celebrating breakfast

Saturday, March 10, 2012 9:24:08 PM

, , , ,

i woke up today very happy. i am happy because i chose not to have my prostate violated. a friend noticed through a facebook post of mine that i was about to have biopsy. he called me from new york. i considered his admonition not to have the proceedure (euphemism) to be a second opinion, and promptly cancelled the operation. hey, as they say in vermont, "if it's not broken, don't fix it."

then about three hours later another old friend in florida, margi, who i have known since i was 17, called with the same advice, adding, that even if there was cancer there, a biopsy might cause it to spread to other parts. that makes sense. one cancer cell loose in my blood stream could go anywhere.

anyway, thank you halldor and margi. of course if i die of prostate cancer, you will not be invited to my burial. just kidding. i really didn't want to do it anyway.

so i celebrated my undisturbed prostate with coddled eggs benedict. and set to work on it first thing after my morning 'sitting'. still flashing back to images from last night's dreams. the friendly dog on a leash who suddenly turned into a banshee from hell was significant. faint

a beautiful saturday, i breakfast outside.


making do with equipment i have. it's similar to poaching. and yes, do cover it. and put a drop of butter in the pot first so the eggs don't stick. i had already made the hollandaise sauce the night before.


i had planned to use the traditional ham. but it didn't smell right and was a little slimey so i made bacon instead.


after breakfast i evicted my little friend shown here from the basil seedlings. but i did share my scallion with him. he seemed to be grateful as he licked the hollandaise sauce off of the stalk. happy


and here is happy me, prostate intact. note the logo for jonathan's company in pennsylvania: lion rampant with a trowel in his dexter hand.that's a take on the cumming coat of arms. (scottish) if you live in pennsylvania call him. he will build you a beautiful modern house. up coffee

school daysa soft hand

Comments

zrafatdjmd1 Saturday, March 10, 2012 9:45:54 PM

Great for S and his still virginal prostate.

Thanks for tasty views as well up

scott cummingI_ArtMan Saturday, March 10, 2012 11:45:52 PM

virginal prostate... yeah, i like that. idea heart

FIFINELEB Sunday, March 11, 2012 8:46:55 AM

You won't die of hunger today,Scott. A delicious breakfast indeed. I like the coat of arms very much ,suits to an artist and a builder of nice things. Have a great Sunday, my friend. smile

Martin K™Aqualion Sunday, March 11, 2012 3:37:33 PM

Mature decision. About the surgery.

I smile when ever I hear about somebody who turns home cooking into art (I was going to say 'hobby', but 'art' seems to sound better, right?). I home cook on a daily basis (that's what home cooking is about) and have done for many years. Much to my own surprise I don't seem to tire. Things normally seem to loose interest to me (or I loose interest in them) after a certain period. Cooking never loose my interest.

Keep eating such good stuff, and I am sure cancer will have a hard time overthrowing you.

Nicolas Borgsmidtnopanic Sunday, March 11, 2012 6:52:07 PM

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day
And you most certainly live up to that, Scott p

I´m sure your prostate won´t cause you any trouble.

MoontanMoontan01 Tuesday, March 13, 2012 8:00:55 AM

Superb breakfast, and picture! Its 4am here - couldn't sleep - now I feel compelled to go make a racket in the kitchen. bigsmile

As for your health, forget the prostate ... its that little pack by your coffee that is growling at you. But you know that.

Nice post.

scott cummingI_ArtMan Wednesday, March 14, 2012 2:22:51 AM

jean. yeah, my son sent me that t shirt. he is doing a good job with his own construction company. of course, i taught him everything he knows. lol coffee

Originally posted by Aqualion:

Keep eating such good stuff, and I am sure cancer will have a hard time overthrowing you.



that's what i think martin. i also believe that cancer is nature's answer to negativity about life. so i don't qualify. idea
cheers

thanks nic, for the comment. i agree... eat like a king in the morning.... like a trucker at lunch and like an emperor at night. don't forget a bedtime snack. lol j/k you should really eat less and less every day until you die nice and skinny. that's kind to your friends who have to carry your casket. sherlock cool

Originally posted by Moontan01:

its that little pack by your coffee that is growling at you. But you know that.


of course you are right moon baby, but i gave up all my other vices and i'm holding out on this one. i love smoking. happy

L2D2 Tuesday, March 20, 2012 2:49:38 AM

I, of course, agree with moontan about the bad, bad skinny white cylinders at the edge of your plate, but one can't sway an addict. I dun been there and dun that. Just wish I had quit much sooner.

Not sure I agree with you about the prostate either, coming from the knowledge that my brother has been cancer free for six years after having radiation treatments in both lobes of his prostate. He, more than likely, would be dead had he not received treatment.

I guess it all boils down to what you want done to yourself and how far you are willing to go to continue living a long life. It is, after all, your body.

scott cummingI_ArtMan Tuesday, March 20, 2012 7:34:47 AM

a very sensible lecture and i appreciate your honesty, linda. i am seriously considering stopping smoking very soon. i have given it a try a couple of times. then something comes up and i need a cigarette. right now, i am fighting for my life in many different ways. i can't really go into it. but thank you. happy

BeccaBeccamaus Wednesday, March 21, 2012 3:18:37 AM

Now that's the kind of breakfast I wouldn't mind waking up to...looking very yummy smile Can you make my husband do that? wink

scott cummingI_ArtMan Wednesday, March 21, 2012 4:02:26 AM

men will always pretend they can't cook. mostly, they can't. but they could learn. actually, they should learn. women are not our servants. but don't quote me kid, they'll run me out of the country tarred and feathered.

BeccaBeccamaus Wednesday, March 21, 2012 4:21:58 AM

Originally posted by I_ArtMan:

men will always pretend they can't cook. mostly, they can't. but they could learn. actually, they should learn. women are not our servants. but don't quote me kid, they'll run me out of the country tarred and feathered.



Actually, my husband agrees with your opinion out:up: . He doesn't expect me to cook every day and instead of cooking something for me he takes me out even if it's just for a burger chef he does think I'm old-fashion in the housewife department, but I'm sure he doesn't mind that either.

scott cummingI_ArtMan Wednesday, March 21, 2012 4:57:21 AM

i'm sure he loves you and he is doing just fine. at least he gives you a pass now and then. nothing wrong with a burger out, i say.

Martin K™Aqualion Wednesday, March 21, 2012 7:52:07 AM

There's no reason why men shouldn't cook. Food is the second most important thing in life, so I personally don't understand how people - men or women - can not know how to cook. How do they survive? Buying pre-cooked dinners or eating out is too expensive (where I am living anyway). And home cooking is not complicated at all. There are all sorts of cookbooks around and cooking blogs on the web for anyone to learn from.

To me, it is a question of priorities. What can be more important than food?

BeccaBeccamaus Wednesday, March 21, 2012 4:41:31 PM

Originally posted by Aqualion:

There's no reason why men shouldn't cook. Food is the second most important thing in life, so I personally don't understand how people - men or women - can not know how to cook. How do they survive? Buying pre-cooked dinners or eating out is too expensive (where I am living anyway). And home cooking is not complicated at all. There are all sorts of cookbooks around and cooking blogs on the web for anyone to learn from.

To me, it is a question of priorities. What can be more important than food?

Believe it or not but there are people out there who don't find food to be that important at all such as my husband. I'm the total opposite...lol. I love my food and at the same time want to make sure that what I'm eating is not doing more harm to me than good. So cooking/baking myself is the best and cheapest option chef

scott cummingI_ArtMan Wednesday, March 21, 2012 6:34:39 PM

Originally posted by Aqualion:

To me, it is a question of priorities. What can be more important than food?


i think that's it. some people resent the time it takes.i do. but i like to know what's in what i eat, so it's a trade off.

Martin K™Aqualion Wednesday, March 21, 2012 11:10:00 PM

Food IS important. There's no way around that. No arguing against it. If you don't eat, you will die, and if you eat poor food you will get sick. Period. Everybody knows that. Ignoring or opposing that fact is stupidity in its purest form. Any minute, any second spent cooking is of value. There is no thing more important, no higher priority.

scott cummingI_ArtMan Thursday, March 22, 2012 12:45:39 AM

and lets be sure we mention cooking clean. many people make themselves sick with salmonella or botulism. keep counters and cutting boards clean. always smell left overs and wash fruits and vegetables well. so there.... chef

Martin K™Aqualion Thursday, March 22, 2012 7:00:20 AM

Agreed. Like in almost every other aspect of life, you will come a long way with just using ordinary common sense when working in the kitchen (also in the process of purchasing the commodities, but that's a seperate issue, really).

On the other hand, common sense seems to not be as 'common' as it once was. Which, of course, is quite sad.

FIFINELEB Thursday, March 22, 2012 2:15:05 PM

Nearly all the things I eat come from my own garden where I don't use any chemicals except copper and sulphur when necessary.
For lunch today I ate eggs with chives, potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes+ 2 glasses of good wine from Spain. We are what we eat. smile

scott cummingI_ArtMan Friday, March 23, 2012 3:21:40 AM

martin. i am with you about the involution of the faculty we call common sense. i am sure it's a serious problem. it's probably connected to people believing anything they see on the news or read. the function of pondering seems to be atrophying in humans on the whole. common sense is not so common. to me it just means deciding for myself from what i know. media has no other purpose but to grab the attention. so they have no conscience about this. oh, i could go on and on.

thanks so much, jean for commenting. hehhehheh you got it right there. we are what we eat. and it sounds like you are doing it right. up

Martin K™Aqualion Friday, March 23, 2012 12:09:47 PM

One example is organic vegetables. About six months ago, in Denmark, there was a major uproar, boardering panic, on account of some people getting sick from e-coli they got from organic carrots.

Of course, the media treated it like it was the end of the world.

Until a organic farmer - down to earth and very straight forward - explained on national television that there would obviously be traces of animal feces on organic vegetables since that is what they use for fertilizer, like farmers have been doing for millenia.

The interviewer asked him what people should do, and he said: "Ask you grandmother. She knows how to cook without getting sick."

This advice, from a simple farmer in words everybody could understand opposed to the millions of experts and (no offense) academics we see and hear everyday commenting news, points out the essence of this issue, I think.

Know what I mean?

FIFINELEB Friday, March 23, 2012 2:55:55 PM

They would have got sick from not washing the carrots properly as our grandparents usually did before cooking them. BTW do they know what a carrot is? The time it takes to grow it. The different ways of cooking them. How to use a microwave oven .... In one word plenty of people are living in a fool's paradise, knowing nothing but condemning everything. They are called city people. They should get back to nature from where they have come. Amen!

http://poesie.webnet.fr/lesgrandsclassiques/poemes/jean_de_la_fontaine/le_rat_de_ville_et_le_rat_des_champs.html

Have a nice day,my friends. smile

scott cummingI_ArtMan Friday, March 23, 2012 6:14:03 PM

Originally posted by Aqualion:

The interviewer asked him what people should do, and he said: "Ask you grandmother. She knows how to cook without getting sick."


yeah, i see what you mean. grandma uses a vegetable brush. funny story. bigeyes

scott cummingI_ArtMan Friday, March 23, 2012 6:30:22 PM

good jean, but there are a few good reasons for living in the city in spite of the fear of the cat. but eventually we should retire to the country for a peaceful rest.

Martin K™Aqualion Friday, March 23, 2012 6:51:59 PM

My father-in-law died (age 65, lung cancer) in early February, and left his wife in a four winged farmhouse on the country side, some 20 miles from where I live. On his deathbed he told us, that he wished the rest of the family (my wife, her brother and me) to move in with her, collective co-housing style, make it self-sufficient, back to basic. The land is good and rich, and both my wife and me are currently contemplating whether it can be done. It would be such a waste to just sell the old farm. At the moment the old farms are being sold to... well... city folks who have no idea about country living, and they often fail big time, resulting in repossessions and compulsory sales. Would be painfull to witness that happen to the family estate. It's a troubling thought.

scott cummingI_ArtMan Friday, March 23, 2012 11:13:39 PM

i would do it. but i would try to remember to not let it overwhelm me. then i would study how to get along with people. what not to expect from them and what they should do to serve the common purpose.
wow, that is so great. what a life enhancing opportunity. there is strength in numbers after all.
post some pictures on your page so we can all see it.

Martin K™Aqualion Friday, March 23, 2012 11:59:04 PM

I shall, at the appropriate time. As it is, I need to keep the cards close to my vest, if you know what I mean. A lot of legal stuff has to be settled, and then there's the question of money. However, I am confident it will all work out for everybody's best. We've decided to make this season a sort of test-period: choose some parts of the land, cultivate and farm it. See how it works out. I might do a log on it. Make it part of the process, perhaps... I'd have to think it through. Thanks for the input. I respect you a great deal, Scott. Your words are strong. Your support is valuable. Appreciate.

scott cummingI_ArtMan Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:46:52 AM

Originally posted by Aqualion:

I might do a log on it. Make it part of the process, perhaps...


that would help i think. keeps things in perspective and the joy of having a record to reflect on is unimaginable but i believe in it. our memories are so selective but journaling is concrete. i wish i had journaled more in life.
but yes this is quite a change. and i agree to be cautious is the best path. i'll bet your head is already buried in books on animal husbandry and agriculture. i kind of envy you the challenge... so different... back to the land. keep it simple.

Martin K™Aqualion Saturday, March 24, 2012 7:25:58 AM

My research begins with literature on co-ops, starting with the co-op/co-housing movement of the 60s. The trend was quite big in Denmark in the 60s/70s, and very valuable pioneer work was done. Of course some of them made journals, and one group even wrote a 'Cohousing Cookbook', and I actually got my hands on a copy of it some weeks ago: written and printed by the group itself. As to the animal husbandry thing, the estate is not really suitable for stud farming. I guess we'll get ourselves some chickens. Would be nice with a horse, though. A couple of my mother-in-laws cousins are horse breeders, and I have been thinking about getting a few retired horses from them just to have around on the farm. I love horses. And I actually know to make them help with work, because my father was old enough to have worked with horses on farms back in the 40s, and he taught me a few tricks. I have also worked with horses myself at periods in my life.

My wife has always said, I should have been a farmer, and now she says, it's not to late... I love her.

bigsmile

scott cummingI_ArtMan Saturday, March 24, 2012 5:58:16 PM

you're going to need a few teenagers. maybe you can borrow them in the neighborhood.

Martin K™Aqualion Saturday, March 24, 2012 6:18:29 PM

It's just a small scale family thing. Apart from my mother-in-law, my wife, her brother and me, I don't suppose we'll need more than one or two others, and I don't think there will be any children involved at all. More or less a senior style collective.

scott cummingI_ArtMan Saturday, March 24, 2012 7:24:52 PM

i was thinking of harvest time... extra pickers.

Martin K™Aqualion Saturday, March 24, 2012 7:41:28 PM

Yeah... I spent many summer days picking strawberries when I was a kid. Earned some of my first honest wages on that account. But those were big farms with vast fields of strawberries, nothing like what we're planning. The crops will be just for our own use, I think. If we are to make money on anything at all, it will be some kind of bed-and-breakfast thing. Actually my mother-in-law is quite keen on that idea. The estate contains a small 'summer house' on the coast (about 5 miles from the farm) which is already beeing rented out in the Summer, for tourists. It gives a good buck. Also, there are 10 - 15 acres of forest, firn and pine. We could sell some firewood to the locals... That's what my father-in-law did when he was coming short of assets. There's a flaw in the Danish trade legislation that makes it legal to sell firewood without paying taxes.

Ekaterinalavender988 Saturday, March 24, 2012 8:00:40 PM

Oh, i guess that it's only doctors' failure. sad
Try to stuff your head with positive things such as the arts, communication, your family.
Avoid all negative obstacles bigsmile Slip them away bigsmile

scott cummingI_ArtMan Saturday, March 24, 2012 9:00:49 PM

Originally posted by Aqualion:

The estate contains a small 'summer house' on the coast (about 5 miles from the farm) which is already beeing rented out in the Summer, for tourists.


a big plus... for sure. and the trees.... make sure you plant new ones eh? lol

scott cummingI_ArtMan Saturday, March 24, 2012 9:03:11 PM

Originally posted by lavender988:

Avoid all negative obstacles


good idea idea

Martin K™Aqualion Saturday, March 24, 2012 9:44:06 PM

Originally posted by I_ArtMan:

make sure you plant new ones eh?



I have no clue about foresting what so ever, but fortunately I have a friend (who's also a friend of the family, most convinient) who is forester, and he actually ows me a couple of favours from way back, so...

In all, I guess I'll have to call in a few favours to make this happen...

scott cummingI_ArtMan Saturday, March 24, 2012 10:57:28 PM

expert advice... cool. good luck. happy

if i ever get out from under this giant foot on my neck, i will come for the bed and breakfast. you will have eggs benedict i suppose. lol coffee

Martin K™Aqualion Sunday, March 25, 2012 7:34:38 AM

Originally posted by I_ArtMan:

you will have eggs benedict i suppose.



Most certainly. wink And 100 percent organic, of course. My father-in-law was very particular about chemicals, which means his land would probably qualify. We're counting on that.

You are, of course, welcome. Bed and breakfast or not.

Jonathan Scot Cummingcementmanjon1 Tuesday, October 2, 2012 8:46:20 PM

nice T shirt

scott cummingI_ArtMan Tuesday, October 2, 2012 9:38:26 PM

ha ha i thought you might see that someday. happy thanks for commenting.

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