Look, Ma, no meat!

Had a very nice dinner party last night, my first one in a while. It was a vegetarian meal for once, something I never do, but since it was an excuse to have Michael Hyde over it seemed like the proper thing to do. Amusingly, I had a tough time remembering who else I invited to the party, since I didn't follow my typical method of meticulously engineering the guest list in advance to maximize positive social interaction. ;-) Instead, I just kind of invited people as I ran into them, with a slight preference for people whose vegetarian sensibilities I could impress with a rare non-carnivorous meal. I made the artichoke pie that Jared likes so much, plus my favorite butternut squash soup with apples and onions, and a mocha cake for dessert. Bernie was extremely helpful with the cooking; it's nice to have someone who's good with a knife helping out with all the prep work. The time I made this pie for my parents marks the only occasion in all of history in which a dish containing tofu was prepared in their kitchen. Not normally a fan of the stuff myself, but it works well in this dish as a sort of neutral layer in the filling. Also, this is the first time I ever made this cake myself and managed to get it out of the pan without breaking it into pieces. I didn't let it cool long enough before I frosted it, so the middle layer of icing ended up melting, but it looked so good I couldn't wait to serve it. Michael brought delicious lemon squares, which Bernie warned me to anticipate; I figured he would bring a side dish for some reason, but Bernie turned out to be right. Ah, well, it was all extremely tasty. This combination, despite containing none of the flesh of the living as I prefer, made for a satisfying meal. Jared unfortunately could not be there, but I saved him some of the dinner and made sure he got to eat it.

But on the upside of him not taking time out from his work, Jared has finished his thesis! Late last night, when he finally got through all the edits he wanted to make, I read the extremely thoughtful and intelligent piece in its sixty-six-page entirety, and then he sent it in to his advisor. I'm so proud of him for doing it. He's still got work and studying for finals left to do, but this is a big important accomplishment and a quite a burden off his shoulders. Congratulate him when you see him; he worked very hard.

Nesty-nesty

Been feeling very... nesty... lately. I keep messing around with things in my space, trying to make them look nicer or get them more organized or cleaner or what have you. It started with just putting away all my winter coats and packing up all my sweaters for the summer. Then, itching to do more, I rearranged my bookshelves, organized my closet, and lined up my shoes. This afternoon, now that the sweaters are out of the way, I intend to redistribute the clothes in my dresser so that they're not so crammed into the drawers. It may get cold enough in the near future for me to need access to my sweaters again, but I'm hoping I can make do with just jackets and pashminas. I am thoroughly sick of the cold, and of the articles of clothing it has forced me to wear for so long.

I'm just feeling unusually compelled to get my living space in order. I'm not sure what brought all this on. I'm feeling particularly cramped by disorder, clutter, and stuff. It might be a reaction to stress, manifesting in cleaning, organizing, and the extreme desire to get rid of ugly and junky things. As I've mentioned before, completing domestic tasks to good effect has a soothing effect on me, so perhaps that's why.