Random Bits

I may have been imagining things, or perhaps experiencing a sleep to waking hallucination, but I could swear that my cat Gracie looked up at me and winked this morning. You know, with one eye… Maybe she knows something I don't?

I worked from home today, which Gracie seems to enjoy, since she gets all this extra attention from me. You know, I think she thinks it's a game to complete an obstacle course over my open file and lap…Jump on lap, from lap to writing area directly over moving pen in my hand, back to floor by my hand. Repeat. A lot.

Around 3pm today, I started hearing what sounded like very bad drumming, or even worse guitar strumming. I was convinced it was one of the downstairs neighbors messing around, and thought to myself that it wouldn't be annoying if they were any good…then I opened the back door to check on where it was coming from and realized that it was actually the high school marching band practicing. Gracing wandered out on the balcony in the light drizzle, intrigued. With the door open it didn't sound so bad, but it was way too cold out today to leave it open. The noise was distracting, so I decided it was time to use my iPod… I hope my bad singing along didn't bother my neighbors...

Now she's smiling! And searching for the band...

Later, there will be some actual honest-to-goodness baking going on. Yes, in my apartment even. We're having yet another pot-luck tomorrow at work, with a breakfast theme. I found a recipe in an old Weight Watcher's cookbook for Pumpkin-Apple Bread, so thought I'd try it out. Don't worry, the cookbook is recent enough that it's a normal recipe without anything weird in it…like the old WW cookbooks my mother had. I'm still trying to decide between a loaf and mini-muffins though. I had most of the ingredients on hand, so only needed to run out and pick up a few things at lunch today (like buttermilk and eggs), and was actually motivated to start when I got home. (The kitchen is actually really clean and organized right now, thanks to my mother's weekend visit and our collaborative efforts - what a difference it makes!) But, work got in the way…does it count as a work-related duty to bake for the departmental pot-luck?

If the recipe is any good, I'll share it in the recipe blog. I haven't posted there in forever, and it's about time!