A Study of Saturdays

Princess Kate would gladly dunk these in champagne.

Saturday, April 9: A lot of our Saturdays proceed similarly. Coffee is first on the list. I parked myself on the couch with a stack of cookbooks and sticky notes and planned the week's meals. There's something relaxing and comforting about this--probably because it combines my great loves: books, office supplies, planning, and food. Sometimes we listen to music while we read, and I love cooking something as a mini celebration of the weekend. On this Saturday, I made scones for the first time. Using a basic buttermilk recipe, I made half the batch with dried cranberries and then thinned down the mixture and made the rest with fresh blackberries. Josh worked on building a bed while I baked that morning. We spent the afternoon watching the Masters Tournament. I mostly listened because I was finishing this:

Can you spot what sometimes happens when you buy puzzles at a thrift store?

I started working on a sewing project, but it didn't go very well, so I called Mom and got a cross-country diagnosis. (What would I do without Skype?) I went to the gym that evening, which is rare for me on a Saturday. I usually prefer classes like Zumba and TRX, but put me on an elliptical in front of Bravo, and I will stride away until Andy has told me what's what. When I got home, Josh had finished and assembled the bed; it is beautiful and the wood smells wonderful.

April 16: I spent all day in San Francisco with two of my favorite girls of all time. Svetlana, Andrew, and new baby Anderson live a short flight away from Seattle, and Laura, Matt, and Caelan flew from DC to spend spring break with us. I delivered baby presents I finally figured out how to make, thanks to Mom's help and some calming tea.

I've created a monster!

After a leisurely breakfast, Svetlana, Anderson, and I met the Bodeks down at the Ferry Building to stroll around and gawk at fools who were standing in a 50-yard line for chicken. I mean, almond croissants, of course, but chicken? We got an outdoor table at a Thai restaurant, and I was crazed and happy by all the sunshine. By the time the check came, we'd had one incident of the phrase, "What is this--the tourist portion?" and one incident of a toddler stomach virus. I've never said, "Check please," with more conviction. Later that evening, just the three of us girls reunited for dinner at a Yugoslavian burger joint sporting the tiniest booths I've ever sat in and complimentary stroopwafles. We rounded out the night with girl talk in the hot tub. No matter what Svetlana and Laura and I end up doing, it's always what I hadn't even realized I needed. Well...except stomach virus damage control.

 This wasn't taken on Saturday, but we were tired on Saturday and it was dark.

Surrounded by green! No pinching!

April 23: In an act of grace, Seattle gave us sunny skies and the high 60s. We still had coffee, but I skipped the cookbooks and packed a lunch instead. Josh and I drove out to Leavenworth, Washington's very own faux Bavarian village. The wet winter caused two roads to close because of a landslide and snow. Once we turned off the paved road, we didn't see anyone, and the snowy (and thus empty) campground and trailheads had an eerie apocalyptic feel. We hiked up toward Mt. Stewart, through some snow (Oh, hello core muscles. It's been a while.) until the snow obfuscated the trail/my legs wouldn't go anymore. We treated ourselves to dinner out back in Seattle, and had some apps and 'zerts. (Anyone have a good recipe for curried corn fritters?) Perfect ending to the day: CUPCAKE HAPPY HOUR. Awkward moment in the middle of perfect ending to the day: angering the girl in line behind us by taking the last salted caramel cupcakes. 


April 30: What happens when you make mashed potatoes, blueberry boy bait, and banana bread in three days? You work it off on Saturday. We biked to the zoo, which was surprisingly really nice. The river otters weren't out, but there were lemurs and--oh look! a hippo!--a peacock on the loose. Unexpectedly, the things that were most remarkable about our time at the zoo involved watching an altercation between some seagulls and a bald eagle--none of which were in captivity--and judging prepubescent children crammed into strollers. We biked to the university and did a little bouldering on a practice rock and concrete wall down by Lake Washington, and then hit some tennis, biked back to our house, bought a lawnmower, and gave it a spin. 

After eleven miles on a bike, some rock climbing, some tennis, and a little yard work, the rest of the evening fell into place--a long shower, leftovers, and a movie. The hardest work I did after dark was reading subtitles.


Up next: May 7 in Seattle with my favorite brother!