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.

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.


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.

what to eat in the third day of a cold... i recommend 'hamud' and strawberry banana shake.

the shake has soymilk and protein powder also. the soup is chicken broth. cook two thighs with four cloves of garlic. add lemon juice and scallion rounds fresh before consuming. this will give anybody a lift in their spirits when they are sick.

notice the picture of the fat i skimmed off the cooled soup. just put the whole pot in the refrigerator overnight. then use a spoon to lift out the fat. that's a whole lot of fat you don't need. well, maybe you need it but i don't.


oh... and that is a stale croissant floating around...


yuk!