1:28 pm The Luddite Strikes Back

I have been assisting Crusie in the kitchen, who keeps asking me what I think about these recipes, despite the fact that I don't cook. She's making these recipes for her character, Scylla, so I keep responding with, "I don't know. What would Scylla do?" I think pretty soon she's going to accidentally drop a casserole dish on my head.

A few moments ago, we were both passing through this thin galley kitchen with knives; mine pointed down, hers pointed up. Then she said, "What you should do is hold it straight out, so anyone who walks into it doesn't do it again."

I'm taking that as a warning.

Meanwhile, I have sliced mushrooms, snapped green beans, grated cheese and been called a luddite because I didn't use Crusie's new mandolin for the mushrooms. But she'd just had a mildly orgasmic experience with it ("Look at these potatoes!') and I felt decorum mandated that I give them both a little time first…

Everything smells fabulous. I have not yet poured a glass of wine, but that moment is coming…. probably right after I hit update.