Last Tuesday I realised I was really craving a particular food item, not one I eat much and in fact I couldn’t actually recall the last time I’d eaten it. Macaroni cheese. I looked on the menu, the menu from which my regular menu selection for lunch and tea were cream crackers and spread cheese, and scoured it unsuccessfully for macaroni cheese. So my Auntie Ann brought me something in.
The following morning when the catering assistant (CA) came round to take lunch orders and produced a NEW menu I said…
‘Cheese and crackers’.
CA: ‘It’s new!’
Me: ‘As in – it’s been reprinted with Autumn/Winter 2011/12 on the front?’
CA: ‘No, there’s new stuff on it such as brunch.’ (This turns out to be a somewhat dubious collection of items that may once have been on a shelf near items that would usually be encompassed by a full English breakfast.)
Me: ‘Mmmmmmmmm.’
CA: ‘Right, well you can have them for your lunch on the basis you have to order something off the menu for your tea.’
Me: ‘Okay.’ – thinking ‘hehe I should be at home anyway’
On B’s shopping list for Thursday morning were the relevant culinary items but of course I felt just a tad like not making in for tea. So on Friday after leaving the Royal we called at a shop opposite and I got a frozen mac and cheese (I believe that may be the US terminology) and it sucked. Come Sunday night I felt well enough to give it a whirl, well I felt well enough initially but then it took me ages but ended up dishing it out while I had a sit down. This too sucked. I think I may have just been too tired to enjoy it as B said it was fine – even though he’d not wanted it in the first place.
So yesterday, when I felt properly hungry for the first time in ages, I thought what the heck let’s give it a whirl – I can always get something brought in. I didn’t know what to expect especially considering the way things seem to be heated up I expected something paler looking than I am. However it arrived with a definite colouring of grilled cheese colour to the top. I tentatively poked it with my fork and then gave it an experimental stab (nothing seemed to be moving) and them I ate it – I ATE IT ALL!!!!! The first hot meal at the Royal that I have ever eaten – actually the first meal as I couldn’t even make it through a salad. The addition of yellow mustard seeds was, I thought unusual and although visually pleasing they’re a sod when you get them stuck between your teeth. It was pointed out to me by Auntie Ann that if I wasn’t such a smart alec I could have had it last Wednesday.
I had more today but it was slightly more, I’m gonna go with set, and as the catering assistant said ‘You can have too much of a good thing’ – so tomorrow we are entering the wild world of haddock fish cake with cheesy wedges.
And now for the non food related stuff – I’m still tired but generally not feeling unwell as such, I’m eating more, I’ve done some knitting but it’s lace and I really need to concentrate so it doesn’t mix well with visitors, needing a nap or getting approximately 350 antibiotic infusions a day or rather seemingly continuous. The ultrasound on my heart appeared okay – the doctor hadn’t seen the report when he saw me earlier today but the radiographer said to me ‘I’ll do a report. Everything looks fine but I will look at it in more detail later.’ He still thinks it is an infection but honestly doesn’t know where, he’s going to discuss it with a microbiologist and there may be the need for a interesting little test involving a camera down my throat which would take a more detailed ultrasound of my heart – there’s something to look forward to – so let’s all say it together SEDATION.
