what's cookin'

You say that we've got nothing in common
No common ground to start from
And we're falling apart
You'll say the world has come between us
Our lives have come between us
But I know you just don't care

from breakfast at tiffany's by deep blue something

sunday morning...

i feel like being lazy, but i know i cannot do such. i have much to do. best friend coming to town on the 16th and i have to host. i have little free time these days, but it's of no real complaint. i can see some light at the end of this financial tunnel that i have found myself travelling in. it's far from over, but it is changing. and i'm thankful for that.

i spent a full week with clients and am feeling a little spent emotionally. i have been working with a homeless man who has schizo-effective disorder (currently untreated) who has re broken a never healed wrist three times. his drinking is more than problematic and he leaves a visible wake of damage with his unbridled and unchecked angry bursts. the first time we talked he discussed his spells (seizures) from which he emerges confused. he has become adept at covering them up with his rage now, or diverting attention to chaos. i wept inside as we chatted. my hope is to steer him to addressing his mental health in order to fix other parts of his life.

i also met a man directly from the bus from prison. he has spent the last 9 out 10 years inside. he has been diagnoses as bi-polar and has anger bursts as well. he is currently medicated, but i have concerns about his ability to restrain himself during an emotional break. he has the habit of blaming everything outside himself for his troubles and struggles to listen without having a big reaction when an opposite perspective is brought into the conversation. i did manage to help get him into a halfway house situation with substance use monitoring in place, in lieu of the crack hotels that are usually offered for a person in a re-entry position such as he.

along with this recent and very very questionable pop-up crisis and the ensuing 850 billion buyout, part of the negotiation package has been the passage of legislation which will direct insurance companies in overhauling their policies to discontinue discrimination for mental health and substance abuse issues. this is a quietly joyful celebration for insured individuals, but it certainly doesn't address the continent sized group of individuals' need for access to comprehensive care, i.e. a great proportion of our current homeless population.

but it's sunday, and i'm at rest. i thought i'd start a new periodic tradition here. i am, after all, a bit of a foodie. i love food intrinsically. a bit of a snob, but with a hearty sense of comfort food, i will try to share some recipes that warm my heart as well as fill my belly. i hope you try some of them, and pass them along. this one is about as simple as it gets. and it's a favorite at every family holiday event.

food is love, after all. have a peaceful and perhaps plentiful sunday.

chili cheese eggs

6 eggs/ 6 slices white bread
8oz cheddar cheese grated/ 1 3/4 c. milk
1 can chopped grn chilis/ 1 med. onion chopped.
salt and pepper

butter 2 qt. casserole. trim crusts from bread and cube. mix eggs and milk together.

layer bread, chilies, onions, and cheesein alternate layers. pour egg mixture over layers (you can add salt and pepper to egg mixture). refrigerate overnight. take out 1/2 hour before baking begins.
bake 1 hr@ 350 degrees.

serves 6-7.