A Conversation with Elizabeth
1998
Starving children in China

From:          Elizabeth  
To:            LMixson@PEC.com
Sent:          Friday, May 1, 1998 2:36 PM
Subject:       starving children in China
 
Your menu sounds decadent.  I recognize everything except the fraiche.  It also sounds like a lot of work!  I've made several "real" moussakas in the past, but you're right, they are HEAVY.  You know I have never fixed artichokes myself, but occasionally I've had wonderful dishes.  Recently I experimented with leeks and really loved them.  The most ironically good dish turned out to be leeks with baby butterbeans of all things.  It was scrumptious and I don't particularly like butterbeans.  I tried to find miso once in a store in Tuscaloosa, but even the oriental store owner didn't know what I meant.  However, I think there are various forms of it. 
 
I guess I asked about the "why didn't you question" because I found a computer/art site via NYT as well.  
 
Most of this day I have "organized" my office.  As I think I've written before, for a paperless society, I'm bogged down in it. 
 
Major hassles with the Rx for my knee, trying to get it switched to a generic.  The pharmacist didn't do it by yesterday, and I had run out of medicine and my knee was killing me--after getting it to feeling better.  He agreed to give me a few of the old pills while he tried to get the switch made.  I drove in 5 o'clock traffic to get over there.  I paid 7.98, and when I got in the car I checked and I had three pills.  I took one right away, another before bed, and now my knee is "okay" again.  Finally I got a call that the doctor authorized a switch to the generic--actually its not a generic, it's a very similar med which has gone generic, while mine hasn't.  I hope it works as well, though, which worries me some, as the other one works so well.  My goal is to get off it as soon as possible.  I was wondering what was triggering this episode.  I got on the scales this morning and found I hadn't taken off the weight I put on last month, and was actually up a pound or two, but that's PMS.  It could very well be that at a certain threshold weight, my knee will bother me, because I'm had so little trouble with it for so long.  I did read in a book last night that every 10 pounds of weight on a knee joint adds a geometric increase in pressure bearing on the joint.  So, my goal is to get control of this thing and lose a few pounds.  It's sort of a vicious cycle because if my knee hurts I can't or don't exercise, which doesn't help with my weight, which then makes the problem worse. 
 
My break has come all too quickly to an end.  As you are probably aware I bumped my plan to see my Mother until either next week, although that conflicts with Mother's Day and my sister--she and I are basically not speaking, so I don't know what "plans" she will have for mother. 
 
The longest bike trip I ever did, I think, was bike to Bronson from Gainesville and back.  It was a long way, but we did it in one day.  I think it's what, at least 30 miles. 
 
Do you plan to see Les Miserables, the movie.  It opens today.  I wish there were a 4 or so show, because I would have planned to go this afternoon.  Because of that I'll have to struggle with the weekend crowd on Saturday, if I want to go before school opens back.  I saw the musical, which I really liked.  This isn't a musical, but it has Liam Niason (sp) who I like.
 
Well, have a good dinner party.  I think we should write a book, nevertheless.  Do you remember the beginnings of your sci fi story? 
 
It was a dark and stormy night......Elizabeth

Subject: “Starving children in China”, ha, ha, ha, she was poking fun at me. Or was she, as she goes on to say the menu sounded decadent.  Her sense of humor was a little dry and somewhat strange at times and I could not always tell when she was being serious or joking. I don’ think I would tell her about how many times Julie and I would go out to dinner and spend $250 or more. Ah, the memories anniversaries past, The Inn at Little Washington, The Old Angler’s Inn on the Potomac River, or probably my favorite, L'Auberge Chez Francois, all meals to remember.

The “Starving children in China” was a common phrase for kids of our generation whose mothers would tell us when we didn’t eat all the food on our plates: "There are starving kids in China, eat all your food!"  Mom mostly said it to my sister Brenda who was a picky eater, I ate almost anything. I said for years, “I was like Mikey in the TV commercial, which the brother said, “Give it to Mikey, he’ll eat anything.”  If you go back and watch the commercial, the brother actually said, "Give it to Mikey, he won't eat it, he hates everything." then after trying it, Mikey liked it. Funny how we remember things.

PMS, did she just mention PMS, yes, she did. I thought PMS was for old women, she wasn’t old, or was she, lets see I was 45 and she was what, two, maybe it was three, years older than me, that would make her 48.  Perhaps she was getting old, then again so was I.

Food and entertainment