Eataly

In what’s  becoming an annual tradition, I went to Eataly today with friends to stock up on imported Italian food items. We each spent an exorbitant amount on our lunches by adding shaved truffles — not something I’ll do again soon, but it was educational.

Office Bowling

We have a tradition in my office, started years ago while several of us babysat a release build on the eve of Christmas break, of office bowling. The rules are about as flexible as Calvinball, but involve a basketball and a bunch of recycle bins. And beer.

Cooking tasks

My two cooking tasks today are from opposite ends of a few scales: 1. Make a vegan version of my Spanish lentil stew for work potluck tomorrow. 2. Go outside and use a dremel, wedge, and 2-lb sledgehammer to split beef marrow bones for Tuesday’s dinner.

Mother

Let me tell you about my mother.

I made vinegar from leftover cranberry wine from Thanksgiving, and it developed a “mother of vinegar”. What, you didn’t think I meant my own mother?