T.

Dinner last night at the neighbor's --
we touched on all the grim topics:
serial murderers, corporal punishment, rape,
economic gloom, stomach-pumping, the state of
health care (it's deteriorating over here also),
government corruption. I kept trying to lighten
the mood, but it kept returning to the oppressive
clouds of doom.

But the food! Fantastic! A vegan as well as a meat
lasagna made with bechemel, a salad with "leaves"
and tomatoes grown just out the door, and potatoes --
O! Be! Still! My! Taste-buds! Tiny waxy white
potatoes, again from just out in the garden,
so sweet when buttered, with a sprinkle of sea salt.
They were my undoing. They were all I needed.
I wanted to close myself off for a minute or two
from my friends and just Be One With The Potato.
It was truly one of those unforgettable food moments.

(Have you had moments like this? I'm not talking
sumptuous restaurant experiences but times when
a simple, unexpected bite of something knocks you
off your feet.

Once, after a simple (but painful) procedure
at the doctor's office, I stopped off at a friend's
house. It was past lunchtime, and I was famished.
This friend quickly made up a sandwich for me, but what
made it extraordinary was the jam: homemade pear.
It was simmered gold on bread with peanut butter
AND dairy butter. I can taste it now as I write....)

Friends are coming in tomorrow from Dublin
for the August Bank Holiday. The party continues....