Thumb, Exercise Class, Bowling, Parking,

Went to see the surgeon on Wednesday morning. Having Xrayed my poorly thumb, he gave me a menu of options. At the bottom was leave it alone and cope with it for now, then various uses of pain killers, followed by injections which only lasted 3 months, which hurt like hell being administered and would, eventually, become less effective eventually, then another kind of injection which would last about a year, which would also hurt like hell when administered, and, finally, a replacement joint. I didn't know they could do that. In the end I decided it was not really drastic enough for me to go any other way than to leave it alone and, when necessary, take pain pills. Having risen at 6 a.m. this morning, it was all a bit of a waste of time really. I didn't sleep too well either which didn't help matters.

Came home and after lunch I headed down to exercise class. There were only three of us. We are trying to figure out ways to attract others to the classes. I think a lot of people think they can't do them because they perceive exercise as something strenuous and don't realise this is basically gentle exercise designed for seniors. Once upon a time we used to have 13 or 14 participants and now we are down to a fairly small number of regulars. Of course people moving to senior homes or nearer to their kids has taken a toll on our numbers sadly.

We then went to the bowling alley and played a couple of games, I won once and Matt won once. Just about to leave when a woman came in with some very noisy kids. Was glad we weren't staying. I guess the owners don't hear through the tinkling of money. Not that there is much they could do anyway. When we came home, we had to park in the back parking lot as there will be no exit or entry into the underground garage for about 4 hours extending into the time we normally leave for bowling. Not as chilly today as it was yesterday thank goodness. That is a very exposed parking lot. I don't know but assume they will be working on the garage door or something.

Another asparagus recipe, I am beginning to get excited that the season will soon be here. Saw one of the women I buy asparagus for and she is getting all excited too. She is almost as bad as I am about farm fresh  asparagus.

Asparagus, Strawberry and Quinoa Caprese Salad

2 cups cooked quinoa
1 tsp olive oil
30 spears asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper
16 strawberries, sliced (about 12 ounces)
4.5 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh basil

1. Place the cooked quinoa in a large salad bowl.

2. Prepare the balsamic vinaigrette and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once heated, add the asparagus and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the asparagus is bright green and slightly tender, yet still has a little crunch.

4. Add the asparagus to the quinoa. Mix in the strawberries, mozzarella cheese, and the balsamic vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Top the salad with chopped fresh basil.

Servings: 7

Author: Krista
Source: Destination Delish

Have a great day