Dear Friends and Family,
I posted the earlier version and then couldn't figure our how to un-post it to continue it, so here is the continuation in a separate post.
Here is what EP had to say about "gribbinis":
"Thanks for gribbinis (my grandmother's pronunciation) recipe. Lived on the stuff back in the 1940s, haven't had it in years. Served over grated black radish or mashed Lima beans in our culinarily-distinguished family. w/ black bread to mop up the schmaltz."
Yum: it almost makes me want to give up being a vegetarian.
Here is a new dish I concocted:
Prepared 1 lb. fuselli noodles the usual way, al dente. Put about 1/2 pound in oiled shallow 8" Pyrex baking dish. Cut up monouri ricotta cheese in small bits and mixed in all over. Added some grated cheese. Baked in oven till hot, then added frozen baby peas (in last few minutes to keep them firm) and broiled to crisp the top. Delicious. The monouri does not melt, as one would expect, but is delectable nonetheless.
Monouri cheese is something we discovered in Greece many years ago. Never saw it in the US, until it began to appear in the best NYC cheese stores. Now our wonderful North Shore Farms in Sea Cliff carries it, very proudly. Monouri ricotta is new to me. The previous version I had was plain manouri, which is like a goat cheese, but with a distinctive flavor. In Greece, we walked into a cheese shop, where only marble counters were visible. When one asked for cheese, a marble lid was lifted, a fork went in and pulled, out of the brine I guess, a hunk of cheese, and you would indicate how much you wanted. Then you would get a loaf of bread in another shop and eat by the roadside a most delicious meal of bread and cheese.
There was a little leftover of the noodle dish, enough for one small meal. So the next night, I added a few more noodles, some more manouri, a little bit of butter and heated it in the micro. I then broke into it two eggs, to make poached eggs, 1 minute more in the micro. This dish was for Merwin, and he liked it a lot: whites solidified, yolks runny.
Today was very special: we went to the MET's HD opera film, "Der Rosenkavalier," with Renée Fleming and Kristinn Sigmundsson. I didn't know if I could last 5 hours, but I did with no trouble. The performance was compelling, as I could tell because I cried during a lot of it. I think I am the only one who does that: artists excelling greatly at what they do make me weep. We had arranged to go with the Dzens with whom we share a wedding anniversary month and year: January 1951. Our friend Doris was there too, and afterward we 5 had a splendid dinner at Bistro Toulous in Port Washington. Really splendid.
Love to all,
Bernice
Saturday, January 9, 2010
More chopped liver
Dear Friends and Family,
Rae-Rae sent her mother's recipe, the post-schmaltz version:
My mother would cook the liver with chopped onion in oil, then chop it with hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise.
Dave made his according to my recipe, but since he didn't have enough schmaltz, he used some mayonnaise as well.
Yesterday was grand, highlighted by a gathering of "ladies who Lunch," which is how I think of our monthly meeting at the Jolly Fisherman restaurant. There were nine of us yesterday, and we chatted about movies, books, what we're doing, etc. Lovely and lively. Florence will be leaving this mornign for Florida for three months, and we will miss her.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Chopped Liver
Sorry dear friends and family, not to be posting every day. Just to let you know that when I don't write it means not much is happening, just the usual work and such.
The best parts are phone calls, emails and iChats. On days that I don't leave the house, these contacts keep me happy. I am going to "ladies who lunch" today at the Jolly Fisherman. I so look forward to our monthly gathering. I hope the little snow we had today won't deter anyone from coming.
The blood counts came out pretty well the other day, and I don't have to return to the hem for 2 weeks! That's when Merwin goes to see why his platelets have gone up so much, over 600. My WBC is down to 111 (a far cry from 150+) but still high; and the platelets are over 100: 106 to be exact. So our Dr. K will contact Dr. Raza to see if I can start on the INCYTE trial or whether I have to wait till I am off the prednisone, which I am slowly tapering, 1/2 pill per week (this week 3 and 1/2; next week 3, etc.). The prednisone is giving me nice round cheeks and has increased my weight. And so it goes.
The biggest problem is the damage I did myself to my rib, which is still very painful, right through the codeine I am taking around the clock. Why, of why, did I do that to myself? I think I would be back at the gym if it weren't for my misstep.
I was delighted to hear from Alan and Randy yesterday who gave me encouragement to return to SPIN. I think I will try it soon.
Dave asks for my mother's chopped liver recipe. I am attaching Harvey's mother-in-law's recipe for mock chopped liver as being the healthier option, and quite good. But I also have the recipes for my mother's as well as the recipe for schmaltz. We used a hand grinder to chop the liver, but a hand chopping blade and wooden bowl will also work (after you remove the tough bits from the liver). I suppose the Cuisinart will work also.
Mock Chopped Liver—Lee Stein
3-4 hard-boiled egg whites or whole eggs with yolks.
The best parts are phone calls, emails and iChats. On days that I don't leave the house, these contacts keep me happy. I am going to "ladies who lunch" today at the Jolly Fisherman. I so look forward to our monthly gathering. I hope the little snow we had today won't deter anyone from coming.
The blood counts came out pretty well the other day, and I don't have to return to the hem for 2 weeks! That's when Merwin goes to see why his platelets have gone up so much, over 600. My WBC is down to 111 (a far cry from 150+) but still high; and the platelets are over 100: 106 to be exact. So our Dr. K will contact Dr. Raza to see if I can start on the INCYTE trial or whether I have to wait till I am off the prednisone, which I am slowly tapering, 1/2 pill per week (this week 3 and 1/2; next week 3, etc.). The prednisone is giving me nice round cheeks and has increased my weight. And so it goes.
The biggest problem is the damage I did myself to my rib, which is still very painful, right through the codeine I am taking around the clock. Why, of why, did I do that to myself? I think I would be back at the gym if it weren't for my misstep.
I was delighted to hear from Alan and Randy yesterday who gave me encouragement to return to SPIN. I think I will try it soon.
Dave asks for my mother's chopped liver recipe. I am attaching Harvey's mother-in-law's recipe for mock chopped liver as being the healthier option, and quite good. But I also have the recipes for my mother's as well as the recipe for schmaltz. We used a hand grinder to chop the liver, but a hand chopping blade and wooden bowl will also work (after you remove the tough bits from the liver). I suppose the Cuisinart will work also.
Mock Chopped Liver—Lee Stein
3-4 hard-boiled egg whites or whole eggs with yolks.
1 C chopped walnuts (pecans work all right too)
8 oz cooked green beans—cooked till quite soft, approx 15 min. in microwave; use a box of the frozen.
3 heaping C onions sliced, sautéed in oil until almost brown and very soft. 2 packages of the frozen, chopped onions, work OK. Just sauté slowly so that all the moisture evaporates.
Add paprika to onions while they are cooking.
Blend everything in food processor
Salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
This actually tastes pretty good to someone who doesn't eat meat, and is even passable for those who do.
Real Chopped Liver—my mom's
Broil a pound more or less of chicken livers or calves liver until no longer bloody but not dry and hard.
Sauté onions in schmaltz (chicken fat) until very soft and yellow. Is this just as good without schmaltz? I think purists would say “no,” but if there is a cholesterol problems best go with regular sweet oil (Canola) or olive oil.
Hard boil three to four eggs.
Grind all in a food grinder and add salt and lots of pepper. Or hand chop. A Cuisinart may work too, but do not grind until mushy. Add schmaltz until the mix has a fairly smooth consistency. Some chunkiness is better than too smooth.
How much of each ingredient? probably about equal amounts of liver and onions.
Schmaltz (chicken fat)
Tear off pieces of fat from chickens as you use them and keep frozen until you have at least a cup or two of fat.
Render the fat in a pan with about an equal amount of onion, cut into thin slices, halved.
Slowly heat the fat and onions over a small flame being careful not to let the mixture burn. The onion will turn golden, then brown. A small solid bit of fat will get crisp and hard: these are the cracklings or grieven in Yiddish. Strain the mix over cheese cloth. The liquid portion is the schmaltz. This will keep for a long time in the refrigerator where it will solidify. The cracklings and onions can be added to the chopped liver or they are wonderful in mashed potatoes.
I am going on memory, because I have not had meat for years and years.
Lots of love to all,
Bernice
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Good medical news
Dear Friends and Family,
Again, this is mostly medical, so skip it if this bores you.
The CT-scan on Mon. showed some good things, not revealed by the x-ray. We got the report yesterday both from Dr. Janus, the pulmonologist, and from Dr. Kurzina, the hem. The lung condition is definitely improving, the clouds diminishing. And though the failure of the various cultures precluded absolute identification of the pneumonia, the very fact that the cultures did not "take" points to PCP, which is the least worrisome, evidently, of possible pneumonias. I am still on the Bactrim and am tapering down on the prednisone, which is giving me apple cheeks and increasing my weight. I am not sure is a further open-chest biopsy will be necessary: perhaps not.
The other good news is that no cracks show in the rib where I fell on Sunday, and that means no danger to the spleen from that event. But it is very painful, and I am taking strong meds for pain, which have their own downside. Sleeping is difficult. I got an additional pain med for night only, but it didn't seem to help much. But this too will pass.
Another piece of good news is that my platelets are up to about 100, the point at which I could be considered for the INCYTE trial. I am eager to try anything that might reduce the spleen size: it is bigger than ever. For Merwin, though, the platelet count has gone up to the 600s, and Dr. K., is concerned about this rise and will see him again in two weeks. If they don't go down, he'll have to take more Hydrea, the chemo that keeps things under control.
We both got our H1N1 shots too. No problem with that so far. OK, that should be it for doctors for this whole week, except I have to phone to see what my WBC (white blood count) is, which will determine when I have to see my hem. again.
Yesterday was Tuesday, free movie day. We got closed out of the Meryl Streep movie, our 1st choice, and decided to see Nine instead. The credits did not come on till the end, and it was fun trying to recognize all the actors in this strange movie, including Judy Dench, Daniel Day Lewis, Sophia Loren and many others. It's a musical, and even Ms. Dench had a musical number. We didn't like it much, however, and can't recommend it. I wonder what others think of it.
Notice that there are no recipes recently; very quiet here on the cooking front.
Love to all,
Bernice
Again, this is mostly medical, so skip it if this bores you.
The CT-scan on Mon. showed some good things, not revealed by the x-ray. We got the report yesterday both from Dr. Janus, the pulmonologist, and from Dr. Kurzina, the hem. The lung condition is definitely improving, the clouds diminishing. And though the failure of the various cultures precluded absolute identification of the pneumonia, the very fact that the cultures did not "take" points to PCP, which is the least worrisome, evidently, of possible pneumonias. I am still on the Bactrim and am tapering down on the prednisone, which is giving me apple cheeks and increasing my weight. I am not sure is a further open-chest biopsy will be necessary: perhaps not.
The other good news is that no cracks show in the rib where I fell on Sunday, and that means no danger to the spleen from that event. But it is very painful, and I am taking strong meds for pain, which have their own downside. Sleeping is difficult. I got an additional pain med for night only, but it didn't seem to help much. But this too will pass.
Another piece of good news is that my platelets are up to about 100, the point at which I could be considered for the INCYTE trial. I am eager to try anything that might reduce the spleen size: it is bigger than ever. For Merwin, though, the platelet count has gone up to the 600s, and Dr. K., is concerned about this rise and will see him again in two weeks. If they don't go down, he'll have to take more Hydrea, the chemo that keeps things under control.
We both got our H1N1 shots too. No problem with that so far. OK, that should be it for doctors for this whole week, except I have to phone to see what my WBC (white blood count) is, which will determine when I have to see my hem. again.
Yesterday was Tuesday, free movie day. We got closed out of the Meryl Streep movie, our 1st choice, and decided to see Nine instead. The credits did not come on till the end, and it was fun trying to recognize all the actors in this strange movie, including Judy Dench, Daniel Day Lewis, Sophia Loren and many others. It's a musical, and even Ms. Dench had a musical number. We didn't like it much, however, and can't recommend it. I wonder what others think of it.
Notice that there are no recipes recently; very quiet here on the cooking front.
Love to all,
Bernice
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Dr. Janus and lots of medical info
Dear Friends and Family,
Skip this post if you are not interested in the medical aspects of my life. I'll get back to more interesting stuff later.
Yesterday we saw Dr. Janus, the pulmonologist, a delightful young woman. Unfortunately the xray taken in her office showed not much improvement, if any, of the lung condition. The clouds are still there, somewhat fainter in one section, but with new tendrils reaching up towards the top. Still she has to judge by my condition: I can breathe, my oxygenation level is OK, and things are much better than they were when I had to go to the hospital. So my condition has improved. The sad thing is that none of the cultures "took," so there is still no way to know precisely what I have in my lungs. A further procedure will probably be necessary, what is called an open-chest biopsy, which is not as bad as it sounds: it's done arthroscopically (sp.?), but it requires a hospital stay of two days.
Dr. Janus sent us right over to the imagining facility to get another CT-scan, this one without the dye, not only to see better what the clouds were doing but also to check that the rib (which I crashed into on Sunday) did not affect the spleen. Since I was told nothing immediately after the scan, I assume the rib is not cracked and that the spleen has not been damaged. If it were, I'd probably have to be admitted into the hospital. Damage to this huge spleen could be serious. We took the CD of the CT-scan home to make a copy for Harvey and his colleagues at Yale, and we will have a report today when we see Dr. Kurzina, the hematologist.
Today I started to reduce the amount of prednisone. The good thing about this med is that it makes me gain weight, and I had gotten a little too thin. Also it enhances my energy level: yesterday I did not need a single rest in bed. But taking less is better in the long run.
The rib is extremely painful, and was so especially during the night. It's very hard to move around, bend, do the most mundane tasks. Why oh why did I have to make that stupid move on Sunday?
Nevertheless, I cannot help but feel good about progress in my work, both on the hamletworks.org website and Measure for Measure. Sitting quietly at my computer, working, I can forget about the pain (Hydrocodone helps too!). I am thinking about essays I want to write, both those I have committed to already and others that are waiting in the wings. I look forward with pleasure to seeing friends and family. Pollyanna rises again!
Love to all,
Bernice
Skip this post if you are not interested in the medical aspects of my life. I'll get back to more interesting stuff later.
Yesterday we saw Dr. Janus, the pulmonologist, a delightful young woman. Unfortunately the xray taken in her office showed not much improvement, if any, of the lung condition. The clouds are still there, somewhat fainter in one section, but with new tendrils reaching up towards the top. Still she has to judge by my condition: I can breathe, my oxygenation level is OK, and things are much better than they were when I had to go to the hospital. So my condition has improved. The sad thing is that none of the cultures "took," so there is still no way to know precisely what I have in my lungs. A further procedure will probably be necessary, what is called an open-chest biopsy, which is not as bad as it sounds: it's done arthroscopically (sp.?), but it requires a hospital stay of two days.
Dr. Janus sent us right over to the imagining facility to get another CT-scan, this one without the dye, not only to see better what the clouds were doing but also to check that the rib (which I crashed into on Sunday) did not affect the spleen. Since I was told nothing immediately after the scan, I assume the rib is not cracked and that the spleen has not been damaged. If it were, I'd probably have to be admitted into the hospital. Damage to this huge spleen could be serious. We took the CD of the CT-scan home to make a copy for Harvey and his colleagues at Yale, and we will have a report today when we see Dr. Kurzina, the hematologist.
Today I started to reduce the amount of prednisone. The good thing about this med is that it makes me gain weight, and I had gotten a little too thin. Also it enhances my energy level: yesterday I did not need a single rest in bed. But taking less is better in the long run.
The rib is extremely painful, and was so especially during the night. It's very hard to move around, bend, do the most mundane tasks. Why oh why did I have to make that stupid move on Sunday?
Nevertheless, I cannot help but feel good about progress in my work, both on the hamletworks.org website and Measure for Measure. Sitting quietly at my computer, working, I can forget about the pain (Hydrocodone helps too!). I am thinking about essays I want to write, both those I have committed to already and others that are waiting in the wings. I look forward with pleasure to seeing friends and family. Pollyanna rises again!
Love to all,
Bernice
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Oh, she flew through the air . . .
Dear friends and family,
I didn't tell you about the wonderful grab bar Merwin installed in the bathroom, so that I could help myself up from the toilet, probably because I didn't want you all to know that I actually needed such a thing to help me rise. He ordered it from Amazon.com and drilled holes in the tile through the wood behind the tile to mount it—quite a job. But what a help! Every time I use it, I bless him, silently and aloud. So then why oh why did I attempt today to rise without grabbing it? Who knows. Anyway, I found myself tilting as I rose, couldn't right myself, and sort of flew through the air, in the small space of the bathroom, and crashed rib first into the standing scale at the other end, a couple of feet away. Ow! Why didn't I use the grab bar that time when it would have made such a difference? Hurry, I guess. I don't know if I have cracked the rib, but at least I didn't smash the spleen, inches away from the rib. That would have been a real disaster.
We were just on our way to see Avatar when this happened, so I took two Tylenol and off we went, Dave driving. I can't say too much about my joy in seeing this movie. We saw it is 4K resolution, the best available, and the emotion I feel comes from my admiration for the beauty of the piece. Early on my tears flowed and continued throughout. No one, least of all I, can take my tears very seriously, because I cry very easily—at anything sad, beautiful, rich, at anything that marks a supreme artistry, anything awe-inspiring. This movie was all of that. The story is simple and evocative; the execution amazing.
My friend Toby in a recent email extolled the movie Precious and asserted that this is the kind of movie she wants to see: difficult but meaningful, and she added that she had no wish to see Avatar, I guess because it is unreal. It's about as unreal as Hamlet or as any of the works of art that one stands before amazed at MoMA.
Last night we saw a movie on TV, The Soloist, about Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless schizophrenic man who loves Beethoven and is discovered playing on a 2-string violin by a reporter. You probably have heard of it? A true story, and a very sad one indeed. One cannot compare these two movies, really (the only likeness for me is that they both made me cry but that hardly counts), but Avatar is a perfect work of art, and the other is not. I would be happy to see Avatar again. I never want to see The Soloist again.
***
Yesterday, my friend Florence sent over some great veggie soup she had made, and I sent her some spinach pancakes. Fun to have a friend in the neighborhood who is also a member of our synagogue and a classmate at the JCC exercise classes. I am sad that she and her husband Dave are leaving for Florida on Sat. for three months!
Tomorrow we see the Pulmonologist, and I start on the antibiotic 1 pill 3x a week instead of 4x a day around the clock. It was hard sometimes to coordinate the pill time with sleeping and waking, so I am glad that is over. I think she will take a x-ray to see if the clouds in my lungs are gone or at least diminished. I still am a bit breathless if I talk too much, especially on the phone. But yesterday I registered for the Shakespeare Association of America meeting in Chicago April 1st-3rd. I am going to continue to look forward until forced to stop. So though my motto is one day at a time, always, I also plan ahead as if the pleasure will come to pass; in this way, I can enjoy the anticipation and perhaps also the fulfillment.
Finally, I can add that my work on Measure for Measure is going well. I like writing the explanatory notes for students, being careful to be tactful and helpful rather than oppressively scholarly. I want students to feel that they can do this; they can read and enjoy the play. And there continues to be progress on hamletworks.org, including stimulating discussions with colleagues via email. So life is good.
Love to you all,
Bernice
I didn't tell you about the wonderful grab bar Merwin installed in the bathroom, so that I could help myself up from the toilet, probably because I didn't want you all to know that I actually needed such a thing to help me rise. He ordered it from Amazon.com and drilled holes in the tile through the wood behind the tile to mount it—quite a job. But what a help! Every time I use it, I bless him, silently and aloud. So then why oh why did I attempt today to rise without grabbing it? Who knows. Anyway, I found myself tilting as I rose, couldn't right myself, and sort of flew through the air, in the small space of the bathroom, and crashed rib first into the standing scale at the other end, a couple of feet away. Ow! Why didn't I use the grab bar that time when it would have made such a difference? Hurry, I guess. I don't know if I have cracked the rib, but at least I didn't smash the spleen, inches away from the rib. That would have been a real disaster.
We were just on our way to see Avatar when this happened, so I took two Tylenol and off we went, Dave driving. I can't say too much about my joy in seeing this movie. We saw it is 4K resolution, the best available, and the emotion I feel comes from my admiration for the beauty of the piece. Early on my tears flowed and continued throughout. No one, least of all I, can take my tears very seriously, because I cry very easily—at anything sad, beautiful, rich, at anything that marks a supreme artistry, anything awe-inspiring. This movie was all of that. The story is simple and evocative; the execution amazing.
My friend Toby in a recent email extolled the movie Precious and asserted that this is the kind of movie she wants to see: difficult but meaningful, and she added that she had no wish to see Avatar, I guess because it is unreal. It's about as unreal as Hamlet or as any of the works of art that one stands before amazed at MoMA.
Last night we saw a movie on TV, The Soloist, about Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless schizophrenic man who loves Beethoven and is discovered playing on a 2-string violin by a reporter. You probably have heard of it? A true story, and a very sad one indeed. One cannot compare these two movies, really (the only likeness for me is that they both made me cry but that hardly counts), but Avatar is a perfect work of art, and the other is not. I would be happy to see Avatar again. I never want to see The Soloist again.
***
Yesterday, my friend Florence sent over some great veggie soup she had made, and I sent her some spinach pancakes. Fun to have a friend in the neighborhood who is also a member of our synagogue and a classmate at the JCC exercise classes. I am sad that she and her husband Dave are leaving for Florida on Sat. for three months!
Tomorrow we see the Pulmonologist, and I start on the antibiotic 1 pill 3x a week instead of 4x a day around the clock. It was hard sometimes to coordinate the pill time with sleeping and waking, so I am glad that is over. I think she will take a x-ray to see if the clouds in my lungs are gone or at least diminished. I still am a bit breathless if I talk too much, especially on the phone. But yesterday I registered for the Shakespeare Association of America meeting in Chicago April 1st-3rd. I am going to continue to look forward until forced to stop. So though my motto is one day at a time, always, I also plan ahead as if the pleasure will come to pass; in this way, I can enjoy the anticipation and perhaps also the fulfillment.
Finally, I can add that my work on Measure for Measure is going well. I like writing the explanatory notes for students, being careful to be tactful and helpful rather than oppressively scholarly. I want students to feel that they can do this; they can read and enjoy the play. And there continues to be progress on hamletworks.org, including stimulating discussions with colleagues via email. So life is good.
Love to you all,
Bernice
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Long time, no post
Dear Friends and family,
It's been a couple of days since I have written, probably because nothing much is happening beyond the usual:
Trying to keep track of the antibiotic I have to take 4x a day around the clock, missing the right time in spite of setting a timer, catching up. I must write down everything or I don't know what I am doing. Today is the last day of round-the-clock. From here on I take 1 pill on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until they are gone. No more setting an alarm to get up in the middle of the night.
Recipes to try: spinach pancakes a new way, made simply with fresh spinach cut up, eggs and grated parmigiana cheese. Also the plain kind, omitting the cheese. I had that for breakfast this morning. Delicious. The cheese makes the pancakes especially crispy. I put many in the freezer where they can be used for sandwiches or side dishes.
Thursday evening we had an impromptu supper with Laury at Wild Fig, where lentil soup was the chief attraction. I tried my best to get to sleep before midnight, but didn't quite make it. Friday, Sylvia and Marty came, bearing lunch, and we spent a pleasant couple of hours together.
Otherwise, it has been work at the computer, and lots of emails to answer and send. The good news is that distant friends are in our future. Our dear friend Jesús Tronch is coming from Valencia to the Shakespeare Meeting in April, and will stop here on his way. The fates willing, Merwin and I will then go with him to the meeting in Chicago. That's a big IF, I know, but planning ahead is part of how I keep this smile on my face. Even sooner, another Spanish friend, José Ramón, will be visiting us when he is in residence at the Folger Library.
I have a paper on Measure for Measure to write for the Shakespeare conference. But my main work now is two-fold: entering data on our website hamletworks.org and thinking about it as I enter it, and crafting notes for students who might be bewildered about some of the wording in Measure for Measure without swamping them with information. I am trying to be tactful, helpful without being superior. I try to give students the feeling that they can read Shakespeare.
And so it goes. It's lovely to hear from you via email. Please do write to let me know how you are.
Love to all,
Bernice
It's been a couple of days since I have written, probably because nothing much is happening beyond the usual:
Trying to keep track of the antibiotic I have to take 4x a day around the clock, missing the right time in spite of setting a timer, catching up. I must write down everything or I don't know what I am doing. Today is the last day of round-the-clock. From here on I take 1 pill on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until they are gone. No more setting an alarm to get up in the middle of the night.
Recipes to try: spinach pancakes a new way, made simply with fresh spinach cut up, eggs and grated parmigiana cheese. Also the plain kind, omitting the cheese. I had that for breakfast this morning. Delicious. The cheese makes the pancakes especially crispy. I put many in the freezer where they can be used for sandwiches or side dishes.
Thursday evening we had an impromptu supper with Laury at Wild Fig, where lentil soup was the chief attraction. I tried my best to get to sleep before midnight, but didn't quite make it. Friday, Sylvia and Marty came, bearing lunch, and we spent a pleasant couple of hours together.
Otherwise, it has been work at the computer, and lots of emails to answer and send. The good news is that distant friends are in our future. Our dear friend Jesús Tronch is coming from Valencia to the Shakespeare Meeting in April, and will stop here on his way. The fates willing, Merwin and I will then go with him to the meeting in Chicago. That's a big IF, I know, but planning ahead is part of how I keep this smile on my face. Even sooner, another Spanish friend, José Ramón, will be visiting us when he is in residence at the Folger Library.
I have a paper on Measure for Measure to write for the Shakespeare conference. But my main work now is two-fold: entering data on our website hamletworks.org and thinking about it as I enter it, and crafting notes for students who might be bewildered about some of the wording in Measure for Measure without swamping them with information. I am trying to be tactful, helpful without being superior. I try to give students the feeling that they can read Shakespeare.
And so it goes. It's lovely to hear from you via email. Please do write to let me know how you are.
Love to all,
Bernice
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