Look, Ma, new pants!

This Wednesday evening, after months of wearing increasingly frayed and tired-looking pants to work, I finally bought a couple new pairs.  Actually, the situation was that I had some good fall/winter work pants, but when warmer weather arrived, I found my lighter-weight and lighter-colored pants were all showing their wear.  Recruiting my housemate (he volunteered), I went to a store likely to have cheap but durable khakis.  I was successful in my search, and am wearing one of the pairs of pants I bought as I type this very post.  They're quite comfy.  I'm not always a big fan of clothes shopping, but in the right mood, I do enjoy trying on different outfits, striking poses in the dressing room as I imagine myself strutting down the street in a jaunty pair of linen pants or slouching on the couch in a relaxed pair of jeans.  On Wednesday I think I fell into the pitfall of judging everything more positively because the shirt I wore to the store was a favorite of mine, and everything looked better in combination with it.  No matter.  Those mint-green cargo shorts will come in handy sometime, I'm sure!

Scones

In spite of the gnawing uncertainty about whether it's pronounced "s-koh-ns" or "sk-ah-ns" (I say, using my entirely made-up phonetic system), I love these tasty, doughy, teatime treats.  I like them plain, spread with butter, with lemon curd, with jam, and/or with fruit or chocolate baked in.  I like them with black tea, herbal tea, coffee, or milk.  I like them at breakfast time, elevenses, lunchtime, teatime, dinner time, or for a late-night snack.  I like them large or small.  But I especially like them homemade and fresh.  I am fortunate enough to have a housemate who bakes excellent scones from scratch.  He's got it down to an art.  Sometimes they will be plain, sometimes they'll have crystallized ginger, berries, or chocolate baked in.  He makes them in large rounds which he scores to mark out six or eight wedges.  When the scones are baked, you can easily break off a wedge (or two or three) to enjoy with the beverage of your choice.  And of course, they're best hot out of the oven, when the chocolate bits are all gooey.  Delicious!