The Life of Mrs. Miles

LILY'S DUCK

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It's no fun being sick. Admittedly, yesterday I was at least in the land of the vertical. Wednesday passed in a fog – I don't rightly know how I made it through the day. By evening my dearest sent me off to bed. Miles likes me sick. I don't mean he likes me to BE sick, but he could have been born to nurse.

Unfortunately he had to work twelve hour shifts these past two days, but still has managed to find ways to show me he can take the very best of care of me. I'm simply grateful that I should be better by this weekend.

It was so strange being ill... I felt very vulnerable emotionally. The least little thing would set me off – poor Miles would find me all weepy over the silliest of things. He can handle me angry, but weepy throws him for a loop. We have a lot of power when we weep, women! I was so maudlin – playing the saddest music I could find... It was downright pitiful is what it was. I dislike feeling weak, but it caused me to appreciate the fact that at least for me, this is a passing thing. What about some of you, out there, who are sick more than this, have chronic illnesses? I thank the Lord for bringing me to this place where I can appreciate how it might feel, even briefly, for some of you. I can tell you the world does look different from the sickbed!

Its our anniversary on February 4th, so we will take this weekend away from the world. So I won't be blogging ... we need some downtime. I'm so looking forward to putting on a nice dress and going out for dinner. I loved my Jammies Party but after 3 days in these things I'm ready for a drastic change. I'm ready for hair color, stick on nails, make-up, jewelery and high heels.

So don't fear if you are not seeing any of your layouts or pj pics for a few more days as I will post all that good stuff next week. For now, I do want to post an amazing recipe I concocted just before I got sick. It's my take on an apple strudel using phyllo ... and its a low fat version!

BARB'S SMARTER APPLE STRUDEL
(makes 2)

5 apples, peeled, quartered and cut into 1/3 inch thick slices, horizontally
2 tbsp jelly powder
2 cups cornflakes – put em in the blender and whir till its the consistency of crumbs.
Becel (or any brand) butter flavor cooking spray
6 tsp sugar
cinnamon
allspice
12 sheets of phyllo

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Toss the apples with the jelly powder (in case you wonder, yes, its the jelly powder that makes wiggly jiggly jelly - any flavor will do) , cinnamon and allspice, and ½ cup of the cornflake crumbs.

Lay out a clean tea towel so it's lengthwise in front of you. Lay a sheet of phyllo on it. Sprinkle with ½ tsp sugar and a good sprinkle of cornflake crumbs (I use a strainer and just shake it over liberally)

Repeat till you have 6 layers. Now, take ½ the apples and lay them in a line, lengthwise on the phyllo pastry, about 3 inches from the edge closest to you. Roll up jelly roll fashion. Tuck the ends underneath. Gently lift roll onto a cookie sheet covered with foil, or parchment paper.

Repeat for the second roll.

Loosely tent foil over the strudels. Bake for 15 mintues, remove foil and bake for a further 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Remove and cool on a rack. To store I wrap mine in a clean dishcloth and keep it in the fridge – stays a nice texture!

NOTE: the cornflakes amount is a general amount – you may need to grind more, depending on how many you need. (I did not measure absolutely as I went along)

BARB'S HANDY TIP #191

Be Safe with Your Skin!

I listened to an ear-opening radio article the other day on the safety of our cosmetics - I HIGHLY recommend you take some time to learn about what you might, in good faith, be putting on your skin, thinking its safe... you might be surprized....

Did you know...

Major loopholes in federal law allow the $35 billion cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, no monitoring of health effects, and inadequate labeling requirements.

CAMPAIGN FOR SAFE COSMETICS