Okay, the pie filling is cooking. My plan for this week's iteration is to pump up the filling--more sugar, more spice, more lemon. Since the pastry will probably be ho-hum. But I do now have whole wheat pastry flour specifically. Still gonna do the vodka thing with the crust.

Hil, that is amazing!

New cat is settling in amazingly well. He was very cuddly last night. His intake sheet at the shelter said he was a stray, but he seems very well socialized and very drawn to us hairless apes. My assumption is that he was taken in young enough to need to be hand-nursed.

Still not entirely settled on a name, but right now it seems like it will either be Finnbar or Halley (after the comet, in honor of his glorious tail). Finn or Hal both work as everyday names, IMO.

All of the beets Jesse didn't have are roasted and stored in my freezer.

I'm in Phoenix. I got very little sleep last night, which was all my fault. I rushed around and got ready in time to take public transit rather than a taxi, and now I'm convinced that I forgot something. But if I did, it's probably something I can replace.

There was some unrecognizable reddish-pink goop that was splattered on my shoe and pant leg. No idea how that got there. I cut my finger last night because I was trying to do too many things at once. At least I remembered to put bandages in my carry-on.

I keep getting surrounded by first-time flyers and persistent coughers. I can't tell which group is more annoying right now because I hate everyone with a towering fury.

Teppy, does YOUR HUSBAND have a niece (or other relative) in the 5th grade named Chloe? If so she is in Casper's class at school.

Holy cow, YES! (It's a fair bet that anyone in this city with that last name is related to Tim.) She is a total cutie. We pretty much see that branch of his family only once a year, so "total cutie" is about as much as I know about her.

Anne, if you go with Halley you can say "Open the door, Hal" whenever you come home with your hands full. And you know the cat will secretly be saying "I can't do that, Dave", or at least not open the door.

Ooh, real world Tep-flea crossover! Awesome!

if you go with Halley you can say "Open the door, Hal" whenever you come home with your hands full. And you know the cat will secretly be saying "I can't do that, Dave", or at least not open the door.

Love it!

Andi, you've recommended some different brands of cat food in the past, IIRC, but I can't find the post. Argh.

The little guy is on Purina One at the moment (Purina being a local company and subsidizing a LOT of the local shelters). I'm keeping him on it for a little while just to avoid too many shocks to his system, but I don't think it's necessarily the best choice long term.

yay! new kitty!!!

We're back from vacation and I'm trying to figure out how to reenter non-vacation society. I did go to the crazy big farmer's market under the highway this morning and maybe bought things that will mean we can eat at home this week. Time will tell!

The dog is completely worn out from her vacation at her foster mom's place. Hoping she's not completely bored with us when she recovers. That place is puppy central!

Anne, is your profile addy good? I can email you my schpiel on quality cat food.

Profile addy is good. Thank you so much, Andi!

All of the beets Jesse didn't have are roasted and stored in my freezer.

I, OTOH, have all of the butternut squash and misc. greens.