weekend notes #26

This weekend I:

* Played with: a couple of meltingly adorable kittens.

* Brunched at: the Robinwood Cafe, a new little place in the neighborhood featuring classic breakfast food, friendly waitstaff, and a convivial atmosphere.

* Devoured: Jennifer Donnelly's deservedly award-winning novel, A Northern Light. The heroine, Mattie (Mathilda) Gorkey, a sixteen-year-old living in the Adirondacks in the early 1900s, is smart, bookish, and a talented writer and trying to find happiness in a world that appreciates none of those qualities in a woman. Full review to follow.

* Ran in: the rain. Saturday was beautiful and sunny, but Sunday was gray and wet all day. There was no thunder or lightning, however, for which I was grateful. (I listen to music while running, and ever since reading about a case in a medical journal, I secretly fear being struck by lightning while wearing earbuds.)

* Stood in line at: the Apple store for an iPhone. This was the Boston store's first shipment in a while, so demand was pretty high, and the wait was about an hour. I'd had no idea that they'd been out of stock and picked yesterday for my purchase out of sheer luck. I didn't mind waiting so much because I had books with me although I did get very hungry as dinnertime approached. The new phone and I are still getting to know each other, but so far I like its snappy operating system and pretty display. (My ailing old iPhone, a two-year-old second-generation model, fails to produce sounds sometimes, which gets rather problematic.)

* Baked: these brownies, so easy and so good. Ate an entire row. Felt mildly ill.