Clafoutis: cherries ready Every now and then during the last couple of months my conscience has pricked me. I haven't made soup during that time nor have I formally said goodbye to any remaining loyal blog readers. Goodbyes are difficult. Decisions cause me stress ... or anxiety ... I can't make up my mind which word to use. I have been otherwise occupied. Soup-making was a diversion from my academic pursuits, but I abruptly called a halt to those pursuits earlier this year. While waiting for certain matters to resolve themselves so that I could finally decide about returning to university or not, I undertook a comedy improv course. I had previously done occasional workshops but this was the first time I was able to give some sort of commitment to a continuing course. The course was different to my previous improv experiences in that there were more men, I was now among the oldest students and a group dynamic was nurtured. Then in late spring this year I leaped into a le...