Random Thoughts Thunk While Cooking: A cook is only as good as the ingredients and ingenuity used. What a nightmare. What a colossal nightmare. lol For the non-liver lovers, chicken would've been a good substitute, but did I get breasts or tenders. No. I got thighs because it reminded me of a dinner made by my Aunt Mary-on-the-farm when I was a child. I cleaned and cut for a very long time. The chicken livers were frozen, but, in the past, it's never been a problem. These things were just awful - all mashed up together (like someone took a meat pounder) to the point where I really had to hunt for the connective tissue. Just in case, going to a real butcher instead of taking a chance at the supermarket was supposed to not have this problem. Surprise. I can't even give him the benefit of the doubt and I tried. No self respecting cook would ever use this things in a sauce or a soup. I've cooked purchased, pre-cooked, bacon once before for BLTs but really didn't pay that much attention to it other than the fact it cooked quickly without grease everywhere. Last night, I really got a chance to eyeball it. When the box says to cook it til crispy, it really means to cook until dry. There's a difference. lol I didn't use it. So, prosciutto wouldn't be a good candidate for rumaki. Pancetta would, though. I didn't use pancetta because I wasn't quite sure how it would go with the marinade and other stuff I was making. So, I used a nice smoky bacon. More later. Nice photo array, Rob333!

Hi All- I think I misunderstood what Cynthia was asking. There was blood work done when I took Pippa on Friday that determined that there were serious goings on with her liver. Her ALKP went from 28 U/L before surgery to 2973 U/L four days after surgery and six rimadyl tablets. Her ALT went from About bleeding into the lungs. The doctor who saw her on Saturday I believe said that her labored breathing was due to fluid in the lungs and that this was probably blood. How she determined that I do not know. In all of her gagging Pippa never coughed up any blood that I saw. This is what was determined through testing and observation: -X rays showed no GI obstruction -Ultrasound showed coarse liver- no other abnormalities -Diagnosis: acute liver failure, coagulopathy. Pippa was given a transfusion. Given poor prognosis. Pippa was given a lot of treatment in the form of IV fluid, Vitamin K, antibiotics, pain meds that would not affect her liver. She was able to stay home with me last night. She took a small amount of food through a syringe. She still had episodes of labored breathing but then there were also long stretches of relatively peaceful breathing while asleep. She even showed a little of her old personality when I put on her leash to take her out to pee. I took her back to the vet this morning where she will stay till 11:30 tonight. The vet called about an hour ago to let me know some good results. Her clotting times have returned to normal. Other levels are returning to normal. ALT now at 682 and ALKP now at 1400. Hopefully these will continue to go down. Also she has no fever today. She mentioned some other things but I don't have time to list all of it right now and some of it is a bit confusing for me honestly. She said she thinks Pippa suffered severe hepatotomy rather than acute liver failure. I hope I am relaying all of this correctly. I am so happy at the good news although the vet also did mention the possibility of chirossis developing further down the road. She kept mentioning Sega Palm poisoning over and over again. I don't know if that's what she thinks happened and when I told her I don't have any of the stuff in or around my house she said it was just an example. Then she just kept mentioning it some more. I'm thinking that they want to blame this on Sega Palm. I appreciate all the replies.

My gathering with the old guys and wives is to be on the 27th - at that Hilltop restaurant on the west edge of London, to which I referred. I told the coordinator this morning that I might not be going ... and he wondered what could have come up to displace a plan that's running for all year. I told him that it was a meeting with some folks/friends that I'd met on the internet ... and one popular lady was from Arizona, so it was a one-time only opportunity. I'm thinking of suggesting that the lady that I usually go with go anyway,suggesting to anyone who asks that Ed isn't all there, today (if you'll pardon the expression). Actually ... the coordinator was running around at the close of the meeting looking for his list, and I don't think that he found it ... ... so maybe even he isn't sure how many will be "all there" at the crucial time ... ... with or without wives! Since there's to be a gathering with the Windsor folks, and Iva Mae isn't expecting to be available, and I'm free to travel, would it be better to plan a meeting in Woodstock ... Brantford ... Hamilton, which would make it easier for folks in and around Toronto to attend? Perhaps it could be earlier, after Niagara Falls and before Nita and Mike come to the campground near London? ole joyful

Wow! This has by far been the most 'popular' thread of the ones I've started! Kind of ironic isn't it? Thank you all for your support. I've read each and every one of your comments. My doctor's first opinion based on biopsy results is that it is not operable at this stage. In the next few days I will probably know if there's anything that can be done to really help my medical condition and prolong my life while keeping quality of life decent or if there's not much hope due to metastasis. My father died of lung cancer with bone metastasis at the age of 65 and that was a more than nasty experience both for him and for us. I don't intend to let myself be subjected to this or impose this on my loved ones. For some reason I always thought that 65 was my life limit too but it seems I may have miscalculated. What I would ask from you at the moment is to PLEASE let this thread slip down the houzz thread list, so I can calmly continue browsing these rosy pages when I feel like it.. You are more than welcome to PM me if you feel like contacting me for this matter. Also my email is 'razisn' followed by the 'at'-sign followed by gmail 'dot'-sign com (without the quotes and the spaces) and you're welcome to contact me by email. Thanks all for your kind and supportive words. I do feel like you're part of my extended family.