Sunday early: Mild, calm, overcast

• Last night we had a pretty meal: a bowl of my vegetarian caldo verde, with sour cream and my home made veggie chorizo sausage; there were orange chanterelle mushrooms on special sale at Whole Foods which I sauteed in butter as well as some sliced criminis, with shallots, salt, and minced parsley over top of them and a splash of lemon juice, delious over thin slices of briefly sauteed crisped potato and onion frittata, an intentional leftover; and a salad of ultra gravlax, my homemade gravlax that this time was allowed to cure for nearly a week, making it very dry, salty, and thin slicing like Smithfield ham, as well as leftover tuna steaks from a Provençale dish, also sliced quite thin, over salad greens and with some scallion white sliced in half-inch pieces, tossed with a mustard lime olive oil and garlic vinaigrette. The dressing made the tuna moist and delicious, the saltiness of the salmon speaking to the sweetness of a new Greek olive oil. A bottle of Chiliean sauvignon blanc went well with the salad and mushrooms, not as well with the soup - it seemed a bit thin.
• A column this morning by Michael Dirda that had tears dripping from my eyes. A review of a new novel by someone Robinson, previous author of, I believe I recall, Homecoming, both books regarded by Dirda with enormous affection and respect, sounding very tempting. The current book a reflection by an aging (77) minister in the midwest of his lonely life and then the joy of a young wife and their child. With many developments but very tender and gentle love stories and reflections.
• Today into the city to St. Marks for church, early so we can be photographed in a group photo for the ages. So, I must get dressed now to make by the 10:30 hour for the picture.