Four Random Things

1. Saturday I visited a land where men cook for their women while said women lollygag and drink wine. And I’m not talking heating up a can of Campbell’s, either. I mean polenta and a creamy squash and tomato soup; braised steak in burgundy sauce and spicy baked chicken. All this and good conversation, too. It gives a girl hope.

2. Try as I might, I cannot adequately express my love for Gap Long and Lean jeans. I bought another pair (out of sheer necessity of course) and am not sure I’ll ever buy anything else. Once I got the proper size on in the fitting room, I couldn’t bear to take them off to purchase them, but rather peeled off the tags, paid at the register, and wore them out of the store (setting off the shoplifting alarms with a flourish).

Can I just say that there are few better feelings in the world than pulling on a pair of jeans that are just the right size and somehow magically DON’T make you look fat? (Girls? True?) I swear, the few times it has happened to me in my life, it’s like I button the top button and, out of nowhere, a perfect ray of sunshine illuminates me and a chorus of heavenly angels sing. At that moment? Whatever is on the price tag is SO beside the point.

3. I went back to my yoga class last night for the first time since The December Crisis. It was, in a word, delightful. I felt light and boneless afterward and relieved of at least half the stress I came in with. (No small feat for me these days.) Tim, my teacher, is amazing (and also a reader!). Every class is a gift that generates food donations for a local nonprofit organization called Paducah Cooperative Ministries that, among lots of other things, helps to feeds the needy. If you’re local, I highly recommend you check it out.

4. I am thrilled beyond words to report that Sara Astruc, possibly the best blogger ever, is back to writing again here. Her online journal, Perfect Way, is one of the first I ever got hooked on back in the 90’s and her writing inspires me to this day. Welcome back, Sara!