Ups and Downs

I had a crazy past 24 hours.

Last night there was a great storm. Both Mike and I marveled at the thunder, lightening, wind, and rain...and didn't even think to shut our bedroom window. So our mattress was soaked all the way through. Our curtains were dripping. I ended up sleeping on the couch.

I also had the joy of finding my toothbrush in the dog's kennel. The kitten evidently knocked over the toothbrush holder, broke the soap dish, and gave my toothbrush over to the dog. Perhaps in exchange for a dog treat?

This morning I woke up to the sound of hammering at 7:30 am. And by hammering, I mean the steel-on-steel clanging of metal posts being driven into the depths of the earth to provide stability to a new Trader Joe's. Yes, our neighborhood will be the lucky recipient of a multinational corporate grocery store. I'm not thrilled, even if I do like their Rosemary Marcona Almonds (and it'll probably drive our property values up). But 7:30 am? That's too early.

On the upside, I had a great time cooking for my classes tomorrow. I rarely use the deli kitchen to prep class food, but it was pretty fun to hang with the deli folks, listen to music, use an oven that's always preheated and wield an immersion blender so large I could barely lift it.

Now, after a long day, I'm home and enjoying my Eat Local Challenge Nemesis: Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream. That's about as non-local as you can get...but I topped it with Door County cherries! Does that make it local?

I scooped up about 6 pounds of these local cherries today, so now I just have to decide how to preserve them. I kind of want to make brandied cherries, but half my friends and family can't have alcohol...so I'd have to eat them all. Over coconut ice cream. MMmmmm.