I have been awake since seven this morning, lounging around the house in my pajamas and my grey man sweater. Most of my photos are up on Flickr now, although I have some more organizing and editing to do, and the majority of my Savannah and Seattle photos are living on Zoe's computer, where they will eventually be uploaded from.

I just wondered aloud that I have been awake for seven hours and have done nothing, and my mom said "Well, you could bring your pack upstairs, that might be a good goal for today. Or you could take a bath." I feel really lucky to have a mother who sets goals the same way I do.

As usual after a trip, my legs are antsy. They want to be walking miles and miles. I will take a spin around the neighborhood later.

Let me just take a moment to share the stew that I first made with George and then again with Letje, since I can't stop craving/thinking about it, and think it might be the best fall soup I've ever had. It goes like this (to serve 2-3, easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled):

-2 big parsnips, roughly chopped (3 or 4 smaller, skinnier parsnips - or carrots are a good substitute)
-2 cans chickpeas
-1 red onion, roughly chopped
-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-3-4 cloves
-bay leaf
-4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
-3 cups chicken stock
-sherry
-3-5 links of chorizo, or another spicy sausage

Cut up the chorizo into bite size chunks and fry it with olive oil and a few tablespoons of sherry, the garlic and onions. (You can do this in the bottom of your soup pot). Then add everything else, and let it simmer indefinitely, though at least 30 minutes for the parsnips to become tender. More or less chicken stock depending on your desired thickness, LOTS of black pepper, a dash of cayenne, salt to taste. It is the parnsip-chorizo-chickpea trifecta that really brings this home, and the cloves add a special something. We are making this for dinner tonight, too. I wonder if it will ever get old?

It is really good with pan tomat, which you make like this: Take some crusty bread, lightly toast it, and rub a tomato all over it so it is soaked in the juice. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper.