Decoy 2007 Napa Valley Red Wine

I asked my friend, Leah, the name of the wine we drank with the dinner we cooked on Sunday night (a lemony asparagus pasta from smittenkitchen.com, my favorite recipe site). Her response, the Decoy 2007 Napa Valley Red Wine, was the last wine I'd had, so I wanted to make it the name of this post.

How are you alive right now?? she asked after I told her my reasoning.

Yes, that's right. I've gone a whole three days sans vin (blasphemy in these parts). And I'm barely alive. But not because I've given up the bane of my existence here. No, I have the flu. In the middle of summer. The summer flu, if you will (self-diagnosis).

And, to be honest, the idea of drinking anything - or eating, for that matter - is the furthest thing from my mind at the moment. I can barely stomach soup; water is actually difficult to drink. Even typing this is a struggle.

I have managed two half days at work, followed by long spurts of laying in my bed, unable to sleep and, thus, thinking I'm better. Then, I get up, walk down the stairs, realize I still feel awful and go back upstairs to repeat the whole vicious cycle.

Okay, I'm whining. I apologize. But, when you're sick and far from the comforts of home (would you believe that Whole Foods in Napa does not carry challah?) you start to doubt your pioneering spirit and question why it was a brilliant idea to carve your own path by moving clear across the country. I experienced the same thing when I was living in London, when I got the flu and bronchitis during Christmastime and spent a month on my couch - alone, while everyone else in my flat spent the holidays with their families.

I promise, I don't usually get this sick - in fact, I can't seem to remember being sick a single time in the New York apartment I lived in for nearly a year. Somehow, my immune system only seems to fail me when I move to a new place. Perhaps the excitement of it all tires out my system? Living in the moment is exhausting, after all.

Whatever the reason, I'm sick and far from home, but fortunately not alone. My live-in French family fueled me up with herbal remedies yesterday as they made hamburgers and salad, and have kept me company this evening while making boeuf bourginon and some type of potato gratin. And Nathalie is making a chocolate cake. (Naturally, I asked her to save me some for tomorrow).

While it may not be my home, it certainly feels like a home where I am - and when you're sick and just don't want to be alone, it's comforting.

Plus, the California sun can't hurt. There have to be benefits from the vitamin D in that, right?