24!

So much to report! And so relatively much time to do it! (Due to mild illness, I am remaining absent from workshop today.) But first things first: wild turkeys. Yes, a family - flock? - of wild turkeys lives near UMass. Sunday, as I was driving home from campus, four female turkeys ran in front of my car; I stopped to let them pass. This was only the second time I'd seen the birds, but I hope to see them more often: they seem like a good omen.

Yesterday I turned 24, which (as of now) seems not much different than the year before it. I completed a few celebratory acts, which included:

1) Going to the gym (healthy in the new year!)
2) Getting my nose re-pierced (Last semester, I was fiddling around with my nose ring and of course lost it; the piercing closed. Fortunately, I had a coupon for a free birthday piercing! I decided to make the best of this opportunity.)
3) Having a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie with coffee in the mid-afternoon
4) Going to Judie's for dinner (w/pals), and later to the Tunnel Bar for appletinis. Boy, those appletinis: they'll get you. Because they are appley and so delicious, they can lead one to forget that one is consuming alcohol, and chaos ensues.

Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate: it really was an excellent day, minus the nonstop rain. Hopefully, the rain will let up by this weekend...

A cooking experiment: made homemade croutons this morning by slicing a stale baguette, cubing the slices, brushing the cubes with a little olive oil, and sprinkling them with fresh pepper, oregano, and garlic powder. I toasted them at 300 for about half an hour, then let them cool on the stove top. I must admit, they turned out really well, and I didn't have to throw out my baguette. Nice.