Bubble Girl vs Tap Water

Craig called me Bubble Girl on Friday. That wasn't exactly helpful though it was amusing. He was trying to make me laugh about the week I've had (and I'm still having). I'm housebound until Tuesday because my white blood cell count is very, very low. My immune system is compromised, so I can't be exposed to anyone who may be sick. I'm still not allowed to have fresh fruit or vegetables or tap water or fresh ground black pepper (it has a fungus, you know). Of course, now I want all of those things, including tap water which I don't normally drink. This state of affairs has delayed my chemo treatments again. And while I might have been annoyed at the delay so close to the finish, I'll take that over another hospital stay. There was talk of readmitting me in isolation until my counts rose to something closer to normal. Luckily, my temperature is still normal, and I actually feel no different than what has been normal for me of late. So, I get to stay home. That saved me from actually becoming a difficult patient.

Of course, like my sudden yearnings for tap water, the moment I'm told I can't go out is the instant I decide I want to train for the LA Marathon (walking it not running). Not that I don't have enough to keep my mind occupied at home. I have a lot to read and a lot more to write. More on the writing later. And then there is the cooking. I have a bunch of new cookbooks to explore and the Hubs underfoot to fetch ingredients from the forbidden supermarket or – even better – to do the dishes between the various stages of cooking. Sweet! I've already made a big pot of French onion soup and a pot of black bean chili. Those recipes weren't even in my new cookbooks. The lemon chicken in Ina Garten's How Easy is That turned out very nicely last week. Despite all that lemon, the chicken wasn't overly tart. It was just very nicely flavored and ever so tender. As for what's next, I noticed a roasted eggplant caponata (dip) that looked good and easy. I just have to talk Jon through buying a good eggplant. That should be interesting since I've rarely cooked with them.

And during the weekend, I have a lot of NFL football to watch. It's strangely peaceful without the Eagles in the playoffs. There is certainly far less profanity. Since I have no vested interest in any of the teams, I can just enjoy the games. So far, they've been riveting. I should be able to make it to Tuesday without going stir crazy. I know I'm not ready to train for a marathon. At least, not yet.

Updates

None this week. Despite the time home, my focus is off for writing. This blog took me two days.

Stay tuned.