Names

I have the opportunity to hone my cooking skills once again. Yesterday I prepared such a large portion of hearty Italian inspired soup that it has fed two people for three meals.

Today on my afternoon stroll I found these two images. One is of the seal of California and the other is of a hanging flower basket along the docks, a little pocket of sanity, peace and relaxation during the lunchtime craziness.

Proust question of the day: What are your favorite names?

I have always given this question much thought. If I did not have the name I now have, I would have liked a many syllabled name like Alexandra or Victoria. Shorter names I am fond of include Stella and Joan. For male names, one of my faves is Christopher. I prefer classic names over trendy ones. In the U.S., you can name your child anything under the sun. That's why you find many made up names here like Taylor, Riley, and Charisma to name a few examples. In Germany names given to children are fairly regulated I believe. This is due to the fact (I think!) that the government wants to protect children from being made fun of if their parents decide to give them a very unusual name. So what you find in Germany are many traditional names like Claudia, Christine, Thomas, Erik, Mark etc.