Chicken Soup for the Soul… Not Necessarily.


 
We are halfway through our life lessons series about the top 15 dishes to master by the age of 30. So far, so good, right? Well, not so much over at our house. Looking back to yesterday’s “incident” I am amazed at how I can go from blood boiling anger to gut wrenching laughter all in one day. Let me tell you a little story.…
All I wanted was some chicken noodle soup. Paris has been windy, chilly, wintery and quite frankly I have been a little bit afraid to go outside. I don’t want to get sick again and these incessant French commercials about “la grippe” aren’t helping. I am terrified of invisible germs and all I want to do is stay healthy. It is a well-known fact over my house that “Ellie is on a health kick.” I have been juicing my little heart out… Spinach, blueberries, carrots, cucumber, celery, kale, ginger, flaxseed oil, coconut oil, tumeric, lemon, beet and apple. I have been meditating, researching a new acupuncturist, having daily kinesiology therapy sessions, drinking warm chai lattes with almond milk, plenty of rest and keeping warm.

All of the caregivers, nurses and therapist are instructed to wash their hands with warm soapy water until they get through two renditions of the happy birthday song. If I see a sniffle, hear a cough or witness any sort of malaise, that person will not make it past my front door. This is a germ-free zone. I thank my lucky stars every day that I have not gotten the stomach flu that Gracie had, her boyfriend had, her roommate had and my mother-in-law had. For some reason I have been spared and thank God because I do not have the muscles to actually throw up. I will most likely choke and die a horrible death. So, we are all on high alert at my house… High alert!
My husband has been a witness to all of this but apparently none of it “sunk in.” It is a good thing that I’m completely paralyzed otherwise I would have smothered my husband in his sleep for what he did. Since I physically cannot harm my husband, my only recourse was to punish him with my smarts and wit, basically the only things that I have left. Make yourself a drink, sit back and let me tell you what he did…

Continuing my health kick and research for the blog, I decided to make homemade chicken noodle soup. As you know, I cannot do this on my own due to my “situation” so I have to enlist the help of my caregivers. Usually I don’t trust any of them to even help me make croutons, but my new caregiver Joel is a fantastic cook. He doesn’t just slop everything into a pot and cook it. He actually cares, like I do about making the perfect chicken noodle soup. We even had a long conversation about it! So, off to the streets of Paris Joel went to collect the ingredients. I sent him to my favorite roasted chicken boucherie to buy the most succulent, flavorful roasted chicken in all of Paris. All of our vegetables were organic… Carrots, celery, onions, potatoes. We added pasta noodles, herbs de Provence, rock salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice, cilantro and even a few juicy cherry red tomatoes because I like that. We added the skin of the roasted chicken for a little extra fat and flavor. We simmered it for hours and the whole house smelled delicious. We made enough of the soup to last for days.
That evening, my husband brought a big bowl of this hard-earned chicken noodle soup to me for my dinner. This soup was so unbelievably good, so rich, so flavorful and I could tell that it was the perfect soup to ward off any germs, illnesses or flu. I kept saying to my husband, “This soup is so delicious. I cannot wait to have it tomorrow for lunch. Gracie and her friend, Maggie, are going to stop by our apartment after they go to the Louvre so they can have some of this delicious soup. It is so good! It’s going to be even better tomorrow! Oh, I can’t wait.” Yes, things like this get me excited. All I could think about was this chicken noodle soup. I literally could not shut up about the soup to my husband.

My husband has this unlawful and annoying personality trait of telling white lies to me. He is convinced that I do not need to know the whole truth. He thinks that he is protecting me. I am completely paranoid about everything and interrogate him on a daily basis… Did you lock the front doors, does the cat have fresh water because you know she only drinks fresh water, does my feeding tube look swollen, remember you are not allowed to have gummy bears because you will choke, did you wash your hands, is my cell phone charged because I might have to call the paramedics if you have a heart attack in the middle of the night, do you think Gracie is having sex with her boyfriend, did you move the curtains away from the heaters because they could catch on fire, do we have a backup plan in case the elevator stops working and there is an emergency in the apartment, if a terrorist breaks into our apartment and takes us hostage do you think I will be able to reason with him, don’t forget to watch out when you are pushing my wheelchair so that nobody hits me in the face with their cigarette, is my electric toothbrush charged, when does the crème fraîche expire… I am exhausting so David’s usual answer is always, “Yes.” He says “yes” whether or not he means yes. He knows that it’s just best to say yes otherwise I will panic and then he will have to go fix everything. But here’s the thing, I hate it when he does that. I hate white lies. I just want to know the truth so I can remedy this situation. I am always considering the snowball effect. If the cat doesn’t have fresh water she will not drink the water and then she will get dehydrated and die. She is a Persian and a diva and it is my responsibility to cater to her needs. Yes, these are the things that I think about. David wouldn’t care if the cat had to drink toilet water for a week. One of the most difficult aspects of having ALS is losing control of your own house. It drives me crazy and I cannot police everyone every moment of their lives. So, now you have a little history and we can get back to the soup story…

I spent the entire evening looking forward to my chicken noodle soup the next day. I had a perfect night sleep and at 8:30 AM I woke up in a panic… David was sound asleep next to me and I started screaming, “David! Did you remember to transfer the chicken noodle soup from the stock pot on the stove into a sealed container and put it in the refrigerator last night! David! Wake up! Is the soup in the refrigerator? You didn’t forget to put it in the refrigerator last night, did you? It is not still out on the stove, is it? David, wake up!” David just loves waking up to this kind of panic from me. In his barely audible lack of sleep voice he says, “Yes, I put the soup in the refrigerator last night.”
Because I have lived with this douchebag since 2006, I know when he is lying. My intuition told me that that soup was not in the refrigerator. Luckily, my caregiver had just arrived to work that very second so I screamed at him, “Joel, please go to the kitchen and see if the chicken noodle soup is still on the stove or in the refrigerator.” I knew it! I knew it! Joel told me that the soup was still in the pot on the stove. I went from a perfectly sound sleep to raging bitch within 30 seconds. David was still half asleep and had no idea the wrath that was about to be bestowed upon him. “David! You are such a white liar. The soup is not in the refrigerator! It is still out on the stove. You were not going to tell me and you were going to let me eat leftover soup that has been left out and now it is laced with every sort of foodborne illness on the face of the earth. You can’t leave food out overnight. I don’t care if you are French, you can’t do it! I have a weakened immune system already and the last thing I need is fucking salmonella poisoning. I hate you and want a divorce. I’m going to tell the judge that it is dangerous to live with someone like you because you have no regard for food safety. David! Wake up, did you hear what I said?”

As usual, because David has trained himself to ignore me, David just rolled casually out of bed and went to make himself a coffee. He didn’t care about the soup. He went to his closet, without speaking, put on his jeans, a black cashmere sweater, a scarf and his cute jacket, grabbed his cell phone and quietly walked out of the door. He knew it was best not to engage me. He knew it was safer for him to be at his office.

As I sat in my bed fuming for all of the right reasons… David told me a white lie, David tried to poison me, now I have no soup for lunch… I decided that it was high time to teach David a lesson. David needed to be “schooled” old-school style and I was just the girl to do it. I started to hatch my revenge…

I waited about three hours until I knew David was deep into his work at his office. David’s office is about 10 blocks away. He chooses to walk to work instead of getting his car out of the garage, driving to his office, trying to find a new place to park etc. Believe it or not, even though David has a tiny little Smart Car, it is still a nightmare to park in Paris. So, David walks to work every day. Yesterday, it was particularly windy and rainy and I knew it was not a pleasant walk to work. Can you hear my evil laugh? I knew David had a very busy day at the office and needed to get a lot of work done. So, I called David at his office and started my lies by saying “Hi, Bunny. You’ve had a delivery here at the apartment that we had to sign for. Were you expecting a delivery from Hermès? There is a huge orange box that was delivered from Hermès.” There was silence on the other end of the phone for about five seconds and then David said, “Uhhh, no, I wasn’t expecting a delivery.” I could hear the panic in his voice. I knew he did not want me to think that he had bought anything at Hermès because all of our money has to go to my caregivers, our rent, my medication, my hospital bills etc.

I said, “Well I don’t know what you ordered, but there is a huge box here.”
David said, “I’ll be right home.”

Can you still hear my evil laugh? My sinister plan was working. Now David had to leave the office, leave all the work that he was doing, put on his jacket, grab his umbrella and walk 10 blocks home in the rain to our apartment expecting a big fat (non-existent) Hermès box. I could barely contain my laughter. I knew that David was stressed out his entire walk home thinking… “Oh my God, what did I buy? Is it something that I custom ordered a long time ago and now it is ready and I have to pay for it? Is Hermès delivering a gift for me because I’m such a good customer? Do I have a secret admirer? Oh my God, Ellie’s going to kill me.”
I could barely contain my decorum thinking that this was the perfect punishment. It will send him a message, it will teach him a lesson, it’s clever, and see if he ever tells me a white lie again and attempts to kill me with day-old rotten chicken noodle soup.

20 minutes later I could hear David unlocking our front door. I kept saying to myself, “Keep your composure, Ellie. Don’t laugh, keep a straight face and say your line. Don’t blow it.” David walks directly into my bedroom and says, “Where’s the box? Where’s the Hermès box. I didn’t see it in the foyer. Where is it?”
I said to him with perfect composure, “I think it’s in the kitchen, in the refrigerator…right next to the chicken noodle soup.”

David started walking towards the kitchen, I kid you not. He had no idea that I was fucking with him. I had never done anything like this before. I have never played a joke on him. I could hear him open the refrigerator door. He came back to my room and said again, “Where’s the box?” I said again, “David, the Hermès box is in the refrigerator right next to where you said you put the chicken noodle soup.”
David was still confused and said to my caregiver, “Joel, where is the big Hermès box that was delivered this morning?” My caregiver just kept his head down and did not answer. I knew what my caregiver was thinking, “How did I get in the middle of these two lunatics?” Luckily, my caregiver knew what was good for him and he did not rat me out. He kept his game face and just shook his head. David started looking all over the apartment. I thought I was going to implode from trying to contain my laughter.

After about five minutes, David came back towards my bedroom, stood at the doorway and just looked at me. He finally figured it out and he was quite frankly astonished. I think he was astonished that I would actually go to these lengths to trick him just over chicken noodle soup. He just stood there and looked at me. The amount of pride I had for myself was overwhelming and I started laughing internally and my body was shaking and tears were coming out of my eyes. I could not stop. I knew David wanted to kill me but he had to keep his cool for several reasons...He knew that he deserved this, he knew he could not explode in front of the caregivers, he knew he looked like a fool. He didn’t say a word, he just went to the front door, opened it, walked through it and quietly closed the door and went back to work.
As soon as he was out of our apartment, I burst out laughing. I called everyone I knew to tell them. I honestly think it was the best thing I could’ve done because I don’t think David will ever, ever white lie to me again or dare question my food safety concerns. Please feel free to use my methods at your own households if necessary. Tomorrow, we will actually learn how to master chicken noodle soup now that I’ve calmed down a bit. :-)

52 comments:

  1. Have you been poking smot? - Pam Atk

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  2. Great story Ellie! I made your beef bourguignon yesterday. With a whole bottle of nice wine. At the dinner table I told my husband about the bottle of wine in the dish. I said to him :" The secret to great taste is to use good wine." "What wine did you use?" he asked in return. "Viader." I said that with a totally straight face. He stared at me. I started to laugh. "No, I did not use a ($150/bottle) Viader. It was a bottle of wine I picked up at Costco for under $20. Scored 92 points with Wine Spectator though."
    Thanks for inspiring me to make the best beef bourguignon ever. Ever in our family that is. Keep the recipes coming and stay healthy! Looking forward to the chicken soup recipe.
    Aloha from Hawaii,
    Zsuzsa

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  3. All I have to say is I don't know if we could be friends if we ever met in person bc we are too much alike! As I kept reading and reading, I was thinking, are these her words or my words I am reading bc this sounds Just like my life!! As do a lot of your other posts also! AND, can you imagine had you not woke up until morning and then found that pot of soup that had sat OUT all night? Well, I would have been FURIOUS for well over a month, I'll just say. And I immediately knew David was lying too! My husband too, God rest his soul, used to do the exact thing to me! Play the "yes man" when I KNEW otherwise! I need to come over there and take care of you! Ha! Am making your chuck roast this weekend! YES! You need all of them to keep washing their hands and you should stay inside for awhile!! And keep eating all that good food!

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  4. Hahaha I love this tale of revenge via imaginary luxury goods. I know a lot of people see seeking revenge as lowly, but I suspect they're just not good at it. Ugh it's awful when that happens! I am the worst about forgetting stuff overnight. It happens between "I'll let it cool before I stick it in the fridge" and "let's open another bottle". Then I could just kill someone the next morning if only it weren't my fault!
    Im making pot roast tonight! Couldn't stop craving it since the post. Be thinking about how I can get revenge on my jackass uncle. He was mean to my dog over the holidays, so obviously I can't let that go. I'm thinking if I can put a bag of dog shit in his car in August, that's a good start.
    Your chicken noodle soup sounds amazing, love the tomato addition. I don't like CNS unless the noodles have just been put in and aren't all mushy yet. I usually also prefer it way spicier than most.

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    1. How could somebody be mean to a dog! If someone even looks at my cat funny, I am offended.

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    2. I fall into STEPHEN's category TOO!!!!!Let is cool..........then I forget perhaps, because I have been hitting the VINO BOTTLE!Then again my house is so cold at night it would work like a refrigerator anyway............lets not go there...Italian husband did the heat it works GREAT, so great one caNNOT sleep with the heat on!There is a SWITCH for our heat.........HERE........NOWHERE.........THERE.I still doNOT UNDERSTAND it!All I know is if I'm cold I turn to HERE......within 5 minutes I"M HOT. If I'm too HOT I turn to NOWHERE,it goes off........still trying to figure out THERE!!!!!

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  5. So - what did you do with the leftover-sitting-on-the-stove-all-night soup? Who ate it?

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    1. I, of course wanted to throw it away immediately but my caregivers said that they would eat it. I said, "Fine, do so at your own risk, but I'm going to need you to sign this paperwork first so I am not liable for your death." :-)

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    2. I think what you did was really nasty

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  6. I discovered your blog a few months ago and have cried from laughter and cried from sorrow. You are heartbreaking and hilarious. I love the chicken soup story....want the recipe. You're such an inspiration. Damn, how do you do it. You make me feel ashamed for feeling sorry for myself. Love you more than words can say.

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    1. You can feel sorry for yourself! That's natural… Just don't make a habit of it. Hope you're having a great day. XOXO Ellie

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  7. I will never think of Hermes again without remembering this story. Now! What are you going to do for April Fools Day? I know what you mean about chicken soup! xoxo Mary

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  8. Ellie,
    I would have felt exactly the same as you did and been very angry. I don't know what I would have done. It made a great read. As I read further and further along however,;; I actually started feeling uneasy; I was thinking that this may not have been a very good idea. But then you will know your husband better than anyone and how he will ultimately feel about it.
    I hope you both had a good laugh later.
    Sheila

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    1. Hi Sheila! Don't worry, there's not going to be any murder suicide over at our house. David is always a good sport… He has to be because he married me. XOXO

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  9. Hi Ellie , I'm Gayatri from India. I've been reading your blog for the past month since I found you on faux fuchsia. Couldn't stop reading till I'd covered all your posts..I'm that smitten! Admire your chutzpah and fearlessness esp cause I'm quite the opposite. I love your sense of humour and I burst out laughing when I came to the part about your 'evil laugh' . At times it feels a little weird thinking that I know so much about somebody( you) and you don't have the faintest idea that I exist! Much as I enjoyed reading this story just like each and every other post of yours' I must say my heart went out to David! Surely were all allowed a few mistakes. Yes I did read about all the white lies you've to endure:) I'm on his side Ellie on this one even though it breaks my heart to leave yours ( just this once)
    Something you don't know about me? Everything actually. My daughter , she's 15 studies in boarding school and she was home for the holidays recently. I got her to read some of your funniest and inspiring posts( she was facing a rough time in school) after that every morning, she'd ask" has Ellie posted something today"
    Keep healthy Ellie and keep writing!

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    1. Hi there! So glad you like the blog… All the way from India! Or did you say Indiana? Just kidding. You would only be on David's side until you were throwing up from food poisoning. :-) So sorry your daughter was having a tough time at school. That breaks my heart. I hope everything turns out okay. Tell her I said hello! Tell us about your life in India… XOXO Ellie

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    2. Yes please! I would also like to hear about your life in India. :)

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  10. Love this story, and I'm still laughing! Now, how to adapt this scheme to use on my husband...hmm.

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  11. Ellie, you are just downright bad! Of all things a big Hermes box! I sat on my bed laughing out loud, Sakhi was looking at me as i was nuts! I am sure Frances does the same
    Thanks again for keeping us laughing, that was just masterful
    Xoxoxoxo
    Lourdes

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  12. “Beware the fury of a patient man.”

    ― John Dryden

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  13. Dear Ellie, I cannot stand the "white lies" either. I know when I'm being told them and it drives me crazy. I also love it when a plan comes together. So funny. I think of you every single day and it's hard to put into words just how much strength I get from you. x

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  14. Oh my gosh, Ellie, frito pie, face plants, smoking pot, and revenge! Just getting caught up on your last few posts. I hate it when I’m running late and see a new post from you and then don’t have time to read it right away. The more I read, the more vivid the picture of you and your family becomes. I’m now picturing you becoming a stoner (and wheeling around Paris with a goPro strapped to your head), hatching elaborate revenge plots along the way. But be careful where and with whom you’re getting stoned :-), so you don’t end up like me!

    *Something you don’t know about me - Years ago, I was never especially wild about pot (preferring a more Type-A effect from other substances :-), plus I always thought it was way too easy to get caught because of the smell. But one night some friends insisted I HAD to try some great stuff they had, and so I did. Afterwards, we were heading home and I did a spectacular face plant off the curb into the street. My face and knees were badly banged up, bleeding and it hurt a lot, so when we got back to my apartment, the solution naturally, was to smoke some more pot. By now I was about ready to pass out, however my friends still wanted to party. They SWORE to me they would clean up and lock up when they left, and so I left them in the living room and went to bed.
    I woke up the next morning to blinding sun AND a police officer standing over my bed. While I’m lying there squinting at him and trying to get my bearings, he suggested I might want to get dressed and come into the living room. (I’ve always slept au naturale, and that night was no different.) I got up and took one look in the mirror, suddenly remembered the previous night’s events and panicked. I couldn’t imagine any reason for him being here other than to arrest me on some drug charge... I considered trying to escape by the back stairs, but then realized that would be ridiculous because I had no idea where my car keys (or car) might be, so I might as well face the music.
    I went into the living room, dreading whatever evidence might be in plain view, and thinking the SMELL would be a dead giveaway. The officer stood there very politely (and awkwardly) and told me that my neighbors had called because they noticed that my front storm door was swinging back and forth in the wind, and the front door was wide open and it had been that way since dawn. Since my car was parked outside, they imagined the worst - perhaps I’d been kidnapped or was lying dead inside. (Since I was young and single then, among much older, nosy neighbors, they were always peeking out from behind their curtains, closely watching my comings and goings.) After a more few awkward questions and answers, the officer finally left. Fortunately, the door being open all night had eliminated the smell, and for whatever reason, the officer chose not to look right or left at what my stoner friends left behind!

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  15. I have to say I couldNOT BELIEVE YOU did THAT!BUT I do UNDERSTAND your concern for GERMs ETC............HE SHOULD KNOW BETTER BY NOW!!!!!!!!
    How many years have you been together??
    Pleased as PUNCH the NEW<JOLLY< SMARY CAREGIVER COOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Does he know how to make toast??!!!
    XOXO

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  16. Ellie, I'm with "anonymous " and the Dryden quote...what if....one day your concierge arrives with an enormous Orange Box and instead of being filled with deliciousness you discover shredded cheap tinsel, LED Christmas lights, Blue and White pieces from Pearl River, and all the other things you hate?
    I'm germaphobic too and of course had to marry someone who disregards the 5 second rule, expiration dates on food containers, and hand washing, and worst of all, he will take a clean dish cloth and wipe something on the floor and go back to the dishes. I don't ask him to cook and I have to leave the kitchen when he cleans. 34 years married and he still isn't trained! XO, you are the best story teller!

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  17. Dear Ellie, I read this post in the airport lounge. I couldn't stop laughing loudly. Then everyone around me starting laughing too! My husband starting laughing even though he didn't approve of scamming David - apparently one shouldn't tease when it comes to luxury items, especially Hermes. This was, without a doubt, brilliant thinking.... But I do feel just a tiny bit sorry for David.... I made the Beef Bourguignon taking your advice and using the Ina Garten recipe. It was a huge success, Thank you so much. Your advice was the difference between a good dish and a brilliant one! Best wishes Ann

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  18. What is more satisfying and energizing than a well conceived and well executed (harmless) revenge plot??? Nothing, I tell you, nothing! l hope that your husband learned a lesson, because mine tends to forget the lesson after exactly 1 year, which is a bit depressing since I usually put sincere effort into the revenge process.

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  19. Ouch! I am not as brave as you to risk the wrath of my husband....but I have been tempted!
    Your chicken soup story reminds me of what happened one Christmas to my BFF. She had her brother from Australia visiting and was having 30 people for Xmas dinner. We were all going to a party on Xmas Eve and she made oysters to take as her appetizer and had taken the 25 pound turkey pug of the fridge while she got the ingredients. She FORGOT to put it back and woke up in the middle of the night when she realized her error! She could not cook the warm germy bird so they dined on a small ham with all the veggies...it was a Xmas to remember.
    I am over the top about food safe stuff...we had that tummy bug here on New Years Day...just horrible. I cannot believe how you keep us laughing and crying all in the same post.
    Stay well,
    I love chicken soup!

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  20. I am not as picky as you regarding food, but close. I just hate to eat "old" food. My husband is out-of-town and last night I cleaned out the refrigerator of leftovers. I should have been more careful. You don't need the gory details, but let's just say I don't need to detox today. Needless to say, going forward I will be way more picky. I cannot wait for your chicken noodle soup - my absolute favorite soup of all time and one that I have never made. P.S. I think what you did to David was a little mean, but I am sure you actually got your point across and he will never make that mistake again! Barbara

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  21. Oh Ellie, That was mean. So what happened when David got home in the evening?
    judy

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  22. This is so funny. Love your sense of humor so much, If I did that tho, I think my dear husband (of 50 years) might just have put a pillow over my face and smothered me. Well, not really, but you never know. Still laughing, and happy that you still have your share of good evil laughs..and at least had one bowl of that chicken soup!

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  23. When I accidentally leave something out all night I call my mom and ask her if it's ok to eat. Something you don't know about me, I'm 54 years old. ;)

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  24. Ellie: Please read this about a new ALS drug https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/14afd890a370db49

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    1. Hi there Design Newport! I tried to look at the link that you sent but it is not viable. Can you send it again? Thank you so much for thinking of me. XOXO

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  25. Holy Cow. I think quite a few of us have already learned the lesson of "This is what Happens when you read Ellie in Public" but I can be a bit slow on the uptake...but trust me, no mas. I wonder if you bought your piece of Napoleonic history because maybe...you were Napoleon? The master strategist? Just maybe...Because that...whew...I never in a million years could have been capable of pulling that puppy off and yes I used to be a classically trained actress. As they say here: "chapeau."

    And just a word from another of Ellie's readers that lives with a Handsome Frenchy: they are famous both for their little (happily so) white lies and a truly different sense of food hygiene. We had friends over for the weekend and had a late night last night. Remi, I mean oops, my companion, had taken a chicken out of the freezer to thaw to serve for lunch today (I am only going to gloss over the weirdness of his having put an entire chicken in the freezer). As I said, we had a late night. When I started to prep the chicken today it was at room temperature...an uncooked chicken people...left out overnight...yes, we cooked it and ate it and it was good but really? Really?
    PS. The happy end of this story is that noone was harmed. And yeps, Ellie does need to be far more careful than we Lost Weekenders for her health, that is for sure. Take care Ellie and I hope that your bestie is there!

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    1. Glad you survived, Heather. :-) XOXO XOXO XX XOXO XOXO

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    2. Heather, I'm glad you survived the chicken. By the way, my husband's grandmother lived her entire life in Paris. She didn't use a refrigerator. She kept her food on the window sill in the winter. I couldn't believe it.
      Judy

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  26. Speaking of germs I was in a surf life saving club tonight having dinner (cheap and cheerful and great ocean views) and they did a meat raffle to raise money for the surf life savers and they were parading the said meat tray about selling tickets and there was a giant raw chicken inside that meat tray and all I could think about was food poisoning. I mentioned it to Mr FF and he said they'd had the meat tray sitting unrefrigerated on top of the bar for ages. It's about 40 degrees here. You get the picture. I pity the poor soul who won that meat tray and cooks and eats that chicken. I hope D forgives you. He sounds very calm and I always think about him packing juice boxes for the kids on long trips (so thoughtful). Was also thrilled to get your lovely comment on my blog. Stay focussed xxxx

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  27. You are a bad girl.
    Recipe please x

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  28. Cut the guy some slack -- he forgot to put your chicken noodle soup back in the frig. Did that really warrant such a mean response? Yes he made a mistake but your reaction was way over the top.

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    1. Dear Starr, I was going to write back to you but then I got bored… Ellie

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    2. "a" mistake? maybe you missed the point, Starr.

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  29. Ahh...sometimes it feels so good to be so bad!!

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  30. Omg that is hilarious. ..poor david but he really did deserve it! LOL xo

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  31. Omg that is hilarious. .poor David but he really did deserve it! LOL xo

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  32. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  33. Hi Ellie,
    Thought you might like to purify the energy and vibration in your Paris abode. Here's a link to a blog post that describes exactly what I'm suggesting.
    Love you,
    Elizabeth
    https://bluebutterfliesandme.wordpress.com/2015/01/17/purifying-your-space/

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  34. You have been married a very long time. Ha

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  35. I hope you are alright, You have not posted in a long time.

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  36. This is the funniest thing I have ever read in my whole life and I actually cried laughing which I haven't done for probably 25 years. My husband also tells me those lies and is clueless about food safety, he would totally tell me this lie! I might have to copy your revenge!
    I've been reading your whole blog this week and it has given me so much happiness, thank you Ellie xoxo

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