Me and Gardening

I am not a gardener. To me, it means a sore back and dirty fingernails. It means picking weeds and getting rid of pests. For my friend, Beth, it's important to have a patch of dirt. She's planted lettuce, kale, tomatoes and all sorts of herbs in her yard.


Admittedly, when I stayed at her place, I enjoyed picking the greens and preparing them for dinner. Aren't they beautiful? And delicious.

Sonoma Sojourn

After I had secured a new job, it was fun to hang out during the week with friends I don't get to see as often as I'd like.


One day, I joined Margaret on her work jaunt to Sonoma. We had lunch and visited Viansa, the gorgeous winery where she and BZ got married so long ago.

My Sabbatical

Well, it wasn't really a sabbatical, but that sounds better than "my period of unemployment."

My faithful readers have likely noticed my absence in the blogosphere. I must admit to experiencing a bout of depression following my company's "financial restructuring" and the subsequent "elimination" of my position. I certainly didn't want to convey any negativity through the Interweb. Now, I'm back.

I'll tell stories about my new job(s), but, first, I wanted to share some of my cat-sitting experiences.


Meeps and Juju. Or is it Juju and Meeps?


Nick and Daisy.


Daisy, in all her glory.

Virgin America Virgin

I had no idea Virgin America was so hip! My neighbor, Patti, flies for them and she hooked me up with an almost-free RT ticket to Orlando, so I really didn't care if I had to sit in the lavatory the whole way ... but ... wow!


The purple and pink "mood" lighting, the flight attendants dressed in black and my personal "entertainment system" with episodes of Law and Order - what more could a girl want?

My favorite feature, though, was the on-screen food and beverage ordering. No cumbersome and annoying carts going up and down the aisles. Instead, you place your order at your seat and it's delivered to you on a tray. Nice touch!

Blue Barn Gourmet

In an attempt to escape the madness of Bay to Breakers, Louise and I headed over to the Marina for lunch yesterday. I was in the mood for a sandwich and Blue Barn Gourmet offered up the perfect solution - the Buddha.


My photo does not do it justice, but it was a delightful mix of hummus, cucumbers, red peppers and sprouts. Scrumptious!

Fowl Frugality

I've never been a meat eater and I recently gave up chicken, but every now and then I get a craving for homemade chicken soup. I take this to mean my body needs protein, so I indulge. This time, instead of throwing away all the bones, skin and yucky parts, I tossed it together with carrot peels, celery heels and salt to make broth.


It was a teeny bit messy as I strained it twice, then poured it through cheesecloth. But now I've got several quarts in the freezer ready to go!

Vegetable Lasagna

Intentionally avoiding a political post today, I'd like to recommend this magnificent lasagna recipe.


I basically cleaned out my fridge - broccoli, cauliflower, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, onions, carrots, garlic, zucchini - roasted everything, then layered it with low-fat ricotta cheese, a bit of mozzarella and asiago. It was a big hit at book group.