It is a rainy, chilly Saturday afternoon. One cat is curled up on her blanket on the couch; the other one is sleeping on the floor. The smell of cinnamon is wafting from the kitchen, where I'm cooking rice pudding. If only I had a working fireplace....Later this afternoon I'll bring in the candelabra that fits where the gas fire used to be.

I was up early to go to the Farmer's Market, which was empty of people. Besides oranges, guavas, lettuce, and cilantro, I bought a bunch of flowers, which are now in a vase next to my computer.

Then I went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to get a present and a cookie press. I also found a red and green plaid table cloth for my card table, which complements the green plaid table cloth I'd found at a Salvation Army store a few years ago for my other table that now serves as a left-hand return for my desk. I also got matching cloth serviettes. The table linens ended up being on sale, although they weren't marked as such--a nice suprise!

Yes, I'm definitely in a home-making mood, along with much of the rest of the country according to articles I've read. But first I need to work on my final lecture, on Ezra-Nehemiah, which I give in a week and a half.