Stand, You've Been Sitting Much Too Long. There's a Permanent Crease In Your Right and Wrong

Stinky and some of her friends at a basketball game.

Last Friday I started reading By the Iowa Sea, by Joe Blair. I was talking to Stinky about it when I got home from work and told her it was about a man who had a son who was profoundly autistic and how hard and wonderful all at the same time it was and how it affected their family.

She said, "Hmm. That reminds me of something that happened at lunch today..." She went on to tell me that a girl with Down Syndrome came over to the end of their table, where some freshman girls were sitting. The girl asked them if she could sit with them, and the freshmen told her there was no room - even though there obviously was. Stinky and her friend were horrified and followed the girl to a table where she sat alone and started crying. They asked her if she would like to sit with them and she told them, "Yes. That she was too scared to even ask the seniors..." Stinky said she was a very sweet girl, who told them all about her life and the things she loved.

Then, Stinky and her friend asked one of the very large and imposing football player guys to go over and have a talk with the freshman girls, because they thought it would be more effective than if they said something. The football player went over and told the freshmen girls that what they did wasn't cool and that they should be ashamed of themselves. I suppose if peer pressure can be used for evil, it's nice to at least see kids trying to use it for good too...

Love Is All Around, No Need to Waste It.

Here's me after my first bike race of the season.

So, I road raced for the first time in a long time. I only did 3 last year and each one I was either last or second to last and I'm pretty sure I got dropped from the pack first almost every race. Since I've been trying to actually train this season, my goal was to stay with the pack for the entire race. I didn't reach my goal, but I was the last person to get dropped from the pack and I had them in my sights until the very end. I was 10th out of 15. Not bad for me, and I think I can build on it.

Here is The Guy up close and personal after the race.

The Guy was recovering from a cold, so he didn't do as well as he wanted, but it's the first race of the year for most of us, so no one took it all that seriously.

The race was held out in the country by Hills, Ia. It was part VERY hilly gravel and part pavement, with 30 mile per hour winds. My ass was officially kicked by the end of it.

After the race, we went out for Mexican food and came home and took a nap. Even after the nap, I was pretty wrecked. We watched some Mary Tyler Moore episodes. The Guy has the firs two seasons. The Guy and I were talking about for people our age, MTM has to be one of the ultimate nostalgia shows...Along with The Carol Burnett Show and M*A*S*H*.

Here's our dorky after-race self-portrait.

On Sunday, we took our time getting going and then drove to the trails we will be racing on next week. We did about 10 miles of the course. The Guy felt pretty good, but my legs were still dead from the bike race the day before.

In the evening, The Guy went to play pool with his friend Bry and Stinky and I were finally going to watch the movie, Tangled together. Of course, 20 minutes into it, one of Stinky's friends showed up and off she went. I went ahead and finished watching the movie by myself. I thought it was pretty damn cute.

I Used to Hurry a Lot. I Used to Worry a Lot.

Here's me "pretending" to look cold. It was actually windy and freezing that day.

Here is a quick overview blog post. Coadster is now in London. She is afraid to fly, so I was worried for her, but it sounds like she did just fine.

Here is a picture of me pointing to a bald eagle flying overhead.

Last weekend, The Guy and I ran the full 25K course of the race we're doing on St Patrick's Day. At least the last 5 miles of it are very technical trail running. After I was really tired, it was a big challenge to lift my legs enough to get over all of the roots and rocks on the trail. I did run the whole thing, but it REALLY kicked my ass.

The Guy showing off his new drink holster. I think he's ready for his spaghetti western now.

Saturday night we went out for dinner to a new place in town called Moon Raker's. Our friend E. met us, and we had good food, a great talk and a few drinks. I was pretty migrainey all weekend, so we went home early.

Me all splattered with road muck.

On Sunday we rode out on a gravel road course outside of Hills, Ia. It was cold and snowy and muddy, but it was a nice short ride.

That night, I made tilapia reubens for the first time. I don't think the tilapia had a strong enough taste to compete with everything else in the sandwich, but it was still good and it was worth a shot...

Hey Baby, We Like Your Pants

Here are some turkey tracks in the snow.

I've been a baaad blogger so far this week. I took yesterday off work, because it was in the 60's here and I wanted to bask in it. It was lovely.

Today we have sexual harassment training. I think they should really call it anti-sexual harassment training, because I doubt they will teach us to tell our male bosses to wear tighter pants, so we can throw pens down in front of them and watch them bend down and pick them up. If I'm wrong on that, I'll be sure to report back.

And Feed Them On Your Dreams

Archie is a cranky old cat, when he first wakes up.

Last night I went on a lovely run with my friend E. after work. When I got home, Stinky was working on her financial aid form. Since it was her first time, she had used a .com address, instead of a .gov. She was on some page that looked like the FAFSA, but turned out to be something that you were supposed to pay for in the end. She had almost finished filling it out, before we figured out what was wrong. So, then she had to fill out the real form. Poor thing.

Heidi is such a pretty girl.

Luckily, Coadster called right when we needed her, and she helped Stinky get it all done. Coadster seemed pretty happy to help. She always likes to think that Stinky and I are helpless without her, even though it isn't true...For the most part.

Archie checking out the tea tray The Guy brought in for me on Sunday morning. Don't worry, he didn't fall in.

Tonight The Guy and I are taking Stinky out for her birthday dinner almost 6 months late. She went to a football game on her actual birthday, and then when Coadster and her boyfriend came home that weekend, Stinky forgot to ask for the time off of work. So, we went to dinner without her and then let her know later how nice her birthday meal had been. We're really sweet like that.

Anyway, we're finally making up for it tonight. She wants to go to a place called Blackstone and asked if she could order the appetizer of cheese they set on fire and everyone has to yell, "opa!" before they put it out. She likes to live on the edge, that one.

Every Day Is Dreamlike. It Seems Like

The Guy pointing to one of my favorite pieces in the show.

Sooo, The Guy's ex had her BFA art show and it just happened to be located in the building where I work.

The Guy's ex making her braids look like Medusa snakes, next to her self-portrait.

Since my building is only open during business hours, and those just happen to be the same hours both The Guy and our friend, G. work, I asked my boss if I could borrow a key and last night, The Guy, his ex and our friend G. and I all snuck into the building to check out the show.

G. was supposed to be making jazz hands but it looks more like she's getting ready to grapple.

Both G. and The Guy were very happy to be able to see the show.

The Guy's ex playing with one of my co-worker's ruler/magnifying tool.

When we finished looking at art, The Guy said he wanted to see where I worked, so we creeped around the cubicles and The Guy's ex bemoaned the fact that there were candy dishes, but they were all empty.

And She'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun...

Archie adorably gnawing on me while I read my book on Sunday morning.

Oh, how I love my weekends. On Friday The Guy and I went to the store after work to buy running shoes. We have that 25K race coming up in a few weeks and we want to have our shoes worn in for a couple of weeks first. I haven't had new running shoes in 3 years, and some of those years, I was putting in about 30-40 miles a week on them. I suppose it's about time.

We went for Thai food after the store, and then home to watch The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I loved the book when I was younger. The film version is much different, but still really good. Alan Arkin is amazing as a deaf/mute. His face is so expressive.

Our favorite bartender S. giving The Guy a good, swift kick in the tuckus.

On Saturday, I woke up and lazed about for a bit and read my new book, The Tiger's Wife. I do love it so far. it takes place in what I believe is the former Yugoslavia, and possibly Hungary. It is full of folktales and stories about the Bosnian conflict.

I ran my 6.4 mile route finally and then came home and made lunch before we took a nice little nap. We woke up in time to get ready for G. and The Guy's ex to come over for dinner. I made tortellini with a creamy pesto sauce, shrimp and veggie scampi over fettucini, The Guy made the salad and we had some good bread with it. It was a lovely evening.

The Guy in a playground jail.

On Sunday morning, I lazed some more. The Guy went running and when he came back I was in the spare/reading/office/cats/Coadster's room, reading my book by the sunniest window. He brought me a tray with everything I needed to make my tea and I had the most wonderfully relaxing morning.

Here's me in the same playground jail.

In the afternoon, The Guy and I rode our bikes to Riverside. The weather was warm but very windy. I've at least been feeling stronger on the bike this year. last year, it would have killed me to ride that far in the wind.

We made it to our friend S's house and got to see all the work he and his wife have been doing on their place, then we wandered over to a place called the Icehouse to eat a late lunch and play some pool.

The shadows of ourselves riding home against the fields.

In the evening, we had cereal for dinner and watched Woody Allen's, Bananas. I hadn't seen that movie in forever. Some of the sight gags were so ridiculous that I actually did laugh out loud.

Let 'Em Be Doctors and Lawyers and Such

Here are my girls with one of their cousins.

Soooo, just a little update on the youngin's.

Coadster called to let me know she got her passport in the mail yesterday. She won't be in Dublin on St Patrick's Day, after all. Turns out, all the lodging there has been booked up for months and months. Who'd've guessed it?...Uh, probably everyone. She is going to go on a London pub crawl instead. My mind isn't exactly set at ease with the change in venue.

Stinky has made her decision and applied to the local community college here in town for her first year. It will be a much cheaper way for her to figure out if she's finally ready to get her shit together as far as school is concerned. She's a smart girl, with motivation issues. I hope she figures it out...

Like the Trembling Heart of a Captive Bird

Here are some docks on a frozen lake.

And yesterday, I was exhausted. Not surprising after my weekend, but I had a hard time staying awake at work. The Guy was also feeling pretty tired. So, we just gave us another Get Out of Jail Free card night.

I had leftover salmon and brie left, so we just cut up some red onions and got some greens and put the salmon and brie on bread and toasted it all up and then served it with some roasted red potato soup. It turned out very, very well.

I made a pot of lentil soup for tonight, but didn't really feel like doing a whole hell of a lot else. I asked The Guy if he wouldn't mind watching Play Misty for Me and he was all for it.

I hadn't seen that movie in forever.It is definitely of its time (1971). Clint Eastwood is a super cheesy DJ who plays jazz and recites poetry over the air. It's not hard to understand why someone would want to kill him...Just kidding. Like The Guy said, all cheese aside, that movie had plenty of things going for it. I'm assuming a lot of Fatal Attraction was taken from it.

Something Tells Me I'm Into Something Good

Archie thought he'd hide in Coadster's laundry bag and go back to college with her.

So, I know I didn't get around to writing about last weekend, but you can just imagine it was more, wonderful life, I'm so happy and active, blah, blah, blah. And now I can go into the same details about this weekend.

Archie "helping" The Guy put a desk together.

On Friday I got off work at 3, because it was nice out and I wanted to go running, while it was still light outside. It was heavenly.

I came home and Coadster got home from college about the same time, The Guy got home from work. I made us some salmon, and potato pancakes and steamed asparagus and we had some crusty bread from the Co-op. Coadster loves salmon, and it's not something she'll make on her own, at school.

After we ate, The Guy and Coadster and I watched, His Girl Friday. Neither Coadster or I had ever seen it before. We both found it quite entertaining. People in movies in the 40's were so quick with the witty banter, that's for sure...

My friend E. and I at the halfway point of our 10 mile run.

On Saturday I woke up and finally finished reading my book. I made French toast for breakfast and did some other general, lazing around. Both the girls went to the Quad Cities to watch a show choir competition and The Guy headed out on a bike ride.

We decided we'd go to Solon, but then extended our ride to the Sutliff Bridge. We stopped at the bar there for some greasy food and a soda, to keep us fueled enough to ride back. It was over a 50 mile bike ride - the longest I've gone since RAGBRAI.

The Guy and E. running down my favorite part of the trail.

Saturday evening we went to our friends' A. and Britt's house for dinner. We drank red wine and she made a butternut squash and portabella mushroom lasagna. It was really good. We stayed and talked and ate and drank until a little after 11. So late for us.

The Guy and I at the end of our 10 miler. We think we're hilarious...As usual.

On Sunday, I was a bit tired (I'm sure it wasn't because of the wine or anything...). I started my new book - Ann Pathett's State of Wonder. It's really good so far.

Coadster went back to school about the same time The Guy, E. and I all went to some trails by Solon for E.'s first 10 mile run. It was a beautiful day, but the trails were a bit on the mushy side. E. finished the whole run and were both very proud of her.

In the evening, we went out to play pool for free with E. I was exhausted, so my game wasn't the best. Luckily for me, both The Guy and E. scratched on the 8 ball, so I lamely one two games.

Well, Holy Moly, Me-O-My, You're the Apple of My Eye

Here are some bracelets they gave us at the sushi place we went to last night. If it weren't so blurry, it would be easier to see that The Guy's was a fake bug. I liked his best.

Our Valentine's Day was lovely. I'm not much of a celebrator of Hallmark holidays, but I'll take any excuse to go out for sushi. We had a great dinner and a wonderful talk about some of the issues both of us have that aren't always fun to deal with. (as far as I know, everyone in the world has some) There was no accusing and neither of us got defensive or shut-down. We both acknowledged our own shit and talked about ways to work on being healthier. How refreshing.

So, there were no candles, flowers or chocolates. Instead we had a frank and open talk about keeping things in our world as happy and healthy as possible, and a commitment to both work toward that end. What could be more romantic than that?

I'd Give You EVerything and More and That's for Sure

Here I am at the spillway on our trail run this Sunday.

I will blog about our weekend tomorrow, but today? Today it is Valentine's Day. This is what it looks like at our house:

The Guy: (greeting me in the kitchen this morning) I've got a Valentine's present for you...

Me: Really? Is it in your pants?

The Guy: Well, yeah.

Me: Okay. I have a present for you too then...

Apparently, we are both classy AND romantic.

Here is The Guy on the other side of it.

And the Wind Ain't Blowin' From the South.

Here is part of a stone church in the snow.

I started reading Barbara Kingsolver's, Lacuna last night. It takes place in Mexico. I think it will be the perfect way to combat the below zero wind chills we're supposed to get by tonight. If that doesn't work, we will probably watch The Big Easy tonight. I haven't seen it since it first came out, but as I recall, everyone walks around in sweat stained shirts...Plus, an '80's Dennis Quaid should be hot enough to defy any Iowa Winter, right?

I've been having weird, insecure dreams lately. When I was younger and didn't know how to drive, I would have "feeling out of control" dreams that I was driving a motorcycle on an old logging road in Northern California...The kind that can sometimes just end without warning. Now, I dream of f*cked-up races I find myself in. One was that I was in a bike race that took place inside the hospital where I used to work. We raced through the hallways, trying to avoid patients and carts full of expensive equipment. In another dream, I was doing a triathlon and I kept forgetting that I was racing and would stop and talk to my friends, until someone would remind me and I would find myself further and further behind. Hmmmmm. It appears that the ass end of Winter is weighing heavily on me once again.

I've Got No Deeds to do. No Promises to Keep.

Here is Archie lying on (oozing over) our hot water heater.

My weekend was wonderful. On Friday night, I made pan seared sea scallops, steamed asparagus, salad and sourdough bread and then we watched Bull Durham. It was perfect.

On Saturday I got up and went running right away. It was supposed to snow/rain all day, and I thought I'd try to get a jump on it. I ended up running a little over 8 miles, but The Guy ran for at least 11 miles. Pretty amazing. We ate lunch and then made it to the pool, where we swam laps. We had to hurry and get home and take showers so we could meet my friend K. and her husband at the Dublin at 6. We had a drink and then went to a restaurant called Basta for dinner and had a really good meal and conversation.

On Sunday, We got up and I got to work. I painted as much of the quarter round as I could before I went to run. At noon, we got on our bikes to meet our friend, Bry and his girlfriend at a coffee shop in North Liberty. We had a nice visit, and then they headed home and we rode further. We got 34.5 miles in altogether.

I picked up Stinky from work and got us some take-out Chinese food. We ate quickly and then headed to the Hilltop to watched the Superbowl with some friends. I wasn't all that interested in the game, but The Guy and I did shoot a couple of games of pool and I talked to some folks and we still got home around 9. Not too shabby, I'd say.

I Got Two Turntables and a Microphone.

Coadster with her cousin on Christmas.

So, I was talking to Coadster on the phone the other night about her trip to London that is coming up in March. We were talking about Passports and currency exchanges and she was telling me she was going to go to Paris for a day and a night of the trip and then to Dublin for St Patrick's Day.

Having never been to Europe, I have no idea if every country uses the same currency or not.

Me: Well, before you go, make sure you know what currency every place you're going takes. You'd hate to get to Dublin on St Paddy's day and not have the right kind of money...

Coadster: Are you kidding? I'm going to save my money so I can spend all of it in Dublin on alcohol.

Me: You are not going to spend all of your money on alcohol in Dublin...

The Guy was sitting next to me and started laughing and gave Coadster the thumbs-up with both hands through the phone.

Me: Great. You two aren't even in the same town and you're STILL flipping me shit in unison...

As the Days Fly Past, Will We Lose Our Grasp, Or Fuse It In the Sun?

Here is an Iowa Winter scene.

When we were running through Hickory Hill Park on Saturday, it reminded me of the last time I went sledding there. Here is a repost from 2005, where I wrote about it:

Yesterday Stinky and I went sledding at Hickory Hill Park. The hill was packed with a lot of kids from Stinky's school and since we got there later in the day, according to the laws of sled hill seniority, we had to hang out on the bad side of the hill. What makes that side of the hill so bad is that there is this odd looking man hole cover thing that rises almost a foot out of the ground in the middle of the field at the bottom of the hill. It's pretty dangerous and I wish they would surround it with hay bails or something but instead, they just tried to mark it with a tall rusty pole that someone painted green.

Stinky and I got on the sled (she was in the back and I was in the front) and scooched ourselves with our hands and feet far enough off the top of the hill so the sled could start zipping down unaided. We were riding one of those inflatable sleds that look kind of like an inner tube but are impossible to steer. Of course, we plowed right into the pole and slammed into the manhole cover thing. Stinky had the foresight to slip back behind the sled before we hit it, but I held on, thinking it might give me some cushion. Once I hit the manhole cover, I was propelled upside down and hit the ground on my head, neck and shoulder and then the whole right side of my body slammed down after.

There was a couple cross-country skiing right by there when we crashed. The woman stopped and asked me if I was okay. I think I said something like, "Huh? Oh yeah. Um, I think I hit my head." Then she started getting on my shit about the pole and how I needed to put it back in the ground so that no one else made the same mistake. Yeah, even if I had been together enough, I wouldn't have worried about it. The problem has never been that people can't see the manhole cover, it was always more that it's hard to steer around it. I told her that the pole caused more pain than the manhole cover did. Then she got all exasperated and put down her ski poles.

"I guess, I'll just have to do it then." She tried, but of course the ground was frozen and it wouldn't work and then she gave me a dirty look. Whatever. I already told her I hit my head, if she wanted to judge me for being stupid and lame, she was going to have to get at the back of a long, long line.

I could tell Stinky was really worried about me so I told her I was fine but that we had to go home. Then halfway back up the hill, I started to cry. I have no idea why, I wasn't in that much pain. I think I may have been startled more than anything. Stinky has hardly ever seen me cry so that worried her even more and I felt like shit for making her worry. Plus, I was really embarrassed because I was crying and it was so cold that all the tears and snot froze and I had that hideous glazed doughnut face.

Because of the way the trails were laid out, as we were nearing the end of the woods, we crossed paths with the bitchy, judgmental woman again. She gave me one of those, overly concerned, condescendingly, pitying looks and I was so glad I didn't have tourettes because in my head I was screaming, "Quit friggin', frickin', fucking looking at me!"

We got home and I was fine. I made an appointment to see my chiropractor and I have some impressive bruises, but I didn't break anything. I do feel like it might be a smart time to start hibernating, though.

She's Breathing Quiet and Smooth

Here are a series of pics of me seemingly squishing other people's heads. I quite like them.

This weekend was nice. We had a few plans and then they changed...As plans sometimes do. I ended up taking The Guy out for Thai food on Friday night and then we went home and watched Fellini's La Strada. I hadn't seen it in 20 years, and I didn't remember it being quite so sad.

Even young children aren't safe...

On Saturday morning, we got a lot done around the house. I finally finished painting the trim in Coadster's old room and The Guy got almost everything out of his storage space. Sure, things are a bit crowded in our garage right now, but we'll get it all whittled down and put away or taken away. It's just nice to have it all at home for The Guy to easily work on now.

In the afternoon, our friend E. came over and The Guy took us out on a trail run. We went all through Hickory Hill Park and then out the other side and ran for however many more miles. We estimated that we ran around 8 miles altogether. Which is about half of what we're going to be racing in the middle of March, but it was nice that we knew we could at least do that.

In the evening we met back up with E and our friend Eggo and her husband at The Mill for pizza and beer. After running off about 900 calories, we figured we could load up a little. Around 8 we headed over to some other friends to play a game called Mad Gab. Of course, the kids who were there, were much better at it than any of the adults.

Oh, squishing heads can make some people so sad.

Sunday was another beautiful day. I wasn't feeling very well and was a bit migrainey, so I didn't get much done in the morning. I did run again, for about 4 miles in the afternoon. The Guy rode his bike for a couple of hours in there too.

In the evening, The Guy went to play pool with his friend Bry and I hung out at home and read my book. I'm currently reading The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides. Right now it takes place in 1982. It reminds me a lot of what I thought college would be like from reading too many writers' experiences in literature, but never was for me.

Turning Into My Soul

Hmmmm...

I'm not one much for labels. They only seem to cover one part of a person, but The Guy likes to tell me I'm an endurance athlete. I think that's pretty accurate, in many different ways.

I've lived most of my life, having to endure things. I'm not particularly patient, but I am diligent and if there is one thing I can do, it's endure. When I was younger, I endured the death of my mom, and the indentured servitude of my abusive legal guardians, my "lost" angry years, an abusive marriage (since I thought that's what I deserved) and the four years I spent reading, journaling and working on my self-esteem issues and insecurities, so that I would never again think I deserved an abusive relationship.

I counted down the hours and days until Stinky regained consciousness from her meningitis, and the minutes that seemed like hours for the tornado to slam into our basementless house and move on.

Here is a lone boxcar.

So, now that I know I can do it and I try to actively keep as much bad stuff out of my life as I can control, I don't worry so much about being happy and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Instead, I count the minutes of my brutal trainer work-out or the miles of my relaxing after work run. Every once in a while, I regret the time I wasted in bad situations in the past, but mostly, I'm too busy "enduring" the fun and athletic life I've worked so hard to create.

In a Country Where They Turn Back Time

Here is pretty Heidi, all cute and sleeping.

I guess it's weekend synopsis post day today. Wanna hear it? Here is is:

Friday night was nice and mellow. We made dinner and then I got Stinky some Chinese take-out and a DVD and drove her to her friend's house, so they could have a girl's night. I got home and The Guy and I watched Good Bye Lenin! I really enjoyed it.

Me making the X with my ski poles. I'm not quite sure what that was for...

On Saturday, we went to Lake McBride to ski. The snow wasn't great, but we've been a little desperate lately. I felt like I was doing a little more awkward walking on the snow then fluidly gliding. After about an hour and a half, I was feeling a little migrainy. After last week, we didn't want to push it, so we went out for Mexican food for lunch and then came home and showered and took what turned out to be a two and a half hour nap. Jaysus!

The Guy under a very impressive tree.

After we woke-up, it was clear we weren't going to get any chores done around the house, so we headed over to the Dublin, to play some pool, have a drink and wait for Stinky to get off work. We decided on Chinese take-out. Apparently, Stinky was up for it a second night in a row and then we tried to make her hang out with us, but watching The Town. She did grace us with an hour of her time, but alas, she had better things to do and off she went with one of her friends.

A Grant Wood homage in Stone City, Iowa.

On Sunday morning, we were desperately trying to find somewhere to ski. We knew the temps were rising and there was some weird misting, that would wreak havoc on our shoddy snow. The Guy found a place outside of Stone City (an hour away) that looked like our best bet.

We drove there and some of the country roads were pretty slick, but manageable. The trails were wonderful, though. We skied for almost two hours, but it started getting sticky and hard to glide on, so we bagged it and headed into the town of Stone City.

The General Store in Stone City.

We stopped at the General store for lunch and beer. It was so nice and quaint and the staff was really nice. We will definitely come back to ski again this Winter and bike in the Summer.

The blurry but cozy pub with the wood burning fireplace.

We got home and putzed around the the house. I went to my friend G's for a bit and then picked up Stinky from work. We had salmon quesadillas (shut-up. The salmon was leftover and they were actually pretty good) and veggie tamales for dinner and then watched the South Korean movie, The Host. It was so bizarre but so good.

She Said It's Cold. It Feels Like Independence Day.

Stinky with a friend on NYE. Her braces are doing a great job, don't you think?

Oh, and it's the weekend again. I just started reading Ann Patchett's, The Patron Saint of Liars yesterday and I really like it so far. I have been ridiculously obsessing about books lately. I went so many years as a single mom with no time to read, that I feel like I can't get enough literature in my current life. I am devouring novels and stories. I am voracious.

I've been Googling, and then printing "Best of" lists. Best novels of 2010, 2009, 2008, the first decade of this century, literary prize lists and then every month I get to go to Prairie Lights and buy a book or two. Of course, this is my latest excuse for not blogging very much as of late, but it's a good one, don't you think?

Coadster with some friends, around Christmas time.

Last night was very nice. We invited a woman named Jess, who is a bartender at the Dublin and her boyfriend over for dinner. I made brown sugar glazed and garlic butter baked salmon, savory sweet potatoes, a Greek salad and sourdough bread. We had a nice talk and listened to music and we were all done at a decent hour, because it was a school night. I do believe having a couple of people over for dinner is one of my favorite ways to socialize.