Friday, July 06, 2007

Friday Five: Hasty Edition

Hasty suits me just fine on this busy day.

What are you:

1. Wearing
My fat pants, alas, and my favorite t-shirt with the palm tree on it (sale at Nordstrom, some years ago).
2. Reading
As usual, I have several things going at once. I finally finished Empress of the Last Days, by Jane Stevenson, which asks the question, what if we were able to find a direct descendant of the Stuart line, the rightful queen of England and Scotland--and what if she were a woman of color, an ecology professor in Barbados? It wasn't as good as the earlier books in the series, The Winter Queen and The Shadow King, but once I got into it, it kept me going. Others on the nightstand and coffee table include Dearest Friend by Lynne Withey (a biography of Abigail Adams), The Italians by Luigi Barzini, and the last of the three novellas in A Plague of Dreamers, by Steve Stern (with whom I share an alma mater). I recently finished his novel, The Angel of Forgetfulness, which I enjoyed. He writes about the American Jewish experience in a mystical, "magical realism" style.
3. Eating
Fewer carbs, more protein. Since we have an abundance of fresh basil, and a nice big slicing tomato, this morning I got some fresh mozzarella to make a big insalata caprese. Just layer alternate slices of tomato and mozzarella, sprinkle liberally with fresh basil, and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (and a splash of balsamic vinegar, if you like). We ate this all over Italy, not just on Capri. It's fun when you have cherry tomatoes and the little mozzarella balls that are the same size.
4. Doing
I love Fridays when I'm not working. Today's agenda just includes household-related shopping and other errands, laundry, etc. etc. I'll also stop by the office to do a little paperwork, and visit a friend who's been in the hospital for about two weeks. Please pray that he can go home soon.
5. Pondering
Nothing very heavy. I am thinking about how to revitalize my private practice, which hasn't quite recovered from that long break I just took. But somehow, it always seems to pick up again after a lull like this.

P.S. We have a little house guest this week, Tessie the hedgehog. We like her more than she likes us. If I can persuade her to stop jumping and hissing at me long enough to have her picture taken, I'll post it over the weekend.

(Later: Inquiring minds want to know how we wound up with a hedgehog! Tessie is staying with us while her human family is in Hawaii. Her mama is the college-aged daughter of my friend Cindy.)

11 comments:

Mary Beth said...

My! A hedgehog for a houseguest! What interesting hospitality.

Have a great day!

Lori said...

A hedgehog! How very cool. Brings to mind "A Wind in the Willows".

And insalata caprese for breakfast sounds fantastic. Isn't it rather like the grown up version of leftover pizza for breakfast. Only far tastier?

Cathy said...

Picture of hedgehog is definitely in order.

Maters and mozzarella - YUM!

Di said...

Ditto the hedgehog pic.

Unknown said...

I want to see pictures, too!

Jan said...

How did you get a hedgehog as a guest? Pictures needed! I'd be a little afraid of the hissing. . . .

DogBlogger said...

Yes, hedgehog picture, please.

And, more importantly, the story of how you came to have a hedgehog as a houseguest.

Teri said...

i too am wondering how this hedgehog came to enjoy your hospitality!
and now i'm wishing i had more tomatoes to go with my fresh basil....

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

How did you get a hedgehog as a visitor???

Jan said...

Thanks for putting the "later" in your post, so we know your hedgehog-sitting. . .

Karen Sapio said...

That salad sounds good!