Hey, remember me?

Yes, I accidentally fell off the planet. Hey, it happens. Actually, I was in California and I expected to do some remote blogging while on vacation, but then, out of nowhere...I didn't. The lack of wireless internet at my parents' house perplexed me. You mean I have to plug this thing in with a...cable? Weird. My baby brother graduated from UCSB (so proud!) and there were lots of friends and family to visit. It was a nice trip all around. You'd think I'd have great vacation photos, but no.

So, I promise not to become the crochety old lady (at 29!) who gives constant updates about the Cows, but I saw something today I had to share. No picture, sorry :) A wedding party was having their photos taken by one of the cows by our apartment. Wow. They must really like cows. Madam, ha! We are totally neighbors. That is so funny.

Knitting: I think it's just been too hot. I picked my Simple Top With Contrast Stripe (or whatever that catchy name is) back up, but I'm not much further than last time. I love that Wool Cotton, Rachel. It's nice and elastic and oh so durable. Inspired by Holly, I now really want to make the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (if you have this book, be sure to take a look at the abundant errata). I have some Rowanspun DK in a nubby dark green that I want to swatch up for it. That, or Jo Sharp DK Wool in a light tan. You know, I knit constantly through last summer, privately judging the "it's too hot to knit" crowd. But I think I was super-motivated by my ridiculous list of Christmas gifts to be done. I now apologize to everyone I thought of as wimpy for putting away the knitting during the hottest days!

Writing: Still on Chapter 1 rewrites. Pretty pleased so far, but I'm finding more to change than I expected. It's nice to have time to get some perspective so I can be really ruthless.

Reading: Lots of summer reading. Kate, I haven't started my Trollope yet, but it's definitely in the queue. I read Janet Evanovich's Twelve Sharp, which was a cute, breezy read. Not her best, but Stephanie Plum is always fun anyway. I read a few Kathy Reichs books--I watched Bones last season, which is based on her Temperance Brennan books. Not "based on", it turns out, or even "inspired by"...more "with a main character with the same name and profession as in the books." But I don't care. If I'd read the books first, I might be upset, but I liked the show, and liked the books. I read a couple more of Donna Andrews books (her first is Murder With Peacocks). I also read Early Bird by Rodney Rothman, hands down one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's a memoir of a 28-year-old comedy writer who losed his job and decides to test drive retirement in Florida. There's majorly competitive shuffleboard, amorous septuagenarians, unbreakable cliques of little old ladies, and so very much more. This book is like nothing else you've ever read, and it's funny and poignant.

Cooking: Today I made Cinnamon Raisin Bread and chocolate chip cookies (Tollhouse recipes with Ghirardelli chocolate chips). The Cinnamon Raisin Bread rose an insane amount. Tallest loaf I've ever gotten from the bread machine! It was like a giant rectangular muffin. Since the slices were going to be 11" tall, I sliced off the "muffin top" part for an afternoon snack. Hmmm. We just went to the grocery store after being out of town, so until Wednesday, we had no food of any kind :) I have the farmer's market to go to in the morning for squash and berries (and a "sandwich" tomato for my husband), so maybe I will feel more inspired to cook interesting things.