Today they finished building the new house, the builder told me. The owner of the house was having it built for his wife's sister to live in... I wonder if it's a Christmas present? Does she even know about the house? What a mind-boggling surprise that would be!
So my boss changed his mind and decided to move down the hall after all, which means I stay put. Now I need to hurry and use the energy I got from welcoming the office change, to reorganize the space I'm in, before I go back to being oblivious of the mess.
After work I went and stocked up on food for Christmas Eve. I got lots of yummies, pretty much everything except the smoked salmon. I also picked up some nice precooked dinners from the deli (which is very fancy, with a fresh sushi bar and a cheese steward): Asian grilled salmon with asparagus and jasmine rice, a serving larger than even I can eat for just $5.99. Richard opened up bottle #1688 out of 2412 of the 2002
Sarah's Vineyard Syrah (thanks to DH, their winemaker), and I also tried a nibble of a new (to me) kind of cheese I'd picked up, called Roncal, from Navarre. I just read on-line that the flavor is "buttery with an aroma of straw, dried fruit, and mushrooms." I'm not sure that's quite it.
Oh! At the store I also finally got to see one of the infamous
Men of Long Tom Grange calendars. This is a fundraiser for a grange northwest of Eugene, with ordinary men of the community posing nude. This year they had a mayor, a deputy police chief, a winemaker, and an 80-year-old grass seed farmer, among others. I was surprised at how much bare skin they actually show -- nearly everything!
J. took this great portrait of a hawk today in Chapel Hill.
If anyone can tell us what kind it is (red-shouldered maybe?), please let us know.
