Random 5 for November 24 – Pizza, restaurants, salad, doctors, parties

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Happy Birthday Betty! – Here is a (slightly blurred) picture from my SIL’s birthday luncheon. Yes, she’s wearing a tiara. Enough said!

Is this a new thing? – We used to get pizza at a local upscale grocery store. It was the old fashioned kind – neither thin nor thick but an uneven wavy crust where parts of it would rise higher. It had the yeasty smell of fresh bread from the oven. We haven’t been there for a while. I stopped on Friday. All the pizzas were smaller and had burn marks on them. Some were on the crust and some had dark brown marks on the cheese. I hate burnt cheese. This seems to be a new style. I liked the old style better.

Speaking of pizza – I was at a luncheon and ordered a small personal pizza. It was simple – tomatoes, basil and buffalo mozzarella. The cheese was bad. I couldn’t eat it. I’m starting to think the universe is trying to split me up from my beloved pizza!

More food – At the luncheon, we were told that we couldn’t get any salads. They weren’t selling any at all because of the E. coli scare. Chocolate has never been recalled! There is a message there.

How kind – A few years ago I had hand surgery done by our local ortho group. It’s a big box group with many doctors all having specialties. They have a hand department with several hand only doctors along with a specialty rehab for hands. I was impressed by it all. One of the docs goes to third world countries and performs free hand surgery every year. This year they put aside two Saturdays to see and evaluate people without insurance. They will follow up with free surgery in January. I love to see docs doing this for people. No one knows how important hands are until you have an injury.

So how was your week?

70 thoughts on “Random 5 for November 24 – Pizza, restaurants, salad, doctors, parties”

  1. Congratulations to Betty! I love that photo.
    It’s heartwarming to hear about the generous hand doctor. Medicine is a caring profession. I’m glad he puts his skills to use.

    The e-coli is only Romaine lettuce according to what I’ve heard. They could have concocted another kind of salad. But, as you said, chocolate is always safe. Chocolate mouse would be a good dessert.

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  2. Hands. I’m struggling with really bad arthritis in my right hand, my dominant hand (wrist and all knuckles).

    It’s wonderful to hear that some doctors are willing to offer their services on occasion to people in need.

    Pizza. I’m in Chicago. There are hundreds of choices for pizza. It’s a problem for my weight. 😉

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        • He got steroid shots but whatever he got, was different from what I’ve heard before. He initially got a shot in his thumb every 3 months, then every 6 months, then as needed and he hasn’t had one in 4 years. Other friends have said that you can only do so many before the steroid destroys the joint but he wasn’t given a limit. Not sure exactly what it was but he can play without pain. He doesn’t have pain in any other joints although there is arthritis there.

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  4. your SIL in that tiara looks stunning – please tell her red is her color!
    Pizza dilemmas continue over here for Hubbs — local places are either too saucy/garlicky or not enough sauce and it’s a round bread stick. The day he finds a good pizza to his liking I’m sure Angels will sing 🙂

    Yay to Doctors (and any professionals) who donate their expertise here & there !

    MJ

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  7. You have had some bad pizza moments, but keep trying! We can never completely turn our backs on pizza. 🙂 Great story about your doctors and their philanthropy. I think there are likely many such wonderful examples but we just don’t hear about them very often.

    Happy Birthday, Betty!

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  9. I stopped eating the romaine the very first scare years ago and I still had my canary who loved romaine lettuce (they cannot eat iceberg or other types as they are too full of water) – we had to compromise and give him broccoli florets instead – but broccoli has calcium in it and made his toenails grow so it was a rare treat in the Winter, and gave it to him more in Summer when we could get to the vet for toenail clips. I felt badly – lettuce to Buddy was like catnip to your cats. I even tried growing it in pots in the house but they didn’t amount to anything. My mom had an orthopedic doc who did her first hip replacement (1981). Dr. Griz decided he had made enough money for him/wife to be set for life and the kids were grown with careers of their own, so he quit the ortho group and went to South Carolina and opened a small clinic for folks who could not afford care for orthopedic injuries – he would operate for free, and the patients were only charged for the room/other staff in attendance – I thought he was a rare bird – looks like you know of another one.

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      • Yes, Dr. Griz was one in a million – my mom hated to see him leave as she had to continue seeing an orthopedic doc for follow-ups the rest of her life. The next doc was okay, but left his wife for his nurse – they worked together closely and he was near retirement age and he left the group and divorced his wife, moved up to northern Michigan with the nurse. My mom was still alive when he he left the group. We got a letter saying her care would be assumed by another doctor in the group as Dr. Padgett was retiring. I went to high school with someone who worked in the radiology department there. I saw her at the grocery store after my mom died and she told me the real reason. I didn’t like the last doc – he dictated his notes while in the room. I detested that and him.

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  11. SIL looks fantastic and I hope she had a very happy birthday. As for the pizza I agree the old styles were better. Fortunately we have one of the leftovers here called Frank’s Pizza. His pies look good, smell good and taste great and he is always busy.

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  14. I agree about the doctors who donate their time and services. This is something that’s really ramped up in recent years because of so many who have no insurance. It’s good to see. Until we can enact some kind of universal healthcare, I think the medical profession should institute required time like this for all doctors in order to retain their medical licenses — similar to some law firms who require pro-bono work on behalf of those can’t afford legal services.

    Your sister-in-law looks amazing! – Marty

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    • I am terrified to eat salads. Almost everyone at the luncheon wanted to get a salad for lunch but they weren’t serving any. It was Carraba’s and most if not all of their salads are made with romaine. We are going out to eat to celebrate my husband’s birthday tomorrow at his favorite seafood place. They have a wonderful salad bar. I’m wondering if there will be any lettuce on it and whether I should eat it if there is.

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  17. Pizza is a very high point food if you are doing WW. Having said that, pizza is one of the best foods one can eat. It hits all the food groups. Yup, everyone of them on the food pyramid. But, if the sauce is bitter, and the crust not just right and the cheese burnt….well it is just disappointing. I have three places I that I think make outstanding pies. So, here’s to enjoying that first bite and savoring the next!🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕

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  18. Your hand doc deserves a ⭐️for his work. And you’re right, you don’t realize the importance of a body part til it stops working.

    Your SIL wears her tiara well and looks fabulous!

    Until such time as we place greater emphasis on food safety, I suspect more E. Coli episodes. Perhaps we, as the buying public (emphasis on buying), should demand more accountability from corporate farms.

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    • We’ve been disappointed many times. Most places make a bunch in the morning, then reheat all day. There is something about leftover pizza that isn’t quite as good as fresh especially if they “forget” and overheat it so the cheese is all brown.

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  20. Your SIL looks beautiful and she looks happy! Wishing her a very Happy Birthday! We have tried a bazillion different kinds of pizza and my favorite is still a cheese and mushroom from Pizza Hut with a side of their bone-out honey barbecue wings. A close second is Rise Pies in a shopping mall in Sarasota. Our dentist here does that kind of kindness and wonderful things for local people here who can’t afford dental work. There is a slice of pizza with a past Random Five post right under your post this morning and I want THAT slice of pizza right now!

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  21. I love your “hand” story too – I know my dentist does the “free care” thing from time to time. It’s nice that THEY recognize that prices are beyond the reach of people these days even if they HAVE insurance. Pizza – funny thing is that we love DiGiorno’s Frozen Supreme pizza so much we don’t order it out anymore OR even get the ones at our gourmet grocery in town! We add a couple of things like anchovies (yes we love them even though most hate them) but other than that, those DiGiornos are right up our alley!

    Happy Sunday
    Pam

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    • These docs are the top of the line in their field here. One is very socially active. He is always on call for the fireworks holidays and does PSAs about fireworks. When I went to hand rehab I saw first hand how mangled some hands are. This is the first year I’ve seen the local effort but maybe I didn’t notice before.

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      • A hand clinic, what a great idea! You are so right….we need hands to accomplish daily chores like eating, cleanliness and pretty well everything we do. Feet are also very important.

        I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis for 40 years and my hands look it. I’m very active but my hands slow me down. I have had replacements in 2 fingers….my joint and my wrist of the right hand. Two more fingers were fused. This was something I never wanted. Fusing joints means any more movement from those fingers is not going to happen. A hand clinic would be wonderful.

        Jean

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        • The owner of my former gym had severe RA. Her hands and feet were severely deformed. She had several surgeries but not sure what they did. Her bones kept disintegrating. Hand surgery (from my small perspective) is painful, more so than other surgeries. Maybe it’s because it’s so important and you keep using it.

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