What's with all the coffee roasters in Bloomington. I can name one in Columbia (Immaculate Consumption). Columbia's population is about 10 times more than that of Bloomington. I can name four Bloomington roasters–Runcible Spoon, Bloomington Coffee Roasters, Partridge & Quigley, and now Stonecutters Coffee. I wish them all the luck, but don't they think the market may be saturated?

There's a restaurant (or two?) on 4th Street. You walk in the door and the host(ess) asks "Italian or Ethiopian?" Italian is to the left, Ethiopian to the right. They share waitstaff for sure. Maybe the kitchen too. But, don't they know? I mean, it's almost as ironic as my cousin's Hawaiian-themed wedding that was held December 7th. I tried Ethiopian several years ago in San Francisco and the injera (spongy sour-dough flatbread) that the food is served on and eaten with has been one of my food hauntings. It is so amazingly delicious. So that's exciting news on the food front.

I will also be baking all this weekend. Since Oscar and I are staying in B-town this Christmas, I'm making all my mom's usual baked or sweet goods. I should probably find out Oscar's favorites and make them as well. My list so far is:
Definitely:
Mince tarts
Peanut Butter Balls
Pecan Crescents aka Danish or Mexican wedding cookies
Gingerbread men
Puppy Chow
Maybe:
Sugar Cookies
Pecan tarts