Eureka!

An all-expenses-paid month in Arkansas in June, that's what I won today. And what more could a girl want?

No, really. What I've actually got is a fellowship to go to the Writers' Colony at Dairy Hollow, in Eureka Springs, to putter around a beautiful, airy, sunny dream kitchen, make pies and jams, and write.

Of course, what I mostly do in my regular life is putter around in my dark, no-counter-space kitchen, make cranberry bread, and write. But this will be infinitely prettier, and heck, out in the Ozarks, which means not in steamy summer concreteland. Yippee! And someone else makes dinner! No more Grape-Nuts on the bed, at least not for 4 weeks. There's even a front porch--just what I need to cement my unrealistic move-to-the-country fantasies.

First thanks are due to the lovely Bakerina, who sang the praises of this place on her blog, and convinced me to apply. It's lucky I didn't look at the photos on her site first, or I would have been way too entranced to consider offering up my bits of honey lore and restaurant wit in pursuit. And piles of thanks are also due to Jen and Tori, for writing recommendations that promised the fine folks of Dairy Hollow that I would be a charming dinner guest and a happy writer bee.

Well, enough about me. What you really need to know is that according to the National Pie Council (and no, until today I didn't know there was one), January 23rd--just mere days away--is National Pie Day. You know what this means, don't you? A perfect, nationally-sponsored reason to EAT PIE. I'll be in San Francisco that day, staying at the aforementioned Jen's house, and I might just have to make her a pie. Because when my country (or the National Pie Council) says bake, well, the Pie Queen bakes.