Deck men

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Have I mentioned that they're back? Surely you jest, Em-i-lis, you might be thinking. I wish I were. The stainer did such a poor job the first time around that he had to come back. He's sanding again but yesterday when he stripped the boards, he spilled the cleaning agent over the sides and now we have streak marks. I hope he knows that no matter how long this takes, he's going to have to do it correctly. Like my mamma always said, "If you're going to do something, do it right the first time, or you'll have to do it again."

Wonderfully flavorful dinner

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Well this was a nice dinner! Heck! The celeriac remoulade is just always good, the tomato salad was fabulous, and this fennel/leek/orange dish was superb. I found a recipe for a caramelized fennel and then got creative. Wouldn't leeks be a nice addition? Yes. What if I caramelized oranges in butter and that coriander sugar? Fabulous. Put them all together and top with chopped fennel fronds and orange zest. Quite good!

I will post this recipe soon. My change-up for the tomato-mozzarella salad this time was to drizzle fig balsamic vinegar over it all once plated. Yum. Ooh nelly do I love to eat. And T just said, "I really like this celery root salad. It's really good."