General, Random and oh yeah: FANFUCKINGTABULOUS!

[bertana]

• Mom had her follow-up appointment with the surgeon, and he was much, MUCH better with the bedside manner than previously. Also, he says he DID visit her immediately after the surgery, but she was still in the recovery room and might not remember. Since she doesn't remember any of the stuff she said to Doug and I (friggin' hilarious!), I can buy it.
  
  Overall, her health report is A++. He walked into the room and said, "Oh my god, you look AMAZING!" Mom felt like she was having such a slow recuperation and he said, "No, no, you look so good, you have no idea." Apparently, he did THREE thyroidectomies on the same day. Of the three, Mom's surgery was the longest and most complicated. Of the three patients, MOM is looking the best and having the best recuperation.
  
  Oh, and he did save TWO of her parathyroids, so that explains why she's having fewer and fewer problems with calcium ... and he said she won't have any problems at all going forward. He also said that her thyroid was so enlarged that he was amazed. Each lobe, instead of being about the size of a quarter, was about the size of the palm of my hand. Oh, and they had wrapped around her esophagus. He just kept saying, "Once we saw how bad it was inside, none of us could believe you could even breathe. It was just amazing."
  
  And her biopsy was cleancleanclean. Mom is walking about three inches above the ground right now, she's so damn relieved.



• Here is a link to the wonderful farm from which we get our raw dairy and a few other things. I love this place.



• The downside to this idyllic little scene is that, being in a farming area, we also have [drumroll please] MEATPACKING PLANTS in the area. And when the wind is just right, the whole area stinks from the Hatfield Meatpacking Plant. Oddly enough, MoPac is nearer to us, and we never smell it (I can tell when it's Hatfield, because I have to drive right past it on the way to work) and we almost never smell the Pilgrim's Choice poultry plant, which is right in town. Nope, just Hatfield. Lovely!



• Thankfully, a fabulous storm is rolling through right now, and all I can small is rain, and it smells WONDERFUL, and tomorrow the stink of Hatfield will gonegonegone!



• My D70 was put in the mail TODAY, via USPS Priority Mail, and I will have it SOON! YIPPEE! Also, today I received a package from Bob (the friend who is sending me the camera)-- a poster tube containing two beautiful posters from the Grand Canyon Music Festival! He and his wife were just out to AZ for that and they picked me up a couple posters from previous festivals. Super cool!

That is all.

Comments

[dorinda2212.livejournal.com]

So glad your mom is doing so well!

Raw?!!

[robomarkov.livejournal.com]

Raw?

As in no homoginization?

As in no pasteurization?

As in you have to break the chunk of heavy cream off to get to the milk kind of raw?


I AM GREEN WITH ENVY!!!

I was raised on raw milk. Store milk is FLAVORLESS WHITE WATER!!! People just don't understand... They have never had raw-goodness.

Re: Raw?!!

[bertana.livejournal.com]

Yep, raw. .

They do actually separate the cream from the milk, but that's IT. The cream is so rich it's yellow. And you still have to shake the milk before you pour, because it still separates even further as it sits for a day or so. So good. I used to HATE milk, but I love theirs. SO GOOD.

Also, their cheeses? To die for. They have won international awards for their cheeses.

Re: Raw?!!

[raventhourne.livejournal.com]

Are you sure it hasn't been pastuerized, just not homogenized? Cause federal law prohibits the sale of raw milk....just curious.

Re: Raw?!!

[bertana.livejournal.com]

No, it's raw. Non-pasteurized, non-homgenized-- I asked, because I was under the same impression, that it's illegal to sell raw milk. From what I understand, it's illegal to sell raw milk in a grocery store, but not from the farm. None of their product is sold through other dairies or blended in with other milk like Rosenbergers or Turkey Hill (so-called "local dairies" that are actually large companies that buy pasteurized milk from hundreds of different farms.)

Re: Raw?!!

[bertana.livejournal.com]

See, now ya made me have to THINK. I looked up the FDA's info on milk and pasteurization and here's what they say:

"It is a violation of federal law enforced by the FDA to sell raw milk packaged for consumer use across state lines (interstate commerce). But each state regulates the sale of raw milk within the state (intrastate), and some states allow it to be sold. This means that in some states dairy operations may sell it to local retail food stores, or to consumers directly from the farm or at agricultural fairs or other community events, depending on the state law. "


PA state law allows it.