Well, bless her heart: Paris has made an attempt to be
friendly, albeit only briefly. Every summer for one month, the city of Paris
brings the beaches of the south of France to the city. Along the banks of the
Seine, a faux beach is created, complete with sand, beach chairs, palm trees,
umbrellas, cafés, sand castles, beach activities… And a view. As corny as it
may sound it’s actually rather remarkable. If your pocketbook isn’t deep enough
to get yourself to St. Tropez or any other inflated beach resort for the summer
and you are stuck in Paris during the depths of the July and August heat, Paris
Plages is a charming refuge.
Here’s the best part and most unusual part: It’s free! Yes,
you heard me, something in Paris is free! Now you can take your €20 Uber to the
banks of the Seine, take in some sun in your €120 Eres maillot, snack on your €14 ham and cheese baguette, sip your €22
rosé, and bask in the glory that you are sitting in a free beach chair at a
free beach in Paris.
A toute!
*Something you don’t know about me? Yesterday morning I woke
up and immediately thought I was going to die. I’m not even over exaggerating
or even overreacting. Why? As you know, or maybe you don’t know, one of the
perks of having ALS is that getting a respiratory illness can prove fatal. My
muscles are not strong enough to cough so my lungs can become quickly filled
with… You know what. We have had these emergencies a few times which result in
15 paramedics in my bedroom sticking tubes down my throat and up my nose trying
to suction out the culprit. Not sexy. To say that it is terrifying is an
understatement.
As soon as I opened my eyes yesterday morning, I felt it
coming on. My nose was stuffy, my breathing was labored and my chest was
heavy. My first thought? Fuuuuuuck. My second thought? Panic at the disco. My
third thought? Ellie, you’re going to have to save yourself. So I decided to do
as Hippocrates and “let food be thy medicine”… With a side of pharmaceuticals.
First things first, I thought I would double down on my feeding tube formula
which happens to be a concoction of the healthiest foods on earth. The formula
is called Liquid Hope and it is a whole foods meal replacement which honestly,
I think everyone should take. It is a blend of vegetables, whole grain brown rice,
flaxseed oil, quinoa, almond butter, kale, garlic, tumeric, rosemary, ginger
and wakama (Japanese seaweed). After that, I upped my dosage of Haelen 951
which is pure fermented soy juice. Next up, I made sure I had a continual cup
of hot lemon water with local honey, tumeric and ginger and my usual cup of hot
chai tea with vanilla soy milk was always on hand. Not to do anything in
moderation, I continued to assault my symptoms with my famous green juice.
Let’s talk about juicing, shall we? How can anyone go
through their day without juicing? It’s so easy and so beneficial (and you
won’t feel so bad about smoking cigarettes… Just kidding!). Once a week, we go
to the farmers market and stock up on all of the fresh organic vegetables,
fruits and such… Spinach, celery, fennel, cucumber, apples, oranges, lemon,
kale (not easy in Paris), beets, ginger, cilantro and whatever else is fresh
and in season. We bring it home, chop it up, put it in plastic bags and freeze
it so it is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Our secret weapon is a dash of
tumeric. We also add coconut oil, flaxseed oil and love.
Last but not least, I took one of my emergency crazy pills
to suppress the panic attack. To bore me to sleep, I watched an episode on
HGTV’s Beach Flip, which did its job and I was asleep within 10 minutes. By the
way, why would anyone want to watch a show about renovating a kitchen on a
budget? Gross. I don’t want to watch people choosing quartz countertops from
Home Depot or flooring from Lumber Liquidators. Don’t you think it’s more fun
to watch rich people (with their decorators) choose marble countertops à la
Kelly Wearstler, flooring from Exquisite Surfaces or faucetry from Compas. I
do. But don’t get me wrong, I do love an IKEA kitchen in a pinch but watching
HGTV’s Beach Flip was actually painful.
Anyway, the moral to my story is that food works, food heals.
After eight hours of pummeling my body with organic everything and a much
needed nap, I woke up and was cured. I swear to God. Sinuses clear, no
coughing, no trouble breathing… Fresh as a daisy, ready to tackle the world and
insult as few people as I can throughout the day (it’s a challenge). I also
have to admit that the crazy pill did its job alleviating my stress so that I
could mentally get my mind around getting healthy. Voilà! Thank you kale and
wakame.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s summer series: Hint: "La Balanguera
misteriosa, com una aranya d’art subtil, buida que buida sa filosa de nostra
vida treu lo fil. Com una parca bé cavil-la teixint la tela per demà.”-Joan Alcover
I Maspons (1854-1924)
Phew! So glad you got through that scary episode. You know your stuff, and it worked, and it sounds darn delicious. The beaches in Paris look fab by the way. Thanks for the great pics!! XOXOXO
ReplyDeleteThank God !
ReplyDeleteOkay Ellie! I am going to our farmer's market on Saturday and going to do my best to juice every day next week! I know I will feel better. Most importantly, I am so glad you figured it all out and am delighted you are feeling better. You are awesome, woman!!
ReplyDeleteEllie what a scare and what a horrible feeling that must have been. You took care of that one with sheer will and smarts. Thank God.
ReplyDeleteI just made a big organic carrot and parsley soup in my vitamix inspired by you. Take care Darling Ellie and btw I loved this post as usual, you are teaching me all kinds of new Paris things. XO
YOU ARE THE BEST...........BETTER then any TV SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteXOXOXO
Feed a cold and starve a fever - that’s what my mum always said. I’ve had a nasty cold/virus for the last six weeks. Hubby had it too. His was all in the ears so that he couldn’t hear and mine made me totally lose my voice for six days and croaky for another week or so. I couldn’t talk and he couldn’t hear. Marriage made in heaven! Love your blog. Kate.
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you are okay!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder that I need to start juicing - gotta do it - wanna do it - for years.
Thank goodness you made it through. Your management techniques are second to none! What a relief it must be to have dodged that chest infection and long may your easy breathing continue.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought the Paris plages a bit strange. If I have sand, sun, a bathing suit and an umbrella, I want the sea, or at least somewhere to take a dip! But they seem popular and I suppose the pool helps. Healing thoughts and love to you.
Believe it or not, I only had my first green juice a few weeks ago and holy canoli, it was INSANE. The other American in this tiny village made it for me (which proves that it can be done and that I am just lazy). She has been juicing for something like twenty years because one of her first boyfriends was a Navy Seal (Hello? Hottiemuch?) and that plus a largely vegetarian diet is what these men machines were supposed to eat to run at their best. Interesting! So, she made me this smoothie with spinach and a ton of the other ingredients that you suggest and I immediately had so much energy that I got up and started doing cheerleading jumps from high school (Yes, I was a cheerleader. This was pre-Goth but New Wave me and the guys used to run offsides to try and run me down they hated me so much. I just wanted to prove that it could be done and it helped that I just so happened to have a big Sister that had competed at Nationals to train me but I digress...). And that energy lasted until the next day! Now I want a juicer! :)
ReplyDeleteI am SO glad that you are better and that you were brave enough to face down your fear and take action. I always think of you as a Superwoman and I am right. If I could, I would buy you a matching Collier de Chien wrist cuff so that you could be Wonder Woman too.
With so much Love and Strength to you, beautiful Ellie,
Heather
PS. Not sure I am on the same page with you about Paris Plage however! "You can take the Parisiennes out of Paris but..."
A unique remedy and I am so happy for you that it worked.
ReplyDeleteThe energy and enthusiasm that you write with, and approach life with, have persuaded me to do a big, organic produce shopping today, and get my blender out. You really are amazing, Ellie! (I like to think that part of your spirit/spunk/determination is rooted in old-fashioned Midwestern practicality - glazed over, of course, with Parisian flair). Thank you for your blog posts - and so glad you knew what to do and overcame that scary episode.
ReplyDeleteHow frightening for you Ellie. It seems you are doing all you can,and I am going to the farmers market this weekend for all of the great veggies you mentioned! So VERY inspiring!!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Karena
The Arts by Karena
Could it have been all of the fluids? Just glad you persevered and are feeling better. And thanks for the tip on chopping and freezing all of the foods for the juicer. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteHooray for greens! And turmeric. And organic everything. Good for you! And keep at it. I loved hearing about the beach in Paris. Amazing. And pretty cool, actually.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Eleanor. It must have been very difficult to find the energy and resolve to take all those steps when you were feeling punk. You are beyond extraordinary! P.S. Thank you for mentioning the addition of a pool to the Paris Plage. The Paris Plage feels much more alluring to me with an opportunity to immerse oneself in water. It's too bad that so many rivers and lakes are no longer swimmable.
ReplyDeleteHi Ellie, I'm very happy you followed your intuition. I never knew juicing could be so good for you. I'm a believer now! Thank you for sharing the faux beaches, that is neat, love that. There are places here in California that could use a few of those. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are better!!
ReplyDeleteThought you would appreciate what you are missing in the States! I think we are past the point of no return! http://nypost.com/2015/07/28/people-are-dressing-like-slobs-so-its-time-to-bring-back-dress-codes/
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are feeling well. Juicing! If it is green, I decided years ago that it doesn't taste good. Even my almost 90 year old mother has started to drink green juice. (Her birthday is in October) My daughter-in-law and her children drink it all the time. I like pink and orange drinks. Ok - so what is your favorite recipe and I will try to do it. kisses
ReplyDeleteJudy