2-year anniversary

[pkcrossley]

canoli. i don't actually know what it is! but some people like it. you could remind her that canolies are actually made in the kitchen with what i believe are ingredients that can be acquired even in the twee UK. that is even true for... cheesesteak. 

 

we all know what it is like to have somebody laid up in hospital, and you and lola are doing great. i hope autumn returns home stat.

[josie&holly]

Good to hear Autumn will be home soon even if she has to go back next week! Take care of each other and Lola behave yourself!

[Dempsy's Mom]

Love Autumn's spirit.  Sticking out her tongue, "hell hole", lost fingers, the possibility of other lost parts .... I would say that if there is the slightest chance of discharging her they will.   but they may lock the doors behind her.   .. just kidding.  Tell Lola that you will bring her back a treat when to leave to pick up Autumn - she will be so excited to see mom when you return.  Can't wait to hear that she is back home.

Edited January 23, 2014 by Dempsy's Mom

[hheldorfer]

Great news, Nick! I agree with Dempsy's Mom - they probably want to send Autumn home just as much as Autumn wants to go home. She's one of those feisty gals that they'd prefer to have out of their hair.

Tell Autumn we'll be expecting a post as soon as she gets home, settles down and receives suitable greetings from you and Lola. Hugs to all of you!

[Autumn & Lola]

Hello everybody!

 

It is ME!  I am home! Woo-hooooooooo!   They let me out (threw me out) earlier than expected, and I am thrilled. I was not looking forward to spending another night there!

 

Nick has ordered in, so I am waiting for some food. I am actually quite hungry now but have to take it easy.  Just some soup for me. I will be back later to read all these wonderful messages again later tonight.

 

THANK YOU EVERYONE for all your WONDERFUL, SWEET AND SUPPORTIVE messages!  Thank you ALSO, for being so sweet to my terrific husband!

 

Lola tackled me when I came through the door!

 

Love to all....... I'll be back later to bug everybody.

Autumn

[jo_]

Welcome back Autumn!!! So glad to hear you're home earlier than expected. You've been missed by many! Enjoy your soup and take care of yourself. Wishing you all the best. 

[Hillscreek]

Good news. Now Lola can get back to seeing you are properly nursed.

[Sam I Am]

I bet you are soooooooooooo happy to be back home Autumn! Nick and Lola and soup...what more can a gal need or want! 

[pkcrossley]

good work. hope the door didn't hit you on the way out. lola must be walking on air.

[Lynn in TN]

I'm so glad to see this post. I needed some great news today.  I can imagine Lola and Nick are glad you're home.

[hheldorfer]

Welcome home, girlfriend! Thank heavens Lola has her mummy back, Nick has his *silly cabbage* back and the nurses at the hospital don't have to worry about the crazy American lady any more.

[Autumn & Lola]

Hi again!

 

Very tired right now but just wanted to say how very touched I was by all the messages. As Nick said, he printed them out and brought them to me and I was just overwhelmed! It really helped me a lot to read them and know you were all rooting for me.

 

I just wanted to say that the reason I had him report on this forum and another was because of a couple past experiences. I'm sure we've all had friendships online, or had forum friends who just suddenly disappeared, sometimes for short or long periods, or maybe never heard from again. I don't think that it is fair to do to people with whom you've shared your life for a few years, because people do worry, even if you've never met. 

 

Nick told you what I was up to so I have no stories to tell! LOL!  I think he embellished a bit. Haha! One nurse said she never laughed so much, so they didn't all want me to leave.

 

Little Nurse Lola hasn't left my side all evening. She is now sitting on my feet.

 

Thank you all so very, very much. You are all such wonderful friends.

 

Love & hugs,

Autumn

[tlwtheq]

The Wilk household is smiling!

[Kathryn]

I am SOOOO glad you are home. Stay away from those hospitals - there are sick people there.

 

And remember a cairn in the lap is great for a touchy stomach.  Or, I guess, a Westie!

[kieiras mom]

Welcome home! Know Nick and Lola are very happy for that, as all of us are. Not fun to be in the hospital for either the patient or the family. Stay better.

[Hawkeye]

Welcome home, Autumn! So glad you are back with Nick and Lola, you have a great guy watching over you.

[_whits_]

So glad to hear you're home and also glad to hear our messages brought you comfort! Great to have you back!

[Autumn & Lola]

Thanks again, everyone. You sure have cheered me up these past few days!!  Many, many hugs to you all! 

 

There is no rest for the wicked though.  Back at it today, I managed to bung up the kitchen drain but good. Nick had to take the pipes apart. I was at the ready with the buckets. Lola sneaked up behind me. She wouldn't leave despite me telling her to back away. The water WHOOOOOOOOSHED out, Nick grabbed the first bucket, filled it and passed it to me as I passed him the second one. I ran to the downstairs bathroom to empty the first one. I noticed Lola was hiding under the kitchen table. (Mummy, why is the sink exploding?!)

 

P.S.   Pkcrossley - I suppose I could make cannoli (an Italian dessert), but no way could I make a Philly cheesesteak in England. I am a purist. If it is not on an Amoroso roll, it is *not* a real Philly cheesesteak.

[hheldorfer]

Just what you needed after a vacation at the hospital - plumbing problems!  Good job with the bucket brigade.  

 

Funny you should mention Lola's reaction, though.  Buffy does the same thing when we have any kind of sink problems.  She avoids the area at all costs and won't venture back into the room until she's satisfied that everything is back under control.  Frankly, all the grinding and banging noises that go along with it send me into a dither too.  (Unless I'm the one making all the noise. )

[Dempsy's Mom]

Glad you're all settled in at home. Happy for you all.

[pkcrossley]

ah, i wondered what is the essence of cheesesteak, i see it is amoroso roll whatever that is. obviously the fengshui in england would not be right.

[pkcrossley]

been doing some reading about the peculiar impossibility of getting genuine philly cheesesteak in the UK. very sad. somebody suggested a subway sub. distant second, obviously.

[hheldorfer]

I've been searching for the elusive cheesesteak too.  Thought maybe you could have them shipped, but it's not cost-effective for shipments to the UK.  Yikes - one place offers genuine Philly cheesteak sandwiches for shipment but only one of them costs $75 and that's before the shipping charge.  I guess you'd have to be a real addict to take that deal.

 

Something obviously needs to be done.  We must convince someone in the UK to open a philly cheesesteak joint stocked with Amoroso rolls, preferably within a short drive of Autumn's house.  I bet an army of Cairns storming up the beach would convince them . . .

[Autumn & Lola]

Yes, it is a sad, sad state of affairs!  Forget hoagies, too. They are nowhere near the original. Subway is worse here than it is in the US.

 

An Amoroso roll is just a hoagie/sub/cheesesteak roll from Amoroso Bakery. Best rolls in the world.

 

It is funny as there is a place not far from my house that supposedly serves American fare. I've been there three times, and nothing I've eaten there has come close. There was once a food stand in Leeds (actually an old converted American school bus) that offered various American sandwiches, but unfortunately we had just eaten so I didn't get to try anything.

 

As far as getting something shipped - yes, it's a fortune. My aunt once shipped a hoagie and a cheesesteak to me and the ex in Alabama and it was $38.  This was about 12 years ago, when the same would have cost about $8 total in Philly.

 

No Tastykakes, either.   No Crystal Light. No Pennsylvania Dutch egg noodles. No "sloppy joe" mix. No ranch dressing. It's very hard to find Provolone cheese. Mozzarella is packaged in a big bag of water.   I could go on and on (as you all well know).  Now if one wants french fries/"chips" at every meal, or an Indian take-out place on every corner, well then, England's the place to be.

 

I know it's pure crap, but once a month we go to McDonald's for dinner. I feel a certain calm there, like one does at a spa. I feel I am at home when we visit the "mothership".

 

That said, I do love England. However, the culinary capital of the world, it most certainly is not.

 

Oh! One last thing (I promise!) - When you get a sandwich here in a cafe or wherever, you will almost certainly get one measly slice of meat, and one measly slice of cheese (cut in two) on a large roll which is spread with butter  , no matter what meat is on the roll. Sometimes it is spread with pickled cauliflower. IF you get a piece of wilted lettuce and some sickly tomato chunks, consider yourself lucky. For this they charge the equivalent of about $7. 

 

So....why haven't I lost any weight here?

 

Back to business, guys and dolls! I've taken up too much space already (I'm talking figuratively now, on the forum.) 

[hheldorfer]

Pickled cauliflower on a sandwich?  Blech!

 

Buffy says this is an appalling travesty.  We need to send you a care package or, preferably, fly to England with suitcases full of Crystal Lite, Tastykakes, egg noodles and ranch dressing.  And sloppy joe mix - do you prefer the canned or dry?