Homemade

Today is the morning before David's 30th Birthday.  And, because I want to make this birthday special, outstanding, and memorable for my love, I have decided to take care of him all weekend starting with a delicious homemade breakfast sandwich: Croissant,  organic eggs, organic cheddar, and the best bacon ever "Nature's Rancher."

While this is not for David's birthday.  It is the beef provencal I made on Monday.  Talk about a delicious, savory meal that warms the soul.  It is super easy and the flavors demand attention.  Saute an onion and six garlic cloves, brown two pounds of chuck beef, add a can of diced tomatoes, a cup of wine, and tie a celery stick, bay leaf, and some thyme together.  Cover this for two hours.  After 120 minutes prepare yourself for a fabulous meal that will definitely make it into your regular rotation!

Bookstore

My favorite stop on the weekend is this local bookstore.  Every time I go in with David, we lose hours.  Browsing possible titles, stories, and characters is consuming.  It is always hard to leave (without an armful of books!).  Today was a different type of visit. Instead of simply book shopping, we spent time browsing the kitsch section for Christmas stocking stuffers.  There were amazing finds to be found. It was a productive, imaginative, and exciting weekend excursion.  Walking home hand-in-hand, all the way home, we drank hot chocolate, laughed, and enjoyed the last moments of the weekend before the reality of work came creeping in to steal each of us away.  Two days home together is just never enough.  But at least visits to the bookstore can be savored.

Spanish Moss

My second term class just started.  This is always a weird time of year for me.  I feel comfortable and content with my students from the first term.  We have a rhythm together.  The good, the bad, the mischievous are predictable now. But, now there is this new crop of kids who seems so unfamiliar. It will be a curious experiment as the eighteen of us journey through American History.  At first unsettling but hopefully soon a similar comfort will arise from this group despite first impressions. The irony is we are starting the course all over again: 1492, Columbus, Native Americans, Spanish Moss.