton the dull brown landscape competes with the grim gray trees against a heavy gray sky. Day after dreary day. When I was a kid we read books by Piet Worm for my First Communion. The books took on all aspects of the Bible and Catholicism. The pictures were crude and black and white, but I still remember vividly the picture of Purgatory. It showed a man, standing small and alone in a huge field, with a threatening cloudy sky overhead. Just like Ohio.