-Did anyone else hear Obama this morning on "This Week" when he said he's for exploring the idea of performance pay for teachers?

-I was feeling lonely today after church (and really missing post-church lunches at the pho place with Will) so I decided to go to the Farmer's Market. It was a gorgeous day and people were in the mood to talk. I had some really interesting conversations about produce and learned quite a bit. I also was able to help a lady put a name to a vegetable that she had once had - jicama (she was trying to describe it to one of the vendors and they didn't know what she was talking about). She found me later while I was having a snack and watching the bluegrass band perform, and she invited me to visit her church. If you know anything about where I live, you know how incredibly rare that kind of thing is.

-There are a lot of people on strike around here. I wish there was some other way for everything to be resolved, but I don't have any more ideas than the next guy. An interesting twist to one of these strikes is that the teachers in the Bellvue school district are posting videos of their strike on You Tube, providing their insight, reasoning, and personal stories.

-I hosted a going away party for a coworker yesterday. We had good food and good conversation...I cleaned the house and got the yard looking pretty nice for the party, so it was great to wake up and be able to relax and enjoy the sunny Sunday. I washed the cars and now I have a few Netflixed movies to catch up on.

-I'm making pasta with leftover chicken sausages and grilled chicken from last night's party, and I'm throwing in some fresh basil and garlic from the Farmer's Market. I'm hoping to take full advantage of that place before it closes in December (and doesn't open again until April). I also need to whip up some zucchini bread to send to my sweet husband along with some other goodies.

-That's all I've got. Happy week...hope it's a good one.