Try this combination:

A deck facing the Green Mountains of Vermont
A laptop with a long battery life
Citronella and lemongrass incense
Belle and Sebastian CD
Lemonade
A little black cat
Thoughts about an acceptance speech for a dissertation award

Life is good.

Things I have made during our first week in Vermont:

Grilled Chicken (twice!—this is really a great recipe)
Grilled Maple-Brined Pork Chops
Chipotle-Glazed Shrimp Fajitas
Rustic Apricot Galette
Peach and Blueberry Crisp (made with hand-picked blueberries-- my hands)
Blueberry Buttermilk Tart (ditto)
Tons of Grilled Corn, Zucchini, Onions, and Eggplant
The now famous grilled corn salad (hint: try it with leftover chipotle glazed shrimp—YUM!)
Pnj’s Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and Dried Cherry Cookies

Yes, we have been eating well. And this may explain why I have had no time for blogging!

Somebody's listening!

Today, picklebird received a most unexpected and very pleasant surprise.  A chocolate bar delivered via the United States Postal Service!  Yay!!  I have to confess that after the day after the last post, I did go out and buy a pint of B&J's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Low-Fat Yogurt.  But that is now, of course, long gone, so the Lindt bar has arrived just in time.  And it is also perfect sustenance for the road trip to Vermont.  Thank you to the fellow picklebird in Mill Valley.

Help me, I am going through chocolate withdrawal. It's been three days! There's no chocolate in the house. Aacckk! I need ice cream.

The single best thing about the Midwest, bar none: Wilco.

Things I miss about San Francisco:

- Craigslist (yes, there is craigslist cleveland, but no one uses it!)
- when you order eggs and toast, your toast doesn't arrive drenched in butter
- The used bookstores
- Cheap, good Mexican food
- Real farmer's markets
- spicy scallop rolls at Godzila
- the big sweeping turn the 33 bus makes onto Market from Clayton
- 18th Street
- Crossroads Clothing Co.
- The view of the city as you are round the turn to the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin
- Cafes with names that don't start with S and rhyme with "sucks"

I know that I have commented on this before, but this one really takes the cake. The ads on my blog today featured "Acre on the moon $29.99" and "Horney Goat Weed Sale." How did I get slotted into the 'flaky girl' category?

Highlight of my mother's visit to Cleveland: Pointing out the fireflies, which she had never seen in her whole life.

Tonight I was out having a glass of wine with a friend. We were bemoaning our time in Cleveland, when all of a sudden a guy on a bicycle rides by. He's sort of acting as a sort of town crier, shouting about the greatness of Cleveland (and trying to make a sale): "In New York, in New York you get robbed. But not here; everyone's nice. And we've got the best weed. Better than Brooklyn." It's no wonder I haven't gotten on the Cleveland-program, I haven't been smoking its pot.