cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

I left work about 10 minutes early this evening.  I came home, took Rain for her evening walk, fed her, toasted myself a bagel, and headed back out.  I went to the first-ever meeting of the Madison Area Crochet Guild.  There were fewer than 10 people there, but one of them was my lab partner from undergraduate p.chem lab!  No, we didn't plan it, it just sort of happened.  We spent a couple hours talking about patterns, things we like to make, things we want to make, places to buy yarn, and why we like crochet.  It was very much fun, in that nerdy/crafty sort of way.

I managed to make it to Grape & Company just before they closed.  I got a delicious feta and spinach scone, some spankopita, and a tiny piece of tiramisu.  I came home, heated up the hot food, shattered a tea mug, put a pan of dark chocolate brownies laced with raspberry-filled dark chocolate pieces and dark chocolate-covered cranberries in the oven, and sat down to enjoy my repast.

Life is pretty darn good tonight.  I had good food, got to meet some very nice people, figured out some bits of one of my character's history, and my Lush order even showed up!  Stormy, I'll get your haul to you at some point this weekend.  Yes, life is good. 

Have I mentioned lately that I love weekends? I love them so very much. During the week we spend so much time running hither and yon and we don't get many chances to just sit and be mellow. Today, we've been very mellow.

I'm a decent way into Wintersmith and loving it oh so very much. I needed these books when I was 11, 13, and 25. Any female who's ever felt out of place because she's smart, not afraid to show that she's smart, and that she sees just a little further than most people needs to read the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. No, really, NEEDS to read them.

We ran some more errands today so that I could spend more money. Bad Sabine. I got some more yarn (not that I needed any more yarn), some fleece for a new jacket for Rain (she actually does need a slightly lighter coat than the parka I made her last winter), and dog food for the pup.

When we got home, I finished off the first skein of yarn in Downwood's annual winter scarf. He asked for something not in the fun, fuzzy, glittery yarn that I've been playing with and picked a fairly complicated pattern out of my new book. It's going to be exceptionally warm and very cool-looking. Pictures will be taken when it gets done.

We (finally) put the last of the invitations together. I've still been unable to locate a roommate from college and I'm waiting for my grandmother to send me my great-aunt's address, but the rest of them will be dropped in the mail tomorrow. At last...especially since the wedding is seven weeks from yesterday. Seven. That's it. I'm starting to freak out a little - equal parts terror and excitement. I'm thinking this is pretty normal.

I created a recipe this evening that I hope I can remember. Garlic, onion, chicken, basil, balsamic vinegar, vodka, sun dried tomatoes, and some other things that I don't remember right now got sauteed and put over nifty noodles with some fresh parmesan cheese on top. It turned out so much better than it had any right to. Yum. Serious yum.

The wine that accompanied dinner really made today perfect. It's a bottle of 2004 Amelie from Mankas Hills Vineyards. I was sent this bottle of wine for free. Why? Because I have a blog. No, they didn't make me promise to write a stellar review of it. No, there were no other strings besides being of age. Yes, it's quite tasty. It's a very...clean taste. It didn't stand up very well to the intense tomato/vodka/garlic sauce, but it's very beautiful all on its own. I'm going to go have another glass or two to...more carefully examine the depths, tones, and other such snobbish terms of this bottle. I'm going to look for this winery the next time I go to Woodman's. Yus.

Oh, yeah, the winery has a blog, too. Go, word of mouth!