My holidays in a roasted chestnut shell:

Books read: Half Magic and Magic by the Lake by Edward Eager, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, Waiting: The True Confessions of a Waitress by Debra Ginsberg, Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman. All good.

Corning Museum of Glass, an excellent balance of the creation, science, and art of glass.

Making pot stickers by hand from scratch… semi-cheating on half of them and dragging out the hand-crank pasta roller.

Gifts: Holly Yashi earrings, chef’s coat, mandolin slicer, mortar & pestle, kitty cat coasters.