Lady Aisley

Lord Manleigh says

Well, two stars is certainly an improvement over five! Can I get a refill on that brandy? Thanks awfully.

posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )

Frabjous Day says

(eavesreading) I knew there must be some explanation, though I thought perhaps the exp. was insanity, or that your stars were in tittlebat.

posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )

Lord Manleigh says

I'm so relieved. Surely you meant to give it one star, which, in the Manleigh rating system, means "A Blight on the Face of the Earth".

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Lord Manleigh says

Five stars? Do pop into the old discussion thread and 'splain yourself.

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VIA ROYAL MAIL

Dear Lady Aisley:

In recognition of your most welcome participation in Anglophiles Anonymous during the year, The Queen has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the founding of said fellowship, to issue a Certificate of Warm Appreciation to you on this day, 5 January, 2011.

Yours sincerely,

Neville Psmith, Esq.
Appreciation Office
Department of Anglophile Relations
St. James Palace, London, SW1

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Anne says

Hi, Gluttenous Goldens, who knew. My goldens have always been quite interested in food. What I like is that they are so affectionate, and they have to be in the middle of whatever is going on. And I find them to be very intelligent.
One Thanksgiving Scooter ate a whole pumpkin pie, and he also once ate a bowl of M&Ms, foil and all, and Radar grabbed a chicken breast off a platter.

Your philosophy professor sounds confusing. Do the best you can presenting your ideas and the ideas of others, and then proofread very carefully. I didn't have a computer when I was writing papers, so editing was difficult. It would be a snap now, also save a lot of paper. Take pains with your bibliography and make sure to attribute everything. Students unwittingly plagiarize without knowing sometimes.

My son Andrew is arriving Monday evening, and I am all excited about that. He wants to go to a lot of movies and his favorite restaurants. I just chatted with him online, and it was 4:30 a.m. Korea time; he had just gotten home from his farewell party.

The shooting at UT was very sad, and got so much publicity, probably because it was on campus. There were three shootings in Austin last week, this morning a 16 year old wearing a ski mask shot at police and they killed him. The parents of the boy who died at UT issued a statement via a relative, and he asked the media to lay off.

I have been looking for a place to work out after I graduate from rehab, and hadn't found anything till today. The city of Cedar Park (my suburb) has a lovely new facility at the community center, and we joined for $110 for a year, for two people. The facilities are better than the athletic clubs, and there is a pool at a different place that is open all year, plus free exercise classes. I was very impressed. It also was very clean. I am going to graduate early from rehab, because I have reached my goal of 20 minutes on three aerobic machines, the treadmill, the arm bike, and the regular bike. It will be 4 weeks for me, instead of the usual 6 weeks. I was doing better than I thought.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Anne says

Hi Jessica,

The no-kill shelters are prevalent in Austin. The ASPCA shelter takes the dogs from the city shelter, although there are many breed associations that take dogs, also, and provide foster homes. I was a foster for Golden Retrievers for years, but since I can't have a dog in my house, I will do outreach by going to them. It is still my favorite breed, for purely selfish reasons. They are so comforting and loving.

There was a shooter on UT campus this morning, and a big squad of SWAT teams swarmed on campus. Now the pro-gun groups are saying the students should have had guns, but I can just envision an innocent student carrying a gun and getting shot by a SWAT team member. The president of UT made a firm statement that it was still a no-gun campus. The only loss of life was a suicide.

The stuffed pastas we made were ravioli and tortelloni (large tortellini). We also made one which I can't remember the name of (canolini?) which are a rectangle of pasta with stuffing and then placed with the seam down, topped with a sauce and baked. I, in my own kitchen, have made a stuffed pasta roll, which is a roll of pasta spread with stuffing (spinach, riccota, parmesan, nutmeg and eggs) and rolled like a jelly roll, then cooked in boiling water, sliced, placed in an over-lapping pattern in a baking pan, topped with marinara and then bechamel sauces, and then baked. Very complicated, but we put our guests and children to work, so it provides the evening entertainment. Everyone loves it. and a simple Caprese salad and nice wine complete it as a meal, plus something sweet you can make ahead, like tiramisu, make it a wonderful eating experience, not to mention guest experience. I've found that cooking and eating together makes an incredibly bonding friendship experience. My friend Mary and I still talk about buying a lot of peaches and then canning them. We were both sticky when we finished, but the taste of those peaches made us friends forever. And I'll never forget the day my friend Carmela taught me to make tamales, which are a Christmas tradition in Texas.

I have downloaded for almost nothing the Saki Beast and SuperBeast stories, which are hilarious, but I see Tinky has posted a couple of the funniest. I also got Wind in the Willows for only $1.00 from Amazon. I didn't see the scary read for Halloween, so must look for it and find it to read.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lord Manleigh says

Aisley, dear, thank you for your thoughtful note. How maddening Shelfari can be, and all technology for that matter. And yet, here we are. I have been so pleased that you've been active this year, and I have every reason to believe that you will be recalled from your unfortunate sojourn in Argentina after the New Year with your reputation restored.

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Lady Anne says

I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to teaching nursing because the hospital is such a hotbed of infection, and even in the classroom the students don't really consider spreading disease, they come to class sick, and also they sometimes have small children who bring home every communicable disease the other kids have. As long as I'm immunosuppressed I will have to be careful with that. I really miss it. Maybe I'll take a literature course or two, if I can find any that interest me. When my strength and stamina improve enough, I'd like to volunteer to walk dogs at the shelter. We have several no-kill shelters in my vicinity, and I might meet the dog of my dreams there.

I have to get up at 4 am tomorrow to go to San Antonio to the transplant clinic at University of Texas Health Science Center. I expect all will be well. They check my breathing with a spirometer, get Prograf level and other labs, chest xray, and go over my meds.

The best travel type book I've read is Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, Not to Mention the Dog. It is actually a comic novel, free on Kindle, and we read it as a group read in Anglophiles Anonymous. It is about a boat excursion up the Thames River from London to Oxford, and the book actually started as a serious travel book, but he soon found his forte for telling a funny story. I laughed myself silly over the book, especially the section he discusses the lack of a soul in terriers. The discussion should still be on the AA discussion board, you could go back and read it. I loved Italy as much as Frances Mayes does. We didn't have a bad meal the whole time we were there, and I never passed a gelato shop without a sample. The scenery is also beautiful, especially in Tuscany. The local wines are also wonderful. I'd like to go to a cooking school there. I've taken some lessons at our local culinary academy, and the one on stuffed pasta was the best. My cooking partner was an eleven year old boy, and he was so much fun to cook with.

Cioppino has shrimp, scallops, fish fillets, and either clams or mussels (I use mussels). It isn't hard to make, and if I can find the recipe, I'll send it to you. It is relatively simple, just a rich tomato sauce with red wine, and add the seafood to cook at the end. I think it also has clam broth in it, which I substitute for a fish stock. It tastes really good.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Joyous L. Hunnybun says

Goodreads has a similar focus to Shelfari (groups, shelves of read and TBR books, etc.) but it looks a bit different and the organization of discussion threads within groups is different (and IMO, better, but that could be just because I used it first and am used to it).

Always having something to read is a much better way to think about my towering TBR pile! Definitely more positive than me feeling like I am missing out on so many great books. I have been adding even more recently because I have started to read websites and reviews of newly released books (NPR, McSweeney's, etc.). I typically don't read contemporary literature, but after reading some very good modern novels, I have been reading reviews and recommendations and adding too many books for my own good.

I saw Miss Pettigrew the movie (mostly because I love Amy Adams), and have wanted to read it ever since then. I have heard so many wonderful things about it that I am sure to love it!

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Lady Joyous L. Hunnybun says

Oh my, the list that I have on Shelfari is nothing! I mostly just use Shelfari for the AA group, but use Goodreads to keep an accurate list of what I have read and what I want to read. I am getting to the point where I am not going to be able to allow myself to add any more TBR books as that number is almost higher than the number I have read (currently 253/read 242/to read). I know I will never be able to read them all, but I keep adding! It is a sickness :)

I am very much looking forward to reading Miss Pettigrew! I have it on hold at my library, but whomever has it checked out is way overdue and has yet to return it, so I am anxiously waiting for it to be returned!

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Lady Anne says

I liked all the books in the Southern literature course, but it introduced me to Kate Chopin and Flannery O'Connor. We read Eudora Welty and Truman Capote, As I Lay Dying by Faulkner, and Katherine Anne Porter, who came from about 40 miles south of Austin, in one of the German settlements down between New Braunfels and San Marcos. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall was one of the stories we read by her. I'm not a native Texan, but come from Truman Capote and Eudora Welty country near Memphis, and many of my relatives are just as eccentric as depicted in literature.

I don't think I could manage online philosophy without frequent feedback from the professor. My son did an independent study in Existentialism, but his degree was in English Literature. His professor for the independent study was so impressed with him that he recommended him for the Master's program at A&M. I've always liked logic and ethics, ever since I've been a nurse. I tried to include ethics in all my classes.

I am recovering from a lung transplant for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, which was done in December. I had so many post-op complications, mainly torsion of the pulmonary vein because the lung and vessels were too small, which resulted in clots in the left side of my heart, and had to have open heart surgery to dig out the clots and put a graft in the pulmonary vein. I missed Christmas and New Year and was on the ventilator for about 2 weeks. Altogether not a good way to spend time. The high-dose Prednisone to prevent rejection wasted my peripheral muscles, and I could not walk when I finally woke up. So now I am fighting my way back to strength. I use the treadmill, the upper and lower body exercise bikes, and lift weights, all the while they monitor my O2 sat and heart rate and BP. I had a bad set back when I was still on coumadin in the nature of a colon bleed, so my progress has been up and down. I am also taking Tai Chi classes, and trying to be very active. My friends and family were so wonderful to me I owe some huge debts of gratitude. The worst thing for me right now is that I can't go back to work because of risk of infection from the students. They come to school when they are sick or their kids are sick, and I can't afford to be exposed. I really miss teaching, and I loved my job. I still see them socially, for happy hour and lunch, but it isn't the same. I spend a lot of time reading and knitting, but when I get through with rehab I'm going to find more active hobbies, like I would love to ride my bike, which is sitting in the garage with flat tires.

Well, I've been long-winded enough. Oh, by the way, we are real foodies at my house, and we are always looking for something which looks wonderful. We get a lot of gulf seafood very fresh, and love Cioppini made with tomato sauce and red wine, very good with crusty bread. We like Cajun food, too, and have some great restaurants here in Austin since Katrina. Some people stayed here for the laid-back life and the music.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Anne says

I love philosophy, particularly logic and ethics. My son got his master's degree in philosophy, and tutored and taught football players at Texas A&M. I have a neat Kindle book which puts things in their simplest terms, corny jokes. It is called Plato and a Platypus Walked into a Bar, and one of the authors is Daniel Klein. I had to take a philosophy survey course in college, and liked it, as I remember. I liked my literature courses so well I should have changed majors, but had no clear idea what to do except become a nurse. One course you might have really liked was Southern Literature. It was excellent, and introduced me to so much good literature.

My husband is in the kitchen cooking sole with almonds and asparagus and I am looking forward to dinner. I put a bottle of chardonnay in to chill when I got home from Pulmonary Rehab and that is the extent of what I have accomplished today. Oh, well, everyone can't be Greta Garbo. Or Greer Garson, for that matter.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Anne says

That pre-op scene is hilarious. What a piece of work!

Yes, the order was handwritten, but legible. I just can't imagine any pharmacist or experienced oncology nurse to not know the correct dose of vincristine. It is neurotoxic so the patient had a very painful death. I've been deposed about the contents of the chemotherapy class I taught, and fortunately, I followed the national guidelines for safety. You can't take short cuts. I learned to give it at Station 19 at M.D. Anderson in Houston, where they are very rigorous. I recall we had to have the protocol and cards for all the drugs with us when we prepared and administered the chemo.

Do you find that most of your friends are nurses. I do, I can count on the fingers of one hand my friends who aren't nurses, in fact, I can only think of one that I am really close to.

I read the first chapter of Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen. Did you read The Corrections? I think I'll wait till it comes in at the library instead of buying it.

Meanwhile I reread The Speckled Band this afternoon. Love Sherlock Holmes

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Lady Anne says

Whoops, I did not mean to enter twice.

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Lady Anne says

I tried to answer you earlier, but had trouble signing in to Shelfari. GRRR!

I always wanted my own insurance. Of course no one advertises that they have it. I do know of one nurse who was sued over a serious error in chemotherapy that resulted in a patient death. Of course, they had an easy case, against the pharmacist and the physician. The patient was given 20 mg of Vincristine when the maximum dose is 2 mg. It was written as 2.0. I know OB-GYN nurses usually carry a lot. Educators only need a little, I think the most it ever cost me was around $90. I always believed that giving really good care prevented lawsuits, but some people are born litigious, and I had a woman once who accused me of "stabbing" her when I gave her an IM injection.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Anne says

I tried to answer you earlier, but had trouble signing in to Shelfari. GRRR!

I always wanted my own insurance. Of course no one advertises that they have it. I do know of one nurse who was sued over a serious error in chemotherapy that resulted in a patient death. Of course, they had an easy case, against the pharmacist and the physician. The patient was given 20 mg of Vincristine when the maximum dose is 2 mg. It was written as 2.0. I know OB-GYN nurses usually carry a lot. Educators only need a little, I think the most it ever cost me was around $90. I always believed that giving really good care prevented lawsuits, but some people are born litigious, and I had a woman once who accused me of "stabbing" her when I gave her an IM injection.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Anne says

Thank you for answering my note, Jessica. I thought that religion was much more mentioned in Poirot's character in this video than is usual in his books, so I decided the director was drawing attention to it to emphasize the moral dilemma it posed for Poirot.

Before I went into teaching I was certified as a clinical specialist in oncology nursing, and also did wound and ostomy care. I found the two areas complementary, as so many cachectic patients are prone to skin breakdown. Do you have to pay dearly for malpractice insurance since you work in the OR?

I read your profile and we have much in common, so I am "friending" you, with your consent.

posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )

Lady Anne says

Jessica, I am a fellow member of AA, and I was rereading the Murder on the Orient Express thread. You asked about the ending, and I haven't read the book for 20 years at least, but I had it on DVR and just watched it again. What I saw was that Poirot had a terrible moral and ethical dilemma, to serve absolute black and white justice and expose all the murderers, or to see the justice in avenging a terrible crime, and he took the conductor's coat and the button from it out to the police. There was no long explanation so I'm certain the suggestion was made the conductor (the missing one?) had done the crime and then left the train. Then he walked away quickly with his rosary in his hand, as if praying for forgiveness. Please let me know if that is the ending in the book.

I also am a nurse, and a teacher of nursing for 25 years. It is lovely to find other nurses who are literary as well.

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