I am exhausted. We returned late last night from a whirlwind trip to Philadelphia where I became emotionally overwhelmed by family and events. Not to mention the stress of being back in the neighborhood from which I recently, and not one hundred percent happily, moved. My mom, youngest sister and two of my nieces were also in town, which added logistical issues - when you have three kids to tote around, you're talking multiple cars and multiple carseats and, and, and...Plus, since my sister is expecting and was having what she described as a "pregnant moment" (that lasted all weekend!) she wasn't exactly serene. Add to this a friend being shot, trying to assist my aunt and cousin with some issues they've got going on, and two impromptu parties and you've got a recipe for complete emotional overload. Driving past the old house nearly put me over the edge - I wanted to drop in to tell the new owners to get moving with the yard work and, jeez, could they weed or something? But I restrained myself and kept driving.


So now I'm back in my own house and ready to do something seriously domestic and sort of nesty, to reassert my claim on my space and my life after feeling so much at loose ends. So I've made an executive decision - mushrooms will be bought no matter the cost and marinated mushroom melange will be made. I've read that the cause of much dismay in some peoples' lives is shopping and overspending in times of stress. No doubt that dynamic is in play here, but somehow I don't think dipping into capital to buy mushrooms is the typical overindulgence. Better that, I guess, than Jimmy Choos or some Prada.