Sunday

[You have noticed, no doubt, that these titles are getting pretty mundane, but I'm not feeling all that clever]

Sunday was the first day I actually was feeling more like my old self. No naps. I got some stuff done (albeit I didn't do a lot and spread it out). I made myself dinner, etc.

After making a fresh pot of coffee, I started out by doing the wash (so I'd have clothes to wear the coming week). I ate some of the melon mix for breakfast. I had cut up the other two halves on Thursday, and this time added in a bunch of seedless white grapes. The grapes gave a nice tangy counterpoint to the sweetness of the melons.

I chatted with Lu over my second cup of coffee while she drank her tea. I hung up the pants and shirts and folded the socks, and then I went outside to plant.

Now, you may or may not recall me saying how I'd subdivided the iris that was here when I first moved in. The results is iris in many places (and healthy patches they are) but all my iris are the same purple color.

Well, before Lu left to come up, Sadie dug me up two good-sized clumps of iris, one burgundy and one yellow. So, I broke them into four clumps and planted them between the hosta in the front garden (in the rear of the garden, where the seeds I'd sown never came up). I didn't know which was which, but I did alternate them. So, it should be interesting next spring (if they bloom) to see what's what. The last clump I planted next to the vicious moss pig.

I checked the oil in the car. Yep, it's a half quart low. But, I won't worry about it today. There will be time on Monday to see old Sam and find out just how good that warranty really is.

I read for the rest of the afternoon. Lu was out in the back yard, still trying to get some sun.

About 6:30 PM, I started to get hungry. Lu was going to just have her usual huge salad, so I asked her to make just a little bit more (so I could have a side salad). Then I made a quick pasta dish I invented on the spot.

I cut about a handful of pitted Kalamata olives in half. Then I cut eight or so cherry tomatoes in half, seeded them (by squeezing them over a bowl) and put them in with the olives. I minced three cloves of garlic and my mise en place was ready.

I put water in a medium size pot and, when it was boiling, salted it. Then I added a quarter of a pound of spaghetti. While that cooked, I heated up some olive oil. Here's where things went slightly wrong.

I was talking with Lu at the same time (unlike a celebrity chef, I find talking and cooking difficult) and, without thinking, put the garlic in first. Realizing my mistake, I immediately added the olives and tomatoes, but it was too late. The garlic burned a little.

Why is that a big deal? Saut�ed garlic tastes sweet. Burned garlic tastes bitter.

Anyway, I added the drained pasta to the sauce, mixed it together and put a lid on it while I ate my salad. Good salad, BTW. Then I plated it, topped it with fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. The flavor was good (maybe even great) but there were two problems. One, too much olive oil (you can always add some at the finish if necessary) and, Two, the bitter garlic. Anyway, I will definitely make this again.

I finished my book around 8:30 PM. Lu was reading, so I went to see if there was anything even remotely interesting to the both of us on TV. Nothing! Even the Hallmark channel (usually a good source of chick flicks) was showing "Might Jo Young" (a gorilla movie). She said she didn't mind reading, so I watched the Food network shows and went to bed at 11:00 PM.