Fat Tuesday

My dear friend and college roommate Magpie gave me a gift card for my birthday, saying she hoped I would use it for something frivolous (but a case of pasta would be okay, too). I spent a couple of days savoring the idea of buying something just for me. For me, frivolous can only mean one of two things: good books or good food.

Today I took Snuggler and Little Guy to the new children's history museum along with some friends (worth going!) and we stopped at one of the better branches of the library afterwards. We arrived home with two dozen books:

And found my Amazon shipment at the door, too:

I immediately began reading Wish You Were Here: Travels Through Loss and Hope, which is breathtaking and wonderful. I had to put it down, though, to make our last-blast supper before Lent. I made Caramelized Chicken with Vegetable Pancake from the French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. My lovely friend Liz gave me two pounds of brussels sprouts for my birthday, so I roasted them up, too:

The chicken is lemony with a touch of honey and olives -- oh, yum!

Dancer and I have been cooking up a French storm lately. So instead of taking Little Guy to Cub Scouts, I sent him off with Andrew so I could finish making a lemon tarte:

And now we are ready to settle in and read and read and digest, and head into Lent.