Old Fashioned Thank You

Beautifully printed stationary is something I've always loved. I have a favorite box filled with bits and pieces I've picked up over the years that I sort through when sending out a note. From monogrammed stationary left over from our wedding thank you notes to packets of little hallmark cards, I can almost always find something that works.

What I've been noticing recently (and also realized as a result that I'm old) is a fairly large decrease in the art of written thank you notes and the use of proper stationary. How rude.

The decrease in appreciation for paper by many and it's decreasing use is directly linked of course to our rise of email and text. We fire off thank you notes after meetings on email to ensure we send a speedy reply. Too long is the regular first class mail these days.

So I call for an increase in the written note and while we're at it, a well constructed thank you note. The basic rules my mother taught me decades ago:

-Salutation
-First sentence. Thank you for [insert item].
-Second sentence. [Compliment the item and explain how you are going to use it].
-Third sentence. [Additional context about when or how you received it and why it's great].
-Fourth sentence. [Thank them again].
-Fifth sentence. [Wish them well].
-Signature

And please, teach the graduates in your life that you always send thank you notes for everything. From interviews to gift and everything in between.

Homemade Birthday

Strawberries are DH's all time favorite fruit. With an early summer birthday the ruby red berries are in peak form for his big day. Angel food cake and fresh strawberries are the classic birthday cake go to for him. Some version of shortcake also makes a regular appearance at birthday celebrations.

This year I went in search of something new. And this Cook's Illustrated Strawberry Cream Cake did not disappoint. DH declared it the best birthday cake ever. While it's a three-part effort, none of the steps are too complicated and while the final product looks a little more rustic than the model pic, the taste was divine.

I'm late in posting so I know peak strawberry picking season has past, but good market berries would be worth picking up to make this if you need a good summer show stopper dessert.

Cherry Delicious

Walking through the farmer's market last weekend signs called out "last sour cherries of the season." We've been enjoying sweet cherries from the market for weeks and I've watched other folks carry flats of sour cherries and wondered what the fuss was all about. But for some reason those "last chance" signs and the handy handwritten sign that said "about a quart and half needed for one pie" I walked home with just enough sour cherries in my bag to make my first sour cherry pie.

Research led to some very strong opinions and my go to source Cook's Illustrated strongly recommended using tapioca as a thickener. A quick survey of the pantry and a stronger desire to not run out to the store and I settled on this recipe from Bon Appetit on epicurious that used the old corn starch standard.

As an extra cheat, I also grabbed some Wegmans pie crust out of my freezer and went to town. Behold, my first cherry pie and lattice crust.

This came out way better than expected and I was also not that tortured by pitting all those cherries, thanks to this handy tip. So, my interest in pie making has been piqued. What should I make next?

Is This Thing on?

Let me get this out and then we can get on with it. My silence of late has largely been a result of suddenly feeling like the act of blogging was over exposing my private life to the world. Too much navel gazing about non-important topics and a strange totally irrational fear that someday I'll go to apply for a job and they'll pull up some blog entry that they found offensive and as a result can't hire me because I'd never be able to get a security clearance.  Right, that should be my big concern as a higher ed/arts person...all those top secret Matisse manuscripts I won't be able to review for exhibition prep...

Several kind friends have even said they read my tripe from time to time (you are very kind and know who you are. Thank you. I owe you a drink and this is why we are friends. You indulge me by reading this and then actually saying something nice. My ego thanks you.)
 Anyhow, I've realized that I started this whole endeavor to create greater accountability for myself in life balance; to experiment with this media directly to better understand its applications in my work; and finally to give me a chance to write something besides a planning document from time to time.

So I'm going to cautiously stumble my way back to the keyboard and try and do this with greater regularity (ha!) and also recognize that I've been so inspired by friends across the country lately that I need to take a moment and write about it.

For now I'll just say that as DC summer swells into full heat and humidity, we're trying to fill our days with more friends and laughter and enjoy the time we have together. And if you need a better excuse to enjoy summer, check out 3191's summer essentials they posted before taking their own summer break.

Morning Stretch

30 minutes before my alarm went off this morning I was awake. The dog licking my face may have helped that step. 30 minutes later I walked into my gym and set up my mat for a morning hatha yoga class that I've been saying I was going to go to for the past three years. It's included in the cost of my monthly membership. Yeah, that's right practically "free" yoga is offered four days a week, but I have managed to go a total of one time in three years at the gym and never in the morning. I have of course driven 15-30 minutes and paid $18 for a class, but the free one next door... well I guess it was just too convenient.

Well, I liked it and just might drag myself back onto my mat for Monday morning's class. Because wow, I am so not bendy. And any flexibility I had previously developed has evaporated.

I think I need a little lion's breath to get me through the rest of today. But let's be clear I am not yet prepared to make friends with morning.