General Update, with Bullet Points!!!

[restoman]

• This morning I completed my 41st radiation treatment. There are only 4 more to go. The last one will be on Monday the 3rd. (The clinic is closed on Friday for New Year's Eve.) I will be very glad when this is over!
  
  
• Covid seems to be hitting closer and closer to home! I spoke with my sister (who lives in Spokane, WA) on Christmas. She told me that she had a mild case of Covid a month ago. This was a breakthrough case, as she had had two vaccine shots before and her booster shot just a week before getting sick. Linnell is a social butterfly, a total extrovert, I am very much the opposite, an introvert. She has had a busy Fall schedule of parties and social events, so it was not too surprising that she would catch Covid. Fortunately her case was mild, and she has had no long term consequences. Her youngest daughter, who lives in Tucson, also came down with Covid this Fall. She too had been fully vaccinated, and only had a mild case, from which she has fully recovered. Her oldest daughter, Alida, and her husband, Patrick both had Covid last Winter, just as the vaccines were coming out. They were both hit hard by it, but have since recovered and gotten the vaccine.
  
  My middle niece lives in Australia, with her husband. Both of them are fully vaccinated, but decided to visit their family here for Christmas. They have already visited with Alida and Patrick in New York City. and are on their way to Savannah, Georgia where they will meet up with my sister, Linnell. Then they plan to go to New Orleans. They will be in the US for a whole month, when Covid cases are spiking again. I worry that they will either get Covid here or possibly have problems going back home to Melbourne in January because of the pandemic. I decided not to attempt to meet up with my sister or nieces this Christmas. I need to stay in Syracuse for the radiation treatments, and besides, it is just too risky to do a lot of traveling right now.
  
  
• My friend, the architect, whose roof we tarped recently, called me from the hospital a week ago to tell me that he had both Covid and the Flu. He is home, and recovering now, but before he got sick I spoke with him in person about his roof. Christmas Eve I started feeling sick: headache, sore throat, body aches and congestion (but no fever). I decided to take a Covid at-home test. I had fortunately picked one up a month ago, when they were still easy to find in the stores. I took the test twice: the first time in the evening on the 25th, the second time this morning (on the 27th). Both tests came out negative, so I think what I have is just a run-of-the-mill winter cold. YAY!!!
  
  
• I had planned to make a turkey, with stuffing , gravy, and pumpkin pie for Christmas Day dinner. It would have been just for Ricky and myself, but I was not feeling up to all the work. Besides, the turkey needed more time to fully defrost. I felt a bit better last night, and made two pumpkin pies. Today I made the stuffing and started roasting the turkey at 4:30 PM. Ricky and I had a wonderful turkey dinner at 9 PM tonight. I am feeling very stuffed myself, now! :-)
  
  
• I have posted my stuffing and pumpkin pie recipes here before, but I don't think I have ever posted the gravy recipe. So, here it is in case any of you need a good gravy recipe, and in case I forget it and need to find it again myself.
  
  PERFECT TURKEY or CHICKEN GRAVY
  Finely mince: half a cup of Onion, one small carrot (about half a cup), and 4 to 6 white mushrooms (about a cup) and add them into the juices in the bottom of the roasting pan at least an hour before the turkey or chicken will be done. Also add a quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper. When the turkey or chicken is done, remove it from the roaster pan and put it on a platter. Carefully pour all of the juices and minced vegetables into a gravy separator that has a built in colander. I use an Oxo gravy separator, which I love for this purpose. Discard the vegetables, or save them to add to a stock pot or soup later. The fat will rise to the top and the juices will remain at the bottom. Pour the juices and about 2 Tablespoons of the fat into a large skillet, and heat on the stove top at 'medium'. In a jar with a lid (I use an empty tomato sauce jar), combine one cup of milk with 2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour, and shake well. [Optionally: add a packet of McCormick Turkey Gravy to the jar. It will make an even richer and thicker gravy, and the pouches are only $1.] As the meat juices start to boil in the skillet, stir in the flour/milk/gravy mix a little at a time, stirring constantly. When all of the jar has been added to the skillet, continue boiling and stirring for a few minutes. Turn off heat and pour the gravy into a serving bowl.
  
  The key to making a good gravy (or most sauces) is to use an equal amount of fat (or butter), and flour. This same recipe can be adapted to most meats. Never simply add flour to the simmering meat juices, as this will make a lumpy gravy.