Scott’s office was closed because of the weather (a foot of snow in Center City!) and so harnessed a little bit of the unexpected day at home to put up a knife strip that has been sitting in a corner of our dining room for at least three years. It was very satisfying (and now I can see in a single glance that I have an embarrassing number of paring knives).
A bundle of herbs in preparation for making chicken stock. They were from Trader Joe’s, so they were weirdly scentless.
Dinner on a seriously cold day. Bison burgers, roasted root vegetables (carrots and parsnips), and buttery broccoli.
Scott and I have something of a Sunday morning tradition for those weekends where I don’t have to be out doing book or class stuff. We sleep late, order take-out from Famous Fourth Street, watch a little TV, and then take a long walk.
Today was one of those glorious, unscheduled days. I slept until 10:30 (Scott got up a little earlier to meet his trainer), talked to my mom for a bit, and made coffee. When Scott got back from the gym, we ordered food. I got scrambled eggs with lox and onions, which is a dish that always reminds me of my grandpa Sid.
After a bit of lazing around, we walked. We went to peek at kittens in our neighborhood pet shop, bought a few bars of fancy soap, and got some new underwear at Macy’s for Scott (buy two packs, get one free!). I also made him pose under the giant eagle statue. There’s a slight resemblance, after all.
Tonight was the Cheese Ball! Hosted and organized by my friend Tenaya (aka Madame Fromage), it was a fundraiser for Birchrun Hills Farm‘s cheesecave fund and was a very great deal of fun. I worked the door for an hour or two, brought a quartet of homemade preserves, and chatted with a number of friends and acquaintances.
At the end of the night, it was mostly cheesemakers and cheesemongers around the massive cheeseboard. They had saved some of the very best wedges and wheels for the true appreciators and so I tasted some truly spectacular bits. Of course, I can’t remember any of the names (I didn’t have a drop to drink, it’s just my customary name amnesia), but it was worth it nonetheless.
I spent most of the day trying to orient myself to being home. I caught up on some email (though there’s still buckets left to go), had a work call, did a spur of the moment interview for KYW, went shopping at Reading Terminal Market (that’s where the picture above was taken), and then came home to make a vegetable-stuffed turkey meatloaf (I had a yearning).
Another day where it feels like I’ve fit two days worth of experience into a 24 hour period. I got up before sunrise, showered, and headed to the airport (thanks for the ride, Andrew! Particularly on just five hours of sleep!). Through security, lousy breakfast taco, on the airplane, up, down, up, down, baggage claim, SEPTA, and home.
Scott was working from home so that he’d be there when I arrived. We walked over to Running Press’s offices to pick up two copies of my new book (more about that here), got lunch, and came home to catch up on some of the DVR-ed shows that Scott had saved for me.
I miss Raina, Andrew, and Emmett like a pain, but it’s also good to be home.
It was my last day in Austin. There was one last coffee at the Once Over, a boatload of tacos as an early lunch, a bit of a wander around the Herb Bar, and finally dinner with the lovely Kate Payne and her wife JoAnn.
When I got back to the Rose/Press house, Raina and Emmett were still up. I watched Em play with his magnatiles and then we headed to bed where I read a few books to the boy before he and Raina lay down.
I haven’t left quite yet and I already miss them.
Tonight, we had dinner at the home of some of Raina and Andrew’s friends. They live up in the Austin hills and so are in possession of a most glorious view of the city. I wasn’t really set up for trying to shoot the lights of the city, but I was quite happy with the way in which they look in this out of focus shot.
Yesterday, after breakfast with my sister and nephew, I picked up a rental car and drove three hours to Houston. I went to visit my dear friend Ingrid and her family. I’d not seen Ingrid since she got married nearly three years ago and she’s moved, changed her work situation, and had a baby in the intervening time.
We met at the Unitarian church in very early 2003 and became friends instantly. Truly, it was one of those rare instances where we went from being strangers to dear friends. There was no period of acquaintanceship or even much getting to know you. Just immediate friendship.
Even now, we can get together and pick back up as if no time at all had passed. I pulled up in front of her house and we started to talk and other than the hours while we were sleeping, the conversation never stopped. The little munchkin wearing the pink giraffe suit above is her sweet 18-month-old daughter Eliza.