blogging and ragu

i am finding myself to be a little silly that i get excited when people say, "hey, i read your blog," or get a comment posted or even an email with similar sentiments. is this the modern age of community? i don't really think so because i don't think it can possibly substitute for the real thing: friends, family, and real community....so why do i feel so much better and validated knowing that people out there read? what is this whole blogging thing about? why do i enjoy it? why is it validating? is it really satisfying my need to be significant? i don't think it can, but then again why get such encouragement from it & excitement from a comment? this is strange phenomenon indeed....in myself and culture. i am fascinating myself, to be honest with you. is it lacking so much in my daily life that i need cyber space to validate my existence. have gotten so out of touch with who god is and who i am as a creation that this is where i find significance? i hope not, but i think i have to ask myself these questions about where am i significant and why. i think i went through this with finding my identity as a runner only to have that stripped away by pregnancy. am i only significant because people read my blog. i know the answer is no, but it is strange how easy it is to look to other and not to my heavenly father. i am not trying to make too much of such a little thing as an on-line journal but it has really made me think about how nutty this whole thing is. but enough waxing poetic..... the real post: dinner.

bolognese meat sauce (page 203)..... out of sight. i know, i know... how good can homemade spaghetti sauce really be? off the hook - that's how good. so good that i made it two nights in a row. now, it is time consuming - cook down the milk, cook down the wine, simmer for "no less than three hours" - but what a party in my mouth. truly, truly delicious. i can't say enough about it that could possibly convey how good it really was. since i made it for dinner friday night & made another batch saturday for guests, we tried some salads last night. orange and cucumber salad (page 552) and asparagus salad (page 557). both light fare to balance out the outrageousness of the pasta. both were tasty. the asparagus was a hit but the orange/cucumber was worth the experiment - it called for radishes..... i don't really eat radishes - does anyone? but overall both were great sides to the main attraction. it will be duplicated again when time permits!!!