Five Things

It's nice going on vacation on a three-day weekend because when you return to work, you aren't the only one who feels like slacking.  Nothing like a four-day workweek to cut down on productivity.  Cheers to that.  I only wish that we were going back to Cambria this weekend!

In Cambria Harper has lots of opportunities to show of her new trick - swimming.  She doesn't go in just for the heck of it, but she'll dive in after a stick or another dog.  We knew she'd realize she loved swimming eventually!

Within a 24-hour period on vacation I read this entire Lucky Peach magazine. Big deal, you say?  Well Lucky Peach is the new culinary magazine from McSweeny's that is actually more like a book.  There are zero advertisements, just pages and pages of content on a single subject.  This issue was all about ramen, and I am even more obsessed with the idea of going to Tokyo than ever.

John and I ate every lunch and dinner in Cambria outside - except for our final dinner which we ate at the beach house.  The pictures above are from a restaurant with private alcoves equipped with your own fireplace to enjoy outside.  We were in heaven.

Cambria is a pretty small town that is surrounded by wildlife.  The first evening Harper spotted a deer outside, and she barked to show it who was boss (Harper barks about once every two weeks, so this was noteworthy).  The next day when we all came upon this deer (and deer friend, not pictured), she seemed to take it in stride, apparently having overcome her fear fairly quickly.  The older I get, the more I like relaxing rural retreats.

The second book I finished on vacation was Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook.  Being keen on food policy, I was enthralled by this book.  It tells of how those bright red (but flavorless) tomatoes get on our sandwiches and in our grocery stores year-round.  I can give you a preview:  Florida grows tomatoes in nutrient-free sand and enslaves migrant workers from Latin America to pick said tomatoes while exposing them to pesticides that make them sick!  It's a little more uplifting in the end, but it definitely further encourages my organic and local habits.