pork and beans in tilden park

ahhhhh....i'm exhausted, and have been trying to catch up on rest before a big push from here on out until the end of the year.  i've got a piece to turn in in a week, kermit lynch next saturday, then thanksgiving, december parties, christmas and new year's. 

throw in my injured shoulder (30 mins. of exercises a day), hip and ankle rehab (another 30 mins.), the gym, and physical therapy, and it's see ya next year, isn't it?

i've put aside my pull-up goal for now, since i haven't really been able to use my arm for two months, but i'm doing my best to ensure that i'm not losing any (or much) muscle in the meantime.  i'm gonna get that pull-up eventually.  

i'm really anxious to get my shoulder working again, because i felt like i was on the cusp of some really great physical accomplishments when it happened.  but having this injury has definitely made me focus on what i can do, and try to do those things better.  i also have come to terms with asking people for help, which is really hard at work because i don't want to seem lazy, but i just can't ruin my arm anymore.  

other random tidbits: bill niman was so appreciative of me and CL when we cooked up some of his turkeys a few weeks ago for a tasting that he decided to name his favorite hen and tom turkeys after us.  how awesome, right?!  bill's gonna have a turkey named samin!  (the obvious joke here is that there's already one turkey named samin, and this is gonna be the second.)

places i'd want to visit if i could go on vacation right now: 

oaxaca and mexico city (for the markets, chocolate, and street food)

nyc, with a side trip to new haven (to visit my friends)

hawaii (for some beach time with alice)

northwestern washington (to spend some time in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere with my friends)

istanbul (to see selen, and eat)

italy (to see old friends, eat, and watch them decorate the streets for christmas)

i've been loving eating: late-season tomatoes, fuyus, sierra beauty and rome beauty apples, butternut squash and sweet potatoes, martin's wild watercress, lambburgers at home, greek yogurt as usual, and i've been dreaming of canneles...