I had a late start this morning as I had a doctor appointment at 8 a.m. All is well...I had lost more weight (yay!!) and all my "numbers" are improving. Good to know I'm going in the right direction. To celebrate, I stopped at Starbucks (just for coffee - no treats!!) on my way into the office. The morning was frantic/busy, but now I have a little lull before going home.
Continuing with the medical theme, I will rant just a tiny bit about medical insurance. I am fortunate that I work and can get benefits through work, but geeze Louise, the costs keep escalating like no tomorrow. It's open enrollment time at my company and yesterday I enrolled. Oy!
Like most folks (I think), we have a choice between "gold," "silver," or "bronze" plans. I had always gone with gold until last year when my payroll deduction would have sky rocketed. I switched to silver and (of course) our out of pocket charges have gone up a lot (co-pays and the like). I was hoping that the difference would have narrowed a bit this year, but nope - if I had chosen gold this year, my payroll deductions would have been an additional $80 each pay (every two weeks) over what I pay for the silver plan. Crazy! I do have a flex spending account so our out-of-pocket charges are paid with pre-tax dollars and fortunately Fletch and I are basically very healthy. It just makes me nuts that I am spending around $375 - $400 every two weeks for insurance (this does include dental and vision as well).
OK, enough of the rant. At least I have a job and insurance. But still....
On to nicer things. Last night I used some of the veggies I got at the Farmers' Market on Saturday. First I sliced some garlic, chopped up two potatoes and added the leeks (which were the cleanest leeks I have ever seen - no grit or sand or dirt!!). I tossed them with olive oil and sprinkled a ton of Trader Joe's "Everything But The Bagel" seasoning over it all and roasted at around 400 for 40 minutes or so. Yum!
The "Everything" seasoning is marvelous.
Next I sautéed the wild mushrooms with some onions, added white wine and a little cream. Put that aside and sautéed a couple of pork chops in the pan and then added the mushrooms back in.
I can't remember what kind of mushrooms these were, but they were so tasty - very sweet and flavorful.
I also cooked the greens (I think it was chard of some kind) that I got. Frank (Colin's friend who runs the CSA) added a bit of protein to the greens in the form of worms. Yuck. Fortunately I saw them and fortunately I did not take pictures of them. The greens were delicious.
On the knitting front (since this is Unraveled Wednesday), I managed a couple of rows on my Close To You shawl yesterday at lunch. Here it is spread out on a conference table.
It's getting there. I'm hoping to finish it by this weekend, but sometimes my hopes are greater than reality - lol.
Book-wise I finished "Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore" which I liked. I have started "Lisette's List" but am only a few pages in - couldn't keep my eyes open last night.
Looking forward to a gentle (hopefully) wind-down to the work week. How about you? What are you up to this mid-November?
Your dinner looks divine, your shawl is lovely, and health insurance is just a drag (and a drain). XO
ReplyDelete❤️ your shawl: the edging is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteRoasted veggies are yummy - such great flavor.
I'm with you on health insurance. We pay $$$ and have exorbitant deductibles, but I am glad to have insurance at all. So I'm glad you're getting healthier! Your Close To You is beautiful and I hope you get some relaxing knitting time in this weekend.
ReplyDeleteThe shawl is looking great!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me started on health insurance! lol! Love your shawl -- pretty color and design!
ReplyDeleteThose mushrooms WERE good .... I can't remember what they were either, but I would recognize them if we went back to the farm market.
ReplyDeleteOh no on the worms ...........glad you found them BEFORE you cooked the greens. I guess it is bound to happen with fresh produce.
I totally hear you on insurance costs --------ours will skyrocket in January when we go off COBRA.
Wow. Mid November. WHAT??? When did that happen? I love roasted potatoes. Trader Joe is almost two hours from us but I hear good things about it.
ReplyDeleteYum, dinner at your house looks way better than at mine :-) And yay for the progress on your shawl; those knitted on edges always seem to take forever!
ReplyDeleteI'll bet the house smelled great when you were cooking - ahhhhh!
ReplyDeleteYour shawl is going to be so pretty, I can't wait to see it.
We have complete crap insurance, and yet, it costs more than half of my monthly paycheck. And covers pretty much nothing. I guess that's the American Way.
Yummmm, I can just taste the veggies with the mushrooms!
ReplyDeleteThe shawl is coming right along-nice!
(Not to discourage you but the 'free' Medicare to come increases your insurance costs with the secondary ins that is req.! Fun to come!)
I am in the same boat. I really want to cut down to two days work or zero and retire, but my big hold up is the health insurance. Veggies look great. Shawl if so pretty.
ReplyDeleteWhen my son worked in Japan he raved about their national health care system. For about $10 you could get anything done, medical, dental or eyecare. Then there is Daddio, in spite of having very good insurance and Medicare his bills for long term care totaled about $15,000 out of pocket a month. Needless to say he ran out of money pretty quickly. Now we are at the mercy of the politicians and their budget slashing bills as to whether his care plan can continue. It's making me crazy with worry. We shouldn't have to live like this. No one else in the first world does.
ReplyDeleteI can remember the days when employers paid 100% of insurance...hah! It's so stupid that our health is a money-making machine but that's the business of insurance: make money!
ReplyDeleteDinner sounds so good...sure not a morsel left and congrats on the shawl - lovely. Look forward to seeing it on you.
Cheers~
rant away, our insurance is really good and I am paying more and more every time they negotiate. It seems to be reality these days.
ReplyDelete