Nine days later, and I can say I’m operating on all but one cylinder after my bout with the flu. This is the longest it has taken me to get up to speed, well, except for that short bout of meningitis. But I’m happy to say that it’s the cylinder that has to do with appetite, just not hungry. A good thing, right? What’s that saying, you can never be too skinny? Now I can catch up with Mexican food, which I intend to do tonight–one whole flash-fried tilapia at Ricardo’s, a hole in the wall up in Lake Forest.

Which brings me to my upcoming trip in a couple of weeks to Portland Oregon, city of the “Keep Portland Weird” bumper sticker, where I will join my people along with my son and his extended family for five days of whoopee and rock climbing and museums and Powell’s Books. And fabulous restaurants and all cooking together in our communal kitchen. That ought to fatten me up.