Cooking wth phyllo

Sorry, no Judy's Stew tonight. I was so late and tired last night I didn't post my Sunday night Potluck with Judy, so it's up tonight. If you want to know what went on in my kitchen this weekend, please see http://potluckwithjudy.blogspot.com.
Thanks. Back tomorrow with another update--assuming something worthwhile happens.

Icemaggedon

Well, that's what daughter-in-law Melanie called it, though I may have the spelling wrong. But there's something about North Texas ice storms that leaves us in anticipatory tension long before they're due. Maybe it's modern forecasting techniques that warn us so far in advance. Or maybe it's just the bone-chilling cold outside. But I've already felt ice-bound today though the bad weather isn't supposed to hit until tomorrow night.
What I thought was to be a day at home alone, brightened by dinner guests, turned out to be quite a sociable day. Moksha, who has taken care of my pets for several years, came today to check out his key to the front door and get an update on Sophie's needs, and we talked for a long time about all kinds of issues, mostly political. And then neighbor Jill came to pick up packages UPS had left here--I gave her all the extra diapers I had left for her year-old son. And we visited briefly A nice conversation with my brother, and it was lunchtime before I knew it--or got any work done.
I mentally prepared for housebound days, so I slept late and lazed through the day. Ashamed that I served my guests prepared food--I always cook for company--but it turned out well. I did tiny bits of work but somehow things like emptying the dishwasher, setting the table, making ham salad for lunch took up most of the day.
Tonight, newly discovered good friends came for supper--I've known the husband for years in a professional relationship but we only recently discovered each other socially, and they are both a delight. Della, the wife, is a dog whisperer and Sophie was entranced. A fire in the fireplace to ward off the chill, talk of old times and people we'd known--he's a physician and she's in health care and we had lots of friends in common and lots of memories--made for a delightful evening. Watch for the dinner menu tomorrow night on Potluck with Judy.
Life is good, and I am blessed.

The suggestion of sickness--or, how are you feeling?

My dad had an assistant (he called her his secretary/receptionist but that was in the old days) who would say to him, “Are you feeling all right, Dr. MacBain? You look a little peaked.” By the time he got home, he was a sick man, anxiously asking my mother how he looked and saying he wasn’t sure he felt good. He came from a family that thrived on illness. As a newlywed, my mom dutifully wrote her mother-in-law and once mentioned that Dad had a slight cold. Immediately his mother and sister were on the phone, worried to pieces about him. Even he could see the folly: “Do not ever mention illness to them,” he told Mom.

Yesterday I woke with some sort of stomach bug, whether a real bug or something I ate or what I don’t know, but I was in and out of the bathroom from five until ten in the morning, and then I was wiped out. By one, I was back in bed for a nap. But always my mother’s daughter, I soldiered on, made potato soup for eight people, and hosted a Twelfth Night party (see http://potluckwithjudy.com) Thought I felt okay if not great. My neighbor and I were in the kitchen when he asked “How was your day?” I confessed it was so-so, that I hadn’t felt well, and he said, “I can tell. You’re not your usual bubbly self.” Right then, I turned the wrong corner and began to wonder—if it was so obvious, maybe I didn’t feel as okay as I thought. Later in the evening, Jordan asked, “How are you feeling?” and Jay said, “She’s fading fast.” They all did the dishes and left with admonishments to go right to bed.

I would have told you it was midnight when they left, but in truth it was eight o’clock. I couldn’t have written or read a word if I wanted to, so I was in bed a little before nine. Slept, not soundly, for ten hours and feel better this morning but a little rocky still. More soup for lunch. Still, with Jacob’s help, I’ve gotten Christmas down and mostly put away and some computer work done.

So, was it really a bug or the power of suggestion or a bit of both? I don’t know, but I won’t say to someone, “Are you feeling alright? You don’t look well.”