Growing Old With Dignity

[Larry Caldwell]

Salmon for me. High in Omega 3 fatty acids. Three or four times a week. 15 minutes prep/cook time always under $6.

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Yep. Coho is one of my favorite fish. If you don't cook it to death, it's delightful. East Coasters and supermarket shoppers think Atlantic salmon is a salmon, but it's just a jumped up trout without much flavor.

There's a true Pacific Northwest cuisine. Start with the best tasting ingredients in the world, then don't over-season or over-cook. Last Thanksgiving we had a seafood feast; a pot of steamer clams, a whole Dungeness crab apiece, a simple salad, and French bread. The only seasoning on the table was lemon butter. Pure PNW gourmet, and it only took about half an hour to steam the clams.

If you want tartar sauce with your seafood, here's my recipe. I don't measure precisely, so each batch is different.

3 parts quality mayo and 1 part cultured sour cream. A couple tbsp. minced sweet onions and a couple tbsp finely chopped home fermented dills. The juice of one lemon. At least a tbsp of minced capers. More doesn't hurt. Add the juice of the caper jar to taste. 1 tbsp dried or minced fresh parsley. Refrigerate for 24 hours. You will never eat that store bought crap again.

One of the joys of growing old with dignity is showing the youn'uns what real food tastes like.

 

[Sysop]

That is very sanctimonious from someone ignorant of the facts.

My parents lived with my wife and I for the last 8-years, we have provided for them both financially and personally for the last 16 years. So please share how you have demonstrated your family first and lived the golden rule with your parents?

Comparing raising kids to caring for parents is typical for someone who has never actually provided daily care for failing family member and/or have not made any preparations for the time when they can no longer care of themselves. Hopefully this discussion has at least started folks to at least consider the inevitable.

Ignorant I am not, are you? I've been through that ringer more than once. Started when I was 16 and my grandfather came to stay with us as he wasn't doing well, he fell ill and had just had to be put on oxygen. My mom was battling cancer and dad worked all the time to keep the heat on and food on the table. My grandfather and mother both got better for a while. My grandfather's main issue was retiring to TV dinners when grandma died 15 years earlier. Staying with us and eating well, he kicked the oxygen and lived another 8 years. Mom was deemed cancer free after a horrible surgery and long bouts of chemo. That lasted for ten years. Nothing prepares you to watch your mom die with cancer.

Caring for each other is what we're meant to do. Young, old, and in-between.

I'm very sorry you're going through what is surely a tough time.

 

[Bird]

After a 70 yrs on this planet I can honestly tell you that I have never, ever, eaten anything that lives in water that I have enjoyed.
An hour after you've eaten...you're hungry again!
What's the point?
Steak? I'm your guy!
Yard Bird? I'll get the plates and flatware.
Fish? No but thanks anyway!
Shrimp, lobster, crab? Nope, but you go ahead.

For a number of years, my Dad fished about 5 days a week at Port Aransas, TX so he kept us supplied with fish, crab, and oysters. And we bought shrimp and scallops at a wholesale place that no longer exists. I wouldn't want seafood myself more than about 4 times a week.:laughing: And my wife mentioned last night that she's having baked fish for supper tonight.

 

[Pontific8]

LOL..I just found this thread and was going to say that, if you hadn't, JDAOWNER .....It HAD to be said, tho! -- This (aging and comensurate loss..of "dignity," etc) IS a painful reality, of which most people are happily oblivious...or in denial, which I visit often via the 'humor train'!!

 

[Pontific8]

WHEN I DIE, I WANT TO GO PEACEFULLY, LIKE MY GRANDFATHER DID. IN HIS SLEEP, NOT YELLING AND SCREAMING LIKE THE PASSENGERS IN HIS CAR.

LOL..I just found this thread and was going to say that, if you hadn't, JDAOWNER .....It HAD to be said, tho! -- This (aging and comensurate loss..of "dignity," etc) IS a painful reality, of which most people are happily oblivious...or in denial, which I visit often via the 'humor train'!!

 

[rekees4300]

LOL..I just found this thread and was going to say that, if you hadn't, JDAOWNER .....It HAD to be said, tho! -- This (aging and comensurate loss..of "dignity," etc) IS a painful reality, of which most people are happily oblivious...or in denial, which I visit often via the 'humor train'!!

You are from Oregon so consider yourself lucky. You have death-with-dignity options other states don't.

 

[goeduck]

After a 70 yrs on this planet I can honestly tell you that I have never, ever, eaten anything that lives in water that I have enjoyed.
An hour after you've eaten...you're hungry again!
What's the point?
Steak? I'm your guy!
Yard Bird? I'll get the plates and flatware.
Fish? No but thanks anyway!
Shrimp, lobster, crab? Nope, but you go ahead.

You did not mention raw oysters.:licking:

 

[dieselcrawler]

I had a dream about my dad two nights ago... been 4 weeks since he passed (see post #100) and this is the first dream Ive had of him. The context of the dream is irrelevant, but what he clearly said means the world to me... "I'm OK now... " I woke up with a smile on my face. I called my mom that morning, and hearing this could not have come at a better time for her, she had a rough night herself, and was nearly sobbing when she answered the phone.

Im not a particularly religious person, but concider myself to be spiritually-aware, and not superstitious but open-minded enough... either way, not someone who pushes my thoughts and beliefs on anybody, take this as you will, I know what it means to me. Dad is OK now...

 

[mark02tj]

I had a dream about my dad two nights ago... been 4 weeks since he passed (see post #100) and this is the first dream Ive had of him. The context of the dream is irrelevant, but what he clearly said means the world to me... "I'm OK now... " I woke up with a smile on my face. I called my mom that morning, and hearing this could not have come at a better time for her, she had a rough night herself, and was nearly sobbing when she answered the phone.

Im not a particularly religious person, but concider myself to be spiritually-aware, and not superstitious but open-minded enough... either way, not someone who pushes my thoughts and beliefs on anybody, take this as you will, I know what it means to me. Dad is OK now...

That's pretty awesome! I'm hoping for the same dream myself. I think we lost our dads within a few days of each other. My dad died on March 28th. I read your post when you wrote it and was moved to tears. You truly did honor your dad by physically laying him to rest. Hopefully I honored my dad as a pallbearer and speaking at his service. God bless you, Greg!!

 

[Tomtint]

I lost my mom a few months ago, haven't really spoken about it as it's still very painful. She battled Alzheimer's for several years and it finally on. It is brutally hard to watch from the sidelines and be helpless no matter how muck you are willing to do or spend. 2 weeks before my mother passed, I was at a friends moms wake, ..she died peacefully in her sleep at home.. I'm not sure what is worse, they never got to say goodbye, where as I got so say goodbye a little at a time and was there when my mom passed. There is no good answer to this in either situation. Me personally, I have always known that I'm not going to live to a ripe old age.. I don't know why.. but I just know it. My wife will be well off when my time comes and she has the genetics to make 100.