A lazy Sunday

I meant to take Jacob to church today. Honest, I really did. But he has this new habit of climbing into my bed about 7:30 and crawling over me, sometimes literally sitting on my  head, to get to talk to Scooby, who immediately gets awake and excited and wants to go out. So, reluctantly,  I am up and about the day. This morning we moved slowly--well, I did. Jacob was full of vim and vigor. I read the paper, fed us breakfast--he asked for chocolate bars but I explained that was not breakfast food--and then finished the clean up from last night, putting away dishes, emptying the dishwasher, and so on. When Jordan called at ten to confirm that we were going to church, I told her I didn't have the energy. So I had Jacob until almost noon. His new trick, that he apparently saw on TV, is to bow in front of you, hold out one hand, and say in a soft, non-Jacob voice, "Yes, your majesty." Cracked me up every time he did it, and then he'd get the giggles. We had a good morning.
Actually did some work this afternoon and then had a long nap. Jay and Susan came for a drink and to eat leftover Texas caviar--Jay confessed that when I called he didn't know what it was and googled it to find out. Tonight I've sent them the recipe. But I heard all about their trip to Chicago and am indebted to them for exploring "my" part of the city--Hyde Park and Kenwood. They loved the city and made me a bit nostalgic for it--of course, the company Jay works for is headquartered on Pulaski on the West Side, so he's familiar with it, but Susan had never been. They thought, as I still do, that the lake was wonderful, and the University of Chicago magnificent, the Art Institute awesome (they have a friend who's a curator and gave them a behind-the-scenes tour). It was lovely to sit and listen to their description.
Since then I've been lazy--ate chili con queso for supper and decided it's the salt that gets you--whew! Velveeta must have a high sodium content or mybe I'm getting more sensitive to these things lately. Anyway a busy week looms,, so I'm just going to read and go to bed.
I'm reading a mystery in which the victim is poisoned--seems I've read several of those lately and they are of particular interest since my work-in-progress revolves around poisoning--in fact a restaurant poisoning, as in Delicious and Suspicious, by Riley Adams, the one I'm now reading. Don't know what the poison was in this case, but I have laid the groundwork for what it is in my book--just don't know if it's lethal enough. Writing and reading mysteries is a lot of fun, though my work this week will be on the nonfiction book I'm doing.

A blah day rescued by cooking

Woke up with the blahs this morning and a slight headache, both of which I attribute to the extreme humidity--it wasn't hot today but everytime you went out it felt like a sauna. To add insult to injury, I tried to open a new bottle of aspirin and could not for the life of me get the child-proof cap off. So when I went to the grocery I bought aspirin that said "Easy Open." Even lunch with Betty at the Black-Eyed Pea didn't get me totally out of the blahs, though it helped--we had the vegetable plate, which is some of the best comfort food I can think of. But a bit of work in the early afternoon and then a nap made me feel better. When I woke up it was raining and actually felt better outside. Rode my bike and had a dinner of leftover tuna/potato salad from last night.
And then I began cooking for my Sat. night Bill White kickoff party. Made bourbon hot dogs,which are always a hit--so easy. Just mix 2/3 c. bourbon, 2 c. ketchup, and 1/2 c. brown sugar; heat to melt the sugar. Meanwhle cut two or three packages of hot dogs into cubes about 1 inch apiece--I used three packages of bun size dogs and this is one t ime I don't insist on Hebrew National. Last time I made this, I set it to simmer and walked away--when I came back it was scorched. Had to throw away about half the hot dog bites and it took forever to clean the pan. So tonight I did it in the double boiler and stayed right there, making Megan's recipe for Texas caviar. Of course I discovered several essential things I didn't get at the store today, so I have to go back to two grocery stores tomorrow morning! And tomorrow night I plan to do more cooking, but I will have Jacob--we'll see how that works out:-)
I'm reading Avery Ames first mystery, The Long Quiche Goodbye, and liking it a lot. I've followed her excitement about publication on the blog, Mystery Lovers Kitchen, and on posts on the lists for Sisters in Crime and Agent Quest, so I was looking forward to it almost as much as she was. It's a good mystery, solidly in the cozy tradition--my cup of tea or, more appropriately in this case--my glass of wine. I am mightily impressed, as I have been on the blog, with her knowledge of cheeses and wines and pairing them. So guess what I'm going to do the rest of  the evening? You're right.
You'll notice, I hope, that I'm adding symbols to my blog--first the Story Circle Network Star Blogger symbol, which is bigger than I expected, and then a Sisters in Crime logo I got today, which is smaller than  wished. Oh well, variety is good.