Awake to Bake

Sigh. The house is chilly, the world outside seems a wash of india ink, and though it is fifty five minutes after my alarm went off, I am still hunkered down in bed (though propped upright!)- listening to NPR, and Janey's purr. In four minutes I will gather my courage around me- and more to the point, the polar fleece blanket- and make my way down stairs to start baking.

Today is the first day we'll be holding "winter" library hours. That is to say that while we are now only open three hours a week, we will be offering tea, coffee, and baked goods. Access to the library is not really as limited as our hours would make it seem, since most year-rounders have a key. Wednesday is just a chance for people to request inter-library loan books, see one another, and talk over food.

Pardon me, while I keep my pledge to myself about getting out of bed... I should keep my wool socks handy under my pillow. I should also finally bring my broken-down shearling slippers back to LL Bean for a fresh pair. But Freeport is so far away. And I am lucky if I remember to bring my car keys and wallet off the island...

-an hour later-

For my inaugeral baking I made a recipe that is new to me, for cheesy herb muffins- basically cheddar with chives and rosemary. The muffins are in the oven now, or at least three-quarters of a batch. Shockingly, I am not equipped with muffin tins. I borrowed eighteen muffins worth of tin from my neighbor, Marion, and while I was there got the opportunity to look out her newly installed window, which give a wonderful view of the autumnal ruins of her vegetable plot, her fence, and my house. There's even a handy new deck in front of the windows, should I want to press my nose against the glass, or stage a tersely-blocked Midsummer Night's Dream... Besides her veggies, she does have some lovely ornamental landscaping.

The news keeps me in good company on these early mornings, though I can't listen and write at the same time. The economic news is, of course, as dark as the hour of my listening. While the wider implications of the crisis will obviously shape my financial health to some extent, it is, I think, easier to take everything in stride when one never had money to invest in the first place. With a tendency to work in poorer paying (yet noble!) jobs, I never had 401k options. I have invested in a really staid life insurance policy, and as of last March (facing the ripe age of 28) I finally started stashing the responsible 10% into savings, at an interest rate that makes it better than a mattress.
I hope!