Bounty

Today was the first farmer's market of the year and I loved seeing all the farmers and bakers and plant growers and cheese-makers there. The market was much reduced from what it will be in a few week's time, but it was alright by me because it is a sure sign that spring is assuredly moving into summer.

I picked up a dozen colorful organic eggs and two bushels of glorious rhubarb from an Amish farmer. I cut and froze the rhubarb for the many pies to come this summer, and hope to buy more next Saturday so I can have a good supply for the rest of the year. Most of the time, when I make pies, they are for my husband but the rhubarb pies are also for me, since they are my very favorite.

My husband's best female friend, SF, came to visit from Virginia yesterday evening and was with us for most of the day today before she left again to visit her family in Michigan. We took her to dinner at my small college on the hill's inn, which has a great restaurant, but last night around 8 p.m. it was full of very noisy groups of students and relatives, which made it seem alien for us who are used to being there early in the evening when it's quiet and a really nice place to unwind. Not last night when we could hardly hear each other speak until about 10 p.m. when most everyone else was gone and we were still waiting for dessert.

As a present for my husband, our friend made him two pecan pies (she brought all the ingredients except Karo syrup, which I went to the store to get early this morning along with my fix of Starbucks). We sent the second pecan pie with her to Michigan because I don't eat it and my husband sure didn't want to eat two pies on his own.

The visit was very nice and she was delighted with the new house (well, new to her) and with Lizzy, although much less enthusiastic about the posse of cats, since she's rather violently allergic to them. But, still, she didn't get too bad an allergic reaction (she took some antihistamines last night) and she also really liked my small college on the hill, which she saw from the comfort of the car since it was raining yesterday.

There are storms forecast for tonight and now that the house is quiet I have brought in the bird feeder and suet cage (a raccoon has now twice stolen my suet cages with the suet cakes inside from the bird feeding station -- my husband says the critter must be using the cages as furniture in his den because we have never found them). And it's now time to put to bed a very nice Saturday, one that felt like a welcome and needed break from the seemingly interminable and ever-present work that must get done before classes finally end next week.