Soundtrack to this post: CBC’s Tapestry program on Gospel Music.

On the stove: water boiling for pasta, and white sauce simmering, because, yes, my Fooey shall get her macaroni and cheese supper tonight. In the oven: two large squashes baking, to be put to use for soup tonight, and possibly for winter squash bars (but will the kids eat them?). On the counter: a cooler filled with yogurt-in-process. On the kitchen floor: an enormous basket of laundry waiting to be folded. In the basement: two small children watching a movie.

And on the dining-room table: herbs drying. Now, this is an experiment. The kids and I went out to harvest what we’ve grown this year, much of it perennial and unplanned: must not let it go to waste. What amazing scents. Spearmint, lavender, basil, thyme, and celery. The celery freezes well to be used in Christmas stuffing. I also freeze the basil into cubes for pesto. I’m drying the other herbs. This all seems so easy and pleasurable that I’m wondering what other herbs I could plant. Favourites and recommendations, please!

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I am now calling Tuesdays and Thursdays my “domestic duty days.” I am home on these days, with the two littlest children, and I am experiencing what it’s like to work part-time in a serious way with all the domestic work tucked into a smaller squeeze of time. I like the rhythm. Wednesdays and Fridays are writing days, with a combination of school, nursery school, and a wonderful babysitter taking on the childcare for six straight hours. Mondays, I have the morning to work, but find that’s not enough, so I’ve been using that time instead to do organizational work, to exercise, and to volunteer in Fooey’s class.