*this is why

I live here. For now, I mean. It was so good being home at Christmas and so hard to leave; I cried when I left my mom this time. But it's nice to have this to come back to. And to try my hand at Tom Douglas' Triple Coconut Cream pie (which in this picture totally looks "boughten" as Minnesotans would say:), that would have been so much easier and much cheaper!) I can already tell I am going to use my All Clad saucier and stainless steel mixing bowls I got for Christmas to death!

It's a New Year and today I started it out by getting my pores cleaned out by Ildiko, the hilarious aesthetician from Budapest that I've loved going to for a facial a couple times a year. You know, for pampering.
Me: "How does everything look?"
Ildiko: "Oh my god, every pore is clogged"...
I: "This is when I torture you" - chemical peel
I: "My friend decided he didn't like lamb shank. He's an idiot."
I: "Thanks God I get to see my son. He lives in London, and when he comes home and we go to a restaurant, he says to the waiter 'cheers' instead of 'thank you'. I tell him 'you sound so gay'".

It's been beautiful and sunny and crisp/clear and today was a perfect picture-takin' day! Mount Rainier was boasting, let's face it. Saturday and Sunday I'm taking my Basic Keelboat sailing class! In the Puget Sound! From Shilshole! Under the shadow of Leif Erikson, my countryman!

Tonight I learned a new song on the cello (after I spent a whopping $6 on rosin while checking out the $7500 cellos at Bischofberger!). It's called Lightly Row and it's 38 seconds long and I'm still intimidated by it and 4 year olds play it better than me.

Blah, blah blog is right.
Happy New Year!