A worrisome day, a political rant, and a pleasant dinner

My oldest son, Colin, has Crohn's disease, and this morning Lisa, his lovely wife, took him to the ER because he was very sick last night. They scheduled a cat scan and admitted him, though it was six hours before he got a bed. He of course wanted to go right home, but they said no, he has a partial obstruction. Tonight I haven't heard the results of the scan--I imagine the radiologist won't read it until tomorrow--nor is there any word on the planned treatement. I'm worried, of course, as any mother would be. Offered to go to Houston if I couldl help Lisa with the children, but we're all in a wait mode. Colin has had mild flare-ups over the years and I'm sure he doesn't feel good a lot of the time but just doesn't tell us, but this is the first major problem he's had in eight years. Then, it took six months, changing doctors, and a lot of stuff before he had surgery. He had gotten down to 119 lbs. and looked like an Auschwitz survivor, but he's had a healthy weight since. I'm grateful that this time the doctors are on it right away, and his regular physician will see him. Still I'm waiting for word.
This morning a friend called to chat and in the conversation said she was ready to move to Arizona to support their anti-immigration law (I don't think she really is). When I admitted that the problem is really severe in Arizona but I wasn't sure this law was the right fix, she said, "Well, our government isn't doing anything and somebody has to start somewhere." Then on the Diane Rehm show I listened to Tea Party members who say the government should have no control over any aspect of our lives (I wonder if they realize what chaos would result if the government suddenly withdrew from everything--reminds me of the guy who said, "And keep your government hands off my Medicare." Duh?) Our neighborhood email newsletter has been abuzz (okay, pun, it's the Berkeley Buzz) with messages about the possibility of a historic overlay. Berkeley is one of those neighborhoods of charming older homes, many dating back to the  1920s, and yet we've had a few cases of people tearing down older homes and building McMansions that don't fit the neighborhood at all. On the Buzz, it's amazing how many people are adamant that the government can't tell them what to do with their homes (actually the overlay only affects the exterior and does not impinge on updating, etc.). But the conclusion I reached is the government is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't. People want the government so solve the BP spill, solve the immigration problem, create new jobs (magically, I presume), and solve all other problems--but don't let the government trample on my rights as an individual. I think people have to decide to have it one way or another. Okay, rant done.
I had a lovely evening tonight. Carol Roark and I celebrate July birthdays, and Kathie Lang Allen cooked dinner for us and included good friend and fellow publisher Fran Vick. Delicious chicken salad (a la Helen Corbitt), asparagus, tomato aspic, and, wonder of wonders, popovers! Plus a peach poundcake for dessert. We visited, traded gossip, and ate heartily. The gift exchange was lovely, and I am grateful to my friends for some lovely additions to my home.

Random thoughts on the Super Bowl, dieting and cooking

I am not and never have been a football fan. I don't understand it, it seems brutal (I hope none of my grandsons play), and it seems, as someone famous once wrote, a little silly to see grown men fighting over a piece of pigskin. (It reminds me of when my children were little and we would drive by the local country club while the PGA golf tournament was going on. "Look at the silly men chasing the little white ball," I'd say. The one year my ex and I attended we didn't know about keeping children quiet near the green and got a lot of dirty looks!). Needless to say the Super Bowl doesn't interest me, although I am, like many others, sometimes tempted to watch just for the commercials. Yesterday I called my friend Charles and said I'd come visit him Sunday. "Don't come during the Super Bowl!" he said in dismay, so I said well, maybe I wouldn't come at all. "No, come ahead, we'll work it out." So I went to see him about 4:15 and was out of his hair by 5:00 when the pre-game stuff started. Since he normally goes to sleep by 7:30 I said, "You know you're not going to last the first quarter," and he said,"I'm going to watch every minute. I'm really excited about it." I left, amazed.
But tonight I've noticed how quiet the internet is.On Sundays, I monitor messages posted to the Sisters in Crime listserv (this is only my second Sunday) but late this afternoon the list went dead. Facebook had a similar absence of postings, and I've had no email except from one SinC member who must feel as I do about the game. I guess everyone else is watching it.
Shhh--don't tell them, but I've decided to give up on Weight Watchers for a while. I was flat tired of being so obsessed with points and then gaining weight in spite of it all. I exercised faithfully--bicycle and yoga--and watched what I ate. Still I gained (after an initial and good loss--I just can't lose that last 5 lbs.).When my oldest son, Colin, had a severe flare-up of his Crohn's disease, he got down to 120 lbs. and looked heartbreakingly like a survivor from Auschwitz. He could only eat little bits and no nutrition was getting through to his body (turns out the camera they had him swallow was stuck in there for several months). Anyway, after he had surgery and could enjoy food again, he shot up to almost 200 lbs--his body couldn't get past the notion that it was starving. He had an elderly dog and had to get up two or three times in the night to let the dog out--every time he did, he ate a peanut butter sandwich.
But it occurred to me, in a theory probably as hare-brained as many of mine are, that my body might know it was always hungry and was trying to store up. So today I ate a piece of bread with lunch, about 2 Tbsp. of potato left from Jacob's dinner last night with my dinner, and--oh, sin!--a quarter of a piece of my neighbor's carrot cake with that rich cream cheese frosting. I can still eat sensibly and watch what I eat without worrying about the blasted points. I'll give it a couple of weeks--if I balloon, I'll go back to rigid adherence. If I hold my own, I'll take Sue's advice that life is too short to worry about five lbs.
I mentioned the other day I was experimenting cooking with all that parchment I have on hand. Tonight I fixed salmon with green beans, lemon zest, and capers wrapped in parchment and baked in a hot oven for 15 minutes. Delicious--the salmon was moist and flavorful and the tang of the capers was a great touch. I'm going to try that egg dish again, except with spinach rather than asparagus--I decided that "bargain" asparagus I got was rather tough, though I stir-fried it quite a while last night and it was better. Anyway, all that's healthy eating--and I rode the bike today.