h-i-L-a-r-y

Thanks to April for finding this juicy tidbit:

For any Patriots out there expecting a little one and seeking the appropriate name, we should inform you that "Hillary" has taken a plunge in popularity. Based on information from the Social Security Administration, after peaking in 1992 at number 131 among the top 1,000 girls' names, the name "Hillary" had dropped out of the top 1,000 by 2002 and 2003. It stood at 982 in 2006. Indeed, the name fell out of favor even faster than Ebenezer (Scrooge) and Adolf (Hitler), both of which took more than 30 years after their unfortunate associations to lose their place among the top 1,000. Hillary, though, accomplished this feat in a mere decade. She also holds the title for fastest drop in a single year—295 places. In fact, around our humble shop, we're tired of hearing her name at all and have opted instead for the Harry Potter name-avoidance technique: "She Who Shall Not Be Named."

I'm reading!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have started reading a book from my list to the right: A Place on Earth by Wendell Berry.

I find his writing captivating. He guides you through feelings you've felt but never articulated (I should say, "feelings I've felt but never articulated"). It's about the small town of Port William during World War II. I'm on Chapter 4 and have been getting to know some of the folks who are waiting for their soldiers to come home.

More later.

Yay!

whew

That black background was oppressive.

I cooked Austin Soup, corn bread, and Banana Bread last night. I felt very accomplished, and even though I cleaned lots of dishes while the food was cooking, there were still a ton of dishes left after we ate. I'm not sure how that happens. Anyway, I think they're still in the sink.

The soup and corn bread came out very nicely. The B Bread needs some work. Banana Bread Pudding?

We have a fireplace at our little apt., and fortunately, Trey enjoys building fires. We didn't have any tools for the fireplace, though, so we had been using some old bamboo tongs that we didn't need in the kitchen. These had served us well, until last night. Last night, the tongs caught fire in the line of duty and Trey sent them on to their inevitable fate.

I am having a chocolate craving. eep!