Lunch al fresco with Marge at the Good Earth today. Another glorious day here in Minnesota, as usual. Ha. Funny how easily arrogance settles in. No, I'm grateful, I'm grateful, I swear I'm grateful. I'm not attempting to tempt the weather gods, I'm no fool. I spent nine years of my life in Grand Forks, North Dakota, for (weather) gods' sake. No one from Grand Forks tempts the weather gods. I savored every balmy, honey-hued minute of this day, first on the patio of the Good Earth, chatting and laughing with Marge, who arrived looking fresh and hip and impossibly young with a new short haircut. I enjoyed a cup of carrot soup and half of a veggie sandwich, packed with all the good stuff - crispy peppers, cucumber, and onion; creamy avocado; and a slice of Swiss and tomato. Then at home on our deck, followed by a little stint with an Architectural Digest down by the pool, then back up on the deck for a little solo dinner al fresco. My favorite dine-alone meal, an over-easy egg on toast topped with chopped arugula. Glass of wine. Dessert of a slice of cheese. Yeah. It's all gooooooooood.

Date night, woo hoo! For me, date night's appeal is threefold. Time with my Johnny, of course. A chance to sample the tops in Minneapolis restaurant offerings. Aaaaaand a reason to spiff up a bit, straighten the ol' hair (or not), put on lots of mascara, don the bling, dig a little further in my closet for dresses and blouses, spritz on one of my beloved fragrances (right now it's Azuree Soleil, a limited-edition Tom Ford for Estee Lauder fragrance, aka Summer in a Bottle, yummy, yummy), and slip into mile-high heels. Sheesh, with that description, John and the restaurants are losing out a bit, sorry guys. What can I say? I'm a grrrl, I love the girly-girl accoutrements, love 'em all. Like these walk-only-from-valet-to-table sparkly purple beauties. Not one bit comfy (in fact, ouch), but fabulously par-tay, they're tonight's stilts of choice. Stay tuned for details on the Mexican tasties at Masa...

Masa, Masa, mui bueno indeed, man I am as stuffed as the fat little chicken enchilada topped with crema and pickled jalapenos I just downed, ole, baby. Whew. We opted for al fresco tasties and sangria (sparkling sangria, no less, aka Hot-Humid-Day-Elixir), which meant bye-bye straightened hair, sigh, but it was worth it for the people-watching on Nicollet Mall. I soothed myself with carnitas (good Lord, whoever invented pork slow-fried in its own fat was a lovely, twisted soul) and sopas (more tender chicken, this time napped in a creamy, spicy sauce, topped with avocado, and piled into a two-bite-sized, sizzling hot fried masa boat). After a few bites of tres leches cake (one of my all-time fav desserts) and feathery-crisp churros dipped in gooey melted chocolate, I was DONE. I am done. Soooo done. Yeah. It is bedtime for this chica, hope y'all sleep as well as I'm about to...

Geez (OMG, John just said the word 'geez' right while I typed that - perhaps coincidence, or as he cracked, because we're 'yoked', ha), I really need to pull out my damn cam when we socialize. Argh! Last night we had dinner at Morton's, with Mack's and Zimmern's, to celebrate Aaron's birthday. No pic, unless Aaron scans and sends me the picture the maitre d' took (hint). Lovely salads, steaks, scallops, crab cakes, broccoli, and hash browns floated by and disappeared with nary a record of their greatness, other than the shadow of flavor on our palates, swallow. Or perhaps a bit of creamed spinach in our teeth. Shame, really, I'm all about the pic. All I can say is good times, as always, good times.

Tonight, we hosted Sheri and Darin Lynch for dinner - man did we luck out not only with cool guests but with the cool breeze that blew through around 5:00 pm, whoooo, effectively removing all humidity from the sultry air and thus creating a damn-near perfect July's eve. NICE. We noshed pre-dinner on grilled bread, grilled tomatoes and red onions, and paper-thin slices of Molinari dry salami. For din - al fresco, baby, due to that fabulous breeze - a beef tenderloin roast, smeared with garlic and herbs, then seared on the grill, served alongside crushed new potatoes topped with creme fraiche, mushrooms sauteed with garlic and lemon, and sugar snap peas sauteed in a bit of butter. With warm fruit crisp (peach, plum, blueberry) for dessert, we polished off a pretty sweet evening of summer chat, if I do say so myself - again, good times, good times. (And again, no pic, argh! However, recipe for fruit crisp posted in comments, below.)

Tomorrow, a little baseball, a splash of swimming, dinner a la Chinois, and Batman, baby. Bat. Man. Yep, once again - good times, good times. Happy Summer!

Moderate it: as I mentioned below, I knew I was making steak for din tonight, so I passed on the steak at Morton's on Thursday. Grilled scallops wrapped in bacon fit the bill nicely. The broccoli with Bearnaise was delicious. But I did not get away before the hash browns - or even tastier, and just as rich, the potatoes Lyonnaise - arrived. Ah well.

Gosh, what a lovely weekend, huh? I can't remember a summer with nicer weather than we've had this year - warm, dry, I'm really trying to savor every minute of it. Man, when it so chooses, Minnesota quite RAWKS. Nice.

I opened the rawkness with an uncharacteristic bit of baking, motivated by my lovely CSA blueberries. Blueberry muffins, in fact, basically crazy-good. Yeah, warm muffins, plenty of French Roast (decaf, I'm a wuss), nice start to the day.

Post-muffin(s), it was high time for a lovely, sweaty walk, today 'round Lake of the Isles, through Lowry Hill, along Mount Curve, and through Kenwood Park. Just...gorgeous. (Mos def topped my buggy, humid walk through the usually lovely Clifton French Regional Park on Wednesday, OMG, I was flat-out attacked by gnats and biting flies, OUCH!)

My stinky self stopped off at Whole Foods on the way home and ran into Debbie and Stu The Wine Genius - they were picking up dinner ingredients after paddle-boarding on Lake Calhoun. (Dinner at their house next weekend, by the way, with Rudy & Ana, yays!)

But just a family dinner here at the hacienda tonight, so I picked up a roasting chicken, loads of naan (flat bread, the kids go crazy for it), and baba ganoush (the Whole Foods brand is particularly tasty). I roasted the chicken on the grill with my faboo Weber roaster, grilled the naan (spritzed with a bit of olive oil spray and sprinkled with a pinch of Kosher salt), grilled CSA veggie share zucchini (sliced thin, same treatment as the naan), and tossed together a quick salad of tomatoes (from my own pots! Finally!), cukes, onions, artichoke hearts, and roasted red pepper. In other words - a Mediterranean feast, more than I had even planned. I didn't quite know where to start when I faced my plate - so many favorites, so little time!

Heck, not even bat guano could distract me from digging in (we have a couple of bats who've taken up residence in our oft-closed shade umbrellas - seriously gross when you pop the umbrella and guano showers down on the table. Uh, yuck. But that's what shopvacs are for - that and disinfectant kitchen sprays, shiver).

Post-Whole Foods, pre-cooking dinner, I snuck in a little time at the pool with John and Nathan. Hot sun, cool water, a spooky book (Ghostwalk, by Rebecca Stott), all good. And what is it about a pre-dinner shower on a hot day? So decadent. Best if warm-not-hot, fragrant (Molton Brown Energising Seamoss, smells like the ocean), quick, no fuss. Followed by a sun dress, swipe of Chanel Glossimer, spritz of Annik Goutal Les Nuits d'Hadrien, ready to cook! Little al fresco dining, blogging, call it a day...

G'night!

Moderate it: I think olive oil spray is one of the greatest inventions ever. I used it to grease the muffin tins for this morning's blueberry muffins and to oil the naan, chicken, and sliced zucchini before salting and roasting them this evening. Low-calorie, tasty, effective - virtually indispensable.

John and I achieved another lovely date night last night - this time dinner at Mission American followed by a drive around the University of Minnesota and the Riverfront District (the dinner + drive combo is our fav). Mission sits in the old Aquavit space (sniff, loved Aquavit) in IDS Center. Playfully chic interior, pretty good scene for a Tuesday night, Doug Flicker from Auriga (sniff, loved Auriga) in the kitchen, and delicious food on our table, including a perfectly cooked piece of halibut. It's not easy to attain halibut perfection (I've decided that I've been preparing it without nearly enough fat, so I love to eat it in restaurants, blissfully unaware - don't tell me! - of how the chef achieves that fantastic crusty/creamy deliciousness of a well-prepared halibut filet). Also delicious -and deadly - were good ol' fashioned fried shrimps, in this case cornmeal-dusted rock shrimps. No question about the fat used to prepare those crispy little bombs, ha. Man I love 'em, smokin' hot and dipped in a genius double-dip combo of garlicky aioli + fiery red pepper sauce. Rarrr... We skipped dessert, jumped in the car, rolled down the windows, cranked the tunes, and had ourselves a gorgeous drive home, scoping out potential al fresco dining spots for our next date night...

Last week of school, this week, and then the crazy party we call summer begins. More baseball, lots of entertaining, visits from and trips to stay with family and friends, and driving, driving, driving for various sports and camps. I got a bit of a headache working on my calendar last night, ack. As usual, it will fly by, and next thing you know I'll be bitching about the cold and putting up the Christmas tree. Slow down! Slow. Down. I'll definitely try to slow it all down, savor my summer (even the rainy days, of which we've had plenty lately), having Nathan home during the day, swimming, beach, biking, al fresco dining, and the bounty of fresh veggies and herbs that is about to begin.

And picnics! Like the one John and I snuck in on Saturday. I packed a quick little lunch - chicken-avocado sandwiches, trail mix (I just threw together peanuts, raisins, and coconut), pickles, and cold beer - and we loaded up our bikes and rode around Hyland Lake Park Reserve in Bloomington. Little hillier than we were looking for, but lovely and fun nonetheless, especially when we were done biking and sat down to our mini-feast! I get so excited about eating on my own deck or porch, I forget what a blast it is to pack a picnic and head for a gorgeous park. Definitely a goal to do that more often this summer, and drag the kids along to boot, heh, heh. I want them to have some fun Eating-Outdoors Memories like I have - roast beef sandwiches and lemon bars at my stepmom's brother's polo matches...my dad's freshly-caught trout, corn-meal dredged and fried right on the shore, made into killer sandwiches with bacon and fire-toasted bread (tasting mighty fine after a long horseback ride)...my grandma's roadside bologna-n-butter sandwiches, with potato chips, fresh peaches, and my very favorite crunchy-coconutty Ranger cookies (my grandparents didn't stop for fast food on road trips). Man, good stuff, all of it. Summer '07. Time to make some memories... (Recipe posted in comments, below.)

How about a slice of Fresh Lemon-Coconut Cake? Oh yeah! Sooo good, baked by Susie Homemaker herself, apron and all, yesterday for last evening's Feminine Hijinx get-together. (Recipe posted in comments, below.) And how about Fresh Lemon-Coconut Cake on the patio? Even better! Because yes, it's finally warm enough for al fresco dining, woo hoo! I do love to eat outside and today - stunning, a perfect day.

Even for swimming! We're one of the few Minnesota families who bother to open their pool in April, but hey, we have Nathan's birthday party to shoot for, so we go for it. Today was his Boy-Soup Party and it went off without a hitch. Swimming, pizza, and Oreo pie - fun and easy, just how a birthday party is supposed to be.

Hallelujah, dining al fresco has finally arrived! Everything tastes better outside, in the fresh air, don't you agree? It's all about hitting the Sensory Sweet Spot - a perfectly balanced stimulation of the five senses (my definition). A little wine and cheese in your kitchen? Nice. A little wine and cheese on your deck, alongside pots of beautiful, fragrant flowers, perhaps birdsong overhead, perhaps some favorite tunes, on a balmy summer's eve? Oh yeah, you want to die it's so perfect.

Simple foods taste best outdoors, otherwise that sensory balance is completely whacked. (Have you ever been full, sweaty, and sleepy at a picnic? We all have, and it sucks.) Grilled meat or fish, crisp salads, fresh fruit desserts - nothing too hot or heavy. The goal is not exactly cozy, but clean and light and of course, delicious.

That said, my family doesn't dig eating outdoors nearly as much as I do. The kids fret over every bug, John likes to eat as fast as possible and be done with it...but I don't care. I'm happy to sit there alone and savor the experience, it's rare (in Minnesota) and entirely lovely. Maybe tonight I can pull off grilling a piece of salmon and recreating the killer couscous with dill vinaigrette I enjoyed (twice) at the Post Ranch in Big Sur (yes, I'm still obsessing about it). If I achieve nailing it down, I'll post the recipe. Stay tuned...

Moderate it: look for whole-grain couscous; I've found it at Whole Foods.

Screened Porch Blogging, one of my very favorite things to do! Yep, yet another sign of spring when we drag the cushions up from downstairs and set up the ol' porch. I love it out here, it's cozier than the deck, what with a roof over my head and a spot for stringing up some lights and lighting a few candles. It's a different view too, different angle on the back yard, and that makes it feel more, I don't know - away. I'll be really happy when it's warm enough in the mornings to enjoy breakfast out here. Maybe tomorrow! Sunday morning coffee and paper outside, aw man, that's what summer's all about, right? Along with al fresco meals, after-dinner walks (just returned, the entire world is perfumed by lilacs right now, insanely seductive), and late afternoon swims. How ready are we for summer this year? It's not just me, all of us Midwesterners are in this mood, lalalaaah! It's the payoff for sensory deprivation, my friends - it's the reason we live here. Remind me next March. Right.

If you're looking for the yummiest pancakes in the whole world to eat on your porch/deck/patio tomorrow morning, I suggest Orange Yogurt Pancakes, beyond delicious. Very fluffy and tender - with fresh berries, a few slices of Nueske's Canadian bacon (available at Byerly's), and lots of good coffee... Oh man, you'd be hard put to start your day off better. Enjoy!

Moderate it: Nueske's Canadian bacon is so delicious, you won't for a minute wish you were eating "regular" bacon. If you're trying to avoid cured meats, Whole Foods sells several versions of uncured ham and Canadian bacon. I've not tried whole-wheat flour in the Orange Yogurt Pancake recipe, but I'd bet it could work nicely. For added fiber/nutrients - and great flavor! - add blueberries and/or chopped nuts to each pancake after ladling the batter onto a hot griddle. Flip as usual, finish cooking, and serve.

A six-minute post here, since that's how long I have before I'm out the door for dinner at Duplex with Rudy, Ana, Stu, and Debbie for a post-Napa rehash/celebration. Unless I want to be late, which is certainly within the realm of possibility given, uh, me.

Double the Fun at Duplex? I'll (of course!) let you know...stay tuned...

You guys - Duplex is a BLAST, have you been there? Wow, I'm not sure how I've missed it up to this point, but I'm glad it's on my radar now. Hennepin and 25th, a big ol' Uptown house converted into a lovely wine bar/bistro, with lots of cool outdoor seating. Johnny and I are all over it when the evenings warm up a bit, perfect al fresco dining (which y'all know, ad nauseum, is one of my favs). I can't comment on their wine list since I didn't even look at it - we each brought a Napa wine, for which we were charged a reasonable $10/bottle corkage fee; Stu/Debbie and Rudy/Ana both brought Turley Zinfandels, John and I brought a Cain - but the menu was interesting and well priced. And the food - delicious. We opened with a shrimp tempura amuse bouche - light and crispy, just how it should be, dabbed with a lovely soy emulsion of some sort (I was talking again, sorry). I had a pretty typical mixed greens with goat cheese salad - nicely done. Others had a meaty, crisp crab cake, fantastic steamed mussels in a smokin' hot curry sauce (mmm...), and a teeny tiny onion/puff pastry tart, delicious. I had a sort-of gnocchi Caprese for my entree - garnished with fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella. Yum. And for dessert - white chocolate bread pudding, ha. A nicely small amount, with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, The Kill. Upon arriving at home I felt an intense urge for...a walk. A Dark Walk. I lurve walking in the dark and tonight was the perfect night for it - cool, breezy, and clear, after lots of wine and good food. Ahhh, heavenly. A nice Napa recap. Although we hardly talked about Napa - too much new stuff going on! So I'll post this last Napa-lounging pic, in honor of our amazing, unforgettable trip. Napa Nostaliga, Part I.

And now, time for bed my friends. Hope you sleep as tight as I will. Orrrrrr something.

Date Night! At night, this time, a rather last minute affair, and quite nice at that. We went for al fresco casual, in Dinkytown, at Kafe 421, so I kept the bling-age to a minimum, just this funky ring I got for a song a couple of weeks ago (sorry, Maven, I can't do the "oh!" naughty face even half as well as you do, you own it, baby, you own it...). We scored a lovely sidewalk table for scoping the university scene. Purple hair, beards, combat boots, and pierced faces are still the college-usual, I'm glad to see. Made me feel not-quite-old (even though I soooo am, I know). Kafe 421's Monday-night special - half-price bottles of wine - does not suck, and the food is terrific to boot. We opted for a pasta tossed with chicken and a verde (green herb) sauce, as well as a crispy tilapia sandwich with radishes, arugula, and a killer homemade tartar sauce.

Afterward, doing our usual post-din drive, we accidentally stumbled upon several different riverside spots with limited views - and lots of gawkers trying for pics - of the I-35W bridge collapse. Chilling and devastatingly sad, to say the least. It hardly seems like it happened here, in Minneapolis, in a place we've all been a hundred times before. Sigh.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin, my Favorite Food Pic of 2006 - healthy, fresh, al fresco dining; nothing beats it!

Navy Beans Sauteed with Cabbage and Bacon, my Favorite Recipe of 2006 - quick, healthy, delicious, and filling; yep, works for me!

Happy New Year! I had a great New Year's Eve, fabulous food, top-notch bubbly...just kidding! I actually was sick on NYE, I rang in the new year 1) nauseated, 2) with a crushing headache, and 3) thankfully, eventually soundly asleep. BOR-ING! I've been sick on NYE once before, around '94 or '95, and I can now report that it totally sucks. Oh well! Perhaps it means '07 will RAWK! That's my plan, anyhow...

BIG plans for this year, in fact! I don't know what they are yet, but when I do, you'll be the first to know! Let's assume it includes some Damn Good Times - in moderation, of course.

Last night was the first time I actually cooked something in more than a week - in 2007, as it were. (I really felt like hell there for awhile, eek.) Anyhow, Nathan, John, and I scarfed down open-faced steak and mushroom sandwiches, so delicious (especially since I terribly, naughtily dipped the bread in wine-y pan juices, rarrr...).

I'll be having my First 2007 Official Good Time tomorrow night - a pre-40th birthday dinner pour moi, with Suz and The Coreman, the Maven and Brian, and of course my Johnny, tomorrow night at Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten's hoppin', stylin' Minneapolis venture, Chamber's Kitchen. There should be a few tasties and laughs around that table - yeah, baby! I'll be wearing something rock-n-roll (I'm in a badass, don't-mess-with-me mood as I approach 40) and this gorgeous necklace, received today from my dear Suz. She couldn't wait for me to open it - and I can see why! It's vintage and lovely and looks a bit like a present, how perfect is that?

And then Saturday, the actual dreaded (birth)day, a lovely post-Nathan-basketball-game luncheon at La La Lucia's.

And then? But of course, stay tuned...

My aunt Mary, Stace, Bowen, and Coop are coming for dinner tonight - woo hoo! Mary's here for a two-day conference so is spending the night. We're all heading over to Nathan's baseball game for a bit, then back here for sauteed artichokes with grilled bread, and cold, crispy radishes with smoked salt, followed by pan-fried walleye, green beans with herbs, and a salad of arugula, chicory, lettuces, and basil with roasted onions and grated pecorino. For dessert, I sliced strawberries and sprinkled them with a bit of sugar - we'll eat them topped with a dab of creme fraiche. Simple, summer food. Mmmm...

It's another stunner of a day, wow, which should lead into a beautiful evening. Perfect for baseball and al fresco dining, we really got lucky. OK! Back to it! I have to admit, I'm still doing laundry and putting things away from the trip...I'm slow on the return, ack. Plus I'm making as much of dinner ahead of time as I can...pretty much everything but grilling bread and frying walleye. In butter. Hope Creamery Butter. Yeah, baby!

Oooh, walleye was delish, we decided walleye is just made for frying in butter. Soaks up all the salty, buttery goodness in the most fabulously decadent of ways. Lurve it. Cooper was all buttery goodness as well - OK, not really, but he's as soft and dreamy and yummy as they come. Everyone loves Coop because he's so happy to have different people hold him, what fun. (How beautifully, glowingly happy is Mommy Poohsticks Stacey? Gorgeous.) He made the rounds, in Baby Nathan's ladybug outfit, all evening.

Including into the lap of Nathan's Grammy Barb (all babies love Grammy Barb, with good reason), at the ball game, of which we caught only a bit. It was going well, the Floridians had a strong lead, so we bowed out early to get a head start on making dinner. At last report, the Floridians won, woo hoo! So a good night for everyone.

Ooooh, killer breakfast, a slice of sauteed ham sandwiched in a warm biscuit, with a cup of strong (albeit decaf) black coffee. Prrrr... There's an appeal for me in opening the day with simple, rustic food. Not a bad way to start a day, not bad at all.

And not a bad way to end one, either - John and I closed out yesterday with a lovely al fresco meal, on the deck, after what had been a pretty rotten day for John. Very stressful work day, made worse by an injury to what he calls his "good" foot (the other suffers a chronic achilles tendon aggravation). A trip to the doctor confirmed it wasn't a break, but it still swelled up like a balloon and was making him miserable. I'm happy to report that it's much better this morning, so perhaps he's dodged another chronic injury. Let's hope, because John without basketball is like, well, John without chocolate. Shiver. Not good. For him, or for any of us.

So back to this dinner...I tried a new recipe, a roasted vegetable panzanella (bread salad). Gorgeous, chewy, garlicky, fabulous. Simple. Rustic. Most definitely a keeper (recipe posted in comments, below). Enjoy it outside with a nice glass of wine, like we did, and you'll be glad. (Just be aware, as you enjoy the gentle evening breezes, that gnats are flying up your skirt and biting the insides of your thighs. You'll be blissfully unaware as you sip your wine, but oh, 'round 2:30 a.m., you'll know...)

My oh my oh my. I made myself a killicious little dinner tonight, mmm hmmm. Artichokes sautéed with ham, from a tasty little cookbook called Tapas, A Taste of Spain in America, by Jose Andres. I had the afternoon completely to myself, which doesn’t happen all that often, so I took my time this morning planning this weekend’s meals (there will be other dishes from this cookbook, oh yes, so stay tuned…) and shopping this afternoon. The artichokes – I used baby artichokes, but you don’t need to – are sautéed in olive oil, then combined with a bit of tomato sauce, wine, and ham to simmer until tender. I chose to eat mine with slices of toasted baguette, which I rubbed with a split garlic clove and drizzled with a bit of oil. Damn! Now that’s a dinner. Or as John would say, a mo fo. Yeah, baby. (Recipe posted in comments, below.) Now I’m going to brew a cup of tea and settle in with the fascinating book I’m reading, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. If you’re into food, it’s a must read. Ahhh, a moderate epicurean’s dream Friday evening... little wine... cooking... olive oil... vegetables... bread... garlic... reading... cozying up to my hubby... Hope you’re enjoying yours…

Hello Sunshine! There's most definitely a feeling of spring in the air, what with 50 degrees yesterday (s-weet!) and bright sunshine today. Add the blooming of my forced bulbs (smell so earthy and alive) and I have to admit - I'm in a truly good mood today. Woo hoo! I'll take a little walk, plan for an early dinner (I'm heading over to Suz's at 7 pm for Hijinx with my minxes!), run around a bit. And yes, at some point, I will retire to the lower level to continue drilling holes in my head - I mean the wall, the wall, drilling holes in the wall, to hang up hooks in the bathroom (see yesterday's idiocy). I'm working so hard on the bathroom down there because it's going to be the changing room for when friends come to swim in our new pool! Yes, we have a pool, took all summer and fall to get the fucker in the ground, but it's soon (well, sorta soon) going to be worth it because we'll hit the ground running. I mean hit the water swimming. My god, I hardly dare think about it, I have spring fever pretty badly, as you can tell. So no more thinking about the pool. But I will continue the focus on the bathroom and whipping it into shape. And my photo collage, damn me for coming up with this stupid idea. I know I will love it and appreciate it when it's done, I will. Right. Until then...

Could it be? Why yes, yes it could - that is raw sunlight shining on this plate of chopped herbs! I ate this charming little salad, tossed with a splash of good olive oil, sprinkle of vinegar, grind of pepper, and shake of coarse salt...outside! Al fresco dining in Minnesota in March? A record for me, I'm quite sure. The sun, on the deck, has the temp up over 60 degrees, thank goodness I glanced at the thermometer before I dug into my bunny snack. It's slightly breezy, just enough to make it a smidge on the chilly side, so I didn't linger. But I had to go for it, my god, to say and know and experience that I ate outside, at home, on March 10. It will get cold again, of course (I'm optimistic, not stupid), but this little window on spring has my spirits soaring. La, la, laaaa! (In case you're wondering Suz, yes, that is arugula! Chopped with basil, tarragon, parsley, scallions, and chervil - hey, I had them all in the fridge, and I don't want to waste them, and there's nothing more refreshing than a pile of chopped, fresh herbs as a salad on March 10! Except, perhaps, a beer...mmm...beer).

Oh! OMG! I must take down the Christmas wreath hanging on the front of the house! I just ate outside, but have a wreath still out there - great, big no-no, oh my, Kim will write me a citation for sure. I'm running out there right now...

Whew. Wreath is gone. Good thing I finally got around to it, that was a tough project - took, and I counted, less than 5 seconds to carry the wreath into the garage. Why? Why? Why do I procrastinate so? Anyhow, I snapped a quick pic of it, Christmas Wreath 2005, you were a lovely one. And I also snapped a pic of the beer (power of suggestion, above) that I stole from my friend Cory - Cory, I'm bringing you a six-er of Stella tonight, to attempt to recharge the supply of all the Stellas you've so generously served me at your house - but it's now a five-er. I'm such a bad friend! All I did was think about spring and beer, and I remembered it in the fridge, and just as John predicted when he saw that I'd bought it a few days ago, I drank one. Damn me again! Oooh, maybe I'll stop on the way to your house and buy another one...that's the trick. So I need never have posted this...hmmm... I'll bring you a six-er AND a five-er and get 'er the hell out my house so I don't drink 'er. Except at your house.