Why Have I Never Heard of This Woman??

Being still down with a virus, I seem to have more time than usual for blogging. The good news is that my voice is somewhat back today. Must have been all those Swiss Herbal Cough Drops, eh?

The better news is that I have just discovered cooking author Pam Anderson. No, not that Pam Anderson (but do search the internet with caution). She blogs with her daughters over at  3MC. She has 7 cookbooks in print, writes for USA Today Weekend, Runner's World, and other major publications. The Pioneer Woman loves her. A lot of famous cooks love her, for that matter.  She used to be an editor of Cooks Illustrated Magazine, for Pete's sake. That's the first place I look to find out anything about cooking.

I bought her weight-loss book on the recommendation of a friend and discovered that it is actually not about dieting. It recommends having afternoon tea and a cookie every day! And two breakfasts! As I was reading about her weight-loss journey, I felt hopeful and excited instead of filled with dread.  I am heading over to the library today to get her book that is called Cook without a Book. That's my favorite way to cook! I'm curious to see what she writes about that approach.

Anyway, I'm excited to finally know who she is. As a sometime foodie-ish sort of person, at least one who collects cookbooks and recipes like crazy, I'm part peeved that I've missed out on her all this time and part excited that I get to experience her body of work in one big chunk.

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Sick Day

Evan has strep again. He's always been somewhat of a susceptible kid, getting the worst possible version of whatever is going around, but this is bad even for him (he just had a case of strep about 6 weeks ago). Three others of us are on the edge of being sick, but so far, no fever and other symptoms that Ev is going through. We missed church today and he'll have to stay home tomorrow, so, even though he's nearly 15, time will stop for us and we'll have a couple of quiet days in the house together. Mostly he'll sleep, and I'll be able to step out for some of what's on my calendar, but I actually like the chance to take care of an ailing teen. Sometimes its the only time I can actually do anything for them. I try not to hover and also to stay away from WebMD and the like and just trust my instincts about how they're feeling, when to get worried and all that, but I have to admit it's sort of nice to have them around when they're sick. My husband mocks me constantly about making the immediate leap from a mysterious bruise to something horrible like leukemia, but in some ways, I'm pretty relaxed about sickness, trying at all costs to avoid unnecessary antibiotics and OTC remedies, trying to remember that the best medicine (besides laughter of course) is good old Tincture of Time, and most of all, trying hard to let them stop and rest. It's hard in this day and age, especially for a high-schooler, but it will be best in the long run.

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