Marvelous Monday: Week 11

I hit "publish" too soon on Saturday's post about bubbly ice! Look what I saw on Sunday's run:

Okay, let's start off the week with five tidbits for Marvelous Monday:

1) I tried a new recipe last night for Thai chicken curry, with red curry paste instead of yellow because I had a jar already in my cupboard. Thumbs up from me, especially with cilantro on top. (I didn't buy basil but I think the combination would be pretty good.) I think this is the first time I've actually trusted the chicken to cook during the simmer instead of cooking it separately and adding it in later, and that made everything a lot easier!

2) Josh and I have a list of about eight household chores that we try to do weekly, which means that everything usually happens on Sunday. Josh was out of town over the weekend, so we did most of them on Friday instead, and it was fun to enjoy a clean(er) house all weekend instead of just starting the week with one.

3) Last week's purple tulips are hanging around!

4) Reading: F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise. Fitzgerald wrote his debut novel in St. Paul and I heard a lot about it on the walking tour I took awhile back, so it's fun to read it with some context from Fitzgerald's own life in St. Paul. (Also, remembering that tour reminds me that spring and summer bring more neighborhood walking tours, and I need to do some research.)

5) I'm signing up for a 25K trail race with Molly and am very excited about working back up to a longer distance and running in a new-to-me trail system next month.

And I'm still thinking about my D.C. friends as they wait for their baby. Soon!

Hope your week is starting out in a marvelous way!

Marvelous Monday: Week 9

First, a question: My first visit to the American Swedish Institute over the weekend made me wonder what else I've been missing all this time. Do you have a Twin Cities museum recommendation for me? Please share.

On with the marvelous tidbits:

1) Natty's due date is this week, and I am thinking of my friends in D.C. as they get ready to finally meet their little one!

2) Over the weekend, I finished Liz Murray's powerful book Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard.

3) It's March now, and that means spring (sometime soon!).

4) Temperatures are finally heading in the right direction: to the 20s and even 30s for the foreseeable future. I have been in maintenance mode with my miles lately, just trying to consistently get outside when I can. I was hoping to do 8-10 miles on Sunday morning, and when I woke up, it was -10 with a windchill of -31, which is just not very conducive to the mileage I had planned. (I skipped that run, just to be clear.) I am excited to finally do more outside and put together my spring and summer race calendar.

5) This scene from over the weekend:

Back to museum for just a minute: What's your favorite museum ever? (I just tried to type out a few favorites and had so many feelings that I might have to write about this another time.) What's the best one in your town? What museum would you love to visit but haven't yet?

Hoping that your week is starting out well - all of you.

Marvelous Monday: Week 8

It's Monday, and that means five marvelous tidbits to begin the week:

1) Yesterday was a great day with family and friends. We spent the afternoon at my parents' house for my sister's birthday celebration, which had been pushed back to Sunday because of the snow that fell on Thursday night. One of Wish's favorite things in the world is my parents' fenced-in backyard, and this time, my mom had stomped down a big figure-8 path with her snowshoes so he could run back there in the snow. I thought this was a little bit funny until I saw him try to run outside the figure-8 and plunge into snow that's possibly deeper than he is tall (or at least close to it). He loved running around back there.

And one of the whole crew around the cherry-chocolate-cream torte (we love the timer function on cameras now):

On our way back home, Josh dropped me off in time to catch the last part of book club (less book club and more baby snuggles for me, but I heard the book was discussed) and then we met up to celebrate another friend's birthday over pizza and the closing ceremonies.

2) On Saturday I got back to my long run routine and got eight miles in. I wore my Yak Trax over my shoes for the first time this winter, and the run was infinitely better because of it. (Total credit for this goes to my husband, who asked if I was wearing them as I headed out the door!) Most of the sidewalks were shoveled, but the Yak Trax were great for the sometimes-loose and sometimes-packed snow. No speed records were broken, but I caught up on some podcasts and felt good about the run.

3) Per last week's Marvelous Monday, over the weekend I did assemble our holiday cards into a little keepsake book with the help of a three-hole punch and some ribbon. Thanks to Natty for the idea!

4) Josh and I finished the fifth and final season of "Friday Night Lights" over the weekend. Not marvelous: it's over. Marvelous: I loved it. Next up: I think we'll circle back to the final season of "The Wire."

5) It's almost March, but temperatures are going in the wrong direction this week. I am glad to be buoyed by the prospect of another run outside today (and maybe Wednesday) and some fun plans this week with friends.

What's nice about the start of your week? What are you looking forward to in the days ahead? Do tell!

Marvelous Monday: Week 7

I'm still grinning from my weekend in Washington with my friends. Ellie and I traveled there to attend a baby shower honoring Nat and her husband and their soon-to-arrive baby!

I believe we talked nearly continuously for the hours that we were awake. It was so great to have a couple of days to catch up with these dear friends, who have been part of my life for more than a decade, and so special to be able to celebrate with the two wonderful soon-to-be parents in person. (A big thanks to Nat and her husband for hosting us!)

The week is already marvelous because of those friends. More marvelous tidbits:

1) This morning in Minnesota, winter kept on truckin' with four or five inches of fresh snow. I got out for a few miles this afternoon for the first time in a few days. In Washington, I got a preview of what 40 degrees feels like, and I am looking forward to that temperature this week in Minnesota.

2) On my run, I saw a little girl learning how to skate on a neighborhood ice rink, using a folding chair for balance.

3) Josh cleaned the house today and I cleaned my side of the closet out this evening. I am very excited.

4) We're celebrating my sister's birthday with the family later this week.

5) I had been pondering a good way to preserve our holiday cards (which are still up), and learned this weekend that for the last couple of years, Nat has been punching two holes in each card and then stringing them all together with ribbon to form a little book. I love this idea and hope to try it this week.

The Olympics are on TV in the background and there are cowbells ringing, and they are rallying tonight's blogging. Cowbells are sort of appropriate for Marvelous Monday.

Marvelous Monday: Week 4

A quick Marvelous Monday to begin the week!

1) Inspired by my running buddy Molly, I've mixed in some interval training on the treadmill over the last few weeks. Today's workout was a 10-minute warmup, then a ladder of one, two, three, four, four, three, two, and one minute(s) at a moderately hard pace, with one-minute recovery jogs in between each interval. If it were possible for a workout to fly by on a treadmill, this one did! I like ladder workouts.

2) I woke up to -15 degrees and a -40 windchill, but I have to admit that today's big blue sky was pretty.

3) Josh made tortas from our Rick Bayless Mexican Everyday cookbook for dinner tonight!

4) Over the last few months, my glasses have gotten so loose they fall off my face if I look down. I finally remembered to bring them in for a quick repair over the weekend, and I am so excited to have them fit correctly again.

5) At Trader Joe's last week a bottle of grapefruit juice found its way into my cart and I'm curious about how it will stack up to the fresh stuff.

What's nice about the start of your week?

Marvelous Monday: Week 2

Monday! Here we go:

1) Reading treats this week: today I picked up my reserved copy of A Field Guide to American Houses, and it looks simply marvelous. It's grouped by housing style, with lots of example photos and drawings to point out the key features of the style. I loved the architectural tidbits from the neighborhood walking tour I took and am excited to read the book and then know more about the other kinds of houses in the neighborhoods where I run.

2) You aren't going to believe this, but I got out for a run before work this morning - my first weekday morning run in what must be months - and did just under five miles, the last 1.5 of which were with Wish. It felt great to have the workout in the books so early, though tomorrow morning is supposed to be snowy and windy, so I won't guarantee that I'll be out there again.

3) My mom Santa included a little Keeshond-shaped cookie cutter in Wish's stocking at Christmas, and I am too fond of it to stash it away until next Christmas, so I devised a temporary little kitchen set-up, thanks to scrapbook paper, a few nails and a 5x7 picture frame (minus the glass) to keep it on display. I am trying to decide whether I should make two more with my Minnesota- and heart-shaped cookie cutters to make a little (odd) triptych. For now, the little Keeshond is making me smile.

4) My beloved "Hart of Dixie" is back tonight after a midseason hiatus and I just figured that out today.

5) I aim to begin a sewing project this week.

What's nice about the start of your week, Reader? Any winter TV shows coming back that you're exciting about? Any new books on your reading list? Tell me!

Marvelous Monday: Week 1

This morning I woke up and checked the weather on my phone, and the weather app reported -22 degrees with a -47 degree windchill.

We will focus on the marvelous!

1) I have a beloved and very warm button-up gray sweater that has been missing most of its buttons for at least a few months. I finally remembered to get new buttons for it last week at Joann, sewed the buttons on last night and got to wear the sweater buttoned up today. (Once I mend the pocket liners that were chewed through by a certain dog in pursuit of treats I had left in the pockets, it will be as good as new.)

2) Tonight is the college football national championship, and I'm rooting for Auburn to win. Every year since I chose Tennessee to be my SEC football team, I've learned a little more, and this year, I was surprised by how much information about other SEC teams (and college football in general) I took in by following UT football. Tennessee's win against South Carolina was my favorite college football game this year, but Auburn's amazing game against Alabama in the Iron Bowl is a close second. (And the Auburn radio call of the game-winning play is my favorite call of 2013.)

3) Given today's temperatures, I hit the treadmill today for a few intervals, alternating hard efforts with recovery segments as the songs changed on my iPod. It felt good to run harder than usual, and really good to be wearing normal running clothes instead of 600 layers.

4) My friend Sara got a dog and I'm so excited for her!!

5) I am very excited to try Iowa Girl Eats' Thai Peanut Chicken Quinoa recipe sometime this week.

What's new this week for you, Reader? Any cooking projects going on? Favorite recipe to cook on a cold day? And do you have a favorite cozy winter sweater? 

Marvelous Monday: Week 51

It's almost Christmas!

Five marvelous tidbits to begin the week:

1) Our washing machine broke down over the weekend, and Josh did some research, tinkered with some machine pieces, and fixed it successfully himself!

2) I hot-glued our holiday cards on to sparkly gold ribbon and they're all hanging up now on the pillar in our kitchen, and I love looking at them. They may stay up for months.

3) We had a fun visit last night with our friends - the new parents! - and their great family.

4) Today's high temperature struggled to get higher than two or three degrees, which didn't exactly buoy my spirits for the run I had planned. I cut it short - three miles or so - and ran errands around the neighborhood, and it did feel good to get out there and trot around a bit.

5) With more snow on tap for Christmas Eve, it will definitely be a white Christmas in our part of Minnesota. It seems like a light snow has been falling a lot lately, that glittery snow, and it's really beautiful - especially at night under the streetlights. I love to watch Wish run/hurdle through it, and I'm looking forward to getting my snowshoes out sometime in the next couple of weeks!

Are you traveling this week, and is it snowy where you are and/or where you're headed? We'll be in Minnesota this year, spending time with family here and also thinking of family in Colorado.

Marvelous Monday: Week 50

Week 50 is going to fly by! Here are some notes about the start of the week:

1) The very big highlight is that our friends welcomed a baby girl into the world late last week. We stopped by over the weekend to see the family, and I got to hold the two-day-old baby. We are so, so happy for them.

2) Everything else is small potatoes by comparison, but I am pleased that the rosemary plant I harvested from our outdoor garden seems to be doing okay inside and maybe even growing a little. (I didn't have high hopes.) The sage plant is looking a little bit wilted, but I'm crossing my fingers for it, too.

3) Josh was at the mall today and brought home a surprise present: new Tennessee hats! Yay!

4) I love holiday cards.

5) Tonight I walked through the living room and noticed, for the first time, the marvelous shadows my snowflakes were making on the ceiling. Whoa!

What's marvelous about the start of your week, Reader? Do you have any secrets about how to keep indoor herb gardens? Is there anyone else who plans to get a Christmas tree but hasn't yet?

Marvelous Monday: Week 49

It was a chilly weekend with at least a few more months days left in this cold snap. Brr! Here are some more marvelous tidbits about the weekend and upcoming week:

1) I have obtained a Minnesota-shaped cookie cutter and am very excited about it. I botched a batch of sugar cookies this weekend so I missed an opportunity already, but I am going to try it out sometime this month. More cookie-making is on tap for tomorrow night, too.

2) I finished my sort-of-holiday table runner over the weekend! Here it is on top of a red tablecloth, just to show you the fabric (I did not stencil this one):

3) It's officially grapefruit time at my house. I had the first grapefruit of the season (possibly of 2014) this morning for breakfast and it was wonderful.

4) I spent a few minutes today wandering aimlessly around the library after picking up my reserved copy of Eleanor & Park. (Thanks to Steph for this recommendation!)

5) I had a great yoga class tonight. We spent a few minutes at the start of class practicing deep breaths, because the teacher reminded us that we all tend to hold our breath in cold weather (not to mention the shoulder-hunching that goes on), which does no one any favors. It's so true! Take a deep breath, right now!

What's marvelous about the start of your week? Do you love or hate grapefruit? Do you have holiday decorations up? And what are you reading?

Marvelous Monday: Week 48

There are four more Mondays in 2013. Can you believe it?

This week's big news is that two of our friends will be welcoming a baby into the world sometime very soon, and Josh and I are so excited for them!

Here are five other nice tidbits to begin the week:

1) The weekend included a Tennessee football victory! There was some incredible college football on Saturday (Iron Bowl! A&M at Mizzou!), including a Tennessee win against Kentucky in UT's last game of the season. There will be no bowl game for the Volunteers this year, but the future is bright - and the SEC football storylines this year have been exciting, to say the least.

2) I took a class through Minneapolis Community Ed tonight with Sara on the art of Yule log-making! The Yule log (or Buche de Noel) is a French holiday dessert that's a layer of spongy cake covered in pastry cream and then rolled up and topped with ganache. We learned how to make the Buche de Noel but also picked up a bunch of other really helpful cooking tips from our teacher, who was great. He had lots of knowledge as well as a genuine and wonderful joy for cooking and teaching. I can't wait to try more cooking classes. (He teaches one on homemade puff pastry!)

3) Big, fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky today.

4) Over the weekend, I read in a magazine about a book on American house architecture that sounded great. The trouble was, later I couldn't remember which magazine and couldn't remember enough key words about the book to be very helpful. I googled "book about houses Real Simple magazine" and "book about houses Martha Stewart Living" before finding success with "book about houses Entertainment Weekly." It's A Field Guide to American Houses and I'm in line at the library for the first copy.

5) I'm having a good time thinking about what holiday decorations I'll try around the house this year. I have a hankering to revisit 2011's snowflake window!

What's sweet about the start of your week? Have you made a Yule log dessert before? Did you watch the Iron Bowl? And have you already decorated for the holidays, and if so, what's your favorite decoration?

Marvelous Monday: Week 47

Marvelous Monday! Here we go:

1) I ran nine miles on Saturday with Molly. Running buddies are always amazing, but especially so when the weather report looks like this when you wake up:

per Weather Underground

We haven't run together in awhile, so we got to catch up. It was great.

2) This weekend, I got a haircut! I've had it long, long, long for ages. I am happy to make a change, happy with the cut, and happy I got to spend the afternoon with my mom. (Thank you, Mom!)

3) It was a chilly weekend, but it also served as a good reminder of how comfortable being outside can feel if you're dressed for the weather. I took long walks with Josh and Wish, and I was extra-grateful for my favorite hat and down jacket. I'm beginning my second winter with the down jacket, and it's a game-changer for me.

4) I have a batch of Moosewood chili to work my way through this week.

5) I've got yoga class on tap this evening!

I'm also looking forward to time with my family, extended and immediate, for the Thanksgiving holiday and weekend.

What's nice about the start of your week? Where will you spend Thanksgiving? And what's your key to staying warm in chilly weather?

Marvelous Monday: Week 46

What a weekend!

On Saturday, Josh and I drove all over the metro area. On Sunday, we thought about what we'd seen.

And today we bought a car for me!

I said goodbye to my 2000 Mazda Protege, which accompanied me for 60,000 miles from age 21 to 29. I bought it in the summer before my junior year of college and learned how to drive a stick shift en route to my first internship, in downtown St. Paul. (I might have acquired its first dent in the parking ramp for said internship, when I may have forgotten to put on the emergency brake, looked back as I walked into work that day and saw the car rolling backwards toward a cement post.)

Nine years later, we've been trying to squeeze a few more miles out of it, but it had become increasingly less reliable (and as a result, especially in the winter, less safe). So I'll start my 30s with another Mazda - this time, a Mazda 3 - and I'm happy and grateful for the switch.

That is the highlight of Marvelous Monday, but here are five more tidbits:

1) Wish and I went for a run today. He was mildly patient all weekend with our car-related visits and research but needed to run off some energy, so we trotted around the neighborhood. We're building up his endurance.

2) The kitchen was hopping yesterday and I made smoky pulled pork tacos via the crockpot, quick minestrone for the week's lunches, and blondies (just for fun). And Josh made paninis!

3) I got my December Bon Appetit over the weekend and the cover features holiday cookie recipes.

4) It's going to be 50 degrees tomorrow!

5) I have been delving into the wonderful world of stencils and will tell you about that project soon.

What's marvelous about the start of your week, Reader? What's your favorite holiday cookie? And what was your first (or favorite) car?

Marvelous Monday: Week 45

I had a great weekend that included some bowling, a birthday celebration with old friends, and some much-needed couch time on Sunday evening with a very tired dog after yesterday's outdoor festivities. I have never seen Wish so utterly tuckered out. He's not usually one to snuggle with me too much, but last night on the couch, he wedged his head next to my collarbone and fell into a deep sleep with my arm around him.

Five more marvelous tidbits:

1) After too many days away from the yoga studio this summer and fall, I thought it would be prudent to stop my membership. It was the right decision for now - I'm running a little more and have gym access through work - but I recently decided to sign up for a weekly Monday night yoga class, also through work. That means tonight was my first yoga class since midsummer, and I was so happy. It's power yoga, like I was doing at the studio, and it's so, so good for my mind and body - even though I expect some sore arms tomorrow. At this time, a weekly class works much better for me than a monthly studio membership, and I'm very excited to get back into it.

2) Today's temperatures were cold, but the sun was out, and that makes a huge difference.

3) A year ago this week on a porch in Tennessee, Josh asked me to marry him!

4) I've got a new recipe for butternut squash and sage lasagna that I'm excited to try out this week. (Although tonight was not the weeknight to roast the squash, cook the noodles, assemble the layers and then wait another 45 minutes until it's ready to eat. Nachos for dinner!!!)

5) My Road ID mysteriously went on the lam for a long time - I velcro the tag to my shoes, so I truly have no idea what happened to it. Whatever happened, its absence is bad because I take very seriously the habit of carrying ID with me when I run. (I've been grabbing my license, but I love the Road ID because it's attached to my shoe at all times and thus impossible to forget - unless, of course, it goes on the lam.) I finally ordered a replacement Road ID, complete with my new information, and I think it should arrive tomorrow.

Finally, it's Veterans Day, and among other vets, I've been thinking of both of my grandpas: two dear men who served in World War II.

I hope your week is starting out well, Reader.

Marvelous Monday: Week 41

Marvelous Monday! Here we go!

1) Rain is moving in to Minnesota for the next couple of days, and on a chilly night, I am very happy to have a surprise cozy new pair of wool socks, knit by my grandma in the exact shade of our bridesmaids' dresses.

2) I am also happy that a big batch of soup is simmering on the stove for the week's lunches. It's the Runner's World tomato chickpea pesto recipe that you guys know I love, appearing for the first of many times this season.

3) We spent yesterday at home helping my parents with a project. Dinner together and a family wave commenced afterward:

Also, we found this wacko horse puppet that my family has had forever. He resurfaces at the strangest times. He likes to poke his head out of sunroofs...and sneak up on my brother.

4) We finished Season 2 of "The Wire" and have launched into Season 3. You know you're hooked on a show when you start to think passersby look like the characters from your program.

5) This post would not be complete if I didn't mention a wonderful surprise visit today from Molly and her baby! She brought me a soy chai and a donut, set up a running date, Baby squeezed my hand, and then they were on their way. That's a serious day-brightener.

What's marvelous about your week, Reader? Did you fall asleep in the eighth inning of last night's turned-out-to-be-wild ALCS game? (No? Just me?) Do you have favorite fall soups you'd like to tell me about? And finally, this is unrelated to my post, but I need some book recs. What have you been reading?

Marvelous Monday: Week 40

How did it get to be the 40th week of 2013?

1) To follow up yesterday's post about the finish line: I think these photos from a Pioneer Press photographer explain, better than I ever could, about why I love a marathon finish line.

2) Lunch run today! The sky was a super-deep blue and the leaves were lovely.

3) Speaking of leaves: I'm in the preliminary steps of a craft project involving leaves. Yesterday after the marathon I had fun puttering with my collection, much to Wish's utter dismay:

4) Josh made sirloin, bacon and black bean chili yesterday, and the leftovers tonight were equally marvelous.

5) It's playoff baseball time and that will never fail to be marvelous to me.

What's marvelous about the start of your week, Reader? Please share!

Marvelous Monday: Week 38

Back to Marvelous Monday!

Our Tennessee Volunteers could not pull off an upset at Florida on Saturday, but it was a good weekend just the same that included dinner with friends, two long walks, and two kinds of salsa. (Hi, oodles of tomatillos!)

1) It's barely fall, but it's officially time for me to hereby resolve to assemble more meals in the slow cooker. I started my favorite pulled pork recipe this morning before work, and by the time I stopped by home over lunch, it smelled so good that I was very excited for the rest of the day. (And then dinner was basically ready when I got home from work!)

2) On a related note, yesterday I read through Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless, and it's full of marvelous recipes, some of which are slow cooker-friendly. I can't wait to cook my way through this book.

3) I got to hold the sweetest four-day-old baby yesterday. Her parents were dancing at our wedding 10 days ago, and when we turned on our cell phones on Thursday after our trip, we got the marvelous word that she had arrived. Welcome to this world, Baby!

4) I am also excited for a friend who started a new job today.

5) The Monday sky was big and blue and full of beautiful cirrus clouds.

How about your Monday, Reader? Are you starting any new chapters, large or small, literal or figurative? Any books to recommend? And what's your favorite cookbook?

Marvelous Monday: Week 36

Hey, it's wedding week!!! We can hardly believe it but are so excited!

1) It's hot here (but supposed to cool down by the weekend!) and I slogged through almost 10 miles on Saturday morning, my longest run in a long time. (That last part is the marvelous part.)

2) This morning's run was another slog, but there were two very beautiful parts: a rose sky just before daybreak, and then seeing one of the St. Paul bridges lined with glowing streetlights on a foggy, cloudy morning.

3) This is totally not romantic or light-hearted wedding week reading, but I started reading Truman Capote's In Cold Blood last week and am captivated. Along similar lines, Josh and I finally - finally! - started watching "The Wire" over the last couple of weeks and are captivated by that, too.

4) Tennessee's second game of the season (and the first one on accessible-to-us TV) happened over the weekend, and Josh and I camped out on the couch on Saturday afternoon to watch the Volunteers march to a good win.

5) I went to a lovely baby shower yesterday honoring a lovely mama-to-be and was so happy to be able to celebrate with her.

And there are so many marvelous things ahead this week, with marvelous people, and my heart is so full.

Marvelous Monday: Week 35

It's Marvelous Monday!

1) The heat wave ended late last week, and yesterday and today were downright cool. We've been keeping the windows shut tight and the shades down because the conditions outside had been worse than what was happening inside our apartment. This morning, the windows were open, a cool breeze was circulating, and most importantly, fresh air was in our home.

2) I gave Wish a haircut yesterday. He has allowed that before, but the new development is that he actually let me trim the out-of-control fur between his toes, which he has been fussy about before. His little paws are so handsome now and I think he even likes it.

3) Speaking of that goofy dog, I got to have two leisurely, delightful walks with him around town today.

4) I also visited the garden today, and when I arrived, I saw the cherry tomato plant lit up with so many bright red tomatoes that it looked like it was decorated with strings of red Christmas lights. I must have picked six cups of cherry tomatoes, plus three big heirlooms. I thought the garden was starting to fade out for the summer, but it definitely proved me wrong.

5) We're getting married next week!!

I hope your week is starting out well, Reader.

Marvelous Monday: Week 32

Hello, blog! It's Marvelous Monday.

1) My aunt and cousin hosted such a sweet party for me yesterday: beautiful desserts, fresh homemade summer beverages, and wonderful family. I was so touched.

My mom's penchant for organizing photos at events used to be a thorn in my siblings' collective side, or whatever the right expression is. ("Mom! Another picture?!") Obviously, if you've visited this blog even once before, I've come around to appreciate her habit of getting out the camera. I love this photo of my grandma, mom and sister with me.

2) I also love reading and thinking about kindness. On today's run, the Slate Double X Podcast to which I was listening steered me toward "George Saunders's Advice to Graduates". "Err in the direction of kindness," he writes. Who do I know that needs an extra touch of kindness this week? Who do you know?

3) Tonight was a grill night! I prepared a play on a recipe I read in this month's Martha Stewart Living that involved topping grilled eggplant with basil, cherry tomatoes, olive oil and feta, which I swapped for fresh mozzarella I had on hand. (Can anyone give a high five for not just eating the caprese salad and skipping the eggplant? 'Cause I almost did.) I haven't grilled eggplant before and it was great.

4) The next few days call for mid-70s and sun. Yes!!

5) Josh just came home after a long day and Wish was so elated that he went airborne in his greeting, which I don't think I've ever seen before and was totally marvelous.

Happy times at Miles and Laurel.