HOME SWEET, SWEET HOME

http://nymag.com/arts/books/reviews/23147/

We get home from Eureka around 4:00pm Wednesday, and it feels so-o-o good to be here. After unloading the car we retire to our corners--CA to complete a French lesson and me to read and sleep. I've been reading Dave Eggers 2006 novel/autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng, a lost boy--What is the What. It is a compelling read--I'm ashamed to admit I come late to an understanding of the plight of the Sudanese. It's been way out of focus in my peripheral world, and now I'm fascinated and ashamed, and moved to action.

I'm ready for something lighter for a bit and crack open Ian Rankin's Witch Hunt, which Rankin wrote in 1993 under the pseudonym of Jack Harvey. Rankin explains that at the time his publisher wanted only one new release a year, so in order to support his family and home renovation in the Dordogne in France he contracted to write three books under this pseudonym--a combination of his son Jack's name and his wife's maiden name. The three books weren't overly successful at the time, but if Witch Hunt is any indication of the quality, I'll read all three. I've noted that Witch Hunt is now released as written by Ian Rankin.

I surprise CA by following through on my plan to make turkey meatballs tonight for dinner. He didn't sample the batch I made in Omaha so he's still questioning the appeal. I mix up 3 lbs.of ground turkey and shape them into 1" balls. I bake all of them, putting containers in the freezer--three meals for us and two for RvH. We try the Paul Newman's Own All Natural Marinara this time, but CA has purchased some Emeril's, too. We loved the pasta we had in the Lobster Mac and Cheese at Rock Fish in Virginia Beach, so we've found the Racconto version--Cavatappi--to have with our marinara and turkey meatballs. Squiggly fun. (So far I'm liking Emeril's better, and I want to try Trader Joe's, too.)

This morning I'm up early and ready to resume my normal exercise routine. LL and I walk at HB and catch up. She reminds me that we have a lunch date tomorrow with a co-worker from the S-K days.

I'm so happy to be home and I spend most of the afternoon reading and snoozing, with a little laundry thrown in for good measure. There are fun tasks to jump into--finding a new rug for the entry and one for the library. I want to give JE the current entry rug for her office/playroom. I want to paint the inside (and possibly outside) of our front door. I still have pictures to hang in the loft, and a window covering to figure out for the front clerestory (eyebrow) window... So many projects, so little time.

I renege on my dinner plans for chicken stir fry, so CA defaults to peanut butter and popcorn while I drive to Tommy's for one of their wonderful hamburgers. The rest of the evening I'm very into channel surfing. Missed my t.v. time when we were in Omaha. (The kids have a t.v. now, but their channel selection is very limited and I'm just used to going t.v.-less when I'm there.)

I'm still working on that white cake from Hanssen's Le Bakery, and loving every bite. Aunt Marie had two pieces and CA had one--I'm not embarrassed to be eating the rest all by myself. One bite at a time.

It's rather blah without our flowers. Jill (as in JS's Wild Ride) is flower sitting for us. CA delivered our plants to her care just prior to our trip to Omaha. I'm not sure when I can retrieve them safely. We'll be in and out of town for the next 3 or 4 weeks. We're waiting to hear when Gigi's surgery will be rescheduled before we can commit to anything this month.

Tomorrow yoga is at 6:00am!