Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Yellow Tomatoes and Yellow Eyes

My eyes are looking pretty creepy lately. A few days ago, I noticed that I had a couple of dark red spots on the whites of my eyes. I have seen red spots like that before, on someone else. They are usually caused by a blood vessel bursting in the eye. Then, today, Deb looked into my eyes and said that the whites of my eyes are turning yellow. I did have blood drawn at chemo today, but I don't know if part of the bloodwork included liver functions and enzymes or not. I see the chemo doc on Thursday and I will talk to him about it then. Hopefully, I'm not having liver problems due to the chemicals.

My eyes are also feeling pretty weird lately. My eyes feel tired. I'm not sure how else to explain it, except that they feel strained and like they want to rest. Closing my eyes doesn't help this feeling. My vision is almost as if I am looking through slightly imperfect glass, not enough to impare my vision, but enough to let me know that my eyes are tired.

A few hours ago, after my last entry (Eggplant, Tomatoes and Basil...Oh My), I went out to the garden to commune with the bugs, weeds and intentional plants. In early spring, a cilantro plant had voluntarily sprung up in one of the raised beds. I intentionally let it go to seed so that I could could harvest the seed to use as corriander (which I rarely use), but especially so that I could plant it again later to use the yummy leaves in homemade salsa and other tasty treats. (Deb and I found that Cilantro freezes very well and can be used in the dead of winter as a lovely addition to chicken enchilada casserole and other goodies.) I stripped about 2/3 of the seeds from the plant, intentionally sprinkled some in an unused area of one of the veggie beds, and accidentally dropped about 1/4 of the seeds from the plant onto the ground below it. The rest of the seed couldn't fit into the small 2" peat pot that I had grabbed as a containter. Just for kicks, I decided to count the number of seeds that I harvested. I've gotten a little ways into the counting process, but the tiredness of my eyes dictated that I stop for now. I'll let you know later what the results were and why I am so fascinated by them.

I was very tired today after chemo, so I came home, watched tv, then took a nap for about 3 hours. And felt better.

For dinner, I had cottage cheese topped with the most unique tomato I have ever tasted. Our friends, Dolores and Walt, had given us a few plants of an heirloom tomato called "Peach", or something like that. It is a yellow tomato, that when fully ripe, is colored like a peach, with salmon/peach colored streaks running through it. The taste was full and rich and ... sweet. Wow, I've never tasted anything quite like it. It was great. I saved some of the seeds from it and hope to grow some more next year. I think the sweet, low acid taste would be great in spaghetti sauce or other similar dish. It may be a little too sweet for soup, but combined with Brandywines or Jubilees, would probably make a lovely soup or yellow marinara sauce.

5 comments:

  1. Aimee,

    We've soaked sliced peeled eggplant in salt water....takes out the bitterness.

    jacqui

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  2. Thanks Jacqui, I will probably try that. I was hoping to be able to just throw them in the oven and roast them whole for the Baba, but I may need to try the extra step of the salt water.

    Aimee

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  3. Aimee,
    I was just going through my yahoo account and came across this link sent to me. I had NO IDEA of what you are going through. My thoughts are with you dear friend. Your writing is so poetic, sweet and very real. Thank you for sharing your journey. My arms are around your shoulders with a warm hug to you and also to Deb. I will check back more often but please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Mickey

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  4. Hi Mickey,

    Great to hear from you!! Deb said that Mig sent an e-mail about your dad moving out of Debbie and Larry's place. They have all three been on my mind lately.

    I hope all is well with you.

    Love,
    (your favorite youngest step-sister)
    Aimee

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  5. Hi Aimee - it was good seeing you and Deb this weekend, I've been reading you on and off, I like your writing style. Pam

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