Little French Bistro

Imagine being so unhappy in your marriage and your life that you decide to jump off a bridge and end it all. You are in Paris crossing over the Seine and off you go.  That is what Marianne decided to do.  

But the jump did not kill her.  It still was a wake up call and she decides to walk out of the hospital with no particular destination in mind.

She ends up in the South of France and begins a new life and for the first time in years she starts to feel alive.  

I loved this book because the main character had an opportunity to make changes and instead of wallowing in sadness and depression she made positive steps to get herself to a better place.  While she thought she was weak, in reality she was strong.  It was great to read about her journey.

The Little French Bistro

Who Says You Can't Go Home (Now That You Mention It)

Who says you can't go home?  Isn't that a question people ask themselves.  I haven't been back to the place I grew up in on Long Island for almost twenty five years.  

It isn't as if I don't want to go home, I loved growing up where I did.  It is more like there is nothing there for me anymore.  My parents and my brother and his family moved to New Jersey which really blows my mind.  I didn't think people who were born and grew up in New York move to New Jersey and yet they all did.  All my aunts and uncles and cousins no longer live there either.  So truly going back would mean starting over and I could easily do that anywhere.  Why not try something new.

Nora is a Gastroenterologist with a hunky doctor as her boyfriend, at a Boston Hospital that happens.  That is why when she gets struck by a truck and ends up in his ER her life changes.  Through the pain she becomes conscious only to find him flirting with a very pretty intern.

That put an end to their relationship.  No surprise there.  She decides that she will recover by going home to the place where she grew up. But home for Nora means a lot of bad memories. Even so she does go back and while she heals physically she also heals mentally. Oh and yes she finds romance along the way.

The book, Now That You Mention It.

Sourdough (a Book for Bread lovers and Techies)

The book Sourdough did not start out the way I expected. What I had expected was to be thrown into a kitchen setting with a struggling chef or wanna be chef.  Instead the author reveals herself to be a computer geek (a software engineer) in a company in San Francisco that writes the code for robotic arms. These robotic arms are being designed to take over many functions now done by human beings.  What a concept!  

Her work sounds fascinating but stressful, very stressful. While I don't code and I don't work for a big tech company in San Francisco, I do work in Information Technology (IT). I can tell you with great assurance that no matter what you do in IT the stress level is always high and you walk around with a knot in your stomach.  Sadly my top draw holds a bottle of tums that never stays full.  A lack of calcium is not my problem.

One day she comes home from work and finds an advertisement/menu. I am sure you have all seen ones that are  similar. They are usually left in your mailbox by the pizza,  Chinese or Thai take out places.  She decides she will forego her nightly slurry ( liquid nutritional meal replacement)and order in.  When the "double spicy" arrives at her door her life changes. 

Alas all good things must come to an end and the brothers that own this take out place can't renew their visas and close up shop.  She is devastated.  She has lost her sustenance. But before the brothers depart the US they give her a present, their sourdough starter.

I forgot to mention that food is often a stress reducer when you work in IT. When I first started working, my department consisted of five guys and me one female.  What I discovered is that men use food to decompress just like women.  Where to go for lunch is discussed at 8:30 in the morning.  Why because it will be a milestone in our day.  Our only break.   

Once she receives the starter she becomes consumed by the bread she learns to bake.  Soon after her tech world and her foodie world collide.  All I can say about this book is that it is a fun read.  Try it!