Saturday, August 3 2019

Dear Journal,

Good morning, and happy Saturday to everyone! Last night was as mellow as it could be, and exactly what I needed after a long work week. After making our usual Friday night pizza, I put Rodney to bed, packed up some leftovers, then Marissa and I climbed under a blanket and watched New Girl. I entered a deep state of coziness, keeping my neck and back perfectly straight and not moving any of my limbs. I felt like I was in a deep sleep, only with the added bonus of getting to watch TV instead of dream, and occasionally laugh aloud.

We emerged from our TV watching cocoon sometime around 12:30PM and immediately sauntered upstairs to bed. This morning, feeling utterly refreshed, I jumped out of bet a little earlier than usual so I could clean up after dinner and make breakfast. I attempted to make a Dutch Baby, which wasn't nearly as perilous as I expected. I clarified some butter, whipped up a quick batter in a blender, then poured the batter into the center of a hot cast-iron pan. The batter and butter hissed angrily, and it reminded me of the scene from the Wizard of Oz where (spoiler alert) the witch melts. A hot, evil, wet mess went into the oven, but twenty minutes later it was a golden brown, doughy breakfast-flavored cloud. Completely on par with all of Chef John's recipes, this Dutch Baby recipe was fool-proof, and an instant favorite.

Rodney, Marissa, and I ate breakfast at the table, then made our way to the couch to watch some cartoons. After a quick journal entry, I'm going to shower, then take Rodney out to grab some lunch and some groceries. Marissa was stuck with him all day yesterday at her agility trial (which Ziggy absolutely nailed - two qualifying runs in one day!), so we agreed to fit as much dad time in today as possible.

Let's have a Saturday. Make a dutch baby, watch some cartoons, and go for a walk. We can clean up the kitchen later, there's no hurry.