This is how freshman year ended up! Hooray! I could not be more pleased. WHEW! Because you just never know what you are going to get with school.  Socially, there were other places that would have been a better fit, but the academically challenging route is what we chose and I think (hope) it will pay off when college applications roll around.

I had another iron treatment at Good Sam, this time, and it was a horrible place, much less nice than the cancer center at Adventist.  The nurse wasn't at all nice (although she was much more proficient at getting a IV started) and didn't offer me even a glass of water, despite the fact that I was the only one there, for most of the time.  Her son is a firefighter and had been sent to Bend to deal with the big forest fire.  While I had a great deal of compassion for her worries, she still did a shitty job of taking care of me, leaving me sitting for almost an hour with a hep lock, in my arm, and no medicine.  So far I feel mildly better.  I had to work in a toddler classroom the other day and was able to RUN around our toddler track with a pack of two year olds chasing me, for several laps.  I was pleased that I did not have an allergic reaction while having this treatment, as I am not convinced this particular nurse would have been composed enough to revive me. 

Maxwell and I looking very arty, at Mi Mole, the evening before he left for Africa

He was testing my level of sentimentality by ordering a COKE.  I allowed the transgression.

I had some preschool directors over for dinner to talk about a new quality rating thing that is most likely going to become a big thorn in my side soon.  I made a fantastic roast chicken, a chicken so fine, Julia Child herself would weep with joy.  Also a salad of butter lettuce, with black and red planed radishes and homemade Roquefort dressing that people were licking off their fingers.  It was unctuous meal of excess.

Teacher Candace in praise of stinky cheese.

Celery root salad with home made tarragon mayonnaise, and roast potatoes.

Golden beets, beet tops, shallots, bacon, and kale

Maxwell is leaving on a trip to Africa next week, so I decided to make a special dinner for him.  He and I went shopping in the morning, which is pretty unusual; he never wants to go with me, unless purchasing something for him, is on the agenda.  Freyja and I often go the Sheridan on Saturday mornings, but she was on a sleep over, so the boy and went and he selected a large pork roast, a shoulder piece, which is not my favorite, but I went along.  He also talked me into a large bag of pistachios that cost a fortune, but I am a sucker for this kid, so there you got.   Expensive nuts.

We were making spaetzle, with out Rolf.  Both Mark and Maxwell questioned whether or not I would be able to make them as well as Onkel, which only acted as an incentive.  Unfortunately, I have the weakest hands in the world these days, and I needed Mark to do the beating of the batter, at the end, and also to hold to bowl, while I poured the batter into the spaetzle machine. Rolf would have been appalled by my addition of chopped herbs to the batter and of green apple to the caramelized onion topping.  I also used much less cheese than he does and more onion.  It was fantastic. 

Noodles: a work in progress.

I made the Vincent Price mayonnaise again, but this time with two yolks and garlic, herbs and lots of lemon, to go with artichokes and asparagus.  The extra yolk added a lot of unctuous mouth feel  as they might say on one of those cooking shows. 

The pork was pretty restaurant perfect! with a crust of mustard seed and applesauce.  I made a little white bean salad, just because I like navy beans and they sounded good. Tarragon, parsley, dill, lemon and oil. And some zucchini, because Mark likes zucchini.

My boss gave me this sweet little rose plant, for my one year anniversary at the school, I put it in a little pot I had, but I think I will eventually plant it in the ground.  Our yard is an abomination right now, me having done exactly nothing this spring to fix it up.