Thursday, February 04, 2016

January 30

.

Sunrise.



The 30th was a very nice day -- bright blue, not too cold, not windy, excellent clouds.  Every time I looked up, the sky seemed worth recording.



Walking downtown for Saturday breakfast at Zingerman's.






After my making-grits adventure, I am eager to eat grits made by someone who makes them all the time.  They are on the breakfast menu at the Deli.

I'd thought I would have grits for breakfast, until I saw that the sandwich of the month for January was a tuna melt.  The only thing I learned in junior high school "home economics" was how good tuna melts are.

Home ec. was a waste of time for me.  My mom had already showed me how to use a sewing machine, and I already did more cooking and recipe-reading than they taught in home ec.  I really wanted to take shop, because I didn't know how to make any of the interesting wooden and metal things I saw coming out of shop class.

But it was the late 1960s, when girls took home ec., and boys took shop.  Period.  Never mind what any individual wanted to take, nor what anyone might (or might not) learn.  (So stupid!  When people are feeling nostalgic for the time of their youth, they should remember all the stupid arbitrary rules that have since been abandoned..........)

I did some agitating to be allowed to take shop, but couldn't find anyone to back me up. 

Instead of actually learning something, my time was wasted in home ec.  Wasted, that is, except for encountering tuna melts.



The Deli's tuna melt was made with balsamic vinegar on the tuna (instead of mayonnaise), with excellent cheddar, and pea sprouts.  This sandwich is not on the regular menu, so I decided I'd better have it on January 30, before it was too late.

It was yummy.  Mmmmm.  I had half for brunch, and the other half for ... mid-afternoon second lunch? 



Our daughter has built herself a dining table, and is now in the market for chairs.  When she was in San Francisco recently, she ate in a restaurant which had all different chairs.  All of them were painted white, so they worked together well despite their differences.  This is the current plan to accompany the new table -- different chairs, painted alike.  She knows how tall they need to be, and, of course, they need to be comfortable, and not too expensive. 

Ann Arbor's favorite consignment store is half a block from the Deli.  After breakfast, we left our farmers' market purchases in the car (I bought apples, and applesauce), and then we perused the chair selection at the Treasure Mart.

Once upon a time, I spent a lot of time at the Treasure Mart.  They have everything, from furniture, to Chinese treasures with documents from an appraiser, to tchotchkes of every kind.  I saw a horse-riding saddle, on the 30th.  Something for everyone.....  The Treasure Mart is packed with stuff, and crowded with people.

One of those people, on Saturday morning, was an old friend.  Her daughter was my daughter's best friend when the girls were little.  The two of us spent a lot of time together, back then, while our kids played.  She and her husband have since moved to another part of town.  We don't see each other often, but I'm always so glad when we do.  We spent some time reminiscing, and laughing, and catching up.  So nice to see her!

Before and after that quick visit, we checked out chairs.  Some were too fancy, some were uncomfortable, some were too low for her table.  We looked at a LOT of chairs, and sat on a lot of chairs.  One was identified that met the criteria.  Hooray!  One down, three to go.

Excellent company, yummy breakfast, good conversation, a chat with an old friend, successful shopping -- that's a good day, right there.



The day continued quietly.  My esteemed spouse was off at a bridge tournament.  I worked on finishing up my Extreme Microbes class, as I have signed up for too many interesting classes that all start in February!

I glanced out the study window at one point, and saw this guy at work. Do you remember, just recently I showed you some city workers messing with something under the manhole cover at the end of our driveway?  On a frosty cold January 19?

Less than two weeks later, here's someone about 30' from where those bundled-up workers were.  He's outside in shirt sleeves.  Short shirt sleeves.

Weird weather.......

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