two more things

 ....going Columbo one better, I guess.

* We had a lunch this week; I baked the King Arthur Flour baking-cookbook devil's food cake and made chocolate satin frosting for it. One of my colleagues stopped by today and said "You know, I took a piece of your cake home to my wife, and she said, 'I haven't had cake that tastes like this, where it's all from scratch, since I was a kid'" which, good on me I guess, but also maybe a little sad to me? Usually if I want cake I do make it from scratch (I have some simple enough recipes)

* And also: it begins: after doing my PT stretches I pulled out the tree and went and got the lights from their place and did this much

I'll do the rest tomorrow.

I also put on the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, which I've loved since I was a kid. As an adult I appreciate its jazz chops, and it also seems to me now that this is exactly the thing a younger boomer or older Gen Xer like me would put on at a holiday get-together (or even just sitting at home alone some evening before Christmas) because it's nostalgic, but it also kind of feels like....you're trying to be sophisticated. Like, I can imagine someone playing this in their first "grown up" apartment and feeling both nostalgic for the past and also somehow...hopeful, like "well, adulthood may bring me a lot more."

it does hit differently when you're in later adulthood like I am now. But I still like it. 

I also made what I call "bean croquettes" for dinner. I don't know if these are more a "clever food hack when you're pressed for time" or "bachelorette chow" but I like them even if they're neither pretty nor sophisticated - they're filling and taste good and I can make them with things I have on hand: three ingredients. You beat an egg in a mixing bowl, and add a can of refried beans (drain them, if you can, some have a bit of liquid and you want less liquid). Add between a cup and a half and two cups (depending on how "loose" the beans are) of flour and mix until you can form patties. Fry them on both sides in a little neutral oil (I use corn oil for these). Serve with hot sauce and sour cream, or salsa, or make a sandwich with them. They're probably closest to falafel in what they are, except with fewer ingredients and more plain seasoning. (You could always season more heavily).. They could *probably* be made vegan with a good egg substitute (you want the egg to bind them). 

Not fancy, as I said, but I like 'em and I make them several times a month. A can of beans makes about 8-9 patties which is 3-4 generous meals for me. They keep over well in the fridge and you can heat them in the microwave