It’s Sunday! Oh, wait, it’s almost over…

busy sunday.

last week, one of our good friends called up and made a proposal. her 73-year-old mother hasn’t been eating too well, cause she won’t cook for herself (and neither will my friend’s dad, I suppose), so, my friend, knowing that i’m getting into nutrition as a profession, and also having been over to eat several times, made this proposition:

would I be interested in being sort of a personal chef for her mom and dad? not all the meals, just enough. have stuff frozen so they can take stuff out and have something nutritious, made with good stuff, instead of not eating or surviving on cereal or whatever they eat when they’re not eating.

wow. at first, I was sort of freaked out – suddenly, here was a proposal where i’d actually be cooking for someone, as a profession (sort of). i think i was freaked cause these dreams were sort of just dreams – not reality. and suddenly, here’s J asking if I want to do this and get paid.

it took me a couple of days, then I realized, yeah, this is it. a decent low-stress start. so, i spent the day in the kitchen cooking some things that we can get to her mom to see where her tastes lie, relative to what I cook. the corn-poblano soup, some meatloaf, and the barley-spinach recipe.

sweety and i biked over to the safeway earlier today (awhile back, we got a cart specifically for loading up with groceries. i can fit 3 or 4 big bags of groceries in it – those big re-usable bags? yeah, 3 or 4 of them easy. and it’s not too hard pedaling either – the cart rolls pretty well. so, it’s been a full day.

i may be getting better at this stuff – i remember when i used to be so happy when I made a new dish. today i made a new one and 2 others in only about 3-4 hours.

later, my friends, may you all be well and stay well.

and thanks for all the encouraging notes about that court case. it warms my heart to know there’s so many folks on the side of the t folks..

love you all, and thank you for being in my/our lives

-Jude

Deve

September 21, 2008

ryn: I think it’s probably time to take a page from the Karl Rove Campaign Mayhem strategy book and start doing (honest) push-polling in republican districts asking the question, “How comfortable are you with Sarah Palin taking over as President in the event something prevents John McCain from carrying out his duties.” I heard a pollster say they get a lot of enthusaism about Palin until they ask that question and then it’s like, “Oh, wow.” and only 30% say they are comfortable. I expect these are the same people who still approve of the job Bush has done. But reasonable people get scared of the idea. I am scared of the idea that many people haven’t thot of it on their own. But that’s what push-polling is for. Get people thinking and lead them by the nose.

Does your grocery cart zipper shut to keep out the weather? Does anybody ever think you have a baby in there? Or isn’t it Playskool colored? We had a professional chef doing a meals on wheels sort of thing just before my ex-wife quit her day job. I think the guy went out of business without us, but in a more larger, more prosperous area it could be a good gig.

Hi Jude, I’m sorry that I’m behind on reading and noting. I’m trying to catch up. Congrats on your first job as a personal chef. I hope you had a good weekend. Much love to you & Sweety,

Joanna Maguire

Hey good lookin Somethings cooking up !

darcy0207

September 22, 2008

My mother has had a lot of trouble eating lately. And it’s for one specific reason – she’s lost most of her ability to taste. This might be an issue with these people. Find out if they want stronger tastes (which might damage the excretory system… a consideration). Also, texture might be important if there’s less tasting going on. But if they wear dentures, maybe too crunchy is a problem.

Beatrix Plotter

Can you cook for me? I barely know which side up the microwave should be! :s

In response to darcy’s note above: Just talked to Sweety – she’s worked with geriatrics: apparently, they can still taste sweet, lose their ability to taste salty . they also lose the sense of tasting water lead to dehydration. Soups are good because they have more taste than water and help with hydration.. All flavor sensation mutes to some extent. Foods they remember, foods with good aromas are good cause they’ll be a bit more enthusiastic about eating them. Wine with meals is a good idea cause it’ll help enhance appetite.

sillycrazeme

edna million

What a great job – now, will you come cook food for my parents??!!!?? It’s really difficult for elderly people to eat well, with balanced meals and good nutrition. My dad would just as soon eat nothing but sweets and the occasional hamburger, and my mom won’t eat at all. Very worrisome. Daddy is capable of cooking simple things, so we’re trying to train him. Not easy.

jasspirit

A PERSONAL CHEF – that’s great! And don’t forget that word of mouth advertising is very powerful [which is sort of a pun]!