I did go with grilled cheese (gouda and provolone) with that Autumnal Harvest soup, which is REALLY good.

We had the rest of our sandwiches from last night, and I make a quick pink sauce to go with a little bit of pasta on the side.

I just put smoked gouda on my grocery list, so I can make these sandwiches, which sound amazing.

I just put smoked gouda on my grocery list, so I can make these sandwiches, which sound amazing.

I've had some roasted cauliflower sandwiches and they are, indeed, delicious.

I've become a bit dependent on Whole Foods to augment my cooking rotation, since everybody eats something different.

They have these marinated salmon steaks that are smallish, and I get the lemon dill one at least once a week for JZ. I season it up a little and run it under the broiler and then serve it on greens and she's very happy about that.

And I've also been getting things like their Beet/Kale salad and using that as a side on various dishes.

Matilda usually gets either something with pasta (just red sauce and parm) or rice (chicken curry, or black beans). And there's usually enough to give her leftovers the next day for lunch.

Having a couple of prepared sides around (JZ also likes Dolma) and a few easy protein hits (egg or tuna salad) that I can offer up helps assemble plates.

As for myself, probably half of my diet in a week is from either eggs, or skinless chicken thighs (which I've learned to tart up in a variety of ways). Highly recommend TJs Shawarma Chicken Thighs because 12 minutes under a broiler and they are done and delicious.

For your candy chute needs: [link] (your nearby hardware store probably has these).

I had apricot-glazed salmon, butternut squash & cabbage, and pearl couscous for dinner. And I'm about to have some chocolate cake.

I had apricot-glazed salmon, butternut squash & cabbage, and pearl couscous for dinner. And I'm about to have some chocolate cake.

Happy birthday, aurelia!

Thanks!

Would it be funny to take different pictures of myself in my apartment and send that out as a card??

YES!

Y'all, my coworker said something today "from the internet" that I just read on tumblr. Let me never tell her I am also on tumblr.

I don't admit to having internet at work. Except the cool (now gone) guy who when he asked what I read, I said "AO3 and Yuletide." and we bonded for three years until the Army took he and his geek wife away from me.

Though apparently I tinged it with enough verbal blushing that his first guess was FetLife so there was that. Hey, once you get to adult and consensual, I only kink shame hoses.

Or just "holding things" privilege, because sometimes I don't manage it very well.

I was in a bar in Tempe, AZ holding a beer when I was 21 and just … dropped it. The bartenders who we knew were debating if giving me a glass would be better because handle to hold or worse because broken glass instead of already being disposed of bottle. It was my first beer. I just stopped holding it and gravity took over.

If you're into this sort of thing, the walnut pesto at TJ's is amazeballs. It's like a 75% less fat version of one I made 25 years ago from this book to go on spinach and ricotta ravioli but just about as delicious. It goes so well with the lemon and ricotta that TJ's conveniently sells next to it.

So instead of hours of work and a huge mess to impress a girl, you can build some water. Maybe sprinkle of parm on top, a salad and some wine. I did get the girl for a few years but still, that was a meal of much work.

I came across a YouTube video of some people who came up with contact-free candy delivery systems. And a blog for local matters had some photos of outstanding Halloween decorations - one was a pirate skeleton sitting on their front lawn, another a dragon on a gable roof.