Bought this bubbly at K&L Wines a few weeks back to give it a try. It was an “employee pick” and K&L’s picks have never been bad. I had a pretty decent reason to celebrate last night after a long, stressful week so I tried it. Quite yummy.
I really liked this bubbly. And totally inexpensive ($12.99!) and quite worthy of a daily drinker (not that I advocate daily drinking at all but if you have to…go bubbly ;) ). I have found that I really don’t like so many Roses but if a Rose Brut, I usually do as it takes the overbearing sweetness away. I am totally a Brut bubbly girl. Dry is good. Too sweet = bad. Which is funny because I know when I was younger, I liked the sweeter stuff. Plus this one is a nice pink shade – so that makes it all the better for me!
If you have a chance to pick this one up – do so. Give it a try. You will like it :)
Here is what K&L says about it: A wine with tiny, long-lasting bubbles, Cremant de Loire Rosé is a lovely gleaming pink, enticing with a delicate, nervy nose and aromas of fresh red fruit. It’s lively on the attack and has lovely aromatic intensity and brightness. Well-balanced in the mouth, this sparkler is enhanced by a fresh but subtle finish. The wine is stored for at least 12 months on racks in freestone cellars before disgorging to make incomparably fine bubbles. The fruit comes from 20- to 30-year-old vines.
Just got off the phone with Storm’s doctor. The 2 tumors were benign. Not cancerous. Breathing now.
The pathologist had left already so she is calling him first thing Monday AM to have him cut into the healthy parts of the liver lobes (and not just the tumors) to see what’s going on inside them. Look for other things – specifically but not limited to – blood clots. If he is throwing clots, this can also cause problems but this can be addressed with blood thinners. That would be great.
We still don’t have an answer as to why the tumors are growing and this is a reason to worry and wonder but more pathology can hopefully help us. But hearing this is not aggressive cancer is the best thing I could have heard tonight. I think Storm knew it was good news because then he got up and went to eat his ground turkey and take his antibiotics. And then we went out to pee, drink some water and lay back down.
I think a glass of bubbly is in order. And a lot of skooshing. A pretty good Friday night after all.
Storm is home and resting. Poor little guy has just been through so much this week. The doctor said he was talking and wanting to run around and be husky-like (their code for crazy spaz I think.) She said he would refuse his dry dog food until they offered him chicken. And then would want both (Angelus taught him that trick.) These are all good things. She said his vitals are good and stable. And his bloodwork came back even better than expected. All good things.
But we still don’t have the biopsy results back. She said she was still hopeful they would come back today as the lab knew they needed to be done. But it’s after 5pm on a Friday so who knows. I might get to stress about it until Monday. I suppose that’s better than having bad news all weekend. She said she was worried it was an aggressive cancer based on the speed of the tumor creation. But there were also plenty of things to point to it not being cancer. I love science and medicine – it’s so black and white and explains everything…I should just get a dart board…
So right now I am hanging out with him on the floor in our hallway. It’s one of his favorite spots to sleep when it’s not actual sleepytime. Hopefully, like last time, he will rest a lot this weekend and just get better and better every day. And hopefully, like last time, we will hear benign…and maybe even some kind of explanation. I am hoping that since they took the 2 liver lobes that had the growths, it means they took the badness out. I know life isn’t that simple but I’m still hoping.
Democrat pollster Mark Penn appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball and said that President Clinton reconnected with his speech after the Oklahoma City bombings, and Obama needs a similar situation to do the same.
“President Clinton reconnected with Oklahoma. And the President right now he seems removed. And it wasn’t until that speech that he really clicked with the American people. Obama needs a similar kind of, yeah” said Penn.
Yes, clearly this country needs another domestic terrorist attack so that Obama can “connect” with us.
Spent another day at the vet hospital. Had to rush Storm to the vet this morning after his fever spiked (was 106.5 when he got there) and he wouldn’t even get up to go to the car. After another ultrasound and seeing the mass changing from yesterday, they booked him into surgery right away. They let us see him right before he went in. He was pretty drugged up and feeling pretty ok and all smiley…he just looked so cute and sweet sitting there like “what’s going on guys?” You have to hold it together though so he doesn’t feel your stress. Much easier said than done.
He was in surgery for 2 hours. They took 2 masses out – along with 2 lobes of his liver. It seems the blood flow to the mass was clotted/stopped so the tissue started dying on the inside. So the body fights back with the fever. They said the rest of his liver, along with the rest of his insides, looks great – tumor free. But it looked great last time and here we are 5 weeks later. The doctor said neither she nor the other doctors there have ever seen anything like this (they have been in the business a long time.) Great. Storm is always wanting to be different to get all of the attention….
They sent off the tissue to a lab in Davis. Supposedly one of the best with longtime Davis faculty now working there. The doctor said she will also have them look at the previous samples to see if anything could have been missed .
I also spoke with the surgeon who said he was a trooper and a fighter. He went over the details of the mass and removal and sounded very positive. The internal medicine doctor also sounded positive and said there was no reason to give up. But she also acknowledged that if they grow back again so fast, that is not good.
So back on cancer-watch. We will have results back tomorrow or Friday. But even if it’s not cancer, and the 2 tumor/masses were benign – so was the previous one. But they just keep growing and hurt him anyway. And this was FAST. Unheard of fast. Awesome.
But I have to stay positive. He made it through surgery with flying colors. The doctor called me tonight and said his fever was down to 100.5 (that’s normal for dogs) and his blood pressure and other vitals were all great. He is on some good painkillers so he is sleeping but has poked his head up to look around. She said he was doing very well.
So with 4 hours of sleep last night, and just too much stress and sadness this week, I will try and get some sleep tonight knowing he is getting his fluids and antibiotics and his fever is down, and the reason he had a fever is gone and out of his body. And I need to focus on that good news. Because I really cannot handle a what if they come back bad news scenario right now. I am generally a positive person but this little doggie just cannot catch a break lately and that is totally not right. He is just full of love and happiness and it’s just not right. So then I cry. Because while I refuse to “need” anyone, I need my huskies. So staying focused on the fact that he came through his surgery successfully and we will go from here is important. Because he needs that. And so does Angelus, who misses his little buddy. And he will feel better when he gets out and home and that is what is important right now.
Just got back from 4 hours at the Emergency vet with Storm. He had seemed somewhat off today. Then this afternoon started shaking/trembling non-stop. The only emergency vet in the are is in Reno so off we went.
He has a fever, which can cause the trembling (which makes sense since it happens to humans too.) Due to his history, the doctor did an ultrasound and he has another tumor on his liver – baseball size again :( I don’t understand how this possible since we JUST got one removed. She said it is not unusual for tumors to grow rapidly, especially if they are cancerous. She also did some x-rays on his abdomen/chest to check for fluid in his abdomen and other tumors. “Good” news is none showed up.
I need to try and get an appointment with his specialist tomorrow. I am hoping this doctor just can’t read ultrasounds or there is some simple other explanation for this that is NOT a tumor.
But Storm doesn’t feel good. Which is very sad because he was just singing and howling on Friday. And having a good time on his walk in the the bits of snow we found on Saturday. And he is the sweetest doggie in the world and deserves a lot better than this. And his Mom wishes she could make him all better. And is pretty tired of the world being such a f***ing unfair place.
I’m going to make sure he goes to sleep in his bed now and hang out with him. We both need sleep.
Fattie could have brought in his lunch (like tons of health conscious people do) if he didn’t want the “high-caloric” FREE lunches.
And “sampling” food products won’t make you gain 65 lbs. Eating the entire Big Mac and large fries every afternoon after the Big Breakfast every AM will. Let’s look up the word sampling in the dictionary shall we?
And you can quit dude…any time…
But clearly no one is ever responsible for their own condition.
I found this recipe online awhile ago and printed it off as it sounded yummy. I am always looking for new tasty-sounding fish recipes! But I do not have the original link to provide proper credit. This recipe belongs to Hoss Zare, the chef/owner of Zare at Fly Trap in San Francisco.
Ingredients:
* 1 – 1 1/2 pounds petrale sole fillets (or dover sole)
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* About 4 tablespoons Wondra instant flour
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup halved, small seedless grapes
* 2 tablespoons drained capers
Instructions:
Blot fillets dry and season to taste with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour and pat it on lightly to cover the fish evenly; shake off the excess.
Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add olive oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. When oil is hot, lay fish in pan; saute until bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn and cook the second side, until flesh is opaque and golden brown, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, depending upon thickness of the fillets. Move fish to a paper towel-lined plate.
Remove pan from heat and wipe with paper towels. Return to high heat and add butter; stir lightly until the foam and small bubbles on the top are light brown, about 1 minute. Stir in grapes and capers; cook about 30 seconds.
Transfer fillets to plates and spoon sauce over. Serve immediately.
I served over Jasmine rice. For some reason, fish and rice go perfectly for me. And Jasmine rice is deeeee-lish. Of course, I am a riceaholic and not even Asian (have been told this by Asian friends so not being racist or stereotypical….this time ;) KIDDING! Sheesh people…)
The fish turned out wonderfully. Really, really tasty. And a pretty easy dish to make. The recipe said to pair it with an “open a balanced Riesling to match the sweet grapes, salty capers and toasty butter.” I paired it with a sparking Brut. Because I prefer to pair everything with a sparkling Brut :) And it paired splendidly!
Squeeeeee!! My shoes are on sale!!!! And they have just been purchased! Fingers crossed that they fit as there are no reviews to see how they really run. SQUEEE!!!
