The Glass Kitchen Giveaway – Win a Copy of Linda Francis Lee’s newest book!

You’ve met my sister, Linda, on this blog before. I tend to be a little braggy about her because I think she’s perfect. I want to be like her when I grow up. In my mind, she will always be Barbie – tall, blonde, beautiful – and I will always be Skipper – shorter, less glamorous and unable to drive the convertible. And I’m absolutely okay with that because, despite their differences, Barbie and Skipper are always a team.

Growing up, Linda was the one who always organized the “fun” stuff in our family: games of Spades around the kitchen table, oatmeal cookie baking marathons, “makeovers” for me and our mom, cheer practice in the grass, and singing practice (with the requisite hairbrush microphone) in the bedroom we shared. She also taught me the important girl things like how to tweeze my eyebrows (“Don’t start if you don’t plan to keep it up. Nothing looks worse than scraggly eyebrows.”), how to sing on key, how to drive a car, and most importantly, how to walk away when someone treats you badly. Linda taught me how to get through life with fewer bumps and bruises.

Now that we are full-fledged grown ups and living on opposite sides of the country, we don’t get to spend as much time sitting next to each other on the couch, going through old yearbooks (we called them ‘annuals’ growing up), laughing like deranged hyenas at our hairdos (I wasn’t as adept at coiffure as she), our outfits (I tended towards sporty, she tended towards trendy), and the boys we liked and hated (I will just leave that one alone). But, our distance hasn’t stopped us from talking for hours every week, usually about nothing important (What are you eating? Do you like Giuliana Rancic’s new haircut?) to things that are very important (Dad has cancer. Grant was in an accident.), and of course, the celebrations (Dad is going to be okay! Grant is going to be okay!). We often have to force ourselves off the phone because the “And one last thing”s will go on forever. We like to chat. We like each other. Both require time and nurturing.

When I started this blog several years ago, Linda was very encouraging. She knew I liked to write, but she knew I liked to run more. “So write about running,” she said. And I did. When my posts started to veer more and more towards food, she said, “So write about food AND running.” So I am. And, like every other part of my life, from my kids to my races to my meals, Linda pays attention and cares about all of them. She loves my kids, she loves my running, and she loves my food. She was the first person who asked me to cook for her. This is very different from cooking for someone and having them just say, “Thank you”. Rather, it is someone telling you they love what you do and would like to share it again. I’ve been cooking for her ever since.

The Glass Kitchen is an homage to sisters and cooking and all the love in between. It is a wonderful book, full of soul, and beauty, and light – just like my sister. I know you will love it as much as I did, so that’s why I want you to have a copy!

Leave a comment below and I will pick one at random to receive a copy of The Glass Kitchen. Good luck!

Tagged as: Linda Francis Lee, sisters, The Glass Kitchen