Happy hump day! I had trouble sleeping last night, so this post will be all over the place. Hello 3 hours of sleep.
Here is the deal with my shoulder. It has been slightly funny since I fell off my bike last year. It was achy for months, so I think it probably was already susceptible to injury.
Anyway, a couple weeks ago, I was gardening and pulling up sod, working very hard and pulling with my right arm. I didn’t feel any immediate pain, but my shoulder was a little achy that night. The next morning it hurt a lot. I could barely raise my arm up. I figured I just overdid it. A day or so later, I was in the shower and I noticed my collarbone on the right side was sticking out. Weird. It hurt a little bit, but more like a bruised feeling. I know I have a high pain tolerance, but I knew it couldn’t be broken because it wasn’t that painful. Plus I could use my arm, even though it hurt in my shoulder. Here is my collarbone sticking out. Not sure if you can see it very well here.
Gross, isn’t it? Well, I did a lot of google research and found lots of stuff from lymphoma to broken bones. Gotta love google 🙄 With most of my work files in orthopedics, you would think I would have a better handle on it. Well, I needed to look a little closer at my shoulder and less at the clavicle. I noticed that my right shoulder was slightly dropped compared to the left. Bingo – I think I have a separated shoulder. I am curious to see how well I self-diagnose. I’m not a doctor, but I play one on the internet LOL!
Anyway, it took a couple weeks to get in to see the doctor, which happens on Thursday. Not that there is much that can be done for it other than time and rest.
So, on to the good part of the day. 20 years ago today, John and I had our first date. We met at CU Boulder. I was there working on my doctorate in music and John was finishing up his masters in music. We were thrown together into a graduate brass quintet, me on the horn and John on tuba. Anyway, John called me up one Saturday (20 years ago!) and asked if I wanted to see the Colorado Symphony that night. I said yes. He then said something about hoping his car made it to Denver and back. I thought he was joking, but he was not! It didn’t occur to him that was not a great thing to tell a prospective date. We did make it there and back okay, though. And now here we are married.
We decided to have a nicer dinner today rather than on our ‘real’ anniversary. We chose to go to Bistro LeRoux.
It’s getting all fall around here now!
Bistro LeRoux is an upscale place without the snootiness. One thing that we love is that they offer half portions of everything, including appetizers! That makes it much more affordable to eat here. More restaurants need to do this.
My date.
John’s date:
Bad lighting in here, though.
We were getting half portion entrees, we decided to split a half portion appetizer. The appetizer was toasted goat cheese with a madgascar vanilla and cherry fondue with baguette crostinis.
I don’t like cherries, so John ate all of those, but this was so, so good! It was sweet and savory together and the goat cheese was an interesting texture. Firmer than what I have had before and oh so good! There was honey on the plate as well, which went really well with the cheese.
John’s dish:
This was a crab cake risotto with tempura andouille sausage with a tomato and basil salsa. I love the crabcakes here. They are amazing!
My entree was:
Sauteed steak with bacon parmesan risotto and chive sour cream with corn and a blue cheese mini twice baked potato on top. OMG! This was so good. Lots of different flavors going on. The meat was super tender and the risotto was rich and creamy. The little twice baked potato was tasty. I could have had about 10 of those!
Perfect sized portions and we weren’t stuffed! John said we need to come here more than once a year and he is right 😀
Today’s pink item is more fall color. Pink tree. I love fall!
A very happy anniversary, Lori! Also, sorry about your shoulder and collarbone. I hope you get to the bottom of it, and that you’re back to normal very soon.
Thank you!
I can totally see that collarbone thing! Oh, you poor thing. Dr. Google usually directs me right to the most fatal thing that could happen lol.
Your dinner looks so wonderful. Mr. Helen loves crab cakes and he would have been all over that dish. I too wish more restaurants would offer smaller portions. Lots of times we end up getting only appetizers which sort of accomplishes the same thing.
We do that with appetizers, too, and skip entrees. I hate being really full, so it works out great that way.
I hope your shoulder is nothing at all serious! Definitely stay off Google, otherwise you’ll be up every night worrying. You had me at goat cheese.
Except for the shoulder thing, I so loved this post. So romantic to hear about how you met, and that you celebrate that date more than your anniversary. The food looks fascinating to me. I think we could go into business making those mini-twice baked potatoes, don’t you? And the fall color??? Oh my, the envy. It has been close to 100 degrees every day out here!
Okay, the picture makes it look just like you have a rectangular pacemaker inserted under your skin!
BTW, TJ’s sells a goat cheese that has honey infused in it. It is one of my favorites.
I need to get some goat cheese at the store. The price kind of puts me off sometimes, though. It’s expensive here.
Must recreate the mini potatoes – I think they were the little red ones.
Don’t forget to let us know what the doctor says after your appointment. Where is that restaurant – gotta go there when I come back to NY. Crab Cakes are my favorite and I love anything risotto. That looks delicious. Loved the fall tree pics.
It’s in Queensbury, not too far from Lake George. It’s relatively new, about 2 years old and quite popular.
Love half portions, and the mini stuffed potato immediately caught my eye…we must be carb sisters, lol! Very sweet that you two celebrated your first date like this. 🙂
Your collarbone looks wonky for sure. Dontcha just love Dr. Google, though? Glad you will be getting an official diagnosis tomorrow; if it is what you suspect, rest is the only option? They don’t wrench the shoulder back into place? Or have I been watching too much TV?
Ack – no wrenching! I will run away if they say that. LOL. If it is what I suspect, probably just rest. It’s not dislocated. The collarbone may be a permanent thing, though. I hope not.
I have a high pain tolerance and I have not noticed things until they’re bad!!
Hope you get relief soon! If it’s just rest that’s not so bad 🙂
Eww! Your poor collarbone, I can definitely see the bulge in the photo. Hopefully the treatment is cheap and painless, right?
The dinner looks lovely! I confess I usually to to restaurants starving, so I would be itching for more food, but the quality of the food and beauty of the presentation might just make up for it. Mm!
on no!
your poor shoulder and you soso never complain!!
hope the rest is helping…
I do complain – mostly to John, just ask him! 😀
Happy First Date Anniversary! It looks like you had a lovely (and delicious) celebration!
I do hope your shoulder is feeling better soon. I know “rest” isn’t a desired treatment, but I guess it’s better than some alternatives. 🙂
I see it in your pic!!!! YIKES – HUGS!!!!!!!!!!! Hope you get this figured out & healed!!!
Happy Anniversary to you though & as always – love the pics!!!! You tow are cute!!!
Love the fall colors!!!!!
You TWO!!!!! Sorry about previous typo!
Happy Anniversary! That dinner looked amazing!
I hope your shoulder feels better!
Food looks so delicious! I love Fall colors. I went up to the northeast last weekend and I realized how much I missed it 🙂
I hope you heal very quickly! That bump looks gnarly. 🙁
And I need to stay away from WebMD. I diagnose myself all the time!
I know – with my job as a medical transcriptionist, I am constantly thinking “do I have that??” 😀
Happy dating anniversary! I wish restaurants around here served half portions–perfect size, and leaves room for an appetizer that you might not try otherwise.
And yikes, that collarbone! ((shudder)) My husband had a shoulder injury last year–nothing broken, but very painful for weeks, and then twinges for many months. He was supposed to wear a sling, but took it off that same evening (typical). Hope “rest” is all that’s necessary to fix yours!
Whoa – hoping it’s not a separated shoulder you’ve been walking around with all this time but at least you’ll know soon.
Happy Anniversary to you both. Those portions actually look pretty well sized – I wouldn’t have known they were half unless you said it. Can’t imagine what the full portions looked like but it all looked absolutely delicious!!!
The portions look bigger in the photo than real life, I think because the plates are smaller. However, I would have been stuffed with a whole portion!
My shoulder is sprained, but they want x-rays because it is odd to have the clavicle stick out like that with a sprain.
Going to read the post about the doctor’s visit immediately after this one.
I love how you and John met and I think it’s great that you celebrated your first date 20 years later with a dinner date. The food looks delicious.
Sorry to hear about your shoulder 🙁 hope it heals quickly. I have a shoulder issues I’ve dealt with for like 6 yrs now hopes yours heals up way quicker than that. Loved reading your first date story 🙂