California Dreaming

So I'm about to go back to CA for the first time in five years. I'd been having strong Monterey cravings over the past year, and I am super-excited to be visiting again.

Something I've always remembered from the treacly Life's Little Instruction Books is:

"Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard."

I've done the NorCal thing, and I get what he means. I led a very cushy life. Very comfortable. An embarrassing wealth of pleasures. And I'd love to live in New York - sort of almost kind of did once - but I get by with visiting regularly.

Whenever I mention to people where I used to live, the question I get is "...why did you move to Florida??" I always mention the cost of living difference, and, to some, the divine direction. Sure, there is a lot of stuff to love about the Central Coast of California. I miss the contrast in topography - the mountains diving down into the ocean. That just can't be found here, in the Land of One Contour Line. But I do enjoy that I can get in the ocean here. I miss the food - the freshness and the culture. I miss the intellectualism (though it borders on snobbery - oh, who am I kidding? even though it often trampled right into snobbery) - at least, the greater value of education, even if sometimes it was misguided.

If only I could take my friends and my work and my students and export them to California. Or, like the backdrop of a movie set, switch out Florida for California behind us all. But, maybe there's something to the discomfort of Florida. I've had to work a lot harder to find the things that brought me pleasure that were found so easily in California - the farmer's market, the art supplies, the beauty, the wineries (okay, not the wineries - just checking that you were still reading). And as a result, I appreciate them more. I don't take my discoveries for granted as much as I otherwise would. And it's also a useful reminder that this world is far from what it was designed to be. And a further challenge to be content in my surroundings, no matter the circumstances.

Ah, Summer!

I've had quite the leisurely week - exactly the kind that summer break is supposed to provide. Good, restorative days that lead you to forget exactly what day it is.

Monday - Beach!

Spent a terrific day with terrific company at New Smyrna Beach, which has the powdery sand of Daytona without its gross spring-break-iness. Went out in the water (70-something-degree water felt a lot warmer in the midwest, in my youth!) and played around in the waves. Got caught in a bit of a rip, but in shallow enough water that I could eventually walk (against a lot of water) out of it. A thunderstorm cleared the beach after a couple hours, so we headed home, where I took a 5h nap on the sofa - apparently a yellow sun depletes all my superpowers.

Tuesday - Baking!

Baked up a storm - some ginger cookies, snickerdoodles, and gougeres for friends and family.

Wednesday - Berries!

Spent the afternoon picking berries and making jam with one of my favorite people in the world. The conversation was great, and the picking was very pleasant. Thornless bushes, loads of easily plucked berries, and not many flying or crawling creatures in the plants.

Thursday - Pool!

Lunched and lounged with some lovely ladies around the pool. Watched some small sailboats maneuver around the lake, which, along with a Vanity Fair picture of Grace Kelly, made me want to learn to sail. [Where does one learn to sail, exactly?] Again with the yellow sun - fell asleep on the sofa and was out all night.

Friday - Spices!

Went into Winter Park to go to the Williams-Sonoma (unsuccessful trip - the one thing I wanted to get is now online-only :-\ ), as well as our new Penzey's store. I adore Penzey's - the official spice supplier to our household - the quality is fantastic, and the price is equivalent to, if not cheaper than, the local grocery stores. I had run low on Turmeric, Cloves, Coriander (which I forgot), and Crystallized Ginger, plus I had a coupon for a free jar of anything. I spent twenty minutes sniffing everything in the store - a comparison I obviously never get to do when shopping online. I was finally able to compare all the cinnamons side-by-side, and ruled out a few spice blends and herb mixes I thought I might try as my freebie. Normally, I eschew baking blends (e.g. "pumpkin pie spice") because I already have the constituent spices or I prefer to have proportion control. But, I picked them up and smelled them anyhow. I took one whiff of their Cake Spice and knew it was coming home with me. Something of it (probably the touch of anise) reminds me of my childhood. And it makes the best cinnamon toast in the universe.

Saturday - Books!

Finally went to a used bookstore in town that a friend had talked up for a year or so. I think we spent over an hour in there, but I could have easily spent two more. They have a very carefully-edited collection. Normally, used bookstores have indiscriminate selections and you have to wade through an awful lot of junk to find the gems. Here, there were so many gems! Lots of classic literature, decent contemporary fiction, and a huge room of Christian apologetics/philosophy/etc. I was completely unprepared - I should have reviewed my wishlist before going. But, it's not very far from home, and once I make some progress on my summer-reading pile, I'll go back and spend longer browsing the shelves.

Came home with the following, for a whopping $22:

That afternoon, I finished and delivered a birthday cake for a friend - but I won't post a picture yet because I'm hoping it might make it into a future issue of Cake Central magazine.

Sunday - Laughing!

Worked the coffee bar at church all morning, then spent the afternoon watching Noises Off!, one of my husband's favorite shows. The first act was a little stiff, but boy, was the cast in their element in the second! Laugh-out-loud funny in several places, even if I am an easy audience. I'd seen the show before, but having worked onstage and backstage at school performances in the last five years, well, it had a fresh hilarity.

Monday - Lunching!

Woke up early (enough time for Cake-Spice Toast!), met a friend to look through someone's books before they move this week, then met another one of my favorite people in the world for lunch, then had a pedicure. Now, I've only ever had four in my life (weird, as it's really a way of life down here - we saw two young girls and two teenagers while we were there - certainly an outgrowth of year-round flip-flop weather), but this one was pretty great. It's like I have completely new feet! And, TV is decidedly funnier when captioned. For reasons beyond understanding, the salon had Discovery Channel playing - but weird programming for mid-day, like Overhaulin' and some other vehicle-centric show. Some of the insurance-company commercials - barely audible and captioned - were hilarious. Stuff like "I'm a violent windstorm. Shaky shaky" and "Stopping. It's not that hard" seems to read better than it sounds.

Dinner was a lovely pair of composed salads - very summery and very Penzey's - with spice-crusted chicken (Greek for him, Northwoods for her), dried cherries, feta, and homemade croutons with Sandwich Sprinkle and sauteed in olive oil.

Bad on Bagpipes

A year or so ago, some friends were over for dinner, and - inexplicably - we started this list. I just rediscovered it in with some other papers, and, well, here you go:

Songs that would NOT sound good on bagpipes

Jingle Bells

Jesus Freak - dctalk

All Out of Love - Air Supply

It's My Life - Bon Jovi

I've decided to start using the phrase "That's as bad as Jingle Bells on the bagpipes". I'm hoping it'll catch on.

Summer Reading

My summer reading pile, in no particular order:

Here in Daytona - not that I envision a ton of time for reading, but better to have too much reading material than not enough - I have brought the Lewis, the Miller, the Johnson, and the Kirn. I'm halfway through the thin-though-dense Lewis and am sorry for having put him down for his fiction for so long. And I'm sort of glad for having lost the copy from the library over Spring Break - I'm reading The Four Loves at just the right time.