First let me tell you how last night was supposed to go, because I’m telling you, it was going to be lovely. I’d finally convinced Alex that it had been long enough since our last visit to Tabla’s Bread Bar — which as many long-time readers might know, is only my most favored restaurant in the entire world — that it would be only right to get back there, stat. [Plus, OMG, Floyd Cardoz just came out with a cookbook! Like last week! I know, I can’t believe I haven’t bought it yet either! Breathe.] The plan was to meet there at 6 p.m. and then after — psst, this is the really cool part — go to the observation deck at the Empire State Building. I’ve never been, but read recently that it’s now open until 2 a.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays and is actually remarkably empty as it gets later. Yesterday was warm and clear, a real November treat, and I could not imagine a better time to go.
So, I folded up the tripod, the telephoto lens, the remote clicker and our camera, tucked the in two bags and I’m sorry, but this is the bad part… I fell down the stairs. I just… I was carrying stuff and wearing heels and rushing and I’m pretty freaking clumsy anyhow and all of these factors came together in the worst possible was between the third and second-floor landings. It scared the living crap out of me, as you can imagine, kind of watching it happen but not able to stop it or know how it will end. I thought I was okay, I mean I am here, right? but as it has actually turned out, I fractured my clavicle. (The camera and lenses are, remarkably okay, er, a little less so, the evidence of my ass-over-teakettle tumble on the freshly-painted stairway wall.) I can’t believe it either; it sucks quite a bit in terms of discomfort, sling and have I mentioned that I’m left-handed and guess what? So, there’s that too. But, it could have been so much worse and I’m only supposed to be sling-ed up for two or three weeks and look, I typed this whole thing with my right hand! (Thankfully, the same side as the backspace key.)
I know what you’re thinking: the things she’ll do to get out of NaBloPoMo! Just two or three weeks, eh? How convenient! And “falling down the stairs?” What a cliche! But, it’s true, and while I have all sorts of little recipes planned for Alex and I to cook together, with no ability to chop or do dishes (suh-weeet) alas, odds are not good it will be daily. I’m bummed! This was really fun! But I’ll be back before you know it, as I have a crazed suspicion that the no-knead bread of Mark Bittman fame can totally be done with one hand.
Can I get a “yeah!” on that?
Ouch. Heal up quick.
Yikes! I wish you a quick and complete recovery. (And I hope you’ll resume NaBloPoMo whenever you’re back to 100%…)
Oh no! I think you get extra credit for typing with the wrong hand.
Oh, dear. You’re a good sport to fill us in on your, ah, misstep. I am sad for you that it’s your writing (and most other things) hand and I hope the two weeks go by smoothly and without too much inconvenience. “I was carrying stuff and wearing heels and rushing and I’m pretty freaking clumsy anyhow” pretty much describes me to a tee; I am nodding sympathetically from my couch.
But you know what else you can do with one hand? Eat cranberry sauce!
oh my, thank god it didn´t get more serious. Thanks for filling us in. Yes, definitely sucks that you have to quit NaBloPoMo, but under the circumstances, there´s not much else to do.
I´m with you on the no knead bread (now you´ve got the perfect opportunity to do it, “see, now it is the only recipe I can make, it´s like the world is asking for it”… I am such a weirdo, as if you needed help coming up with excuses for trying strange things in the kitchen!!!)
Anyway, I hope that you get better soon. We will miss your daily entries, but I hope you find a way to make the most out of the situation.
Calculate the number of days you have left for NaBloPoMo and when you are fully healed you can just pick up where you left off. We won’t tell anyone! And we’ll visit every day just to laugh, drool and comment like we do now. Deal?? Please!??
Here’s to a speedy recovery!
awww, that sound so hurty! get back up to speed so we can have drinks and dinner. ok?!
Thanks guys, you’re too nice – but no pity parties! This is just the life of a klutz, I suppose. I should add I’m not giving up on NaBloPoMo just yet – my denial runs that deep, and also, I really don’t like take-out. But for this AM, Big Goal Number One is drying my hair with one hand. Priorities!
silly girl… this is the perfect opportunity to let alex have a go at this blog. hehehe… perhaps he could cook, take the pictures, and write a little something for you… i hope you are doing okay.
Good grief girlfriend. Glad you’re allright. Hoefully they gave you Vicodan. If they didn’t call your Dr. and tell him/her that you are having trouble sleeping from the throbbing pain, you’ll get it.
ciao.
joce
master pillpopper!
That’s horrible! Also, definitely a way to get out of doing dishes for a few weeks. Think there’s a way for me to get the same benefits without the painful downside?
Anyway, I hope you heal quickly and are without pain soon.
But did you get to go to Tabla still?
That Mark Bittman recipe sounds awesome. My mother said, “do you think there’ll be a run on yeast at the supermarket?” Sure enough, I eavesdropped on someone asking for instant yeast. I haven’t tried it yet either. Good luck with the arm.
FEEl BETTER SOON!
Oh, that sucks – the clavicle is actually the easiest bone in the body to break (I actually just learned this in my Anatomy class last week). Glad to hear that the docs think that you’ll be better in a few weeks. NOW, it is the perfect to try my oh-so-fattening tomato soup – you don’t have to press seeds out of any tomatoes and should be relatively easy to do one handed. Besides, didn’t you know that the calcium in cream is good for broken bones? :-).
Hang in there chica!
Here’s to a speedy recovery!! Selfish on the part of we readers…but please do hurry!
Wow. I’ve taken a tumble or two down stairs but never too far and with nothing more than a bruise or two. I can’t imagine breaking anything. Scary. Hope you feel better soon.
Well, having just taken that bread out of the oven and thinking about doing it with one arm, I think I’d have to say it is the only bread I’ve ever made that you would have any chance doing with one hand. I think you really could do it with one hand. The part you need two hands for would be cutting it. The crust is amazing but you would need two hands to cut it with.
The bread is unbelievable but so is falling down the stairs.
So sorry. Take care and remember no hurry!
Oh, no! Well, perhaps you can think of it as an adventure. How many people out there are blogging about one-handed cooking?
Deb, I’m a huge fan of your writing/cooking/photography, de-lurking for a moment to say that I work for the company that publishes One Spice, Two Spice, and would be happy to send you a gratis copy as a get-well gift (it’s faaaaabulous, btw)! If you email me with an address, I’ll send it right out. You entertain me daily — I figure I owe you!
Oh no, oh no! Hope it heals well and quick like! Slings can’t be fun, especially if they interrupt fantastic nights out.
Oh no, this is a worse story than I’d imagined. Falling down the stairs!! On your beautiful night. :( I’m so glad you aren’t hurt worse, but man that does suck. I hope you heal fast, and I hope you get to the top of the ESB on a nice night.
Oh my goodness! You poor thing, hang in there. What bad luck. I feel like we’re living parallel lives, though, this weekend. Yesterday made that no-knead bread, and I walked past the Empire State Building at midnight, past the crowds who were there to scale in by night… You are a complete champ for continuing NaBloPoMo! Brave woman. Hope you heal right quick.
Please don’t try to use the * super-sharp knives * with the wrong hand…food blogs can cover take-out too!
Tammy – We are so going to try that. He likes that idea, too. In fact, we already have something planned for dinner! Yay.
Jocelyn – They did, and ibuprofen horse pills but I haven’t picked them up yet b/c advil is doing the trick. How boring, right? I’ll get them today, anyway, due to so many people, for varying reasons, lecturing me.
Jessie, Elle – Thank you.
Phc – Not yet, but I have no doubt we’ll get back there as soon as I can have a cocktail (drink + advil = very sleepy!) and/or eat wih my right hand without looking er, a little short-bus, excusing such a tacky reference.
Maggie – Good call! Predictably, Fresh Direct was out, which I think will be our savior this week. I just have the regular, so I’ll look for what the exchange is, if it matters at all, aside from it just working more slowly.
Jessica – That’s what my parents – did I mention they are EMTs? – said, too. Nice plug for the soup, which sounds perfect right now, but reminds me we have to finish the last one! (We’re good at cooking, bad at leftovers, tsk-tsk.)
Farmerbeth -I’ll do my best!
Patricia – I actually took a picture of the scary-looking mark on the wall but it freaks me out too much to look at it. Scary, indeed. I think I got off lucky. Must be all that yogurt and milk, right?!
Tanna – I think I know JUST the person it slice that bread for me. I think this is going to be the bread heard ’round the food blogosphere! Can’t wait to start it.
Jennifer – I know, I’m so pathetically Type A, I want to “win” NaBloPoMo, as my husband joked. But, you know there is some blogger out there who gave birth to twins last week after 64 hours of labor and still hasn’t missed a day. Foiled again! Heh.
Camilla – Huzzah! Although you owe me nothing, you will so be hearing from me. People – guess what I’m cooking from in a few weeks?! I wonder if that popcorn of my dreams is in there…
Kirs – Me too! But two-three weeks can’t be that bad, right?
Tammi – Thanks! Maybe, if there is another perfectly clear, 62-degree evening before they roll the hours back in January… ha!
Luisa – I’ve thought that more than once, too! Any chance you were at Viceroy last night, 9 p.m.-ish? I was the one by the door, trying to figure out how to use a fork, my husband cutting my portabello mushroom into bite-sized pieces for me. Good times!
Mollysusie – I will be using no knives, promise. God knows I have enough bruises and scratches to heal right now. I even have the perfect non-cooking, food post for later today, should all go well. Hooray!
ok, everybody seems to be making the no knead bread recipe with great results, so I´m feel “coersed” into doing it myself. If only I had a beautiful iron pot like yours. I´m gonna have to go and buy a special pot for this… oh, the sacrifices ones has to make! lol
You can´t be left out of this whole movement just for a broken clavicle :P I know you can do it!
Some inspiration:
http://web.mac.com/tannajones/iWeb/My%20Kitchen%20In%20Half%20Cups…Second%20Helping%20/My%20Kitchen%20in%20Half%20Cups…Second%20Helping/3068D2B9-F0E6-4E3D-8CF3-2EEB01CD1848.html
http://lifebeginsatsixty-five.blogspot.com/2006/11/instant-24-hour-bread.html
http://www.lindystoast.com/
The next time we see you if you have a black eye and said you walked into a door. I’m calling the cops!
you could always do the guest blog thing like jocelyn does…. have tim fill in for you… since this is mainly a cooking site, i think he needs to wear a cute lil apron (with nothing on under it, of course)
Hi Deb — long time reader, first time commenter…
Ouch! I’m glad you are [mostly] OK. Take care of yourself! Having fallen down the stairs on occasion myself, I can sorta feel your pain.
Love the blog, the photos, and the recipes…my new husband and I love to cook too, though we’re not quite up to your skill level just yet. Or maybe we’re just lazy…
allaner
Owwwwweeeee! I hope you make a speedy recovery. :)
Yikes! Glad you are OK!
aack! feel better soon!
omg, thats awful! and yet, just think of all the pampering… you won’t have to carry your own bags home for thanksgiving…. people will hold doors for you more often, you’ll get taxis more easily… you’ll have to eat out more…
okay, i’ll stop, but seriously, feel better and heal quick!!!
You must have incredible patience, drive or craziness to be typing everything and cooking everything with only one hand.
Yeah!
Poor girl. Bourbon and chocolate should do the trick.
I have to say, it truly is an ingenious way to get out of NaBloPoMo. I think I feel a spill coming on, myself…
I fell down a flight of stairs two summers ago when I was visiting family in New York. The worst part was seeing myself all, I remember. I did managed to maneuver whilst in the air, so I wouldn’t hit my head on the ground. I ended up breaking my left foot in two places, and fracturing my right ankle. It was my last day in New York, so I was carted around JFK in a wheelchair. (Best part? I hadn’t even finished packing for home.)
I broke my humerus (yeah yeah…not funny) running, on a nice spongey track. Tripped over my own feet….yup cuz’ I’m clutzy too. Broke my left arm, spent the next 4 wks in a sling. and guess what?! I’m left handed too….typing with one hand was an adventure to say the least. I let my hair air dry and taught my husband to “do a pony tail” for me :-)
I broke my right clavicle (and I am right-handed) at my first judo tournament ever two Thanksgivings ago. For Thanksgiving AND Christmas, despite the obvious sling on that side, relatives repeatedly forgot and pounded me on that shoulder; the first few times were painful but, after a while, it turned to comedy. The six weeks in the sling were not comedy though . . .