>Breakfast:
Orange dreamsicle. Cold, soft, smooth, and sweet. Capable of soothing a raw throat, sore from mouth breathing all night.
Coffee

Lunch:
reheated cheddarwurst on a bun
Diet Coke over ice

Snack:
reheated coffee (I fell asleep after one cup this morning)
Planters peanut butter cookie crisps dipped in reheated coffee

Supper:
Chicken dumpling soup in crockpot.

Ah, the crockpot. How would I feed the family without it? No, don’t answer that. I’m not sure I want to know. The slow cooker let me simmer a beef stew while I was gone all day to a public school rally in Madison. Daughter stirred it, added gravy, and served it.

I used my one and only burst of energy to pile ingredients into the crockpot: two chicken breasts I’d thawed on the grill’s dying coals (planned-overs), carrots, celery, onion, peas, beans, and a few herbs and spices. Then I let the soup simmer all day while I napped, tissue box at my side. When I woke from my afternoon nap (yes, I did nap twice; leave me alone, I needed it), I pulled a can of Grands biscuits from the refrigerator, diced two of them into very small pieces for the dumplings, and saved the rest to bake with supper. Bisquick makes the best dumplings, but today I was short on energy. Easy dumplings were on the menu.

Summer colds. I could be upset about missing being outside and having fun, but I’m not. Instead, I’m glad I can stretch out on the couch and nap without worrying about preparing lesson plans for a sub. Rain made it too wet to work in the garden, so I’ll have to wait until the soil dries and my energy level picks up. Meanwhile, I put orange dreamsicles on the shopping list just in case anyone else gets sick. You know the Girl Scout motto: Be Prepared!