zirconium

Today's mailman asked about the dog, having not seen her for a while. He said she was one of the few who didn't bark at him. I might be snuffling as I type.

My hanukkiah is by a new window, with Safed candles I purchased in North Carolina a couple of years ago:

I'd planned on traveling to NC several times next year, but with the state NAACP calling for a boycott, with reason, I deleted those dates from my calendar this morning.

So: sorrow and rage. (I also spent part of my day replying to a friend up in arms about horse soring.) Also, unexpected expenses (hello flat tire).

But! today I have also knocked soggy trash out of a tree with a long-handled cultivator. I have sent a thank you note and received thanks for things mailed earlier this week. I have spent the day in my favorite pair of pajama bottoms. And I have enjoyed some of the leftovers from earlier this week. For Wednesday supper I put together a salad of kale, orzo, preserved lemon, and feta to go with mustard chicken, and yesterday night I hosted a birthday dinner for my father-in-law. There were a couple of variables in play -- particularly when I would actually get home from work -- but I've done this often enough to have a handle on realities and contingencies. Plus, I also put a large box of Mrs. Weinstein's Toffee at the guest of honor's place setting. :)

The final menu:

deviled eggs
cherry tomatoes
La Marca Prosecco

three-day boeuf bourguignon (Cooked with Les Hexagonales pinot noir. I replaced the pearl onions with more yellow onion, and shook in an extra pinch of thyme instead of trying to pull together a proper bouquet garni, what with the parsley in my neighborhood stores looking too sad to use. The resulting stew filled my roasting pan right to the brim, and the puff pastry looked fantastic.)
green beans (boiled and then seasoned with garlic, butter, and red wine vinegar)
a baguette from the Turnip Truck
Simple Life pinot noir and Brun FRV100 (a pun on "effervescent"!) sparkling rosé

dessert plate:
homemade divinity
French Broad dark chocolate (Costa Rica 80) - a souvenir from my last stop in Asheville
Zingerman's hamentaschen and rugelach (presents from longtime friends)
Dunkin' Donuts decaf

Also, the strings of Christmas peppers I draped over a curtain rod earlier this year have dried and hardened nicely, and I have tucked a couple into organza bags for colleagues I'll see tomorrow at the service Rabbi Rami's leading.

In October: