And Upgrade to Life

At my November doctor's appointment, I discussed everything with my "new" doctor. I'd seen her once before and she came across as very understanding and empathetic. I was, and still am, very impressed with her. In that November visit, we went over all my meds and all my lifestyle choices. One thing I brought up was alcohol.

Since March of 2012, this has been wine.

I like sparkling grape juice so I didn't feel I was missing out on much. Alcohol and medications go through the liver and alcohol can cause problems with the liver and methotrexate. So, depending upon how much methotrexate you take, doctors will tell you not to drink so your liver just processes the drug, and not the alcohol. There could be liver damage. I decided, when diagnosed, that my health was more important than alcohol so it was not an issue to remove this from my life. I even created a "Poor Man's Mimosa".

I don't know why I haven't ever noticed these individual orange juice bottles before. I love orange juice but can't always consume a whole carton before it get, shall we say, "ripe".

But, since the middle of last year, I'd been reading a great deal of information on how alcohol in moderation is good for those with RA. It should be noted I'd seen studies conducted in Europe, but not much in the US. One of the RA sites I frequent commented on the older studies of the general population which detail how a glass of red wine at least 3 times a week, was beneficial to one's health. There was no mention of conflicts with methotrexate. So, can I or can't I? Dr. Francis said I shouldn't be drinking, period, in spite of what studies may be saying. Okay /shrug. I can live without alcohol. There are some cool mugs out there which liven up my non-alcoholic ways. Witness the mug my friend, Pam, gave me for my birthday.

(Yes, this celebration was at Steak 'n Shake.)

Still, there was enough "noise", if you will, over the alcohol issue that I raised the point with Dr. Gierut. What did she think of all of this? She said there are three schools of thought. One, the European school, feels one alcoholic drink, per day, is okay for people on any RA meds. European studies have not shown a correlation between moderate alcohol consumption with methotrexate, and liver damage. Many US doctors feel the studies are very flawed and no one taking methotrexate should drink alcohol. And there there are doctors, like her, who fall in the middle. If I limit myself to three drinks per week, she feels that's a good middle-of-the-road answer.

I did not, dear reader, rush out and toast this news of being able to break my abstinence, with a beer or 3. Nor have I rushed to Binny's Beverage Depot and purchased a shopping cart full of beverages. My first beer since 2012 was at the company Christmas party last December.

It was a vanilla porter. I've always said I like beers I can chew. I did go to Binny's to get beverages with which to ring in the New Year.

Oh Belhaven, how I have missed you. And you now have a stout? Yes, please. And I got a beverage with which to lace my hot cocoa.

In the years since I quit alcohol, Godiva discontinued their white chocolate flavor. No matter. This will be fine. I've consumed "so much" that I have one shot glass left in the bottle before I have to replace it. I'll drink hot cocoa at any time of year. When I'm feeling a lot of stress, it's a good relaxant. But, yeah. It's taken 6 months to finish the bottle off. I'm not in any danger of overconsumption.

Currently, there is a regional stout in the fridge. I bought it in, um, March, maybe? I wasn't a big drinker before the ban and I'm not going to be a big drinker now that I can. Three glasses of alcohol a week seems like a lot more than I was drinking before, even averaging an evening out where two or three might be consumed, with weeks of nothing.

Still, I see this as a victory of sorts. I'm doing well enough that I can, with great moderation, toast my friends or relatives with alcohol. The upcoming Disney trip features brunch with "all you can drink" mimosas. I love mimosas, which was why I replicated, somewhat, the taste. "All I can drink" might be a couple, but at least I can have a real one.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Raiding Supplies.

The weather on this Wednesday afternoon before Christmas has turned nasty. It was rainy, drizzly, this morning. That became ice which is now sleet and pelleted snow. We were let go early today and I swung by the grocery to pick up a few things. As this kind of weather is to continue through Christmas, I am not going anywhere anymore and, therefore, must have a few things to get by.

There's going to be lots of time to read, scratch ears, sleep, scratch ears, play WOW over the back of a lap requiring feline.

In order to play World of Warcraft, some things are necessary:

• A fully charged mouse.
• Water in the tea kettle for tea.
• Portable food that can be eaten while one is flying from place to place.

But when we take on a big dungeon, such as this past Sunday's attempt to down the big purple dragon, you need an extra pick me up. For such things as this, alcohol is usually the beverage to get through the mashing of buttons and the yelling at the screen when the dragon eats you.

I went to the basement, where there is a stash of alcohol, most of it of the liqueur variety, purchased because a recipe required 2 tablespoons of cherry brandy, and then never consumed again. I had one bottle of Sauvingon Blanc. This would be a good raiding wine. I poured myself a glass and went to raid leaving the bottle on the counter.

We downed the dragon. This was a first for my little guild. We have worked very hard to get this dragon down. After dividing up the loot, I decided I had earned another glass of wine.

I poured myself a glass full and noticed these things floating on the top. Closer examination proved them to be fruit flies, at least a dozen, on the top of my wine. I looked in the bottle and the interior of the bottle was filled with fruit flies. Dozens were floating on the top of the wine itself while more were just flying around the inside of the bottle.

Horribly disgusted, I put the cork on the bottle, made myself some tea, and went back to raiding.

I'm at a loss. I have had no fruit flies in the kitchen for several weeks, since I had one banana go bad in early November. Where did they come from and why were they in my wine? On Monday, seeing all of them dead, I poured the whole bottle down the drain. In addition to the whole "gross-out" factor, it was good wine. I would have enjoyed the whole bottle, not in one sitting, mind you, but over the next week.

So, as I strode purposefully through the grocery this afternoon, I added to my cart, bite size Tostitos and shredded cheddar, pears and apples, pretzels, pizza and then went to the alcohol section. To get me through raiding, I have Guinness and a bottle of Asti with which I will toast Christmas on Friday.

I see, looking out my home office window, that we're getting more snow now than sleet. I'm still not going anywhere for the next 3 days. I don't need to. I have cat food and the means to make brownies. What more could I want?

Beverage: English Breakfast tea

Deb

Needed something stronger

I know you're wondering how the date went. I have considered just how much to reveal and almost didn't post anything. But I mentioned this event so I need to visit it and, if you know me, I do have an opinion.
I stayed up too late on Tuesday evening talking via my computer with my daughter and with a WoW friend I had not seen in several weeks. Brian is, like my WoW friend Bill, a confidante. Both are pragmatic and have very good insights into the human condition. I have often leaned on them for advice in dealing with the humans who manipulate the pixels that form the characters that congregate in my World of Warcraft guild. Brian's been very busy at work and just has not had time to play. So, when he logged onto the game, one of the first things he did was ask if we could chat later.
And with my daughter playing a character in my guild, I have the chance to stay more connected with her and her life. This situation doesn't lend itself to going to bed at 11:30 p.m.
I called the date to say I was leaving my house. He inquired about my day and I yawned. I admitted I was tired. He suggested we just get together for dinner. I heartily agreed. Although seeing a movie is a nice idea, I prefer to talk to the guy first and decide if he's worth seeing again. We met at the Outback Steak House in Wheaton.
I've never been to Outback, anywhere. It's good food, cooked well, nice selection, very attentive service. They had Key Lime Pie and were happy to give me a side of hot fudge to drizzle over it. (Pam is laughing.) They have a huge warm pecan brownie dessert that's topped with ice cream, whipped cream and hot fudge, but I wanted Key Lime Pie so I didn't get the brownie.
He's made it clear in all our phone conversations that he's a recovering alcoholic and I felt ordering a drink would be in poor taste, so I had tea, lots and lots of tea. He talked and he talked. I finished my appetizer, my meal and my dessert a full 15 minutes before him. I'm sure the steak he ordered was cold by the time he finished it.
My perception? Well, if it goes anywhere, it's merely a friendship. I know I have excess baggage accumulated from a life of hard knocks. He's got trunks. For every comment, there was one a step grander. As a for instance, I mentioned my liking Highland Games. He proceeded to tell me about them. Incredulous doesn't quite cover it.
He appears to be a gregarious person. He knows so many people and has relatives and friends in all sorts of places. For every place that I've been in my life, he's been two or three more places. For every incident I would relate, he had one that was more. There was never a lack for conversation but the conversation didn't seem to include me.
Some of the people in my World of Warcraft guild, who knew I had a date last night, said he might be nervous and so talks over much to hide that nervousness. I think he just likes to talk. He's overly confident that his opinions are correct. I never expressed an opinion in the course of the evening because it seemed certain he either wouldn't hear it or wouldn't allow it to stand.
We left the evening that I will call him. Next week is shaping up to be quite a week for me and, with his work schedule being nights and weekends, any getting together is only going to involve dinner and a movie.
A year ago, I was friends with a guy (met via the service) and that was all we did. He called pretty much every 2 weeks from Mother's Day to Labor Day and we got together for dinner. He did come to the Highland Games last year and we spent an hour listening to the music in the entertainment tent. He made some suggestions about other things we could do. In the Chicagoland area, you can find free entertainment, via local band concerts or festivals, every weekend and we were going to do some of those things. I was excited. I couldn't see a romance with the guy, but I could see a friendship. But we never did anything he suggested other than dinner and he drifted away around Labor Day. Going out to eat or going out to a movie for every date is just not my cuppa.
I came home, poured myself a small glass of wine, and logged onto the computer. A few guild mates and my daughter were online so we talked. While I did enjoy the man's company, I found myself rehashing the things this guy said that bothered me. I should be thinking about the things that are right, not the things that are wrong.
The service has already sent me another name. Maybe they knew they did not make a good match. I need to call this new guy and make arrangements to meet for lunch. I'm not optimistic but I take the tact that these kinds of things get me out of the house. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Beverage: Huckleberry tea

Deb