Wednesday, December 21, 2011

simply put

I heard myself say today – I have no work that needs to be done. With exams still under way, I have the occasional email and of course, I’m free to worry already about the next semester, but in all honesty, I have this week a lull that is rather remarkable.

And so I awoke very early and tossed for a while, looking for things to worry about and failing in this, I got up to cook.


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A leek and mushroom frittata, a buckwheat almond cake with apple compote.


My younger daughter is in town, passing through to see her boyfriend’s family up north and I had myself that wonderful table of young people and old Ed and predictably, it was great fun.


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After, once the young people left, Ed and I took a walk. Even writing this seems strange. Ed and I never “take a walk” unless we’re at some distant place that warrants that kind of movement. But it is too cold to bike and too snowless to ski and I thought we’d benefit from the movement.

It had been, on and off, a cloudy day. But in the last hours before sunset, the skies opened up in the way that I always think is so magnificent, here, in the Midwest.



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We walked the hour or so to Lake Waubesa, where geese honked and hustled away at the sight of us.


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Ed wanted to stay and watch some more, but staying in place without movement can get rather chilly and so we headed home.


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...to the setting sun.


These are the beautifully simple days. Tomorrow though, I need to break the habit of betting up a good two hours before the sun is even near rising.