Snow, Books, and Food

Happy first day of winter to everyone! My Bookman and I are celebrating the Winter Solstice today because of work schedules and all that. It snowed yesterday, not a lot but enough to cover the ground and shovel the sidewalk. It couldn't have been more perfectly planned. We'll be bundling up and taking a walk later which will thrill the dog. He loves walking in the snow. Today also means an extra special yummy dinner. The menu:

• Miso soup with cranberry chaptis
• Tandoori tofu, vegetable rice pilaf, and alu roti (a sort of potato dumpling) with choice of tomato or spicy mango chutney.
• Chocolate peppermint cupcakes

All of this is homemade from scratch, the genuine stuff. I hope it tastes as good as I've been imagining it will. Today also means we have opened the box!. I honestly can't believe we kept ourselves from ripping it open sooner. Aside from the Leonard Woolf bio and the next Slaves of Golconda read, the gifties inside from my Bookman were:

• The Crooked Inheritance by Marge Piercy. It is her new book of poems, a complete surprise because I didn't know about it. My Bookman is tickled that he pulled this off
• Eating Naked by Stephen Dobyns. I like his poetry but have not read his prose. These are short stories, which, if they are near as quirky as his poetry, should be fun.
• Best Words, Best Order: Essays on Poetry by Stephen Dobyns. There appears to be quite a range, from essays on his own poetry to essays on the poetry of others to essays on tone and metaphor.

In the box as gifts for my Bookman from me were Mary Oliver's newest, Thirst, and Jules Verne: The Definitive Biography. We also received some bookstore gift cards from our families. A year of good reading ahead! Off to start cooking!