Marina and I have started a gingerbread cookie baking tradition. We had a really nice date today hanging out with the kitties, getting in a couple games of Scrabble, and doing some holiday shopping for one another. We have a nice arrangement going. I find her new lipsticks and she keeps our kitchen stocked with gadgets. Today she replaced our salad spinner. We liked the old version because it was collapsable, but it had a pull string that had one too many goes. The new one has an "effortless lever." We'll see how long it lasts.

1. Kitty in the sun. 2. Marina's cookie cutter collection. 3. Kitty on the rug. 4. Marina doing work. 5. Marina-grown arugula drying on tea towels. 6. Cooling. 7. Edible violas=pretty salad. 8. Turkey soup and three bean salad for lunch. 9. Kitten face. 10. Birdhouses in Berkeley. 11. On a truck! 12. Rain clouds clearing.