People, I started going great guns on the three-citrus marmalade earlier, but do you know how incredibly long it takes to supreme four pounds of grapefruit/oranges/lemons? A really honking long time. By the end, I was leaving small bits of pith attached to the fruit, and I just don't give a damn- certainly this marmalade will stay taste good. Swear to god if I sell this, I'll have to price it like it's gold if I have any hope of making back the labor cost. AARGH! It's all quite pretty -just look at this zest- and did smell terrifically but wow.

Due to this marathon of peeling, my hands feel as if they've undergone some sort of dermatological acid treatment (perhaps good) and my shoulders are tired. It's unclear if I will find the will to cook dinner tonight; I'd planned creamed leeks and smothered chicken but that may have to wait until tomorrow.

How on earth did Ben Affleck not receive a Best Director Oscar nom but the guy who did Silver Linings Playbook did? Not even close in my humble opinion. And I gotta be honest, while Quvenzhané Wallis did a fine job and is darling, I just cannot get on board with her winning for Best Actress. That movie just did not meet the hype.

Today has been the most satisfyingly productive one thus far. I've flown through all the usual sorts of household tasks, donated a trunk-full of items to one of my favorite local anti-poverty centers (D.C.-area folks, do you know about A Wider Circle? They just opened a new professional development area which is so exciting and helped me encourage T to clean through his closets!), found hugely discounted skeins of gold ribbon and gold cord with which to make the golden lassos Wonder Woman uses (Oliver is having a Wonder Woman birthday party, folks; his crush on her is enormous), chatted with my mom, walked the dog and am now about to embark on Day 1 of marmalade making. It feels like ages since I've canned; it's an activity that seems so natural during the summer with all the fabulously delicious and cannable fruit that's in season then, but I should remember more frequently what you can make and can with pears, apples and winter citrus. It's cold and drizzly out today, so I decided that a marvelous way to combat the outside dreariness was to surround myself with this visually heartening buffet o' fruits.

Do y'all know what T and I were forced to do last night? It's almost sillier than the cat leash but it was critical as Nutmeg has been scratching at our wooden furniture (no!): we applied the feline equivalent of Lee Press-On nails to each of N's claws. I bought a large box of Kitty Caps and after gluing my fingers together (truly, I did this, and it hurt like a mother to pry them apart), T took over and finished the job. You fill each cap with some adhesive, slide it on the claw and then "keep your kitty calm and still for five minutes" (who the eff wrote those instructions? someone who's not attempted to apply Kitty Caps to an actual, live cat?) while the adhesive sets. I must say that Nutmeg was a trooper and has not attempted to remove his Caps. He can still do all the natural scratching stuff (I'm not inhumane, folks) but without the damage. Aah!