new shirt

I have a new green tee shirt. It's a rich, vibrant green. I got it at the thrift store (Thrift Town in Carmichael). It's a men's XL, which would usually be too small for me, but this one is sized generously. But it's not too long, and the sleeves aren't too long, and it's plain with no adornment, which is what I like. Today I wore it for the first time and felt comfortable. And that's the story of my new shirt.

This morning we went to Howe park, but Erik didn't run (or walk with me) because his knee has been hurting him, his right knee. So I walked by myself.

Then we went to the library, not our usual library but the one that's kind of by Howe park. I got The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion and Bridge to Terabithia, which is a well-known kid's book (they even made a movie). The former is a memoir about someone's bad year. Big things go wrong, like the health of her family members. I expect both to be very sad, so I'll have to be careful the way I'm careful with the Mountain Goats.

Tomorrow we're going to Berkeley so I can copy Erik and LM Magazine #45. Also, it's free day at the UC botanical garden. So we could go there, but because Erik's knee has been hurting, maybe we won't. I feel insecure about Erik and LM Magazine #45 and am glad I only send it to friends because for example I write about the Catholic annulment my ex-husband sort of asked me for, and I feel vulnerable talking about it.

Today we were making lunch--we made messy rice from the Veganomicon but with extra onion and garlic--and I wanted to add some beans, so I fried up some bell pepper with green onions and more garlic, and a can of black beans, and we debated for a long time about whether or not to add ginger, but Erik wanted ginger, so finally I agreed, and it turns out to have been maybe not the right choice. We only used a little ginger, but the ginger flavor is strong. It's definitely not bad, but maybe it would have been better without it. We flavor our lentils with ginger and it works well, but beans aren't the same as lentils. Anyway, I've been wanting to eat more protein lately, and one can of beans to two cups of rice (two cups before cooking) seems right--not too many beans.