Mon, 6 Feb

I’m on a bus, right this very moment, and it has a strange, dirty, singed smell--a bad smell, yes, but it’s exactly the same smell my school bus had when I was a child. It’s so perfectly recreated that I can’t understand how this bus can possibly smell like this. For one thing, it’s almost certainly a hybrid vehicle with a much better focus on clean emissions. Nevertheless, I can close my eyes and immediately be transported through the power of scent back to the day Paula (three years older than I was) dug her fingernails into my tiny baby wrist and gave me five round scars for life.

I made a remarkably good dinner tonight IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF. Two shallots, two punnets of bacon lardons, one clove of garlic--chop up the shallots/garlic and fry it all down in olive oil. At the same time, prep some broccoli as you like (I boiled it for 6 minutes), chop some chives, and cook some pasta. Grate some lemon zest in with your bacon etc, then add a chicken or veg stock pot thing and 300ml of your pasta water. Add 200g of creme fraiche and let the sauce simmer to thicken. Squeeze in the juice of about 1/4 to 1/2 of the lemon. At the end, add your broccoli and chives to the mix, then toss your pasta in the sauce. Yum yum.

Today was one of those days when I felt like I could get everything done again (though realistically there was a lot that was left undone too). I wish there were a magic formula that could help me have these days all the time. Apparently 4 hours of broken sleep is a winner? (because that’s what I had last night).