Waiting on Julia

I'm in such a Julia funk!  (exasperated sigh here!)...... last week was a short 'holiday' week and everything last week just felt 'off'...... good thing I had my phone programed with my schedule because, it would ding, I would show up...... in my mind I was a day behind all week..... any hooty.... I digress..... because of the hectic-ness of the past couple of weeks, I haven't been able to emerge myself in anything about Julia and I just miss her!

So..... I am waiting on two new biography books about her to show up on my doorstep Wednesday!  Knowing I don't have time to play in my kitchen with Julia again for a few weeks.... it will be hit or miss until 2nd week in Oct (if you can believe that!!!  I actually just said the word October and it is literally just a couple weeks away.... YIKES!!!!)... I needed something to at least read about her to feel her presence again.  She's become my little kitchen buddy and I have learned to chat right along with her as she demo's her show.  But then..... maybe I just need to get out more!  LOL LOL

One reason for the kitchen hiatus is that our 'baby', Lauren is coming home this weekend for a week's visit on her break between terms.  She is here from Sun 9-20/Sun 9-27, Sun afternoon we put her on a plane to head back to LA for her last term of school!!!!  WOO HOO!!!, and then we just have 3 days before we put ourselves on a plane for France for 10 days.... so..... really.... I don't have time to get jiggy with Julia in the kitchen until we get back.  I'm sure I will make a couple of her dishes while Lauren is home, but I'm not planning on making anything new.  Plus.... the weekend at the end of her stay we have company visiting from Michigan for the weekend (their visit was planned prior to her visit).

I'm sooooo excited to see Lauren and have her home for a week.  I can't believe her nearly 3 year stint in LA is almost over.... truly seems just like yesterday that I was moving her in to her first apartment in LA.  I can definitely say she is not the same chica she was back then.  LA is a very eye opening and maturing experience for the "fleeing of the nester".

That's why I really needed a Julia fix and ordered the two new books.  I even went to the library to see if they had any of the books on my list, which they didn't, but I found this other book about Paul Bocouse, who is currently THE reigning chef in the world, and was also a close friend and worked with Julia (back in the day), so the accidental stumble upon this book lifted the disappointment from not finding the Julia books on my list.

In fact...... we are going to Paul Bocouse's restaurant while in France, and there are behind the scene folks working on our behalf for us to have a meet and greet with Paul Bocouse himself in person.  OK!!!!!! I must admit..... I'm pretty stoked about that 'possible' opportunity!  But even if we do not get to meet the Grand Chef, his book is really interesting and I already have a list of recipes I want to try from his book.

When we return from France, and after having eaten true Southern France cuisine, I'm sure to get lost in my kitchen for weeks afterwards, wanting to duplicate the yummy dishes we ate on our trip.  But.... I will only have a couple of weeks before we head to Athens (biz trip this time) for a week and when we return from that trip, I hope to be starting my last and final class to earn my Chef Certificate.

In reflection about my summer with Julia..... it was summer time..... it was magical...... it was a reunion of two similar souls.... who, forever will be connected in mind and spirit, but realistically, life and it's schedule will keep our play dates sporatic until Feb, when hopefully we can hunker in and spend the rest of the winter together making hearty comfy french dishes!  I'm still hoping that PBS will release more DVD's of her shows.  I think there were 158 shows (give or take a few.... I just read that statistic somewhere) and only 48 shows of her original "The French Chef" series have been released to DVD.  I want more!  :  )

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