It turns out that if you don’t mind the car beeping at you all the way home because the hatch window is open the mommobile can haul 12’ boards.

Grading. Bleh. I have run out of ways to say “this is a perfectly adequate but not particularly exciting paper.” Time for a lunch break. Or to completely rewrite my assignments and prompts. One or the other. Sigh.

I used the “Alien Princess” blend from @fridaytea.com along with chopped pistachios for the topping on my mom’s birthday dessert. It was just the right note of floral without being overwhelming.

Fire drill in the middle of class conversation about the argument that experiential knowledge is superior enough to communicated knowledge to justify the existence of natural evil. I tried to tie it in, but viewing getting a few minutes outside on a gorgeous fall day as evil was a hard sell.

Getting a dorm kitchen crate ready for move in. Started with a milk crate, 3D printed a dish rack and mini-crate for utensils, and just added hooks for cups.

Sour cherry chicken salad.

Unplanned sour cherry usage.

Sour cherry burger with blue cheese. Bob bought the good blue cheese instead of the cheap stuff. It was a little too strong and overwhelmed the cherries and jalapeño in the burger. Tasty, though.

Sour cherry rice pudding looks like refried beans, which is disconcerting. Also sour cherry juice is apparently acidic enough to curdle milk, which means the texture was not as creamy as I would have liked, but also that tomorrow there will be sour cherry paneer. Or ricotta. Or both!

Sour cherry salsa.

Sour cherry and goat cheese focaccia.

Sour cherry and tomato panzanella! This was good. The big bursts of sour cherry were a little disconcerting. I think next time I will blitz them into the dressing instead of leaving them whole.

It’s sour cherry season and that means there’s going to be a lot of sour cherry silliness on this account because we’re looking at maybe 50 lbs from our two trees and I don’t particularly like cherry pie.

Last day of camp, I went down to pack up the craft lodge before the campers were up. Apparently the seagulls party before the beach is open.

Test run of a new craft for Books & Crafts camp. I 3D printed the frames and backs, we’ll gather and dry flowers and stuff (I also 3D printed microwave flower presses) and top off with resin. (Which I overfilled on these. Oops. Thanks for the 3D printer inspiration @mostlybree.kitrocha.com!

Started to cut up a melon for dinner last night but it was overripe. So I scooped it out and froze the pulp. Threw it in a blender just now and made a slushie. It was delicious. No one else wanted any. I have now consumed an entire overripe cantaloupe. Can’t see how this could go wrong.

No, I really don’t want my 100-level class that fulfills a GE requirement for first-years that you somehow managed to miss for four years be the thing that keeps you from graduating . . . . . . but . . . you did none of the work!

A software update has made it so that links to ebooks in the college library no longer go to the page that they did when I created the link. Unfortunately the link for today’s reading did go to the beginning of a chapter, just not the right chapter.

Student writing conferences today. I’m considering just outright banning the phrase “throughout history.”

The Roads Both Taken xkcd.com/3076

Final exam day for my J-term theodicy class. They’ve been a great class working with hard material for a 4 week intensive semester, so I put all the content bits in the take home essay and when they got to class gave them a project to create the best of all possible worlds.

Finally had our postponed extended family Christmas dinner. I take no blame for the sloppy arrangement of the pork slices.

Week after Christmas Chocolate Fondue: Pour warm cream over chocolate chips Peel banana Follow me for more festive holiday recipes!

Eldest had his first job interview on Tuesday, was offered the job yesterday, and today got the acceptance letter from his first choice college. It’s been an exciting week.

🧵My saffron story: Last Lent I was co-leading a study series we titled “Spice Up Your Lent” with each week themed around a herb or spice in the Bible. We talked about the botanical and culinary history, tasted the spice plain and in recipes and studied the passage it occurred in. 1/

Saffron alert! Saffron alert!

The smoke detector near the kitchen announces itself before blaring, and you can silence it by pushing the large button. I usually use a wooden spoon to reach it. This morning I grabbed the closest wooden handled implement and jabbed. Without regard for rounded vs pointy other ends. Ooops.

I startled awake at 5 feeling like my heart was racing. Tried to take my pulse. Couldn’t find my pulse. Worried this was an “I’m dead but don’t realize I’m a ghost” situation. Sat up and looked to see if my body was still lying down. No? Good. Waiting for someone else to wake up to confirm.

First time for an earned sticker instead of an honorary sticker!

@drotrebor.bsky.social and the 18 yo are in the kitchen singing “make an omelette” from Something Rotten. It’s gonna be a good day.

We are ready! But what with the blizzard turning to freezing rain earlier I’m not expecting a big turnout.

When I picked up the fast food there was a little grease spot on the bag. When I got it home there was this.

The costume designer has said that the look for kid1’s costume is “David Bowie in Labyrinth meets Dread Pirate Roberts.” I’m not sure how I feel about this.

knitters and crocheters, this is a wonderful yarn shop in Asheville and while their store can’t reopen for a while they are up and running online. who doesn’t love to buy yarn? purlsyarn.com

The last zucchini was too big for cute circles so I spaghettified it. Look at those squiggles!

Someday I will remember to take the Claritin BEFORE cleaning under the bed. But today is (once again) not that day.

A kindergartener noticed the spots on my ankle and asked about them. I told him they were from a time I got sick and they take a long time to go away. He looked worried, so I added “sometimes I pretend I’m a leopard.” He asked “Did you always want to be one when you grew up?”

I think I just got pocket-dialed from my doctor’s office. Which was weird. Fortunately the voices were talking about front desk computer stuff, not any patient info. But when I called back they said I wasn’t on anyone’s call list for the morning so ????

The 16 y.o. was disappointed with the grilled halloumi at the State Fair. Asked if we could make better at home. Sure. Asked if we could make it in the pizza oven. I guess? Then, since it’s silly to heat up the oven for just one thing we decided to have a non-pizza pizza oven feast. A thread:

Eldest child has passed the National Registry Exam for EMTs. Apparently they send out the announcement emails in the middle of the night. A 17yo joyfully bouncing up the stairs at 6 am is a rare treat.

I have 50 lbs of pizza dough rising in stockpots on my kitchen table. Tomorrow morning I will divide it into 8 oz balls and put it in the fridge. And on Tuesday there will be fire and pizza.

I was really hoping to get to the teacups before I had to turn in my pictures for @romancingthevote.bsky.social , but no luck. Imagine the next section is teacups! And a teapot!

I am very behind in my knitting for @romancingthevote.bsky.social But they are going to be super cute when they’re done.

Hey book loving friends. I need a recommendation for a fabulous book, content and interest level middle school/upper elementary that has only 100 pages or so.

Me (internal dialogue): No, I am not going to set an alarm to wake up in the middle on the night and check if the kids’ plane landed successfully. That would be excessive. [Wakes up exactly 5 min before scheduled landing] Why is my anxiety the only part of me with a reliable internal clock?

I went to a new-to-me yarn store to get the makings for a donation to the @romancingthevote.bsky.social auction.

Me, top of stairs: What are you playing? 17 y.o., downstairs: Greensleeves. Me: Duh. What instrument? 17: Harpsichord. Me: WHEN DID WE GET ONE OF THOSE? Turns out it was just a setting on an electric keyboard, but considering the actual organ that appeared last month it was a valid question.

I feel I am being targeted.

I’m trying to decide what the appropriate well-wishes are when students let me know they’ll be missing class for a protest. “Don’t forget to leave your car keys with a friend and make sure you have quarters for the pay phone” is probably outdated.

🧶Test knit progress photo! #bakingdoodlecowl Caveat: this is the first time I’ve ever done stranded colorwork and the tension is off, especially in the three color rows. But is it not just the cutest thing ever!