I love days like today. The baby and skinny cat are asleep in the living room, and the fat cat is curled up on my bedroom pillow. Stu is also napping--he's resting after a 24 hour call.

It's pouring down rain outside, and I've got nothing more pressing than a cup of coffee and an old issue of Southern Living, just waiting to be read. It's a November issue from a few years back--I've been excited about fall for a few weeks now, and I can't wait for the chilly air and seasonal food.

We've been doing well here; I feel like I've got a very established routine going now. It's hard having Stu be gone so much during the day, but I was expecting it. I'm so glad that I'm introverted enough to thrive with alone time, so I don't really feel alone. Plus, we've made some great friends already here in Birmingham, so I get out and see them when I am feeling lonely. Tonight we're going to a tapas party hosted by some of our friends.

I'm hoping that just maybe I'll start blogging more. I have a lot of recipes, gardening stuff, and cute Maddie pictures that I'm hoping to share. During the next few months, we're hoping to do a lot to upgrade our existing landscape, and I'm hoping to catch it all on film. My cooking has significantly improved since moving (so says Stu), and I'm enjoying my time in the kitchen with fresh seasonal produce from the farmers market. I've missed blogging, so I'm hoping to pick it up again.

I normally reserve my computer time to blog reading or shopping, but it's been a particularly slow Saturday today. There is still nothing in my Google reader. Argh. Stu is at work right now for his first call as a medical resident. Maddie and I are just relaxing at home after spending the morning grocery shopping.

We first went to the Valleydale Farmers Market, which is only slightly farther than the main Pepper Place Market. It was fun to try a different one this time. The market up at Pepper Place is close to downtown, so it's big and crowded and parking is hard to come by. Valleydale is smaller, with only 10 vendors or so, but it was worth the drive if only to satisfy my curiosity.

Our next stop was a flea market run by one of the big churches here in town. I was originally going for baby stuff, but that sort of thing is always the first to go, and I was pretty late in getting there. I did find these really pretty framed botanical prints for only $10; I think they will look good in our master bath. I've been looking for something like this for awhile--there was a really cute shop in Michigan that sold nothing but botanical prints (many of them hand-painted originals from the 1850s), but they were well out of my price range (and unframed). I had to buy them on a whim, so Stu hasn't seen them yet. I hope he likes them!

Oh! Garden update! I've got an impressive patch of weeds growing in my new raised bed. Stu and I put it in about a week and a half ago, and I promptly planted some lettuce. They have yet to spring up. Weeds, however, are quickly taking over. Once this string of thundershowers finishes up, I'm going to try again. I did order some seeds for the coming year, and I hope to get them soon so I can begin my broccoli, Chinese cabbage, and rutabagas.