French Cookbooks, Cherry Trees and Miracles

This beautiful cookbook by friend Mardi Michels is so worth it. You do not need to justify this purchase by actually having kids. There were a few recipes in here where I thought, I can't do THAT! But then I saw photos of these little hands rolling and chopping. I thought, Geesh, if they can do it, I can do it.Sometimes we get all adult and assume we can cook like an adult. This is not often the case, especially in my case. Recently I made some sort of hot and sour concoction that was so vinegary that every time Christophe brought his forkful to his mouth he started wheezing. And I was following a recipe.How do you cope with bad recipes? It's not enough to leave a one-star review. A one-star review is just not satisfying.I can tell you that In the French Kitchen with Kids gets all five stars.  Buy it here. It uses ingredients that are easy to find, and tools that one probably has in the kitchen... except for me. I don't have anything in my kitchen yet.Remember that time when I moved to Paris with just a suitcase? Then I moved to a fully furnished home in Calgary with just a suitcase? Well I moved again. This time to Ontario, Canada, where we bought a house in a little beach town. It's all super sugary cute. Cute house, cute town, near cute cousins, cute cute cute. We purchased in spring, just after all that snow finally decided to melt. After we bought this house, I decided that I wanted two cherry trees. I imagined many-a-pie being made in my super cute kitchen. I mentioned this to my new neighbour who pointed out the trees in my backyard and informed me that they WERE cherry trees.Wild.An unexpected delight. I'm currently in the middle of the gathering process. I feel like I've reverted to my Los Angeles days where I was listing items on Craigslist to get my life down to that one suitcase. Now I'm on the other end of that, buying back what I sold in the first place. Each item that enters the house must be managed, dealt with, updated, maintained, paid for, etc. It makes this minimalist mind spin.Another thing making my mind spin is my current critical illness, which decided to turn up the week I left Calgary. I'm not going to name it. I'm sure, dear reader, that you will not regale me with So-and-so who had it and lived, but another dear reader might. And I know that with every story about every person who lived, there is another story of a person who did not.Turns out I was pretty close to that line between Living a Long Life and Dying Sooner Rather Than Later.This illness has stripped me of all the outward aspects of myself that made me feel pretty. Some gone permanently. Some will return. A few things I've learned about critical illness:*Best to assemble of team of friends who know about it so you can lean on them during difficult moments.*People instantly look at your ill bits instead of in the eye.*Finances take a hit because you can't work.*Sleep is the best medicine.*People do not know what to say and you can't expect them to either.*Making jokes about it doesn't cheer people up.*Prayers turn into meals made.*Processing feelings is an indulgence and there is no time for it when you're sick.*You cry a lot in the bathroom.*Miracles occur, whether you believe in miracles or not.*Your toddler doesn't care. She just wants to play.A quick random story about this critical illness. Ages ago, my friend Betsy made me a little lapel pin. It was a pink plastic crown with a heart on it. I wore it, then misplaced it, then moved to Paris, then Calgary, and now Ontario. The day I arrived in Ontario, I was at my mom's house, before I knew if I had a CRITICAL illness or a FATAL illness. I found the pin in a drawer. I have no idea how it got there but there it was. The funny thing is, a few years ago my friend Betsy died of ALS and opted for assisted suicide (Read her amazing story here). When I found the pin, I wondered if I would have to be Betsy Brave. Now that months have gone by and I'm not required to be Betsy Brave, I received another pin in the mail from my friend Sharon. She had no idea about Betsy's pin. Sharon's gift was a pin of a beautiful girl with long flowing hair. All the things I feel I'm not right now. When that pin arrived I felt I had turned a corner. I felt I was in the clear.At least I think I'm in the clear. The doctors agree. The medicines are working as they should. Another miracle.This is also why I haven't been blogging or sharing about my Paris Letters, which are still happening in between doctor visits. I still pull myself out of a drug-induced nap to write and send out letters about beloved Paris. It's a great joy during this nightmare. I have one customer who must have bought one for every person she's ever met. I've never met her but I'm so grateful because her purchases keep my spirits up and give me reasons to keep doing what I love. She's like my cherry trees. An unexpected delight.I wish you, dear reader, an unexpected delight today, whether it be a cherry pie, a cookbook with a beautiful font, or an unexpected gift in the mail.