(no subject)

My mom's been here this weekend and we've all been eating a lot of pinto beans which, omg, yum. I figured out why my mom's are better than mine - she uses about twice as much bacon drippings as I do. I am country enough to always keep bacon drippings (because, yeah, that vege period? SO OVER in my life!) on hand and use them for things like cooking beans and for my cornbread, which is pretty damned good even if I AM a city girl and use all-clad instead of cast iron. I'm pretty conscious of fat; it's an important part of a lot of flavor profiles and so I'm not exactly scared of it but I do think that whatever you use should do a lot of work for flavor, and bacon drippings are amazing for this. So, you know, no wonder hers are better than mine - I'm more conservative with both fat and salt and she's just NOT.

Today is my daughter's fourth birthday. She's such a wonderful girl - she's smart as a whip and has such a sunny disposition and such a kind heart. I know it's sappy as hell but she's special in a way I never have been and never could be, and she has a gift for making the people around her feel better, lighter, happier, just by being there. I have no idea where it came from, this lovely spirit she has, but I cling to it and dread its loss. She had a nice party today, and there will be another one at her school tomorrow. Her birthday marks the beginning of fall for us and so from here to the end of the year things will be busy in the best way, with all kinds of wonderful things to look forward to. I'm just insane enough to look forward to all of it, even though I know we'll be exhausted by January.

(P.S. One of the dads at her birthday party was wearing a Pastafarian t-shirt. Joy joy joy.)