April 5, 2024 Brunch - two Steamed BBQ Pork filled Steamed buns Afternoon Snack - Cheese, wine and bread. Dinner - Sautéed Salmon steaks with rice and steamed broccoli and snow peas

April 5, 2024 Brunch - two Steamed BBQ Pork filled Steamed buns Afternoon Snack - Cheese, wine and bread. Dinner - Sautéed Salmon steaks with rice and steamed broccoli and snow peas 

I awakened at 7:30 but relished a quiet morning in bed as the stock market took off for a sustained upward run today. My did not know how well until 2:30 when I checked and found that my portfolio had garnered a 2% gain, largely due to good gains by Nvidia, Meta, and Caterpillar. It seems we may be past the soft landing and moving into a more vigorous growth period.

I worked at my desk until 10:30 and then heated two BBQ pork filled steamed buns that I heated in the microwave for 2 minutes on high..

I made a dipping sauce with soy, chili oil, and thinly sliced rounds of green onion.

Then a bit after noon Steven my PT person came and we walked three blocks and then I descended the stairs to the basement where we retrieved three bottles of wine and a bottle of cognac.

It was the first time I walked down the stairs since the operation and it went well, especially since Steven carried the four bottles.

I rested a from 1:00 when Steven left until 2:00 when Etienne arrived. I showed him the new bathroom and we walked in the yard.  I then showed him my stock,portfolio performance for the day and finally we opened a bottle of 2019; Calstar River’s Edge Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley and I filled the cheese board with six or seven cheeses, including, Rouquefort, Jarlsberg, goat, brie, and several hard cheeses, pita chips and toasted pieces of baguette and the plastic container of duck liver mousse.

We talked and sipped and around 4:00 Willy came over and joined us.

Then at 5:00 I said goodbye to Etienne because Willy drove me to the Post

Office to pick up a certified letter but it was more than two weeks and the letter had been returned, which I doubt because it came from India.

Willy took me home and then he left to fetch his laundry and three salmon steaks and I started watching the first Women’s final four match-up between South Carolina and North Carolina and I drank a glass of yogurt drink. South Carolina has won every game it has played this year and today’s game was another win.

Dinner - When Willy returned Suzette thawed the salmon steaks, I de-stemmed the 1/2 lb. of snow peas and Suzette deflowered a head of broccoli. She then steamed the broccoli, heated some rice and the snow peas in the microwave in a Saran covered Pyrex loaf pan and sautéed the salmon.

I made tartare sauce with Mayo, lemon juice, a tsp. of horseradish, and pickle relish and fetched the jar of lingonberry jam.

I opened the bottle of Hermann Weimar Rose I had brought up from the basement.

After dinner we watched the rest of the Buenos Aires episode of Who is Feeding Phil for Willy’s benefit and then he left and Suzette and I watched the last half of the women’s second final four match-up between Iowa and Connecticut. It was one of the best basketball games I have ever seen with Iowa winning in the last minute of play.

The title match between Iowa and South Carolina will be a classic on Sunday.

After the game at 10:30 Suzette went to bed and I watched a bit of a documentary on William F. Buckley.

Bon Appetit