H is for...

Hand-written...I love to receive hand-written "real" mail, and try to decipher who it's from before I check the return address. I treasure things that were written by the recognizable hands of my mom, dad, sister, brother, husband, grandparents...and the list goes on. It's especially fun for me to find a recipe written by the person who gave it to me. The familiarity and memories tied to each individual's handwriting is in a strange way comforting to me to look at when they aren't with me. I guess that is one of the reasons I am keeping a hand-written cookbook to pass on to Norah, and I love to send hand-written notes by mail...

High-heels..."Fashion Goddess" I am not. I own one pair of wedge heels (that are surprisingly comfortable), and two pair of "Kitten Heels" (as my sister calls them...in other words,heels on training wheels...not as high as most girls where). That's it. I guess its a good thing, because Jason walks fast and "I'm not wearing comfortable shoes" isn't a good excuse in his mind, for my not keeping up.

Homemade...Sort of like the handwriting thing....I treasure anything homemade. Granted, not all homemade things last forever (but you have to admit it's awfully fun to consume homemade ice cream and jam!), but the ones that do are like links to the past. Maybe the lure of these homemade marvels is just in knowing that someone took the time to do it the "hard way", and they had me especially in mind. I really learned the other side of this coin when I made Norah's quilt last spring. I feel like I learned a lot about the "love" that goes into hand quilting something for someone, and I hope one day she'll notice all those (sloppy) stitches and be comforted to know that I put my love for her into each one.

Hot Dogs, Etc....Local eating venue, and a random favorite of Jason's and mine (and the Gilmore clan). Don't knock it till you've tried it. Sure, it's a hole in the wall, but they have great hot dogs (and just happen to be right on the way to the ballpark, which is when I crave them more than any other time). I like mine topped with mustard, pickles and onions, with a side of their famous chili cheese fries and Jason goes for the 2 chili cheese dog combo, AKA "The #4 (and we've been going there for so long that they usually know what we'll order, before we tell them). I also love that even AA, who has all the fine eateries of Austin to chose from, still likes to dine at Hot Dogs, etc. when she comes back home for a visit.

Hydrangeas...if I could have my pick of anything to grow in my front flowerbed, this would be it, hands-down. Unfortunately, I've been told that between our soil and the sweltering heat, they don't do very well here. (and for the record, that's not Norah, so don't adjust your monitors--she hasn't aged 2 years overnight)