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.





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.






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.







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












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





...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.