Well, it looks like the spammers have found this site. 393 comments on the last post, none of them real. How unfortunate. I guess I'm going to be adding some more filters on the comments to try and automatically block them. It's a never ending battle.

Our CSA share is really starting to pick up. While we've always been thrilled with the quality of the produce we've gotten, the quantity hasn't always been what we had hoped for. The farm had some flooding issues and lost 75% of their crop. At this point, though, they've replanted, and it's now harvest season. Today we got (among many other things) 8 beautiful ears of perfectly sweet corn, and an 11 pound cantaloupe. Yea, that's right. 11 pounds. It's the size of a watermelon. And tastes sooo good. We may not be enjoying the 90+ degree weather, but there are some definite advantages to August!

70 days until the Chicago Marathon. Sometimes I get discouraged about my running; with all the musical training I'm doing, I really don't have a whole lot of extra energy to push through a very ambitious running schedule. I'm doing enough to get myself across the finish line, but not much more. I've got my eyes on the prize, though, and my priorities have to be focused on my career goals. Despite this, I can't say my training is going poorly. Last week I broke through the half marathon barrier. For the first time, I ran more than 13.1 miles, and while it definitely is a challenge, it feels good to once again get out there every week and push myself farther than I've ever run before. Even though I've missed more runs than I should have, I managed to log a hundred miles in July, and my weekly mileage is sitting pretty steadily where I peaked for both of my half marathons. Basically, I've tuned my body to be pretty comfortable with a half marathon; it's time to move on and tackle 26.2 miles.

I just spent two and a half hours on the phone with AT&T. My DSL bill is due, but the bill they sent me is incorrect. I wanted to see a correct bill before sending them any money. In addition, they sent me a modem I do not need or want, and while they refunded the modem price when I sent it back to them, they didn't refund the shipping and handling. "Well, sir, UPS charges that fee, we have nothing to do with it." Yes, I know that money goes to the carrier - that's not my problem. My problem is that you shouldn't have sent it in the first place, so I shouldn't be charged shipping and handling for your mistake! That logic apparently doesn't fly, I'm going to end up paying that shipping and handling. And, after talking to SIX different customer service representatives, nobody can get a corrected bill in my hands. "This amount is right now, my recommendation is that you just send us a check for this amount, since we don't send out corrected bills." Umm, no. Sorry, but I don't trust you at all. Not after the way I was just treated for 2.5 hours. Let me see a bill, let me check the math, and if it's right, then I'll send you something.

Today was my birthday! Katy made the evening special by taking me to Skillet, my favorite restaurant in Columbus, for dinner. Skillet's just a little hole in the wall; it's outside of German Village, has maybe ten tables tops, no alcohol license of any kind, and only recently got table service. It started out as a brunch place, quickly expanded to weekday lunch, and a week or so ago added limited dinner hours. Their food is not fancy, not expensive, and not complicated. But, the chef is not afraid to let ingredients express their best flavors. So many places add salt, sugar, and vinegar to simulate real flavor; at Skillet, they use top quality local ingredients - free range chicken and eggs, grass-finished beef, etc, and let them do their own talking. Katy had a burger with arugula and house-made tomato jam, and I had a brisket sandwich topped with horseradish slaw. We split a side order of potatoes sauteed in pork fat. Simple flavors, done right. For dessert, we visited the new Mouton. Mouton definitely panders to current food trends, but that's OK with us, as we kind of like where those trends are going right now. Mouton serves cheese, charcuterie, wine, espresso, and cocktails. It's tough to get a good drink in this town; for whatever reason, many people don't expect (or even want!) the same level of artistry in a bartender that they do a chef. Mouton is clearly attempting to change that. Little on their liquor menu is adventurous or innovative; instead, they do the classics right. They're very thoughtful about the particular ingredients they use, exacting in their proportions, and caring in their preparation. The result is a line of cocktails that are pretty close to perfect. I think we'll be returning!

So it came to my attention today that I am (again) negligent about updating this blog. Part of the problem is that I'm on summer vacation - not a whole lot going on. However, there have been a few standout events.

Last Saturday evening, Dena and Dustin hosted a backyard grill party, and Katy and I got to meet their baby Evan. He was remarkably well behaved all night, I was very impressed with his temperament. Also, Lauren was there, and I haven't seen her since we graduated from high school. Who needs a formal ten year high school reunion when you can create your own reunions with the people you're interested in seeing? It was a real pleasure to chat with her and see how the last decade has treated us.

Tonight, my parents came up to Columbus for dinner. Being the overachiever I am, I decided to serve five plated courses plus a few extra mouthfuls. Every one of the dishes (except Katy's exquisite dessert, of course) could have been executed better had I focused on it individually, but hopefully nothing I served was actually bad, and I appreciated the opportunity to show a little bit of a range of things I like to do in the kitchen. And, it was great to spend the evening with my parents and a couple bottles of wine.