It's Saturday and I slept late, just as I'd hoped to. I do get tired of the 5 a.m. grind, but waking up too early is a hard habit to break. 6:30 is a much more reasonable hour. And now here I sit, in my accustomed corner of the grey couch, in my accustomed red bathrobe, admiring my accustomed cup of coffee in its white cup and saucer, and imagining the plain ordinary Saturday rolling out before me . . . house chores, garden chores, Tom working on the shed, the cat stalking back and forth between us, the blue October sky blossoming like a field of forget-me-nots.

Last night I finished Suite Francaise, which was heartbreaking, and now I'm not sure what to read next; my reading mind feels very tender and bruised, and I want to handle it kindly. I guess I will start by reading the New Yorker article about the new production of Death of a Salesman, which I'm probably going to see when I'm in New York in November. Maybe that will slide me gently toward a next book.

Last night I also tried out two new recipes: a farro risotto with dried chanterelles and diced chicken, which had a lovely creamy-chewy texture; and pumpkin-buttermilk pudding with brandy hard sauce, which was light and flavorful and not overburdened by cloying pumpkin sweetness. Even Tom loved it, and he is not a giant fan of standard winter-squash dishes. (My version of the pudding used what I had in the house--a buttercup squash and yogurt instead of pumpkin and buttermilk--and it turned out beautifully.) 

I also managed to submit a few more poems. As I was going through possibilities, I realized that I have sizable stack of new work, much of it arising from prompts at the Thursday salon and in Frost Place classes. There are also a few expansions of drafts I've scribbled during high school classes. It used to be that I never wrote while teaching; I was too busy circling the room, being attentive about student focus, etc. I'm glad I've finally figured out (20 years later) how to offer prompts that allow us all to work together.

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By the way, here's our hip new chair--