Honey cake

Well, our baby is 11 weeks today and she is a real joy to hang out with during her (many) waking hours. She coos and smiles and "talks" to us, kicks her little legs, gets mad during "tummy time," and likes to accompany us on long walks through the neighborhood. Her eyes are wide as I babble on and on to her about the squirrels, motorcycles, construction workers, birds and flowers we walk by. I so love the many faces she makes, her wide grins, and the time we spend together. Even the shortest bouts of time we spend apart are difficult, I must admit.

In other news, the school year has started and I am teaching once again, and continuing wor on a third dissertation chapter. Work takes extraordinary effort these days, but I am also glad to have it.

The weather is beautiful here -- this kind of weather always transports me back to my college days (so long ago!). I so remember the lovely summer-to-fall transition at Mizzou, the changing leaves on East campus, and the long walks and runs I used to take.

These days I take much shorter walks and runs -- but at least I am back in motion. I'm jogging a few miles a week again, and it's wonderful. I am not as fast or strong as I once was, but it's always this way after not having run for a while. I've been running since I was 16, and I feel like, well, like myself when I jog.

Yesterday Jake played with the baby (and sang her old cowboy songs) while I jogged, took a bath, made a honey cake, and read a magazine (Vogue).

Here is the honeycake recipe, a repeat but a worthy repeat. Happy New Year to all my Jewish friends and family!