Dearest loves, back from an enjoyable afternoon on the town. I used a discount certificate to take myself out for an elegant little lunch, an appetizer portion of mushroom risotto and a glass of very dry French white bordeaux. I savored every morsel and sip, and polished off three slices of warm baguette, each slathered with a third of a triangle of cold butter. Normally I wouldn't - that's a pretty carb-intensive meal, between the rice and bread - but I felt entitled after a long walk in deep snow at the conservation area this morning. What a workout, I could feel the calories burn and muscles strengthen as I sank into snow and hauled myself out one bootstep at a time. I enjoyed the meal, but was glad I had a discount, because that little bit came to $27, plus tip (so - $32). If I had ordered with abandon from the menu (as a table near mine was doing), the lunch could easily have risen to $75-90. Crazy prices. But whatever. I enjoyed it.

So, how was it?
Good, overpriced, but good. And I learned that tarragon goes nicely with mushrooms.
That doesn't sound like such a great revelation.
No, I guess not!

We're having mushroom fettucine for dinner tonight, as it happens. Guess how I'll season it?

Afterward I went to a matinée of True Grit, with Jeff Bridges and a wonderful very young spunky, spritely actress who stole the movie. I didn't care that the character she played was only 14, I wanted her to run off with the Matt Damon character. Didn't happen, she was no Lolita, and though she got a spanking, it never did turn out to be that kind of spanking, though I was hoping. Oh, when's my birthday? I could use one.

The late afternoon light's just turned bright and clear, timeless Vermeer sun piercing the glass, illuminating unfortunately not my lovely visage but casting rather uselessly aglow the back of an empty brown rattan chair, burnishing it chestnut. Lusting after you madly as always, but will sublimate like a good girl and go vacuum the solarium while Women of Note comes on, or maybe go shoot some cornbread out of the sky. Or set up a lovely mushroom pasta seasoned with tarragon. In town, it'd be $15.95/$25.95 (depending on portion size). But here in mythic golden country, for you it's free, served with an additional sprinkling of kisses showering down on you like parmesan. Or is it a sprinkling of parmesan showering down on you like kisses? Showers of both, rain on a June afternoon, lashing the wild rose border of your love, darling, each bloom kissed, savored, sipped, sucked, ravaged, adored.

All my love, darling. Taking refuge under an umbrella of kisses. XOXO