Schizophrenic weather

Well, after that lovely gripe about the sun, the weather has taken an abrupt about-face, and it's now raining. (I should mention that I'm pretty gleeful about the whole rain thing, and I intend to enjoy, quite literally, every last drop of it.)(I should also mention that everyone's comments has made it clear that many of us want whatever weather we're not having. Hmm...) This means that I can plan one last cold-weather meal, involving a root soup (turnips and carrots and onions, oh my!), and, at Rick's request (like my daughters, he knows that flattery about my cooking will get him everywhere) I am making baguettes. We'll finish up with a peach/mulberry crumble. Mmm...

This is the kind of weather, and the kind of menu, that allows me to fully utilize and appreciate my very favorite tool in the kitchen.
My stove. I think I've waxed poetic about this baby before, so I'll limit myself to mentioning that when it comes to baking bread in a chilly house, a stove with pilot lights is a godsend. That bowl there in the middle? Bread dough. Warm and toasty on a griddle, with pilot lights making the little yeasties grow like mad. Good times.

The weather has also provided me with a welcome excuse to wear the contents of the package that arrived the other day. The pictures here aren't so good -- this is a problem with the light I'm (not) getting, but you get the idea.
Recognize that? The blue's a bit off. How about here?
Yup, it's Anne's Star of Evening shawl. Isn't it stunning? When we met up here in San Diego, it transpired that each of us like the other's color even better than our own, so we decided to gift them to one another when we were done. I love the idea of my shawl being out there in Ohio with Anne, and of having her shawl here in San Diego. It feels like coming full circle, and like a wonderful way to celebrate a friendship. (It smells good, too -- what do you wash your wool with, Anne?)

Last night, after a quick dinner, we went out again to see a play that was being put on at a local playhouse by a children's theater group. Two of the actors were daughters of a dear friend of mine, and my honorary nieces, so we were pretty excited to see them strut their stuff. It was great fun. The script, a take-off (maybe send-off?) of the Robin Hood story, had been written by one of the folks who runs the workshop, and he did a great job. There were some wonderfully funny lines (I laughed out loud several times; clearly I have a sense of humor that is tickled by these kinds of things -- it doesn't get better than addressing Maid Marion's two attendants as Maid 1 and Maid 2; here's a nice dialogue from the script: RH: "Hello, Maid 1", M1, "Hello!", RH "Hello, Maid 2", M2 "Hello, hello!" I tell you, it about killed me). The girls both did wonderfully. The older of the two was a soothsayer, who, to quote, said sooths. As a linguist, you've got to love that kind of thing.

All righty, Bea tagged me with a meme, so here goes.

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
I had just had Older Daughter, and was finishing up my dissertation.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Go to yoga (already did that, so I can cross it off); read articles for the paper I'm writing; track down more references for the paper I'm writing; finish my assigned time reporting for work; take the kids to piano lessons; take Tilly for a walk (I think that's six, sorry!)

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Bread and cheese, chocolate chip cookies, red bell peppers, pretty much any baked good

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Gosh, a billion, huh? That's a lot... I'd probably keep doing a lot of what I'm already doing, except that I'd travel a lot more with my family (India first, or Turkey. Or maybe Nepal...). Donate to foundations which support language maintenance and revitalization, among others. Buy a piece of property in Point Reyes. Find a way to support the development of alternative energy sources and the maintenance of local food sources. (Big money = big dreams...)

5. Places I have lived:
In California: Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oakland, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Vista. Also, Avignon, in France.

6. Jobs I have had:
Piano teacher, receptionist, person who ran the xerox machine for a high school (there just is no good title for that one), archivist, graduate student assistant, reading development teacher, professor.

I'm supposed to tag the next round of people, but almost everyone I can think of has done it, except for some folks who are madly grading, and I won't burden them. Grab it if you want to, and let me know so I can come and see your answers.