On a damp morning last week, my brother and I were outside unloading a truck full of old boxes for our parents. Sean went to open the garage door and found a little frog resting on the wall, right in the way. He was small and grey, and we scooped him up and took turns holding him as we sat on the driveway together with cups of coffee and bare feet.

There are so many quiet, wonderful moments that take place here and almost go unnoticed. 

I've been meaning to post a recipe for a while, but I haven't actually cooked anything in a while. Packing, writing, and Chinese delivery apparently go very well together. And if Rob is busy for dinner, I usually just end up throwing a salad together or heating something up really quickly for myself and calling it a meal. So when Rob had a meeting at six last night, I figured I'd just eat leftover Chinese food or heat up some soup for dinner.

But my brother went on a deep-sea fishing trip over the weekend and came back with a load of fresh tuna, and you don't just let fresh caught wild tuna sit around in your refrigerator. Sean was supposed to come to Charlottesville with my mom yesterday and help us move furniture, but the poor guy wasn't feeling well. He made up for his absence when my mom handed me four tuna steaks in a plastic bag from his aforementioned trip.

I'm not someone who gets easily intimidated in the kitchen, so I thought it was funny that four uncomplicated pieces of meat were able to make me feel so nervous about cooking. They seemed precious to me, like a little gift--four pink jewels that my brother had labored over and caught with his own hands. They were so perfect, even in their rawest state, and I feared that I might destroy their impeccable simplicity.

I stood in the kitchen for several minutes, trying to decide how best to prepare them. The sushi-loving part of me wanted to just slice them up and eat it raw, but I finally decided on a simple sprinkle of salt and pepper, and then onto my grill pan.

I poured myself a glass of wine and ate my tuna. I was so hell-bent on enjoying it hot and fresh, as soon as it was ready, that I didn't have anything else prepared to go with it. No vegetable, no salad. Green beans are allowed to sit there in the refrigerator for another day. Just tuna and a big, chilly glass of Pinot Grigio for me. It tasted like the ocean and summertime.

I managed to save a piece for Rob, but it was a pretty close call.

On Saturday afternoon I found myself back at the lake.

Rob has been visiting some friends in Oregon for a few days, so I thought I'd take some time that would have otherwise been spent alone in Charlottesville and hang out with my family. Sometimes, a quiet road trip on your own can be nice.

I stopped in Roanoke first and saw my friend Andy, then met up with my mom, dad, and brother for dinner. We went home after dinner and watched a movie before I went to bed and passed out. I'm really not good at staying up past 10:30.

I got up on Sunday and hung out with my mom on the couch. She's been kind of sick with a little cold lately, so we made some tea and just talked for a while. Then we went to mass downtown and got breakfast at Mill Mountain, which has always been my favorite place.  For as long as I can remember, that coffee shop has been part of my life. When I was little, my parents brought me there so they could get coffee. When I was in high school, my friends and I would go really early before school or we'd meet up there on the weekends. And I worked there as a barista during summer and winter break when I was in college. As dramatic as it may sound, no other physical space has ever meant so much to me.

Mill Mountain Blend

Salad with my eggs and sausage. So paleo.

Some more snapshots from my weekend at home:

Family photos.

Tea

I really liked my stuffed animals as a child.

Mom

Brother

Waiting for breakfast at MMC&T.

This is our church. It's sort of awesome.

Sean really loves his apple cider.

Bite-sized desserts that I frosted for a work party.

Choppin' dem herbs.

The more I visit, the more I miss it.

Emma, one of my lovely best friends, came to Charlottesville yesterday to stay with me for a few days. We've been relaxing together, sitting on my couch with our laptops, catching up, drinking coffee, napping, window-shopping in fancy stores, and going out to eat. And Shawna came over last night, so the three of us spent a couple hours cuddled up together telling stories. Our group of girlfriends rarely gets to spend time all together in one place, so it's always extra-special when more than two of us have a few moments together.

I really thought these few days were going to be lonely with Rob on the other side of the country, but the past seventy-two hours or so have reminded me how lucky I am to have been blessed with these friends and family.