Watching the season finale of Lost last night, it was making me nuts trying to figure out where I'd seen the actor sitting on the beach with Jacob. After a lot of digging today (that scene appears to be one of the items of least interest among Lost analysts), I figured out that he was also Silas on Deadwood. I also learned that another familiar actor on a recent episode turns out to have played Joanie. Apparently, at least four actors from Deadwood have now appeared on Lost, including Calamity Jane as Juliet's sister (not hard to miss since Jane was usually covered in dirt and wore a hat all the time), and William Sanderson, though I still think of him as Larry from Newhart more than E.B., and he's been on a ton of shows.

It has been an emotionally and physically exhausting week, so this may or may not be coherent. Cathy's mom was diagnosed Monday with Stage IV lung cancer, just two days after Tim's (Cathy's significant other's) 50th birthday party, the original reason I was down in LA this weekend. I ended up staying an extra day to help out with random things and drive people to and from the hospital. Cathy is an only child, which makes me appreciate Ben and Chris all the more. They're giving Shirley about two months, and she's being released tomorrow. She'll be moving in with Cathy and Tim for the foreseeable future.

Cathy's aunt Barbara gave me a very cute clutch handbag this weekend... without even knowing about my obsession! Photos and explanation some other time, as it's a long story. Suffice it to say, very Audrey Hepburn!

It's also a million billion degrees all over California, so last night I whipped up a pesto pea soup from Gourmet's website that mostly used things I had on hand since I did not want to do major grocery shopping, and sounded like it would be good warm or cold. It turned out ok but not great hot, warm, or cold. For the last of it tonight I added a dollop more pesto and some greek yogurt and that perked it up. If I ever make it again, I'd double the pesto.

I'm trying to reverse engineer the recipe for Sconehenge English Muffins, which are not at all English muffins in the traditional sense but very yummy nonetheless. The exceedingly unhelpful ingredient label just says "all purpose flour, buttermilk, yeast." I have to figure out proportions and if there are any ingredients that don't need to be listed on the label. Grumble, grumble.

The cast iron skillet reseasoning project should be back on this weekend as it's supposed to cool down significantly tonight. Weekend before last I left both skillets in the oven for a three hour self-cleaning cycle and then went over them with steel wool to remove the rust. I'd really like to get on with the next step, but seasoning cast iron when it's over 90 outside just ain't gonna happen. The same goes for bread baking, or vigorous movement of any sort. I've been battling a horrible sinus infection for probably two weeks now, but couldn't get in to see the doctor until tomorrow.

On TV, I finished the second season of Project Runway, and am well into season three. Such a great show: exactly like Top Chef, but with fabric instead of foodstuffs, and with the amazingly adorable and insightful Tim Gunn. Where Tom just looks worried. Tim actually cares--he's not a judge so he can get more involved with each contestant and really act as a mentor. I'm ambivalent about Hell's Kitchen. Lost is backing up 'cuz I haven't been in the mood. Other shows have not been especially comment-worthy. Running in Heels ended, but I'm not quite in the frame of mind to gather my thoughts on that one just yet. Fionla Hughes was a co-producer, something I did not notice until about halfway through the run.

Watching Lost is a little bit like trying to follow a telenovela when you don't speak Spanish all that well: you recognize the characters, catch a phrase here and there that makes sense, but overall you have no real clue what's going on.

The tofu stroganoff was kind of a bust. I substituted a few ingredients based on what people had said in the comments, but I'm not sure it would have been much better if I'd followed the recipe exactly. Not terrible, just not something I'd make again. Plus, it left a lingering onion smell in the house that's been hard to get rid of since it's really chilly today and I can't keep the windows open for very long.

Also, jigsaw puzzles are trendy. You read it here first.

The baby swallows hatched yesterday evening, and the parents have been flying back and forth tirelessly catching bugs to feed them. These are the shell remnants I found on the patio under the nest. There were apparently three eggs but one was completely shattered. These were in better shape before I accidentally banged the newspaper down on them this morning. Can't hear any peeping yet, but it might be drowned out by the obnoxious racket all the baby ducks make. They're pretty damn cute but really noisy, from early in the morning to well into the night because it's been so hot the past few days. Today is not as bad--only in the high 90's now at 4.30.

When the full force of afternoon sun hits my apartment the only thing to do is close all the blinds, crank up the a/c, and hunker down. I've been knitting obsessively the past few days and managed to complete a pair of black merino handswarmers that Cathy wanted (yes, it's May but the a/c in her office is really cold) and the hat I started making for her mom back in November. I'm also close to finishing the Debbie Bliss reversible bag I've been working on for over a year since I decided I can't start anything new until some of these languishing UFOs have been taken care of.

I caught up on Lost while knitting today. Hurley and Ben sharing a candy bar in the previous week's episode was one of the best scenes ever. I've given up trying to figure out the show otherwise; just going to let it unfold in its own sweet time. I did catch an ad for the new Mole series, which will hopefully be as good as the first.

Tomorrow I go to LA for a press tour. I hear it's cooler there.