More vegetables, more library books, more square dancing — and the weirdly mild weather continues.

in January!

The avgolemono turned out delicious. Whole wheat orzo is slightly chewier than regular, but very suitable for the soup. A note for next time: the tempering of the egg and lemon with the hot broth worked fine, but the egg itself needs to be very well beaten first– a few scraps of unmixed egg white became apparent when they cooked. I might try it with leek broth, as we have leek tops more often than chicken bones to make broth with… maybe with a little less lemon because there’s less fat to mellow it out?

Yesterday I attended two, count ’em two, social events. Evening was the Black and White Ball edition of our club’s monthly square dance. I was more like “stagehand” in all black and not-at-all-dressy, but that’s what I got. This is the one month when I make a concerted effort to follow the theme– unlike the several rainbow months, it really stands out if I don’t.

And before that, in the afternoon I caught the bus to a New Year’s party for Oregon Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I joined SCBWI before retiring (in the final burst of spending down my professional development funds) but this was my first in-person event. Kidlit people are so nice, you guys! Everybody was happy to talk and there were library-themed table decorations and name tags and plenty of snacks. I ducked out early to catch the bus home again, but life seemed brighter after going than it had before. Is this how extroverts feel? Now I’m thinking I’ll go to the one-day conference in May, in Hillsboro.

A routine is finally settling in with my own work. I’m more viscerally aware that it’s up to me to decide on and generate that work, and no one else particularly cares. It’s both freeing and unnerving.

Thursday I’m signed up for a bird walk down at the rhododendron gardens by the college. I’m a lackadaisical birder at best, but it’s a nice chance to see the gardens for free– I haven’t been there in years and will be curious to see if anything’s blooming early.