We are being punished with an unbearably dreary weekend, weather-wise. Yesterday’s heavy (torrential) rains and high winds resulted in a power outage last night that ended The Hurt Locker prematurely and sent us to bed without resetting the clocks for Daylight Saving Time. Today I’m finishing up a work in progress — painting our foyer. It’s taking longer than I’d like, mostly because the foyer is heavy on woodwork: crown moldings, a big front door with sidelights, and a coat closet. Nonetheless, the end is in sight, and this evening I have an extra hour of daylight.

On the stove, my big green Dutch oven is nurturing a pot of tomato sauce and meatballs, which I know I’ll be grateful for at the end of the day. Meatballs and sauce was the very first thing my mom taught me to cook, and I can still remember the first batch I made on my own, and how proud I was when my father proclaimed it delicious. I probably have tweaked the recipe a bit since then, but it’s still one of our favorite dishes.