I woke up this morning in a cold sweat. I was having a dream about an old friend of mine, Melissa. This morning I could remember the details, but tonight I can’t. All I know is that it was a strange dream.

It’s funny that I’ll have dreams about random people out of the blue, and then I’ll wonder what they’re up to and how they’ve been. Melissa and I had a bizarre falling-out back in 2002, and haven’t really spoken since. Last I heard she was living down in Texas, married with a little one and one on the way. (Sounds familiar.)

After I have these weird dreams, the people in them will kind of stay with me for the rest of the day. It’s a strange feeling. Whether it was a good dream (happy - or at least not anxiety-filled) or bad, it will manage to color my mood the entire day. Not drastically, but enough.

On a lighter note, I started an herb garden this weekend. I’m trying to actuallyl cook more (as opposed to eating the quick-cook boxed and frozen food), and my sister-in-law Kelly got me hooked on Rachael Ray. Interesting character, that Rachael. A little cutesy on the show but the food is great. I only have two gripes in regards to her recipes: one is that, although her show is called 30-Minute Meals, the recipes take much longer for this particular novice cook. I guess I haven’t had enough practice slicing onions, etc.

The other gripe is that all of her recipes seem to call for fresh herbs. Nah, okay, this isn’t a gripe as much as it is a wake-up call for someone who’s only ever purchased fresh herbs to make pesto once a year. Fresh thyme, cilantro, oregano and basil are all incredible in food, but wow! They become a little expensive after a while. That’s why I started the herb garden.

My thumb isn’t the greenest of green, but I’m hoping I can manage this without killing everything. I’m actively soliciting hints and tips for this. My trouble with houseplants is that I overwater them, and I generally forget to water my outdoor flowers until they are brown and crispy. It’s a gift.

Justin has checked the progress of the herbs about every 8 hours, and was visibly disappointed this evening to find plain old dirt. Again. Obviously he gets his patience from me. I tried to teach both of us a little patience by writing down best guess-timates of germination dates (all of which fall next week) but Justin wouldn’t have it. If I were a betting girl, I’d say he’ll be checking them out again tomorrow morning. And disappointed again!

Developing long-dormant domesticity,
michelle

p.s. Finally getting some pictures up on the site through “Gallery” software. The link is to the left.