1. My beloved pet artichoke plant has put up a bud. I’m beside myself with excitement. It’s almost unseemly. It seems more than I dared hope for in the first year of its perennial life. But there it is. An artichoke.
2. My review copy of Scorch Atlas by Blake Butler arrived yesterday. It does not bear any obvious signs of having been kicked, humped, burned, or otherwise abused. Nor have any pages been eaten, or even tasted. I haven’t yet decided if I’m disappointed about that or not. It’s also the most gorgeously designed book I can recall having held in my hands. So far so good with the words, too. Against my better judgment, I started reading it after the kid fell asleep last night. I ended up staying up way too late, then was up a good part of the night with the kid. Now I’ve had two hours of sleep and my head feels all funny and I’m not sure if it’s from the sleep deprivation or the prose. Stay tuned for a review and interview.
3. While the kid is at playgroup today, I’m meeting my friend Meg for lunch. All by myself on the bus, (hopefully not so sucked into Scorch Atlas that I miss my stop) to have a grownup lunch with a friend. It feels like the pre-child days. I’m not baking bread today, or cleaning the house, or even writing. I’m not going to be productive in the least. I’m more excited about it than makes sense, given the small scale of the outing. I guess this means I need to get out more. And maybe let myself have a little bit of fun sometimes on the days he’s at playgroup, instead of either writing or doing the Little Suzie Homemaker schtick.
4. Tomorrow is Billy’s 42nd birthday. Should I bake a cake or cupcakes? I can’t decide.
5. I have nothing more to say, but I dislike the number four.
And now I’m heading out to the garden to pet the plants for a bit before I make my way over to the bus stop. Have a great weekend!
I licked page 44 and 101
I rubbed my face on my own face
🙂
thanks Cari
Have a great lunch! And hooray for slacking and having fun.
Artichokes are perennial???? Probably not here — I’ll have to check it out. Mine looks quite like yours, but a bit dried out because of the aphid attack.
I went to the Castroville , CA Artichoke Festival this year. (Artichoke Cupcakes, anyone?) Great times, but nothing like the satisfaction of growing your own. Congrats!
The number four is very unlucky in China.
I’m undecided on the cupcake vs. cake question. I enjoy the potential that a cupcake has (trying various icings with the cake, or fillings…) but I also like a slice of cake. Please let us know what you decide to do!
What an adorable baby artichoke! And I vote for cupcakes….
chocolate cake.
Cupcakes…although last night for my birthday we had lemon cake served with fresh fruit on the side and that hit the spot on a warmer Iowa summer night.
I vote for cupcakes, naturally.
More whimsical, and a more perfectly honed ratio of frosting to cake.
Also, I just want to applaud the idea of you getting out more. I suspect that adult playtime is good for the writing anyway, since it feeds the sense of oneself apart from the various roles (mom, wife, baker, etc.), and that’s where the writing comes from, no?
You all seem to be somewhere on the left coast, but if you ever on the right coast, the best cupcakes I have eaten anywhere in the world — and I have tried cupcakes in a dozen disparate countries — are to be found at Georgetown Cupcakes, in the DC suburb by that name; it is on, I think, either 32nd or 33rd St., just a dozen yards up from M Street, heading straight up from Dean and Delucca. I have never walked past it when there wasn’t a line going to next corner, folks waiting 15, 20, 30 minutes to get in for a cupcake.
Thankfully, we no longer live only a few blocks from the place (now more like 4000 miles), so my belly might finally again be able to get somewhere near the keyboard.
I remember those days when just the thought of a grown up lunch is so very exciting. Thanks so much for reminding me. These days I take that for granted. Now, i wish my son wanted to spend more time with me (well, only when he’s being human. Teenagers…).