Zoo, lots of cooking, weirdest day

The extremely weird day persisted when Ol and I hoofed around the zoo for nearly two hours with hardly an animal experience. The wildlife, by and large, looked as if it had been totally drugged. We saw the giant anteater's tail, smelled the overwhelmingly strong odor of maned wolf urine (there was even a sign about its pungency), watched the goats and orangs that never moved, and saw an elephant wave his ear from afar. The high point was watching the sea lions swim like torpedoes and banter about winningly. One persisted in acting like a synchronized swimmer on her head, bottom and flipper feet up in the air. All in all, the most boring trip to any zoo, anywhere, ever! Ol agreed.I guess it was assumed we'd had our fill with Louie the attack cat.

After that, I needed a win so thanked my mother-in-law profusely for coming over for 90 minutes while I made several pints each of apple-chili-chutney and lightly spiced plum jam. Then I put together one of the leek-goat cheese tarts and will soon start in on the chocolate cakes. Tomorrow I'll finish up the final two tarts and put together the sixty tea sandwiches sometime around working as the library mom at Jack's school. Have mercy. I quite assume that as soon as I return from delivering everything to the party tomorrow evening, I will drink wine and hit the sack.

Ridiculous morning, Louie the attack cat

People, aspects of this morning should be erased from the books. For starters, I slept in the basement because my 8:30 last night, my eyes were spinning in different directions, and I was starting to feel fully crazed with fatigue. I thanked T profusely and told him to wake me at 7 because I had carpool duty this morning which means we need to be dressed and out of the door at 7:45. At 7:20, I awoke to complete silence; I threw myself out of bed and soon after saw the boys drilling into the yard with toy drills, barefoot and in matching bat pajamas, no adult presence to be found. It was slightly feral but I was proud of their independence, I think. No answer met my increasingly confused shout-outs to T, and I finally found him cocooned in our bed, snoring soundly. Percy was mad with hunger, the boys' diapers were near their knees (so full they were), and we had but 25 minutes in which to make and eat breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth and so forth. In a normal context this would be rushed by totally doable. However, you have never seen snail-pace until you've seen Jack in full-scale, "everything is fascinating" action. Home turned into boot camp, and finally we all bustled out the door at 7:48.

All fine, carpool fine, lovely morning, and so Ol and I took Percy on a walk before coming home to get ready for the zoo (yes, it's another school holiday for Ol). While enjoying our stroll and gathering pretty leaves to make one of those waxed paper stained-glass things, our zen was suddenly interrupted by a woman racing down her front stairs with a broom, screaming bloody-murder at Louie (her small, gray cat) and at us to RUN. Y'all, Louie was hell on wheels. He raced up to Percy, claws bared, hissing to beat sixty, trying to tear my poor, confused dog's face off. Woman with broom is trying to sweep crazy Louie away but to no avail, he was on the hunt. Percy ran in circles, sometimes taking air like a tether-ball. I finally had to pick him up (his heart was about to beat out of his chest) and run pell-mell down the street, just hoping Oliver was right behind me. Louie came after us for a while but at least he didn't want Ol or me. Woman with broom called out "sorry, Louie likes to defend me" as if this wasn't the weirdest effing experience ever and also kinda freaky. And really, that cat shouldn't be allowed out if it takes a woman, a broom and everyone else running the hell away.

Strange. Hopefully nothing strange besets us at the zoo.

A dinner that helps welcome fall

I've had a chill all day for some reason and so tonight decided to warm up with my first pan of roasted winter veggies. On tap: butternut squash! I love Molly Wizenberg's warm butternut and chickpea salad with tahini dressing so made it plus a strip steak with lemon-thyme butter to go alongside. Solid! Earlier, I made the crusts and leek confit for the three tarts to be cooked Thursday- love things you can, and often should, make in advance! Aah! And now, in all seriousness, I'm hauling arse to bed.